Monthly Archives: March 2009

ArrivedOK in beta testing

Posted on March 31, 2009 by Shaun

arrivedokArrivedOK is a new service for mobile travellers which is in beta testing until 31st May 2009. It works with almost all mobile and smartphones and will be ideal for those of you who travel a lot- “ArrivedOK is a mobile tool for travelers like you to instantly notify your friends and family when you arrive to your destination. When you come somewhere by air and turn on your mobile phone in the visiting mobile network ArrivedOK tracks that and sends ‘Arrived OK’ SMS messages to the list of your recipients. Not only you can keep your friends and family up to date about your traveling around the globe, with ArrivedOK you can save on outbound voice and text roaming charges…”

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Skype for iPhone Released

Posted on March 31, 2009 by Shaun

skype1Skype for iPhone is now available in the App Store for free. It works through Wi-Fi (iPod Touch!), GPRS, 3G and EDGE and first reviews look very positive indeed. This is one application that has been eagerly awaited and it’s finally arrived…

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QOTD: Top 5 ‘phones’

Posted on March 31, 2009 by Shaun

How would you rate the voice quality and general ‘phone’ aspects of each of the mobile platforms you have tried, including aspects such as speakerphone etc. Up to 5 can be listed. Mine are-

1/ Symbian (Nokia)

2/ BlackBerry

3/ Windows Mobile

4/ Palm OS

5/ iPhone

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Geography and Mobile Networks

Posted on March 31, 2009 by Shaun

att1I was browsing the AT&T website last week to check out the free BlackBerry Bold deal on AT&T and happened upon 3 interesting options that were quoted as optional extras-

BlackBerry Unlimited Data and Messaging- $50.00/month

Enhanced Voice Mail- $1.99/month

Detailed Billing- $1.99/month

You what?!? You are charging $2 for itemised billing? $50 for unlimited data and messaging??? The enhanced voicemail facility has a debatable advantage, but only just scrapes by on the value-rometer my head uses to judge things.

I live in the UK so it is easy to mock the above charges- we are a small island of about 60 million people and have 4 major mobile networks which span almost every inch to offer near complete coverage whenever we need it. We pay about £5 / month for unlimited internet (is bundled in many tariffs now for an aggregated cost of £2/month) and BlackBerry Messaging for £5/month. I’m not sure of the itemised billing side, but I have not personally paid for it for many years- I would quite happily argue that it costs no more to provide this billing data, and on some telecommunication systems it can actually cost more ‘not’ to provide it.

We pay less in the UK for one obvious reasons- the smaller landmass. In the US there are currently 19 network operators, but 10 of these have less than 1 million subscribers. The top 4 dominate with over 240 million subscribers (presumably many people have 2 or more phones) and thus therein lies the problem. To provide good coverage to such a disparate population is incredibly difficult, and more importantly for the consumer, is costly.

I started the article with a view of complaining about such ridiculous charging, but have changed my mind half way through and can now understand some of the reasons for the price difference.

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Next Dual Pack for BlackBerry

Posted on March 31, 2009 by Shaun

Next is a classic game by anyones standards and now the Next Dual Pack brings 128 levels to the party. Good luck! “Think you’re smart? Make your NEXT move to solve this 128 level game. Challenge yourself and your friends. Entertaining and absolutely addictive!”

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PearEvents for Palm OS Released

Posted on March 31, 2009 by Shaun

PearEvents for Palm OS has just been released and looks very good indeed- “PearEvents is a powerful event manager with alarms setting possibility. Our life becomes faster day by day and It’s hard to keep in memory all important tasks. With the help of this program you’ll never forget about your chief’s birthday, son’s baseball match or business meeting. Besides this utility includes Chinese and Zodiac horoscopes which are shown for the birthday events. Make your life more easy with PearEvents!”

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HTC Touch 3G ‘coming soon’ to Orange

Posted on March 31, 2009 by Shaun

touch3gThe HTC Touch 3G has popped up on the UK Orange site with a ‘coming soon’ badge of honour. Pay monthly is shown as FREE, but no details on the exact tariff yet.

“The HTC™ Touch 3G is highly recommended for its simplicity and great slim design. With it’s smooth and fast GPS you wont want to use anything else. “

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Nokia N82 now under £200

Posted on March 31, 2009 by Shaun

n82AAS recently spotted that Nokia is now selling the Nokia N82 for under £200 unlocked. A great price for such good specifications, but boy is it ugly!

“Equipped with an excellent camera and Wi-Fi connectivity, the Nokia N82 allows you to capture photos and video on your mobile phone and upload them directly to the web or view them on a compatible TV.”

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HTC continues to perform

Posted on March 30, 2009 by Shaun

HTC has posted its latest financial position and is continuing to perform in difficult circumstances. With Windows Mobile and Android devices now part of the portfolio, the short term future looks strong. More here.

Consolidated revenue in 2008 of NT$152.35 billion represent an NT$34.14 billion (28.9%) increase over 2007 revenue. The 12.03 million product units shipped this past year represent a 21.3% increase over 2007. 3G wireless device units accounted for at least 70% of this total. Growth in non-ODM revenues topped 40%.

Revenue from less profitable ODM sales fell last year below 10% of total corporate revenues. Such helped raise the HTC consolidated gross profit ratio to 33.5% in 2008 – a 1.1 percentage point growth over the 32.4% (adjusted) achieved in 2007. Investments in building the value and image of the HTC brand as well as continued R&D and innovation work gave HTC a consolidated operating expense ratio for the year of 13.6%. The consolidated operating margin achieved 19.9% in 2008. Net profits for the year before and after taxes totaled NT$31.59 billion and NT$28.64 billion, respectively. The after tax profit margin in 2008 was 18.8%, and EPS after tax totaled NT$37.97. Before employee bonus distributions, HTC’s total after tax profit totaled NT$34.25 billion; NT$5.31 billion (18.4%) more than earned in 2007, resulting in an after tax EPS of NT$45.41.

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Nokia releases a new software update for Nokia 5800 XpressMusic

Posted on March 30, 2009 by Shaun

Espoo, Finland – Nokia has announced a software update to the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic to further improve the performance and add new functionalities to the device. The software update is immediately available for download on Nokia Software Update website (http://www.nokia.com/softwareupdate) free of charge (data charges may apply).
 
Improvements in the new software version include faster data download from Internet, improved e-mail experience, better search experience with in-device search. Many additional features are also included in the software update:
 
- Faster user interface and faster download times
- New camcorder features: second camera support for still image capture in addition to video calls, burst mode that allows people to take multiple pictures one after another without needing to repress the picture taking button
- Mobile Dictionary: built-in dictionary functionality with voice playback of words utilizing text-to-speech technology, support for 38 languages
- Application Update: with Application Update people can check for available updates for applications and update them directly in the device. Applications can also be kept up-to-date by setting the checking to automatic.
 
“The update includes great improvements in the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. As mobile devices become more and more advanced, additional features and new functionalities are easy to install to the existing device. We recommend people to take advantage of the new features and upgrade their Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, and get more from their existing device,” said Soren Petersen, Senior Vice President, Devices, Nokia.

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Nokia E71x about to hit AT&T

Posted on March 30, 2009 by Shaun

e71xAT&T is poised to release the Nokia E71x very soon, maybe tomorrow, which will be great news for those wanting possibly the best Symbian device on the market? “The Thinnest Smartphone” is coming soon on the nation’s fastest 3G network.1

Nokia E71x, the thinnest smartphone, helps you combine your personal and business life. With a seamless user interface, mobile email, and personal information management features, the powerful Nokia E71x lets you effortlessly organize your life. Built-in aGPS with AT&T Navigator,2 instant messaging, Video Share, Wi-Fi,3 and Internet access keep you connected to the things that are important so you can do more while on the go. Combine your pocket devices into one thanks to the music player, 3.2 MP camera, video, notes, calendar, and office tools.

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Skype announces service for iPhone, BlackBerry

Posted on March 30, 2009 by Shaun

skypeNEW YORK (Reuters) – Skype, the Internet telephone unit of eBay Inc, is planning to launch its service for iPhone users on Tuesday and for BlackBerry in May as part of its effort to expand beyond desktop computers.

Skype has been pushing to make its service work on the most popular advanced phones with an aim to expending its more than 400 million users who were mostly lured by the promise of cheap and sometimes free calls made using its computer application.

Skype Chief Operating Officer Scott Durchslag said he has high hopes for the application’s success on Apple Inc’s popular iPhone as he expects Skype’s most feature-rich mobile offering to appeal to new and existing customers.

“The No. 1 request we get from customers is to make Skype available on iPhone. There’s a pent-up demand,” Durchslag said in an interview before the CTIA annual mobile showcase in Las Vegas, where Skype plans to launch the service on Tuesday… More at Yahoo.

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20% off ALL mobile software throughout April!

Posted on March 30, 2009 by Shaun

Throughout the whole of April you can take 20% off all software in our software store just by using the discount code ‘april’! This offer applies to all software not currently discounted and is applicable no matter how many titles you purchase.

The code is valid from now, even though it is still March:)

Palm Software

Windows Mobile Software

BlackBerry Software

Symbian Software

iPhone Software

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QOTD: Top 5 mobile software selections

Posted on March 30, 2009 by Shaun

Every question of the day this week will be asking you for your top 5 platforms in relation to a particular aspect of mobile ownership. Today we are asking for your top 5 mobile platforms with regard to the quality and number of third party applications available. Mine are (OK, I cheated and included all 6)-

1/ iPhone

2/ Windows Mobile

3/ Palm OS

4/ BlackBerry / Android

5/ Symbian

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Too many devices

Posted on March 30, 2009 by Shaun

t3I remember attending a smartphone meeting a few years ago and at that time the cool device to own was the Tungsten T3. Almost everyone in the room had a T3 and we spent a long while discussing tweaks and software which could be run on these wonderful new devices from Palm. Those were the days when a new PDA would be released twice a year if we were lucky, and this gap between new models made each one more special because of it.

Today we hear of a new device every other week and the shine has been dulled slightly because too many devices are 90% identical and the differences come down to particular features, or style, which will either suit a new user or not. Besides the excitement of lesser devices being released it also led to a wider variety of software innovation which was targeted at a bigger market than can possibly occur today. That comment could be used for the iPhone today I suppose, but the variety of platforms and devices has led to a natural scatter gun approach with regard to what developers are able to program for.

The ever growing number of devices to hit the market has created innovation that we would not have seen other wise. Palm needed to Sony to give it a kick and when Sony left Palm soon forgot the lesson and faded back into producing run of the mill handsets which failed to deliver. HTC has spurred Samsung, HP and others to compete in the Windows Mobile arena and RIM and Nokia appear to be doing a good job in innovating despite dominating, and owning, the platforms their devices run on.

I suspect that the number of platforms and indeed the variety of model numbers will continue to grow in the smartphone market. On the whole this is probably a good thing, but it does mean that many of us will always be craving for a feature or two from a competing mobile platform. I guess that’s life…

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