The Mobile Gadgeteer

Is copy and paste really needed on the iPhone?

I've been using Windows Mobile, S60, and Palm OS devices for years where most of those devices have had support for copy and paste and I admit to being one of those who have been talking up the need for copy/paste on the iPhone. However, I just picked up the iPhone 3G last Friday (about an hour process with about 40 people in line in front of me) and after using it extensively I began to seriously question the need for copy and paste on a mobile device and wonder if this is just a feature we are asking for since other mobile devices have it.

August 5, 2008 by Matthew Miller in iPhone

Mauku provides Twitter and Jaiku access and updates on your Nokia Internet Tablet

The Nokia Internet Tablets, N800 and N810, are interesting devices that are quite powerful in many respects, but also have limits from making them a must-have. I keep bouncing back to the N810 as updates and applications continue to improve the device and make it more functional for me. The latest two pieces of software that have me using my Diablo-updated Nokia N810 are Mauku and Canola 2.

August 4, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Hardware

Is Nokia working with the Zune team to support the Zune library?

There have been rumors floating around of a Zune phone and I personally am not that excited about such a device and wonder if many people really are. The latest rumors about the Zune and phones though does seem to make a bit of sense. Zunescene reported that Nokia iw working with the Zune team on integration of Zune Marketplace content. Nokia has a music store, but it is not available in the United States yet and I think if Nokia could get their devices to support the Zune Marketplace they would have a fairly well established library of music content that actually may help sell more Nokia devices in the U.S.

August 4, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Windows

MobileTechRoundup show #142, Is the line blurring between feature phones and smartphones?

James and I started off MobileTechRoundup show #142 with our thoughts on the MWg Zinc II Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional device and then Kevin joined in to talk about Windows Mobile and the apparent lack of excitement for the platform. Usability is becoming quite the topic of conversation in the mobile space as the iPhone makes people take a look at what they do with their device. Feature phones are getting more and more powerful and it seems the lines are starting to blur now with devices like the Instinct, Voyager and Dare. We also offered our thoughts on mobile specific sites and formatting for the small screen. Palringo was our freeware of the show with availability on S60, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, iPhone, PC, and Mac. We also talked a bit about Andy Abramson's excellent Global Nomad articles where each of use picked up some new tips and tricks for working on the road.

August 4, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Mobility

Google adds transit directions to S60 and Windows Mobile clients

There are full navigation and routing programs available for S60 and Windows Mobile that I use for major trips, but for quick positioning and some trips I just fire up the Google Maps for Mobile application on these devices. Google just released an update that adds transit directions to these mobile operating systems. They previously launched support for BlackBerry and Java-based devices so this expands their mobile offerings, with just the iPhone and Palm OS left to upgrade.

July 31, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Mobile OS

Qwest now offering Verizon Wireless services

I began my wireless mobile data usage with a Qwest Qualcomm mobile phone tethered to my Palm with a cable back almost ten years ago and then moved onto a national carrier as I outgrew Qwest. In 2004, Qwest partnered with Sprint to offer nationwide services. Back in May of this year Qwest announced it was dropping Sprint and switching to Verizon Wireless. Today, Qwest Wireless announced that they are now offering Verizon Wireless service to new residential and business customers. Qwest will soon be contacting existing customers to help with the changeover.

July 30, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Networking

World Wide Web Consortium publishes updated mobile standards

I was reading jkOnTheRun this morning and found their article on the updated mobile web standards published today by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The W3C announced updated standards and published the Mobile Web Best Practices and XHTML Basic 1.1 guidelines for website designers.

July 29, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Mobility

Palm announces that over 2 million Centros have now been sold

Almost every major carrier in the U.S. now has the Palm Centro device, including AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and Sprint (what's up with you T-Mobile?). You can also buy a SIM-unlocked model if you want to use it with T-Mobile or another carrier around the world. I actually purchased a SIM-unlocked model to use with T-Mobile and AT&T and think the Centro is an excellent choice for many people that is priced very well at US$99 with a contract. Palm just announced that they have sold their two-millionth Palm Centro and it is a very successful device for them.

July 29, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Mobility

First impressions of the MWg Zinc II Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional device

I first heard about MWg at the Mobius 2008 event back in May and had a chance to see their Zinc II device. An evaluation model just arrived at the end of last week and my first impressions can be viewed and read about in the video, image gallery, and in my thoughts below. The MWg Zinc II is a SIM-unlocked Windows Mobile Professional 6.1 device now available in the U.S. for US$749.95 (I was unsure and said something about US$550 in my video) from various online retailers. After spending a couple of days with the device, I think it is a decent entry in this market and do look forward to seeing what else MWg comes out with in the future. However, the price is too high for the specifications and I am not sure how popular the device is going to be when there are other devices available from carriers for much less (like the AT&T Tilt).

July 28, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Hardware

What are your favorite road warrior tips, tricks, and tools?

I've been working with Andy Abramson for a few years now with the Nokia Nseries Blogger Relations program and enjoy reading his VoIP Watch blog. Since last October Andy has been working primarily on the go as he has some renovations made to his home and since the tagline of this blog is Work Where You Want To Be, then I think the readers here may enjoy a couple of Andy's latest blog posts where he talks about the tools of the road warrior where you may discover some new tools to add to your mobile kit.

July 27, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Enterprise Software

MobileTechRoundup show #141, jkOnTheRun is aquired, Sony Reader, battery life, and more

I had a good time recording MobileTechRoundup show #141 with the two newest members of the Giga Om Media group, James Kendrick and Kevin Tofel. Don't worry listeners and readers, you will still get the same content from those two and from me here on the podcast for the foreseeable future. We chatted a bit about the Sony Reader update, MWg Zinc II that James just received (one arrived at my house today too), and thoughts on battery life desires and needs. Kevin has been using Windows Live Mesh on his Mac and it looks to be working better than MobileMe right now. And how about that $200 web tablet?

July 25, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Enterprise Software

Samsung INNOV8 S60 mobile device with 8 megapixel camera revealed

The Nokia N96 was revealed back in January and should be hitting the streets in the next couple of months. I guess I haven't been following the S60 rumors closely enough lately and was a bit caught off guard by the post that Ricky made regarding the Samsung i8510INNOV8 S60 device. He was at a local New York event last night and had the chance to see this upcoming device that has a groundbreaking 8 megapixel camera with QVGA video recording capability of up to 120 frames per second/VGA at 30 frames per second. The version shown at the event does not support US 3G bands, but maybe we'll see it with that support some time in the future.

July 24, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Samsung

Sony Reader PRS-505 gets a major firmware upgrade

My Sony Reader is an excellent piece of hardware that I thoroughly enjoy using during my daily commute. I skipped the Amazon Kindle and bought the Sony Reader and have not been one bit sorry about this purchase I made last fall. I just saw on my favorite eBook site, MobileRead, that Sony is updating the Sony Reader PRS-505 with a firmware upgrade that adds some great functionality, including secure and non-secure support of EPUB and Adobe eBooks (including the capability for much better support of PDF documents). Check out the Sony press release where you will see the update should be online today, 24 July.

July 24, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Enterprise Software

HTC Touch Diamond ROM update adds 850 MHz support and much more

I've written a few posts about the HTC Touch Diamond and my last one discussed some of the issues I was seeing with the device. I like to visit the XDA Developers site for the tweaking they do to the HTC devices, but it is kind of gray area when they post ROM fixes and updates. However, this latest discussion on the HTC Touch Diamond ROM discusses a ROM fix posted on the HTC Hong Kong site so it seems legit to me. The major functionality that this brings to owners here in the U.S. is that it enables the 850 MHz GSM band so you can now use it more reliably with AT&T!

July 24, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Mobility

Weak US dollar starts to drive up mobile software prices

I am working on a full review of the excellent SoftMaker Office 2008 for Pocket PC and just received a note from the company that has an effect on pricing for U.S. buyers. Due to the fact that SoftMaker is a German company dealing in Euros, the significant loss in value of the U.S. dollar has driven them to make changes in their software pricing. SoftMaker reported in the email that when the Euro was introduced in 2002 it was about equal to the U.S. dollar, but the dollar has now fallen to be worth 60 percent less.

July 24, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Hardware

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