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The Mobile Gadgeteer

Matthew Miller provides you with news, commentary and in-depth reviews of the latest in mobile gadgetry such as tablets, cutting edge smartphones, and portable gaming.

Matthew Miller

Matthew Miller started using mobile devices in 1997 and has been writing news, reviews, and opinion pieces ever since. Matthew started using mobile devices with a US Robotics Pilot 1000 and has owned hundreds of devices running Palm, Linux, Symbian, Newton, BlackBerry, iOS, Android, webOS, Windows Mobile, and Windows Phone operating systems. His current collection includes the latest and greatest foldables, wearables, and more, along with classic devices like the Apple Newton MessagePad 2100 and Sony CLIE UX50. Matthew can be found on various social networks under the user name of "palmsolo."

Latest Posts

AT&T's new OTA eMusic Mobile service results in $1.50 per song fee

AT&T's new OTA eMusic Mobile service results in $1.50 per song fee

AT&T just launched their new eMusic Mobile download service that allows you to download MP3 files from eMusic directly to your compatible mobile phone. eMusic is an online seller of MP3 music from independent labels that has is DRM-free so you can purchase and then listen to your MP3 songs on any device. I am a bit confused why anyone would want to pay AT&T US$7.49 per month for 5 song downloads (works out to just about US$1.50 per song) when you can just sign up for an eMusic account and get songs for only US$0.27 to US$0.33 each, depending on the monthly plan you sign up for. The eMusic Basic plan gives you 30 song downloads for only US$9.99 per month. I guess the AT&T eMusic Mobile service is all about wireless convenience, but that sure is a high convenience fee IMHO.

July 31, 2007 by in Mobility

iPhone AppleCare Protection Plan available now for US$69

iPhone AppleCare Protection Plan available now for US$69

My buddy Reggie Suplido, from sites such as MicroPCTalk, is a fellow Apple iPhone owner and let me know that Apple is now offering AppleCare for the iPhone for US$69. The AppleCare Protection Plan extends your one year repair coverage to two years from the original purchase date. The site states you can purchase the Protection Plan any time within the one year initial coverage to extend it for another year. I thought previous reports stated this Protection Plan would cover the interim iPhone while yours is in the shop for repair or replacement, but I could not find this detail in any of the literature. Since I now have a two year AT&T obligation, I may purchase the Protection Plan as I approach the end of the first year with the device and imagine by that time I'll be aware of any issues with the device. Be aware that residents of Alabama, Connecticut, Nevada, and Wyoming are not eligible to purchase the AppleCare Protection Plan.

July 24, 2007 by in iPhone

Edit and create Word and Excel docs on S60 devices with OfficeSuite 4

Edit and create Word and Excel docs on S60 devices with OfficeSuite 4

Nokia markets their Nseries mobile devices as "multimedia computers" and for the most part they do serve as excellent audio and video platforms. The Nseries also comes loaded with other productivity applications, like thw QuickOffice viewer application. Their Eseries line is targeted towards the enterprise user and comes loaded with the full version of QuickOffice that lets you view and edit documents. You can also upgrade the view-only version to an editable version and I'll be posting some thoughts on the latest and greatest version in a week or two. One great thing about the Palm, Windows Mobile, and S60 platforms is the number of 3rd party applications that address all your specific needs and competition in the 3rd party application market drives innovation. The biggest competitor to QuickOffice is MobiSystems OfficeSuite and I had a chance to load version 4, which adds PowerPoint viewing capability, onto a Nokia N95 and take it for a test drive.

July 20, 2007 by in Mobility

Take a lunchtime break and play the mobile phone celebrity guessing game

Take a lunchtime break and play the mobile phone celebrity guessing game

If you are looking for something to do while on a break from work or want to have a bit of fun with your friends, then head on over to participate in the Gear Diary Celebrity Guessing Game III contest. The winner will be selected randomly from the entries who correctly guess at least 10 of the 20 mobile phones the pictured celebrities are holding. The prize is a US$140 value Tom Bihn Zephyr bag. The contest is now on and continues until 5:30 US Central Standard Time on Tuesday, July 31st. Judie will also ship the prize anywhere in the world so anyone can play and enter to win this cool gear bag. As one of the judges, I have to say that the devices were challenging in several of the photos and the contest is not as easy as you may think.

July 18, 2007 by in Mobility

My iPhone is back and I too am satisfied

My iPhone is back and I too am satisfied

I gave the iPhone an honest try and as I stated in a post late last week I returned my iPhone prior to the 14-day trial period. I found that the iPhone lacked features found in many of today's feature and high-end smartphones and thought I could just leave it all behind me and move on. However, the iPhone drew me back in hour-by-hour over the weekend and I just could no longer resist it so I just picked up a new iPhone at the Apple store a couple hours ago. Over the weekend I tried using a Nokia N95 tethered with a N800 and both are excellent devices in their own way and I actually found some new applications for the N95 that made me like it even more. However, the Apple iPhone is slick and so refreshing after using other Palm, embedded Linux, Windows Mobile, and Symbian devices over the last 10 years that I was pulled back to it. At this time, the iPhone isn't necessarily about features, but about smooth integration and a new user experience that appeals even to power users like me.

July 17, 2007 by in Apple

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