Control your UMPC with your voice

Sure, you can do that if you use a program like tazti, a very easy to use kind of voice recognition program.

AMD Bobcat to Target Atom

AMD is apparently close to releasing a 64-bit processor chip they have announced previously called ‘Bobcat’ designed to go head to head against Intel’s successful (though sadly unloved by Intel) Atom UMPC chip.

The Bobcat is rumored to feature the following specs:

• 1GHz clock speed
• 128KB of L1 cache
• 256KB of L2 cache
• 800MHz HyperTransport
• On-board memory controller will handle 400MHz DDR 2 chips.
• 8W Power consumption
• Within a 812-pin, 27mm² BGA package.

Considering the problems the Atom shortage has been causing UMPC vendors, this should be looked on as very good news indeed. Also, Intel could use some more UMPC competition. Between the Bobcat and the upcoming new chip from VIA, things are continuing to heat up in the UMPC market.

Atom Don’t Get No Love from Intel

During Intel’s Earnings Conference Call a few days ago, Intel Chairman Paul Otellini had this to to say to analysts and investors about the Atom chip found in so many upcoming Netbooks and UMPCs:

(Atom) is less than a third the performance of our Centrino (processor). You’re dealing with something that most of us wouldn’t use.

We do not see (Atom) replacing Celeron. If you look at the Netbook products being built around Atom, they’re all lower-priced, lower features, smaller screen size notebooks aimed at first-time buyers or second, third, or fourth machine in a household.

Nice…why do I suddenly feel like a barbarian at the gate? One would think that as Intel chairperson, he would want to sing the praises of ALL his products and their unique niches, especially ones that are dominating their space like the Atom. Oh, I forgot, Atom chips and low cost machines don’t bring in the wicked high margin that new Centrino 2 laptops do. My bad, my bad….I almost began thinking that innovation or technology advancement or customer satisfaction were the goals instead of accumulating as many shiny rocks as possible before being forced out of the seat by the next Intel Chairperson.

I get so confused.

Celeron???? Sheesh…no love at ALL.

(Source – CNet)

Red Light Camera Protection For You

In Chicago and many other big cities red light cameras are set up to capture the license plates of drivers who go through red lights. Fines are often $100 or more and can add up. PhotoBlocker.com has a solution.

According to them, “A majority of red light & speed cameras utilize a strong flash to photograph the license plate on your car. Once sprayed onto your license plate, the PhotoBlocker^TM special formula works to create a high gloss that reflects the flash back to the camera. This overexposes the image of your license, rendering the picture unreadable. Ultimately, with PhotoBlocker^TM your license becomes invisible to traffic cameras, yet stays completely legible to the naked eye.” [Read more]

Another Classmate, the JumPC

A kid’s netbook based on Intel’s rival to the OLPC, Classmate, has been released in the UK by Actronix.

Called the JumPC, this small, very durable looking netbook has the following specs:

• A 900MHz Intel Celeron Mobile processor
• 915GMS chipset.
• 512MB DDR 2 RAM
• 2GB of Flash storage or a 30GB HDD
• 7in, 800 x 480 display
• Two USB ports
• 10/100Mb/s Ethernet
• 802.11b/g Wi-Fi.
• Webcam
• Windows XP Home Edition
• The kid-friendly UI is based on EasyBits’ Magic Desktop software.

This unit features a built in handle similar to that found in a recent Korean version of the Intel Classmate as well as a customizable cover and is available for 229 Pounds in the UK.

(Source – The Register)

Opera Mobile 9.5 Beta Released

Opera has released their much anticipated Opera Mobile v9.5 web browser to open beta today. This version is usable on touchscreen devices running Windows Mobile 5 or 6 and is installed from a cab file.

Download the beta HERE.

Read a comprehensive preview of the new browser version on Crave.

Health Management Product Seeks Beta Tester

Personal mobile technology can be a somewhat selfish, decadent obsession, therefore I am always on the look out for ways that mobile devices can make a qualitative difference in people’s lives. I recently was informed of a Beta program that may allow people to help develop a product that could do just that.

ZumeLife, a medical technology company, is in the process of developing a small mobile product called the Zuri that is designed to assist people in managing their own fitness and ongoing health care.

ZumeLife says the following about the product:

Our prototype solution empowers you to do a much better job of self-care via an iPod-size device that helps with reminders and tracking of health-related activities. A personal webpage allows you to follow your health and note signs of progress or trouble, and enables your caregivers to provide you better support.

Obviously such a project needs beta testers, which is why ZumeLife is turning to the online community.

[Read more]

InterKey 3.0 released

I recently wrote a review of Interkey, so I’m not going to go into a lot of detail other than to announce that version 3.0 is available for download at www.penreader.com. The standard version costs $24.95, and the professional version costs $34.95.

This is a hefty price to pay for a screen input keyboard, and there are certainly others out there for far less that will do the job for you. However, there are some virtues to consider.

One of the main attractions of Interkey is the vast number of languages and keyboard layouts it supports. So, if you’re a polyglot, this one is a good choice.

Another attractive feature is the large key layout option that is designed for finger typing. Even with my bear paws, I am able to make it work satisfactorily, which is more than I can say for the iPhone keyboard. When you tap a key, a magnified version pops up to help eliminate mistakes. If you tapped the wrong key, just slide your finger to the right one. Another welcome feature is the predictive text engine, which is excellent and also helps to eliminate errors.

Supposedly, you can use screen gestures to insert a space, shift key, backspace, and enter, but I could not get this to work on my screen. Perhaps it was due to such limited space because I ended up highlighting text every time I tried it.

While you can set whether you want a space after the input of each work or not, you cannot set it for capitalizing the first work of every sentence, which would be on my wish list. It will not capitalize “I” contractions such as I’d, I’m, I’ll. But, it does capitalize the word “I”. Curious.

I must say that I do enjoy using it and the fact that there is no learning curve. You can just jump in and type away on the familiar QWERTY layout without having to learn how to tap dance with new fancy motions as with some other systems. I especially appreciate its robust predictive text feature. Once you type in a new word, it becomes part of the database, which also saves time. I also like the fact that you can install it on a memory card to save main memory space.

Sprint Nextel up for sale

With the US dollar devalued internationally, foreign investors are finding many opportunities to buy up struggling US companies.

NEW YORK (AP) — South Korea’s SK Telecom Corp. is in talks to buy struggling U.S. wireless carrier Sprint Nextel Corp., business news channel CNBC reported Tuesday

An agreement would be at best weeks away, CNBC said, citing people familiar with the talks.

Sprint shares closed down 4 percent at $7.94 after initially spiking on the report.

U.S.-listed shares of SK Telecom, Korea’s largest mobile-phone service operator by subscriber numbers, fell 2 percent to $20.67.

Sprint spokesman James Fisher had no comment on the report. No SK Telecom representatives were available in the early morning hours, Korean time.

CNBC reported that private-equity firms would provide financing for the deal, since SK Telecom’s market value is about half of Sprint’s $22.6 billion.

Sprint has been losing subscribers for some time, but it’s still the third-largest wireless carrier in the U.S., with 52.8 million subscribers at the end of the first quarter. Its stock has lost half its value in the last year, and there have been reports that the company has been talking to other possible acquirers, like T-Mobile USA.

 

 

Link: http://www.baynews9.com/content/26/2008/7/15/365394.html?title=CNBC:%20Korean%20carrier%20in%20talks%20to%20buy%20Sprint

http://www.sktelecom.com/

http://www.sprint.com/index.html?brand=Nextel

Mac OS X on a Wind?!?

Paul at MoDaCo has managed quite a feat, hacking, stomping and shoehorning Mac OS X onto a MSi Wind (well, an Advent, but same thing). He gives a step by step guide HERE to how he manages it and admits not everything works right out of the box. Wireless requires actually swapping physical antennas and the keyboard is acting sort of weird…but hey, dig the docking port at the bottom the screen!

This is certainly the MacBook for the budget conscious consumer, give or take a little soldering and a few features…like hibernating. All in all, very very impressive. Now, if anyone can install the innards of IBM’s Blue Gene onto my Eee 701, I will be able to finally get that one world government thing going.

Check out the MacWind goodness below.

Opera Mobile 9.5 public beta to be delayed until July 17

From the official Opera Mobile Blog

Some things in life don’t go according to plan — at least not in software development. We knew when we announced a release date before we finished development that a showstopper bug might be found that could alter the actual date we release the beta.

As you can imagine, we encountered a few bugs last week that we needed to fix before we launch. Our engineering team worked through the weekend to fix the bugs. Even though our release is a beta, we’d rather spend the extra time to fix them, thus giving you a better experience. The fixes are almost complete now, but we need two more days to run the build through our quality assurance testing. The new launch date is now set for the 17th.

We’re disappointed to delay, but fixing these bugs will improve the experience with our beta and let you fully test the browser.

Most of the comments at the blog were a lot less angry than I was expecting. There are some die-hard fans that have been waiting a year or more for this release, so it’s no wonder that some tension follows each delay reported at the blog. Good thing the latest delay was only two days… but we’ll see what happens on the 17th. Keep your fingers crossed.

Poll: Are you sick of the iPhone News?

Many of you know where we came from, the roots of this site. If you don’t this site was a spawn off of Aximsite, which was called iPaqHQ and evolved into Mobilitysite. Our Windows Mobile/Pocket PC roots are deep. With changes in the times, comes changes in focus. While we are not abandoning Windows Mobile at all, we are covering Hot Mobility News. It would be unfair to ignore the exsistance of the iPhone. If you are tired of us posting news about the iPhone, I apologize, but it’s out there and it’s pretty nice. I caught a post over at Gizmodo asking the question, “iPhone 3G: How Do You Feel?” and thought it would be a good poll for this community as well.

I fully expect the results of this poll to be a different percentage wise from the Gizmodo poll. Just how different is the question. I personally feel that we’ve been lenient on the iPhone posts. Short of my own experience, there have only been a handful. This was by design. I really didn’t want to cram iPhone down your throats.

Tracking your stolen UMPC

Every year thousands of Laptops are stolen or lost in USA along and you could become part of these statistics. Are you prepared if this happens? What can you do? Should you pay hundreds for a tracking software? What if I tell you that you can track the location of your UMPC without paying a penny. And that’s exactly what Adeona is promising.

Adeona is the first Open Source system for tracking the location of your lost or stolen laptop that does not rely on a proprietary, central service. This means that you can install Adeona on your laptop and go — there’s no need to rely on a single third party. What’s more, Adeona addresses a critical privacy goal different from existing commercial offerings. It is privacy-preserving. This means that no one besides the owner (or an agent of the owner’s choosing) can use Adeona to track a laptop. Unlike other systems, users of Adeona can rest assured that no one can abuse the system in order to track where they use their laptop.

I have been testing this program in my P1610 and it’s amazing to see how I can recover the IP address and ISP  used to connect to Internet. Knowing the IP you can contact the Police and they can demand from the Internet Service Provider (ISP) the information about who is using or used that IP. That simple.

Adeona is a "Must Have" in any mobile device.

New eWallet 6.1

I used to be a devoted FlexWallet user until it was subsumed by Ilium Software’s eWallet. I was always too lazy to try to convert to another wallet application. But, eWallet made it seamless, and I’ve never looked back because eWallet is by far the superior product. Accordingly, I am delighted to report that a new version has just been released with some enticing features that make it even better.

If you are already a 6.0 user, be sure to take a moment to upgrade. It’s free; your old files will be compatible, and your old registration code is still valid. It will not even ask you to enter it when you install the new version.

Probably, the developers should have called it version 7.0 because of all the new features. Here are some of the highlights:

• Overall version 6.1 stresses customization
• You can now assign field types
• Create multiple hidden fields
• Phone number, email addresses, and URLs are now active hyperlinks
• Autopass allows you to enter password information in Internet Explorer
• Smart Copy lets you copy card information into Web forms
• Create shortcuts to your favorite cards in a favorites folder
• Use color gradients or solids for backgrounds
• Use background images provided or create your own
• Improved search engine allows rapid card retrieval
• Create templates on the fly more quickly and easily
• Card creation and edition is now easier on Smartphones without touch screens

[Read more]

MobilitySite Member 10% discount on all PPCTechs parts & Services

We are continuing to work with all the best Vendors out there, in an attempt to provide you with more value for our Members here at MobilitySite.

As such, we have recently negotiated a Permanent 10% off Discount on all PocketPCTechs Parts and Services.

This perk is only available to registered MobilitySite members.  If you are not a Registered member, why not join?   It’s Free, and only takes a few minutes to Register!

If you are already a Registered member, head over to the Member Discount forums and click on the “New Permanent Discounts for MobilitySite Members” thread to find out how you can get 10% off your next purchase at PocketPCTechs website.