smartphone

Round Robin Update: TreoCentral on the Fuze, Android Central has it Now

Windows Phone News

By chris#wp, Saturday, Jan 3, 2009 at 3:30 am

Over at TreoCentral, Jennifer Chappell has posted up her final review of the HTC Fuze, definitely head over there and give it a read. You can comment over on the related thread for a chance at a Treo Pro. Or you can comment here for a chance at the Fuze. Or heck: do both, we don't mind.

Meanwhile, the Fuze has moved on in our merry little chain and is now in the hands of Casey Chan of Android Central. He's brand new to Windows Mobile and, well, we all know that WM can be a little overwhelimg to new users. So head on over to his thread in our Fuze forums and show him the way.

Lastly, you might also be interested in what's coming next for WMExperts. You can check the Round Robin update page and see from our handy-dandy grid that, yes, we're rocking the iPhone. Feel free to hit up the TiPb Forum thread on that very subject.

One last programming note while we're on the subject: our very own WMExperts podcast is going up tomorrow, then will have a bit of a hiatus because of the Thanksgiving holiday. to make up for it, though, we'll be recoding two Smartphone Round Robin podcasts in the month of December and slapping them into all of our SPE podcasts feeds, so stay tuned!

Smartphone pool may be getting more crowded

Windows Phone News

By chris#wp, Saturday, Jan 3, 2009 at 3:29 am

Samsung does it. Palm does it. Motorola still (barely) has its head above water. HTC is doing better than just about everyone else. HP. Velocity. Toshiba. MWg. The list goes on.

Now, according to Digitimes [via], Acer is set to launch its own brand of smartphones in Q1 of 2009. The first devices would be released in Western Europe and Russia.

Windows Mobile isn't specifically mentioned, though it's a pretty good bet, considering the source.

And it's been a couple of months since we've reported any rumors of Dell getting back into the smartphone game, so here goes:

Michael Dell recently told Engadget Mobile that they eventually could be producing "smaller and smaller devices that have capabilities of the [iPhone]."

There. Feel better? Us, too.

Weekly Software Wrangle - Week 13

Software

By chris#wp, Saturday, Jan 3, 2009 at 3:28 am

Howdy, partners. Welcome back for the Weekly Software Wrangle, lucky #13! This week the featured new software for WM Standard is Mobiola Remote Phone Control and Insaniquarium Deluxe for Smartphone. Updated software includes Pocket Tunes Deluxe for Windows Mobile and Mobiola Screen Capture. Free software is EdgeWay SmartPhone Utils.

WM Professional new software is Hinavigator - Touch To Go and VirtuaMouse One-Hand. Updated software includes EasyHelper SMS Security and Sniffi. Freeware is Phonetracker4Free v2.0.33.

It's time to dig in your spurs for Weekly Software Wrangle 13!

WM Standard: New

The first new WM Standard app is Mobiola Remote Phone Control v1.0.8 by SHAPE Services.

Get control of your smartphone from your PC. This app shows your phone screen on your PC so you can zoom in/out, take a snapshot, video recording, works via WiFi (NEW!), Bluetooth or USB, and demo your phone through Skype Video and record YouTube video presentations directly to YouTube using webcam driver functionality.

Note: Trial version limits single connections to 5 minutes and has 7 days evaluation period.

Features: * Shows your phone screen on your PC * zoom in/out * full screen regime * snapshot * video recording * Works via WiFi(NEW!), Bluetooth or USB * Demo your phone through Skype Video and record YouTube video presentations directly to YouTube using webcam driver functionality

Get Mobiola Remote Phone Control v1.0.8 for $34.95 here.

The next new WM Standard app is Insaniquarium Deluxe for Smartphone v1.00 by Astraware.

Insaniquarium Deluxe

Take your smartphone for a swim, if you dare

Windows Phone News

By chris#wp, Saturday, Jan 3, 2009 at 3:28 am

Monty Python fans, help us out here. If the iPhone floats, it's a witch, and it should be burned at the stake, right?

OK, OK. Maybe that's a bit harsh.

Making the rounds is the Golden Shellback splash-proof (or dunk-proof, apparently) coating, which appears to protect your device not just from the occasional spill, but from total immersion in water.

It appears to work just fine in these demonstrations, though it's not yet available to to the public. Don't believe us? Just watch the unholy iPhone work under water in the video above. And check out a demonstration from Thursday morning's "Today Show" after the jump.

And in the meantime, why don't you try out one of the great weatherproof cases in the WM Experts store (nudge nudge, wink wink).

All kidding aside, this could totally open up a new market to pirates, SCUBA divers, and those crazy dudes crab fishing in the Bering Sea. Because if it's on TV and the Internets, it's gotta be true.

Via

Michael Dell drops vague hint at smartphone

Rumors

By chris#wp, Saturday, Jan 3, 2009 at 3:28 am

Never one to be left out of the smartphone rumor mill, Dell now is rumored to be possibly working on a smartphone.

Maybe.

In an interview with Om Malik, founder Michael Dell drops the following bombshell:

"We are certainly looking at the whole smartphone category, but I wouldn’t expect anything anytime soon."

There you have it, folks.

OK, he did talk about five opportunities that Dell is looking into - consumer business, mobile computers, emerging nations, enterprise and medium/small businesses. And he did note that he's not ready to go public on any plans to work with Android or Symbian.

So that's more than enough to get things going. Let the speculation begin!

Read the GigaOM interview (via Engadget Mobile)