Whenever the contents of my daily gadget bag changes I try to remember to post it here on jkOnTheRun and a recent post on fellow Houstonian Kent Newsome’s blog reminded me it was time to update my daily kit.  Here is what I now carry with me daily in my Boa Booq XS backpack:

Samsung Q1 SSD- my daily workhorse.  I am taking notes all day on the Q1 with OneNote 2007 and when I am at a desk I use the Q1 as a mini-laptop.

Samsung organizer and USB keyboard- protects the Q1 in the backpack and turns it into a full laptop in 5 seconds

Verizon XV6700 phone- Windows Mobile 5 and EVDO, a good combination.  I tether the XV6700 off and on throughout the day when I need connectivity.  Of course I use a WiFi hotspot if one is available.  I am able to keep up with email whenever I have time free to process it.

Boxwave miniSync cable- I use this to tether the XV6700 to the Q1.  The retractable cable contracts to such a small size it fits in the tiny MP3 player pocket in the Booq bag.  The beauty of having the phone tethered to the Q1 is that the phone is charging the whole time it is attached.  I also have a charge only retractable cable that I use if I just need to charge the phone and don’t want to take extra time for ActiveSync to fire up.

IOGear mini Bluetooth mouse- I use it when in laptop mode in the organizer.  A fully charged mouse will last days before needing recharging.

BatteryGeek Portable Power Station- I leave the PPS in a pocket on the Booq bag and connect it while in laptop mode so the Q1 is always fully charged when I head into meetings.  When a meeting lasts a couple of hours and I have to head across town to the next meeting I connect the Q1 to the PPS right in the Booq bag with the charge cable running from the Q1 pocket to the PPS pocket.  This way the Q1 charges the entire time I am travelling to the meeting and it usually picks up a sufficient charge to get me through the upcoming meeting.  If the Q1 battery level ever drops too low for comfort during a meeting I simply plug in the PPS cable for charging without having to remove the battery from the bag.  No one is ever the wiser in the meeting.  This is probably the slickest setup I have ever used.  The PPS will run the Q1 for at least 18 hours and leave me with a fully charged internal battery.

Ultimate Ears Super.fi Pro 5 headphones- simply the best headphones I have ever used.  When I have free time between meetings, especially in a noisy Starbucks or the equivalent, I plug into some nice music (or podcast) and the headphones totally block out the noisy environment.

TomTom One portable GPS- simply the easiest GPS navigation system I have ever seen.  I use it every day, it is always on while in my car.  Even if I don’t have a route programmed I like to see which cross streets are coming up and it’s a good compass.  I usually do program a route, however, because I can’t tell you how many times I have run into a major traffic problem and pulled off the freeway to bypass it.  The TomTom One instantly calculates a new route and gets me to my destination as quickly as possible.  For security reasons I sometimes throw the TomTom in the Booq bag, it’s so small it takes almost no room.

That’s it, as my gadgets have gotten more capable the number of them I have to take every day has dropped dramatically.  What’s in your gadget bag?

I realize we’re mixing two beta products here, which generally provides the same result as using one alpha application, but what can I say: I’m a risk taker! I mentioned earlier today that the latest version of PDANet now supports Vista for using a phone as a modem, but Bluetooth was the best I could do. For some reason Windows Mobile Device Center (WMDC) just never saw my XV6700 on the Q1, so I couldn’t take advantage of PDANet’s faster USB connection. Or so I thought…

Continue reading »

Jeeves the butler is long gone, but perhaps Ask.com should get "Mini Me" from Austin Powers as the next face of Ask. The search portal now has a mobile-friendly search interface that you can find at http://m.ask.com. Ask’s portal gives you several categories to search within, including Directions, Images, Business Listings, Maps, Area Codes, Weather, Bloglines and of course, a generic web search.

Two nice features jump out at me. First, Ask is using Skweezer for mobile content presentation, which is great. Second, the category or menu system can be quickly used with keypad devices. Let’s say you want to search for a map, which is number 5 in the high-level menu: you simply press "5" on your keypad to use that category. Looks pretty quick and usable on a web-enabled phone.

Boy, when it Slings, it pours! Not only did Sling Media announce three new products plus upcoming support for Symbian, but it seems like they’re saving a little money on their product packaging too based on this pic from Dave Zatz. After all, if you’re going to provide Slingbox support for Palm, why not just print the Palm logo on your product package and cover it up with a sticker?

Seriously, this is great news for Palm OS owners, but at this point, details are between sketchy and few. Engadget has been doing some follow ups with Sling and is hearing that Palm owners might get TV anywhere in the fourth quarter. My advice: put the Slingbox on your letter to Santa now if you own a Palm device.

Thanks to Ron’s comment on James’s Bluetooth ActiveSych woes, we see that Microsoft has released a beta version of ActiveSync 4.5. I doubt James will use to try and resolve his issues, simply because using a beta of an already semi-unstable application isn’t something most people would do on their production systems. Then again I could be wrong.

Needless to say: for the bravest of the brave among, back up your important handheld data, download the beta and have at it! Since my ActiveSync is working at the moment, I think I’ll leave well enough alone. Here’s the skinny on the new version thanks to BetaNews:

• Changes in ActiveSync 4.5 Beta 2 help resolve issues related to setup, partnerships, and connectivity with the PC and Microsoft Exchange
• In addition, it includes a troubleshooter utility that scans your computer and device to identify problems and offers information and corrective actions to solve them

I’m very curious to see more details on the troubleshooter; current ActiveSync error messages tend to be quite cryptic.

I got a glimpse of the new ActiveSync in Vista Beta 2, now known by it’s more generic (and descriptive) name of Windows Mobile Device Center. I liked the fact that there was less conversion of files; hey a JPEG is a JPEG, right? All in all, I liked what I saw. Unfortunately, with Vista RC1, I’m not seeing the same thing. In fact, I’m not seeing WMDC at all, which is really disappointing for a Release Candidate. It also hurts my productivity testing.

Turns out that WMDC was pulled from Vista RC1 for the moment. According to Mel Sampat, the Windows Mobile Program Manager, “the WMDC team made some major architectural changes between Beta 2 and RC1 based on the feedback they collected from Beta 2. So the WMDC in RC1 is pretty different than what was in Beta 2, at least underneath the hood“. The plan is for WMDC to appear in Windows Update within the next few weeks, but isn’t this concerning given the late date of “major architectural changes”?

I think Microsoft will pull a rabbit out of the hat on this one, simply because WMDC is not a core Vista component, but is in add-on module. We’re cutting the time-line a little close, though. Solid testing of WMDC isn’t going to get done overnight. While we’re waiting: what’s the one bit of ActiveSync feedback would you give the WMDC team?

(via Pocket PC Thoughts)

More details are emerging on that funky looking HP iPAQ rx4000 Mobile Media Companion, but I don’t think you’re gonna like ‘em! Brighthand indicates that there’s a good chance the handheld will have 64 MB of RAM and 128 MB of ROM plus the potential for a full gigabyte of additional internal storage. Unfortunately, there’s an even better chance that the rx4000 won’t see shores beyond Asia, based on this comment from HP:

"The rx4000 is a regional product available in the APJ [Asia Pacific Japan] market. It is not available outside of select countries in APJ."

As quickly as hopes increased, it’s a marketing and business plan like this that kills potential good ideas quickly. Then again, if the device is successful in Asia, HP just might see the light with a more global market.

BTW: Ed Hardy at Brighthand had the great post title, but in the spirit of Seinfeld, I thought to mod it just a bit for appropriate reuse. Great headline Ed!

HP isn’t out the handheld game just yet as they’ve announced the iPAQ rx4000 Mobile Media Companion series in Asia. The $299 device hits the Far East in October and has more of a portable media player look (and name) over HP’s traditional PDA lineup. The rx4000 is Windows Mobile 5.0 at the core and the typical software suite of apps like Office Mobile appear to be included. WiFi and Bluetooth are inside as well and the device sports a 2.8-inch touchscreen like most other similar devices.

If the device appears in the wild like the photos shown, this is one of the first handhelds that appear to be primarily geared towards a landscape view, based on the logo orientation and alignment. Is this a more than a PDA? Will it have any unique PMP features that will excel in a landscape view? Difficult to say without more information and specs, so we’ll hold off on any predictions for now; of course, you’re always welcome to put your $.02 in the comments!

Fans of the SPB Diary program should be happy: the latest version of the Today plug-in became available earlier this week. Version 2.0 of SPB Diary includes new features like:

• Dialing by photo contact
• Additional one-handed navigation features
• Better memory management (key for low memory devices like the 700w)
• Expanded Notes tab with support for PhatWare notes, .txt. .rtf and .doc files
• Skinnable interface

The new version costs $19.95 for new users; owners of version 1.x can upgrade for $7.49 and everyone can try a free 15-day download trial.

ITBusinessEdge has published an article that points to a report by Airscanner that claims Windows Mobile software is insecure.  The report makes it clear that Windows Mobile is not the culprit but the third party software that is released by developers without proper security handling.  This problem has been brewing for a while, since most Windows Mobile devices are now sporting some form of connectivity that allows them to be connected over the web.  Software vendors need to step up to the plate and begin plugging the security holes their programs open up on such devices.  Of course, the report blames Microsoft for designing the Windows Mobile platform to allow these developers to create security problems:

Seth Fogie, the vice president at the company who wrote the report, pulls no punches. He concludes early on that “it is our belief that Windows Mobile platform creates an environment conducive to poorly designed security software.”

As a higher percentage of mobile devices become connected it is likely we will see an increased security threat so companies deploying them must be aware of the risks.

-jk