The Mobile Gadgeteer

Microsoft officially announces Windows Mobile 6.1 with IE Mobile 6 and more

It isn't like this is a big surprise to anyone since so many leaks have been shown online the last few months, but Microsoft officially announced Windows Mobile 6.1 at the opening keynote of CTIA this morning. While there are lots of behind-the-scenes improvements, one of the major ones that has me excited is the new version of Internet Explorer Mobile that uses IE 6 technologies to bring H.264, Adobe Flash, and Microsoft Silverlight support to mobile devices. Windows Mobile 6.1 will be released to mobile phone partners in the third quarter of 2008 so you will most likely see 6.1 devices in time for the holidays.

April 1, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Mobility

T-Mobile announces the WiFi-enabled BlackBerry Pearl, Verizon finally gets the Curve

With the recent announcement of the AT&T WiFi-enabled BlackBerry Pearl we all knew it was just a matter of time before T-Mobile was going to announce one with support for the HotSpot @Home service. Today, T-Mobile announced that the BlackBerry Pearl 8120 will be available on 14 April. Like the AT&T model, the 8120 features a 2 megapixel camera with video recording capability, support for the HotSpot @Home service and T-Mobile myFaves, Bluetooth with A2DP support, and enhanced SureType keyboard with word completion, easier editing of misspelled words, and built-in spell checker.

March 31, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Hardware

MobileTechRoundup show #127, Thoughts and experiences with the REDFLY and HTC Shift

Kevin, James, and I spent all of MobileTechRoundup show #127 discussing our thoughts and experiences with the Celio REDFLY Mobile Companion and the new Sprint HTC Shift. We had some technical difficulties with a mic, but Kevin was able to work his magic and get the show put together.

March 31, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Enterprise Software

What Waterfield Designs SleeveCases fit the Fujitsu U810 and Celio REDFLY?

I bought a Fujitsu U810 UMPC a couple of months ago and while the device closes like a laptop to protect the display I wanted a case to protect the entire device. I searched online and the only case I found that was really made for the Fujitsu U810 was the Fujitsu leather portfolio case, but I was really just interested in a slip case design and didn't think I wanted the Fujitsu model. I have a Waterfield Designs cargo bag that I have been using for a couple of years and it looks as good as the first day it arrived. I contacted Waterfield Designs directly since I could not find a case size for the U810 on their site. I thought the Asus EeePC case looked about the closest in size, but my contact at Waterfield Designs recommended taking a look at the Amazon Kindle slip case. I purchased the Amazon Kindle one and after it arrived I ordered the Asus EeePC one so I could compare them directly and it turns out that I will be keeping both cases. Read my review to find out why.

March 29, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Amazon

Dashwire opens public beta, threaded SMS and photo sharing included

I wrote about a very early version of Dashwire last fall and at that time you could sign up and hope that you were eventually selected for a beta invitation. Ford sent me some great news that anyone can now sign up for the beta of Dashwire for free. You will need a Windows Mobile device to use the service. And along with the opening of the beta, Dashwire is launching several new features, including photo sharing, instant status updates, threaded SMS, and phone-to-phone transfer.

March 28, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Mobility

The next WinMo Palm Treo may be the first with 320x320 and integrated WiFi

Palm has done a lot to improve the Windows Mobile experience on Treo devices with the Today screen plug-ins, threaded SMS, and other handy utilities and functionality. That said, I tried to like the Treo 750 series and use it as my Windows Mobile device, but the lame 320x240 display always limited what I could do on the device. According to rumored information over at PalmInfocenter it looks like the first Windows Mobile 320x320 display Treo may be coming to Sprint in July as the Treo 800w.

March 28, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Hardware

Yes, you can get internet access in the middle of the Gulf of Alaska

I am conducting shipchecks on an Alaskan Marine Highways ferry this week in the Gulf of Alaska with stops in Kodiak, Homer, Seldovia, Whittier, Cordova, and Port Lions. I was afraid I would be completely offline and out of touch, but it turns out that the particular vessel I am on actually has a wireless system for passengers to use just like a hotel. The service costs US$12 per day with discounts for longer periods of usage. Since the vessel operates out in the Gulf of Alaska, the internet service is provided by a satellite service provider (WCC).

March 26, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Networking

Motorola splitting into two, Mobile Devices to be its own company

We knew that Motorola has been having some troubles with its handset division and were planning to split this part of the company off as a separate entity and today they officially announced that the Mobile Devices division will become an independent company. The other company will be Broadband & Mobility Solutions. The expected split will occur in 2009 as long as all the agreements and approvals are granted.

March 26, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Mobility

Is Microsoft looking to bring Office to the iPhone?

I am pretty excited about the iPhone 2.0 upgrade for a couple of reasons. I use a hosted Exchange service to keep all of my devices and other computers (UMPC and MacBook Pro) updated with my latest contact, calendar, and task data so finally having this on my iPhone will let me stop performing the Entourage, iCal, iTunes shuffle. I am also a 3rd party application fan on my mobile devices and look forward to seeing what software becomes available in June. I read today on the Cnet News.com Beyond Binary blog that Microsoft has been playing with the iPhone SDK and is considering a version of Office for the iPhone.

March 25, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Microsoft

T-Mobile rolls out BlackBerry 8820 with GPS and Hotspot @Home functionality

I've been using the BlackBerry Pearl I won at CES for a month or so and am enjoying the BlackBerry experience with T-Mobile. Today T-Mobile announced the availability of the T-Mobile BlackBerry 8820, which is essentially the Curve with integrated GPS. This new BlackBerry device also supports the T-Mobile HotSpot @Home Mobile WiFi service as well. As you can see on the T-Mobile page you can buy this device now for US$349.99 after rebate and service activation. This seems to be a device for the professional though, as a digital camera is not included with the device.

March 24, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Networking

The REDFLY gives me back the utility of a Handheld PC, but with the latest OS

So I was using the REDFLY Windows Mobile Smartphone Companion a bit more with the HTC Advantage and a thought came to me that the REDFLY solves the problem I had with the Windows CE Handheld PCs of the old days. I was a big fan of the Handheld PCs, like the Jornada 680, because they gave me a large keyboard and display to write, surf, and be productive on the go with a long battery life. The major reason I stopped using the Handheld PC devices was that the operating system grew a bit stale since Microsoft stopped updating the OS and the browser would not let me visit the websites I needed to access. The REDFLY can be paired with the latest and greatest Windows Mobile devices and as long as Celio Corp continues to roll out drivers/utilities for the operating system I can use the REDFLY as a modern day Handheld PC that stays as up to date as the devices I connect it with.

March 21, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Mobility

Google Android device from HTC dubbed the "Dream"

I had a chance to play with the early prototype Google Android device from HTC at Mobile World Congress in February, but the news has been a bit quiet since then. InfoWorld just posted news that the HTC Google Android device will be called the Dream. The Dream should launch before the end of the year and I think we will see a lot more about this and other Android devices in the Fall.

March 20, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Mobility

A closer look at the HTC Shift from Sprint

The last major HTC device I reviewed was the HTC Advantage and since that time I have been a bit excited, as has most of the ultra portable crowd, about the HTC Shift. There are some reviews online for the GSM version of the HTC Shift that is available in Europe, but that is not the version being officially announced in the U.S. next week since there are still legal issues with Qualcomm and their chips. Sprint will be announcing the HTC Shift on Monday, 24 March and this version has an integrated EV-DO/CDMA radio for wireless access on the go.

March 19, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Collaboration

The long awaited HTC Shift is now coming to you from Sprint, 140+ hands-on photos

I've been using an HTC Shift from Sprint for over a week now and as you can see in over 140 photos and screenshots found in my extensive image gallery I have had a chance to try out most all aspects of the device. I was planning to post my full review next Monday, 24 March, when the Sprint and HTC announcement will officially be made, but Amazon let the cat out of the bag and HTC lifted the embargo on us reviewers unexpectedly. I will be posting my full review with a video of the Shift in action later this evening/tomorrow morning, but wanted to get this image gallery and my bottom line thoughts up while the news is hot. Come back tomorrow for all the details where I explain my conclusions.

March 19, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Telcos

Can the REDFLY Windows Mobile Smartphone Companion succeed where the Foleo couldn't?

The first mobile device I saw at CES 2008 earlier this year was the REDFLY Mobile Companion and I was very interested in checking the device out further. Celio Corporation just sent me an early beta version of the REDFLY Windows Mobile Smartphone Companion to evaluate for the next 2-3 weeks. The Palm Foleo project was shut down before launch and I am curious about whether or not a mobile phone companion device like this has a viable market. Earlier estimates had it priced at US$500 and if that is the release price I think that will be too high for most people. I'll have to check it out in more detail, but if it was something like US$250 then I may see the value in a device like this. I took quite a few photos as you can see in my image gallery and also shot a video of the device in action.

March 18, 2008 by Matthew Miller in Smartphones

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