Articles

Seems as if that popular tweaking app Schaps Advanced Configuration program and perhaps other GSM-based "tweak" apps (e.g. Diamond Tweak) might be causing a nasty side effect on CDMA (Sprint & Verizon) phones.

Problem: Ever had an incoming phone call and when you answered it lagged big time?

Turns out that this occurs when you have an active data connection.  In theory, the phone should immediately shut that connection and you should be able to answer the call instantly.  And it does...unless you inadvertently change some registry settings, specifically ones related to "force data disconnect".

Thanks to ppcgeeker snovvman, you can verify if you have the problem. Simply open up your favorite registry editor (see our great guide here) and look under:

--> HKLM/Comm/ConnMgr/Planner/Settings/SuspendResume

If that value reads ~GPRS, you have a problem;  Its should be set to #777 (a least for Sprint users).  While manually editing the registry is probably the best way, Juggalo_X created a .cab file which may work for some.  Remember to wait about 10 seconds and then soft-reset to take effect.

[Read more here]

We'll obviously be swallowing this one with a decent grain of salt, but all-things-Microsoft blog uxevangelist [via] has a roadmap that shows a Windows Mobile 7 beta slated for sometime this year, with the actual release in the "future." We heard a while ago not to expect the final build of WM7 until well into 2009, and none of that's really cleared up with this.

That said, we'll probably be staring at this thing for quite a while, hoping to glean some other tiny morsel from it. Or, if we squint just right, maybe we'll see a sailboat.

Microsoft announced this week that the mobile version of Live Search has been updated to include the ability to detect the location of the mobile user even if their handset is not GPS-enabled. The update also includes predictive search query input and more detailed views of maps. Also included in the update is the "bird's-eye-view" that's popular on Microsoft's maps.live.com. It's not quite the same as Google Maps' Street View, but it does do a better job of spying on your neighbors.

Also of note is that latest version still works with Windows Mobile 5.

According to Jeremy Beasley, Live Search Mobile product manager, "if you're not running the latest version of Windows Mobile, don't worry. We've built in support for Windows Mobile 5 phones to make sure that you can use these new features as well."

To download the latest version (4.012158.1) of Windows Live Search mobile, just point your browser to wls.live.com or go here on your desktop for more options.

[Read:Clickthroughmarketing.com]

Yep, you read that right. Microsoft apparently is planning to scale back the number of devices it puts Windows Mobile on. And this really isn't that surprising and almost definitely is a move in the right direction.

The New York Times reports that Microsoft is planning a "major announcement" next month at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, so we'll likely get more details then. For now, here's what Todd Peters, VP of Marketing for Windows Mobile, told the Gray Lady.

The reason that Microsoft is limiting the number of phones with the operating system is because, he said, the company does not want to have its efforts diluted over too many devices.

“I’d rather have fewer devices and be more focused,” he said. That way “we get better integration” between phone and operating system.

This really makes sense to us. We've ranted talked about how AT&T in particular has too many Windows Mobile phones to pick from, and the NYT story spells it out — there are 140 phones that currently run Windows Mobile. There is, in fact, too much of a good thing. Concentrating on a smaller number of outstanding devices definitely should be better in the long run for the platform, and for Microsoft in general. Sure worked out well for these guys.

As you've undoubtedly read by now, Apple has dropped the digital rights management (DRM) from some 8 million of its songs in the iTunes store, meaning you'll be able to play them on something other than iTunes or an iPod. Like, say, your Windows Mobile phone.

This also poses a bit of a dilemma for a number of us. Do we continue to use the Amazon MP3 store? Or bite the bullet and switch to iTunes and its AAC-coded files. We're not going to wade into differences of the formats, prices and if we think one store is better than the other. You guys can hash that out in the comments. But what we will do is warn you of a couple things:

1. If you're buying new music from iTunes, be sure they're in the iTunes Plus format, and thus are DRM-free. Here's how you can tell. This is important because there still are 2 million songs out there with DRM attached.
2. Not all media players play the AAC codec, with which iTunes songs are encoded. That said, Windows Media Player Mobile will play them out of the box, so you won't be left out in the cold. But if you're fond of a particular media player, here's a brief list of applications that can handle the AAC format, which you'll recognize by the extension (m4a, .m4b, .m4p, .m4v, .m4r, .3gp, .mp4, .aac). If you have another favorite app, share it in the comments.


• Windows Media Player Mobile: It's the default media player on Windows Mobile phones, and one we love to hate for its lack of ease of use. But the simple fact is that it's all you need to play iTunes files on your phone.
• Kinoma Play: Still the Cadillac of Windows Mobile media players, so far as we're concerned.
• Core Player: Another favorite among WM users.
• Pocket Tunes Deluxe: This one migrated over from the Palm world and still a must-have for many.
• Pocket Player: Recently updated to Version 4.0, it now plays AAC-encoded files.
• PocketMusic: Needs a $10 plugin, but it'll get the job done.

Really, when it comes down to it, it wasn't the AAC codec that kept Apple inside its sandbox for so long. It was the DRM. So how about it, fair readers: Will this persuade you to switch to iTunes if you don't currently use it? Or will you continue to use other services, such as Amazon's MP3 store? Let us know.

Motorola's press release calls it a "touch tablet," but we call the MOTOSURF A3100 a fair competitor to the HTC Touch -- you know, the phone that came out last year and has been replaced by the Touch Diamond, Viva, and 3G. 

Nevertheless, Moto is pressing on with their little guy, which sports:

• 2.8" 320x240 screen
• GSM and HSDPA (but not necessarily US bands)
• aGPS
• WiFi
• 3 megapixel camera and a front-facing camera for video conferencing
• A trackball
• MicroSD expansion
• 3.5mm headset jack
• Opera Mobile 9.5
• A mysterious Facebook app they couldn't get launched due to lack of internet connectivity

So kudos to Moto for the trackball, 3.5mm headset jack, and heck, we'll even give them credit for taking a ho-hum QVGA screen and stretching it out to a capacious 2.8 inches.  Moto even developed their own custom home screen with all the fixings plust some bonus RSS action. Despite all that, though, we gotta ask: who's buying this over a Diamond? 

Not us and that's not just because it's aimed at Asia and Latin America first, with US possibilities "sometime in the future, depending."  Photos after the break

An anonymous tipster has sent in some screen shots and impressions of the upcoming Internet Explorer 6 browser that's coming to Windows Mobile in the very near future, the vaunted '6 on 6.' The bad news -- it's not at all clear that Microsoft will make this an independently-available download. We do know for sure that it will be baked-into the ROMs of many future smartphones. That leads us to the good news -- the screenshots we have here are from an upcoming WinMo device. Square Screen, 320x320 resolution, and the black theme are your clues as to what we're looking at (Yes, we have a guess).

The tipster sends these impressions along with the images: It's not going to bowl anybody over, not nearly impressive enough to replace either SkyFire or Opera Mobile 9.5. It's not all that much faster than the current generation of IE on Windows Mobile, though the added zooming functions are nice. Flash lite is here and works well (minus a few memory errors), though you're not going to enjoy videos much when you're zoomed-out.

You can set the browser to identify either as mobile (so you get served mobile pages by sites that auto-detect) or as desktop (so you get the full pages) and instead of a simple 'zoom out' feature as currently exists on WM6.1 there's a separate “Zoom / Panning Mode” for getting around.

After the break, we make with the screenshots and also toss in a couple of our own showing the current-gen IE from a Treo Pro for comparison.

6 on 6

Old School IE

Celio, the group that brought us the REDFLY Mobile Companion, reportedly is at work on some more goodies - one hardware-related, the other software.

Engadget reports that the REDFLY PC Software will let you essentially run Windows Mobile on any XP- or Vista-based computer. Real-life scenario: You've got a netbook or laptop but no WiFi. You've got some major blogging to do but don't want to bash it out on your smartphone. The REDFLY PC Software would let your laptop control your phone, data connection and all, with a much more reasonable keyboard.

Also on tap is the hardware-based Smartphone Dock (above). Think of it as a BYO keyboard and monitor sitution. Plug in your phone and you've got desktop-sized Windows Mobile goodness. Why do that instead of just using the desktop computer? Security could be one reason. Easy access to your contacts and e-mails when you're on the go could be another. Anyhoo, this is just in the concept stage right now. And the price would need to be very competitive to make sense.

Update: Wondering what that PC Software might look like?

One of the more common gripes about a touch screen device is that on incoming calls, it doesn't take much to accidentally tapping the screen, inadvertently answering the call. If I had a dollar for every time I accidentally answered a call while taking my AT&T Fuze out of the case, I could probably afford an early retirement.

Have no fear, a solution to this headache is available. Fuze Mobility forum member herg62123 has created a tweak for the AT&T Fuze/Touch Pro that will add a slider to your answer screen.  Instead of tapping the "answer" or "ignore" buttons on the screen you simply move the newly created slider over which action you want to take. Once the call is answered, a screen appears over the mute, speaker, etc. buttons than can be pulled down with a swipe of a finger. If it prevented the screen from blanking out during the call it would just about be perfect.

The "Slide to Answer" application comes in two styles, one with the standard white background and the other with a black background and can be found here. Currently Herg62123 is ironing out the finishing touches on v5 of this application. The black background works fine in V5 but you need to use V4 for the time being for the white background. The slider to answer flows nicely but the pull down for the screen takes a little more effort. Regardless, if you're all thumbs and find yourself accidentally answering calls, this app is definitely worth a try.

[Read:Fuze Mobility]

Already up and running in Baltimore, Clearwire's "Clear" WiMax service just went live in Portland, Ore., making it the "Fastest City in the West." Hold for applause.

And now we're getting a clear (nyuk nyuk) look at the pricing plans. Here's the breakdown, from clear.com:

• $10 for a 24-hour pass
• $30 a month for 200MB of data.
• $40 a month for 2GB.
• $50 a month for unlimited data.

For a service that's likely to supplant home and mobile broadband service, $50 a month for unlimited data isn't too bad. It will be interesting to see how the pricing structure holds up when the service takes hold with mobile phones. That there aren't really any phones out there that use WiMax is a whole 'nother ball of wax. Though there is that Russian HTC Max that we‘re still drooling over.

That said, right now we've got two major cities with the 4G capability spawned from Sprint's XOHM service, and eight more reportedly will go online this year.

Full news release after the jump.

Dieter got lucky the other day and found the Sony Xperia at a local Sony Store in San Francisco, CA while attending MacWorld.  However, not everyone has a Sony Store in their neighborhood and not every Sony Store was reporting inventory.  Fear not, the Sony Xperia X1a is now available for delivery through SonyStyle.com. For the time being, ground shipping is free with the Xperia helping ease the bite of the $799 price tag a little.

I guess Captain Ahab finally hooked his whale.

[VIA:Engadget.com]