WPCentral News

WMExperts reader Anthony loved his Windows phone. And, truth be told, he still has love for the platform. So when he jumped ship to BlackBerry, he just had to let us know why.

So after the break, a round robin from Anthony, just a regular guy.

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You may have seen over at the Official Palm Blog that they're looking for "Real Reviewers."  That's true enough: Palm wants to send you a phone in exchange for you writing, blogging, twittering, Facebooking, and generally telling the internet what you think of it for 6 months. 

It's a good deal and should be pretty interesting. Now, friends, pay attention: if you use this link to fill out Palm's Real Reviewer Survey, you might have a better shot at getting in, as they've reserved a spot for a WMExperts reader.

So, interested in a Treo Pro (or, yes, even that other phone, once it gets released), hit up the survey and let Palm know why you think you'd be an ideal "Real Reviewer."

And if you don't get in ... our very own comprehensive review of the Treo Pro can certainly give you a good idea whether it's the phone for you or no. 

DEADLINE TONIGHT: A reminder that if you want in on this, you've got to get your submission in by midnight Pacific time tonight!

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Friends, countrymen, faithful WMExperts readers: Lend us your ears eyes. We've worked up a quick survey to help us (and, yes, our advertisers) better understand exactly what is important to you. Want more T-Mobile? Less HTC? More of everything? Let us know!

The survey only takes a couple of minutes, and we love getting feedback from you guys and gals.

Take the WMExperts Reader Survey now!

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If you're not already listening to the cell phone junkie podcast, shame on ya. Take this as your call to add them to your podcatcher, as yours - truly joined Mickey and Joey on their most recent episode to talk about the Smartphone Round Robin

Also joining the 'cast, Matt Miller of our brand new sister-site Nokia Experts. If you're not reading Nokia Experts, double shame on you, becuase there's quality content there both for S60 lovers and (this may mean you, it definitely means me) people new to the platform and looking to learn more about how the most dominant smartphone OS on the planet works.  Have a question about S60? Ask here in the comments and you'll be automatically entered to win one of two Nokia smartphones, the N85 or the E71.  The contest last for another couple of weeks, but the question round ends on Sunday, so hie thee hence!

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What'd we tell you earlier? Stay Tuned, right? Here's what's for: the WMExperts Podcast! Here's the deal: we'll be on every week, usually on Thursdays. We'll alternate every week between a short, 5-minute device focus / review (next week: Sprint Touch) and a longer, news and tips-focused podcast. The shorter podcasts will be hosted by Dieter Bohn, the longer ones will feature Malatasta (and also some guests, later on, if they'll lower themselves to talk to us).

Alright, so how do you get the sucker?

Be sure to email us -- podcast@wmexperts.com -- we want to talk about what you want to hear about.

What's the news on this podcast? Read on for the show notes

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Welcome to the new WMExperts!  We've worked very hard to keep everything you loved about the old WMExperts here and awesome, including review archives, podcast listings, forums, and more.  What we've done is added a bunch of great features on top of that -- not to mention the new look.  Come on in and see what's new!

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Happy New Year! Top Posts of 2008

Welcome to 2009, everybody. We have some big things planned for this year (you should really really be sure to check in on Saturday, January 4th), but let's take a look back at the year that was rapid-fire style. Here's what y'all liked last year:

  • Review: First Impressions of the Xperia X1. First review on the net to get beyond the little things with the X1. Sadly, we're still waiting for a wide release of the X1a here in the US (some lucky folks in California notwithstanding).
  • GPS vs. aGPS: A Quick Tutorial. Speaking of firsts, Mal's post on the ins and outs of aGPS finally cleared up what the heck was going on with all that stuff. Sadly, we still have all sorts of GPS issues on Windows Mobile and that's not going to go away anytime soon, but at least now we have a better place to start from.
  • Reviews Section. Sure, it's not a story per-se and sure, technically our biggest traffic is (naturally) the front page, but our review section is actually chock-full of awesomeness. Accessories, software, smartphones, you name it, we got it, and we have a pretty decent way of navigating the whole thing. If nothing else, this makes us proud of our writers.
  • AT&T Tilt ROM Update. A lot of people have the Tilt, yo, and in its initial incarnation the base ROM was a little slow and a little buggy -- hence the anticipation for this bit of news.
  • HTC Touch Diamond vs. Xperia X1, Hands-on. Another first and another sign that, at least for the first half of the year, the slavering desire for all things Xperia was nigh unquenchable.

That's some good stuff right there, but there were plenty of other stories that haven't had half the year to build traffic that we're especially fond of ourselves. If you missed them, we recommend:

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Tonight at 8pm Eastern, get yourself away from your families and point your browser at http://www.imore.com/live. As we did two weeks ago, we're recording another Smartphone Round Robin Roundtable podcast. This time, though, we'll be LIVE. We'll be rounding out our smartphone discussion, focusing on the T-Mobile G1 and the Fuze, then talking about the Round Robin overall.

Best part, though, is we'll have a chat going where you can chime in, talk to each other, and ask us questions -- which we'll answer LIVE towards the end of the show. We've let UStream know that we'll be hitting their service hard, so head on over and take a listen!

Again, that's 8pm Eastern tonight at http://www.imore.com/live.

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Announcing the Smartphone Round Robin!

(Instead of giving you a roundup of last week's news, today I'm excited to give you a glimpse into the news you're going to see at our Smartphone Experts sites over the next two months! -- Dieter)

We are pleased to announce the Smartphone Round Robin!. Each year the editors of the Smartphone Experts family of sites literally trade their phones to see what life is like on the "other side." What you're going to see over the course of the next two months is each of our five SPE Community Editors reviewing smartphones that they're not used to using. Each editor has a checklist of "Must-Dos" that ensure they're getting the full experience with each smartphone. It's quite a ride.

Read on for more on the Smartphone Round Robin and for details on how you can win one of five Smartphone Prize Packs!

More importantly for you, at the end of the Smartphone Round Robin we will be giving away five smartphones -- one from each site! All you need to do to qualify is post a response to any official Round Robin thread in our forums or comment on a Round Robin blog post (with a valid email address). Be sure to check out the Full contest rules for more information. Huge thanks go out to our Round Robin Sponsors: Palm, Celio (makers of the Redfly), Case-Mate, and Smartphone Outlet. Here's what you can win:

So don't just sit back and watch -- participate! You can check out a full list of all of the latest Blog posts and Forum posts on our Smartphone Round Robin Updates Page. There are chances to chat and win right now as our editors have already started asking questions in our forums. Finally, if you're an RSS user, you can track the whole event from our RSS Feed or even get daily email updates.

So head on into our forums and help us out this week and every week through the end of the year -- there's no better way to both spread the word about your favorite Smartphone or to learn more about what those other smartphones are all about. Or heck, we'll kick things off here too, this is an official Round Robin post, comment here for your chance to win an HTC Fuze!

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Celio Redfly Temporarily Reduced to $199

We've just received word that Celio and the WMExperts Store have reduced the price of the Redfly to $199.95. It's a temporary price reduction through the rest of September and October and they're telling us that the deal will only last as long as they have supplies of “seed units.” What Celio is aiming for is getting the Redfly into the hands of users, they mentioned at CTIA that they really feel that once they get enough of the devices out there, the gadget's popularity will grow. Here's what they told us:

Celio has found that a REDFLY device in the hands of media, developers or mobile enthusiasts has tremendous viral marketing benefit. Therefore, we have budgeted a limited amount of REDFLY devices for placement at $199 until October 31, 2008*

So does their 'seed program' plant a seed in your mind? Interested in a Redfly? You can buy the Redfly right now for $199.95. You can also check out the Redfly Developer Forum in our forums if you have any questions.

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REDFLY Winner!

We reviewed the Redfly. The folks in our store dropped the price on it down to $399.95. We opened up Developer Forums for y'all to speak to the folks at Celio about the Redfly directly. Now, we're announcing the winners our our Redfly Giveaway contest!

Big Congratulations go out to waldo15, whose post was drawn randomly from all the entries and who now is going to have a Redfly shipped out, courtesy of Celio:

Redfly will help me in many ways:
- I can now ditch my laptop when traveling for leisure. Seriously, when on vacation my phone is perfect for doing what I want: email, web browsing, casual gaming
- It can help me type longer emails and maybe a document or two, I mean there's only so much one can handle typing on a Tilt keyboard...
- I will finally look at Lolcat pictures in my phone in high resolution glory!

We also have ten runners-up, who each will receive a Redfly long-sleeve t-shirt. We'll list them after the break. Congratulations to all of our winners (check your inboxes and maybe your spam boxes, since “WINNER!” tends to set those filters off).

(Update and a p.s. - if you're looking to score more Windows-Mobile-related software, hit up our buddies over at Tilt Mobility - they're celebrating their grand opening. Welcome to the blog-o-tubes, guys!)

Runners-up:

  • orbeyonde
  • nitestrike
  • Freak4Dell
  • dtaylor
  • Palm_forlackofchoice
  • Rockyjay79
  • rustw
  • gksmithlcw
  • rickbaynes
  • cindyhauff

Congrats again!

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There's only a few days left for you to enter to win a free Celio Redfly -- you'll want to go do that, then, right? Right. In addition to the Redfly itself, we'll also be sending out 10 runner-up prizes: long-sleeve Redfly T-Shirts.

I recently received the Beta drivers for the Treo Pro, so I'll be giving those a shot with a Redfly this weekend. Meanwhile, if you missed it, check out our full review of the Redfly here.

Big ups to Celio for sponsoring the contest!

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The Celio Redfly, aka “the mobile companion” for your Windows Mobile phone, is now available for $499.95 in the WMExperts Store! Don't remember the Redfly? It has been a little while, but we did lay it out in our review:

What the Redfly does is connect to your Windows Mobile phone over USB or Bluetooth and “trick” it into believe it has a large, 800x480 screen and a near full-sized keyboard instead of a tiny 320x240 screen and a chicklet keyboard. So the Redfly itself stores no data and has no processing power, it all stays on the smartphone.

Basically, it takes your Windows Mobile phone and turns it into a NetBook, so you don't have to muck around with syncing your data since it's all on the smartphone already.

In addition to the retail availability, Celio has also let us know that they've expanded the compability list! Full list (drivers will be at http://celiocorp.com/install by Friday) after the break!

One more thing: Celio is also sponsoring a giveaway -- a free Redfly! Details are here.

Available Now:

  • HTC Mogul
  • AT&T Tilt
  • Verizon XV6800
  • Treo 700 w/wx
  • Treo 750
  • Samsung SCH-i760 on Verizon

Available Friday (or possibly even Thursday night):

  • Samsung Blackjack II
  • Motorola Q9c
  • Motorola Q9m
  • Motorola Q9h
  • T-Mobile Dash
  • Sprint Touch
  • HTC Touch (Original GSM)
  • Treo 500
  • Treo 800w

You can check out the WMExperts' full review and photo gallery of the Redfly here.

Redfly in the WMExperts Store ($499.95)

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In addition to the expanded compatibility and retail availability of the Redfly, we're also happy to announce that Celio is sponsoring a giveaway. Yes, folks, we're giving away a free Celio REDFLY. Heck, Celio also tossed in 10 T-Shirts as runner-up prizes as well.

One more piece of news: there's now an Official Celio REDFLY Developer Forum, where you can go and get questions about the Redfly answered by the WMExperts community and by the folks directly at Celio. Which apps work with Celio? Which ones dont? How long does the battery last? What graphics capabilities does the Redfly really have?

Contest details after the break!

How to win a Celio REDFLY

  1. Comment on this post or head to the associated thread new Redfly forums at WMExperts
  2. Answer the question at the top of the thread, namely “How will the Redfly help me or my business?
  3. While you wait patiently for September 1st (the date we'll announce the winner), read our review of the Redfly or check out the compatibility list.
  4. On Sept 1st, we'll pick the winner and 10 runners-up randomly from all the posts in the thread (one entry per person).

More Rules

  1. Not open to Smartphone Experts employees or contractors (Sorry, writers!)
  2. Only one entry per person from the thread will count towards the drawing, but you can enter as often as you'd like.
  3. Not really a rule, but remember that the Redfly has a limited (but growing) compatibility list, check it out here.

Thanks again to Celio for sponsoring the contest!

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What a long, strange trip it's been to the official release of the Treo 800w. We were initially worried that there wouldn't be enough Treo 800w rumors to keep up the interest over the many (many) months it took for the official release to happen. How wrong we were. Truly, these past few months have been rumortastic. But, like all silly seasons, this one too much come to a close. To celebrate, we're giving out winner:

  • A Treo 800w after it is officially released. If they end up calling it something else, well, let's just say we're giving away the next Windows Mobile device Palm releases for the Sprint Network. Got it?
  • An 8 gig microSD Card. Yeah, the WMExperts Store has 8 gig cards now.
  • Any 2 software titles from HobbesIsReal's excellent “Must-Have Windows Mobile Software” article. Sure, Palm will include some “secret recipe” stuff on the 800w, but you can always make Windows Mobile a little better. We believe in the software in Hobbes' article, you should too.

To recap, we had our members make their guesses as to what the official release date would be and we would pick the winner randomly from amongst all the correct guesses. You couldn't guess dates less than 2 weeks out and your most recent guess cancelled out your earlier guess.

So out of over 1000 posts we had 28 members guess the date exactly -- though 7 of them sadly changed their guess later on and cancelled it out.

Ok ok, enough preamble. The winner, chosen at random, is.... after the break. (Sorry, we couldn't resist)

Drum roll.....

Congratulations dslunceford!!

Your late guess on June 26th came in just under the wire and spot-on for accuracy.

Thanks again to EVERYBODY for participating! Now... here's a question for ya: we've let the Sprint folks have all the fun. It's AT&T's turn, we think. So: are you feeling Xperia Rumortastic or Touch Pro Rumortastic?

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After all the HTC and Treo 800w craziness last week, it might be difficult to believe that there are, you know, other platforms out there. Inferior platforms, of course, but out there nonetheless. So while we here at WMExperts were busy scooping Treo 800w news left and right, our sister site CrackBerry.com had what, we have to admit, was a full week of the top smartphone scoopage anywhere on the internet. They had a pre-release unit of what turned out to be the BlackBerry Bold, aka the BlackBerry 9000.

The 9000, as we ruefully admitted last week, is hawt. A 480x320 screen, a very fast (for a BlackBerry, at least) processor, GPS, WiFi, 3G, the works. It even has a Gig of on-board storage.

This week is also going to be a big one for CrackBerry.com as they cover WES2008, a big ol' BlackBerry convention with a special focus on the Corporate crowd. Yours-truly will actually be helping out at the convention, so posting might come in short bursts and odd times here on WMExperts, just FYI.

Meanwhile, one of our other sister sites had a big announcement of its own: The iPhone Blog Merges with Phone Different.

The merger means a new design and new features for those crazy iPhone folks. It also means a little less of their trash-talk in our own forums, but that's ok because we can still take it to them directly: head on over to The iPhone Blog and tell 'em you'd rather have an HTC Diamond.

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Happy Monday, everybody. We have Sprint's planned release date (and some other juicy new details), courtesy of Malatesta. We're confident that the date is correct -- although, as release dates tend to do, the date could possible change. Still and all, we're going to alter our Treo 800w Rumortastic Giveaway at 4pm EST today. What we're going to do is declare that after 4pm EST today, nobody can guess the particular day we have in mind. Other days will still be open for guesses if you doubt a) our source or b) Sprint's ability to deliver.

Here's what we're giving away:

  • A Treo 800w after it is officially released. If they end up calling it something else, well, let's just say we're giving away the next Windows Mobile device Palm releases for the Sprint Network. Got it?
  • An 8 gig microSD Card. Yeah, the WMExperts Store has 8 gig cards now.
  • Any 2 software titles from HobbesIsReal's excellent “Must-Have Windows Mobile Software” article. Sure, Palm will include some “secret recipe” stuff on the 800w, but you can always make Windows Mobile a little better. We believe in the software in Hobbes' article, you should too.

Head on over to the thread and post your guess, make sure it's at least 2 weeks out!

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Full Posts on WMExperts RSS Feed

It's going to be a light posting day here at WMExperts. We're attending Sofcon in California today -- an academic conference dedicated to talking about the future of mobility, to wit:

What do consumers want? How can providers deliver it? What obstacles must be cleared? What partnerships make sense? What grand challenges need to be solved? How can Silicon Valley help close the gap with the rest of the world? Where should investors, creators, and customers of the mobile industry place their bets?

Should be a good time for a recovering academic like yours-truly, however I wouldn't expect any big news, Windows Mobile-wise.

The point of this post, though, is to let you know that we've switched the WMExperts RSS feed to full posts, including the “read more” bits. We'll make a trade-off in the near future by adding some ads for the WMExperts Store, but since a full third of our readership seems to be coming in via RSS, it was the right thing to do.

In other site news (and speaking of yours-truly), I'll be a guest on the 100th episode of The Cell Phone Junkie. It's truly a big accomplishment for Mickey and Joey and they deserve congratulations for hitting 100 shows. Here at WMExperts we're only 1/10th of the way there with our podcast. If you're not already a listener, you should be. Check it out.

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Best of WMExperts Week 4-11-08

It's been multimedia mayhem this week at WMExperts. Check it out:

Also, you may have noticed a couple of changes up top: we cleaned up the header a bit and moved that search field to a better spot, plus we added the ability to get WMExperts pushed out to you in a myriad of ways. Heck, as long as we're opening up the firehose, check out all the ways you can get your WME Fix:

And as long as we're talking to you, we want you to talk to us, hey?

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Best of WMExperts Week 4-4-08

First and foremost, a big thank you goes out to all our readers and to everybody who's been commenting on the posts, in the forums, and even hitting us up on Twitter. This past week might just have been our best-ever, traffic-wise. We do it because we love gadgets, but mostly we do it because we love to hear from y'all.

Read on for the Best of WMExperts this week!

Why was the week so big? CTIA 2008, wall to wall. The highlight of the trip was clearly our chance to get a First Impressions Review of the Xperia X1 -- a review that wouldn't have been nearly as comprehensive if we hadn't had a great set of questions from you all to pose to the Sony Ericsson exec we spoke with.

It wasn't all wall-to-wall X1, though. We liveblogged the CTIA Keynote, where Microsoft finally announced Windows Mobile 6.1 for real. Even better, Microsoft bequeathed us with a BlackJack II with a WinMo6.1 build on it. We promptly put through its paces back at the hotel room in our Windows Mobile 6.1 Video Hands-on. Expect a full review (though remember the build may not be final) in the coming weeks. As for shipping dates for WinMo 6.1 upgrades for current devices, our best guess is Summer -- Sprint confirmed as much for their devices.

The keynote also had a piece of bad news: the Chairman of the FCC intends to deny Skype's petition to require Carterfone rules for wireless carriers -- in other words, to continue to let carriers dictate what kind of phone is allowed and what kind of applications are on the phone. Much more on this and the other CTIA-industry-wonk stuff next week, though we'll just say now that CTIA lived up to our low expectations of the industry group's policy direction.

We had a whole heapin-helpin of device hands-on posts, though our personal favorite (after the X1) would have to be the new stuff from Velocity, the Velocity 103 and Velocity 111.

Last but nowhere near least, Malatesta has finally explained the painful MMS situation on Sprint (at a reader's request, no less). It's a quagmire, but there just might be light at the end of that tunnel.

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