TamsPPC - the PocketPC Blog

HP’s ipaq h5450 is said to have problems with its sync connector eventually stopping to work. Since these machines are pretty old, sending them in for repair probably isn’t very effective - but BITZ to the rescue! This blog has a very interesting repair guide online:
http://hindesite.wordpress.com/articles/ipaq-h5450-connector-replacement/

This repair guide is very detailed and also contains quite a few cool pictures of the innards of the h5450 - well done, cool pictures(not only for h5450 owners!)…

Ball and board games have been popular for ages - Palm OS users currently get their JezzBall port, and PocketPC users have SPB’s Xonix II. The idea behind Xonix is simple - but can it stack up?

The idea behind Xonix 2 is that parts of the board are ‘cut off’ with a ‘laser beam’. If the cut-out area is free of enemies, the area is closed. You can proceed from level to level by filling a defined portion of the board:

Xonix 2 contains a variety of enemies that behave differently - it also contains a few popups that modify the game’s behaviour:

This review looked at Xonix 2 Version 1.1 on a hp ipaq rx4240, it was extremely stable in the review time. The game needs about 2MB of RAM and can be installed onto a memory card easily.

Overall, Xonix 2 is simple and great fun. Understanding the rules literally takes seconds - this makes the app ideally suited for parties. If you like the game’s concept, get it now…you will not be disappointed! The price of 9.95$ is more than justified!

PocketGamer reports that PocketPC users can now run Windows 95 and Windows 98SE on their machines here:
http://www.pocketgamer.org/showthread.php?threadid=3660

While I didn’t try this out yet, a few commentators report success on various PocketPC handhelds and smartphones. If you have it working, why not drop us a line telling us about it?

Use the coupon code FULLKEYBOARD at the TamsShop to get 20% off the list price until the 5th of June
Palm’s Treo series is very popular and useful(for me) because of its integrated QWERTY keyboard - it really speeds up data entry compared to most stylus based input methods. Since my hp ipaq rx4240 had no keyboard and only a German dictionary for Transcriber, entering data was a pain. SPB Full Screen Keyboard promises to help…but can the product stack up?

After installation, the program takes you to the hardware button configuration screen. You can then assign a “toggle” button - pressing this button opens the keyboard.

Using SPB Full Screen Keyboard is easy - tap the field you want to enter data into, and press the button assigned. And voila - here’s the keyboard. Press the bottom left button to close the keyboard and enter the text… . SPB includes an English dictionary into the program. This allows Full Screen Keyboard to propose words as you type - very handy, especially on handhelds with a non-German Windows CE dictionary installed.

Configuring the program is a bit hairy, as you cannot access the configuration dialog except via the “input” panel in the System Control Panel. However, the effort pays - a variety of options can be configured there:

Full Screen Keyboard can be customized with a variety of skins - here are a few examples:

This review looked at version 3.0.1 of SPB Full Screen Keyboard on a hp ipaq rx4240. The program is extremely stable and needs about 1.2MB of RAM.

To cut a long story short, this app has increased the usefulness of my ipaq rx4240 by at least 200%. If you enter data on your handheld, get this application by all means. You will save LOADS of time and stress. Typing is very comfortable on my small-screened ipaq, people who dislike to use their fingers for typing will benefit from the bigger keys. The price of 9.95$ is a true steal - this is a must have!

One of the most impressive things about the HP ipaq rx4240 is the inclusion of both WLAN and Bluetooth transmitters. This is a sub-300€ machine after all, so dual wireless is not standard!

HP’s software department created a nifty tool called ipaq wireless that provides you with an overview of the radio statuses(german OS - sorry) on the Today page. Clicking any of the toggles allows you to turn the radios on or off:

Furthermore, the tool provides you easy access to the various protocol stacks and also provides customized screens for choosing WLAN’s and bluetooth connection partners:

While the ipaq doesn’t seem to have a ‘turnoff keep alive’ function that keeps the link active(Skype adds sth like that though) even when the screen turns off(like the Treo 680 has for Bluetooth), it automatically attempts to reconnect to any access points it was ganged up with beforehand.

Bluetooth range is excellent - the ipaq beats the Palm TX hands-down and is on-par with the Palm Treo 680. When Wifi is concerned, the Palm TX seems to be a bit more sensitive and has a slightly higher range - but both machines are very long-ranged and work well.

Overall, HP’s implementation of a dual-radio handheld is very well-done. Both radios can be used at the same time, have high ranges and easy-to-use software stacks. Congratulations…no negative points here!

This just came in from Proporta’s - since the HTC Athena is a very interesting device, I felt like posting it:

The HTC Athena (AKA T Mobile Ameo, AKA HTC Advantage, AKA Dopod U1000) has caused quite the stir in the mobile world – smaller than a laptop and larger than a PDA, this function packed device can cater for most of your mobile needs. The magnetic keyboard dock is very sturdy, however, the device is precariously top heavy and with a high retail price –nothing about the device is cheap……enter Proporta with carefully designed protection.

Screen Protection…
With such a sizable screen and a 3 mega pixel camera, of course Proporta has provided top screen protection for this device. Made from ultra high clarity plastic; it reduces glare, improves stylus feel and is washable and replaceable.

Cases…
The Proporta Leather Case for this device is custom designed to fit the exact specifications of the device, and allows full use of the HTC Advantage within the case to avoid any damage from drops or impacts at any time.

The screen is firmly gripped at the side in two places so as not to obstruct the vision of the screen, and gentle magnets within the leather keep the keyboard in place as you type.

Double Buffering is a common technique to reduce flickering in “simple” 2d animations. Binary Clock for Palm OS uses this technique to deliver smooth graphics. The idea behind double buffering is to draw in an offscreen window and copy the contents of the window into the display buffer en bloc every now and then. This way, the user always sees a stable and completely-drawn image.

This is - of course - also possible on a PocketPC. Microsoft’s MSDN contains an article on double buffering - however, finding it took a bit of time. That’s why I’m sharing this link…

Get the full scoop here:
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms172506(VS.80).aspx

The page above doesn’t render well in Firefox 2. The German MSDN page contains exactly the same sample code(with English comments) - without the CSS bug:
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/de-de/library/ms172506(VS.80).aspx

Visual Studio 2005 ships without a SDK for Windows Mobile 5, leaving you without an option to create Windows Mobile 5 applications. Microsoft offers a 175MB SDK after a Genuine Windows validation(very smart move of them - PODS is borked, but free)… so, little Tam thinks that installing this will solve all woes.

However, the install/uninstall process always aborts after a Norton AntiVirus message about how a script needs to be modified. Theis script popped up even after disabling AutoProtect…so there is no way around it.

For now, the only solution I found is removing Norton AntiVirus 2005 from the system before attempting to install the Windows Mobile SDK - once Norton is gone, the SDK installation works out fine(takes up to 15 minutes though…so leave the machine along and have lunch =)).

Does Norton AntiVirus 2005 work for you?

In the Palm OS world, the topics “decline of the handheld” and “move to smartphone” are permanent topics as there is only one real manufacturer left(sorry GSPDA, but you don’t count). PocketPC users are better off with a variety of manufacturers alive and kicking…and IDC’s latest study allows us to look deeply into the manufacturer’s pockets.

Looking at these figures, we see that all manufacturers shipped less “handhelds” than in the year below. Palm still is the number one manufacturer, but HP, Mio and Dell alone have more market share. HP still is the number one of PocketPC’s, but Mio is closing in significantly, having almost tripled its market share.

Interestingly, the top 5 contains two walking dead - both Sharp and Dell have announced to exit the handheld market and are currently clearing out their inventory.

Last but not least, handheld shipments have dropped by 1/3 overall. IMHO, this is a matter of customer migration mostly…manufacturers like HP and Palm have recently begun to aggressively market their smartphones at customers instead of PocketPC’s…

What do you think?

Source: IDC

When I returned my AppleTV; I had the opportunity to have a quick chat with someone high up the Saturn(a major austrian retailer) foodchain. After I told him about my VGA editorial and asked him about what he thought, he gave me the following, very interesting statement:

I have seen myself that …. for the average customer…in the end the manufacturers effort is not worth it. The average customer does not care…..about VGA screens. For him, QVGA is enough.

For me, the trend is clear. Away from VGA, to QVGA

Do you expect to see any more VGA PocketPC’s?

When I originally purchased the HP ipaq rx4240, almost no accessories were available for it. Since our sister site TamsPalm has worked together with Proporta for a long time, they were asked first - and provided a sample of their Alu-Leather Case (HP iPAQ rx4000 Series) - Book Type.

Proporta´s products ship via standard mail from England - I received literally dozens of packages from them over the years and never had any trouble:

The case itself comes packed in a nice blister:

The iPAQ is sled into the case from the side - you can fit the iPAQ in both sides. The clamps slide onto the machine without any pressure or force, but still hold the rx4240 firmly.

Sliding the iPAQ into the case with the button area pointing at the top makes the clamp cover the SD slot, but leaves all other buttons untouched. The screen orientation prefs make landscape mode usable this way, too:

Sliding the ipaq in the other way blocks access to the reset button, but provides the usual ‘left side flip’ scenario:

The bottom and the top of the handheld always are exposed. Getting to the stylus can be a bit tricky, but sliding the iPAQ up a bit usually helps.

Proporta really did a great job with the case’s lid. You can fit in a credit card and up to two SD cards - this helps you avoid memory card loss and keeps your pockets clean and tidy!

In everyday use, the case is very comfortable and doesn’t get into your way. The clamp and the lid closure mechanics work well, and the handheld gets protected well, too. Since the lid can be pushed behind the unit, the handheld can still be held comfortably.

Overall, Proporta did it once again. Their Alu-Leather Case case looks great, works well and doesn’t get into your way at all. If you can live with the covered-up reset button and the exposed sides, this case will fully satisfy you(if you like leather cases). The price of $34.95 is justified!

The ipaq rx4240 scored really well in the last parts of the review - but hey, if a unit costs just 300€, there must be a catch…system performance must be miserable. But is this so?

HP powers its entrylevel ipaq with a Samsung SC32442 CPU running at 400 MhZ. The processor is not an Intel CPU, but is still more than fast enough for my usage. I didn’t experience any unusual lagging… The benchmark program SPB Benchmark supplied the following values for comparison(in landscape mode):

RAM-wise, the rx4240 comes equipped with 64MB of program and 128MB of data RAM. For all those who come here from TamsPalm, program RAM equals dynamic heap, while data RAM equals a mixture between VFS and storage RAM. After a reset, you have approximately 40 MB of program RAM and 89MB of data RAM free - more than enough for me… .

Memory gets added to the ipaq via an SD slot. I stuck in a variety of SD cards ranging from a 128MB miniSD(with adapter) to a 1GB SD card and had no problems with any of them. However, the Hama 2GB memory card was not accepted - this is a big flaw for a media player handheld.

Overall, I am very happy with the ipaq rx4240’s system specifications. The processor is snappy enough for my needs, and the RAM and file storage space given are more than sufficient, too. So far, no catch was unveiled while reviewing the HP ipaq rx4240(except for the memory card support)…tune in soon for a look at the audio system!

Resco has just released Resco Explorer 2007 - an update on the new features will come soon. The program’s price has risen to 30$; but the program is currently on special offer in the TamsShop at just 25$.

Resco Explorer’s file management functions(Resco Explorer review part 1) alone are worth the 15$ admission fee. But Resco goes even further and adds in a few free plugins that shoudln’t be overlooked - let’s go!

Today Plugin
The Today plugin for Resco Explorer adds a variety of features to the today screen. First of all, it displays battery and memory statuses(sort of like HP’s plugin above does):

However, this plugin goes even further. Resco Explorer allows you to ’send folders’ and bind applications to the plugin. They can then be accessed right from the Today screen. Clicking the checkbox opens a list of currently running programs - click the X to close one of them.

System Info
System Info shows the memory and battery statuses. Additionally, it sometimes provides a ‘eta’ of the remaining run time:

Resco Registry
Resco Registry is regedit for PocketPC - a registry editor for the PocketPC’s registry. The program has a ‘tree view’ mode where the registry structure can be inspected:

Tapping a folder shows the contained keys:

The various types of key can be edited easily:

Last but not least, the so-called FTP plugin allows Resco Explorer to access FTP folders…

Overall, Resco Explorer alone is a must-have for the PocketPC platform. The addons make Resco Explorer a bargain for the price of 15$. Resco’s Today Plugin will really save time - if brightness and wireless toggles would be integrated too, it could easily be a product of its own. Congratulation to Resco PPC - well done, no eekers found!

Resco Explorer is the best file manager for Palm OS – period. The product is a favourite of both TamsPalm authors and TamsPalm readers…and I thus was excited to find out that the product is available for PocketPC’s. The PocketPC version is subdivided into two parts – the first part of the review focuses on Explorer itself, the second part looks at the optional plugins!

Starting up Resco Explorer presents you with a view similar to the PocketPC’s built-in file manager:

The “file view mode” can be set in the menu. Resco Explorer allows you four states of operation – they are shown below. I personally use List view and Detail view most of the time:

A tree view can be displayed next to the file browser window(the toolbars can be removed):

Moving files around your PocketPC is very easy. You can either use classic drag&drop, or use a clipboard-style concept. If a big file gets moved, Explorer displays the writing speed in the progress dialog:

Resco Explorer displays a lot of details about files:

Resco Explorer allows you to compress files into zip format on the go. These zip files can then be treated like folders, and can be used as targets for move and copy operations:

Files can also be encrypted for confidentiality:

Resco Explorer contains a recycle bin for deleted files. Whenever you delete a file in Resco Explorer, the program moves it to a hidden folder on your PocketPC. It can then be recovered from there, later:

Bluetooth file transfers are easy – you just select the files and click Send via Bluetooth:

Last but not least, Resco Explorer also has a “File Find” function that can find files on a memory card…

Overall, Resco Explorer 2005 is a significant improvement over an ipaq’s integrated file manager. The file manager functions alone are worth the purchase price of just 15$ - tune in soon for a look at the cool and free plug-ins that are included in the distribution(and a 20% discount code)!

Plucker is a very useful product that many Palm users use every day. It allows you to download/spider web sites with your desktop and view them later while on the go(without network connection; the data gets compressed). I have used Palm handhelds for ages and thus have a huge library of Plucker documents - thus, I was very delighted to see Vade Mecum aka Plucker Viewer for Palm OS.

Installing Vade Mecum 0.6.3 onto my HP ipaq rx4240 was easy. The machine gladly accepted the .cab file available from SourceForge, although it bickered a bit about how the program may malfunction as it was written for an older version of Windows Mobile:

Opening my sample Plucker file(4MB, compressed, text and images) worked well - here’s a screenshot of the home page of the file:

Complex text formatting and images/tables were handled like Plucker Viewer would handle them on a Palm OS device - even rather complex tables couldn’t stop Vade Mecum’s rendering engine:

Vade Mecum can search the contents of the open document:

Vade Mecum’s rendering engine supports various fonts and font sizes, ClearType support is available, too. The images below show two different renditions of the same file, one with a very small and one with a very big font size:

Plucker documents can be stored all over your PocketPC - as long as you tell Vade Mecum where to look for them:

Last but not least, I tried version 0.6.6.5(experimental). This version is said to have a few improvements to font rendering, and it indeed works quite a bit faster. However, its rendering engine is severely flawed, my sample Plucker document became unusable(links didn’t work):

Overall, viewing Plucker documents on a PocketPC is possible and works well. While Vade Mecum definitely isn’t perfect(speed, lack of landscape mode support), the program handled my sample plucker document very well(no crashes, all links usable, clean rendering). Plucker is no longer a reason to stick to Palm OS - PocketPC’s can view Plucker documents, too!