The week marches on and today being Saturday means it is time to recap the recent happenings in the world of Windows Mobile. It was a quiet week on the Windows Mobile front, perhaps the hoopla with the launch of the Droid and Palm Pixi kept WinMo providers quiet until it all blew over. The Windows Marketplace for Mobile turned the lights on for business, making a place for Windows phone owners to go for the latest and greatest in apps for WinMo. Phones with the Windows Marketplace app get purchased apps pushed OTA to the phone. The Marketplace is confined to Windows phones running WM6.5 currently, but Microsoft confirmed it would be available for WM6.0 and 6.1 later this month.

Windows Mobile 7 is the upcoming version of the mobile OS that everyone, including Microsoft, is expecting to help bring the smartphone platform up to speed competitively. WM7 is long overdue, even Ballmer thinks so, and according to those in the know it is still on track for a release during the third quarter of 2010. That’s almost a year away, and I wonder how far the competition will go in that time. WM7 could be obsolete before it’s even released.

My daily check for Palm Pre updates turned up the expected webOS firmware this morning. Version 1.3.1, which is already loaded on the Palm Pixi that arrives in stores tomorrow, weighs in at 126 MB. Many of the new features were already known thanks to some folks with the developer build, but a full rundown of the firmware functionality follows. Some of the more important ones I see:

• Support for Yahoo! in Synergy, Calendar, IM and Mail
• Ability to forward text messages
• Palm Backup now includes browser cookies
• Google Contact sync only includes records in My Contacts, not all contacts
• Music app now has a playback slider for faster in-song navigation
• New Secure Unlock feature
• Tapping a YouTube video in the browser automatically opens a YouTube card

My installation is still in progress, so if I see anything else worth mentioning, I’ll add an update.

Continue reading »

Courtesy Clicky

What happens when a phone like the Droid, that is focused on web integration, launches on the U.S. network widely recognized as the best 3G network (Verizon)? Statistics released by Clicky, a web analytics firm, show that the Droid has made an impact on usage in the U. S. from the very launch of the phone. The Droid on Verizon has accounted for over two percent of total mobile browsers accessing the 150,000 web sites that Clicky tracks, starting on Nov. 11, the launch date for the Droid.

This is significant, not only for demonstrating the immediate impact the Droid has exhibited on the mobile web, but for the fact that it is accounting for almost a third of usage of all Android phones in the U.S. There are other Android phones that are in the wild, and some have been for quite some time, yet the Droid is already climbing the usage charts tracking them all, after just a few days. Of course, reliability of statistics depend on a lot of factors, but this big chunk of browsing share is attention grabbing.

(via Geek.com)

The Palm Pixi doesn’t officially hit retail shelves until Sunday, but the requisite early reviews are just now hitting the web. The cheaper, smaller cousin to the Pre is getting scrutinized every which way ’til Sunday (literally) and I’ve read all of the reviews. I recommend hitting them all if you’re interested in the Pixi, or if you want a preview of what webOS 1.3.1 will bring to the Pre.

PreCentral doesn’t think that Pre owners have any reason to switch to the Pixi, although that’s not surprising. Pixi has no Wi-Fi, a smaller display and a slower processor. The lagginess of webOS may have something to do with the chosen CPU, in fact. Also not too hot in the review was output from the 2 megapixel camera. On the plus side, the device lasts longer on a charge, has a thin and small form factor and offers a solid keyboard, something that not every Pre owner can say.

Engadget also loved the Pixi’s keyboard, but wasn’t too keen on performance in general. Their video demo shows a lack of response by the phone as it tries to load a web page over EVDO. Engadget also struggles to see who will buy the Pixi when the Pre is now only $50 more expensive. I’m in agreement although I anticipate folks that want a thinner device will overlook or not see the differences between the two devices as a wide gap. Had the Pixi come out three or four months ago, it might have been a different story.

PC Mag’s Sascha Segan sees some of the Pixi’s perceived gaps as a plus — in the hands of the right person.”The Pixi raises the bar the same way the Centro and Pearl did when they first came out, saying that you don’t need to be a “smartphone buyer” to use a little bit of smarts in your phone.” Based on his view, is the Pixi appealing to a current smartphone user? Probably not. But there’s a large number of consumers that are on the fence between featurephone and smartphone. Could Pixi get them to fall on the smartphone side?

Of interesting note in all of the reviews — that Facebook app that’s hitting webOS with the updated firmware? It’s not the Facebook you (or I) was looking for. The application seems focused around the status timeline of your friends and not so much into the other useful features of Facebook. That’s personally disappointing because as an early partner, Facebook has had insights to webOS before the Pre was even announced. This doesn’t bode well for one of the biggest gripes I have with the Pre and it fits in with the reason that my Palm Pre may only have a few months left.

Looking for a Windows Mobile software experience like Apple’s iTunes App Store or Amazon’s Kindle store? Then you’ll want to hit Microsoft’s new online Windows Marketplace for Mobile, which just gained new features. The website now makes it an easier to scour the store for applications and directly buy software. Any purchase made online is sent to your Windows Phone or Windows Mobile device over the air — you’ll need to run the Windows Marketplace client on your handset for the wireless magic to happen. That makes it pretty easy to buy and install titles.

I definitely like the idea of a web-based store as opposed to the iTunes client software approach used by Apple — you can access this store from just about any computer. In fact, based on my hands on experience with the Marketplace on a Windows Phone, I’d probably use the online store over the handset store, but that’s just me. I’m curious — who’s using the store on the handset and who prefers the marketplace on a bigger screen?

Along with the storefront update, Microsoft also confirmed that Windows Mobile 6.0 and 6.1 devices will gain access to the Marketplace later this month. That information isn’t new, but it’s a nice confirmation that everything is still on track for those oldies but goodies.

UPDATED: Livestreaming is all the rage today, be it from a handset or a home computer with a webcam. But one of the major challenges to overcome is how to view that live content on a handset without re-encoding it. Vimeo today took the same approach that YouTube did for the iPhone — it went back to certain video content and re-encoded it for mobile handset playback on iPhone and Android devices. While that works, it’s not ideal. Wouldn’t it be nice if a company could provide a method for livestreaming to mobiles without a lengthy re-encoding process?

Lo and behold, enter Livestream and its Procaster beta application for Mac and PC. I just got my hands on the software a short while ago, so I have a “quick and dirty” video — don’t worry, it’s not that kind of dirty — to show you some of the basic capabilities. I was up and running in just a few minutes with Procaster. The application uses any attached webcam and microphone and livestreams from your computer. OK, that sounds like most of the other livestream platforms, right? But here’s the kicker: your live stream from Procaster can be viewed immediately on an iPhone by using the H.264 HTTP streaming built into the handset’s Quicktime application. That’s the bulk of what I show you in my brief video demo because it’s just too cool.

With Livestream Procaster, you can set up your own channel and chatroom to go with your video. I see a multitude of uses for this as I allude to in my short video demo: I’m thinking of trying this out at the Consumer Electronics Show to give you some show floor experience in real time, for example. And this solution could come in handy for tips and tricks because you can easily switch between the webcam view and a screen sharing view. Or you can display both in real time to an iPhone. The possibilities are endless and with the H.264 HTTP streaming, it opens up the floodgates to mobile viewing as well. Livestream’s full press release follows and you can find their beta application right here. Livestream will be using the new Procaster features at our NewTeeVee Live event tomorrow, so you can follow along on your iPhone! It is, after all, NewTeeVee Live, not NewTeeVee Recorded.

Update: After my post went live, I realized that I had an early look, so check out Procaster starting tomorrow.

Continue reading »

Time for our Wednesday feature that highlights some of the latest iPhone news! The biggest news item hitting the radar is Apple racing past Nokia in the smartphone market — not in terms of sales or share, but in 0perating profit. Nokia earned about $1.1 billion last quarter, while Apple’s handset division raked in $1.6 billion. Clearly, Nokia sells far more phones than Apple. But Apple doesn’t sell cheap feature phones and they’ve negotiated great subsidy deals on every handset they sell. Smart business and a solid product usually makes for boatloads of money, no?

Speaking of solid products, did you see the Gigaware HD Radio tuner for iPhone? This $80 add-on brings the goodness of HD Radio to your Apple handset and as one would expect, allows for song tagging for later purchases in the iTunes store. Personally, I really like this feature that’s baked into Microsoft’s Zune, but not enough to drop $80 for it on my iPhone 3GS. It doesn’t look all that mobile as it uses a cable to dock to the iPhone. For stationary, docked iPhones it might be appealing. It has to be more appealing than static, which you can’t even listen to on today’s iPhones.

So you can’t listen to terrestrial radio over FM on an iPhone, but you can Tweet until the cows come home. (That’s around 4:30pm in my neighborhood — for realz) Last week, I bought Tweetie2, but I’m already looking at adding the free TweetDeck to my iPhone. There’s a new version out and it incorporates some useful new features like Facebook support, video uploads, landscape composition and more. Have a look and you’ll see why I’m about to “buy” this free app for my iPhone.

Personally, I feel bad for the original G1 Android handset. Only a year into its existence and it’s getting passed up by younger, thinner models with fewer chins. And then there’s that fabulous looking Google Navigation found on those new-fangled Android 2.0 devices. It’s enough to make a bronze G1 turn green with envy. But wait — is that Google Navigation on a G1 that Engadget Mobile found? It is! Thanks to the clever crowd at XDA Developers — where else? — Google’s newest directional software is running on the G1. I’m curious if Google will put the kibosh on this though — they did it before with a programmer that was repackaging Google closed-source apps.

I keep Om’s old G1 around the house for software testing and such — he wouldn’t swap it for the Droid, go figure. Most of the time, it sits idly on my desk, but maybe it’s time to start getting into that hackability zone with this one-year old. Android by itself is getting better and better, but it seems to me that all of the fun stuff happens when folks start tinkering with the platform. Since I’m still terrified by a solder iron, this seems like a better way to channel my efforts. Any suggestions on where to start and what to do with a G1?

Microsoft just released Windows Mobile 6.5 last month, but already, there’s talk of testing Windows Mobile 7. That might explain why 6.5 is more of a minor bump after all the time between it and the prior version. WMPowerUser caught wind of the “Maldives” WinMo 7 tester program, allegedly slated for the first quarter of 2010. Now by “tester program” I mean testing by handset manufacturers, not for average Joes and Janes. And there’s no indication that Windows Mobile 7 will hit any earlier than the third quarter of 2010. But it’s a positive sign as other mobile operating systems have caught up to, and in many ways passed, Windows Mobile over the last two years alone.

The big question in my mind isn’t where Windows Mobile 7 will be when it arrives, but rather, where will all of its competitors be at that time. Apple appears to be on a major release schedule each June or July with updated handsets and new operating system features. Google is proving that it can press the gas pedal with Android updates, too — not long after version 1.6 hit the air, we saw a flashier version 2.0 arrive. Nokia’s first Maemo phone is now shipping, but updates for that platform have no history to form a basis. BlackBerry also continues to move forward and, of course, some of us are still waiting for more great things from Palm.

Three quarters of a year can be a lifetime for mobile devices, so my hope is that Microsoft debuts something that’s ahead of its time with Windows Mobile 7.

Say what you will about Palm Pre owners, they are by and large an innovative lot. An enterprising (and electrically savvy) Pre owner has extended the homebrew scene from apps to the physical and built a car mount for his Pre using the Touchstone charger.

The enterprising individual has detailed the process and explained the whys and wherefores of the components chosen for the project. The Pre sits on the Touchstone charger by magnetic connection, and according to the hobbyist, the phone sits firmly on the mount. If you decide to tackle such a project yourself, bear in mind that tinkering with the car’s electrical system can be dangerous, and you could have horrific consequences if proper care is not exercised. Pretty cool, though.