Shadow Homescreen = Neo

Neo was the codename for the T-Mobile Shadow’s custom UI. Over at the Windows Mobile Team Blog, jayongg discusses this UI.

Some of you might have heard of the T-Mobile Shadow. The Shadow is a cool-looking device, with a 20 key slide-out keypad, circular scroll wheel, and large screen!  But when you boot up for the first time, you may wonder, “Is this really Windows Mobile?”

The answer is YES! :-)

With this phone you get a friendly homescreen experience and integration with your T-Mobile myFaves service.  For those who don’t know, the myFaves service from T-Mobile allows you to make unlimited calls to five designated people. From the homescreen, you can make changes to your five myFaves and get information about them.

For example, if you missed a call or text message, or if there’s an upcoming anniversary or birthday, little micro-icons will appear next to your myFave (in the accompanying image, notice the little birthday gift next to the upper left myFave).

I say WELL DONE guys! This custom UI and the one for Vodaphone are stellar!

           

First Look at the Pantech Duo from AT&T

hyedipin got his hands on the new AT&T Pantech Duo and here is a video showing you his 1st power on and a look at the device.

If you missed hyedipin’s earlier coverage, here are his videos.

• AT&T Pantech Duo Launch Event
• Pantech Duo Unboxing

           

Where are the iPAQs?

Looks like HP is going to miss the iPAQ boat for Christmas. With the Pocket PC and Windows Mobile Powered Phone offerings announced, only the 300 series makes it into their Holiday Gift Guide.

HP iPAQ 300 Series Travel Companion: Featuring a unique high-resolution 3D navigation experience, BluetoothT wireless capabilities and a premium entertainment system, the sleek Travel Companion is great for any frequent business or vacation traveler. Offering an easy-to-use navigation system with text-to-speech guidance and online trip planning tools, travelers can research, create and share personalized trip plans to download onto the device. During downtime, users can enjoy entertainment features such as pictures, music, video and games on the stunning 800 x 480 high-resolution screen. Estimated U.S. retail price of $449.

HP Press Release: HP Unveils Must-have Gifts for the Holidays

           

10 Reasons To Hate Cellphone Carriers . Huh?

Rob Beschizza over at Wired.com wrote a nice piece on how we hate the Cell Carriers… here is the list w/o comments, you’ll have to click over to the article for the dialog supporting each bullet item. I have taken exception to a couple and quote those. I would take some of his rants with a grain of salt guys.

1. They stifle progress
2. They’re a cartel
3. They’re going to make you pay for Tetris
4. They just can’t behave themselves
5. They illegally spy on you
6. They have annoying commercials
7. They hate you
8. Their contracts are nonsense
9. They charge crazy fees (for services you didn’t ask for)
10. They lock handsets
11. They cripple their products
12. They charge double for data
13. They own politicians
14. Their products suck

Read on for my opinions…

[Read more]

           

How To Beat The "Bloat" On Your AT&T Tilt!

Is your AT&T Tilt feeling a little heavy? Does your device seem to have that sluggish, “I can’t get started in the morning” feeling about it? Well, fear not! You won’t need to figure out how to force coffee through your mini-USB cable to perk up your Tilt! Our good friends at XDA-Developers (dot com) have figured out the trick to loose that unwanted “Bloatware” that AT&T so ridiculously loads on our precious devices!  And it is very easy to perform! Here is what you will need to do:

1) Back up your Tilt using the included Spite Back Up software included!

2) Hard reset your device (It’s worth it trust me!). Now there are two ways to accomplish this. The easiest way is the Clear Storage application under Settings/System/Clear Storage, or you can hold the two soft key buttons and simultaneously soft reset. I never get this to work however. Just use the Clear Storage and save yourself a lot of embarrassment from your uncoordinated fingers! (LOL)

3) When your Tilt reboots it will take you through the normal screen alignment process and then setting your time zone, and finally the cut and paste routine. When it brings up the home screen there will be a pop-up that prompts enhancements will begin in three seconds, QUICKLY SOFT RESET WHILE THIS IS DISPLAYED! Your device will soft reset  and then bring up the today screen and avoid loading all the Bloatware! Hooray! No more Bloatware!

Now load all your favorite applications and resume your life feeling much more slimmed down with the knowledge that your Beat the Bloat laid on you from our good friends at AT&T!

Enjoy my fellow Tilt Friends!

           

Don’t Be Afraid To Save 40%

You can treat yourself to some terrific software at great prices thanks to Resco offering a limited time savings of 40% off ALL of their games, utility, and media software. Check it out!

           

How easy is the AT&T 8525 WM6 ROM Upgrade?

Earlier today Breley posted about the AT&T 8525 WM6 ROM UPGRADE so I downloaded the ROM upgrade and had to make the decision if I was going to do it then or wait until I returned from the VON trade show I was on my way to this morning.  Of course, knowing that I had the ROM and if I was off to the show, I would be thinking about it all day so I decided that I would give it a try, hope that it was fast then head off to Boston.

Let me tell you; the install was faster than they said and it was absolutely the smoothest ROM update I have ever performed.  I was incredibly pleased how easy the process was and was even more pleased at the smoothness that Vista handled the entire process.  So what was the experience like?  The first thing I did was to attach my device and run the install. 

As you can see, it began by verifying the software on my PC and installed some device driver software.

There are 28 more pictures and an explanation of what was happening after the break

[Read more]

           

Palm VersaMail Compatibility with Gmail

There’s been some discussion around Palm’s VersaMail client being compatible with Google’s Gmail. We wanted to clarify that currently Palm Treo and Centro smartphone customers can access their Gmail accounts using the POP email protocol. While VersaMail supports the IMAP protocol, there are some known incompatibilties and limitations with Gmail. For example, VersaMail does not support IMAP-IDLE, which is used by Gmail to deliver continuously updated email. For Gmail users on the Palm OS, there are aftermarket email solutions that support IMAP-IDLE on Treo and Centro like ChatterEmail.

Source: Official Palm blog

           

Nokia Bluetooth Headset BH-101

Stay in touch with your friends and colleagues without the hassle, thanks to Nokia’s newest headset, the Nokia Bluetooth Headset BH-101. Revealed today at the SEMA Show, this headset is the ideal companion for people on the move who want a simple, discreet and affordable solution for their handsfree communications.

Compatible with a wide range of devices, the headset has the durability and comfort to take you through a hectic day. Its efficient power management means you can talk up to eight hours, or put the headset aside on standy mode for up to 180 hours. Compact in size, the headset comes with an easily adjustable earloop to make any long conversation comfortable.

The Nokia Bluetooth Headset BH-101 is expected to hit stores globally for the Christmas season and will cost an estimated 30 EUR/40 USD, without taxes.

The headset has basic call handling functions and supports Bluetooth functions up to version 2.0 with EDR and Handsfree v.1.5 and Headset v.1.1.

Source: Nokia press release

           

Nokia Music Store goes live in the UK

Nokia announced today that the much-anticipated UK Nokia Music Store will open its virtual doors on 1st November.

Millions of tracks from major artists, independent labels, and up-and-coming UK acts will be available alongside a host of interactive features such as music browsing, personal track recommendations, and a favourite artists search function.

With a single account, music lovers can access the Nokia Music Store via their desktop computer or directly from optimized Nokia devices beginning with the Nokia N81 and Nokia N95 8GB, which are both on sale from 1st November 2007.

Individual tracks will cost 80p per track and albums from �8.00. The Nokia Music Store will also offer a monthly subscription for PC streaming for �8.00. 

The store’s intuitive user-interface makes streaming full-length tracks easy, and offers options to create customised playlists and note tunes on a wish list that you can decide to buy later. Tracks purchased can also be transferred via your PC to compatible Nokia devices.

“The Nokia Music Store offers great usability along with a huge selection of music,” said Richard Sandford, Regional Manager, Nokia Music UK & Ireland. ‘”By having an integrated mobile and PC download service, the Nokia Music Store is a fantastic way to build a music collection that is truly mobile.”

All music on the Nokia Music Store can be purchased through a variety of payment options, including credit cards and pre-paid vouchers.

UK Nokia Music Store is available from the 1st November at http://music.nokia.co.uk

Source: Nokia press release

           

How to disconnect the GPS Receiver in an Asus R2H

Hark0, moderator at todoUMPC.com decided to disconnect the GPS Receiver from his Asus R2H and He posted a very good pictures of how to do that. He is not using the GPS Receiver because it was too bad and because by doing that he think that probably he could save some battery life.

           

How To Beat The "Bloat" On Your AT&T Tilt!

Is your AT&T Tilt feeling a little heavy? Does your device seem to have that sluggish, “I can’t get started in the morning” feeling about it? Well, fear not! You won’t need to figure out how to force coffee through your mini-USB cable to perk up your Tilt! Our good friends at XDA-Developers (dot com) have figured out the trick to loose that unwanted “Bloatware” that AT&T so ridiculously loads on our precious devices!  And it is very easy to perform! Here is what you will need to do:

1) Back up your Tilt using the included Spite Back Up software included!

2) Hard reset your device (It’s worth it trust me!). Now there are two ways to accomplish this. The easiest way is the Clear Storage application under Settings/System/Clear Storage, or you can hold the two soft key buttons and simultaneously soft reset. I never get this to work however. Just use the Clear Storage and save yourself a lot of embarrassment from your uncoordinated fingers! (LOL)

3) When your Tilt reboots it will take you through the normal screen alignment process and then setting your time zone, and finally the cut and paste routine. When it brings up the home screen there will be a pop-up that prompts enhancements will begin in three seconds, QUICKLY SOFT RESET WHILE THIS IS DISPLAYED! Your device will soft reset  and then bring up the today screen and avoid loading all the Bloatware! Hooray! No more Bloatware!

Now load all your favorite applications and resume your life feeling much more slimmed down with the knowledge that your Beat the Bloat laid on you from our good friends at AT&T!

Enjoy my fellow Tilt Friends!

           

7 on the 7th - CoPilot 7 Coming Soon

CoPilot 7 ships November 7th, 2007.

New Features:

• Speech Engine: Natural voice directions in over 20 languages provide clearer turn instructions
• 2D and 3D Map Views: Smooth on-screen movement, points of interest icons, improved zoom level
• Points of Interest: Over 6 million available including phone number
• Routing Options: Includes RV 12′6″ & 13′ height clearance, walking, cycling and more
• Change the Map Theme: with a choice of familiar and fun map styles
• Route Preview: Review and experience an entire trip before you set off.
• Latest Street Level Maps from ALK: Over 600 counties updated nationwide and over 100,000 miles of new road added
• Improved Real-time Traffic: Enabled Nationwide
• Improved Redesigned User Interface: With large buttons, intuitive menus and simplified destination entry
• New CoPilot� CentralT Desktop Software: Manage your CoPilot from your desktop and download additional map regions
• One Software Version: for Windows Mobile Pocket PCs and Smartphones
  click here for a list of compatible devices

Preorder here… Thanks Jeff for the Tip

           

LG Voyager Gets Specs

This is the phone that a Verizon Exec touted as the iPhone Killer. We shall see. Either way, a leaked PDF is on the web now. You can check it out at Phonenews.com.

Everything you want to know about the LG Voyager can be found in this PDF. Head on over.

           

8525 users rejoice! HTC releases WM6 upgrade for 8525/Hermes!

Folks who have been coveting the AT&T Tilt need covet no longer, for if you don’t really care about an extra megapixel or autofocus on your camera and your Bluetooth GPS is doing just fine, then head over to HTC and get that official ROM update, available now until February 2008!

Here at Mobilitysite we’re sticklers for safe, so be sure to do a full backup of your 8525 before ramming that ROM onto your Hermes, because the update will blow them away, requiring app/data reinstallation.  For you brave folks, and with any luck, you’ll be sailing the cyberseas with a sweet new OS.

(pic and info via Engadget Mobile)