For any Pocket PC device to provide me with complete Internet access, it has to run all of my Internet tools. This includes:
posted by Frank McPherson 10:45 PM |
link
There seems to be a timing issue with the GPRS network. The complete post below made it to Blogger, but Pocket Blog doesn't think it made it.
posted by Frank McPherson 8:46 PM |
link
Ok. This is a test post using Pocket Blog.
Very good. This worked. For some reason I couldn't get the initial server configuration to work via T-mobile and GPRS. So, I put the T-mobile in its cradle and used ActiveSync Desktop Passthrough, which worked. Now I am entering this via the GPRS connection, and it appears to be working.
posted by Frank McPherson 8:35 PM |
link
When did Pen Computing switch to bi-monthly publication?
(Blogwalking from Jack Cauley Chevrolet in West Bloomfield, but not using Pocket Blog)
posted by Frank McPherson 2:53 PM |
link
Zayo A600 Pocket PC Review The Gadgeteers are enamored with the small size of the Zayo, proving once again that size does matter.
posted by Frank McPherson 1:06 PM |
link
I get paged when I receive a voice mail at work, but all I see is the last four digits for the voice mail system. I don't get any details about who left me a message, which a product from traq-wireless fixes. This solution should work well with the SMS text messaging of the T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone edition.
posted by Frank McPherson 8:27 PM |
link
Brighthand Forums - Mouse pointer for Pocket PCs!! Here's a link to a program that enables one to use a USB mouse with the Toshiba E740. On a related topic, I got to work today and found out that the extra monitors I thought where here aren't, so I have tried out the E740 expansion pack yet. :(
posted by Frank McPherson 3:45 PM |
link
Pocket PC Thoughts - How to sync your Pocket PC to your PC over the internet.
posted by Frank McPherson 3:13 PM |
link
I made another trek to the toy store (otherwise known as CompUSA), and picked up a few items for my T-Mobile Pocket PC and Toshiba E740. For the T-Mobile I bought a car power adapter, and a Jabra headset to keep in the car. While the headphones that come with the T-Mobile are good, I prefer to keep a headset in the car and carry the headphones with me. Besides, the single ear headset is better for in the car. The only downside to the Jabra set is that it doesn't have a answer/disconnect button, so I would have to do some manipulation of the phone. OTOH, I have seen numerous reports in the newsgroups that the standard 2.5mm headsets with buttons don't work. What I really am looking forward to getting is the Jabra FreeSpeak Bluetooth Headset with 2.5mm adapter. The headset and adapter price is about the same as the competing Bluetooth headsets alone. The adapter allows you to use the wireless headset with any mobile phone that has a 2.5mm jack, and should work fine with the T-Mobile. MobilePlanet claims it will be available at the end of the month, but they are notorius for pre-selling products and getting ship dates wrong. I couldn't find anything about the FreeSpeak on Jabra's web site.
CompUSA appears to have all of the accessories that Toshiba sells for the E740. I bought the expansion pack, which adds a USB host and VGA port to the E740. Tomorrow I will try connecting this thing to a spare monitor to see how good that connection works. I got to thinking, if I were to use the E740 for presentations, it would be nice if there were a Bluetooth remote control to be able to control the presentations since I keep the Socket Bluetooth card in the CF slot. I am also eager to try a USB keyboard in the USB port, as I believe the keyboards just work without additional drivers. I am going to look to see if I can find a small USB keyboard to use with the E740.
The other accessory that CompUSA has for the E740 is the extended battery. It costs $129 and replaces the existing battery but goes up the entire back of the E740. I didn't buy the battery this time, but if I may if I use this guy more with WLANs. I couldn't find any information on Toshiba's web site about how much life this battery has.
Another cool thing I noticed at the store is that they only had the display T-Mobile Pocket PC left. About a month ago or so I was in the store and they had about a dozen of these devices, so it appears that they have sold plenty. One of the guys working at the store noticed that I had my T-Mobile and asked me whether I liked it, and whether I had any problems. I said I am happy with the device, and my only real gripe is that it doesn't have a jog wheel. Obviously that is a personal preference on my part more than a deficiency of the device.
There is no doubt that the Pocket PC Phone Edition attracts interest. While I have carried Pocket PCs for years, I have to say my T-Mobile has attracted more attention from people who want a PDA, and like the idea of not carrying a mobile phone and PDA. So long as expectations are properly set about how this device works, I think it can be a real seller. I am curious about when we might see AT&T Wireless or Cingular selling these devices. I got to think that HTC approached both of these carriers since they both use GSM so it would be real easy for HTC to provide them with the same branded devices as the T-Mobile. I'm guessing that T-Mobile has some exclusivity deal with HTC to make them the first carrier to sell the device.
Finally, I found out that CompUSA currently has a PDA-trade in promotion going that knocks a $100 off the price of a new Pocket PC. That puts the Audiovox Maestro right at $199, which has got to be the cheapest Pocket PC price ever. If someone is interested in a Pocket PC, and doesn't want to spend a lot, the Maestro is not a bad deal, though I might steer them towards the Toshiba E310 instead. Amazon is selling that for around $350.
posted by Frank McPherson 9:42 PM |
link
Microsoft has put together a great white paper about all the security options available for Pocket PCs. If you are looking for security products such as encryption or VPN, check out white paper.
posted by Frank McPherson 8:46 PM |
link
Yahoo! News - Microsoft Unveils Hardware for Wireless Networking Microsoft is getting in to the 802.11b hardware business. This doesn't make too much sense to me, since the 802.11b hardware market is already very saturated. Their prices aren't to competitive with products already on the market. For example, I can buy the Linksys WAP11 access point for $104, while Microsoft's AP will start at $149. Perhaps there are features that make these products attractive, but I am skeptical. I am much more interested in the Bluetooth products that Microsoft is supposed to be selling by the end of this year.
posted by Frank McPherson 10:58 AM |
link
PCWorld.com - IBM's Translation Tools Go Mobile IBM is showing ViaVoice translater running on iPAQs. Funny thing about the article is the recommendation of 128 MB of RAM. They must mean 128 MB storage cards, otherwise they are recommending PPCTech's 128 MB upgrades.
posted by Frank McPherson 11:58 PM |
link
Wired has an excellent article about Dartmouth's wireless network. There are several references in the article Pocket PCs and 802.11b. Perhaps most notable is how wireless LANs have changed the culture at the university. These type of articles make me really envious.
posted by Frank McPherson 5:33 PM |
link
It's a pity that Inbox on Pocket PC Phone Edition does not convert telephone numbers in inbound SMS messages to hyperlinks for automatic dialing.
posted by Frank McPherson 5:09 PM |
link
Pocket PC Passion - Warning to TMobile users *ActiveSync * Scott Jordan has had a bad experience with using T-Mobile's GPRS connection. He has learned that T-Mobile rounds each "transaction" to the next highest 10KB. What we don't know is, what is the definition of "transaction." Is it each session? Hopefully it is, though I would prefer that they didn't round at all.
BTW, what started all this is that Scott left his T-Mobile Pocket PC in the cradle, but not connected to the PC. So the T-Mobile stayed on all night, and it was connected to the GPRS network during the whole time and configured to check for email every minute. The next morning he found that All-Locations was reporting that he used 10 MB of data overnight.
The moral of the story is don't leave your Pocket PC Phone edition connected to the GPRS and on AC power, with Inbox configured to constantly check for email. There is some confusion over what exactly is being read, but even if there is a brief communication between Inbox and your POP3 server, that is going to use part of your data allocation for the month.
posted by Frank McPherson 3:40 PM |
link
I received my new Vaja case for the T-Mobile Pocket PC today. It is a beautiful case that exhibits most of the workmanship we've come to expect from Vaja. Unfortunately, while the case is nice and slim, it still adds bulk to the device. With the T-Mobile in the case it is noticable when I put it in my front pants pocket. The T-Mobile is so nice and slim that it is almost a pleasure to carry naked. I don't think this is Vaja's fault, as any case is going to add bulk to the device, so users will have to decide what is more important, less bulk or better protection. Not that the bulk is horrible, and in fact, I think that when I carry it on my belt with the belt clip it doesn't look much larger than many of the cell phones that I see people carry around. In fact, I can keep it on my belt while I sit in my office chair without worrying about it banging around like my iPAQ would.
While the case is beautiful, there are some disappointments. First, the case does not have a hole or cutout for the microphone at the bottom of the device. Since this is a phone, one would think that cutout would be important. In a quick test of calling my voicemail at work it didn't appear to muffle what I was saying, but this will probably require further testing actually talking with a person. A side problem is that the case makes it more awkward to hold the device up to the side of your face while making a call. You can flip the cover completely back, but it is certainly less convenient than using the T-mobile naked. If you use the T-mobile for lots of voice calls, you probably won't like these type of cases. This is a none issue if you use the T-mobile primarily for wireless data, or if you use the headset.
The next problem I have is with the thickness at the very bottom of the case, where it fits below the navigation button on the T-mobile. I find the navigation button hard enough to use naked, and pressing down is even more difficult when its in the Vaja case. And since the T-mobile doesn't have a side jog wheel, the navigation button is the only way to scroll up and down when reading web pages. This one issue may cause me to not use this case very much. I'll give this more time to see if I can get us to this, but its frustrating to try scroll down, and press the navigation button and ending up scrolling right.
Finally, I am a bit surprised with the thinness of flap that covers the screen. The back of the case is reinforced, but the front isn't, but I think it's logical to expect reinforcement in the flap. It does provide some protection, but I think if you bank on the flap hard enough. or it drops straight down on any type of hard object, the screen could be damaged. I have to check my old iPAQ Vaja case, because I thought the flap on it did have some re-inforcement.
All in all, this isn't a bad case. In fact, as leather cases goes, it's very nice and of course, it has that intoxicating smell. But with the problems I identified above, and the price Vaja charges, I don't know if I can whole-heartedly recommend this case. I'm going to follow-up with Vaja about the mic cut out because according to this discussion thread at Pocket PC Passion, it should be there.
posted by Frank McPherson 4:39 PM |
link
