• windows,  windows mobile,  windows phone

    Shout Hallelujah, Come On, Get Appy

    February 21, 2010 /

    Time Magazine’s Techland writer, Peter Ha has a good write up of Microsoft’s recently announced Windows Phone 7 series mobile operating system, due out at the end of the year (2010). While I don’t agree with everything Mr. Ha writes (Doesn’t Motorola’s MotoBlur do the same social media aggregation trick as Windows Phone 7?), he does a good job of summing up why this now mobile operating system is so important to Microsoft.

    “When you think about Microsoft, a lot of adjectives come to mind, but hip and cool are probably not among them. Many consumers associate Microsoft only with the Windows machine they’re using. And all those “I’m a Mac. I’m a PC” ads have made Apple users like me feel kind of sorry for PCs.

    But it’s a brand-new decade, and Microsoft is about to leapfrog Apple — and every other player in the cell-phone world — with the launch of Windows Phone 7 (WP7).

    But the most underappreciated product in Microsoft’s vast portfolio, the Zune digital media player, is about to roll all these products into one handy little phone that catapults Microsoft ahead of Apple, Google, Palm and BlackBerry’s maker, RIM.”

    You can read Mr. Ha’s full article on the Time website.

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  • android,  blackberry,  droid,  skype,  verizon

    Verizon to Bring Skype to Popular Smartphones

    February 17, 2010 /

    At the 2010 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Verizon Wireless and Skype today announced a strategic relationship that will bring Skype to Verizon Wireless smartphones in March. The new Skype mobile™ product enhances Verizon Wireless’ smartphones for users who have data plans by offering a new way to call around the globe, while also giving hundreds of millions of Skype users around the world the opportunity to communicate with friends, family and business colleagues in the United States using Verizon Wireless.

    The two companies have created an exclusive, easy-to-use Skype mobile offering for 3G smartphones. Verizon Wireless 3G smartphone users with data plans can use Skype mobile to:

    • make and receive unlimited Skype-to-Skype voice calls to any Skype user around the globe on America’s most reliable wireless network
    • call international phone numbers at competitive Skype Out calling rates
      send and receive instant messages to other Skype users
    • remain always connected with the ability to see friends’ online presence.

    Initially, Skype mobile will be available on millions of best-selling Verizon Wireless 3G smartphones with data plans, including the BlackBerry® Storm™ 9530, Storm2™ 9550, Curve™ 8330, Curve™ 8530, 8830 World Edition and Tour™ 9630 smartphones, as well as DROID by Motorola, DROID ERIS™ by HTC and Motorola DEVOUR™.

    John Stratton, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon Wireless, said, “Skype mobile on Verizon Wireless changes the game. For Verizon Wireless’ more than 90 million customers, Skype mobile adds great value because we’re effectively giving customers with smartphones and data plans the option to extend their unlimited calling community to hundreds of millions of Skype users around the globe. And you’re not limited to using a single type of phone; we’ll have nine smartphones ready right at launch in March.”

    Josh Silverman, chief executive officer of Skype, noted, “People want to take their Skype conversations with them wherever they go, whether it’s on a PC, TV or increasingly mobile phones. Verizon Wireless will give U.S. consumers the best Skype experience on mobile phones and will truly change the way people call their friends and family internationally.”

    Customers interested in learning more about Skype mobile for Verizon Wireless smartphones can visit www.verizonwireless.com/skypemobile. Additional information about the service will be available next month.

    Visit www.verizonwireless.com for more information about Verizon Wireless. Learn more and download Skype at www.skype.com.

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  • microsoft,  windows phone

    Steve Ballmer MWC Keynote Address Posted

    February 16, 2010 /

    Didn’t make it to Barcelona for today’s Mobile World Congress keynote by Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer? Neither did I.

    You can watch Mr. Ballmer’s keynote below and then head over to the Microsoft website to watch the other Microsoft videos about Windows Phone 7 series.

    http://www.microsoft.com:80/presspass/silverlightApps/videoplayer3/standalone.aspx?contentID=mobileworldcongress2010&src=/presspass/presskits/windowsphone/channel.xml

    Visit the Microsoft Windows Phone video gallery.

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  • microsoft,  windows phone

    Windows Phone Screen Shots

    February 16, 2010 /

    With the first Windows Phone smartphones not going on sale until “holiday 2010,” Windows Mobile fans may be left feeling a little bit empty inside until late this year.

    Until then, Microsoft has posted a number of screen shots to cheer you up until the forth quarter!

    If the screen shots are not enough to hold you over until we can get our hands on handsets running Windows Phone 7 series, make sure to check out the Microsoft Windows Phone Newsroom for all the latest news on Windows Phone 7. And if you want to jump in on the discussion about Windows Phone, you should check out the Windows Phone Backstage website to talk about the new operating system with other Microsoft fans.

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  • att,  dell,  microsoft,  sprint,  t-mobile,  verizon,  vodafone,  windows mobile,  windows phone

    Microsoft Unveils Windows Phone 7 Series

    February 16, 2010 /

    Earlier today, Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer showed off the next generation of Microsoft’s mobile operating system: Windows Phone 7 Series.

    BARCELONA, Spain — Feb. 15, 2010 — Today at Mobile World Congress 2010, Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer unveiled the next generation of Windows® Phones, Windows Phone 7 Series. With this new platform, Microsoft offers a fresh approach to phone software, distinguished by smart design and truly integrated experiences that bring to the surface the content people care about from the Web and applications. For the first time ever, Microsoft will bring together Xbox LIVE games and the Zune music and video experience on a mobile phone, exclusively on Windows Phone 7 Series. Partners have already started building phones; customers will be able to purchase the first phones in stores by holiday 2010.

    “Today, I’m proud to introduce Windows Phone 7 Series, the next generation of Windows Phones,” said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer at Microsoft. “In a crowded market filled with phones that look the same and do the same things, I challenged the team to deliver a different kind of mobile experience. Windows Phone 7 Series marks a turning point toward phones that truly reflect the speed of people’s lives and their need to connect to other people and all kinds of seamless experiences.”

    Designed for Life in Motion

    With Windows Phone 7 Series, Microsoft takes a fundamentally different approach to phone software. Smart design begins with a new, holistic design system that informs every aspect of the phone, from its visually appealing layout and motion to its function and hardware integration. On the Start screen, dynamically updated “live tiles” show users real-time content directly, breaking the mold of static icons that serve as an intermediate step on the way to an application. Create a tile of a friend, and the user gains a readable, up-to-date view of a friend’s latest pictures and posts, just by glancing at Start.

    Every Windows Phone 7 Series phone will come with a dedicated hardware button for Bing, providing one-click access to search from anywhere on the phone, while a special implementation of Bing search provides intent-specific results, delivering the most relevant Web or local results, depending on the type of query.

    Windows Phone 7 Series creates an unrivaled set of integrated experiences on a phone through Windows Phone hubs. Hubs bring together related content from the Web, applications and services into a single view to simplify common tasks. Windows Phone 7 Series includes six hubs built on specific themes reflecting activities that matter most to people:

    • People. This hub delivers an engaging social experience by bringing together relevant content based on the person, including his or her live feeds from social networks and photos. It also provides a central place from which to post updates to Facebook and Windows Live in one step.
    • Pictures. This hub makes it easy to share pictures and video to a social network in one step. Windows Phone 7 Series also brings together a user’s photos by integrating with the Web and PC, making the phone the ideal place to view a person’s entire picture and video collection.
    • Games. This hub delivers the first and only official Xbox LIVE experience on a phone, including Xbox LIVE games, Spotlight feed and the ability to see a gamer’s avatar, Achievements and gamer profile. With more than 23 million active members around the world, Xbox LIVE unlocks a world of friends, games and entertainment on Xbox 360, and now also on Windows Phone 7 Series.
    • Music + Video. This hub creates an incredible media experience that brings the best of Zune, including content from a user’s PC, online music services and even a built-in FM radio into one simple place that is all about music and video. Users can turn their media experience into a social one with Zune Social on a PC and share their media recommendations with like-minded music lovers. The playback experience is rich and easy to navigate, and immerses the listener in the content.
    • Marketplace. This hub allows the user to easily discover and load the phone with certified applications and games.
    • Office. This hub brings the familiar experience of the world’s leading productivity software to the Windows Phone. With access to Office, OneNote and SharePoint Workspace all in one place, users can easily read, edit and share documents. With the additional power of Outlook Mobile, users stay productive and up to date while on the go.

    Availability

    Partners from around the world have committed to include Windows Phone 7 Series in their portfolio plans. They include mobile operators AT&T, Deutsche Telekom AG, Orange, SFR, Sprint, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, Telstra, T-Mobile USA, Verizon Wireless and Vodafone, and manufacturers Dell, Garmin-Asus, HTC Corp., HP, LG, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba and Qualcomm Inc. The first phones will be available by holiday 2010. Customers who would like to receive additional information about Windows Phone 7 Series and be notified when it is available can register at http://www.windowsphone7series.com.

    To watch the full replay of Steve Ballmer’s press conference at Mobile World Congress, and to experience Windows Phone 7 Series through an online product demo, readers can visit http://www.microsoft.com/news/windowsphone.

    Today’s Microsoft press release was posted on the Microsoft website.

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  • touch,  verizon,  windows,  windows mobile

    HTC Touch Pro 2

    February 14, 2010 /

    The company I work for is continuing it’s search to find the perfect smartphone to replace our existing Treo 700p and 755p fleet of phones. This past Friday, I found a new phone to take out for a test drive: the Verizon Wireless edition HTC Touch Pro 2!

    The Touch Pro 2 is a Windows Mobile 6.1 powered phone that has one of the largest screens I’ve ever seen on a Windows Mobile phone. (The last two Windows Mobile phones I’ve used where the Palm Treo 750 and Palm Treo Pro.)

    There are two things that you will immediately noticed as different with the Touch Pro 2 than other Windows Mobile phones. The first is the Touch Pro 2 is has a slider that reveals a roomy landscape keyboard that will make people who complain about cramped keyboards happy. The screen also tilts up toward the user. The second thing that you will notice as being different in this Windows Mobile phone is the the special sauce that HTC has added; TouchFlo. TouchFlo is HTC’s customized user interface (UI) that added the much needed “cool factor” to Microsoft’s mobile operating system.

    To learn more about the HTC Touch Pro 2, visit the HTC website.

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  • Uncategorized

    Computer Engineer Barbie

    February 13, 2010 /

    I just saw this over on Boy Genius Report – Computer Engineer Barbie!

    I know a couple of Smartphone Fanatics who will like this Barbie in their collection.

    On their website, Barbie Media website, Mattel writes:

    Consumers loudly campaigned for another Barbie® career. The winner of the popular vote is Computer Engineer. Computer Engineer Barbie®, debuting in Winter 2010, inspires a new generation of girls to explore this important high-tech industry, which continues to grow and need future female leaders.

    “All the girls who imagine their futures through Barbie will learn that engineers — like girls — are free to explore infinite possibilities, limited only by their imagination,” says Nora Lin, President, Society of Women Engineers. “As a computer engineer, Barbie will show girls that women can turn their ideas into realities that have a direct and positive impact on people’s everyday lives in this exciting and rewarding career.”

    You can read more about Barbie’s exciting new career on BarbieMedia.com.

    [Via BoyGeniusReport.com…]

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  • adobe,  pixi,  pre,  web os

    Rumor: Flash Support Coming to webOS in February

    February 11, 2010 /

    PreCentral.net is reporting that having native Adobe Flash support on Palm webOS devices like the Pre could become a reality later this month.

    “Palm and SFR held their French launch event last night and reports on the ground bring good news: Palm employees specifically said that Flash would be available in February. Previously we had been a little unsure of that, what we knew for sure was that webOS 1.4 would lay the underpinning for it, but the actual release (which is coming in the App Catalog) was less clear.”

    Sounds cool if it’s true and would be a cool trick since the iPhone can’t handle embedded Flash content in web pages.

    You can read the full article over on PreCentral.net.

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  • microsoft,  windows mobile

    Rumor: Major Changes Coming to Windows Phone 7

    February 8, 2010 /

    If a recent article by Electronista.com is accurate, there will be more changing with Windows Mobile than the product name.

    With the next release of the Windows Mobile operating system, Microsoft is rumored to be changing the name from Windows Mobile to Windows Phone, all the while keeping the version numbering system from Windows Mobile. (Confused yet?) Windows Mobile 6.5.x will be replaced by Windows Phone 7 late this year.

    The name change isn’t the only thing getting a refresh. Microsoft is also rumored to be making several engine changes that will either make you jump for joy or throw up your arms in disgust. After Palm OS 5, the Windows Mobile User Interface (UI) is the next mobile operating system in need of a make over – and Windows Phone 7 will provide it. In addition to making Windows Phone look and work more like a Zune or the iPhone, it is also rumored that Microsoft will be removing multitasking support from Windows Phone. It is also rumored that Microsoft may also lock down the default UI, preventing third-party developers like HTC from adding their own UI layer on top of Windows like they currently do with the Sense UI on handsets running Google’s Android operating system.

    Other changes that could be coming to a Microsoft-powered phone near you could be XNA application programming language that would allow for easier migration of XBox services to the Windows Phone platform. While that does sound cool, Microsoft appears to be eyeing an Apple App Store-like distribution model with applications being installed from a single source. And backward application compatibility? If the rumor is true, they could be on the endangered species list.

    Electronista does state that most of this information has not been confirmed and as with any rumor, needs to be taken with a gain of salt. Hopefully Microsoft will give us more details at this years, Mobile World Congress taking place in Barcelona, Spain, later this month.

    [Via Electronista.com…]

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  • android,  google,  motorola,  verizon

    Motorola Devour Coming to Verizon Wireless

    February 5, 2010 /

    Verizon Wireless has announced that their next phone based on Google’s Android OS, the Devour, will be arriving in March.

    Verizon Wireless and Motorola, Inc. have announced the availability of Motorola DEVOUR in March. Motorola DEVOUR will be the first Verizon Wireless phone to feature MOTOBLUR, Motorola’s unique Android-powered content delivery service created to make wireless phones more personal and customizable.

    MOTOBLUR is the first solution to sync contacts from work and personal e-mail services, including Gmail, with posts, messages, photos and more from popular sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. With MOTOBLUR, content is automatically delivered to the home screen and fed into easy-to-manage streams.

    Motorola Devour’s Key Features

    • Touch-sensitive navigation pad
    • 3.1” capacitive touch screen
    • Pre-loaded Google apps: Gmail, Google Talk, YouTube, Google Search and Google Maps with Navigation.
    • Android Market application store
    • MOTOBLUR Happenings Widget – automatically receive push status updates updates from popular social networking sites.
    • MOTOBLUR Universal Inbox – gathers texts, social network messages and e-mails into one home screen widget.
    • Back-Up and Security – Contacts, log-in information, home screen customizations, e-mail and social network messages are backed up automatically on the secure MOTOBLUR portal. The portal also allows customers to use the phone’s fully integrated aGPS to help locate the phone if misplaced. Remote wipe easily clears information from a lost device.
    • 8 GB microSD™ card pre-installed
    • Supported Bluetooth profiles include: A2DP, HID, HSP, HFP, AVRCP and GAP

    Verizon Service Plans

    To get the most from Motorola DEVOUR, customers will need to subscribe to a Nationwide Talk or Nationwide Talk & Text plan and a Data Package for smartphones. Nationwide Talk plans begin at $39.99 monthly access, and Nationwide Talk & Text plans begin at $59.99 monthly access. A Data Package for smartphones is $29.99 for unlimited monthly access.

    Analysis

    What I really like about the Devour is the new keyboard layout. For the Devour, Motorola chose to make the keys bigger and spaced them out more on the keyboard. In my opinion, this gives the user a better typing experience than what is available on the Motorola Droid or on screen virtual keyboards.

    The downside is that the Devour is clearly intended to be a consumer device. I’m sure businesses will deploy plenty of the new Android-powered phone, however, without Google’s adding more robust support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync support, organizations looking to deploy Devour will continue to need third-party tools such as NitroDesk Touchdown.

    For more details, visit the Verizon Wireless website.

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