PPCLink has kindly offered 5 free copies of it's fantastic new release, HiConcept, which is a set of tools designed to make your Pocket PC work and look much better than before. Our review is here.

All you have to do is send a capture of your current Today screen to shaun (at) mailstm.co.uk and we will choose the five best Today screens to win a free copy of HiConcept.

The closing date is Friday 6th June 2008, and please title your email 'HiConcept' to aid sorting. GOOD LUCK!

The expected Treo 850 has received lots of positive press in recent weeks and for the life of me I am struggling to see why. I suspect sentimentality has a lot to do with the hoards of people who want to cling to anything that is released by Palm, and that actually could be a negative move in terms of Palm’s future. The 850, if the specs are correct, offers absolutely nothing that current devices do not offer and in many ways is inferior in certain areas.

I have read quotes about how great the design is, but it still resembles a Treo and has a few flashy buttons and little else. Nothing about the design brings it anywhere near products like the iPhone or HTC Diamond and it is just another Windows Mobile phone with some good specifications. Some perceive the 850 to be better because it is made by Palm, whereas I tend to distrust new Palm products these days. Poor build quality and unreliability have plagued my recent Palm years, yet I do want them to bounce back.

The word is that people are very excited within Palm by what is coming, and that is positive news for the new OS when and if it arrives, but time is passing by and some small bits of information would help keep the dream alive. The 850 is merely another in a long line of Windows Mobile smartphones, and as good as it may be there will be better out there.

Now, the HTC Diamond. It sure does look special and will have enough novelty value to grab the headlines, but the battery worries me a great deal. When you consider that it has a VGA screen and many other power hungry specifications under the hood, it really should have a higher rated battery than it does. We may be surprised, but it seems that HTC would have had to break the laws of physics to give this smartphone a workable battery performance- time will tell though.

Innovation is starting to mask innovation, and I for one am getting much harder to please. Apple produced a wonderful experience with the iPhone, but set the bar so high that for others, and even themselves, will have to work extremely hard to surprise us in the future. To end this grumpy old man post on a positive note, at least all of the manufacturers are aiming higher than they ever were before.

Piel Frama has taken a different approach to smartphone cases with their new Samsung i780 case. It retails for 50 Euros, which may seem steep to some, but is made from grade A quality cowskin and has also been handmade. It may seem unusual to spend so much on a case, but the Samsung i780 costs £340 so this amount is not silly to ensure it is protected at all times.

The usual level of quality from Piel Frama shines through from the moment you open the box, with the standard packaging adding to the overall positive first impression. The case itself is another matter, and what which is almost impossible to write about, which makes a long review difficult to say the least.

It is a singular construction which is designed purely to hold the phone and with no cut-outs for the keyboard etc. The design is pure class and it more than resembles a posh cigarette case, to make an understated look that will fit in to any time and place- on the desk, in a meeting or at a coffee shop, this case will look the business and genuinely adds something to the smartphone experience.

The i780 slips into the case and is held in place by hidden magnets with naturally close when the case is laid flat, and there are no markings or branding anywhere on the case which is a welcome relief. The interior is fashioned from a cream coloured soft lining which complements the outward colouring well.

I have little else to say except to advise you to look at the images in this review. The case protects the i780 very well and adds little to the overall dimensions, whilst making the phone look better than it actually is. Few cases make me ‘want’ to use them but this one does, and Piel Frama has recognised that smartphone users do not always want to carry their phone in a case but want to take it out for calls and carry it in a case when needed. This is a elegant solution to a perennial problem and it is worth every bit of the asking price.

Available from Piel Frama.

Cory Docktorow has a loyal fan base who genuinely love the way he writes. Little Brother is a new eBook which is described as follows- "Marcus, a.k.a “w1n5t0n,” is only seventeen years old, but he figures he already knows how the system works–and how to work the system. Smart, fast, and wise to the ways of the networked world, he has no trouble outwitting his high school’s intrusive but clumsy surveillance systems.

But his whole world changes when he and his friends find themselves caught in the aftermath of a major terrorist attack on San Francisco. In the wrong place at the wrong time, Marcus and his crew are apprehended by the Department of Homeland Security and whisked away to a secret prison where they’re mercilessly interrogated for days.

When the DHS finally releases them, Marcus discovers that his city has become a police state where every citizen is treated like a potential terrorist. He knows that no one will believe his story, which leaves him only one option: to take down the DHS himself."

You can now download it for free from this page in a variety of eBook formats to suit any device. Thanks to Katie.

T-Mobile Germany has announced three new Windows Mobile devices including the MDA Vario IV! "Totally unexpected, T-Mobile also announced the T-Mobile MDA Vario IV today. The device is a real messenger filler thanks to the full slide-out QWERTY keyboard what the Vario series is known for. It's the ideal extension piece of the computer or the office for e-mail, SMS, multimedia messages, contacts and dates. The MDA Vario IV will come to the shops at the end of the Summer.

The device has, just like the Compact IV, HSDPA support for speeds up to 7.2 Mbit/s. Video telephony, an expanded video and musicplayer, a 3.2 megapixel camera and a built-in GPS receiver can be see as the "key features" of the device besides the mobile internet access."

Orange is selling the HTC Touch in white for only £149 pay as you go. Not a bad deal at all...

The neat and stylish HTC Touch: simply sweep your finger across its generous screen to instantly move between contacts, media and applications (Facebook, Myspace and Bebo).

Knight Lite DX is now free at Clickgamer (available for Windows Mobile and PC)- Guide Vesuri the heroic Knight through nine stages to rescue the Princess. Only your skill and reactions can save her from evil Tik-Kari, the Viking King !

Knight Lite DX Features :

Superbly addictive memory reflex game

Classic console style graphics and slick animation

Battle through 9 challenging stages of gameplay over 5 different worlds

Specially composed soundtracks

Marvel at the particle effects

Only total endurance and concentration will save the day

Cool Fairy tale finale if you can rescue the princess and guide her home safely!

Two examples of good customer service were posted in the forum this week (always worth mentioning)-

"Recently, I received great customer service from Samsung.

I had a two and half year old Samsung LCD 19" monitor which started to not lock on to hi-resolution screens. Worked fine at 1024x768 but nothing at 1280x1024.

After digging around, I found out the monitor had a 3 year warranty. I contacted Samsung's contact services via a web page - they phoned me back a few hours later. I had a brief discussion with a technical guy who knew what he was talking about - the fact that I was running Linux and not Windows didn't worry him. After a couple of quick tests, he agreed that it was faulty and arranged for a courier to a drop off a new monitor and take the old one away.

Courier turned up when supposed to and the replacement monitor looked to be as new (probably a refurb though).

Samsung - great job and you'll definitely get a repeat customer when I'm looking for an upgrade."

"I once had a complaint about Carphone Warehouse (not a store, though) and emailed Charles Dunstone's office. They got back to me within a matter of days and sorted the issue.

Another positive experience: I noticed Statto's recommendation of an ink company on his blog and thought I'd give them a try. Needed to email them to check if they sold inks for my Canon printer - they emailed back within minutes and when I placed an order it was here next day. Great prices and great service. Think they're called Inksave."