Matthew Miller

Contributor

Matthew Miller started using mobile devices in 1997 and has been writing news, reviews, and opinion pieces ever since. He was a co-host, with Kevin Tofel, of the MobileTechRoundup podcast for 13 years and authored three Wiley Companion seri…es books. Matthew started using mobile devices with a US Robotics Pilot 1000 and has owned more than 200 different devices running Palm, Linux, Symbian, Newton, BlackBerry, iOS, Android, webOS, Windows Mobile, and Windows Phone operating systems. His current collection includes a Google Pixel 4, Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus, LG V60 ThinQ, Google Pixelbook Go, Microsoft Surface Pro 6, and many more, along with plenty of wearables, accessories, and classic devices like the Apple Newton MessagePad 2100 and Sony CLIE UX50. Matthew can be found on various discussion forums under the user name of "palmsolo".

Matthew is a professional naval architect by day and a mobile gadgeteer at all other times. He purchases his own devices and then sells them on Swappa to buy more. Many other devices are sent for review on a typical 30-day or long-term loan basis and then returned to the carrier or manufacturer.

Latest from Matthew Miller

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

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 in Apple

fring VoIP and IM client is now available for the Apple iPhone

fring VoIP and IM client is now available for the Apple iPhone

I've written about my favorite mobile VoIP client, fring, several times in the past on this blog and was very pleased to receive the news from Gil that fring is now available on the Apple iPhone. This current version is for iPhones that have been jailbreaked to run 3rd party applications and you will also need a WiFi connection to use the application.

April 15, 2008 by in Apple

Apple vs Nokia round 3: Apple asks US government to ban Nokia phones

Apple vs Nokia round 3: Apple asks US government to ban Nokia phones

It seems that Nokia kicked over the hornet's nest back in October when they sued Apple for infringing on patents that they claim others have been legitimately paying for while Apple has been refusing to pay for. Not surprisingly, Apple then sued Nokia for infringing on their patents. We then recently saw a rather stupid request from Nokia to have Apple iPhone, iPod, and Mac computers banned from being imported. Of course, the latest filing from Apple asking the US government to ban Nokia phone imports is the expected retaliation we have come to expect from these two.

January 17, 2010 by in Apple

MobileTechRoundup show #182, Moto CLIQ, ZuneHD, iPod nano, HP Envy

MobileTechRoundup show #182, Moto CLIQ, ZuneHD, iPod nano, HP Envy

We missed recording last week due to the Mobilize 2009 event so MobileTechRoundup show #182 is a bit longer than normal as James, Kevin, and I chatted about mobile tech products. James and Kevin had a chance to play with the upcoming T-Mobile Motorola CLIQ Google Android device that will be tough for me to resist. I talked about my new Zune HD and iPod nano and then I learned about Opera 10's Turbo Mode on a PC. Opera Mini 5 beta is out for Java-enabled phones and adds some great new features, all for FREE. James also had a chance to swing by the HP offices and play with the new Envy notebooks that have features you may envy, but at a price you may not.

September 17, 2009 by in Apple

Microsoft finally shows why the Zune stands out against the iPod

Microsoft finally shows why the Zune stands out against the iPod

I've written a few times about the Microsoft Zune and why I think the subscription model is a better value for all of us who have small personal music collections. When Microsoft changed their subscription policy and started giving you 10 free tunes a month as part of your $15 monthly fee it became a no-brainer to sign up for the Zune Pass and start to create or add to your personal music collection. Andrew posted on the new Zune ads that pit the Zune Pass against iTunes and clearly shows the significant price advantage of the Zune Pass.

May 12, 2009 by in Apple

Holiday Gift Guide 2009: Digital Media Players

Holiday Gift Guide 2009: Digital Media Players

For this Digital Media Player Holiday Guide we will be taking a look at the best devices that offer a complete music playing and video watching experience. There are still some devices that specialize in one or the other, but the capability has improved in most of them so that both types of media content can be enjoyed. Last year we looked at both MP3 players and portable digital video players in two Guides, but are merging them this year since most perform both functions well. Some of these devices can be used for web browsing, 3rd party application usage, and gaming, but we will focus on the music and video support while mentioning some of these more advanced capabilities.

November 1, 2009 by in Apple

Is this newest Apple netbook rumor just more wishful thinking?

Is this newest Apple netbook rumor just more wishful thinking?

The news has been a bit slow here on The Mobile Gadgeteer so let's start off this week with another Apple netbook rumor. As jkOnTheRun is reporting, DigiTimes is reporting that Wintek claims to have a contract for a touchscreen Apple netbook. The Apple netbook rumors have been around for some time and in most cases I think it is people dreaming about such a device rather than a story with actual evidence. This one may turn out to be the same wishful thinking too.

March 9, 2009 by in Apple

MWC 09: Nokia Ovi Store better than Apple App Store?

MWC 09: Nokia Ovi Store better than Apple App Store?

Dieter Bohn is working hard at Mobile World Congress this week and stopped by to chat with the folks at Nokia about the upcoming Ovi Store. While the press release I wrote about had a few details, such as the "social location" functionality, Dieter was able to find out many more details about the application store. Dieter even stated that it was better than the Apple iPhone App Store, which is saying something since Dieter is still learning about Nokia and the S60 platform and has an iPhone.

February 17, 2009 by in Apple

Tax Refund Special: Smartphones

Tax Refund Special: Smartphones

The average tax refund for 2008 was about $2,500 and with the shape the economy is in here in 2009 it may be a good idea to spend some or all of that to give the economy a bit of a boost. It is also important during this time to stay in touch with family and friends to provide support and communication. What better way to stay in touch via voice or text than with a new mobile phone. So as you consider spending that money on a new mobile phone, I wanted to give you five suggestions to consider.Since there are four major wireless carriers in the U.S. (Alltel is now part of Verizon) I will give you my top recommendation from each carrier and one SIM-unlocked device to consider.

February 11, 2009 by in Apple