TamsPPC – the Windows Phone Blog

The Windows Mobile news and opinion source

May 31st, 2009

HTC Touch Pro 2 gets reviewed

HTC’s Touch Pro 2 is anxiously awaited by all these unhappy with the XPERIA’s keyboard – unfortunately, reviews of it have not been available so far. This has now changed though…my long-term friend Shaun McGill brings along the following verdict:

It is very easy when you have reviewed many HTC devices to get battle weary and to just look at each one as a slight variation on the previous models, and this is true of many of them. The Touch Pro2 does feel like a Touch HD squeezed into a TyTN II and this is most definitely a good thing.

It is a power users dream, but one which will also suit people who need to keep in contact throughout the day and thus it covers many of the areas power users want in a smartphone. It does not have the finesse of an iPhone, but then again nothing does. It does, however, offer top of the range features in almost every area.

Of course specifications are not everything, but it is to some people and the Pro2 feels like it will fit perfectly into the hands of anyone who has the slightest inkling towards Windows Mobile.

Further information can be had in his extremely detailed write-up, which can be accessed via the links below:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

May 30th, 2009

HTC Touch Pro 2 unboxed

Don’t ask me where the boys from PocketNow.com’s got their Touch Pro 2 from – but they have just released the unboxing video below:

As usual: keep your fingers off for at least another month or two for a significant discount…

May 30th, 2009

Samsung / Georgio Armani phone with WM 6.5 drops soon

Traditonally, luxury handsets (like Nokia’s infamous Vertu series) were dumb as a dodo – the average mid-range smartphone has been able to kick the cr@p out of them feature-wise for quite some time.

Rumors about a Samsung/Georgio Armani handset running Windows Mobile 6.5 have been around for quite some time…and it looks like the actual device will be announced in Milan on the 11th.

The picture below hits us via the Italian web site hdblog.it:
samsung armani Samsung / Georgio Armani phone with WM 6.5 drops soon

As of now, no further information is available. However, I would dare to bet that this device will not be one of the ultra-expensive handsets, but will rather fit into the sub-1000 Euro price band…

May 29th, 2009

HTC releases GPS patch for Diamond and Touch Pro

3a HTC releases GPS patch for Diamond and Touch ProHTC’s Touch Diamond and Touch Pro have always had GPS eekers – a friend of mine owns both of them and has actually purchased an extra S60 phone solely for navigational purposes.

Fortunately, HTC is aware of the problem…and has just released a so-called hotfix for the two affected devices:

If it is difficult to find or locate a position when using GPS, please download this hotfix to solve the problem.

As this is a hotfix, there is no risk of data loss…but it always needs to be reinstalled after a hardreset. Hit the links below for the download:
HTC Touch Diamond
HTC Touch Pro

May 29th, 2009

Alcatel unleashes next Windows Mobile handset

TamsPPC was the only news service which managed to identify the Alcatel OT-707 as a Windows Mobile-based device – it looks like the boys are dead-serious about their commitment to Windows Mobile. The images below hit us via pconline.com.cn (Chinese):
1 Alcatel unleashes next Windows Mobile handset
2 Alcatel unleashes next Windows Mobile handset
3 Alcatel unleashes next Windows Mobile handset

According to The:Unwired, the critter will hit the Chinese carrier Unicom, who will use it as one of its first UMTS 2100 3G devices. Specs-wise, the device is somewhat decent:

* 3.2 inch touchscreen display with 240 x 400 pixels
* Wi-Fi
* 3.5mm headset jack
* Bluetooth 2.1
* 528 MHz Qualcomm CPU
* 256MB of RAM, 256MB of ROM

As of now, nobody quite knows when this critter will hit Europe or the USA – stay tuned for further info as we get it…

P.S. A bunch of further images can be found here – use the tabs labeled 1,2 and 3 at the bottom to navigate.

May 28th, 2009

NS Basic/CE updated

ScreenShot 1 NS Basic/CE updatedNS Basic/CE has just been updated to version 8.0 – the latest version of George Henne’s ultra-easy (and very affordable) Visual Basic lookalike adds the following new features:

1. Gradient Buttons (picture on the left)
2. Creation of installers
3. Vastly simplified installation and distribution of apps
4. No separate runtime required
5. Embedded resources
6. Lots of other stuff as well. Read on below for more…

Upgrade prices begin at 50$:

Upgrades are available to existing users starting at $49.95. Customers who purchased NS Basic/CE after April 1, 2009 will receive the upgrade for no charge.

All those of you seeking further information should hit the URL below:
http://www.nsbasic.com/ce/info/Readme.htm

May 27th, 2009

AT&T: we don’t give up on Windows Mobile Standard

This slide comes from where all the others before it have come from, too – and is perfectly timed to dispell any and all rumors of AT/&T giving up on the Windows Mobile Standard platform:
lg att wms AT&T: we dont give up on Windows Mobile Standard

We told you so ;)

May 27th, 2009

Touch Pro 2 available for purchase

HTC’s Touch Pro 2 always got less attention than the keyboardless Diamond 2 – but it looks like the critter can now be purchased for 509 GPB. DeviceWire still has 36 in stock as of this writing:
htc touch pro 2 buy now Touch Pro 2 available for purchase

Just in case anybody cares: the price transforms to 585 Euros or 814 USD…

May 26th, 2009

NTT Docomo and Telefonica get Toshiba TG01

1a NTT Docomo and Telefonica get Toshiba TG01TamsPPC was among the first news services who reported that Telefonica Germany would pick up the Toshiba TG01 – NTT DoCoMo has now released a press release clarifying the situation.

The most important lines are below:

DOCOMO and Telefónica to Introduce Windows Mobile Handset by Toshiba
Partnerships

TOKYO, MADRID, MAY 25, 2009 — NTT DOCOMO, INC. and Telefónica announced today that a Windows Mobile® handset model made by Toshiba Corporation will be introduced by both companies in their respective Japanese and Spanish markets in June to July as part of a plan for various joint undertakings by the two mobile operators.

DOCOMO and Telefónica are now considering various other initiatives to mutually strengthen corporate competitiveness and customer satisfaction in their respective markets, including a joint study of possible services and applications for open OS handsets.

DOCOMO Senior Vice President and Product Department Managing Director Kiyohito Nagata said: “DOCOMO looks forward to working with global operators such as Telefónica to jointly develop mobile services and applications for mutually enhanced global competitiveness. At the same time, we would be pleased if such efforts have the added effect of supporting Japanese mobile phone manufacturers in their attempts to expand handset sales overseas.”

“Operating system platforms are becoming more and more important to drive the extraordinary growth of mobile internet business. DOCOMO and Telefónica are leading operators in their respective markets and this is a great opportunity to provide their customers with best-in-class products and solutions,” said Luis Ezcurra, Manager of Handsets and Multimedia of Telefónica España.

As of now, no further information is available. Stay tuned for news as we get them!

May 26th, 2009

First Windows Mobile 7 handset leaked

Even though I am somewhat suspicious of Engadget’s latest multi-leak (especially after declaring the BlackJack franchise dead), the slide below nevertheless deserves to be posted for closer scrutiny:
lg monaco First Windows Mobile 7 handset leaked

Let’s enjoy this: most Windows Mobile 6.5 handsets will not have been released by the time AT&T’s PowerPoint head thinks that this critter will drop.

I guess that he really has to go…

May 26th, 2009

Verizon to get Touch Pro 2, too

Images of a Sprint-branded version of the Touch Pro 2 have been out for a few days, along with images of an AT&T device which somewhat looks like a Touch Pro 2.

The image below is from d474rpr.com, and shows a Touch Pro 2 with Verizon branding:
verizon touch pro 2 Verizon to get Touch Pro 2, too

He states the following:

Not far from the T-Mobile Rhodium we have already mentioned in previous blogs, the Verizon TP2 sports a little bit of a different look. I’ll get some more close ups of the shell variations between the T-Mobile and Verizon flavors. We like the T-Mobile version better.

May 25th, 2009

AT&T should fire its PowerPoint head

I guess that everybody who is at least somewhat active in the mobile computing scene knows where the slide below is from: it was part of a recent mega-leak from AT&T’s which hit Engadget:
samsung pivot slide AT&T should fire its PowerPoint head

As AT&T has just released the Jack recently and furthermore sells a device which is similar to the i780; I think that WMS heads can keep their hair on.

The platform goes nowhere, folks…

May 25th, 2009

AT&T’s new WM smartphones from HTC and HP

The three slides below are courtesy of Engadget, who don’t know much more either:
att touch diamond 2 AT&Ts new WM smartphones from HTC and HP
att touch pro 2 AT&Ts new WM smartphones from HTC and HP
hp ipaq k3 AT&Ts new WM smartphones from HTC and HP

P.S. That iPaq is NOT a Windows Mobile Smartphone…look at the specs carefully…

May 23rd, 2009

HTC Touch Pro 2 spotted in Sprint livery

Update: wrong conclusion. Verizon delayed the Touch Diamond, not the Pro…
BrightHand claims that the two images below come from SprintUsers – unfortunately, the latter site has since removed the thread which contained them:
touch pro 2 sprint 1 HTC Touch Pro 2 spotted in Sprint livery
touch pro 2 sprint 2 HTC Touch Pro 2 spotted in Sprint livery

May 22nd, 2009

Tamoggemon Crazy Sunday hits #6

Finding a non-X-rated topic for this week’s Crazy Sunday giveaway was difficult at best – I hope that this one fits the taste of all of you. We’re in the sixth week now, and have given away a fair load of prizes all across the news network…so there should be no reason for unhappiness.

This week, you are invited to get your hands onto a copy of FlipSide. FlipSide brings CoverFlow support to your media player, and has scored excellently in a TamsPPC review!

User pc claimed a license of SplashMoney. In case anyone of you wants to take a pop, use the discount code CRAZYSUNDAY to get 20% off it in the TamsShop.

With that, I wish you all the best – see you again here next week!