The Mobile Gadgeteer

iPhone how to: Take screenshots on your 2.0 iPhone

iPhone how to: Take screenshots on your 2.0 iPhoneI have been playing around with my upgraded original iPhone since last Thursday and after recently syncing my iPhone I saw that there were a few screen captures showing up in iPhoto. I was a bit confused about how they got there and rechecked my iPhone to see if I had downloaded an application that took screenshots. However, there was nothing there on my iPhone. After a bit more research, I read in the ZDNet iPhone 3G review that Apple added this functionality right into the 2.0 software update.

July 14, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Mobility

MobileTechRoundup show #139, the iPhone App Store is the big news of the week

It is tough in the summer months to get three people together who are in three different time zones and then Audacity failed me on my MBP last week, but James, Kevin, and I were finally able to get MobileTechRoundup show #139 put together for your listening pleasure. We couldn't help but talk about the iPhone 3G and the 2.0 software that is the real story with the iPhone. We chatted about some hardware differences since James is the guy with the 3G model, while Kevin and I have updated original iPhone devices. The iPhone App Store is amazing and we offer some thoughts on applications we enjoy. We also started talking a bit about Exchange vs. MobileMe and I have some experimenting to do to figure out what is best for me. We did close the show with a quick shoutout to the new Palm Treo 800w that was just announced for release today.

July 14, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Mobility

Mobile software Monday: My top 10 iPhone applications

I have now been trying out 3rd party applications on my upgraded original iPhone for just over 3 days and even though there are something over 550 applications in the iPhone App Store, there are a few select applications that stand out above the rest and I have several that now occupy a place on my main display. In today's Mobile software Monday, I am presenting thoughts on my top 10 and a few others that are close to cracking my top 10 with a bit more refinement.

July 14, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Mobility

First impressions of the Palm Treo 800w with integrated WiFi and GPS

Mobile fans have been asking Palm to add WiFi to the Treo devices for a couple of years now and as of today, we finally have a model that includes both a WiFi radio and a GPS receiver. It looks like Sprint isn't very good at keeping a secret either as some stores were selling it last week and it was even up on the Sprint site yesterday so there is not much of a surprise here. The Treo 800w also ships with EV-DO Rev. A support out of the box so you get all the latest and greatest in wireless connectivity. I had the chance to spend several days with the Treo 800w from Sprint and think it is undoubtedly the best Palm Treo on the market.

July 13, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Hardware

Nokia kicks off aggressive recycling program, Nokia Chat, and E71 further usage thoughts

Nokia must have peeked in my desk drawer recently as they recently issued a press release stating that only 3% of the people recycle their mobile phones and have lots lying around at home they no longer use. They kicked off a recycle program to help reduce the number of phones ending up in landfills and I hope you participate. The Nokia Chat application is also available from beta labs to try out with your device. I also have some further thoughts on using the Nokia E71, which I find to be a fantastic device.

July 11, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Microsoft

iPhone App store; why do we need 10 tip calculators?

As I posted yesterday, I updated my first generation iPhone to the 2.0 firmware and started trying out 3rd party applications from the App Store. Since there are no trials available I had to pull the trigger on a couple applications I really wanted to try out and bought Monkey Ball Blitz and SplashMoney so far. Browsing through the iPhone App Store was fun, interesting, and a bit frustrating and I came away with a few impressions.

July 11, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Hardware

Hey Apple, where are the free trials for iPhone applications?

I know a few of us here on ZDNet are hard at work on iPhone 3G and iPhone application articles and one aspect of the new Apple iPhone Application store that struck me immediately was that there are no trial versions of the commercial software. One of the major benefits for me that gets me using and eventually buying mobile software applications is the ability to try a full, or even limited, version for 14 to 30 days on my devices to see if the application truly fits my needs and is worth the cost. There are NO trial applications that I can find on the iPhone Application store.

July 10, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Apple

Updated my iPhone to firmware 2.0 and setup hosted Exchange account

Thanks to Adrian's post I was able to download the iPhone 2.0 firmware update and immediately updated my iPhone. As Adrian said there is a risk since the official update is not yet available, but I already had my iPhone unlocked and jailbroken so I am willing to take risks with it. My iPhone has seen little use since I haven't been able to use my hosted Exchange service so I couldn't wait for the iPhone 2.0 update and was more than happy to wipe it clean and then start trying the applications available at the Apple Application store.

July 10, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Mobility

First impressions of the Nokia E71, a QWERTY device for the business user

Andy has been sending me Nokia Nseries devices to evaluate as part of the Nseries Blogger Relations program for almost 3 years now and today I was sent a device the branches out into an area that I am highly interested in and that I think relates even more directly to the readers here at ZDNet. You see, I was sent a Nokia Eseries (E is for enterprise) device, the Nokia E71 for evaluation. I bought a Nokia E61 and then E61i last year and really enjoyed using those devices, but found them a bit too wide and heavy for every day use and moved on to the Nokia N95 that had a much better camera and other media features. The E71 is a much slimmer device that also adds a 3.2 megapixel camera and may be the perfect compromise for those of us who want a QWERTY keyboard with some multimedia features. I took some unboxing and comparison photos (40 to be exact) for my initial impressions image gallery along with the video first look below. I also take you on a tour of the device and let you know what my impressions are after using it for about 6 hours.

July 9, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Mobility

MSM Apple iPhone reviews are up and may just have saved me some cash

I was 90% sure I was going to buy an iPhone 3G on Friday, but a couple of things changed my mind tonight and I decided I will not be buying the device on Friday. One of my main motivations for buying the iPhone was to be able to write about it here on my blog, but I will be able to upgrade my current iPhone to the latest firmware and test most all of the available applications and write about them. The main stream media reviews were posted tonight from Walt Mossberg, David Pogue, and Edward Baig (USA Today) and they helped make my decision much easier by confirming that Bluetooth is still limited, the camera is the same, battery life is less when using 3G all the time, and pretty much everything about the hardware is the same as what I already have, with the exception of 3G and GPS. We all knew most of this already, but there was some doubt about functionality not specifically addressed.

July 8, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Networking

The HP iPAQ 910 has excellent RF reception and is an impressive device

One week ago I wrote about my first impressions of the HP iPAQ 910 Business Messenger. I have been using it steadily every day since then and actually found something rather surprising over the holiday weekend. I had the Samsung Blackjack II, HTC Touch Diamond, T-Mobile Dash, and Nokia N95-3 with me over the weekend and out of all five, the iPAQ 910 outperformed them all in terms of RF reception. We were at the lake in the woods and reception was very weak, but the iPAQ 910 picked up the AT&T signal and gave me 2-3 bars of EDGE connection compared to no or very little signal on all the other devices.

July 8, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Hardware

Checkpoint friendly laptop bags should help with airport screening

Regular air travelers may be interested in ways to speed up the screening process and having a laptop bag that lets you leave your laptop inside and protected may be a good first step. There are some important guidelines about the "checkpoint friendly" bags that meet the technical requirements set forth by the TSA. There will not be ANY bags that are TSA approved, authorized, or endorsed so make sure you check these guidelines before being taken by a bag company.

July 8, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Laptops

One month later and the HTC Touch Diamond has lost some shine

I just passed the one month mark with the HTC Touch Diamond and it has been a love/hate relationship that is now ending with me sending the device to a friend to check out. I was pretty blown away by the Teeter game, TouchFLO 3D, FM radio, and many other features of the device. The VGA display is absolutely beautiful and the fact that so many wireless technologies (GSM, Bluetooth, WiFi, and GPS) are packed into such a small package continues to amaze me. However, everything is not perfect with this particular European device running in the U.S. and as I stated in a couple of my blog posts I don't recommend you buy the Diamond until versions for North American carriers are actually released later this year.

July 8, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Enterprise Software

Review: Samsung Blackjack II running Windows Mobile 6.1

I've had the opportunity to check out Windows Mobile 6.1 on a couple of Professional (aka touch screen) devices (the HTC Advantage X7510 and HTC Touch Diamond), but after seeing the Microsoft announcement at CTIA it seemed like the Standard (non-touch screen) devices had the biggest changes in the user interface. I was recently sent a Samsung Blackjack II (SGH-i617) running Windows Mobile 6.1 to evaluate for a bit and have to say the device is very impressive and it is great to see a manufacturer still making non-touch screen devices. I know the device has been out for a while, but I thought readers may be interested in this model with the 6.1 upgrade installed on it. According to the latest rumor mill, those of you who own a Blackjack II should be able to get the Windows Mobile 6.1 upgrade sometime in July.

July 7, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Enterprise Software

What are the alternatives to the iPhone 3G?

Last year I created a post talking about the available iPhone alternatives that you could pick up if you didn't want to buy the Apple iPhone, but wanted a new and functional mobile device. With the iPhone 3G launching later this week, I thought it would be appropriate to provide readers with an updated alternatives post since the alternatives to the iPhone have improved significantly since last year and IMHO even more so than the minor updates (3G and GPS) to the iPhone itself.

July 7, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Hardware

Matthew Miller

Latest Posts

iPhone how to: Take screenshots on your 2.0 iPhone

MobileTechRoundup show #139, the iPhone App Store is the big news of the week

Mobile software Monday: My top 10 iPhone applications

First impressions of the Palm Treo 800w with integrated WiFi and GPS

Nokia kicks off aggressive recycling program, Nokia Chat, and E71 further usage thoughts

iPhone App store; why do we need 10 tip calculators?

Hey Apple, where are the free trials for iPhone applications?

Updated my iPhone to firmware 2.0 and setup hosted Exchange account

First impressions of the Nokia E71, a QWERTY device for the business user

MSM Apple iPhone reviews are up and may just have saved me some cash

The HP iPAQ 910 has excellent RF reception and is an impressive device

Checkpoint friendly laptop bags should help with airport screening

One month later and the HTC Touch Diamond has lost some shine

Review: Samsung Blackjack II running Windows Mobile 6.1

What are the alternatives to the iPhone 3G?

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