I always love finding out about mobile technology that is designed to help those with special needs be more productive and the GW Micro Voice Sense is just such a device.  Running on Windows CE.NET 5.0, the Voice Sense is chock full of features to rival any PDA:

• Processor: PXA270, 540MHz
• Memory: 1GB (separate user data area), 192MB (128 RAM and 64 OS storage)
• OS: Windows CE.NET 5.0
• Ports: USB OTG (USB 2.0 Compatible), SD Slot, CF Slot
• Keyboard: Perkins style Braille keyboard
• Audio Output: Stereo Speakers, Headphone jack
• Audio Input: Internal condenser microphone, Microphone jack
• Battery: rechargeable, detachable, user-replaceable, lithium polymer, 12 hours continuous use
• Networking: Wireless LAN (IEEE 802.11b/g) Bluetooth 1.1
• FM Radio Receiver
• Dimensions: W 18.8cm (7.4") x D 7.7cm (3.6") x H 2.5cm (0.98")
• Weight: .58lbs (266g)

The Voice Sense provides output using synthesized speech but can also be paired up with GW Micro’s SyncBraille, a separate portable Braille display, to provide a rich computing environment on the go.  No word on pricing for the Voice Sense nor the SyncBraille.

(via engadget)

We’ve mentioned the lingering passing of the Palm OS more than once here on jkOnTheRun.  The Palm OS has been left largely unchanged for years and with Palm jumping on the Windows Mobile bandwagon it’s no secret the OS is not going anywhere.  ComputerWorld has published a review of what is likely the last device to be released with the Palm OS, the Treo 755p.  They find the 755p to be like the Treos that came before it and find the worst part of the user experience to be, you guessed it, the aging Palm OS.  Palm needs to get away from the Treo format, sure it’s been successful for them but they are beginning to stagnate on the hardware front like they did on the OS front.  Will Palm be around much longer?

Mobility Site shares the news for you GPS groupees: OnCourse Navigator 6 was just released! I don’t use a GPS system on a handheld since we have a nav system in the truck, but if I did use one, I’d be taking a good look at OnCourse Navigator. I watched the short demonstration video and was extremely impressed with the voice directions, 3-D view, and apparent ease-of-use.

OCN 6 resides on a miniSD card but includes an SD card adapter if your handheld uses the larger sized memory card format.  If you already have a GPS receiver for your device, you can purchase just the software for $99 or $129, depending on how many POIs you want. No receiver? No problem since you can buy a bundle with a receiver for around $249. OCN 6 supports most Pocket PC and Pocket PC Phone devices running WM 2003 and up; for now Windows Mobile 5 Smartphone edition devices are not supported.

UPDATE: Mobility Site is giving away one OCN 6 bundle, which is the software AND a Bluetooth GPS receiver. Details here.

Windows Mobile news and reviews are still kickin’ down in Louisville! Case in point: Matt Coddington just shot me a note about his review of NewsBreak 2.0 at Pocket PC Louisville. Looks like Ilium added solid podcast support, Windows Live integration and more to this Windows Mobile RSS reader application. Matt also likes the better support for one-handed navigation, as well as the ability to mark single items as read; previously, you could only mark an entire feed as read. If you hurry, you can purchase NewsBreak 2.0 for only $7.95; after March 15th, it jumps back up to the normal $19.95 price. For eight bucks, it looks like a winner to me but you could always get the free 30-day trial and see for yourself. Hey Matt, I could be biased, but I’m really liking the screenshots of your feeds!

I have been using a T-Mobile Dash Windows Mobile 5 smartphone for almost a week now and enjoying the seamless web integration that T-Mobile has put into the Dash.  Push email, the T-Zones connectivity, even web browsing on the Dash has been a real joy.  I have especially liked using the Mobile Google Reader to keep up with my RSS feeds when free time makes itself available.  Until this morning, that is.

Sometime this morning I lost all ability to connect to the web.  Nothing is working, I get various error messages indicating the server is unavailable.  I spoke to Kevin who reports he lost his connectivity a few days ago and it still hasn’t come back online.  Matt Miller reports that his connectivity dropped recently, although he got his back after a few days.  Hearing this coupled with my own experience I sensed a pattern so I hopped over to the authority on mobile phones, Howard Forums.

It didn’t take me long to find a bunch of T-Mobile customers from all over the US reporting the same loss of connectivity.  What’s confusing is the lack of an apparent pattern, some people report the ability to connect came back after a few hours, others report the ability to get push email but not surf the web, others that they can use the WAP connectivity but nothing else. 

Some folks are offering the theory that T-Mobile finally caught on to users who have been using the web services by exploiting a hole in T-Mobile’s setup and that the carrier has blocked all the various ports to shut that down.  That is backed up by this internal T-Mobile Customer Service screen (posted on Howard Forums) to help reps deal with calls about this issue:

If this is the root cause of the total loss of data connectivity it is even affecting customers (like me) who have the total internet service from T-Mobile for $30 a month, we can’t connect at all.  Surely T-Mobile wouldn’t shut down their highest paying customers to curtail those who might be exploiting their system.

It’s not just the Dash owners that are suffering, it seems to be affecting almost every data user no matter the device they are using, although Windows Mobile devices seem to be particularly affected since they are heavy into data connectivity.  Let’s hope that someone can shed some light on this so a solution can be reached, the lack of access to my email is killing me, and I know it’s adversely affecting others too.

Remember a while back when Access bought PalmSource and announced the next generation Palm OS based on Linux called ALP (Access Linux Platform)?  Nothing much was heard after that until the 3GSM show a couple of weeks ago when Access was showing what it reportedly version 1.0 of the Linux OS for smartphones.  Based on the screenshots on PDA Street the UI is looking very polished and competitive with Windows Mobile and previous Palm releases.  ALP will run on Marvell PX3xx (formerly known as Intel) and the TI OMAP processors.

The Sharp Zaurus enthusiast community is buzzing with the news that Sharp is shutting down production of the Zaurus line of PDAs in February.  The Sharp Zaurus is a Linux-based clamshell PDA that has a huge community of owners and developers thanks to its open-source foundation and it will be missed once its gone forever.  I reviewed the SL-C3000 quite some time ago and found the little clamshell to be a very powerful gadget that many have embraced for years.  As is often the case with gadgets Sharp feels the line has reached the end of the road and will stop producing them shortly.  It’s always sad when something like the Zaurus is discontinued and many enthusiast web sites are in mourning following the news.

(via MobileRead)

With several years of iPod hype and more recently, the Zune touching down, it’s easy to overlook digital audio playback on a handheld device. Actually, with the watered down version of Windows Media Player for Windows Mobile, it’s even easier, but that’s another post for another day. Enter CorePlayer Media Player from CoreCodec; if it’s not the best media player for Pocket PCs and Palms, it’s a safe bet to call it "top-five".

Pocket PC Thoughts mentions that CorePlayer 1.0.0 was upgraded to v.1.0.4. There are a ton of changes and feature updates here; the main ones being support for older Windows CE devices, an equalizer function, new 3D skins, and a playlist manager. CorePlayer supports various music and video formats, as in just about any you can think of. The software costs $19.95 and oddly enough, I didn’t see a trial download, which is typically normal of mobile device software. One other note: Symbian support is coming soon, so stay tuned!

No question the most popular type of article I post on jkOnTheRun is the "day in the life" articles where I run through a whole day and describe how I use my mobile gear as the day unfolds.  The first such article I wrote covered my usage of the Toshiba e-805 Pocket PC in all its VGA splendor to handle everything I did during that day.  The look into my typical usage of the Toshiba resonated with readers and I realized this type of article could benefit a lot of people, so I promised myself to write new articles when my mobile gear changed.  The most popular "day in the life" article is without a doubt the article that describes how I used the Sony U50 as a mini-Tablet PC.  It is now time to take you through my day with the Samsung Q1 SSD (and friends) to show what I do with my mobile gear and how it makes my life easier and more efficient.  This is a typical day in the life of a Samsung Q1 (after the jump):

Continue reading »

It’s been over 10 months since we saw the Opera Mini browser hit cell phones; Palm Treo and RIM Blackberry owners have reason to sing today: they too can join the Opera-lution. By pointing their device at http://mini.opera.com, Treo and Blackberry owners can enjoy the Opera experience that we’ve come to know and love on our phones and Windows Mobile handhelds. You’ll save time and use less of your data plan as well: according to the company:  "Opera Mini™ offers faster and better page rendering while saving on memory and data usage, which reflects as a healthier handset and smaller bill for those with limited data plans. Opera Mini™ achieves this via a server-based component that compresses Web pages, ultimately reducing the size of data transferred and associated costs."

Specific to the Palm Treo 650, Opera has an instructions page here which also clarifies that service is available to Sprint and Cingular customers. T-Mobile folks have to check their subscription plans and Verizon folks…well….you need to wait for the next act.

(via Gearlog)