TamsPPC – the Windows Phone Blog

Windows Mobile 7 was too different an operating system to be considered a true successor to WM 6.5 – Microsoft’s decision to let WM 6.5 live on thus wasn’t too surprising. However, some questions remained…

ZDNet blogger Mary Joe Foley now posted the following replies which she got from a Microsoft representative:

Q: Is Mobile Starter available to phone makers via Bsqure only? Or also direct from Microsoft?
A: The Windows Phone 6 Starter Edition SKU is available to all direct partners. It is also available via MediaTek and BSquare.

Q: Which version of Office Mobile is part of one of the two Starter SKUs?
A: The current version of Office Mobile will ship in Windows Phone 6 Starter Edition. Office Mobile 2010 is currently available in beta form for Windows Phone 6.5. When Office Mobile 2010 ships, it will be made available to OEMs and distributors.

Q: Is this a stripped-down version of Windows Mobile 6.5? What’s not there that’s in the full fledged version?
A: The Windows Phone 6 Starter Edition SKU is offered in multi-language versions with and without Microsoft Office Mobile and supports 2G (GSM), 2.5G (CDMA2000 xRTT, EDGE, GPRS), CDMA (Rev A, EV-DO Revision A), and TD-SCDMA radios.

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Q: Have any phone makers signed up yet as customers?
A: Yes. OEMs will be launching products built on Windows Phone 6 Starter Edition this year.

Given that Adobe has just stated that it will not release Flash 10 for Windows Mobile 6.5, it remains to be seen how far these devices will be usable on the web – on the other hand, Palm’s Treo managed to live for quite a few years without a good browser…

Engadget just managed to get the first few shots of release hardware for Windows Mobile:

Not much to add here for now…

Even though I guess that most of you aren’t waiting for this update, I nevertheless felt like spreading the word.

An Adobe Employee just stated the following when asked about Flash:

We’re waiting for OS updates from Google and Microsoft before we can distribute a Flash Player Beta. We expect this to happen early this year. Thank you for your patience!

The first Android devices that will support Flash Player are the Droid and Nexus One. The first WinMo device will be the HTC HD2.

Antonio

Not much to add here…

Motorola and Windows Mobile can best be described as an infinite story – while their Symbol team has always been pretty happy with the OS, Motorola’s consumer team eventually switched to Android.

Gizmodo now reports on a little change-of-mind:

Talking to the WSJ about the new Motorola, CEO Sanjay Jha had some interesting stuff to say. Like, if Motorola wasn’t poor, they’d develop their own OS. And now that Windows Phone doesn’t suck, they’re open to using it again.

Motorola has been balls-out Android since its resurrection—when Windows Mobile ran into delays, Jha killed product development with the OS to keep the company afloat

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Given their past track record, things could get interesting here. Keep in mind that Motorola’s handset division is RAZR-like and all about fashion – for them, WM7 is ideal…

Last year, our friends from Toshiba had an ultra-stressed-out booth attendant defending the TG01’s absurdly small amount of RAM. What surprises do they have in stock this year?

First of all, a look at the venue – it remained largely unchanged from the last Congress. However, they now had three devices on offer:

Toshiba TG01
We covered the TG01 in detail at the last show – it was still around:

Toshiba TG02
The successor of the TG01 was available for hands-on treatment – four demo units were available from attendants:

Size-wise, not much has changed:

Its default shell was replaced by one from SPB:

Look at the video below for more information – the amount of memory on the machine was increased significantly:

Finally, a swift overview of the “slides” presented:

Toshiba K01
The K01 is Toshiba’s attempt at an XPERIA X1: it was not really available for hands-on testing:

It runs an unspecified shell:

It was advertised with the following slides:

I managed to cook up the video below and played around with the keyboard a bit – it unfortunately is completely rotten…

In the end, it looks like Toshiba remains firmly committed to Windows Mobile 6.5 for now. The units shown above are scheduled to hit the market in 6 months from now. Let’s see if they still pop up next year – I guess that they will, as WM7 is ideal for their entertainment-oriented clientele…

The beauty of Windows Mobile is that it used to be an open market: everybody who felt like it could build a planar, add chips of choice and create a WM image. This allowed for a huge plethora of different devices and impressive manufacturers – enter AnyData.

AnyData ASP-518
The AnyData ASP-518 can be considered AnyData’s flagship device:

It is a very beautiful all-touch device, with excellent build quality:

And is decently sized:

It is sold via China Telecom, who own the rights to the Philips brand in China. An European launch would be possible under another brand – if a carrier or distributor can be found…

AnyData AHP-300
AnyData reps then proceeded to show us the AHP-300, which they insisted to be a MID rather than a smartphone:

It is quite large, but can be considered every geeks dream device and media player. And don’t get me started on the excellent build quality:

Here, a launch depends on the finding of a carrier partner. Enjoy the hands-on video below:

AnyData ASP-318
We were also shown a drained ASP-318 – while the device felt cheaper, it nevertheless was ok.

AnyData ASP-705
Nothing to add here:

AnyData 210 / 218
Finally, a shot at a WMS from Anydata. It runs WM 6.1, has a CDMA radio and was built for an Indian carrier:

In the end, the boys at AnyData’s have showed off incredibly impressive products. Their devices are really, really cool. Unfortunately, their days are numbered: come Windows 7, come hardware design restrictions. They have stated that they are willing to play along in this mined playfield – we can but wish them well…

HTC is currently hosting a press event at the Mobile World Congress. As usual, HTC top brass is on site – and the core message is the HTC Sense:

This extremely affordable dumbphone will hit Europe via O2; and will be focused on “network communication” between individuals. In April, the machine will hit the UK, Germany and Ireland – it is targeted at people who never had a smartphone before.

QualComm stated that its BREW platform has since caused 3 billion USD revenue for its developers, and it is extremely proud that the Smart “takes Brew to a new level”.

Microsoft’s long-term hardware partner Sharp has been rumored to work on new SideKick devices for some time – pictures of the critter have been leaked in the past…

The box pictured on the left has now passed through the FCC. The image on the left is all we have, but it looks pretty clear to me.

So far, we have no further information – but we will find out more in the near future…

Consider this the final leak on the topic: Engadget has analyzed the pictures of the decoration at the press centre in Barcelona, and ended up with the following:

Not much to add here…

We’ve heard loads and loads about T-Mobile USA’s upcoming Windows Mobile device from HTC. As the release date gets closer and closer, marketing activities start.

T-Mobile USA has now started pushing the device aggressively in its Twitter feed – one of the many tweets is pictured below:

See for yourself at the URL below:
http://twitter.com/tmobile_usa

Long-term followers of this blog know that yours truly is an avid reader of BrightHand – I read it about as often as I use my XPERIA X1 (ok, that’s not quite true – but ). These folks – who can be considered good friends of Tamoggemon – have excellent reviewers who usually are spot-on.

Thus, Adama D Brown’s initial impressions of the X2 were extremely interesting…and not exactly impressive:

For some reason Sony Ericsson saw fit to reduce the internal flash memory on the device from 512 MB to 256 MB, which leaves the user with less than 100 MB to play with out of the box.

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My first couple days playing with the X2 can be summarized as this: great hardware, marginal — at best — software.

Further information can be had at the URL below:
http://www.brighthand.com/default.asp?newsID=16205&review=Sony+Ericsson+Xperia+X2+Microsoft+Windows+Mobile+6.5

Open standards are a joy and a pain for manufacturers: while they allow for an increased degree of interoperability, they also force you to do business with “special interest groups” which happen to leak data from time to time.

The Bluetooth SIG has just shown us the P300 from Acer. One can clearly see the Windows Phone keys in the picture on their site – which means that we are looking at a touchscreen-based Windows Mobile smartphone here:

No further information is available as of this writing – in case you distrust us, hit the URL below:
https://www.bluetooth.org/tpg/EPL_Detail.cfm?ProductID=11791

Last year, the folks at Microsoft’s held their presentation in a hotel next to the MWC area – this year, their strategy is unchanged.

Engadget now got the first few shots, one of which is below:

Further information can be found below:
http://www.engadget.com/photos/microsofts-mwc-digs-come-together-ready-set-is-the-theme

OLED screens were introduced to the mobile market by Sony – ever since, the folks at Samsung’s have paved the road. Their latest exploit could drop at the MWC.

GSMArena shares the shot below – it shows an unknown Samsung device next to an iPhone 3G:

Korean news service jknews chimes in claiming that the technology will first be shown at MWC, and will deliver up to 20% more outdoor readability (a classic OLED weakness).

As of this writing, nobody knows how this advantage is achieved and whether these panels will also be sold to other manufacturers – stay tuned for further info as we get it!

Nowadays, one rarely sees a new company debuting a WM handset series. Don’t ask me why, but AData has done just that: they have released two new WM devices.

First of all, the official press release:

AnyDATA Corporation, a global leader in the design and manufacture of wireless communications devices, announces two leading edge Windows smartphones for carrier distribution, the ASP-318 and the ASP-518. Both devices are loaded with multimedia features that provide consumers with a rich entertainment experience on AnyDATA smartphones.

The ASP-318 is a low cost and affordable Windows Mobile smartphone for cellular subscribers, such as students and enterprise workers who previously may have only considered a mid-tier feature phone. The AnyDATA smartphone utilizes the media-rich Mediatek MT6516 application processor that is designed for entry level smartphones. It provides a rich multimedia experience for cellular subscribers on existing 2G GSM networks.

The ASP-318 smartphone features Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional, a 3.2 inch color touch screen, GPS to support navigation and LBS applications, an accelerometer, dual SIM, EDGE/GPRS modem, a micro SD slot for memory expansion, and an FM radio. The ASP-318 also has a 3.2 megapixel camera with built-in flash, autofocus, and macro-mode to focus on close-up images.

Based on its recent partnership with SRS Labs, AnyDATA plans to further enhance the ASP-318 with SRS TruMedia TM which improves the audio performance with remarkable depth and clarity. The ASP-318 operates globally on quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 Mhz bands. The AnyDATA ASP-318 will be commercially available in 2nd quarter, 2010 and will be marketed as the iMedia smartphone.

The ASP-518 is a 3G dual mode smartphone currently marketed by China Telecom utilizing the well known Phillips brand. The phone has a striking design with tapered edges that look sharp and assist in gripping the phone. The ASP-518 smartphone features Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional, GPS navigation, a brilliant 3.2 inch WVGA screen, WiFi, 4 gigabytes of memory, as well as a micro SD memory slot.

The ASP-518 is optimal for travelers or subscribers with two phone numbers since it supports dual SIMs and dual standby. The phone operates simultaneously on 3G CDMA EVDO Rev A networks as well as GSM 900/1800 networks. The smartphone also has dual cameras, namely a 5 megapixel auto-focus camera for taking high quality photos and a front facing camera to enable mobile video-conferencing. The ASP-518 features the MSM7627 3G processor from Qualcomm.

The ASP-518 will also be equipped with superb audio that utilizes SRS technology. Audio performance has become a significant purchasing factor as consumers shop for more sophisticated phones. In a recent MarketTools study conducted in November 2009, 92 percent of survey respondents indicated the quality of sound is important or very important when purchasing a mobile phone.

“We have listened to our carrier customers and provide smartphones that can boost subscription revenues and reduce churn,” said Dr. Soon B. Shin, CEO of AnyDATA. “Our carrier customers desire high end and entry level smartphones that they can brand and provide a compelling multimedia experience for smartphone applications.”
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Further information on the devices can be had via the PDF’s below:
ASP318
ASP518