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

"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?

Product Category: PDA Phone

Manufacturer: Acer

Where to Buy: Expansys [Affiliate]

Price: $479.99 USD

Specifications: From the Expansys site

Pros:

• Elegant design;
• Large, sharp and vibrant screen;
• Very good speakerphone.

Cons:

• 128 MB of RAM isn't sufficient for such an advanced device;
• Screen isn't as touch sensitive as many competitors;
• Acer Shell touch interface lacks the pizazz and depth of HTC's TouchFlo.

Summary: Will we ever be able to write another touchscreen phone review without mentioning the iPhone? Its phenomenal success and near-iconic status have sent the manufacturers of phones using the more "venerable" operating systems, such as Windows Mobile and Blackberry, scrambling to come up with iPhone alternatives. I haven't seen much from Acer in phones in the past, but its F900 has impressive specs and looks to have the potential to challenge the iPhone as well as other WinMo contenders such as the HTC Touch Diamond 2. Does the F900 have what it takes to bring iPhone shoppers into the WinMo fold?

Read more...

"The iZel is a totally unique and innovative way to support your device for hands free use. Its remarkable design supports a wide range of the world's most popular devices. It has a clever method for adapting its shape to landscape or portrait orientations and it is easily adjusted to position your screen for the optimal viewing angle. Best of all, it folds flat and travels easily. The iZel's durable construction is made possible by using a sophisticated slip-resistant elastomer that helps to keep your device in its place and looking new. Use the iZel when you want to watch a video, make a hands-free call, monitor your email, surf the web, or to simply use your device as a digital picture frame."

This is certainly one way to go about things, but it seems a bit larger than what I want to carry around. Personally, I keep a few paperclips in my bag and just make myself a quick stand on the few occasions that I need one.

"In January, I had an opportunity to hear a presentation by Eric Lin, the Online Community Manager at HTC. Many of the Windows Mobile smartphones on the market today are made by HTC, even if they don't have the HTC name on them, so when it comes to smartphones, HTC is a market leader. The presentation covered several different topics, but the one I found most interesting was the question of how specific hardware design decisions impact the usability of the phone. When you pick up a Windows Mobile smartphone, the shape, size, weight, and feel of it give you an impression about the product - but did you know what kinds of decisions went into the final product you're holding? The answer may surprise you."

Read Jason's column on tethering? Well, here's another one. It discusses the design decisions that go into the phones you're carrying today - from the size of the screen to the feel of the keyboard and the sound it makes. Who knows? You may learn a thing or two that will help you choose the right phone the next time you're in the market for one.

Product Category: Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional Smartphone

Manufacturer: Samsung

Where to Buy: Expansys [Affiliate]

Price: $689 USD (16 GB), $634 USD (8 GB)

Specifications: 5 MP Camera, 3.2 TFT WQVGA Touch screen (240 x 400), Bluetooth 2.0, Wi-Fi 802.11g, Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, HSDPA 7.2 Mbits, TV-out, FM Radio, Integrated GPS, microSDHC, 1440mA battery

Pros:

• Fun to use & responsive;
• Sleek design;
• Innovative value-added features (e.g. flashlight, haptic feedback).

Cons:

• Widget Bar: full of promise, low on usability;
• No multitouch ability;
• Price and availability.

Summary: I've posted news on the Samsung Omnia over the last few months and found it to be interesting enough to purchase. What I found when I opened the box got me excited to be using Windows Mobile again, something I doubted could ever happen. Read on for my experience re-discovering the OS through Samsung's vision of usability. Read more...

Today is a big day for HTC: they've officially announced three new products. These two don't quite measure up to the raw coolness of the HTC Touch HD, but it's great to see HTC continuing to broaden their product line and drive for new price points in the market. According to HTC, both of these devices will be available in early October.

Above we have the HTC Touch 3G. Dimension-wise, it's 102 x 53.6 x 14.5 mm and weighs in at 96 grams. Quad-band GSM/EDGE, and Euro/Asia 3G frequencies with full HSDPA 7.2 Mbps. It's got a 2.8 inch QVGA screen, a 3.2 megapixel camera, 256 MB ROM and 192 MB RAM. A microSD card provides expansion, and the package is rounded out with 802.11 b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, a Qualcomm CPU at 528 Mhz, GPS/AGPS, and an 1100 mAh battery. Nothing terribly exciting there, but I expect this to be offered for quite a bit less than the HTC Touch Diamond, so it will get broader market penetration. Oh, and it will come in four colours, as described by HTC: sophisticated black, noble gold, sparkle blue and modern brown.

Pictured above is the HTC Touch Viva. It looks a lot like the original HTC Touch, doesn't it? Size-wise, it's going to be 104.5 x 59 x 15.75 mm and weigh in at 96 grams. Unlike the HTC Touch 3G above, this is a quad-band GSM/EDGE phone only, there's no 3G. It has a 2.8 inch QVGA screen, a 2 megapixel camera, 256 MB ROM, 128 MB RAM, a microSD card slot for memory expansion, 802.11 b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, GPS/AGPS, a 201 mhz TI OMAP processor, and an 1100 mAh battery. The HTC Touch Viva will come in one colour: "storm grey". Is the Viva under-powered? Pretty much - but I'd also expect it to sell unlocked for $299 USD or less, and with carrier rebate this might end up free. This is HTC's "value play" in the touch-phone market, and while most people here might not be interested in it, getting the price point down is an important part of breaking into new markets.

The full press release for both new products is after the break. Read more...

"Nokia is currently working with the Zune team on integration of Zune Marketplace content according to a well placed source within Microsoft. The joint development is directed at content delivery rather than a hardware device according to the source. It has long been assumed by many tech followers that Zune content and software would find it's way onto Windows Mobile devices, thereby offering competition to the unfortunately popular iPhone. The interesting thing about the Nokia Zune partnership is that Nokia does not support Windows Mobile. It appears Microsoft may be developing a two front war against the iPhone, namely Windows based smart phones and more abundant 'non-smart' phones."

Take it or leave it, but Zune-Scene's reporting that if and when the Zune team releases a media player client for a mobile phone (a.k.a. the "Zune Phone", "zPhone" or "Pink and Purple project"), it won't be on Microsoft's own Windows Mobile platform as widely speculated, but on rival Nokia's series of smartphones. As with past Zune-Scene reports, this one is short on detail (e.g. no release date, lots of plausible deniability) and high on outlandish claims. While keeping this in mind, I should also point out that Zune-Scene's sources have been right on a number of these scoops in the past. This should be fun to watch as it develops.

"Windows® SideShow™ for Windows Mobile® is an application for Windows Mobile 5 and Windows Mobile 6 Pocket PCs and Smartphones that allows you to use your Windows Mobile device as a Bluetooth SideShow-compatible device. This enables you to use your phone as an extra window into your PC. You can both access your computer’s information from your Pocket PC or Smartphone, and control the computer through a gadget interface. While the phone is out of range, or when your computer is off, you can continue to view content sent to the phone previously. This makes it easy to send information to the phone that you'll need later on."



Last year, I trekked over to Beijing with fellow MVPs and other technical community leaders to meet with the Microsoft Research and Windows Vista teams. There, we discussed the direction that Windows Vista was going to take over the next few years. Microsoft obviously wanted to make the user experience better, but they wanted (needed?) ideas. While a great deal of the week-long meeting focused on the product itself, we did spend some time discussing how it could better communicate with the rest of Microsoft's products, and most importantly, take advantage of them. For the most part, it was all about Windows Mobile, and I was brimming with ideas. Can you see where this is heading?

Yes, we discussed Windows SideShow, which at the time was one of Windows Vista's most impressive features, yet sadly, one of the most underused, too. Not everyone has a digital picture frame or a laptop with an in-lid display. But a lot of us have phones, and if you're reading this, it's probably a Windows Mobile phone. I often wondered why Microsoft didn't endow its own mobile product with SideShow support right off the bat. Some third parties cooked up their own solutions, but adoption was far from widespread, and I was sincerely hoping that Microsoft would realize their oversight and rectify the situation by releasing an official solution to bring SideShow to Windows Mobile.

So, here we are, a year later and Microsoft has heeded advice and finally released a developer preview. It's at v0.01, so don't expect it to be rock solid, but it'll still give you a taste of things to come. Our pal, Arne, has given it a test run and likes what he sees. Maybe you will too. Download it, install it, and let us know what you think.

What if filling up on Microsoft Points was as easy as picking up your phone and having the cost added to your phone bill? That's how it is for NTT DoCoMo users in Japan, and hopefully, that's just a starting point.

If Microsoft is working with other carriers to make this available around the world, great. If not, they probably should. A vast majority of Xbox Live Marketplace and Zune Marketplace users probably have a mobile device of some sort - some have their reasons against directly linking their Windows Live ID and credit card together, while others don't always want to make the trek to their local store to pick up one of the many Microsoft Points cards on offer, so this third option makes a lot of sense.

"For one day only on Amazon.com, get any AT&T phone for only one penny when you purchase a new 2-year service plan. The cost of these phones is either a penny - or better than free, making the purchase cash-positive with rebate after purchase. The Tilt, BlackBerry 8820, and Treo 680 or Treo 750 are a penny or less after rebate. Get bestselling phones like the RAZR2 and the BlackBerry Curve for a drastically reduced price. Don't miss out on this opportunity -- tomorrow it will be gone."



No, your eyes are not deceiving you. All AT&T phones are on Amazon for one cent or less. Uh... less, you say? Yep, factor in those rebates and you can actually rake in a bit of cash just for picking up one of these phones. Focusing on Windows Mobile, there's the Tilt for $-0.01, the Blackjack II for $-49.99, the Motorola Q9h for $-24.99, and the Treo 750 for $-0.01. And if you're looking at other devices as well, there's a chance to pocket up to $150. Of course, these are all on a contract, but are great deals nonetheless. Better hurry - one day only!

"LG is challenging you to come up with the next great phone. You could win: money, LG LCDs, new phones and home entertainment prizes. So tear off a sheet in your sketch book or fire up your favorite design app and channel your creativity toward the next LG Phone. You have until 4/30/08."



LG hasn't offered a great deal in the Windows Mobile space, but that could change with a bit of ingenuity. Concoct something great, and you could win big. Get crackin' - only eight days to go!

"The ASUS P527 Windows Mobile 6 Professional Pocket PC phone doesn’t have a slide-out keyboard, in fact it doesn’t have a QWERTY keyboard at all. Instead it has a number pad along with two columns of dedicated menu buttons....The ASUS P527 is a quad band GSM world phone with EDGE/GPRS for data. Sorry no 3G. It’s sold unlocked for use with any GSM carrier. The PDA phone is powered by a 200MHz TI OMAP processor, with 64MB of RAM and 128MB of flash ROM. The smartphone runs the Windows Mobile 6 Professional operating system and has integrated Bluetooth v2.0 +EDR and Wi-Fi 802.11b/g. The ASUS has an integrated 2-megapixel camera with auto-focus lens and the camera application uses the 2.6” LCD as its viewfinder. For road warriors, the P527 offers built-in GPS with the SiRF III chipset, navigation software and North America maps and POIs (on the $599 version). Additional features include a microSD card slot supporting SDHC, an FM radio and Business card reader."



If you've been wanting a Pocket PC Phone in the US that ISN'T designed by HTC, your choices have been very slim. Finally, ASUS officially enters the unlocked GSM phone market in North America with it's candy-bar style P527. While it lacks 3G, which could be a problem for AT&T users, it has other benefits, including SiRF III GPS, which doesn't require a monthly subscription like aGPS. Check out the full review at MobileTechReview.

"Putting Windows Mobile 6's user interface at ease with fat fingers is a monumental challenge -- but it's not a challenge manufacturers are shying away from. Perhaps they see devices like the iPhone as a threat they can't ignore any longer, or perhaps they're simply tired of waiting for Microsoft to roll something truly revolutionary, but at any rate, companies like HTC with its TouchFLO interface are doing pretty much everything they can to keep the stylus firmly locked away. That's where the LG KS20 comes into play, which steals as much of the Viewty's identity as it can while still keeping Windows Mobile 6 under the hood."





Engadget Mobile has put together a little bit of commentary with a lot of pictures on the LG KS20. Mostly it seems to be a nice looking phone with fair capabilities, but don't expect to be wow'd by this WM 6 contender, especially with the lack of widespread North American HSDPA. From the pictures, it looks like it would be a real fingerprint and scratch magnet! Anyone played with the KS20 and if so, was it a keeper?

The concept of an integrated number keypad and QWERTY keyboard is neat, although I'm not sure if the design is a winner. The device seems a little long, but probably can't be much longer than existing Pocket PCs (or should I say, Windows Mobile Professional devices) with slide-out QWERTY keyboards. And the diagonal-sliding display? Let's hope it manages to stay securely in place even after months of use. Your thoughts on this one?