SPB Phone Suite 1.3 released

 

SPB has finally released the updated version of Phone Suite after being in public beta for a while.  This is one of the MUST HAVE’s for all PPC Phone devices.

 

Spb Phone Suite is a collection of all phone features you missed in Windows Mobile. These are features like profiles, call filtering, missed call notifications, reject and reply with SMS, etc.

http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/phonesuite/?en

Version 1.3 (April 30, 2007):

Profiles:

• New profile engine: profiles and profile switching rules are separated
• Now a user can create his own additional profiles
• The profile switching pop-up has been updated to support multiple profile switch and to enable/disable the automatic profile switching rules
• Profile icons have been updated
• Additional marks notifying about changing or automatic turning a profile on have been added

Today plug-in:

• GUI for selecting a default mailbox for opening when clicking on the mailbox icon has been added
• Asterisks on the profile icon notifying about the profile update, have been implemented
• The number on an icon is enlarged when selected
• Missed call (sms, etc.) count is more contrast now

Finally! A way to block spam text messages on my AT&T cell phone.

Last time I checked, I could not find a way to block spam text messages through my AT&T account. Today, I received another spam text message, so I decided to look around again, and I was delighted to discover that AT&T now provides a way to selectively block text messages. I have no idea when AT&T started providing this option - I never received any kind of announcement of it and I haven’t seen anyone blogging about it, so I think it is a little known, probably recently released, option.

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Skyfire Update Version 0.6.0.4489

It’s no secret that I have really liked Skyfire. Version 0.5 was excellent with a few bugs. I sent some feedback to them along with what I am sure is a ton of other Beta Testers and they listened! Some of my suggestions was editing bookmarks, and multi line editing for Google! Version 0.6 has all of these in it! I am really excited about this release and have been playing with it all morning. Update came at 6:30am! (zzzzzzz)

Here are the updates log:

• Multi-line text entry (2000 character limit)
• Auto-complete text entry
• Paste into URL or search
• Ability to delete bookmarks
• Multiple zoom modes for touch screen phones
• Double tap to zoom in and zoom out
• Support for custom virtual keyboards (SIP)
• Web search shortcut in softkey menu
• Access to Windows Mobile Taskbar in softkey menu
• Persistent settings for Smartfit, Mute and Zoom size
• Support for 12 key and 1/2 QWERTY Devices
• Password Masking
• Backlight usage based on system settings
• OK button sends Skyfire to the background

This is a lot of updates! I think Skyfire may have launched themselves to the front of the Browser Race with this latest release. Check out a ton of screen shots after the break.

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AT&T To Sell the 3G iPhone for $200?

Of course this is all rumor at this point, but I have to think that you will have to make the price attractive to get those that dropped $400 or more to throw out their earlier iPhones for the 3G model. It seems thought, according to Crave, that Apple is going with a new strategy for this model. The report from Fortune states that Apple will sell unlocked 8GB and 16G versions for $399 and $499, but AT&T will be selling the locked version for $199.

AT&T plans to sell the 3G iPhone for $199 when it arrives in AT&T’s stores in June, according to a report, in a sign that Apple may have given up on locked iPhones.

Fortune is reporting that you’ll be able to buy a $199 iPhone in AT&T’s stores, and only in AT&T’s stores, when the new model arrives around the one-year anniversary of the iPhone launch. The report says Apple will sell 8GB and 16GB versions of the new iPhone for $399 and $499 in its own retail stores.

So, there will still be a market for unlocking software, but only on AT&T models. Of course this is all rumored at this point, but what do you think of this price. Nice? Worth giving the iPhone a shot?

Get the latest version of Skype for Windows

Are you running an older version of Skype?  Why not upgrade to the latest release?

Make calls from your computer – free to other people on Skype, great rates to phones and mobiles across the world. And the sound quality is excellent, too – keep Skype running all day and it’s like you’re in the same room as the person you’re talking to.
Features:

• Free Skype-to-Skype calls to people anywhere in the world.
• Free video calls – plus get more detail than ever before with High Quality Video.
• Call phones and mobiles at great low rates per minute.
• Instant message when it’s not a good time to talk.
• Forward your calls to your mobile when you’re offline.
• Send SMS messages to people on mobiles.
• Comes with the Google Toolbar (optional install).

Download the latest version of Skype

Twit Today, Another Twitter Application.

There have been quite a few Twitter apps released recently. TiltSite.com’s own Vince Koser has a Twitter application too. I will admit that I haven’t tried this yet, but it looks nice. I use Tinytwitter for my Windows Mobile needs at this time.

Another new Twitter application has surfaced now. I found this one over at WM Experts, it’s called Twit Today. It is a Today Screen plugin. That way you can post tweets lightning fast from the Today Screen rather than loading up and application.

If you are doing the twitter thing, make sure to follow Mobilitysite and if you want to be bored, follow me too.

Head over to Dale Lane’s Blog to download.

Dell Axim X51 Doing the iPhone Thing?

Or any Windows Mobile phone for that matter… Check out this video here.

Flick Software has been working on a project for Windows Mobile and they are expecting this to be ready for beta in May.

Non-multi-touch screen devices are missing out on all the fun. With this project we not only skin a windows mobile device but we implement all the cool interface stuff.  It is also has full summerboard support for all the great themes people have created.

Head over to Flick Software for more info…

No Discounted Software. Contests with the Proceeds!

So, a few months ago, I tried to negotiate an permanent 18% discount on all software (not hardware) in our software store. Our software store is powered by Mobihand. Their system is not equipped to handle this, so I thought of another way I can give back to this community…

All proceeds from the software store will be tallied at the end of the month and when the check clears, I will put up a poll with a few devices that our cut will afford. When the poll closes, the winning device gets purchased and then a contest for that device. It will not benefit each member of the community with a discount, but it will make one person real happy each month. What do you think?

In the past, I’ve donated our portion to charity and Mobihand has even matched that contribution, showing me that they are top notch. Instead of charity though, I really would like to see members be rewarded for spending their hard earned money in our store. So, I think this is something I’d really like to do.

What do you guys think?

PDAmill RATS!! Game Contest

 

It’s the last day in April, and it’s been a cold, miserable last couple of days in my neck of the woods, so I thought, "Why not brighten things up with a contest?"  So, here we are with a contest!  Our friends at PDAmill, skilled in the craft of fine mobile games, have been kind enough to provide me with 5 copies of their excellent platform game, RATS!!.  I reviewed this game a while back, and it was a blast to play.  My oldest boy kept asking to watch me play it on my X51v, so it’s been a family favorite.  It was also a Finalist in the Smartphone and Pocket PC Awards for Best Platform Game of 2007, too!

Want to take a shot a winning one for yourself?  Here’s all you need to do.  Did you notice something odd on Morty’s (that’s the rat above) backpack generator?  It’s biohazard symbol.  Post below what you think might be powering Morty’s backpack generator that would be biohazardous, and you’ll garner yourself an entry…something like "Leftover Coquille St. Jacques that was left in our hot garage for a week."  Winners will be picked from the most creative answers, so there’s no "right" answer I’m looking for.  Just keep it clean, please. ;-)   Here are the nitty-gritty rules:

1. Suggest what’s biohazardous in Morty’s generator backpack in a comment on to this post
2. One entry per person
3. Staff may enter

Deadline for entries is Thursday, May 8 at 12:00PM

Asus Eee PC 900, Video Review

Our friend JKK posted a video review about the Asus Eee PC 900 that I would recommend to anyone thinking of buying this device. 

There is so much more i would like to share about it, but I hope this is a good start.. uups.. a 35 minute start..

Proporta keep your GPS covered…at half the price

You know the team at Proporta does not like to see anything go uncovered, including GPS units, so they’re offering their small, medium and large GPS Protective Carry Cases at half price, yes, that’s a huge 50% off!

All you have to do is enter LOVEMYGPS at the cart page when you’re purchasing your case and you will receive this massive discount.

These cases really are great for your specific GPS device as they come in small, medium and large to best suit your device and are perfect for storing away your unit whilst it’s not in use.

The Protective Carry Cases provide essential protection against scratches and impact damage as they are made from tough cordura. They also feature an added lining to protect your GPS unit from impact and scratching caused when on the move by knocks, bumps or loose items in your bag.

A wrist lanyard provides an easy carry option which can easily be removed if you decide to use the case to protect your device in your bag.

P.S. Proporta’s Magnetic Vehicle Docking System is perfect for mounting your GPS unit when it’s not stored safely away in its case. It uses a tough, lever-activated suction mounting system for the most secure attachment.

GPS Tuner v5.4 & Map Calibrator v2.5 released

GPS Tuner v5.4 and Map Calibrator v2.5 have been released. The new version of Award Winning off-road navigation software is now able to download Google Terrain (Topo) Maps and Open Street Maps from internet and use them without any calibration process. The new Map Calibrator also supports these new types of online maps. Suunto’s X9i off-road GPS watch data format (.sdf) is also supported, so you are able to see your X9i track in GPS Tuner or in Map Calibrator or upload your saved waypoints/routes to Suunto X9i internal memory. New map rotation mode (in 90 degrees steps) and built-in camera support are also implemented in GPS Tuner v5.4.

Overview

GPS Tuner is an off-road navigation software for Pocket PC devices. While most car navigation software gives you the possibility of planning your route based on a road network, GPS Tuner gives you the ability of navigation where the roads end.
GPS Tuner is an excellent tool for hiking, geocaching, boating, flying, driving and many other sporting activities, where the monitoring of duration, distance and speed can be important.

What’s new in v5.4

• ‘Open Street Map’ has been added as online map source
• ‘Google Topo (Terrain)’ has been added as online map source
• Suunto X9i data format(.sdf) handling (Import and Export) has been added
• Automatic map rotation in 90 degrees has been added (instead of flipping 180 degrees)
• Built-in camera photo can be taken and added to waypoint directly
• Waypoints can be exported via TXT output module

Visit www.gpstuner.com here.

How to make SMS productive, secure, enjoyable, and profitable

Perhaps you are new to the world of text messaging or you haven’t bothered to look beyond the native functionality your phone provides. You may be surprised at some of the enhancements available to make texting more productive, secure, enjoyable, and even profitable.

One of the many things I appreciate about my Treo 750 is its ability to thread SMS chats into conversations by contact. On most machines, the built-in Windows Mobile SMS utility simply lists messages in the order received, which rapidly becomes a jumble.

Several third-party applications make threading possible and handle it in elegant ways.

SMS Threading Clients

Extreme Text is a threading utility that has many desirable features. It creates an index of conversations by contact and allows you to associate a photo if available, or you can use a stock graphic. Tap on the contact in the list to open the conversation thread. The conversations appear in order received.

You can change the color of the outgoing and incoming messages. Tapping on the menu and then options brings up an impressive array of customizable choices including color theme, select color, borders, message list format, message font height, emoticons message no date, auto capitalize, word wrap on entry, use signature, signature, confirm delete, sort by newest, system shortcut to XT. No other threading program offers such a rich list of feature variables.

While this program is pleasing to the eye and easy to use, I have a couple of wishes for future iterations. I wish you could turn off incoming messaging popping up on the screen for security purposes. I wish that the program were finger friendly for scrolling through messages like SMS-Chat, for example. I also wish it had an option to call the contact from the message display.

You can secure a copy of Extreme Text or try it out for free by visiting http://www.birdsoft.biz/extremetext.htm. It costs $14.95. While it has many admirable features, it does not accommodate hyperlinks, highlighting, cut, copy, and paste functions.

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HP 2133 Video Review

PC Market has shot a very good video review about the new subnotebook from HP, the HP 2133.

There are a few things that you can notice on this video and one of them is that VIA needs to work harder in the video chip. In both video tests the CPU load was at 100%. But I also think that probably there was something wrong with that demo unit because in my old eo v7110 (which is for sale now) I’m getting about 80% of CPU load in a regular video and the eo is using a C7 at 1 GHz vs this one that is running a VIA C7M at 1.6 GHz. It should have enough power to run a regular video using less CPU load unless is just not well configured with the right video codecs. The results with the HD video I see in my eo is about the same that you see in this video.

Stranger in a Strange Land - Blackberry Pearl 8110

I am taking Tim’s title for his iPhone post and using it for my experience with the Blackberry Pearl 8110. This was announced last week on AT&T’s network and I thought it would be a good time to give it a spin. This will be my 1st experience with a Blackberry device. I am going to document my experiences as I use this phone for a week. Unfortunately, it’s not starting out good for email for me. Of course, I am new to RIM, but I am trying. So, let’s get started.

I received the Pearl 8110 in the mail yesterday, did a video unboxing, comparison, etc, but I wanted to wait to complete the video until I had time to play around with the UI so I could get familiar with it. Since I don’t know this OS, I didn’t want to take anything from it by not at least familiarizing myself with it. So far, so good. It’s a really easy to manuever UI. The “main” screen has 4 default layouts to pick from too. I like the BB Dimension Zen layout personally.

 
Image from blackberrycool.com. Reverse the icons from right to left, and that is what I am using.

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