Got a spare few minutes? If so, take a listen to the rather strange but colourful AAS Podcast #84: AAS Insight #32 - Chat, 6220, Golf, App Store

Multimedia from All About Symbian

Philippa is our current Queen of Questions, and here is another one from her. Does it really matter what your phone looks like if it does the job?

With the launch of iPhone/iPod touch apps and MobileMe push via firmware 2.0 I've been a bit like the proverbial kid in the candy store for the last week. I've been very happy with my iPhone in general but now I have the opportunity to make up for the bits of functionality I've been missing since moving from a PIM based device. Sensibly I first looked for a ToDo list program and quickly found a free one which was more than adequate for my basic needs. Other freebees included the Evernote Beta (which is very good), Facebook (which seems to offer less functionality than the mobile web interface) and a silly Bubbles game which my 1 year old likes and of course sucks the life out of the battery.

However, when moving onto the paid apps my main problem has been reining in my enthusiasm. It's so easy to buy the apps via iTunes and it can be very easy to click and download without thinking too much about the purchase. I grabbed iZen Garden without really thinking and it really is a bit of a rip off. Sketches is a decent enough doodle pad which I'm happy with. One great purchase as far as I'm concerned is AcidSolitaire. This has a nice symmetry to it as it was the first third party application I bought for my Clie T625. I wonder how many more of the great Palm tools and games I'll soon be able to buy.

What is missing (probably deliberately) is hack utility type applications. By this I mean apps like the wonderful Butler for the Treo which allows you to schedule connectivity and switch certain sounds on and off automatically.

The other new functionality for MobileMe subscribers is push for email, calendars, contacts and bookmarks. Unfortunately, to say it has teething problems is an understatement. In the first few days I had about 4 emails actually pushed to my iPhone out of a MUCH larger number. Calendar synchronisation is buggy with an extra appointment appearing on my phone for no reason and a repeating event not repeating. It was at least almost instantly pushed though! Contacts syncing slowed the contacts app down terribly so I've switched that off for now. I do hope this is sorted out soon because the potential is wonderful. Apple have at least given a free 30 day extension to subscribers by way of an apology.

Despite these hiccups I would say that my iPhone has gone from a fun and pretty useful device to a genuinely useful device for both business and pleasure. There are still a few things missing like video capture and and document editing, but I can't honestly think of anything else I would rather use at the moment. It feels like the Zen of Palm all over again. PHILIPPA.

I finally managed to download some eReader eBooks to my iPhone and selfishly decided to download my entire selection of purchases, which turned out to total 239 books! I hadn't realised that I had spent that much with one company, I want some free shares now!!!

Anyway, how many eBooks have your puchased since owning mobile devices?

Clove is now selling the HTC Touch Diamond for only £417 which is a LOT cheaper than elsewhere...

An all new Touch experience from HTC.  Re-defining the perception of advanced mobile phones… the HTC Touch Diamond signals a giant leap forward in combining hi-tech prowess with intuitive usability and exhilarating design.

Featuring a sharp 2.8-inch VGA touch screen housed within a stunning formation of brushed steel and flawless faceted edges, the HTC Touch Diamond is a stunning and pleasureable device to use.

Incorporating HTC’s vibrant touch-responsive user interface, TouchFLO 3D, and ultra-fast HSDPA internet connectivity, the HTC Touch Diamond offers a rich user experience,

on the HTC Touch Diamond, your contacts, favourite music, videos and photos are no longer an uninspired line of text. With TouchFLO 3D, album artwork, video stills and snapshots of your friends’ and family’s faces are brought to life for you to interact, play and launch at your fingertips.

A 3.2 megapixel auto-focus camera will help you capture the perfect moment in style and with a massive 4GB of internal storage you can keep all the files you need, from music to photos, all can be stored on the internal meory of the Touch Diamond. The integrated ultra-sensitive GPS will help you find your destination as quickly and efficiently as a dedicated satellite navigation unit (software required).

Style and substance in a phone are no longer mutually exclusive. The HTC Touch Diamond has arrived.

v9.5 beta of Opera Mobile has been released for WM devices- "Opera Mobile was launched in 2000 as the first mobile browser to bring the full Web to the small mobile screen. Since 2004 it has been installed on 100 million phones. Opera Mobile has pioneered and set the standard in mobile browsing, supporting the latest technologies and receiving industry acclaim. Today, Opera continues to provide the best mobile Web experience with the first beta of Opera Mobile 9.5.

Opera Mobile is the answer to the demands of global mobile Internet community . The first beta of Opera Mobile 9.5 comes outfitted with added performance, a new UI and the developer tool Opera Dragonfly."

It's not quite out yet, but potential buyers can already purchase a Leather Case for the Samsung SGH-i908 Omnia/SGH-i900 Omnia-

Removable 360 degrees belt clip included.
Opens and closes with magnetic studs,for ease of use.
White stitch finishing,making this case look more beautiful.

Channel Intelligence, a company based in Florida, filed a lawsuit for patent infringement in Delaware on Tuesday against a long list of startups and other companies and individuals who have one thing in common - they offer wish lists for products people may want others to buy for them. The complaint is embedded below. Our understanding is that many of these companies don’t yet know they’ve been sued, as the documents are still in the process of being delivered to them.

The patent in question, No. 6,917,941, appears to cover the invention of creating a list of things in a database. It was issued in July 2005. Defendants include Lemonade, Scott Aikin, de Brun Design, Listafterlist, MindValley, My Life Registry, On My List, Remember The Milk, Shimon Rura, Stylehive, Sprout, Chad Van Norman, WhiteStripe, WishCentral, WishList and Zlio. Channel Intelligence alleges that none of the defendants have licensed their patent to create lists. In a database.

Notable in their absence is Amazon,, Ebay and most other large etailers, all of which maintain wish lists for users. As far as I know none of them license Channel Intelligence’s patent, but we’re checking on that. More likely: Channel Intelligence isn’t prepared... More at TechCrunch. Thanks to Justine.

The more complex and clever the smartphone operating system and third party software, the more likely it is that it will feel like a computer to some degree. Windows Mobile has been sold on its similarity to the Windows desktop experience for years, and this is a ploy that has worked well.

HTC has made attempts to tart up the Windows Mobile experience and Sony Ericsson is also adopting this approach, but it is just window dressing on an operating system that shows too much of its complex innards to the user. I love Windows Mobile and still believe it to be the best mobile OS on the market, but even I am starting to enjoy a mobile OS which protects the user from the workings of the smartphone of which the iPhone and Symbian smartphones are perfect examples. They are quick, stable and tend to give the user a mobile phone experience above the smartphone workings.

Palm OS is another example of a mobile operating system that hides the smartphone side well, but as we all know is far too overdue for an upgrade. Palm OS is dead in the eyes of many people and barely creates a second thought in the minds of many who used to use Palm OS for many aspects of their lives.

The newer feature phones are getting smarter every day and are starting to catch up to the traditional smartphones in terms of functionality. There are so many clever phones on the market in 2008 that the few which have their roots embedded in the smartphone world suddenly look like relics from a bygone age.

In my view Windows Mobile has to change a LOT to compete in 2008 and of course Palm OS also needs a huge makeover. Even Symbian is starting to look a little dated in some respects, and the expected touch screen update will make a big difference to its commercial appeal but I do wonder if the whole smartphone industry is about to turn on its head and change the way we view it after so many years tucked away in a little niche market.

Seoul, South Korea, July 15, 2008 – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a leading mobile phone manufacturer announced the launch of , Samsung’s all-in-one mobile phone in the Italian market on July 22.

Starting from Italy,  will be available through major European mobile operators and in most of GSM supporting open markets during July and August.  meaning ‘everything’ in Latin and ‘wish’ in Arabic, goes beyond the current top-of-the-line features available in today’s mobile phones.

As the first market in Europe, Samsung had pre-order promotion for Italian consumers in cooperation with Media world, the electronics stores in Europe. The consumers who made the reservation for  from July 14 will receive Xbox 360 Arcade gaming systems when  will be available. The price will be at 499 Euro (8GB) without subsidy.

Samsung also prepares the summer tour that will hit all the most beautiful beaches on the Italian coast. Those who meet the Samsung  team will be able to try in person the innovative characteristics of this phone, and also buy it.

Paolo Quindici, Marketing and Sales Director of the Telecommunications division in Samsung Italy said,

“We are happy to announce   in Italy, the first country in Europe to commercialize the phone.  will open a new era in the mobile phone industry by offering everything you wish for in your mobile.”

will be available in most of European countries during July and August. The price range will be varied depending on the contracts.

Everything you wish for in your mobile

Bringing a PC environment to Mobile

The  allows users to switch seamlessly between Microsoft Outlook email and productivity applications that replicate the look and feel of their PC - with a stroke of their finger.

Based on the most up to date Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional operating system,  gives users a mobile extension to their PC experience, with access to MS Office documents such as PowerPoint, Excel and Word. Users can also send and receive email and manage their appointments in Outlook while on the go. The Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional operating system means users can download additional programs as they would on their PC and customize it for their individual needs. For ease of navigation, an optical mouse similar to those on laptop computers offers improved usability and one-handed control. 

Vivid, lively multimedia experience

delivers the ultimate in digital entertainment with a wide 3.2-inch WQVGA LCD screen for viewing videos and slide shows in high-resolution and advanced audio capabilities. MultiCodec support for DivX, Xvid and other video formats eliminates the hassle of file format conversions. Users also have the assurance of a long-life detachable battery for extended playback.

also comes with a five-megapixel CMOS camera with the latest value-added features, which include auto-focus (AF), face and smile detection and auto-panorama shot.

The handset’s generous internal memory (available in 8GB or 16 GB capacity options and extendable slot for additions) ensures ample storage space for digital assets.

Rounding out the fully comprehensive feature set,  also offers GPS, including navigation and geo-tagging capabilities, so users can get their bearings wherever work or life takes them.

Samsung’s patented TouchWiz user interface makes entering data and text simple. With unique widgets, users can customise and personalise the way they use their phone. The ’ s high resolution touch-sensitive screen uses intuitive tap, sweep, drag and drop operations as well as an on-screen qwerty keyboard. It also facilitates easy and convenient calling and texting with a dedicated dome key for controlling communications.

Samsung’s pursuit for design perfection

The  presents Samsung’s leadership in design. With maxi-phone capabilities, it boasts a slender, chic form, so users can step out in style. It features an ultra-slim 12.5-mm profile and a platinum-look finish that fits snugly in the palm of the user’s hand. The elegant hairline patterns on the back of the phone bring the perfection in style.

Shopping Master - Professional Edition v1.5 has been released. I love the way a 'female' is used in the promo screenshot. Men shop as well you know, but to be fair only for gadgets, music and alcohol.

# Manage More Category & Product
The Shopping Master software allows you to create the 'N' number of categories and products. More customized user interface allows you to workout in a very easy manner.

# Gantt Chart
The Gantt Chart feature helps you to understand visually with the product purchase ratio with coupon and tax amount.

# Pie Chart
The Pie Chart shows your monthly purchase ratio with integrated shopping, Coupon and tax you have used for your purchases.

In Place- Call Maker (Pocket PC): The Shopping Master software will allows you to make a call to your shops from the application itself. You can able to connect to the website from the application itself.

# Shopping Planner: Shopping Master helps you to create and manage your future shopping's in a different list.

# Shopping History: Shopping History shows you the current shopping done by the user and total cost for the easy reference. You can able to track your purchases by Week, Month and year in a single tap itself.

# Shopping Bills: The Shopping Master has featured with external file link which helps you to link your shopping bills in Scanned image, Excel and Word document to the particular shopping for the future enquiries.

# Integrated to Pocket Calendar: The created Shopping's from the software will be exported to Pocket Calendar as an appointments.

# Report Creator :( Export Shopping and Print Out): The Shopping Master has featured with Report Creator which helps you to create customized report and the corresponding reports will be exported to HTML and Word format.

BubbleLevel is another attempt at using the Touch Diamond accelerometer feature, and a good one!

BubbleLevel is author's first attempt at utilizing the Touch Diamond's accelerometer. And it's free! Features:

- Measure the slope of a surface using the 'bubble level' concept
- Display the slope angle in degrees
- Measure the relative angle between surfaces using the calibration function
- Can be used upside down too (go measure yer ceiling matey!)

Q1 08 saw the lowest figure for GSM net additions in Europe in almost 15 years, with just 0.38m new connections. This is an extraordinary result given that in the previous four quarters the GSM base grew by an average of 10m.

A quick glance at Europe’s largest markets shows that the losses were widespread: Italy, Spain, the UK and France all lost around 1m GSM customers during the quarter. Although Germany and Turkey both managed to boost their GSM numbers, several other smaller markets - including Poland, Czech Republic and Bulgaria - also saw losses.

The beneficiary of this dramatic slump in GSM growth was W-CDMA, which recorded its third highest ever figure for net additions with a quarterly gain of 9.10m. This follows its two highest ever figures in Q3 and Q4 07, when it added 9.24m and 10.99m respectively. Q1 08 was not the first time that raw W-CDMA growth has exceeded that of GSM, but the scale of the discrepancy was unprecedented. In fact, W-CDMA also recorded more net additions on an annual basis by a considerable margin, with 37.49m compared to GSM’s 31.49m. Of course, in real terms GSM is absolutely dominant with 642.85m connections compared to W-CDMA’s 89.97m, but GSM’s market share has fallen considerably in the past year, from 92.0% to 87.6%, as 3G offerings become ever more prevalent and popular. More at cellular-news.

Where the River Ends is new and potentially brilliant- "A powerfully emotional and beautifully written story of heartbreaking loss and undying love.... He was a fishing guide and struggling artist from a south George trailer park. She was the beautiful only child of South Carolina's most powerful senator. Yet once Doss Michaels and Abigail Grace Coleman met by accident, they each felt they'd found their true soul mate. Ten years into their marriage, when Abbie faces a life-threatening illness, Doss battles it with her every step of the way. And when she makes a list of ten things she hopes to accomplish before she loses the fight for good, Doss is there, too, supporting her and making everything possible. Together they steal away in the middle of the night to embark upon a 130-mile trip down the St. Mary's River--a voyage Doss promised Abbie in the early days of their courtship. Where the River Ends chronicles their love-filled, tragedy-tinged journey and a bond that transcends all."

My new iPhone is here, gleaming in smug self-satisfaction and looking around disdainfully at all of the non-Apple gadgets in my life.

Here's a quick comparison between my newly-retired Treo 700p and my brand new iPhone 2.0 16GB.

* Phone - My customers and coworkers report better sound quality on the iPhone. It sounds a little bit better to me as well. Bluetooth (with the same headset) seems to work a bit better.  Winner: iPhone.

* Contacts - The search function on the iPhone is a little frustrating, as the search box is invisible if you're not at the top of the alphabet.  It is easy to browse for contacts if you don't have over 1000 of them like me. The Contacts function desperately needs categories.  Winner: Treo.

* Calendar - It syncs over the air with Exchange. How cool is that!
Winner: iPhone.

* Internet - No comparison. Faster, more stable (so far), much better looking.  Winner: iPhone.

* Email - Again, no comparison. It's faster, clearer, easier to use.
Winner: iPhone.

* Music - C'mon.  Even if the Treo wasn't a stuttering pathetic shambles of an MP3 player, this would be no contest.  Winner: iPhone.

There are some important functions that I haven't had time to test. I did, after all, spend four hours on a workday standing in line, and I've spent the rest of the day catching up.  There is eReader, which I haven't used for more than 30 seconds. Games are crucial, too.  And of course, it's too early for me to tell what battery life will really be like. 

As far as the carrier goes, it's too soon to tell. Sprint, for all of their manifold faults, has great coverage where I live and work. Death Star Wireless covers my house reasonably well, beyond that we'll see.

With regard to the widely reported problems with activation, I was iPhone-less for about four hours after I got home before it worked.

Right as it started working, my old phone number ported over without any pain or lost calls. Michael

The best Treo ever? has been posted at the Palm blog. I am saying nothing this time...

Is the Sprint Treo 800w "the best Treo ever"? Or perhaps it's "the most productive Windows Mobile Pro device"? We'll take either compliment, thank you.

Reviewers have noted how "Palm's...'special sauce'" simplifies navigation and operation for the individual user, while also incorporating crucial features for effective enterprise deployment. All of which adds up to a device that's "made for business...a great, great, great phone."

Here's a sample of the early raves for the Sprint Treo 800w:

"From my perspective, especially as a Windows Mobile fan, this is the best Treo ever." MobileBurn.com

"The Treo 800w is the most productive Windows Mobile Pro device I've ever used." WMExperts

"Palm has also added their own 'special sauce' to Windows Mobile to improve end user functionality and let you navigate the device with a single hand." ZDNet.

MOSCOW, Russia – July 15, 2008 - Paragon Software Group, a leading software developer of productivity, security and educational applications for mobile devices and desktop PCs, releases InterKey 3.0 – a multilingual text input application for Windows Mobile Pocket PC.

Due to large and fingertip-friendly keys, text input by hand or stylus becomes effortless, and typing foreign languages on a standard keyboard is fast and accurate. The program is available in two editions – InterKey 3.0 Standard and InterKey 3.0 Professional with word autocompletion function.

With the key zooming function, users no longer have to closely follow what they are typing. The selected key appears larger on the screen and the character is only typed when the user releases his finger. If the wrong key is touched and an incorrect letter is zoomed on the screen, all the user has to do is slide his finger or stylus to the proper key and keep on typing.

InterKey 3.0 features include:
•    Multilingual layouts – the handy onscreen keyboard contains 60
national layouts that allow users to write in 36 languages and to quickly switch between languages.
•    Several text input options – users can switch to the standard
keyboard or use keys large enough for finger typing.
•    Precise input – the zooming key feature reduces mistypes by zooming the keys being touched.
•    Special keystrokes known as gestures (space, uppercase, and
others) allow all the advantages of a standard keyboard, such as quick entry of uppercase, preceding character erasing, and other important functions.
•    Word completion function (available in the Professional Edition)
allows frequently used words to be typed more quickly and easily by implementing the dictionary structure, and by auto-completing frequently used words. All new words, once entered, will be automatically added to the word database. 
•    New ergonomic layout design of the onscreen keyboard is an extra
plus to the already easy to use working schema and rich functionality of the program.

The InterKey 3.0 Standard Edition is available for 24,95 USD and the InterKey 3.0 Professional edition – for 34,95 USD via download from http://www.penreader.com.

Supported languages: Albanian, Belarusian, Belgian, Brazilian, Bulgarian, Canadian Multilingual, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, French Canadian, German, Greek, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Latin American, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Swiss French, Swiss German, Turkish, Ukrainian, US Dvorak.