TamsPPC - the PocketPC Blog

A Palm insider has given us access to information that definitely and finally confirms the existance of two Palm devices currently codenamed Zeppelin and Skywriter.

The document that we are looking at covers a developer program that allows Palm’s favorite developers to make their applications ready for the two new devices AND maybe even comarket them with Palm. All applications must be submitted by May the 30th - this could point at a launch of the device(s) in Q3 2008.

Last but not least, a mock-up of the devices has been included:

Unconfirmed sighting reports from another Palm insider have confirmed the existence of a “Centrolike” WM device - it could be very well possible that Skywriter is this box. Alternatively, it could also be a WM6.1 version of the Treo 500 - no further information on the devices is currently available…

The full text is here:

Greetings,
Palm is pleased to invite you to participate in the launch of Zeppelin and Skywriter.

As a launch developer, you can participate in additional marketing and sales program opportunities with Palm for your eligible application.

Your application is eligible for these programs if:
- Your application is ready at the time of device launch
- Your application has successfully passed Designed for Palm Products (DFPP) compatibility testing. Learn more about DFPP at http://pdn.palm.com/dfpp.

Please let your relationship manager know if you plan on participating and when you have submitted your application for compatibility testing so we can expedite your application through the process.

Carrier Sales Training Materials
Information about your application will be included in the materials prepared for carrier sales training about the device. This opportunity lets the carriers and the carrier sales teams know which applications Palm has approved for use on Zeppelin devices.

How to participate:
Fill out the attached PowerPoint template. Drop in a screen shot in the screen area of the device. Return the template to your relationship manager.
Submission due date: Friday May 30th

Retail Demonstrations – NEW!
Through Palm’s association with MarketSource, your application can be demonstrated by MarketSource personnel to carrier retail outlets and large retailers throughout the United States. Simply provide MarketSource with your application and they’ll do the rest. It is like having 40+ evangelists demonstrating your application to carrier sales teams.

How to Participate:
Please let your relationship manager know if you plan on participating and please confirm when you have submitted your application for compatibility testing so we can expedite your application through the process.

We will contact you about your application, when it can be scheduled for demonstration, retail/sales initiatives, and how to provide your application.

We look forward to working with you on getting your application part of our Zeppelin and Skywriter launches. Please feel free to contact me any questions you might have.

Recently, Samsung began to unveil a few CDMA/GSM hybrid phones than can operate on both GSM(european) anjd CMDA(classic US) networks. The ACE was the first box to start the dualradio mania; the i770 is now said to bring this nice feature to touchscreened devices.

As of now there is little more information available about the box - visit Engadget Mobile for a drawing of the box’s back!

Celio’s Foleo “clone” called REDFLY has been covered on TamsPPC multiple times before - anyways, the box can now be preordered from the manufacturer’s web site in the following quantity’s:

Celio themselves describe the promotion as following:

Celio Corp is pleased to offer the REDFLY Mobile Companion directly to enterprise customers for evaluation and mobile solution providers for demonstration. By submitting a pre-order to this site, you agree to be contacted by Celio to qualify the sales opportunity (quantity, smartphone device, line of business software, and timetable for implementation, etc.). This site requires a credit card. Orders will be authorized, but not charged until the product ships. Initial shipments are planned for May, 2008.

In case anyone of you feels adventurous, please let us all know how you fared!

TamsPPC was among the first news sites world-wide to report about Aceeca’s upcoming MEZ1500 and MEZ2000 RDA handhelds - in case anyone of you is new to the term, Meazura’s RDA handhelds are rugged PDA’s that can be submerged in water, dropped, kicked around,… .

Almost a year has passed since the initial announcement - and Aceeca (finally) starts to ship evaluation units. In case you want one, click this URL to benefit from the excellent offers shown below:

P.S. We hope to be able to secure a MEZ1500 in order to provide you all with a detailed review!

The folks at HTC’s recently dominated the TamsPPC front page - now that the rumored press event is just 5 days ahead(6th of May), the leaks become bigger and bigger. Here’s the latest bit of news off the rumor mill:

TaipeiTimes claims that HTC financial executive Cheng Hui-Ming recently stated the following at an investor’s conference(abbreviated):

……
Sales in the current quarter could reach NT$34 billion (US$1.12 billion), with 70 percent coming from high-priced third-generation (3G) handsets, aided by a new product launch on May 6 in London.

…..

“This is the most important product for HTC this year,” Cheng said. “With this phone, we’re confident of landing orders from most major operators.”

But Cheng also warned of possible delays in shipments, as HTC has yet to obtain certification for the new handset model.

For me, this looks like a pretty clear sign: the Diamond is coming on the 6th(seeing that it is the successor of the wildly popular Touch)…

HTC’s Advantage x7510 has been discussed at TamsPPC’s before - its “touch” keyboard wasn’t received too well by some of you!

Anyways, the fine folks at Tracy-and-Matt’s have managed to get their claws on a boxed Advantage x7510, and bring along an unboxing video(with a lovely typo - the video says that it is about the x7501). The 10min video provides an overview of the accessory bundle and the mechanic behavior…people wanting pictures of the box in action unfortunately won’t get happy here.

PocketPCThoughts claims that a Chinese web site called Mobile01 got access to a preproduction version of the device and reported that it has automatic screen rotation and USB 2.0 - unfortunately, the folks at Mobile01’s don’t have any reference to the box on their front page.

In the end, the Achilles heel of the HTC x7510(the touch keyboard) still hasn’t had a longer stand-off with a reviewer’s hands. Until this has happened, I recommend all of you to hold back(as a bad keyboard can be really frustrating)…

AllTel(a rather small US carrier) has managed to beat both Sprint and Verizon when deploying EVDO Rev.A to HTC’s ever-popular touch is concerned.

According to the Boy Genius Report, ROM version 3.04.671.2 allows Alltel-branded Touch’s to work at EVDO Rev.A speeds. Additionally, the patch fixes a few bluetooth quirks and adds video messaging support…

In case anyone of you has an Alltel-branded HTC Touch, please let us know if it all worked out well!

P.S. No information is currently available on updates for Sprint and Verizon!

A Dubai-based web site called kaz911 repair service has posted a few unboxing photos of their i-mate Ultimate 9502 - here are two especially interesting ones:

The reviewer is not particularly happy with the device - he is dissatisfied with the “cheap” keys, crappy speaker(sic) and smallish screen. In the end, he nevertheless states that the device is “a great device” - and asks readers if they want to purchase it as he apparently wants to return to his Nokia E90 ;).

An anonymous tipster has sent Engadget information about upcoming devices from HTC - here’s what we know as of now:

HTC Diamond

The HTC Diamond is said to be the next HTC Touch, offering “enhanced TouchFLO technology”. Other than that, little is currently known about that critter.

HTC Raphael

The HTC Raphael seems to be HTC’s answer to the SE XPERIA X1 we handled at the CeBit. Anyways, the Sprint datasheet claims that the device will have a 2.5(or 2.8)” VGA screen(with TouchFLO) - a definite step up from QVGA. HTC included EVDO Rev. A, Bluetooth 2.0 and WiFi. The Raphael is intended to drop in Q4 2008 and will replace the HTC Mogul…

The folks at PDAdb.net have undug a picture and a preliminary datasheet of Mitac’s upcoming device named LoveBird:

Anyways, we are looking at a WM 6.1 smartphone powered by Samsung’s 400MhZ SC2xxx processor(used on the rx4240). Like most other Mitac devices, a GPS system is integrated.

Other than that, the device’s specs are rather unimpressive: a 2MP camera; QVGA, MicroSD. Nothing more to see here…

A HTC insider apparently shared the picture below with the press:

The amusing thing about the picture is that some of the devices are not released as of now. The top row is made up of two TyTN IIs, a Touch and a Touch Dual. Engadget claims that the second from left device at the bottom is a P3470…leaving us with three new devices(bottom row, #1, #3, #4).

The folks at BrightHand’s have managed to get their hands on a RedFly somehow - and now bring along their(thorough) review of the device.

Ed Hardy generally was happy with the device, but disliked the bad video performance. He was not able to get TCPMP or Windows Media Player to play back movies on the RedFly’s screen - even though the developer promises improvements, I doubt the viability of these plans…

He concludes as following:

If you’re a Windows Mobile smartphone user looking for a small laptop to help you with tasks like email and web browsing when you’re on the road, and you want to save yourself the hassle of dealing with Windows, then the Celio Redfly is right up your alley.

But the device has a few limitations that keep it from being a good choice for many hard core smartphone users. In short, the Redfly is a useful device for getting work done, but it’s a little weak when it comes to fun.

Get the full scoop here:
http://www.brighthand.com/default.asp?newsID=13909

Sony Ericsson’s first Windows Mobile device got a disproportional amount of front line attention on TamsPPC so far – mostly because of rumors about schedule slips. The Sony Ericsson booth had a few non-working dummies(heavily guarded – no chance to reanimate it with a Mobile Device Charger).

Anyways, here are a few size comparison images:

One really great thing is that Sony Ericsson finally saw the light of day and included a MiniUSB port:

A booth attendant told me that the device will be priced “high but still affordable”, and that we should probably not expect it before November 2008. Hey, all they said was Q2 2008 – and November definitely is in Q2 2008:

In the end, the XPERIA X1 looks like a very nice device. If the price isn’t too outrageous and the custom UI isn’t too fucked up(anyone wondering about why the Treo 500v is 50€ cheaper than the Treo 500 in OTC sales??), I can see myself using this box as my main device when it drops….

One of the great benefits of the Windows Mobile platform is its truly insane diversity. Literally hundreds of manufacturers fight for your purchase order – can Motorola’s entries stack up?

Before we look at the actual devices, here is a quick prologue on the history of these devices. They are sold under a funny brand called Symbol…which originally was a company making Palm OS handhelds for industrial use(look for them at fairs,..). The company eventually fired its Palm OS division(thereby forming Janam) and finally was sold to Motorola. Big M still sticks to the name because of the high brand awareness associated with it.

So far so good, here come the boxen(MC35 on the left, MC50 on the right, Treo 680 in the middle):

The bulge in the back of the MC50 is an extended battery – Motorola offers extended batteries with 2 times the normal capacity for all of its devices. With the ext. bat inserted, the box is said to reach a lifetime of approximately 8h:

Unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed to test if the devices really survive a 90cm(3 feet) drop to a concrete floor with a carpet on top – but the manufacturer’s promise probably is true.

Here’s a picture of the MC35 next to the Treo 680 – both are in action here:

Last but not least, our friend at Motorola’s told us that it’s very possible that we will see VGA screens next year. The reason for this is simple: screen manufacturers keep offering us VGA screens at more-less the same price QVGA screens cost(sic). As said, don’t expect anything now – but all is possible next year!

In the end, the MC35 and MC50 are very interesting devices not only for industrial use. While the price of 500-600€ is quite a bit higher than the price of a stock HP box, the long battery life time and higher sturdyness are very valid reasons for the premium price…

P.S. We were promised access to a review unit – stay tuned!

Asus apparently not only excels by having an extremely bad sample delivery department, but also by its - probably involuntarily - willingness to let the press get shots of yet-unreleased devices. Anyways, here’s the latest scoop:

Asus M536

The m536 looks like yet another box set up to kill Palm’s ubiquitous Treo 7xx boxen. 320×320 display, WM 6.1, triband, HSDPA 3.6Mbit. WiFi, GPS, touchscreen - that’s it.

Asus Lamborghini ZX1

While this box was leaked some time ago, we now know that Asus plans to give it some kind of iPhoneish UI…and a price of 1000€ before subsidies! Hmm…

As of now, little more is known - please stay tuned for further info on Friday!