TamsPPC – the PocketPC Blog

Nowadays, one rarely sees a new company debuting a WM handset series. Don’t ask me why, but AData has done just that: they have released two new WM devices.

First of all, the official press release:

AnyDATA Corporation, a global leader in the design and manufacture of wireless communications devices, announces two leading edge Windows smartphones for carrier distribution, the ASP-318 and the ASP-518. Both devices are loaded with multimedia features that provide consumers with a rich entertainment experience on AnyDATA smartphones.

The ASP-318 is a low cost and affordable Windows Mobile smartphone for cellular subscribers, such as students and enterprise workers who previously may have only considered a mid-tier feature phone. The AnyDATA smartphone utilizes the media-rich Mediatek MT6516 application processor that is designed for entry level smartphones. It provides a rich multimedia experience for cellular subscribers on existing 2G GSM networks.

The ASP-318 smartphone features Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional, a 3.2 inch color touch screen, GPS to support navigation and LBS applications, an accelerometer, dual SIM, EDGE/GPRS modem, a micro SD slot for memory expansion, and an FM radio. The ASP-318 also has a 3.2 megapixel camera with built-in flash, autofocus, and macro-mode to focus on close-up images.

Based on its recent partnership with SRS Labs, AnyDATA plans to further enhance the ASP-318 with SRS TruMedia TM which improves the audio performance with remarkable depth and clarity. The ASP-318 operates globally on quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 Mhz bands. The AnyDATA ASP-318 will be commercially available in 2nd quarter, 2010 and will be marketed as the iMedia smartphone.

The ASP-518 is a 3G dual mode smartphone currently marketed by China Telecom utilizing the well known Phillips brand. The phone has a striking design with tapered edges that look sharp and assist in gripping the phone. The ASP-518 smartphone features Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional, GPS navigation, a brilliant 3.2 inch WVGA screen, WiFi, 4 gigabytes of memory, as well as a micro SD memory slot.

The ASP-518 is optimal for travelers or subscribers with two phone numbers since it supports dual SIMs and dual standby. The phone operates simultaneously on 3G CDMA EVDO Rev A networks as well as GSM 900/1800 networks. The smartphone also has dual cameras, namely a 5 megapixel auto-focus camera for taking high quality photos and a front facing camera to enable mobile video-conferencing. The ASP-518 features the MSM7627 3G processor from Qualcomm.

The ASP-518 will also be equipped with superb audio that utilizes SRS technology. Audio performance has become a significant purchasing factor as consumers shop for more sophisticated phones. In a recent MarketTools study conducted in November 2009, 92 percent of survey respondents indicated the quality of sound is important or very important when purchasing a mobile phone.

“We have listened to our carrier customers and provide smartphones that can boost subscription revenues and reduce churn,” said Dr. Soon B. Shin, CEO of AnyDATA. “Our carrier customers desire high end and entry level smartphones that they can brand and provide a compelling multimedia experience for smartphone applications.”
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Further information on the devices can be had via the PDF’s below:
ASP318
ASP518

Coming from Austria, yours truly has a healthy dislike of government agencies – wherever the government gets involved, idiocy and bloat usually follow suite.

Travelers and gadget heads in the USA will soon enjoy even more of the above-mentioned. PCWorld reports the following:

Buying your next laptop computer or smartphone online could suddenly get a lot more expensive if a little-known U.S. Department of Transportation proposal to tighten rules around the shipment of small, battery-powered devices by air goes through, says an industry group opposing the move.

Airline passengers would be affected too, as rules banning spare lithium-ion batteries in checked-in luggage would also be extended to alkaline and nickel metal-hydride batteries, argues George Kerchner, executive director of the Washington D.C.-based Portable Rechargeable Battery Association.

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For air travelers, this means that you are no longer allowed to put batteries or accumulators into checked luggage – which is just insane. More on that can be had at the URL above.

P.S. This is a non-political blog. However, I think that the Terrorists have already won their “war” with us – air travel is such a hassle nowadays that many evaluate taking the train more and more. One can always circumvent security measures if one really wants to.

WebKit is the browser engine used by almost every mobile device – except for Microsoft and RIM’s current devices. It thus is interesting to see which mobile company does all the work…

neugierig.org performed an analysis and ended up with the chart below:

Not much to add here…

HTC once was synonymous with Windows Mobile. Unfortunately, the introduction of Android changed that – the company also has very strong foothold in this market.

AndroidCentral now got their hands onto the chart below:

If it really is true, this lends a load of extra credibility to the WM7 rumors we heard recently. Keep in mind that no OEM would put up with this on a long run – and it looks like Microsoft is starting to reap the fruits…

Various editors have recently received a “bullet-point” list of features and statements about the upcoming version of Windows Mobile. At Tamoggemon’s, we don’t just post them – but also embed some analysis for yours truly.

So, take a look at the items below – italics is the leak, our answer is in normal next:
· WP7 will be announced at MWC, and there will be a demo, but this will be just the UX
What else should they show? Devices?

· MIX will have specific developement focus sessions on WP7
· WP7 supports both Sliverlight (out of browser) and XNA
· Silverlight is version 3.0, with elements of 4.0 plus mobile specific features such as sensors etc
· XNA apps can be developed using XNA GameStudio 3.1
· SL apps developed using Expression Blend 3.x and VS2010
· MS will release a mobile version of VS / Expression which will be free, and VS2010 / Expression Pro will have a free add-on

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· WP7 will have an equivalent of .NET CF embedded into SL, but no SQL.
· WP7 will have isolated storage which is accessible using LINQ
· The UX of WP7 is based upon a theme called “METRO” and is similar to Zune HD, but with a completely new “Start” screen.

Doesn’t look good for business apps, which is a core feature of WM.

· No multi-tasking (applications will pause when in the background, however they will support notifications using the MS Push Notifications environment)

Plain stupid. I don’t think they are dumb enough to give up on the main benefit of their platform.

· No .NET CF backwards compatibility, however a proportion of the data and business logic in .NET CF could be ported

See above.

· MS were confident to have devices ready for Sep 2010
· No MS manufactured device, however much tighter control of manufactring process, so as an example each device has a 3D processing chipset, and MS provide all of the device drivers. So no platform builder. This enables OTA updates and simplified model for ODM’s
· Marketplace will support buy and try before you buy, as well as an API
· ODM / OEM will not be able to modify the “Start” screen, so no more HTC Sense / TouchFlo etc.

While I understand this – many at Microsoft’s are extremely pissed at the diversification, I don’t think OEMs will have one bit of that.

· MS are actually ahead of schedule which will surprise the analysts / journalists
· Browsing experience is currently faster / better than iPhone 3G, and they are aiming towards 3GS.
· Browser is based upon desktop IE7 codebase, but with some IE8 functionality
· No in browser Flash or SL
· WP7 has full integration with XBOX Live, and ability to purchase games
· WP7 will use the Zune software for music, videos, photos sync
· WP7 only supports app installation through service based delivery i.e. marketplace, so no side-loading
· MS will provide a hosted push notifications environment

Peanuts.

To be honest: I dare to speculate that at least part of this information is bogus. If it isn’t, Microsoft really seems to want to fulfill its promise of “dual platforms”: one of tzhem for entertainment (WM7), and the other one (WM 6.5.3) for business.

T-Mobile USA’s intent to launch the HD2 is all but confirmed – we just miss release date and pricing.

tmonews.com now has picked up the slide below, which was posted to PPCgeeks:

Not much to add here…

Amazon has just sent out a few invites to developers who indicated “interest” in the Kindle – it offered a further form, offering you to “apply for a place” in the Kindle developer test program.

Amazon has now posted an FAQ for Kindle developers – the most relevant questions are below:

# What APIs are available to me in the KDK?
The KDK is comprised of two sets of APIs:

* Java version 1.4 Personal Basis Profile (PBP) APIs for mobile devices.
PBP JavaDocs can be found at http://java.sun.com/javame/reference/apis/jsr217/.
* Kindle custom APIs which complement the PBP APIs and provide UI components, JSON and XML parsers, HTTP and HTTPS networking, secure storage, and other features. Other APIs like audio and dictionary access will be available in a future release of the KDK.
KDK JavaDocs can be found at http://kdk-javadocs.s3.amazonaws.com/index.html.

# I’ve already built a Java Micro Edition (J2ME) application. Can I port it to Kindle?
Yes. You should be able to modify existing Java applets and J2ME software to run on Kindle.

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As of now, Tamoggemon has not been accepted – stay tuned!

Sony Ericsson’s Aspen has been announced a few days ago – and the first hands-on reports are being posted as you read this.

The picture below is from se-first, who have posted a nice hands-on gallery comparing the Faith to a few other devices:

They furthermore have the following to say about the keyboard:

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The full featured QWERTY keyboard provides an OK haptic feedback, however the surface of the keys are a little bit too slippery. The device itself feels comfortable in your hands.

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The next part is a video shot by Eldar Murtasin – it unfortunately is all-Russian:

For me, it looks like a nice device – the question is whether SE will be able to ship it “in time”…

We’ve covered HTC’s extended battery for the HD2 before – but have now received a new image via Clove:

We now furthermore know that the HD2 extended battery will have 2300mAH of capacity…

Windows Mobile always was popular due to its immense flexibility – while not as flexible as S60, Windows Mobile themes have nevertheless given their creators loads and loads of leeway for experimentation.

It looks like the games will continue with Windows Mobile 6.5.3. Skin head Dark Ninja has just released the following:

Further information and a download link can be had at XDA-developers:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=5506307#post5506307

I guess that quite a few people at Redmond’s were extremely pissed when Apple’s iPad hit the road – while their product was technologically more advanced, it took an iPad to dake the world by storm.

Dick Brass, a former Microsoft VP, stated the following in a New York Times (anybody surprised by this?) op-ed:

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“The much more important question is why Microsoft, America’s most famous and prosperous technology company, no longer brings us the future, whether it’s tablet computers like the iPad, e-books like Amazon’s Kindle, smartphones like the BlackBerry and iPhone, search engines like Google, digital music systems like iPod and iTunes or popular Web services like Facebook and Twitter,”

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Given that the New York Times has already distributed total crap about Microsoft in the past, Micriosoft’s response via PC World was less than a bored “meh”:

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“At the highest level, we think about innovation in relation to its ability to have a positive impact in the world. For Microsoft, it is not sufficient to simply have a good idea, or a great idea, or even a cool idea. We measure our work by its broad impact,” wrote Frank X. Shaw, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of communications.

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Not much to add here…

Sony Ericsson’s XPERIA X1 got a bit of flak when it was initially announced, as no firmware updates were available for some time. Of course, xda-developers was active right from the start – which tended to minimize impact…

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA Blog has just been updated with the following statement:

As the X2 begins to roll out globally, it’s only fair that customers know what kind of support we’ll be giving the phone in the months to come. It’s not news to say that we attracted some criticism for this on the X1 and we’re not going to go there again with the X2. So, for the record, this is what X2 customers can expect in terms of software upgrades.

In March, we’ll launch our first upgrade (MR1). It will upgrade Windows Mobile from 6.5.1 to 6.5.2 (which will improve both the stability and usability of the device), it will bring in the use of video telephony, an FM radio and it will introduce fast GPS to get a quicker fix. As well as all this, MR1 will upgrade a lot of the applications in the phone to improve speed, usability and fix any bugs we find.

The second update will go live in May and this will be a big one as it moves Windows mobile onto 6.5.3. This is a significant upgrade in terms of usability, performance, power management and the browser experience.

That’s the extent of our plans at the moment but I’ll update this post as we make any more decisions.

Thanks. Aaron

(ps. Before anyone asks, no it won’t ever go onto Windows Mobile 7, it won’t support the hardware.)

Given that this device is not made by HTC, the extra attention on firmware updates is needed – keep in mind that users will not be able to benefit from the plethora of custom ROMs made available by xda-developers…

As usual, our friends at BrightHand’s have just released their mindshare stats.

The top-ten is below – as always, the position in brackets refers to last month’s place:

1. HTC HD2 (1)
2. Samsung Moment, Android (3)
3. Nokia N900 (2)
4. BlackBerry Curve 8530 (new)
5. Nokia E63 (9)
6. BlackBerry Bold 9700 (6)
7. Motorola Droid, Android (4)
8. BlackBerry Bold 9000 (returning)
9. Nokia E71 and E71x (returning)
10. Samsung Omnia II (10)

Recent reports of extra memory on the HTC HD2 have caused quite a few nasty memories for Germans: we were flooded with “fake” memory sticks a few years ago.

In order to prove that the extra RAM on the HD2 was real, an xda-developers member created a test program:

In light of recent discoveries about the HD2’s hidden 128MB RAM, I’ve written a small application which uses the native Win32 API to allocate as much memory as it can (up to 2GB), and verifies it.

Notes:

* This application is designed to test the limits of your device’s memory. In particular, to test if the HD2’s additional 128MB is actually usable or not.
* This application will attempt to allocate as much memory as it can, OS limits notwithstanding. The application allocates memory in the OS’s shared memory space, which means that it isn’t privy to the usual 32MB address space limit.
* Because the application isn’t limited to 32MB memory usage, you don’t need to run multiple instances to consume your memory. Just one instance will do.
* This application does not use .NET, and instead uses the direct low-level kernel memory management functions (VirtualAlloc and VirtualFree) to reserve, commit, and free virtual pages. This means that the application has much more precise control over memory, and can consume memory until only a couple of megabytes remain.
* This application verifies the memory it allocates, by writing a byte pattern to the memory, and reading it out again. This is necessary because the Windows CE kernel does not commit pages to physical memory unless the memory page is read/written from at least once. This also guarantees that the memory is, in fact, usable and valid.

Hit the link below for a CAB and the source code:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=627404

Apple’s announcement to use a micro SIM in its iPad caused quite a bit of waves in the mobile industry – no other box has used this smaller format so far.

The illustration on the left shows the site difference – and CNET reports the following:

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The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), which sets the standards for SIM cards, tells us that except for the size of the plastic around the chip, micro SIM cards are identical to the SIM cards we normally find in phones.

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This means that you can cut existing SIM cards to size – have fun, tinkerers!

Image: Wikimedia Commons / Justin Ormont