TamsPPC – the PocketPC Blog

HTC has dominated the Windows Mobile keyboard slider market for some time – both the SE XPERIA X1 and the HTC Touch Pro series of devices were manufactured at the same plant and generated revenue for the same company.

Samsung’s announcement of the Omnia Pro was a straight “declaration of war” at this extremely lucrative market – and the boys at AreaMobile’s have performed a little pictorial shoot-out. One of the images is below:

The full gallery can be accessed here – just click the arrow labeled “Weiter” to proceed:
http://www.areamobile.de/

Living in the United Kingdom makes covering the mobile computing market a lot easier – SlashGear has shared the picture below:

As of now, there is no further info available – stay tuned!

People who own more than one handset can tell a tale of the charger eekers – every manufacturer has at least one (usually two or more) incompatible charger types.

This is not only annoying (extra weight), but also bad for the environment. As such things tend to attract EU regulators attention, manufacturers had to act – Yahoo Tech reports the following:

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The agreement by Nokia, Sony Ericsson and other industry majors will mean phones compatible with standard charging devices are available in Europe from next year, said the EU executive, which has pushed for such a deal.

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The Commission said the agreement would involve the creation of an EU norm, and that the new generation of mobile phones would use a standard micro-USB socket to ensure compatibility.

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According to them, the situation will go even further: chargers and handsets will be unbundled one day (which would lead to even lower handset prices).

Even though I personally prefer MiniUSB as I feel it handles better, MicroUSB nevertheless seems to be a pretty robust solution. My Nokia XPressMusic 5800 is still alive and kicking, and Nokia’s large-scale roll-out has started with the Nokia N85 (review here)…

P.S. HP’s Data Messenger is also based on MicroUSB…and has no problems with it AFAIK…

Mio has produced quite a few successful handsets in the past – their latest device could be dubbed Amber. The image below hits us via ai.rs:

They claim the following specs:

* CPU: Qualcomm MSM 7201A Turbo (528MHz)
* Memory: 256/512MB RAM/ROM
* Display: 3.61″ WVGA
* Network: GPRS/EDGE + WCDMA/HSPA
* Camera: 5MP AF + secondary VGA
* Battery: 1500mAh minimum
* OS: WM 6.5
* MicroSD, GPS, AGPS, BT 2.0, USB 2.0, M sensor, G sensor
* Noise Cancellation
* FM Transmitter

As of now, no official information is available – stay tuned!

HTC’s dominance of the Windows Mobile market has forced both Verizon and Sprint (who happen to be extremely hard competitors) to put up with one manufacturer: delays and long negotiations followed.

Samsung’s recent release of Windows Mobile devices which seem to be serious about business will now add a new hardware manufacturer to the mix – and it looks like Verizon (who usually found itself on the receiving end of all kinds of possibly Sprint-helping delay) will take the plunge.

PhoneArena claims the following:

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Now, thanks to a tipster of ours who claims to have contacted Verizon Wireless, we know the carrier intends to make the smartphone available sometime in July
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As of now, no further information is available. Let’s see how it all plays out…

A Thai web site (which can not be hotlinked for one reason or another) has released the image below:

Specs are as follows according to them and previous leaks:

Phone: GSM850, GSM900, GSM1800, GSM1900, UMTS900, UMTS2100.
GSM and HSDPA connectivity
Windows Mobile 6.5
Screen 3.6 inch WVGA touchscreen display transflective TFT, 65536 scales.
CPU: speed 600Mhz Qualcomm 8250 processor.
Memory: 256MB RAM and 512 MB ROM.
Slot: Micro SD.
Bluetooth: Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR.
Wireless LAN: 802.11b, 802.11g.
AGPS.
G Sensor
Rule headphones: 3.5mm.
Main Camera: 8 million pixels

As of now, no further information is available. However, the Firestone is expected in August – we will probably know more then!

Toshiba’s TG01 has been announced by multiple carriers in the past – unfortunately, none has released it so far. However, this has changed – the Spanish carrier Movistar currently offers the critter for free with a long and probably expensive contract:

Further information can be had here:
http://www.internet.movistar.es/detalle/toshiba-tg01

VodaFone UK has been extremely talkative about the Touch Pro 2 – their web shop has listed the critter for quite some time.

The box now no longer is coming soon, but is available:

VodaFone heads, hit the link below:
http://www.vodafonebusinessshop.co.uk/Details-Phone-HTC-Touch-Pro-2-3090.html

Sony Ericsson’s R3A update for the XPERIA X1 is said to improve all aspects of the device. I have updated mine (Generic Austrian version), and have made the following observations:

Incoming call bug
The most annoying thing is a bug regarding incoming calls – the Incoming Call window is truncated so that you no longer see who calls you:

Signal strength
For me, signal strength is remarkably better – in some areas by more than 25%, in others marginally.

Speed
The device lags a lot less. Generally works better – a lot better for me.

Battery life
No change. Maybe by 5% worse, but I charge once a day anyways.

Keyboard backlight
No change.

Cutting a long story short: I feel that the upgrade is worth the effort. Of course, it took me just one hour – but I am sure that I will recoup the invested time over the next few weeks…

The folks at Hutchison 3G Austria have loaned yours truly the handset pictured on the left. Yep – we have a Touch 3G in the house!

Expect the review to start in the next few days. In the mean time, I would be very thankful if you guys could post your questions – let me know what you would wish to know, and I will do my best to answer your questions…

hatahet productivity services recently held a press event about Windows 7 – Paul Belcl from the Austrian PocketPC Club happened to be there along with his Touch Pro 2.

According to him, the device has arrived at the Austrian distributor yesterday, and will be delivered to various Austrian retail stores in the near future.

First of all, here are two comparison shots next to the XEPRIA X1. The large screen is visible immediately, it furthermore seems to have better contrast:

HTC has furthermore learned its lesson from the X1’s keyboard – the X1’s keyboard seems to be a lot better:

As of now, no further information is available – stay tuned!

Most customers know Huawei for its UMTS dongles – almost every carrier peddles them. However, they no longer want to be limited to critters like the ones on the left…and has announced a device called C8000.

The picture of the device is below and hits us via a web forum; Huawei themselves have not unveiled any image material:

All they have provided is the press release snippet below:

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The C8000, which supports Windows Mobile operating software, incorporates a 3-D menu graphic user interface (GUI) and a unique independent display adapter which enables the smooth presentation of video files and DVD-quality pictures on a 2.8-inch touch screen. With optimized power management, the new handset is capable of playing video files continuously for six to eight hours.

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As of now, no further information on the device is available. However, seeing Huawei enter the Windows Mobile handset theater definitely is great news…HTC’s dominance has gone on way too long…

Mobile computing once was a harbor of various diverse processor platforms: some manufacturers used x86 CPUs, others used 68k ones (think Palm), and others decided to deploy ARM processors. However, all of them have since given up on their personal breed, and switched to ARM cores – which means that boys at the company which holds the ARM patents have a lot to say.

CNet’s NanoTech tracked one of them down, and got a very interesting interview. For example, did you know that dual-core boxen are expected by 2010?

“You’ll definitely see handsets shipping with a dual-core A9 in 2010,” James Bruce, wireless segment manager for ARM, said in a phone interview earlier this week, referring to the next-generation Cortex-A9 processor from ARM.

Hit the link below for the full scoop – and ignore the sensationalist headline. Neither Apple nor Palm have said anything about using these CPUs…but as both of them use Linux, well, you get the idea. More here:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-10263278-64.html

Google’s decision to launch its Android platform with a HTC device has caused many WM experts to worry about the future of the platform. After all, both Android and Symbian are free – while Windows Mobile is not.

However, it looks like all is good. HTC France’s CEO, Frederic Tassy, has recently stated the following in an interview:

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“We will always have more flagship products on Windows Mobile,” which clearly shows the company believes Windows Mobile 6.5 and 7 will fix the problems inherent in WinMo 6.1, especially on a touchscreen.

He also pointed to the HTC Touch HD as the company’s best-selling device, despite the powerful sales of the G1 and the Magic, which shows some people still love Microsoft’s platform.

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Feedback, anyone?

Many have described Acer’s F900 as a Touch HD clone – unfortunately, the device has not been reviewed anywhere in the western world. Fortunately, Joe Teh sits in Singapore and blogs in English – which has enabled him to create a lovely review.

The video below shows Acer’s custom UI – more information can be had here: