Windows Phone Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves

"The new arrivals include the world-first launch of the LG GM730f - which is upgradeable to Windows Mobile® 6.5 later this year - as well as the LG Xenon, both exclusive to Telstra. Two further new additions include the TelstraOne Experience user interface from Sony Ericsson and the HTC Touch Pro2 smartphone for professionals."

Telstra has announced that the HTC Touch Pro2 and LG GM730f will be available from July 21 and July 28 respectively. You probably already know all there is to know about the Touch Pro2. The GM730f, on the other hand, is somewhat of an unknown. It boasts 7.2 Mbps HSDPA support (though, still well under the Next G network's current speed of 21 Mbps, and the eventual 42 Mbps slated for later in the year), a 3.0-inch touch screen, a 5.0-megapixel camera, LG's S-Class UI, and upgradeability to Windows Mobile 6.5. It'll set you back $0 on a plan over 24 months, or $979 AUD outright.

"Telstra today launched the world's fastest mobile broadband service, ushering in a new era in real-time mobile communications that will bring major benefits to customers, innovation and business productivity. The CEOs of Telstra, Ericsson, Qualcomm and Sierra Wireless jointly announced a new 21Mbps peak rated mobile broadband modem, Telstra Turbo 21, would be available to customers on Telstra's supercharged HSPA+ network, the Next G network, on 23 February. Peak network speeds will increase to 42Mbps later this year."

Australia's largest carrier, Telstra, has kicked its Next G (3G) network up a notch to 21 Mbps, earning the title of the world's fastest national mobile broadband network from the folks at Guinness World Records. And it's set to increase to 42 Mbps later this year. One can only hope we'll see more mobile phones that, put simply, will take advantage of such a mind-boggling amount of pure "awesomeness", because the last time we checked, they were few and far between.

"Tough economic times have triggered an upheaval in Australia's $13 billion a year mobile sector with its number three and four players Vodafone Australia and Hutchison "3" forced into merger... The new group, to be named VHA Pty Ltd, will have more than 6 million customers and sell products and services under the Vodafone brand. The deal also appears to signal the death knell of the 3 brand in Australia with Vodafone being earmarked as the new venture's main brand."

Uncertain times have forced Australia's third and fourth largest carriers, Vodafone and 3, into merger. The two operate in all major centres and select rural areas across the country, and currently carry many of HTC's and Samsung's Windows Mobile devices, including the Touch Diamond, Touch Pro, Omnia, i600, and i780. It's expected that once the merger is complete, all products and services will sell under the Vodafone brand, with pricing expected to change in an attempt to take aim at Australia's second largest carrier, Optus.

"We're excited to announce the availability of Google Maps for mobile version 2.3 with Street View on Nokia S60 and Windows Mobile. Street View was previously released on Google Maps for Android, BlackBerry, and iPhone. Street View lets you access street level imagery to help orient yourself when looking for places, businesses, or getting directions. Say you're going to meet with friends at an unfamiliar restaurant. Now you can search for it in Google Maps for mobile, click on "Street View", and see what the place and surrounding area look like. Similarly, say you need to get to a shop in a part of town you don't know. Find it using your phone, get directions to it, and see how to get there with full-screen panorama images of every step along the way."

Google Maps 2.3 has arrived, but this release is more than just a bunch of bug fixes. It includes walking directions, transit alerts, POI reviews, and Street View support, so you can take the sights of the United States, Australia, France, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, and Spain with you wherever you go. It's a free download from google.com/gmm.

Omnia fever has hit Australia. Bus stops, billboards, newspapers... pick one and there's a good chance an Omnia ad is plastered all over it. Take, for example, an ad in today's paper that caught my eye; it advertised the availability of the Omnia on Optus for a mere $0 on a $49 cap plan. Other carriers such as Vodafone, Virgin Mobile, and 3 are also selling the device on similar plans. And then there are the usual online and brick & mortar stores that sell the device standalone. One thing's for certain: with this widespread availability and constant advertising, Samsung is doing their best to give residents of the country with the highest number of authorized iPhone carriers something else to talk about.

Your eyes aren't deceiving you. Indeed, that's e.aspx">Live Mesh for Windows Mobile running on a Palm Treo Pro. And there's word coming out of Tech.Ed Australia (where the aforementioned was demoed) that it will soon be available for public consumption. Any Live Mesh users here looking forward to this?

"Today at CeBIT Australia, Spb Software House, a leading mobile applications vendor, showcased Spb Online Shell — a practical on-device access point to online multimedia content and services. Spb Online Shell will help mobile network operators deliver improved content experiences to subscribers. Spb Online Shell is an elegant content discovery solution that makes it possible to bring online radio, TV, video-on-demand, weather, gaming, music, and shopping directly to subscribers using Windows Mobile handsets. Set to reinvigorate user enthusiasm for mobile entertainment and data, Spb Online Shell is an easy to use and engaging single entry portal for online services and payments. It is designed to strictly adhere to, and enhance, a carrier's unique identity and brand. Sebastian-J Schmidt, CEO, Spb Software, said: "The demand for mobile services is strong throughout the world. In Australia, we're now actively seeking partnerships with innovative mobile carriers, and believe that Spb Online Shell will resonate well here, since Australia is an early adopter of 3G and streaming content for mobile devices." Spb Online Shell uses the engine of Spb Mobile Shell, an application that has been recognized by dozens of respected mobility experts around the world as the user interface improver, which reignites interest in Windows Mobile and changes the device experience completely."



Interesting! I'll keep a close eye on the mobile market here in Oz and let you all know just how much of an impact Spb Online Shell makes.

"Telstra Country Wide Director, Gary Goldsworthy, today confirmed that the old CDMA mobile network would shut down across the country at midnight tonight, closing a significant chapter in the history of telecommunications in Australia. "At midnight tonight Telstra will commence the carefully planned closure of the redundant CDMA mobile network. Today really is the last chance for remaining CDMA customers to move across to a new mobile network, such as the Telstra Next G™ network, and remain connected" Mr Goldsworthy said. "CDMA technology has served Australia well over the years but has now been superseded by more advanced third generation mobile technology such as the Telstra Next G™ network, which carries about 7.5 times the data carried on the CDMA network at its peak."



CDMA coverage in Australia will be axed at midnight, starting from the east coast and progressing toward the west coast in accordance with local time zones. Telstra has been at it for two years, urging CDMA customers via letter, phone, and SMS to make the switch over to Next G. But this has been much to the discontent of a handful of rural customers, primarily due to concerns that the UMTS/HSDPA network suffers from poorer coverage in remote areas of the country. Like it or not, however - the clock is ticking. Any Australian readers here happy/unhappy about this?