TamsPPC - the PocketPC Blog

Our US readers can now get their hands onto HTC’s latest PocketPC devices:

HTC Advantage X7510
This device hasn’t been made available state-side due to unspecified legal issues regarding the QualComm processor used. Nevertheless, two importers now offer the device for 1300$ - links below:
Dynamism
On The Go Solutions

HTC Touch Diamond
HTC’s Touch Diamond has been all over the news due to the lack of quad-band capability: European Touch Diamonds will have issues getting 3G coverage. Nevertheless, CompUSA imports the device and sells it for about 800$ a pop…

In case anyone of you has a horror story or interesting bit of news about the merchants mentioned above, please talk back!

I always preferred my organizers to dedicated media players due to the power of a file-based interface(aka files and folders rather than artists and albums). FlipSide plans to bring album-based navigation to the PocketPC - can it stack up?

After starting FlipSide, the program displays a list of albums. Stuff that can’t be catalogized is put into a “default” folder:

Tapping an album cover twice opens a tracklist:

The currently-playing track is shown at the bottom of the screen. The program supports shuffle mode and custom playlists. Other features such as a volume boost or an equalizer are not available.

Clicking “Get Cover” analyzes the currently-selected batch of MP3 files and fetches a matching cover from the internet. I have tested this with a few albums and was successful: the fetch process happens in the background and takes about one minute:

Clicking Extra Info opens a web site about the artist:

This 138KB program is an excellent example of the power of the .NET CF and a feature-rich operating system. Version 1.03 worked flawlessly on my ipaq rx4240 using the .NET CF 2 version deployed by Visual Studio..

FlipSide is an excellent tool for people wanting to add a bit of “visual oomph” to their MP3 collection. It’s unique internet features stand out from the crowd of rather boring(but feature-packed) media players: the price of 20$ is acceptable…