Smartphones and Cell Phones

Should wireless carriers be dropping mobile app stores for their own brand?

While I think the upcoming HandMarket Apps store on Windows Mobile device is looking great, I agree with Stacey over at GigaOM that carrier-branded and online distributor stores may present more confusion in the mobile application market and we could end up back where we started with several software distributors, except now on your phone rather than on the desktop. I think Apple is successful with the App Store because it is the only way to get apps on your iPhone/iPod touch and the process is made extremely easy for the consumer. Others are trying to model this success, but I don't think a fractured market is the way to do it.

July 14, 2009 by Matthew Miller in Smartphones

Windows Mobile customizability has a rap star singing its praises

Readers here know that I enjoy using Windows Mobile devices even though they don't seem to be popular with the crowd. Their Exchange support is fantastic and they are highly customizable. I was reading Smartphone Thoughts and thoroughly enjoyed the 16 minute YouTube video interview (embedded below) of Naughty by Nature's Vinnie Brown talking up Windows Mobile. It isn't that often that you hear famous people talking about Windows Mobile and after listening to Vinnie I think he knows as much about Windows Mobile as I do.

July 14, 2009 by Matthew Miller in Mobility

HandMarket Apps Windows Mobile application store in beta testing

Apple kicked off the trend of on-device user friendly software stores with the App Store, but now just about every other mobile operating has one too (read our discussion on how they compare). Microsoft is the last one to the party with their upcoming Marketplace for Mobile, but we still have yet to hear of any release date for this service/application. Handmark is a developer and online retail location where other developers distribute their applications and they have taken Windows Mobile into their own hands (much like HTC does with the OS) and they are now beta testing Handmarket Apps with a planned launch date sometime in July.

July 13, 2009 by Matthew Miller in Hardware

Costco customers can buy the T-Mobile Dash 3G for only $89.99

I posted my review of the T-Mobile Dash 3G back on 30 June. The Dash 3G can now be purchased from T-Mobile and as you can see on the T-Mobile site the full price is $349.99 and there is a $180 instant discount for new lines of service. A reader sent me a note that there is a Costco coupon that runs from 13 July to 2 August where new customers can save even more and even existing customers may get a great deal.

July 11, 2009 by Matthew Miller in Mobility

MobileTechRoundup show #177; Sorry T-Mobile I had to make some monthly savings

I never thought I would leave T-Mobile since we had the five phones on the family plan, but as I said in MobileTechRoundup show #177 we decided to switch everyone to AT&T and save ourselves about $85 a month by reducing my service to a single carrier. James, Kevin, and I discussed the Google Chrome OS announcement, myTouch 3G, iTunes App Store first birthday and tethering with the iPhone. We briefly talked about the Sony Vaio W too. Kevin shared a freeware of the show for the iPhone called RunKeeper that is perfect for those working out this Summer.

July 11, 2009 by Matthew Miller in Hardware

iPhone Disney at Work application gives insight into the Magic Kingdom

Apple is approaching its first birthday of the App Store tomorrow and with something close to 60,000 available apps there is something for everyone. I received a press release today for an application that I thought would be useful to those in the customer service industry and may also be interesting for others in the business world. Disney at Work: Magic Kingdom was written by J. Jeff Kober (check out his Disney at Work blog) to provide businesses with information and tools on how to improve their organization internally and externally. The application is available on iTunes for $4.99 and works with the iPhone and iPod Touch.

July 10, 2009 by Matthew Miller in iPhone

HTC; 3.5mm headset jacks coming on most future devices

I mention the usage of HTC ExtUSB (11-pin mini-USB 2.0 and audio jack in one) in my reviews because I generally prefer to have a standard 3.5mm headset jack on my mobile phones so I can listen to music and podcasts with my own Ultimate Ears headphones. MobileCrunch questioned HTC and received a response that most HTC devices launched after the HTC Hero will have a 3.5mm headset jack. Devices already announced, like the Touch Pro2 and myDash 3G, will still have the ExtUSB port. There has been one device I know of that previously launched with a 3.5mm headset jack, the HTC Touch HD, but I think that is it. While I think the majority of people will be pleased with the strategy of using a 3.5mm headset jack moving forward, I can also see the validity of using the HTC ExtUSB port.

July 8, 2009 by Matthew Miller in Mobility

T-Mobile customers can now pre-order the myTouch 3G and order the Dash 3G

A couple weeks ago T-Mobile announced the myTouch 3G for release in August. This morning in New York HTC and T-Mobile held a launch event (check out Engadget Mobile's coverage) and unlike last year when the T-Mobile G1 was launched I was unable to make the cross country trip for this device. Similar to the launch event of the T-Mobile G1, existing T-Mobile customers can now pre-order the myTouch 3G for $199.99 with a two-year contract and be guaranteed delivery by August 5th (maybe the 3rd since that is also listed on one page). Last time, T-Mobile delivered my G1 just as they said on the availability date, but you must pre-order by 28 July.

July 8, 2009 by Matthew Miller in Hardware

Need a Facebook client for your Android device? Check out Babbler and Bloo

I tried using the fBook client that was available early on the T-Mobile G1 Google Android device and all that application did was provide a way to access the Facebook mobile website. I then purchased very lame FriendMobilizer client hoping it would give me a better Facebook experience and it is actually more limited and less useful than the mobile website. Last night I read about Babbler on the jkOnTheRun site and after checking out their website I immediately paid the $1.49 to get the application onto my T-Mobile G1. I also ran across the new Bloo Facebook application for Android devices that also looks quite promising.

July 7, 2009 by Matthew Miller in Social Media

Documents To Go for iPhone updated with global cut, copy, & paste support

I wrote up my review of Documents To Go with Exchange Attachments when it was launched on June 14th. Now that the iPhone 3.0 update and iPhone 3GS units are available people asked for cut, copy, and paste across the new OS. DataViz was quick to respond and today you can download version 1.1 of their Documents To Go products that includes this functionality. So now any place where you can cut, copy, and paste in the OS and applications you can now put that content into your Word documents as well.

July 7, 2009 by Matthew Miller in Enterprise Software

Apple celebrates App Store birthday on 11 July, 56,000+ apps in 1 year

As a guy who has been writing about and following the mobile phone/PDA space since 1997 I have to say the first time I used the original iPhone I was completely blown away that a phone could respond so quickly and transition so fluidly. Then when the App Store was launched I was again blown away by how fast developers embraced the iPhone and rolled out high quality applications at a significantly lower price than I have ever paid for mobile apps before. As MacRumors.com points out, Apple will be celebrating the App Store's first anniversary (has it really only been a year?) this Saturday, 11 July. and they have started the festivities with an App Store birthday page (iTunes link) that highlights some of the most popular games and applications available.

July 7, 2009 by Matthew Miller in Mobility

Review: RIM BlackBerry Handsfree Visor Mount Speakerphone

We usually associate RIM with their BlackBerry smartphones, but lately they have been creating more and more accessories (check out my thoughts on the BlackBerry Premium Multimedia Headset) to optimize the BlackBerry experience. The BlackBerry Visor Mount Speakerphone is a versatile solution that gives you hands-free support in your vehicle. It gives you more functionality than seen in many Bluetooth speakers with a cool integrated FM transmitter. Check out some product photos in my image gallery and my thoughts on using the device below.

July 5, 2009 by Matthew Miller in Hardware

Celebrate 4th of July on your smartphone with Handmark Fireworks

I thoroughly enjoy launching and watching fireworks on the 4th of July and with the native American reservations close to my house I get the chance to buy some pretty fantastic explosives. If you want to play it a bit safer and save yourself some money you can visit Astraware and load up their free Handmark Fireworks application on your iPhone, BlackBerry, or Windows Mobile device.

July 2, 2009 by Matthew Miller in iPhone

CoPilot Live GPS navigation solution now available for Google Android devices

I posted a full review of TeleNav GPS Navigator software on the T-Mobile G1 and for a long time it was the only voice navigation software for the platform. Today, ALK Technologies announced the release of CoPilot Live for the Android platform that can be purchased for $34.99 in the Android Market. It is designed to run on the HTC Dream (T-Mobile G1), HTC Magic, and upcoming HTC Hero. One of the major differences between this software and TeleNav's solution is that you download all the maps for your selected region and store them on your microSD card so that no data connection is needed for the full navigation experience.

July 1, 2009 by Matthew Miller in Mobility

Review: T-Mobile Dash 3G takes the Dash torch and runs with it

This summer is a blockbuster season for touchscreen smartphones with the Palm Pre, iPhone 3GS, Nokia N97, HTC TouchPro2, and T-Mobile myPhone. However, not everyone is crazy about touchscreen devices and they just want a solid smartphone that gets the job done in a compact form factor that is easily operated with a single hand. One of the hottest selling smartphones ever for T-Mobile has been the T-Mobile Dash. I personally used this device for about a year and have given out a couple I had to family and coworkers who still enjoy using the Dash today. T-Mobile announced the Dash 3G a couple weeks ago and I have had the chance to spend the last week and a half evaluating one of them. Actually, T-Mobile may have a tough time getting this review unit back anytime soon :) You can check out product images and software screenshots in my image gallery along with a short video of it in action and my thoughts on the device below.

June 30, 2009 by Matthew Miller in Mobility

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