Google Mobile App

I never cease to marvel at the Google’s prolific development of new applications. The latest one to come to my attention is simply called Google Mobile App. It is a plugin that can be placed on your Today Screen for easy access or invoked from an icon in your Programs menu. Alternatively, you can program it to run from a hardware button.

Not surprisingly, it has a text input box for Google searches as well as two icons on the main panel bar. I suspect a larger screen or landscape screen would reveal more icons on the panel, but this is how it appears on my Treo Pro square screen. The two icons are for Gmail and Google Maps. Tapping on the plus symbol brings up a new screen with more icons.

The popup screen has an array of 12 icons that will give you access to many of Google’s popular applications such as Gmail, Maps, YouTube, News, Picassa, Calendar, Reader, 411, SMS, Orkut, Docs, and Blogger.

In case you are not familiar with all of these great services, let’s review them briefly so you will appreciate the usefulness of this nifty little application making them so easily accessible.

Google Search: the most popular search engine on the Internet. The nice thing about this search box is that you don’t have to wait to pull up a browser to initiate a query.

Google Maps: a great free mapping program that will find and call your favorite pizza parlor or give you turn by turn directions to it. If connected to GPS, it will track your progress on a map.

YouTube: Recently acquired by Google, YouTube is the most popular video posting service on the Web.

News: a nice news aggregator that compiles headlines from over 4500 English-language news sources worldwide and groups similar stories according to your interests and specifications—kinda like building your own customized newspaper

Picassa: This versatile photo application allows you to organize, edit, and turn your photos into movies (if you wish) and post them online.

Calendar: represents an online calendar most useful for collaborative synchronization of events and appointments that can be accessed and edited by specified others.

Reader: an application that lets you get and organize the latest news and updates from your favorite sites and share it with others via email or blog.

411: tired of paying up to two bucks for calling your phone company to get a phone listing? Use 411 for free.

Docs: Everyone who engages in collaborative writing projects should use this great application so that all participants are all on the same page at all times. It’s a great way to share documents or publish them online. It accepts Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files.

SMS: the greatest and quickest instant access to information from weather to sports scores, from measurements to definitions, from finding businesses to movies and theaters, from postal codes to stock quotes, from directions to flight schedules, from Q&A to area codes and more. Just text 466453 (GOOGLE) to a set of keywords found here: http://www.google.ca/mobile/sms/index.html

Orkut: yet another social networking site that has not really taken off in the U.S. but most popular in Brazil for some reason—named after a Google employee Orkut Byuykkokten

Blogger: allows you to post photos and text directly to your Blogger- built blog sites from your mobile phone.

Conclusion

Clearly, the functionality of this application is a boon to mobile efficiency, and you would be well advised to make it part of your toolkit. The good news is that it is totally free, as are all the applications it connects too. You must have a Google account in some cases to enjoy the bounty, but that’s free too.

Sign up for a Google account, if you don’t have one, here: http://www.google.com/accounts.

Download Google Mobile here: http://tinyurl.com/epfz3. There is a version for almost any mobile platform, even iPhone. You can get it on your phone over the air here: http://tinyurl.com/clmz64. Or, visit m.google.com on your phone’s browser.

I’m surprised that other popular Google applications such as Talk, iGoogle, and Notebook were not included. Perhaps they will be in future iterations. What would be really nice is if you could add or subtract your favorite applications.

           

New Mobile Shell 3.0

If there ever were an application that I would recommend above all others to install on your pocket pal first it would be SPB’s Mobile Shell. Apparently this is not just my opinion, for the program has received an abundance of accolades. However, with a program so brilliantly conceived that does so much for organizing and giving you access to the depths of your machine, it is a hard act to follow.

Yet, the SPB developers have managed to make meaningful changes, add features, and offer improvements in version 3.0. If you have gotten used to using 2.0, you may balk at first and wonder why bother with any improvements and having to learn a new and more robust system. While there may be a bit of a learning curve, I think you will find it worth the effort.

Frankly, I liked everything just the way it was, but I have to admit that after becoming familiar with 3.0 and its enhancements, I am delighted with it and amazed at its functionality.

New Features

There are so many new features, I hardly know where to begin. Perhaps it would be best to list the major ones and then discuss those that are not self-evident.

· The most noticeable new feature is widgets, which have become popular on most desktops these days. These are evident on the Lifestyle Home Screen and in Photo Contacts.

· 3.0 integrates with Facebook. This is largely so that you can grab pictures of your friends and put them into your favorites and contact folders.

· You can even edit contact photos with cropping and rotating

· There’s a new Media Player widget you can place on the home screen

· You can place a wireless manager widget on the Home Screen too

· There’s a new launcher format—I’m not sure this is an improvement however

· The program is extremely finger-friendly throughout with kinetic scrolling

· There is an inbound indicator for voice, email, and sms with a counter widget

· The task manager has definitely been improved

· A 3D screen carousel view rotates every available screen for quick access

· There is a similar carousel view of photo contacts

Remember the old Professional vs Classic layout in 2.0? Well, 3.0 has expanded the concept to Professional and Lifestyle layouts that you can switch between at will. The professional layout packs in more information in a constrained screen space, while the Lifestyle layout is more fun with widgets you can scatter around the screen to give you the information you wish.

Chances are, users may not even recognize the installation of Mobile Shell 3.0 from one machine to another because of the endless possibilities of customization of features, backgrounds, and wallpapers.

It The new version supports multiple email platforms and accounts. A powerful algorithm places the email account with the most unread mail first in line for convenience. If there is no unread mail, the last one to have email will be the first in line.

Version 3.0 pays a lot of attention to contact management. The innovative approach of Facebook integration allows users to drag and drop photos and even crop them. You can also drag and drop contacts into the Favorites panel and then move them around as you please with your finger. The 3D contact carousel is a fun feature too. MS allows you to set unique ringtones for your favorites if you wish.

When you select a favorite, a new screen appears giving you the choice of calling home/work/mobile or sending SMS or MMS messages. There’s a nice photo log of phone calls as well.

I’m not quite convinced that the new launcher and the SPB Menu are an improvement over the old system in which you had 12 of the most recently launched applications in small icon format above the six Menu folders. You could make any of the twelve items appear permanently for convenience, and you could edit the content of the Menu folders or create your own folder and content.

Now there is a Launcher with your three favorites at the top in simple mode and any number of recently used applications displayed in order of usage below. It appears that you could have the whole Program folder in here. In the advanced mode, you can easily add or remove programs to suite your purpose. The recently used function will still operate below the favorites panel.

Remember that SPB offers an integrated suite of applications along with Mobile Shell such as Traveler, Weather, Netflix Manager, and Plus. These all work more seamlessly with version 3.0.

Version 3.0’s developers created the application with Windows Mobile 6.5 in mind so that it will work flawlessly in that environment too when it is released.

Conclusion

While Mobile Shell 2.0 was a superbly conceived application that made using your pocket pal a dream, version 3.0 has managed to enhance it with many new features of functionality and navigation. Perhaps the most striking features are the carousels and widgets. Again, I have to rate Mobile Shell 3.0 as a must-have application.

It costs $29.95, but you can try it for free and upgrade it for 50% off the retail price. Please visit www.spbsoftwarehouse.com to check it out and get your own copy. I think you are going to be quite pleased with Mobile Shell 3.0.

           

How to forward text messages to your email inbox

When I was asked to review TxtForward, I had to stop and think about why I would want my text messages forwarded to my email inbox. Isn’t text messaging handy enough without cluttering up an already overburdened email inbox?

TxtForward is an application that will automatically forward your text messages to any email address you specify. You can determine if you want inbound, outbound or both forwarded.

Scratching my head, I began to ponder the possible benefits of forwarded text messages to an email address. The more I thought about it, the more benefits I conceived. Let me share with you the results and invite your comments if you see other uses.

First and foremost, I think the major benefit would be as a backup record to important texting exchanges as in the case of a legal transaction for business arrangements or travel plans. There is a log of text messages created in the Windows folder, but it can only be read in the client that created it. Having an email backup is more useful and makes more sense.

I’m playing around with the idea of creating a novel or a play based almost entirely on text message exchanges. I think it would be a hoot. Can you imagine a play that would have two people texting back and forth never saying an audible word to one another? The scenes would change from home to office to car to restaurant and so forth throughout the day, but texting would be the only interaction. The audience would be treated to two huge screens each representing the actors’ cell phones.

The problem my collaborator and I discovered was that some of the messages had been inadvertently erased. Some of the dates were screwed up and out of sequence when the machine was reset unwittingly and the date not adjusted. An email backup would have saved the day.

Besides backup, this utility could have a whole range of stealth applications. For instance, what about cheating spouses? The program could be surreptitiously installed in the unsuspecting suspected spouse’s phone and programmed to route an email to your lawyer, private eye, or perhaps to the other guilty party’s email. It’s also a way to make sure your kids are where they are supposed to be and with whom they’re supposed to be. When I was young, I used to go to the library a lot, or at least that’s what I told my parents. I wonder if kids still do that. Parents would probably just tell them to look it up online.

I must say that when I’m sitting in front of my computer working, it’s nice to have my text messages streamed in with my email so that I don’t have to deal with my phone. I use a program called True Connect from raspberry software.com the places a tool bar on your Outlook ribbon that allows you to create and answer SMS messages. This brings up a wish list item for TxtForward, and that is to be able to reply to messages from an email client.

Another nice feature of TxtForward concerns those of us who have a whole stable of phones. As a writer/reviewer, I am always juggling several phones at any given moment. Some people have a private phone and a work phone. Wouldn’t it be nice if all your SMS messages could be directed to one depository, your email. Of course, with TxtForward this is no problem.

Another plus is that if you change phone numbers or get a new phone or SIM card, with TxtForward, your SMS records remain intact.

Now let’s look at security issues. Unfortunately, email clients that I’m familiar with do not allow the encryption of folders, files, and messages, so if your communications are sensitive, you are at risk. About the best you can do is password protect your whole email program, but this is a bother and isn’t really all that secure. Another suggestion is to create an obscure email account that you can password protect and use that for your messages with security issues.

I have another approach. First you will need to get a copy of Resco Explorer, which is an amazing program in itself basically for Windows Mobile devices. It’s actually a whole suite of useful utilities. But of interest here is the fact that it places an item on your desktop right click menu button for encryption of files and folders. With this application installed on your desktop, you can then create a page in Word and simply drag your text message email over to the Word page taking care to keep them in order. You can annotate them and organize them. After you have saved the page you can encrypt it and password protect it. How’s that for a creative solution?

By the way, you have the choice of forward messages from the developer’s server or directly from you phone. Note that some services such as Gmail will not show messages sent to yourself. In this case, you would want to use Electric Pocket’s server or send them to another email account. Electric Pocket swears that you can have complete confidence and that they do not log, monitor or record messages on their server.

In conclusion, it seems that the usefulness of this application is only limited by your imagination. It should have a premium edition capable of sending to multiple email addresses. It would be nice if Electric Pocket addressed the issue of security too. TxtForward would be even more useful if you could respond to messages directly from the email program.

Take it for a trail run or make it yours for a mere $7.95. It’s available from www.electricpocket.com.

If you can think of any more helpful uses of this application, please share.

           

Sprint and Palm Announce Upcoming Availability of Treo Pro on 3G Network

Sprint and Palm Announce Upcoming Availability of Treo Pro on America’s Most Dependable 3G Network

Elegant Windows Smartphone Supports Blazing-Fast 3G Data Speeds, First Palm Phone to Offer Internet Explorer Mobile 6

SUNNYVALE, Calif. and OVERLAND PARK, Kan., March 4, 2009 – Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM) and Sprint (NYSE:S) today announced the upcoming availability of the Treo™ Pro smartphone for the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network on March 15.

[Read more]

           

iPhone eBook Readers Still Stone Tablets

Zealot’s interesting iBook article compelled me to make a few observations about iPhone eBook readers. While I am pleased that eBooks are a growing and popular download item, I am disappointed with the iPhone platform. I have been a long-time champion of eBooks and have developed some strict requirements for a decent eBook reader. I am afraid that there simply is not a decent eBook reader for iPhone yet. Sadly, iPhone users do not even seem to know the difference. It appears that as long as you can turn the page with your nose-mining finger, that’s all that’s required. The Earth’s flat, and that’s that.

By all measures, Stanza is by far the best, preferred, and most downloaded eBook reader for iPhone and iPod. It receives good marks for being able to handle a wide variety of eBook platforms and even convert them for iPhone consumption. But, it apparently loses formatting in some cases. It has a nice interface for finger-friendly page turning, but it lacks an autoscroll feature for faster and lazier readers. It also earns points for its ability to change fonts, font sizes, font colors and page background colors. This all contributes positively to the eBook reading experience.

However, the eBook reading experience can be so much more powerful. What turned me on to eBooks and won me over instantly way back before the turn of the century was being able to tap on a word in any language and having the definition pop up on the screen. That was way cool and converted me to eBook reading and abandoning treebooks forever. Can’t do that on Stanza on an iPhone. What a pity. But then, maybe iPhone readers have such extensive vocabularies and are such polyglots that this feature is simply not necessary and is beneath their dignity.

Other features lacking in even the best iPhone reader as exemplified in Stanza include the ability to annotate text, index the annotations, and search them. Speaking of searching, apparently Stanza will only allow searching within chapters, not globally.

What about the ability to make drawings, sketches, and handwritten notes in your choice of colors on pages without destroying the book as you would with a treebook. Nope, not on an iBook.

What about highlighting text in your choice of color coding? No can do on an iPhone.

What if you want to copy and paste text from an eBook into another application for research purposes? Sorry, iPhone is anti-academic on this issue. Wouldn’t it be nice too if it automatically referenced the source? Actually, as I understand it, you can’t copy and paste anything on an iPhone, so it’s not surprising that this feature is lacking in eBooks as well.

Another problem is that there is a lack of up-to-date material on the iTunes site. You cannot download any New York Times best sellers for example. None of the popular authors are represented. Clearly, it must be a matter of digital rights issues that Apple has not yet resolved. Of course the same thing applies to audiobooks and the lack thereof for this platform.

It is sad that iPhone and iPod users cannot take advantage of the marvelous free eBook and audiobook download programs available at almost all public libraries these days because of DRM issues and incompatible formats.

Ebook reading remains a far superior experience on Windows Mobile devices. However, I am pleased that iPhone people are discovering eBooks. Perhaps when they learn the difference they will demand that developers bring readers up to speed. EBook reading and readers will benefit greatly, and that is what matters. Maybe, if the demand justifies it, there will even be some decent material available to read on iPhones that still has a copyright.

           

National Public Radio (NPR) goes mobile

I’ve had a love/annoyance relationship with NPR over the years. There’s lots to like about NPR, for it has some great content and unique programming along with being one of the few sources of classical music. I like Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor, and Car Talk with those zany brothers. I appreciate Fresh Air, All Things Considered, and the news.

On the other hand, NPR has some serious negative features in my opinion. On the weekends, it has that awful Celtic music, which is repetitive, boring, and banal. Who would choose to listen to that stuff? And yet it goes on and on, year after year. There must be some heavy-duty, deluded sponsor who keeps it going. Certainly there could be far better, more creative programming to fill that slot. For a supposedly commercial-free platform, I grow weary hearing about their sponsors incessantly, and solicitations for more sponsors.

An improvement I would suggest is broadcasting scrolling text for the music being played and the composer/artist. I certainly appreciate this feature when listening to satellite radio and many other AM/FM stations. News can be broadcast this way as well while multi-tasking with other programming. I suppose it could also be used for mentioning sponsors. Perhaps this will change when stations begin HD broadcasting. But then how many people will have radios capable of receiving HD signals?

Another problem with NPR is that it seems every time I turn it on there is a fundraiser going on and on and on. While it bugs me, I usually fork over a donation every year because I want to support what I do like. However, it is usually a major inconvenience to make a contribution. I would be much more inclined to do so and more regularly if it were possible to do on my mobile phone or with PayPal instead of having to write a check, find a stamp/envelope, go to post office—fergetaboutit. Dropping everything to call on the phone and digging out a credit card isn’t much better. Get with it NPR—go mobile.

Actually, NPR has gone mobile with a truncated version of its full Website. You can access it at www.mobile.npr.org. You’d think they would have used www.npr.mobi instead. There is a decent array of offerings there including “Local” News, Most Popular Stories, Story of the Day, Music, Politics, Business, Health and Science, Movies, Books, Interviews, Commentary, Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me! Quiz. Opening each of these headings brings up mostly text stories, but if the word “call” is next to a story, you can get a recording.

There are some 35 “local” stations representing only the larger markets. If you want to listen to one of these stations, you can place a “call” to connect. This could cost serious money if don’t have the right data plan. Hasn’t NPR ever heard of Wi-Fi? You can search for a station in your area by zip code or city name, but chances are it will not be online if it’s in a smaller market. There is also an opportunity to donate to your “local” station. But, again, it’s only the large market stations. The joke is that they give you a phone number to call. NPR just doesn’t get it and is losing out on the power of mobile phones as a tool for charitable contributions.

I think they need to retool their entire money-raising machine. It’s outmoded and annoying. I recently sent our regional NPR fundraising representative a proposal for an innovative approach to fundraising that would have generated a sustainable residual income. She didn’t even have the courtesy to respond. It’s a good thing she doesn’t work for me; she would be looking for another job without a recommendation.

What amuses me is that the mobile version does not even mention RSS feeds, Podcasts, links for iPhone/Blackberry, text only site, API archives, Newsletters, MobiRadio, or Mspot. What about Windows Mobile?

NPR seems to be totally unencumbered with any knowledge of the interactive possibilities of mobile technology. There isn’t even an opinion section on the mobile version, nor are there any blogs. NPR needs to hire someone knowledgeable in Web 2.0. NPR is missing so many opportunities. It should have a presence on all the social networks. It should be Twittering away with timely Tweets. It should be texting and allowing its sponsors to have contests, sales, promotions, conducting surveys, texting coupons, sending out optimized mobile sites, and MMS messages as well. What an incredible waste not to be building an opt-in subscriber base for fundraising and communication purposes. Shame on NPR. Does NPR stand for Neo-Paleolithic Radio?

I suppose congratulations should be extended to NPR for offering a mobile version, but it is so lacking in mobile technology features that it is pathetic. One does wonder in what century the mobile site was built. While it is certainly a start in the right direction, there is much room for improvement, which I hope will be forthcoming before the next ice age. Meanwhile I shall restrict my NPR experience to listening via satellite radio over Wi-Fi.

           

ASUS Raises the Bar for Mobile Web Surfing and Multimedia Enjoyment with P835 WVGA PDA Phone

Taipei, Taiwan, February 27, 2009 – ASUS, a leading producer of innovative handhelds, today launched the P835, a PDA phone that delivers an Internet browsing and multimedia viewing experience without equal. Designed for business-savvy professionals who appreciate a screen as big as their ambitions, the P835 is equipped with a large 3.5” touchscreen that runs at WVGA resolution—offering five times the number of pixels of most phones and delivering the best document, photo, movie and website viewing experience possible. Apart from being able to display more of a webpage onscreen, the P835 boasts features that greatly enrich users’ online experience, including blazing fast HSUPA 7.2Mbps download speeds, a responsive trackball that makes scrolling effortless and Opera Mobile, a user-friendly and full-featured Web browser. It wraps all of its impressive functionality in an elegant touch-optimized interface which is intuitive, interactive and attractive.

Unparalleled Internet Browsing Experience
The ASUS P835 is designed to help users get the most out of the Internet. It is embedded with Opera Mobile, a fast, user-friendly and rich-featured browser that brings a complete Web experience to the P835. Users will be able to perform the full breadth of online tasks—from hopping onto their social networking sites and updating their blogs, to checking email and viewing streaming video. The P835 also enables users to switch between 12-key, half-Qwerty and full-Qwerty virtual keyboard modes, allowing them to choose an input method that best suits their current task. A responsive tracking ball significantly improves scrolling, and the phone’s large 3.5” display ensures every webpage is displayed crisply and vividly.

Crystal Clear 3.5” WVGA Touchscreen
The P835 is equipped with a large 3.5” touchscreen that runs at WVGA (800 x 480 pixels) resolution—offering five times the number of pixels of most phones—thus rendering the P835 capable of delivering unprecedented clarity and screen real estate. Regardless of whether it is used for watching movies in full screen, browsing through photos, perusing documents or surfing the Internet, the P835 will provide visual enjoyment on the mobile platform like never before.

New Glide: The Best Mobile Interface, Now Even Better
The P835 features an updated, streamlined and enhanced iteration of ASUS’ exclusive Glide—the most innovative, intuitive and interactive mobile user interface available today. New Glide has been given a significant facelift over its predecessor, boasting new icons that take the beauty and interactivity of the interface up a notch—making the best even better. Subtle, bold, modern, swanky or sweet—the P835 has a theme that will appeal to everyone.

Doubles as a Wi-Fi Access Point
The P835 has the additional ability to function as a Wi-Fi Access Point. It can share its high-speed HSPA cellular data or Internet connection over Wi-Fi with up to 10 devices, such as laptops or other PDA phones. Connecting devices is a simple affair thanks to the P835’s user-friendly interface, and dropped connections are automatically restored.

Specifications

Networks
HSPA (DL: 7.2Mbps, UL: 2Mbps), UMTS 900/1900/2100
EDGE/GPRS/GSM 850/900/1800/1900, Class 12

Operating System
Microsoft Windows® Mobile 6.1™ Professional

Color
Black

Form factor
Bar type

Dimensions
115mm x 59mm x 13.8mm

Weight
148g (with battery)

Standby Time
350hrs with 3G and 300hrs with 2G*

Talk Time
6hrs with 3G and 7hrs with 2G*

Display
3.5” TFT, 65K-color Touchscreen, WVGA (800 x 480 pixels)

Processor
Qualcomm 7201A 528MHz

Memory
4GB Internal Storage + 288MB SDRAM + 256MB ROM

Expansion Slot
MicroSD with SDHC support

Connectivity
WLAN 802.11b+g , USB v2.0, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR

WAP Browser
HTTP / WAP 1.2.1/2.0

Messaging
SMS / MMS / Email / MSN / Push Email

Battery
1100mAh Lithium

GPS
Yes (AGPS supported)

Business Applications

PIM
Word (editor), Excel (editor), PowerPoint (viewer), Adobe Reader, Windows® Live, MSN, Voice Commander** and Push Email (Exchange Server).

Other Features
Opera browser, Wi-Fi Access Point, YouTube, Flickr, ASUS Virtual Keyboard, Anytime Launcher, ASUS Today, EziMusic, EziPhoto, Google search and RSS Reader.

Multimedia and Entertainment

Camera
5 Megapixel Auto Focus

Video
Record: MPEG4/H.263
Playback: MPEG4/H.264/H.263/WMV
Video Call, Audio/Video Streaming

Picture Format
JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP

Audio Format
MP3, WMA, WAV, AMR, AAC and AAC+

Ringtone
Polyphonic (MIDI, 128CH), MP3, WMA and WAV

JAVA
J2ME (CLDC 1.1 + MIDP2.0)

* Talk and standby time are dependent on the network environment and on phone usage.
** Subject to region availability.
Specifications are subject to change without prior notice. Please visit www.asus.com for more details.

Back

ASUS is a leading company in the new digital era. With a global staff of more than ten thousand and a world-class R&D design team, the company’s revenue for 2008 was 8.1 billion U.S. dollars. ASUS ranks among the top 10 IT companies in BusinessWeek’s “InfoTech 100”, and has been on the listing for 11 consecutive years.

           

Texting with Tatango

Recently, I published an article in which I maintained that text message or SMS marketing is the future of advertising. I even went so far as to declare that there has never been a more powerful marketing tool ever invented.

Today let me share with you a great way to get started in mobile marketing or just keeping in touch with a group through texting. Allow me to introduce you to Tatango.

Tatango was invented by some fraternity brothers who needed a way to keep the brethren apprised of meetings and activities which was always a daunting task. They came up with an application that allowed them to send out a text message to all the guys’ mobile phones simultaneously, and it worked like a charm.

[Read more]

           

Spb Weather 2.0—Don’t leave home without it

Clearly, weather plays an important role in our lives and can sometimes be a matter of life and death. Therefore, it is important to have ready access to these data, and what could be more convenient than having it in the palm of your hand on the Today screen of your Windows Mobile device?

Spb Weather 2.0 offers many attractive features in addition to the basic weather stats. It has a 3D globe, satellite images, temperature forecast movies, sky forecast movies, and an improved integration with Spb Mobile Shell and a finger friendly animated navigation approach.

You can add up to 10 favorite cities, which can be easily swapped or removed. While there is an onboard database of 10,000 cities, I found it lacking for my preferences. For instance, I was born in Santa Barbara, CA and like to keep track of the weather there. I was surprised that it was not in the database even though it’s the largest city in the county and the county seat while Santa Maria, a much smaller city was included. I now live in the state of Idaho where only two cities are listed for the entire state. Yes, it is possible to search for cities by zip code, airport code, or name and add them to the database. However, when I did this, no weather data were displayed, which was a disappointment.

Curiously, the weather city list that comes with Spb Mobile Shell does have my missing cities such as Moscow, ID and Santa Barbara, CA. And, the weather does display for these cities. So, go figure. Obviously the two weather programs are independent of one another with Mobile Shell’s being superior as far as the database is concerned.

Of course you can change the units of measurement and choose your favorite view. There are three weather sources available, and you can select your own, if you wish, from a list of 40 source templates that you can install for free.

The Today screen plug-in is a handy way to display your weather the moment you turn on your device. You can choose the display mode and determine what data will appear. The display can be in a multi-line view, or if you want to save screen space, you can have each city tabbed. Tap on the city displayed for a popup of even more detailed information and forecasts.

I was a little bit surprised that the Weather icon in Mobile Shell takes you to the set up panel instead of the today screen display.

While Spb Weather may not be the most robust weather program available, it is certainly more than adequate and worth your consideration. I am, however, concerned about the glitch in data lacking for cities added that are not in the existing database and hope that this will be corrected.

Grab your copy at www.spbsoftwarehouse.com. The registered version costs $19.95. You can try it free for 15 days. Owners of the previous version may upgrade for only $9.95.

           

Spb Wallet 2.0–a must have

I’ve probably said it before, and I’ll say it again: everyone should have an electronic wallet in which to store proprietary information in a single, secure location. Spb’s new electronic wallet will allow you to consolidate all your important information such as credit card numbers, bank accounts, insurance accounts, online accounts, passwords and other private information.

It will make it double secure with AES 456encryption and password protection. Wallet supports an auto lockup feature with clipboard cleanup and phishing safeguards. With a desktop version, it’s possible to sync between several machines such as desktop, laptop, and handhelds The desktop engine also syncs with Google mail and integrates into Firefox and Internet Explorer.

Another great feature that casts the winning ballot is the login auto-complete utility. You can pay $40 for software that does this, and it’s included free with SPB Wallet! Your login info stored in Wallet will automatically sign you into sites online with Internet Explorer or Firefox.

One of the things that has held me back from switching to a new Wallet is the problem of porting over the old data to a new format. Spb Wallet takes care of this problem with its import wizard. So don’t be bashful about trying out this new Wallet using your old data.

You have to appreciate the active fields feature too, which enables you to hyperlink to Websites, make phone calls, send email and text messages. You can also cut and paste data into and out of Wallet using its clipboard. This feature also works with handheld devices as well.

The visual aspect of Spb Wallet is superior with its look like the real thing credit cards, logos, and other free artwork to enhance the appearance of each record. There is a 7000 item database of templates. If you don’t see the template you need, you can order others free from Spb’s Website.

Free trails are available for 15 days. The registered version costs $29.95. Go to http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/pocketpc-software/wallet/download.html to download your copy.

SPB Wallet is available for Window Mobile touch and non-touch screens, Symbian, and soon for iPods and iPhones.

Spb’s new Wallet 2.0 is clearly a must-have application that everyone should pack, and one of the finest of its species.

           

Slingbox revisited

As far as I’m concerned, Sling Media is a company that has rocked the world, at least my world. I’ve been a champion of Slingbox since the beginning in 2004.

What will a Slingbox do for you?

A Slingbox is a small, sleek unit that connects directly to you TV or DVR. It makes it possible to watch live or recorded TV on your computer, laptop, or mobile phone from home or anywhere in the world. Anything you can do with your remote control at home, you can do with Slingbox on your computer remotely. You can record, playback, and send clips via email.

Technical Support

When purchasing a new product, especially when you are just getting starting and setting it up, it is important to know that there is good technical support available. I am happy to report that Sling Media’s customer support is superb. Phone support is available from 7AM to 7PM PST, seven days a week. Online support is available through email and live chat. It doesn’t get much better than that. I have found technicians to be knowledgeable and helpful.

Sling Media Products

My first Slingbox was a plain vanilla AV that worked without flaw for at six years, and then it developed some kind of a connection problem, but it was time to upgrade anyway. I have recently acquired a more powerful HD Pro capable of transmitting HD data and a much better resolution picture. It goes for $299.99. HD Pro lets you control and watch your home TV on multiple devices.

The Slingbox Solo only costs $179.99 and will stream a single standard or high-definition video input to a remote device.

The SlingCatcher is a digital video data amalgamator that brings entertainment to your TV set. With SlingCatcher, you can display data from a Slingbox, your computer, or any other data source available, including the Internet or from a storage device. This universal media player costs $199.99. You might think of it as a reverse Slingbox that displays video on your TV instead of displaying TV video on your remote devices. One drawback for the moment is that it will not sling HD content. It doesn’t work on MACs either.

If your router is in a different location than your TV and DVR, you don’t have to run a hardwire connection. Let SlingLink Turbo come to the rescue. Turbo boxes plug into ordinary power outlets in your home and use the wiring in your house to transmit data from your Slingbox to your router. All you have to do is plug Ethernet cables in from Turbo box to the Slingbox and from the Turbo box to the router. SlingLinks come in single port ($79.95) and four-port models ($49.95).

Software

The most recent version of Slingplayer software gives you an onscreen remote control that looks just the one at home so there is no learning curve. You can also display a complete TV lineup from your TV source complete with program descriptions. Slingplayer software for desktops and laptops is free as are updates. Display of remote and guide data is optional and you can select placement options for where it appears on the screen.

Updates for SlingLink and and SlingCatcher are available as free downloads.

Slingplayer software for mobile devices is not free and costs $29.95. You can try it free for 30 days. After that, a registration code is required. Slingplayer for mobile devices is already available for Windows Mobile, Symbian, and even Blackberry. It will soon be on iPhones as well.

Observations

I cannot even imagine leaving home without Slingplayer software installed on my mobile phone and laptop. The great thing about it is that it really works, even with HD TV, and there is no monthly fee.

News Flash: Dish Network recently acquired Sling Media. It will be interesting to see how this relationship unfolds. I first learned of this acquisition by the curious appearance of a four minute recording on my DVR. It was a nice little commercial for Slingbox at the end of which viewers learn that Dish had purchased Sling Media. It reminded me of AT&T spamming their customers with unsolicited text messages. I wonder if this is a portend of things to come with cable and satellite companies pounding their customers with SPAM. Shame on Dish.

However, we shall soon see the first favorable outcome of this new relationship. Echostar, the parent company of Dish, has already combined Slingbox technology with its new Echostar 922 DVR with 1 terabyte of expandable storage. This amazing device that won best of show in CES will be available soon.

           

A must have accessory

Proporta.com, the case place and purveyor of great gadgets and peripheral PDA paraphernalia has come up with a nifty, new gadget I think you will want to have too.

Do you ever get tired of those suction cups falling off your windshield and your GPS, MP3, or PDA goes crashing on the floor while in the middle of a traffic jam? That sucks. Well, here’s another solution that doesn’t suck.

It’s so simple that it makes you wonder why it didn’t appear long ago instead of the suction cup solution.

The Proporta magnetic dashboard mount is a little over 3 inches long and a shade over an inch wide. It attaches firmly to wherever you place it on your dash with a super strong adhesive on the back. Just peel off the protective covering and stick it on.

It also comes with a round detachable metal disk about the size of a quarter. Remove the disk, and attach it to whatever device you wish by means of the stickum on the back. It’s so thin that it is completely unobtrusive.

Now you just place your mobile device of choice on the dashboard unit. It attaches firmly magnetically, and it guaranteed not to fall off and turn your PDA into a laptop computer. Proporta recommends not using it for objects weighing over about four ounces. Many of my PDAs weigh around six ounces, but I haven’t had any trouble with them.

Check it out at www.proporta.com. One could be yours for only $12.95, which is way cheaper than a suction window mount for which you can easily pay $50. The Proporta Website says it comes with two disks so that you can use it for more than one device, but mine only came with one disk. I guess Proporta owes me a disk.

           

Twitter away your time for fun and profit

When I first heard of Twitter, I was amazed and amused that it was spreading like wildfire in a frenzy of popularity. It’s all based on a message limited to 140 characters that tells people what you are doing at the moment. My first reaction was, who cares? But apparently people do, and folks are not bashful about sharing what they are up to with others. So, why not use this proclivity to visit for word of mouth advertising or for spreading the word for a worthy cause? Your posted messages, by the way, are known as Tweets. Isn’t that tweriffic?

Twitter is a social networking application that is also a mini-blogging service, which limits posts to 140 characters, even smaller than a 160 character text message.

As long as you are tweeting away telling others about what you are doing, why not tell them about your business and use this system to bring in some bling? [Read more]

           

SPBOnline expands TV lineup

I recently reviewed SPB’s new Online product. My concluding remarks were as follows:

Conclusions

The presentation of SPB Online is slick with its colorful, finger-friendly interface that is easy to use and gives access to some worthwhile free content. On the other hand, there seems to be an excessive focus on a lot of stuff that costs money, in which case I wonder about the wisdom of charging $30 for the program. I think too that while the TV functionality is exemplary, the content is extremely limited and users should be able to add selections from the Internet. There may be some restrictions that I’m not aware of, but if it’s possible on the radio, why not TV?

Perhaps the SPB Online is in its infancy, but, as it matures, I would certainly expect to see the possibility of adding more content buttons like other similar programs have.

********

As I had hoped or predicted, the TV aspect of the program is continuing to develop. In fact, it has now increased to over 40 channels in 11 languages. The good news is that it is still free unlike some other carrier based premium subscription services. It offers a TV guide and an option for setting Outlook reminders.

In addition to TV, Online also offers Radio, Online Gaming, Weather, News reader, and an On-Device Catalog.

Online costs $30 and is available from the developer at www.spbsoftwarehouse.com.

           

LibriVox: more free audiobooks

Recently I offered an article on how to obtain free audiobooks from most public libraries. I’ve just discovered another free audiobook resource that I’d like to share with you.

LibriVox is a people’s movement started by Hugh McGuire in 2005 for the pure pleasure of sharing literature at a reasonable price—free. This effort is a cooperative one that depends on volunteer readers who transform public domain books into digital audio data. The files created are then made available to the universe through the online catalog, podcasts, and bittorrents.

It all began with a recording of Joseph Conrad’s “The Secret Agent”. This offering became an overnight success with eager downloads. Since then, the mission of LibriVox has become the “Acoustical liberation of books in the public domain”. The ultimate goal is to “make all books in the public domain available, for free, in audio format on the Internet”.

To be successful, the project requires volunteer readers. Readers are not expected to read entire books. Reading a single chapter helps move the project forward. Although, you are welcome to read an entire book, if that is your inclination. All you need is the appropriate software and equipment to make an MP3 recording and upload it to the site’s database. Quality control seems to be a group effort as well.

LibriVox will not accept unpublished books. If you are an author who wants to make a book available as an audiobook, you may go to www.podiobooks.com for publication and then approach LibriVox.

To check out the LibriVox catalog of recorded books available, go to www.librivox.org/newcatalog. To look at the list of podcasts, visit www.librivox.org/podcast.xml. The main Website is at www.librivox.com. From here you can visit the forums, read the latest news, see new releases, and connect to the catalog and podcasts.

The list of books available in languages other than English is growing daily.

Download to your heart’s content. There is no limit. There is no check-in time, and no overdue items. If you are inclined, volunteer to become a reader, project coordinator, or to serve the project in some other capacity. You can reach the project’s papa, Hugh McGuire, at nfo[AT]librivox[DOT]org.

Congratulations LibriVox, and keep up the good work!