In the 1990 film Crazy People, Dudley Moore plays a burned out advertising exec who creates new advertising campaigns that tell the utter truth and consequently are hilarious. I can't remember it verbatim, but one of the ads was for Volvo, and said something to the effect, "Square, boxy, and sexy." The ad from that movie comes to mind when I think about UR There's @migo Pocket PC. I've been using the @migo as my main Pocket PC for the last ten days and conclude it is a very capable Pocket PC with a lot of nice hardware features, like a scroll button and a cursor pad. But after using an iPAQ for so long I find it too large to carry around all day as my main Pocket PC. The @migo does remind me of one big deficiency with the IPAQ -- the lack of a built-in storage card slot. It's very nice to be able to easily pop in a network card or a CompactFlash storage card in the @migo without having to hunt for a sleeve. My first impression of the iPAQ was disappointment over the lack such a slot, but all of the other positives about the iPAQ (the size, speed, and screen) caused me to live with the sleeves. So, the most significant thing I have learned from the @migo is that my next main Pocket PC, which will run the Merlin version of the Pocket PC software, will have a built-in slot. If the rumors about the Merlin hardware is true, all brands will at least address the speed and screen issues. The more I think about it the more I think the Toshiba Genio will be the perfect Pocket PC for me.
posted by Frank McPherson 10:06 AM |
link
Here's a little more information about Merlin to wet your appetite this morning. Microsoft's one-two punch for handhelds - Tech News - CNET.com
posted by Frank McPherson 9:50 AM |
link
Pocket PC Passion has some information about Norton Anti-Virus incorrectly identifying certain Pocket PC software installs as being a virus. Perhaps there is a Palm user working at Norton? ;-) Norton has since fixed this problem in their signature file.
posted by Frank McPherson 9:43 AM |
link
Notes Do Not Synchronize with Device Through ActiveSync (Q305544) If you have problems synchronizing Notes with Outlook, read this KB article.
posted by Frank McPherson 6:30 PM |
link
Cool. Diane has the Casio version of the Stowaway keyboard. Hopefully this means Casio will use the same connectors for their Merlin unit.
posted by Frank McPherson 6:12 PM |
link
We've come a long way. Today I made another stop at the local toy store, aka CompUSA. They've made a lot of changes to the store, and the very first thing you see is the handheld display. Palm, Handspring, Compaq, HP, and Casio handhelds all in a nice display. To the right was digitial cameras, to the left mobile phones. The Palm, Handspring, and HP in-store displays were still there, but surrounding the Palm display were all sorts of accessories, including Compaq iPAQ cradles, stylus replacements and cases. I picked up an iConcepts Compaq USB "Hotsync" cable. (He, he, Hotsync.. how funny!) and an Electric Fuel battery to make sure I have enough iPAQ juice to get me back and forth from Seattle next week. They also had a USB charger cable for the iPAQ. That is not a sycn-n-charge cable, just a charger.
I can't get over the fact that it seemed just a few short years ago that the only way to buy PDAs and accessories was on the Internet. Now there are big displays at Best Buy and CompUSA. The real test may come this fall in seeing how fast the new Pocket PCs make it to stores.
posted by Frank McPherson 4:23 PM |
link
Sega in Pact to Bring Games to Handheld PCs Sega is officially comming to Pocket PCs. The article is very brief, but I think it means that Synovial will be developing an "official" emulator for the Pocket PC called Virtual Game Gear that will enable one to play Game Gear games on Pocket PCs.
posted by Frank McPherson 8:57 AM |
link
ZDNet: Story: How MS is planning to conquer the wireless industry, too David Coursey says that Microsoft is using the same old play they used to conquer desktop computer to try and capture mobile computing. David suggests, and I tend to agree, it might not work this time because the competitors are much more weary of Microsoft today than in the 70s and 80s. Another big difference is that it doesn't seem as Bill is driving Microsoft's efforts in wireless. If Bill isn't focusing his time on this I have to wonder just how committed Microsoft is to wireless. However .NET is largely about mobile devices, and I think Bill is right in the middle of .NET.
posted by Frank McPherson 9:45 PM |
link
Walter Mossberg writes about the Samsung I300 in today's Personal Technology from The Wall Street Journal. There are some interesting observations made by Walt in this article, and I think there is food for thought here when thinking about the future of mobile devices. For instance he says, "I believe the Samsung will appeal mainly to data-oriented people and Palm fans who make occasional calls." But does this mean that such an integrated device will replace a cell phone, or enhance it. And if it enhances it, how is the service handled between a cell phone and an integrated device?
Walt also says, "And while it's certainly larger than the smallest conventional cellphones or Palms, it's easy to carry and hold, with slightly curved sides. It's much more convenient to carry and use than a separate phone and Palm." So perhaps the target here are people who want a handheld computer, but aren't big cell phone users and hence don't want to carry both devices.
posted by Frank McPherson 9:41 PM |
link
This is what I have been waiting to see. VoiceStream Set To Soft Launch GPRS Service. Anyone care to bet against the launch site as being Seattle?
posted by Frank McPherson 10:50 PM |
link
The Symbol Wireless Networker will be available starting September 19. This is a Type 1 CompactFlash 802.11b WLAN card.
posted by Frank McPherson 10:43 PM |
link
The long awaited Pocket Slides from Conduits is now available.
posted by Frank McPherson 10:39 PM |
link
Pocket PC Thoughts links to this review. Tim Higgins does his usually thorough job of reviewing the D-Link 11Mbps Wireless LAN Compact Flash Adapter. The pictures make me think that the if you combine the monochrome iPAQ with a CF Sleeve, a network adapter, and vxUtil you could have yoursefl a pretty cool network troubleshooting tool at a reasonable price.
posted by Frank McPherson 10:37 PM |
link
One of the problems with the Voice Recording functionality in Notes is that you can't pause during a recording. I've had some people ask me about alternatives to Notes, to which I have had no recommendations. Pocketrekorder may be the first alternative that I have seen, though it's definitely over kill for simply pausing during recording. Pocketrekorder is designed to be a mobile audio studio for journalists. There are a couple of really interesting things about this solution, including what appears to be a modified Compaq iPAQ Pocket PC that has an input jack for a microphone. The solution also uses a sleeve that uses Sony's memory sticks for storage. In fact, I think this is the first memory stick solution that I have seen for Pocket PCs. In all I would say the flash presentation is worth a look.
posted by Frank McPherson 10:59 AM |
link
This Network Computing sneak peak of Symbol's Wireless Networker has some interesting information. The Wireless Networker is an 802.11b Type 1 CompactFlash card. Since it is a CompactFlash card it draws power from the Pocket PC's battery. The reviewer tested the card for battery life by disabling the backlighting and running continueous pings and it lasted for 1.5 hours. The reviewer also found the range to be equivalent to Orinoco, Cisco, and Symbol PC Cards. For those concerned about security the Wireless Networker supports Symbol's Kerberos-based authentication, but I suspect that will only work with Symbol's access points.
posted by Frank McPherson 10:47 AM |
link
Citadel Development Corportation is providing another great and free utility: PocketExplorer v2.0. It's a alternative to the built-in File Explorer that has many more features. I also like Citadel's Pocket Tools, which provides just about every piece of system information on could want.
posted by Frank McPherson 9:57 AM |
link
Pocket PC Thoughts has some links to Japanese web sites with pictures of the Toshiba Genio Pocket PC. One of the sites has pictures comparing the Genio with a iPAQ Pocket PC. The cool thing is, the Genio has a CompactFlash and SD slot and is the same thickness as a naked iPAQ. I honestly think this might be the best Pocket PC to come out yet, and if Toshiba is able to sell these for the upcoming Christmas season things could be really interesting.
posted by Frank McPherson 9:38 AM |
link
For grins I just downloaded the Go.web software directly from Go.America's web site and it has the same problem. Not too surprising because iPAQnet is really nothing more than a re-branding of Go.America's service. Same software, different label. The iPAQnet service has a lower monthly fee, but I am pretty sure Go.America is getting their $59 per month and that Compaq is subsidizing the rest. That might make the service vulnerable to a price increase down the road, so we will have to see what happens. I am hoping to get this all working before I head to Seattle next week. I would like to leave my Jornada & Ministrel combo behind if I can.
posted by Frank McPherson 2:08 PM |
link
It's Monday, and I still cannot access either Go.web or Go.mail, which are part of the iPAQnet service I started trying on Friday. During the weekend I was getting a page saying that my service needed to be activated. Today when I open Go.web it chugs along and eventually displays a message box saying that it is unable to complete a download and that a network timeout has occurred. I just got off the phone with Go.America's customer support. They tell me that there are known issues with using Go.web and Go.mail that they are currently working on, but they cannot give me an estimate on when the problems will be fixed. I called Compaq and they don't appear to have any more information. So basically, I have a brand new wireless service that does not work as it should, and so far every phone call that I make to Go.America just provides a run around and no answers.
posted by Frank McPherson 1:27 PM |
link
infoSync : Compaq's GPRS sleeve tested infoSync reports that testing of the Compaq GSM/GPRS sleeve went well. If memory serves me right this sleeve is supposed to become available at the end of this year or 1Q 2002. One of the things I still haven't heard about is how the service providers are going to consolidate acces from all these devices to one account. Right now I have an Ericsson T28 mobile phone. I might also get this sleeve, but I don't want to have two separate accounts. Ideally I would like both devices using the same account and along me to decide which one I want to use. That might mean that both devices would ring for an incoming call if they are on, but then all the phones in my house ring too, so I don't see that as a problem.
posted by Frank McPherson 9:35 AM |
link
Atek CF Type 2 adapter available - pocketPCpassion Discussion Board You can now use Type II CompactFlash cards with HP Jornada Pocket PCs by using this adapter from Atek.
posted by Frank McPherson 5:30 PM |
link
LiteMail appears to be a solution to provide web access to Exchange Mail without using Microsoft's Outlook web access. The problem with Outlook web access are the multiple browser windows that Pocket Internet Explorer does not support. <via Pocket PC Thoughts>
posted by Frank McPherson 5:23 PM |
link
