Qik Review

Speaking of Lifecasting, (see Offbeatmammal’s post)… I have been reviewing an alpha version of Qik’s mobile streaming video service, for Windows Mobile 6. I have been using it for a week or two now and I have good things to report. In order to mix it up a bit, I plan on streaming my review live, using Qik, this Wednesday July 2nd at 2:00 pm EST. I will stream it from this url. We’ll see what happens.

Your life on the go

Lifecasting is a big thing at the moment. One step beyond blogging and tweeting is the ability to record and broadcast live video from a cellphone to share what you’re doing – and engage with your audience.

Qik is probably the best known of these, and is slowly rolling out an early beta service for Windows Mobile users. But Qik are not the only game in town – there are a couple of existing solutions that have great support for Windows Mobile users.

LiveCast provide a live video streaming platform for Windows Mobile and laptop or UMPC users. The video is synchronized with GPS position data so your viewers can see where you are when you’re broadcasting (or when they review archived footage where you were).

While the video quality on LiveCast (formerly known as PocketCaster from ComVu) is pretty good for high end phones the client is not the most intuitive (so expect to spend some time figuring it it), and the web site is a bit clunky. [Read more]

Good News for J Allard…and Us

J Allard, the Microsoft architect primarily responsible for the user experience in many of Microsoft’s most successful products, such as the Xbox 360 and the Zune has been rewarded for his hard work and success with a new job, Chief Experience Officer and Chief Technology Officer, Entertainment and Devices Division.

In addition to a more impressive sounding title and I am sure a much nicer office, this means that J can bring his considerable talents and expertise to bear on such products as Windows Mobile. A short quote from his corporate bio shows that he has both the technical chops and the UI skills to do the job.

A 15-year veteran of Microsoft, Allard previously managed the technical development of the Xbox game console and Zune media player, and launched the Zune portable entertainment devices and services business. Allard helped shape the company’s Internet strategy, has shipped over 30 products at Microsoft and was a founding member of the Xbox, Windows NT and TCP/IP product families.

I am sure J will be able to put his own unique stamp on Windows Mobile 7 and really help the OS take the next step in development. This is good news for all of us who work with Windows Mobile devices. I look forward to seeing what he comes up with as CTO, for WinMo, Zune and many other products.

Congratulations J on this well earned promotion, and good luck from MobilitySite.

The New Aliph Jawbone: Bluetooth Headset

The Original Jawbone 1                                            The New Jawbone

Aliph’s first generation Jawbone Bluetooth headset generated tons of interest when it came out three years ago.  It was so unique looking that people took notice.  It featured a futuristic, stealth-like design with a curve that followed one’s cheekbone.  It was attractive in a borg-like way.  You would expect those wearing them to have a battery compartment on their backs. 

It also featured noise canceling technology approved by DARPA, which resulted in excellent audio quality. 

The buttons were hidden within the design and some found them hard to press.  It had no volume rocker so one had to cycle through the five volume settings.

Aliph just announced the New Jawbone, which is slimmer, lighter, and more fashionable.  In fact, the designer of the Jawbone, Yves Behar, said,

“The Jawbone strategy we set-out to follow three years ago has proven that products that live on our face need to be designed differently than typical technology wares; we regard them as personal accessories or even jewelry, and, as such, believe they need to be a complete departure from the gadgetry of the mobile and headset industry.”

The new Jawbone is 50% smaller, features best in class noise elimination technology, “invisible buttons”, Touch-surface technology and a clutter free look, according to Jawbone.

So how did it fare in the real world?

[Read more]

AT&T DSL vs Comcast DSL

I switched my phone service and my DSL Internet from AT&T to Comcast, the cable provider on my area. AT&T Service is the worse you can imagine in all senses in where I live (South Florida). To give you an idea, I called them 40 minutes ago to confirm my service cancellation and I still waiting for anybody to take my call. And it has been on that way every time I call them. But anyway, that’s just part of the reason why I’m leaving AT&T. Comcast has a combined service of DSL and phone over IP that’s a lot cheaper than what I’m paying to AT&T at this moment. The other reason why I’m switching can be seen in the next two screen shots.

The New Aliph Jawbone: Bluetooth Headset

The Original Jawbone 1                                            The New Jawbone

Aliph’s first generation Jawbone Bluetooth headset generated tons of interest when it came out three years ago.  It was so unique looking that people took notice.  It featured a futuristic, stealth-like design with a curve that followed one’s cheekbone.  It was attractive in a borg-like way.  You would expect those wearing them to have a battery compartment on their backs. 

It also featured noise canceling technology approved by DARPA, which resulted in excellent audio quality. 

The buttons were hidden within the design and some found them hard to press.  It had no volume rocker so one had to cycle through the five volume settings.

Aliph just announced the New Jawbone, which is slimmer, lighter, and more fashionable.  In fact, the designer of the Jawbone, Yves Behar, said,

“The Jawbone strategy we set-out to follow three years ago has proven that products that live on our face need to be designed differently than typical technology wares; we regard them as personal accessories or even jewelry, and, as such, believe they need to be a complete departure from the gadgetry of the mobile and headset industry.”

The new Jawbone is 50% smaller, features best in class noise elimination technology, “invisible buttons”, Touch-surface technology and a clutter free look, according to Jawbone.

So how did it fare in the real world?

[Read more]

New: SPB Backup 2.0

I recently wrote an article (http://www.pocketpcmag.com/cms/blogs/9/spring_cleaning) on how to keep your Windows Mobile device lean, mean, and clean by scrubbing it out manually or on a schedule to weed out all the detritus that builds up and slows down the system. I also highly recommended a regular backup routine as part of the process. What good does it do to have a shiny, clean machine that has lost its data?

One of the backup systems I recommended was SPB Backup. I am happy to report the release of version 2.0 with some significant improvements. SPB allows you to create backup copies of your entire system, not just your data. So, in the event of a crash, you can restore the whole system just as it was without having to go through the laborious process of reinstalling all your applications and re-registering them. It even backs up your storage card.

[Read more]

3G iPhone In-Store Activation Explained

Looks like the supposed procedure for the launch of the 3G iPhone has been anonymously posted to an online discussion forum according to a post from Gear Diary.

Included is a link to what is said to be an advanced version of iTunes v7.6.3b4 that will allow the stores to “unbrick” the iPhones for in store activation. Apparently the new version of iTunes 7.7 due to be released on July 11 will include this activation mode.

If you are interested, there are a few launch week rules that you might want to check out here at Gear Diary

Rhapsody "embracing" the iPod

Rhapsody is offering songs online and via partners including Yahoo Inc and Verizon Wireless,that will be sold in MP3 format, so iPod users can now take the challenge … iTunes or Rhapsody.

Described as  “Music Without Limits”, Rhapsody will be available on mobile phones via the Verizon Wireless VCAST Music service. Buyers of a song over-the-air directly from phones also will be able to download that song to their computer. Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc and Vodafone Group Plc.

Reuters

A Buyer’s Market in Smartphones

Larry Dignan has a great article about the financial changes going through the smartphone market in the Between the Lines column at ZDNet today. He notes the financial pains of such world beaters as Palm, Sony Ericsson and RIM (yes, even RIM) and comes to some very astute conclusions:

While RIM, Palm and Sony Ericsson aren’t exactly comparable their relative stumbles do indicate that there may be more leverage for IT buyers. Handset makers are being squeezed and you might as well join in the fun. RIM vs. Apple’s iPhone. Palm vs. Motorola. Penny saving commodity devices vs. gadget lust. The actual scorecard doesn’t matter. It all adds up to leverage for buyers of all flavors as these parties battle for market share and increasingly discount their wares. Meanwhile, the discounting will escalate if customers balk at those pricey smartphones.

Larry goes on to site many factors shaping the current market, and comes to a set of truisms that define market conditions right now and in the near future, which are right in line with my views (see Content, Content, Content).

According to Mr. Dignan:

• Any smartphone company that is primarily hardware based is going to be toast.
• These handset specialists are in a dog fight for market share and profit margins will suffer.
• The mobile market is increasingly driven by software, which is what makes Apple’s iPhone a hot item.
• The game is to become a platform. Sony Ericsson has no platform by itself. Palm doesn’t have its act together. And RIM has an ecosystem, but its army of developers could fall behind Google, Apple and a host of other new entrants relatively easy. Increasingly, the smartphone market will be dominated by software consortiums–Symbian, LiMo, Android–established platforms (RIM and Apple) and carriers that will collect the tolls. The devices makers will increasingly lose control over their collective destiny.

Right on the money, as far as I am concerned. As so called feature phones gain more and more of the physical attributes of smartphones, and elements such as expandable memory, powerful cameras and high level mobile chips become ubiquitous and prices therefore plummet, things are going to become more and more software based. Applications and content access is where vendors will work to distinguish themselves and gain market share…and thusly profit. The OS won’t be enough anymore, now it will require the synergy of OS, Apps and content that create a platform in order to succeed.

Care to know what Dignan sees in the future, and how he rates the odds for each of the major players in the space? Read the entire article HERE.

BiggEee’r?

More interesting Eee news from the rumor mill. Digitimes  is reported the following tidbit, which they culled from unnamed Asustek channel sources

The Eee PC 904 and 905 will adopt Atom processors and the major difference between the two and the previous 901 model is that they feature a bigger keyboard. Asustek is still evaluating whether to make changes to the two models’ battery and storage capacity.

In addition Digitimes is saying that the rumored 904 and 905 will have similar price points to the 900/901 which would put it in the $550-650 US range. Asus has not decided yet if they will then EOL the 900/901 in favor of their chunkier new additions, or keep the models and drop their prices. The latter would make a lot of sense to me, since dropping a 900/901 to $399/499 would ease a lot of the pricing problems the new Eees are facing and likely move an awful lot of new Eees.

If this is a pricing gambit, it is brilliant….but I am not sure that it is.

If it is a way to deal with the complaints of cramped keyboards, I think it is wrong headed. The 10 inch chassis is getting too big to be classed as an UMPC, keyboard or no. Keeping the 8.9 screen would help on power consumption, and price, but not a lot else. Asus would be better off, imho, dealing with the cramped keyboard issue by redesigning and improving the keyboard itself, not just making it larger in a larger chassis.

Hopefully Asus will keep the 900 and 901 in the marketplace as is at reduced prices, showing intelligence, nerve and considerable gamesmanship in a rapidly crowded field. If they lose them in favor of the larger 904 and 905, then they will be continuing down the wrong path.

Also in Eee news, Kamal over at GadgetMix just posted a nice little how to for making the most of your Eee, aimed at new or inexperienced users. He gives some excellent tips, especially about installing the irreplaceable AsTray+. Definetly worth a look.

Xandros Out, Debian In?

It is being reported on several excellent blogs such as Linux Loop and Asus Eee Hacks (one of my personal favorites) that work is well under way to officially replace the default Xandros Linux distro pre-installed on Linux based Asus Eees with a specially designed version of Debian. Apparently Asus enginners and the Debian community are cooperating closely, with Debian designers focused on customizing and simplifying the application installation process. They seem to be striving to preserve the OS’s flexibility for power users while making the entire process more user friendly for people who don’t want to or can’t wade through Linux code to perform basic tasks like installing a different web browser.

As someone who has been deeply disappointed and frustrated by Xandros on my Eee (see an upcoming rant post on the subject), this sounds like a very positive development for both the Eee and the Linux community. There are lots of different alternate Linux distros now available in the community, but for most users, the preinstalled version is all they will see. If it doesn’t work for them, they will go back to Windows. The Eee line of products (and all UMPCs, really) still seem to me a perfect device for making Linux at least a little more accessible to the general public, but Xandros is absolutely the wrong distro for it. No timetable for the changeover, and no confirmation from Asus.

Read the originally news at DistroWatch.

Windows Mobile 6.1 for the Sprint Vogue (HTC Touch)

Well now, Sprint has been busy on ROMS lately. Even though this one appears to be official, it’s being leaked out by XDA Developers again, kind of like the Mogul ROM the other day…

Sprint’s just churning out Windows Mobile 6.1 as fast as they can, it seems. Yesterday we saw a new Mogul ROM surface, and today, the Touch gets the same update. Users are reporting a quicker GPS fix and overall improved stability over previous custom ROMs. Since this is an official Sprint ROM, there is no need to unlock your device or worry about bricking it, but it also means it will only work on Sprint devices. Head over to XDA, download the .exe, connect your device and run it!

An Update from Engadget :

Whoa there, just a word of warning — Sprint has reached out to us to let us know that this is actually not an official update, and it "does not support unauthorized or beta software updates for its devices." xda-developers often does good work, but just be careful with this one and make sure you understand that Sprint won’t be bailing you out if you get yourself up a creek with this one!

Eh, scratch that Official part… Use at your own risk!

Source: XDA Developers via Phone Arena

Another Wind Blowing?

It what either is a great display of high hopes, market distraction or pitiful hubris, PC World is reporting that an MSI representative has announced that the Wind desktop first discussed back at Computex is actually going to be released in Europe and Asia in…wait for it…July. Seeing as how the Wind laptop version has already seen two release dates come and go and may or may not hit shelves July 7th, I wonder if the MSI flak kept a straight face during his announcement. I bet somebody in the back at least giggled some. Of course, as this is a desktop unit and not a laptop, perhaps the lack of a battery may mean it will actually arrive before it’s UMPC cousin. Also, as a OEM company specializing in motherboards perhaps a desktop is more in MSI’s execution comfort zone.

Running the same Atom CPU as the laptop, the desktop Wind has fairly pedestrian specs. RAM will start at 1G and be upgradable to 2G, a standard HHD will be onboard as will be a DVD and WiFi. I am dubious if the Atom in a desktop will have enough power to run high end graphics programs or multitask very well, but as a light duty PC it could serve nicely.

The most interesting part of these devices is in the power consumption, burning only 35 watts running at full speed, as opposed to the normal 250 watts. The barebones version price point of 199 US is also a major advantage, undercutting the Asus Eee Box by a hundred dollars, much as the laptop versions are cheaper then their Eee counterparts.

Of course, an unreleased bargain is still just that…unreleased. We will see if the desktop version has any more luck then the laptop in getting out to the public on time.

Nothing on their website about the product yet, which apparently will not be released at all in the US. Time will tell.

MetroPCS CDMA Phone Party - BYOP

MetroPCS is having a party and they want you to BYOP(Bring you own phone). Of course, they have phones they will sell you too, but they welcome you to bring your own phone if you like (and you will want to if you want something hot, their offerings are slim). This is a CDMA carrier, so it’s not as simple as bringing your own phone, slapping their Sim card in it and moving right along. You have to call or go online with Verizon and Sprint and they normally won’t allow you to bring a phone from another carrier onto their network.

MetroPCS’s network covers 14 large cities, including Miami, Atlanta, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas. It had 4.4 million subscribers at the end of March. MetroPCS is allowing this though.

Its network uses the Code Division Multiple Access, or CDMA, technology. CDMA carriers maintain databases of the serial numbers carried by phones that they have sold, and except for Pocket and now MetroPCS, won’t activate phones with other numbers. They generally say that they won’t let any phones on to their networks without putting that model through rigorous testing. This applies even to phones that are functionally identical to their own, like the many slight variations of the Motorola Razr sold by different carriers.

So if you live in one of these cities that MetroPCS covers and want to use that hot new Samsung Phone on Sprint’s Network, you can get it working on their network.

Source: Seattle PI via Crunchgear