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

While I have to stress this is really heresay (a rep's opinion doesn't count as official), this isn't completely unexpected given the relative age of the X1. But then again, it demonstrates that manufacturers aren't terribly keen on supporting their own WM devices for very long, something we've had to live with through the last ten years. Which is a shame, since the X1 isn't that dated, and I suspect the hardware is more than up to the demands of WM6.5.

The M20 is a mid-level, half decent handset that really focuses on GPS navigation (as you'd expect). The good news is that like a few recent device releases, the M20 is getting an update to WM6.5. The really bad news is that Garmin-Asus seems to have forgotten two not so insignificant markets - North America and Western Europe - or at least, that's what's implied by the press release. That's just...strange, unless we're really talking about carrier-imposed delays again.

"I've been honoured to have the HD2 in daily use for the last six weeks (thanks O2) and I'm very impressed with all aspects of its design and function - The Sense tabs that replace the Titanium interface work beautifully well and the deeper integration that HTC have done to hide the somewhat finger unfriendly WM6.5 interface make the device a joy to use - and yes I can say that the stylus has not been missed at all. The speed of the HD2 has to be seen to be believed (videos to follow) everything feels fast and smooth from the transitional tab navigation in the Sense screen to the speed of scanning photos in flow mode, or flicking through large pictures in the Album itself. Transitions from portrait to landscape modes in applications is nigh on instant and the same can be said when zooming in and out of photographs using the two finger pinch system. At one point I actually found I had fourteen applications loaded in the background (including heavyweight items like the Album) and there was no slow down in operation and no applications had auto-closed in the background. During the time I've used the HD2 there have been no problems with the device heating up or behaving in an adverse manner in any way."

I normally don't like to quote as much as I did above from 4WinMobile's review. However you can believe me when I say that I'm not quoting any more than my normal percentage! This thing is massive! And with more screenshots than you can shake a stick at (ANY stick.. large or small), it is worth a read. And I'm fairly sure it would make even the most ardent iPhone supporter admit that the UI is quite nice!

While the grapevine has supplied this tidbit for quite some time now, it's nice to see official confirmation. If you've been living on a desert island for the last couple of months, the HD2 is HTC's latest uber-phone sporting a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 4.3" capacitive display, WM6.5, an ultra-slim profile, HTC's latest UI overlay (HTC Sense), and just about everything else under the sun. The big deal about this confirmation is that the models currently shipping in Europe and Asia don't support US 3G bands, which meant the US market would have been left out otherwise. No clues yet on which carrier will take this up, but the HD2 should be available by Spring 2010.

"Sure, you've seen this guy in action in earlier videos... but it's still nice to get a look at this monster up close. We're still blown away by the fact that this is a Windows Mobile 6.5 device -- the skinning job that HTC has done here is nothing short of a miracle."

HTC's Sense-equipped HD2 is one gorgeous Windows Mobile 6.5 device, and Engadget has the eye candy to back it up. Scoot over there and check it out. Anyone planning on picking one up?

"We have already published a lot of screenshots of Samsung's I8000 Omnia II. Now we have a final build of the software and it looks like Samsung has tried to cover Microsoft flaws as much as possible with it's TouchWiz interface. The device itself is very fast, and build quality is excellent. After a quick check of the specs we present you a vdeo [sic] tour and a ton of new screenshots..."

According to the ar.is blog, the Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional-based Omnia 2 will feature a 3.7 inch AMOLED WVGA resolution (480x800) resistive touchscreen, a Samsung 800MHz CPU, an unknown dedicated graphics accelerator, 256MB RAM and either 2/8/16GB worth of storage - though I'm pretty dubious on the first one. 2 GB of storage is a departure from the norm for the Omnia - though perhaps it's a move to get the phone to a lower price point. The Omnia 2 also features a 5 megapixel camera with an LED flash, a G-Sensor, a microUSB port, a DivX software player, TV-Out capabilities, a 3.5mm stereo audio jack, the Opera Mobile browser, and strangely enough also features NTSC (720x480, 30fps) video recording. I'm presuming there's some sort of adaptor you'd have to use for video input - this is a rather curious feature to have on a smartphone. I'm all for cool technology, but I'm hard pressed to think of this being useful to more than a handful of "Why? Because I Can!" types. Lots of screen shots to be found in their gallery.

Italian site Solopalmari have scored what looks like the very first unboxing video of the when-is-it-going-to-be-in-stock HTC HD2 (original link here, Google-translated version here). What's shown isn't the final packaging, which is a relief - I saw the video first before reading the article, and thought HTC were nuts to have the accessories look like they've just been thrown in the box. Thankfully that's not the case, though I wonder if you can really call this an unboxing video when the "box" isn't what you're going to get at retail. Oh well, enjoy the view.

"Finally, the teaser's over. The latest delivery to Engadget's UK penthouse is the Jabra STONE Bluetooth headset due out in the US on 8th November, and we took no time to extract the pebble from the transparent cylinder. In front of us are the two parts of the STONE: an earpiece of a breakthrough form factor that instantly makes you pity its rivals, and behind it is the accompanying portable charging base which serves as an external battery."

The STONE certainly looks impressive from an aesthetic standpoint, however I'd be more inclined to care about how it works functionally. Engadget has a full gallery of photos and their thoughts, for those of you looking to grab a new headset in the near future!

The good news is that the Xperia X2 is now legally usable within the territory of the United States. The bad news is that you won't be able to get 3G speeds on any of the available networks through the FCC-passed model. Having said that, if and when Sony-Ericsson comes up with a model using US 3G bands it should get through the FCC fairly quickly (have they ever turned anyone down?). Given SE's financial troubles and relative lack of penetration into the US market, I wouldn't lay odds on that ever happening.

The audio is Greek to me - literally, it's two Greek guys talking - but mute the audio and enjoy the video. Finally, someone with a camera that can focus and decent lighting to boot! The Touch HD2 looks like an amazing device, and the updated version of HTC Sense (a.k.a. TouchFlo 3D) is ridiculously responsive and gorgeous on this device. The only weird thing I noticed was that they had a hard time doing the reverse-pinch to zoom out on the browser. I wonder why that wasn't working very well?

"What we have in our hands today, however, is the GIGA-BYTE GSmart S1200, that looks promising and different. It´s more compact, sports a larger display and increased amount of RAM and ROM as compared to the MS820. Moreover, the device runs Windows Mobile 6.5 and allows access to all extra features of Windows Mobile 6.5 - Windows Marketplace for Mobile, Microsoft MyPhone etc. It also comes with several Flash-based personalization packs that look quite well indeed."

If you're in the market for a mid-level, slim and extremely thin (11.4mm!) design, then you might want to have a look at the S1200. The S1200 sports a 524MHz Qualcomm processor, 288MB RAM, 3.1in WVGA screen, 3MP camera (no flash), dualband 3G on Asia/Europe freqs, FM radio and GPS. On the other hand, if you have any pretensions towards being a power user, then better to give this a pass - phonearena liked the looks, but reported the S1200 to be laggy, with a shallow (and CPU hungry) implementation of a UI overlay. If you're still interested, click on the link for the review.

"Having seen Acer´s first Windows phones (the DX900, X960, F900 and M900), it´s time we had an all round look at the first Windows Mobile 6.5 devices of the manufacturer. Brace yourself and get ready for a most exciting adventure full of unexpected twists and breathtaking moments. Let´s get started on our journey to Acer´s world by taking a closer look at the Acer beTouch E200, a device aimed at people on the lookout for a Windows phone with numeric keypad."

phoneArena takes a look at the Acer beTouch E200, a phone that can be purchased from our hardware partner Expansys for a fairly reasonable $409.99 USD. As far as new Windows Mobile 6.5 phones go, this one brings something a bit different to the table: a 12-key keypad. What shocked me? Apparently Windows Media Player Mobile can actually handle Xvid and Divx files. Stunning - I never thought I'd see the day. Is this the norm with other 6.5 devices, or just some secret sauce that Acer added?

When I first heard about this beast, my initial thought was that it might be just a bit smaller than my Advantage with that massive 4.3" screen. Turns out HTC had a big trick up its sleeve - because capacitive screens (yes, the HD2's got one) doesn't require that much bezel space to fit, the frame is small enough to make the body almost (though not quite) comparable to phones with much smaller screens. The comparison to the iPod touch above is a pretty good example - in fact, in terms of volume, the HD2 is actually slightly smaller than the iPhone 3GS thanks to a thinner profile. My only concern now is, how the heck do you use the hardware buttons at the bottom while using the HD2 with one hand? For more example pics, check mobile-review.com.

"We're currently at a multi-purpose Microsoft event right now -- an event touring the company's holiday lineup, as well as today's launch of Windows phone devices (AKA, Windows Mobile 6.5). We had a chance to sit down with Robbie Bach, President of Microsoft's Entertainment & Devices Division, and ask him some questions about where the big M is headed with its recent lineup."

While the conversation with Robbie Bach had some interesting points on Windows Mobile and Windows Phones in general, in light of the recent Sidekick fiasco, I found the following point slightly ironic:

Peter Rojas asks about the company's acquisition of Danger. Robbie: "There were clear reasons for us to acquire Danger -- I think in time that will pan out. It wasn't another OS, it was services... the Sidekick isn't our brand, it's T-Mobile's brand."

Oh how I bet many at Microsoft would love to keep repeating that mantra over the next week...

Like having real bling and a bona fide luxury brandname on your smartphone? Armani and Samsung have teamed up to give you the latest Samsung Giorgio Armani, which will feature WM6.5, 3.1" AMOLED screen, 5MP camera, QWERTY keyboard, GPS and 8GB flash. It's a little on the bulky side, but hey! What's a little weight with that name on the front? If you want to know what it looks like, check out Engadget's gallery.

One can never have too much eye-candy, so feast your eyes on what Engadget has snapped of the AT&T HTC Tilt 2, which looks and feels just like the Touch Pro2. Except, unlike some other Touch Pro2 variants currently on the market, this one's rockin' Windows Mobile 6.5 out of the box. Want one? You only have mere days to wait.

" SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 6, 2009-- Sprint (NYSE: S) and Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile), the number one mobile phone provider in the United States1, today announced the upcoming arrival of Samsung IntrepidTM smartphone, a dynamic Windows® phone that lets the customer be productive on-the-go using America's most dependable 3G network (EV-DO Rev. A)2 domestically and through international roaming when traveling worldwide. Samsung Intrepid features Windows Mobile® 6.5 Professional, and improves on previous Samsung Windows phones with a user experience that offers a customizable Today screen to display the features the user accesses most often and shows important information like new emails, text messages, missed calls and calendar appointments. It also has a richer Internet browsing experience and new personalization options including a diverse selection of designer themes and the ability to create an original look for your phone with the built-in theme creator."

Another new device that will thankfully ship with 6.5. Wondering why their is no picture? Well for that gem you'll have to head over to the press release and click on the "Picture Gallery" link near the bottom. Whereas one would expect to see what the Samsung Intrepid looks like, instead one gets low and high res Samsung and Sprint logos. Classy - just want I want to see, a logo I already see everywhere else! Here's a hint though - the device looks quite a bit like a Blackjack from pictures purporting to be it on the web. Which makes it interesting as above it lists as a "professional" (e.g., touchscreen) device!

We first heard about these way back in April, and it's nice to see Toshiba hard at work in bringing them to market. The K01 is landscape slider phone, with a 4.1" capacitive screen, the K02 is the clamshell pictured above with one 3.5" resistive LCD and a sub-LCD display (whatever that is), and the L01 will be a 7" monster with an optional keyboard (according to the original roadmap) - all running WM6.5. If Toshiba keeps to its original deadlines, we're probably looking at late this year/early next year for the launch. We still haven't seen the other two models mentioned, which come under the TG line - TG02 which will be waterproof, and TG03 which will be more multimeida oriented. Stay tuned!

"We finally got a good, hard look at the Verizon-customized version of Samsung's Omnia II, and we've got good news and bad news: the good news is that the phone's a darker, more reasonable shade in person than it was in that press shot we'd seen before, but the bad news is that we've confirmed it's running 6.1. Anyone daring to release a 6.1 phone at this point is at serious risk of getting laughed out of the room unless they offer an upgrade path mere minutes afterwards"

The 6.1 default is a bit annoying at this point, so hopefully when this gets released a 6.5 upgrade will already be available online. That's wishful thinking of course, but it still might not be enough to sway users either way! Who is in the mood for some Verizon Omnia II action in the near future?

On the eve of the biggest concerted launch we've seen from Microsoft's mobile side since, well, ever, comes a bit of less than optimistic rumor about the fabled "Pink" project. Mobile Crunch cites an anonymous source that spells out major trouble in the Pink camp.

Having worked in the corporate world my whole career, this tale sounds awfully familiar. Looks like Microsoft didn't really have any firm idea of what to do with their Danger acquisition, and more importantly the whole project didn't have a champion at senior management level. Overlaps between Pink and Windows Mobile probably didn't help matters either. Which is a shame, because with the right kind of vision and leadership, Project Pink might have opened up new markets for MS. One more case study for business school types.