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  • MSN Direct for Windows Mobile Standard Edition

    MSN Direct for Windows Mobile
    I read about the MSN Direct beta release for Windows Mobile before heading to work this morning. So, as soon I got in, I point my T-Mobile Dash at http://phone.msndirect.com/ and downloaded the installation CAB file. To make a long story short, MSN Direct was removed from my phone within 20 minutes. Here’s what happened…

    The installation itself went smoothly. A segment of my home screen displayed MSN Direct with the current Dow Jones Industrial Average chart and left/right arrows. I tapped my navigation rose to get to the next item and saw weather for Seattle. I clicked on the select button to change that. But, nothing happened. I tried a few other things, but still nothing. During this time I noticed my phone getting warmer and warmer and also slower and slower. Finally, it got to the point where my Dash froze completely. I had to pull the battery to shut it down. After rebooting the Dash, I uninstalled MSN Direct. Check my battery revealed that it had dropped from a 90+% charge to about 63%. This was not good to see at 8:15am.

    During lunch I decided to try to load it on my HTC Advantage (the other WiMo device I’m carrying). Unfortunately, an error message popped up saying that it was not supported. So, I took a look at the MSN Direct Phone Finder page and learned that it only works with Windows Mobile Standard Edition (non-touchscreen devices formerly referred to as the Smartphone). So, if you have a Windows Mobile Professional Edition, sorry, but you cannot use MSN Direct for Windows Mobile Technology Preview. It is, apparently, strictly for amateurs 🙂

    After getting home, I installed MSN Direct on an HTC Vox smartphone. Instead of using a slow EDGE connection, I used a 802.11g WiFi connection. This combination of hardware and network access worked much better than the Dash/EDGE combination. Still, MSN Direct seemed sluggish and balky at some points. The content views have too much white space IMHO. This means I have to scroll down more that I really should have to. The Vox’s battery held up very well through the evening with WiFi left on. My guess is that the sustained EDGE radio usage on the Dash drained its battery. This reminds me of the problem I had last year with Google’s Gmail IMAP4 email. It is so slow that the Dash battery again drains when retrieving Gmail mail from the IMAP4 server.

    I should probably move my SIM from the Dash to the Vox sometime to see if the battery drain issue is caused by the EDGE radio or the battery differences between the two phones.

    You can watch a 2 minute video demo I recorded and posted to YouTube.

    MSN Direct for Windows Mobile YouTube demo

  • T-Mobile Customers Still Can Use WiFi at Starbucks

    As a T-Mobile customer the first thing that came to mind when I read the headline that Starbucks is switching WiFi providers (from T-Mobile to AT&T Wireless) was… well, I won’t write them in a G-rated blog. However, if you read the Starbucks press release about this switch, you’ll see that they say: In recognition of the many T-Mobile customers who enjoy visiting Starbucks, the Company is also announcing that T-Mobile HotSpot customers will be able to continue to access Wi-Fi services at no additional cost, through an agreement between AT&T and T-Mobile. So, the good news is that T-Mobile data customers are NOT losing their Starbucks WiFi service when traveling or just running around town. Phew.

  • Are the HTC Shift and Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 Too Little Too Late?

    I read somewhere that the HTC Shift is near shipping and that the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 was announced. (the first Windows Mobile device from a firm that normally uses their home-brewed Symbian OS). Both devices are amazing pieces of ultra mobile technology. The question is: Are they still relevant? We already know that the Shift will be priced around US$1500. And, Sony Ericsson always charges a premium for their products. My guess is that the Xpreia X1 will be priced between $500 and $1000. With ultra mobile devices like the Asus Eee PC, OLPC XO, Everex CloudBook, and Flipstart already in the retail pipeline for well under $1000, are these new entries too little too late?

    To make things more interesting, Engadget reports that Microsoft just bought Danger (the Sidekick people). They speculate that this means there will be a Windows Mobile Sidekick in the future. But, take a look at the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 again. Does that look like WiMo despite it actually does form the base OS? Not really, huh? Have both Microsoft and WiMo hardware vendors lost faith in WiMo? Will the Sidekick platform be the basis of a lighter weight OS and let Microsoft dump the current Windows CE based WiMo in a few years?
    I guess we will know more by the end of the calendar year.

  • Manufacturers Can’t Build Linux Based Ultraportables Fast Enough

    The Wired article Linus Torvalds on Why Users Aren’t Flocking to Linux has the Linux creator rationalizing why Linux hasn’t been accepted on the desktop. My message to Mr. Torvalds: Dude, don’t worry about the desktop – Linux has conquered and cornered the ultraportable market! I just went over to ZaReason to check on the availability of the Everex CloudBook and read: We have currently sold our initial batch of Cloudbooks. Please check back after Feb 15th to see if we have received more stock by then. Thank you for your interest. Amazon seems to be able to barely be able to get the webcam “high end” version of the Eee PC (the webcam-less Surf model seems easy to find though). The OLPC folks seems unable to figure out how to get their boxes into the hands of all the people who took part in the Give One Get One (G1G1) program (happy to say we got ours at the beginning of the year). The notebook/subnotebook/ultraportable market is where all the interest is these days. The desktop is relegated to vertical tasks like high end gaming. So, Linux, don’t worry about the Desktop. Linux is making good headway in the UMPC market.

  • Does Mobile Device Ecosystem Matter?

    While syncing my Zune with a bunch of video podcasts, I began thinking about the fact that my iPod is usually what travels with me because of all the eco-system infrastructure I have to support it: FM transceiver dock for the car, battery powered docking speaker, belt cases, etc. The Zune 2 firmware transformed my 1st generation Zune into a very nice dedicated video podcast device with its 30GB hard disk and large bright screen. Comparing the 1st generation Zune to my iPod touch, I’d say the Zune’s screen is about 80% the size of the touch. That surprised me when I first noticed it.

    But, does the mobile device eco-system matter to most other people? I was amazed how many people were dumping their Windows Mobile smartphone or Palm-OS based Treo’s the day the iPhone was released. I couldn’t figure out how to function without Office Mobile, OneNote Mobile, eWallet, NewsBreak, HanDBase, and a bunch of other WiMo applications. I was even more surprised when one of my neighbors switched over to a Blackberry Pearl after having using Windows Mobile Pocket PCs and Phone Editions for many years. He was really impressed by the Blackberry’s overall speed of function after having used a T-Mobile MDA Pocket PC Phone Edition for a couple of years (lots of hour glasses on that device).

    I don’t think I fit the profile for a Blackberry user (I’m fine answering email when it is convenient). And, having had my iPod touch for a while, I know there is no way I could use the iPhone’s keyboard to do much information entry with any kind of speed. But, if Microsoft is going to abandon end-users like me to placate the carriers, I wonder if I could leave behind the relative comfort of the Windows Mobile application ecosystem for one of the Google Android phones. The Windows Mobile email, browser, and media player technology have aged especially badly over the last few releases. Heck, Media Player even lost the ability to build playlists on the device. It is like watching the slow Palm OS “we know better than our customers” train wreck all over again.

    This could all change again shortly after the iPhone SDK emerges. I’m sure iPhone applications will start showing up shortly after it gets into the hands of the very talented developers out there. There is, of course, that keyboard issue. But, I can’t believe that thrre isn’t an iPhone prototype lying around a lab in Cupertino with a QWERTY thumb keyboard. iPhone Pro, perhaps?

  • HanDBase 4.0 Available

    When HanDBase was only available for the Palm OS, I remember wondering if it would ever be available for Windows CE devices. I remember how excited i was to get an early Windows CE version of it to write the first review of it for Microsoft.com. Here’s a republished version of it that is still available on Pocket PC Magazine’s web site. I just recently was notified that HanDBase 4.0 was released. It is good to know that the product has not only survived over the years but continues to be developed. I don’t use it as much as I used to since the arrival of mobile friendly web data services like Gubb.net and Zoho Creator. However, I might upgrade it just to see what the new version looks like.