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

Show search filters
How well does your smartphone support your Exchange server?

How well does your smartphone support your Exchange server?

Now that the iPhone 3G S is out and available half of the premium smartphones coming to us this Summer are ready for people to purchase and try out. The T-Mobile myTouch 3G is coming next month, the HTC Touch Pro2 devices should be coming in July too, and the BlackBerry Storm 2 will be coming at some unknown date. We do have the Palm Pre, iPhone 3G S, and Nokia N97 and I personally purchased all three of these devices with one being returned so far. One of my evaluation criteria for a smartphone is its ability to work with my Exchange account. Windows Mobile sets the bar for Exchange support since Exchange is a Microsoft client and this is one area where Windows Mobile does things right. A bit surprisingly, the new iPhone 3.0 OS found on the iPhone 3G S offers the second best Exchange experience with only one thing left to add for me to be truly happy and no longer reliant on a Windows Mobile phone.

June 22, 2009 by in Enterprise Software

AT&T announces first WM 6.5 devices, the HTC Pure and HTC Tilt 2

AT&T announces first WM 6.5 devices, the HTC Pure and HTC Tilt 2

AT&T jumped the gun a bit and today announced the HTC Pure and Tilt 2, both running Windows Mobile 6.5. I have an HTC Pure here in my hands under evaluation, but cannot post my full review until early Tuesday morning when the embargo on Windows Mobile 6.5 lifts. In the meantime, you can check out the official press release and even visit your local AT&T store as I understand many of them are actually selling the HTC Pure now for just $149.99 after $50 mail-in rebate and 2-year contract.

October 4, 2009 by in Enterprise Software

MobileTechRoundup show #117, Freeware Extravaganza

MobileTechRoundup show #117, Freeware Extravaganza

You will want to check out the Freeware Extravaganza that we have for you in MobileTechRoundup show #117 this week as we talk about 6 free applications for your mobile devices. You can also hear about my decision on the T-Mobile Shadow. James picked up an iPod Touch and is quite impressed with the browsing experience. Kevin likes his Eee PC and talks about more usage of the device.

November 20, 2007 by in Enterprise Software

Image Gallery: First impressions of the Pharos Traveler 137

Image Gallery: First impressions of the Pharos Traveler 137

Pharos has been making Windows Mobile/Pocket PC devices with a GPS navigation focus for years. They have been rolling out higher end, more modern devices lately and with the Traveler 137 we see the very first Windows Mobile device that supports T-Mobile USA's 1700 MHz 3G wireless data service. The device has a large 3.5 inch, 800x480 pixels resolution display, FM radio, and more.

June 12, 2009 by in Enterprise Software

Image Gallery: Windows Mobile 6.5 disappoints with lack of customization and stylus requirement

Image Gallery: Windows Mobile 6.5 disappoints with lack of customization and stylus requirement

I had high hopes for Windows Mobile 6.5 to at least provide a better touch experience, but it only does so on a basic level. We now see no customization support in the Start menu or Today screen and an overall lack of consistency across the platform. Windows Mobile needs major work and I am not sure people are willing to wait until the end of 2010 for Windows Mobile 7.

October 5, 2009 by in Enterprise Software

SoftMaker Office 2008 beta brings PowerPoint functionality to Pocket PCs

SoftMaker Office 2008 beta brings PowerPoint functionality to Pocket PCs

I am in the process of working on a full review of SoftMaker Office 2006 for Pocket PCs in my qwest to turn the HTC Advantage into a full blown portable computer. However, I'll have to adjust my review now since I just received a note that the public beta of SoftMaker Office 2008 for Pocket PCs is now available as a free download for you to try out on your device. The free trial works on Windows Mobile Pocket PC, Classic and Professional devices (not on the non-touch screen devices) and will work until 31 March 2008. An updated beta or the full version will be available after this date.

February 26, 2008 by in Enterprise Software

Mobile browsing may get a boost with SkyFire and Firefox Mobile

Mobile browsing may get a boost with SkyFire and Firefox Mobile

One major weakness of the Windows Mobile platform, compared to S60 and the iPhone, is the rather poor Internet Explorer Mobile web browser. There are a few initiatives underway that may significantly improve that experience and if so, then something like the HTC Advantage could actually serve as my primary mobile computer. Upcoming browsers include SkyFire and Firefox Mobile, while there are also some existing options like ThunderHawk and Opera Mobile that may improve your browsing experience too.

January 27, 2008 by in Enterprise Software

Getting things done with Gmail

Getting things done with Gmail

I started using Gmail as my primary email application/service a couple of years ago and have gotten better and better about labeling and filing my email. The problem is that I still may archive something in a label/folder and then forget to follow-up so I am really not being very productive. I like that I can access my Gmail easily on all my mobile devices with the mobile client or even via the mobile web interface (like on the iPhone) with a 3rd option of using POP or IMAP. Joel at Geek.com put together a very helpful feature on Getting Things Done with Gmail that I plan to implement as we begin a fresh new year.

December 18, 2007 by in Enterprise Software