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

We've just picked the winners of our SBSH PhoneWeaver 2 and SBSH GoNews 1.3 giveaways, and without further ado, here they are, in alphabetical order:

• PhoneWeaver Winners: Antal, fbeiderb, geneb, jrjordan, maxnix
• GoNews Winners: bystander, Cyberdude007, fromamerica, jeffaitken, jlhorng

If you're one of the lucky ten mentioned, keep an eye on your inbox (and your spam folder, just in case) for an e-mail detailing how to claim your prize. A big thank you to SBSH Mobile Software for their generosity.

In case you missed dropping by Windows Phone Thoughts during the holiday season, we drew The Noughties to a close by offering five copies of SBSH PhoneWeaver 2 and five copies of SBSH GoNews 1.3. The giveaways are still under way, though not for long! Our PhoneWeaver giveaway ends in a couple of days, so if you're keen on a chance to snag this great application, be sure to enter. Our GoNews giveaway, on the other hand, ends later in the week, though now is as good a time as any to enter. Good luck, and have a great 2010!

"Today, SBSH Mobile Software updated its best selling newsreader application GoNews to version 1.3, adding support for Windows Mobile Smartphones (non touch screen devices) for the first time! GoNews 1.3 is the first version to support both Windows Mobile Touch and Non-Touch screen devices! Furthermore, GoNews 1.3 brings great download speed improvements, design improvements and some great new features for both Windows Mobile Touch and Non-Touch users. We invite all our users to update to the latest and greatest GoNews version!"

You didn't think we'd stop at just PhoneWeaver, did you? Yes, thanks to SBSH, we're hosting another holiday season giveaway! This time, we have five copies of GoNews 1.3 up for grabs, and this latest version packs a punch. It offers faster updates, touch and non-touch optimizations, and of course, long-awaited support for Windows Mobile Standard (that's Smartphone in the old tongue). So what do you have to do to win? Read on and get commenting. Good luck!

• Leave a comment in this thread, stating your favourite news source. Perhaps it's CNN, BBC, The NY Times, The Australian, or even yours truly - Windows Phone Thoughts.
• Only one comment per person. Any more and your entry will be deemed invalid. Note that if you're registering and leaving a comment for the first time, your post probably won't appear right away as it needs to be approved by our friendly moderators.
• The giveaway is open to anyone and everyone, regardless of where you are in the world.
• Entries will be accepted until 11:59 PM GMT on January 10, 2010.
• A total of five winners will be selected randomly and notified via e-mail, so please ensure that a valid e-mail address is linked to your Thoughts Media account. Each winner will receive a single licensed copy of GoNews 1.3.

"SBSH Mobile Software is excited to announce today the PhoneWeaver for Windows Mobile Touch major update to version 2! SBSH PhoneWeaver 2 for Windows Mobile Touch is a robust profiles and phone management tool designed to fill one of the greatest needs of Windows Mobile users - enjoying powerful, smart and automated profiles! Additionally, PhoneWeaver brings a mobile-optimized interface for complete phone radios management with a touch of a finger! PhoneWeaver 2 introduce new location-based profiles to activate profiles automatically while you're on the move; touch designed profiles control panel that helps you switch between profiles with a touch of a finger and much more!"

Last week, much to the elation of many PhoneWeaver users, SBSH released v2 of the aforementioned phone management tool. The major upgrade adds a handful of new and improved features such as a touch-friendly phone control panel, location-based profiles, extended profile functionality, and Windows Mobile 6.5 optimizations. And thanks to SBSH, we have five copies to give away here at Windows Phone Thoughts. So what do you have to do to win? Read on and get commenting. Good luck!

• Leave a comment in this thread, stating the phone you currently use. If you don't have one, feel free to mention the phone you're hoping to get this holiday season.
• Only one comment per person. Any more and your entry will be deemed invalid. Note that if you're registering and leaving a comment for the first time, your post probably won't appear right away as it needs to be approved by our friendly moderators.
• The giveaway is open to anyone and everyone, regardless of where you are in the world.
• Entries will be accepted until 11:59 PM GMT on January 6, 2010.
• A total of five winners will be selected randomly and notified via e-mail, so please ensure that a valid e-mail address is linked to your Thoughts Media account. Each winner will receive a single licensed copy of PhoneWeaver 2.

This is a quick reminder that our giveaway of three pairs of SHURE SE210 headphones ends on the 15th of this month, so if you haven't already entered, you'd better do so quickly!

The only thing better than a contest is an easy contest, so jump over to Pocket PC Soft.net to check out the giveaways for an HP iPAQ 614c Business Navigator and an HP iPAQ Voice Messenger.

That lovely video below is what I was seeing yesterday morning standing in my garage - as I write this it's gotten even worse. Winter has really arrived in full force where I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Blowing snow, roads being shut down, the whole deal. Since Windows Phone Thoughts and Digital Home Thoughts have a world-wide audience, I'm always interested in knowing what it's like where you live. And since I happen to have some now-legacy micro-lights branded with site names that no longer exist (Pocket PC Thoughts, Smartphone Thoughts, and Digital Media Thoughts) I thought there was a way I could clear up some inventory and have some fun at the same time...because who doesn't like cool little flashlights for free?

So here's the deal: I want you to post a picture of what the weather is like where you are right now. Bright sunny day? Cold and wet? Night time? It doesn't matter what it is, I want you to share your environment with the rest of the community - it's always fascinating to me to see the different sorts of things we experience. I have 25 Pocket PC Thoughts micro lights to give away, 15 Smartphone Thoughts micro lights, and 10 Digital Media Thoughts micro lights. That's 50 total prizes, and they'll be given to the first 50 people who post an image of the weather or environment they're in right now. BONUS: If someone posts a video, I'll also include a spare battery for the micro light (while supplies last - I have five extra batteries, so first come first serve). Read more...

"We're all lost without our phones. So this holiday season, we're giving away three brand new Windows® phones from Verizon & AT&T for tweets that share your most embarrassing lost phone story. How creative can you be in under 140 characters?"

Running until December 10th, the "Lost Without My Phone" giveaway is simple to enter - just follow and send a tweet to @windowsphone explaining your most embarrassing lost phone story. Fitting that into 140 characters will be quite a challenge, but three Windows phones are on the line, so go for it!

We've got another great contest for you, and this time because it's an accessory that works with so many different products, it's a network-wide contest. The prizes? I'm giving away three pairs of SHURE SE210 Earphones (MSRP $179.99 USD), courtesy of the generous folks at Shure. Our very own David Tucker reviewed this earphones back in September, and he loved them - so I'm sure the three winners will as well. The SE210's feature a noise-isolating sleeves that block 90 percent of the ambient noise, and the more noise you can block out, the more you can enjoy your tunes.

What do you have to do to win? Simply post a message in this discussion thread telling me which type of device (or devices) you'd use the headphones with. A Windows Mobile smartphone? A Zune? An iPod? An iPhone? A netbook or laptop? That's it - one post per person, and the contest closes on Tuesday the 15th of December at 12pm GMT -7. This contest is world-wide; I'll be shipping you the prizes myself.

Remember that all first posts in our system are held in moderation, so if this contest entry is your first post, please wait up to 48 hours before getting concerned if your post hasn't shown up yet - it will. Winners will be contacted via private forum message, so ensure that you have email notifications turned on. Winners will have 72 hours to claim their prize.

Let's see those entries!

UPDATE:The contest is now closed, and the three winners are GqSkrub, webguy248, and deenoo. Thanks to everyone for entering - it was great to see so many entries! And big thanks to SHURE for donating the prizes!

Hey everyone! This is a quick heads-up for you to check Digital Home Thoughts if you're interested in winning some free stuff. It's by far our #1 site when it comes to contests, largely because it covers a broad spectrum of topics which makes it easier to get giveaway items. We've been running a hard drive giveaway (3350 GB in total storage) for the past five weeks, giving away a variety of hard drives, and this week we're giving away a 500 GB Western Digital hard drive. Also going on is a giveaway for a Skooba Design Checkthrough Brief bag, and on Monday we're launching a contest giving away 10 copies of Corel Digital Studio 2010. Watch for it!

One giveaway down, another to go! Thanks to Eltima Software, we have two copies of SyncMate 2.0 Expert Edition (each valued at $39.95 USD) for you to snag. The sync application is compatible with Mac OS X, and offers a plethora of sync options between Windows Mobile (and other smartphones), Google accounts, and Mac OS-based applications such as iCal, iPhoto, iTunes, Mail, Address Book, Safari, Firefox, and Entourage.

So, what do you have to do to win? Read on and get commenting. Good luck!

• Leave a comment in this thread, stating the editions that SyncMate is offered in. And here's a hint: there are two editions, and we've already named one of them in this post. Still stuck? Perhaps the SyncMate web page will help you.
• Only one comment per person. Any more and your entry will be deemed invalid. Note that if you're registering and leaving a comment for the first time, your post probably won't appear right away as it needs to be approved by our friendly moderators.
• The giveaway is open to anyone and everyone, regardless of where you are in the world.
• Entries will be accepted until 11:59 PM GMT on September 18, 2009.
• A total of two winners will be selected randomly and notified via e-mail, so please ensure that a valid e-mail address is linked to your Thoughts Media account. Each winner will receive a single copy of SyncMate 2.0 Expert Edition.

Without further ado, we're announcing the five winners of our Handy Weather 4.0 giveaway. And here they are, in alphabetical order:

• Cornelius, eliefrancis, toen, Trapperjohn, tsaojam

If you're one of the lucky five mentioned, keep an eye on your inbox (and your spam folder, just in case) for a message detailing how to claim your prize. Thanks to Paragon Software for their generosity. Stay tuned! We'll have another giveaway for you in just a tick.

Giveaway time! Thanks to Paragon Software, we have five copies of the new Handy Weather 4.0 (each valued at $17.95 USD per month) for you to snag. The weather application is compatible with Windows Mobile 5.0 and later, and offers a plethora of features such as detailed 7-day weather forecasts, satellite weather maps, a touch-friendly user interface, GPS/SMS/e-mail integration, and support for over 40,000 cities worldwide.

So, what do you have to do to win? Read on and get commenting. Good luck!

• Leave a comment in this thread, stating today's weather wherever you are in the world. You can be as basic or as detailed as you wish.
• Only one comment per person. Any more and your entry will be deemed invalid. Note that if you're registering and leaving a comment for the first time, your post probably won't appear right away as it needs to be approved by our friendly moderators.
• The giveaway is open to anyone and everyone, regardless of where you are in the world.
• Entries will be accepted until 11:59 PM GMT on August 16, 2009.
• A total of five winners will be selected randomly and notified via e-mail, so please ensure that a valid e-mail address is linked to your Thoughts Media account. Each winner will receive a single copy of Handy Weather 4.0.

Okay, we're a little late announcing the winners of our Ringtone Expressions giveaway, but better late than never, right? Without further ado, here are the lucky twenty in alphabetical order:

• bellor, bulldogdude, Certs, DaViD_BRaNDoN, Dyvim, eviktus, fone_fanatic, GreatDay, hacqua, looneytoone, Lucy, mafaquem, maxnix, NathanBaron, rombo, srsabu, the_matrixx, timmy, timtam, triplegems75

If you're in the list above, keep an eye on your inbox (and your spam folder, just in case) for a message detailing how to claim your prize. Thanks to Gx5 for their generosity. Stay tuned! We'll have another giveaway for you in just a tick.

Remember the iZel review that I published a few weeks back? Well, the makers of the iZel have offered us three to give away to lucky Thoughts Media readers! This contest is open to anyone in the US or Canada (sorry rest-of-world). Entering the contest is really easy: all you have to do is post a message in this discussion thread telling me what kind of device(s) you'd want to use with the iZel. That's it! I'll randomly select three entries and each person will win an iZel. Nice and easy! The contest is open until the 16th of July, at 12pm (GMT -7). Enter now!

UPDATE: Only one entry per person, and if it's your first post, please allow up to 48 hours for it to show up.

UPDATE #2: The contest is now over and the winners have been randomly selected. iZel has a little consolation prize for everyone though. If you use the coupon code 5OFFIZEL you'll get a $5 discount off the normal price of $24.95 from Amazon.com [Affiliate]. The coupon code is valid until midnight July 31st, 2009.

Giveaway time! Thanks to Gx5, we have twenty copies of Ringtone Expressions (each valued at $4.99 USD per month) for you to snag. The Windows-based application offers a quick and easy way for you to convert your music, YouTube videos, and self-recorded audio into ringtones for your Windows Mobile device.

So, what do you have to do to win? Read on and get commenting. Good luck!

• Leave a comment in this thread, stating your favourite music genre. Rock, R&B, psychedelic trance, or something else? Let us know. It's that simple.
• Only one comment per person. Any more and your entry will be deemed invalid. Note that if you're registering and leaving a comment for the first time, your post probably won't appear right away as it needs to be approved by our friendly moderators.
• The giveaway is open to anyone and everyone, regardless of where you are in the world.
• Entries will be accepted until 11:59 PM GMT on June 24, 2009.
• A total of twenty winners will be selected randomly and notified via e-mail, so please ensure that a valid e-mail address is linked to your Thoughts Media account. Each winner will receive a lifetime subscription allowing unlimited use of Ringtone Expressions.

Last month, we had five copies of Paragon Software Group's Handy Assistant and five copies of PocketX Software's Business PRO up for grabs. Without further ado, here are the winners, selected randomly and presented in alphabetical order.

• Handy Assistant: cmusciano, DrAT, elnehi, smconstable, Tryster
• Business PRO: code-frog, dov47, jimmur, moti1010, wisniak

If your user name is in the list above, congratulations! Keep an eye on your inbox (and your spam folder) for an e-mail with your respective license. A big thank you to Paragon Software Group and PocketX Software for their generosity! Stay tuned. There'll be another giveaway later today here at Pocket PC Thoughts.

Giveaway time! Thanks to PocketX Software, we have five copies of the newly-released Business PRO (each valued at $29.95 USD) for you to snag. The application offers advanced phone profiles, a profile picker, advanced call filtering, an SMS answering machine, group e-mail and SMS messaging, support for unique ringtones and message tones, and photo caller ID.

So, what do you have to do to win? Read on and get commenting. Good luck!

• Leave a comment in this thread, stating the number of contacts in your address book. 10, 20, 500, 1000? More? Let us know. It's that simple.
• Only one comment per person. Any more and your entry will be deemed invalid. Note that if you're registering and leaving a comment for the first time, your post probably won't appear right away as it needs to be approved by our friendly moderators.
• The giveaway is open to anyone and everyone, regardless of where you are in the world.
• Entries will be accepted until 11:59 PM GMT on June 3, 2009.
• A total of five winners will be selected randomly and notified via e-mail, so please ensure that a valid e-mail address is linked to your Thoughts Media account. Each winner will receive a single licensed copy of Business PRO.

You want an easy contest? You've got an easy contest: Expansys is giving away a Palm Treo Pro, and all you have to do is answer their question about which operating system the Treo Pro runs. I'll give you a hint: it ends in .1 and has the word "Professional" in it. Shh. Don't tell anyone I told you! The contest ends in 10 days, so enter now.

We have freebies that need claiming, and they could be yours! Thanks to Paragon Software Group, we have five copies of the newly-released Handy Assistant application (each valued at $29.95 USD) to give away. Here's a brief description of what it does:

"Paragon Software Group, the leading software developer for mobile devices and PC desktops, has released Handy Assistant, an advanced mobile phone application allowing management and customization of phone profiles, call processing and filtering, as well as other highly utilized phone features on Windows Mobile devices."

So, what do you have to do to win? Read on and get commenting. Good luck!

• Leave a comment in this thread, stating the ringtone you currently use. If you don't use one, because you simply adore the sweet serenity of silence, that's okay, too! Just mention that in the thread.
• Only one comment per person. Any more and your entry will be deemed invalid. Note that if you're registering and leaving a comment for the first time, your post probably won't appear right away as it needs to be approved by our friendly moderators.
• The giveaway is open to anyone and everyone, regardless of where you are in the world.
• Entries will be accepted until 11:59 PM GMT on May 30, 2009.
• A total of five winners will be selected randomly and notified via e-mail, so please ensure that a valid e-mail address is linked to your Thoughts Media account. Each winner will receive a single licensed copy of Handy Assistant.