Smartphones and Cell Phones

I wrote about the Nokia Email client a few months ago and then last month at Nokia World they announced an updated version was coming. I just read on the Nokia Beta Labs blog that this updated Nokia Messaging version is now available to try out in beta form. There are a ton of improvements in this latest update, many directly addressing the concerns I had with things such as subfolders/labels in Gmail, syncing sent mail to your sent folder online, and faster performance.

December 17, 2008 by Matthew Miller

2 Comments Vote

While at Mobius last week in Seattle (check out my event summary HTC gave each participant an HTC S740 Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard device. I have a large number of phones and the S740 was one I was particularly interested in trying out in person because I find the non-touch screen Windows Mobile device to be more responsive and more stable than the touch screen devices, in general. There are getting to be fewer and fewer non-touch screen Windows Mobile devices (HTC is really focusing on the Touch line) and while I am still pleased with my T-Mobile Dash and Shadow, I am always on the lookout for the latest and greatest devices. The S740 has one of the coolest form factors I have seen on a Windows Mobile device and so far is performing very well, as I will detail below.

December 16, 2008 by Matthew Miller

2 Comments Vote

There have been on-device software stores for several years on different Windows Mobile devices, but these were just store front links to Handango. Apple really kicked it up a notch with the Apple App Store and then Google followed suit with the Android Market. Today, there is a bit of buzz around the Palm Software Store that is available for Windows Mobile and Palm OS devices. Don't get too excited about the Palm App Store (will Apple let them keep this name) because it is a simply 28KB file that just adds an icon that serves as a hyperlink to the online Palm Software Store powered by PocketGear and is no different than the Sprint Store or AT&T Mall software links that have been on devices for years.

December 15, 2008 by Matthew Miller

2 Comments Vote

I enjoy checking out Consumer Reports ratings on products and in their January 2009 issue that was recently posted online they rank smartphones, cellphones, and US wireless carriers. I have to say I was quite surprised by their highest rank choice, not because it isn't a fantastic device, but because I didn't think anyone else besides my friends and a few others though the same thing. The highest ranked smartphone by Consumer Reports is currently the Samsung Blackjack II. While at the Mobius event last week, the BJ II was one of the most popular devices being used by attendees and after using it for several weeks myself I have to say it really is a solid choice.

December 15, 2008 by Matthew Miller

4 Comments Vote

I just posted some initial thoughts on the speculation surrounding Palm's CES 2009 announcement and then found a great post by Steve O'Hear over on his last100.com site that I recommend you check out. Steve brought out a couple of issues I was thinking about late last night and did not include in my initial post, namely the Palm brand, developer and carrier issues. Steve is pulling for Palm to make a comeback and as a long time fan of Palm (even though they keep disappointing me) I am too.

December 15, 2008 by Matthew Miller

4 Comments Vote

Kevin announced his new experiment to spend 30 days with his phone only being powered with a solar charge on MobileTechRoundup show #157. Follow his experiment over on jkOnTheRun to see if he can find enough sun and light in the winter to keep his device powered up. I attended the Mobius event last week and gave a short recap of the event and our roller skating contest on the podcast. James and I agreed that ShopSavvy is awesome on the T-Mobile G1 and James also mentioned the issue with turning off data when roaming internationally. We also talked a bit about the subsidized netbook.

December 15, 2008 by Matthew Miller

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I received an invite and follow-up phone call from Palm last week inviting me to a special event to be held at CES in Las Vegas in January. Last year when Palm brought people to an off site location, they showed off different color Palm Centro devices and this disappointed most all journalists who attended. Thus, there is a bit of doubt about what Palm will show this year. They are generating a lot of buzz and according to Business Week Palm will actually reveal the Nova Linux operating system that they have been working on for years. I think Nova needs to be the subject of their announcement and anything less will probably mean Palm will be irrelevant in the mobile space moving forward.

December 14, 2008 by Matthew Miller

7 Comments Vote

I met Clinton Fitch a few years ago at a Mobius event and just had the pleasure of hanging out with him this last week in Seattle. Clinton puts together some of the most comprehensive reviews you can find online and I enjoy reading his material. One feature that I particularly enjoy is his yearly Top 10 Windows Mobile applications article that is now in its 5th year. Check out the Clinton Fitch.com 2008 Top 10 applications article and see if you have these loaded on your Windows Mobile device.

December 12, 2008 by Matthew Miller

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The second Mobius event of 2008 was held this week in Seattle and I was invited to participate with some of the greatest minds in the mobile space. We saw the beta of Windows 7, future of Windows Mobile and mobile services, Live Mesh, and much more during this 2 full day event.

December 12, 2008 by Matthew Miller

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The lines of features, functionality, and price are blurring between cellphones and smartphones, but there are still many cellphones (check out my free phones and feature phones Holiday Guides) that are very good at serving as a phone that the majority of the people are looking for. Jeremy Toeman put together a good article that list how you can use even your current feature phone as a smartphone for many tasks that I think meet the mass market needs. I am reviewing the Motorola ZN5 and T-Mobile Behold and have to say there is some appeal to a standard cellphone.

December 11, 2008 by Matthew Miller

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