My Digital Life

Today is iPhone day, could Apple have stumbled using the Edge network?

Today, June 29th at 6PM the hoards of Apple devotees will get their chance to shell a minimum of $499 + $60 a month for 24 month for the privilege of owning an iPhone. Although the industrial design is quintessential Apple (it will end up in MOMA) and the Multi Touch screen advances touch screen technology to the next level, the iPhone may suffer from a lackluster cellular data network.

The software on the iPhone is nothing revolutionary, I have all of the functions (from Apple video) and much more (other than iTunes) on my T-Mobile Wing. The only piece that may be considered advanced is the web browser, but if Microsoft released the DeepFish browser, Windows Mobile would be the hands down winner. The problem with the iPhone's browser may be the network's speed. Edge is slow and to render a full HTML web site can be excruciatingly slow to point you may not want to us it. Yes it works fine on WIFI, but you don't alway have WIFI available. Even Steve Jobs in an interview with the Wall Street Journal "acknowledged that the company's new iPhone won't surf the Internet as fast as he would like on the network, called "Edge," but added that the device's ability to connect to Wi-Fi hotspots would give consumers a speedier alternative for Web browsing".

ZDNet's Matthew Miller article title "The T-Mobile Wing’s predictive text functionality beats the iPhone’s technology"  finds that Microsoft predictive text technology is more advanced. If you read Walt Mossberg's  review of the iPhone, you might think Apple has come with some thing revolutionary, I guess he never tried the Wing or Windows Mobile 6. He does however find the Edge network problematic.

Even though it is a beautiful device and it has iTunes, it currently lacks too many features; from Exchange ActiveSync to SlingPlayer Mobile to make me want to go out and fork out $599. It will be interesting to see how the public reacts after the initial euphoria.

My gut feel is that Apple is already testing a 3G version and may release it for the holiday season, Apple devotees should be ready to shell out another $600 by the end the year, that is a good business to be in...

My Windows Mobile application list as of June 29th

Since my last application post, a lot of good things have happened with the Wing. The biggest; was the page pool modification (link) which released precious program memory. Spb Software House also released a Windows Mobile 6 compatible Spb Mobile Shell and I found BatteryStatus a nifty Today plug in with overclocking management.

Based on comments, I am also changing the name of the section "In the Wings" to "Need to try" to avoid confusion. There was no word pun intended, since it has nothing to do with the Wing. This is just a list of applications I want to try. If I like them, they make the list.

Additions:

• BatteryStatus version 1.04.203 Beta4 Build 0218

Upgrades:

• Spb Mobile Shell version 1.5
• WebIS Pocket Informant 2007 revision 4
• SBSH.net PocketBreeze version 5.2.12
• Fizz Software Ltd Fizz Weather version 2.4
• SlingPlayer Mobile version 1.5.0.98

Replacements/Removal:

• OmaClock version .02 with .lnk file in \windows\startup at 240MHZ (replaced with BatteryStatus)

Is not stable with Windows Mobile 6:

• SWC Ltd - MultiIE version v4.0-d72

Need to Try:

• Microsoft Research DeepFish 1.0 beta browser (unfortunately it is currently only by invitation). See my post here.
• Stowaway Keyboard and Mouse drivers version 4.51
• Omega One 1-Calc version 2.3.1
• Holux's GPS Viewer 1.5
• Gougelet PE XnView Pocket version 1.35
• RandyRants.com Pocket SharpMT version 3.3

In Storage Memory:

• Spb Mobile Shell version 1.5
• PhatWare Calligrapher version 8.5
• JetWare Bluetooth HFP Extensions version 1.30
• Developer One ScreenSnap version 6.1
• WebIS Pocket Informant 2007 revision 4
• SBSH.net PocketBreeze version 5.1.02
• C. Ghisler & Co. Total Commander version 2.0

On 2GB Mini SD card:

• Windows Live Search version 1.0.2592.31374
• PhatWare Phatpad version 4.
• Ilium Software eWallet version 5.0
• Ilium Software Newsbreak version 2.0
• Sunnysoft's Backup Manager 4002 (review here)
• Back Country Navigator  version 2.3.3
• Fizz Software Ltd Fizz Weather version 2.4
• Zagat To Go Version 5.0
• SlingPlayer Mobile version 1.5.098

Windows Mobile - BatteryStatus

Last week, before I found the page pool fix, I was resigned to the fact that I could not run Spb's Mobile Shell because of the lack of available program memory. I went looking for a simple utility that would provide me with memory utilization and battery status. I own Omega One's Battery Pack Pro, but it has more functionality than I use and I did not want to give up precious memory.

I came across this thread on xda-developers for a little application (133KB) Today screen plug in that is packed with useful options including an intelligent overclocking function. A week later, I can highly recommend this utility, although it is still in beta, I had no issues with my minimal configuration. I am using version 1.04.0203 beta4 Build 0218.

General tab:

• only Show CpuSpeed checked

Indicator tab:

• Show more Indicators box checked, but nothing else

Tools tab:

• Nothing set

Advanced tab:

• Nothing set (default)

Omap tab:

• Overclock to speed 260 and Set checked
• Overclock on wakeup checked
• Overclock after reboot checked

CpuScaler tab:

• Enable CpuScaler (dynamic) not set (I tried it a little a bit but did not seem to overclock when I wanted)

Omap Apps tab:

• Application Based Overclocking not set. I could use this with CpuScaler, but a static 260MHZ when the device is active works for my use without over complicating the configuration.

CallTimes tab:

• Count Call Times (outgoing) not checked

Data Calls tab:

• Not used

TrayLaunch tab:

• Not used

My resulting Today plug in looks like this:

Spb Mobile Shell, SBSH Pocket Breeze, BatteryStatus and Device lock on my Today screen, thanks to a reduced page pool size.

T-Mobile lauches UMA HotSpot@Home service.

T-Mobile launches HotSpot@Home UMA service nationwide I discussed here. It looks like a great deal for $9.99, that is cheaper than I what I pay for Sunrocket ($199 for 15 months) and I would only have to deal with one number. The website does not seem to be ready for the launch, there is no way to order the UMA compatible Nokia or Samsung phone and associated router.

Now where is the Windows Mobile UMA upgrade for the Wing? We know it is possible since HP and BT (link) in the UK are launching the iPaq 514 this summer, a WM 6 device with UMA.

T-Mobile Wing - Changing the page pool to reclaim program memory

Three days after changing the page pool to 6MB, the Wing is stable. However an application seems to be leaking memory, I am down to 3.4MB after using HTC Task Manager Stop All function. This is fine for running most PIM and email oriented applications. It is not enough for the camera, SlingPlayer, and mapping applications. It looks like I will need to reboot every couple of days. I can't complain, the environment with the 6MB page pool is still considerably better than with the 12MB since so far I have not had to reboot during the day.

For now, rebooting just seems to be a fact of life, unless I spend the time to find the offending application and then what. My plan is to automate the reboot process, I have decided to use the scheduling mechanism in Sunnysoft's Backup Manager (my review here). It can force a reboot before and after the backup and allows you to schedule by day and limit the number of backup files. I plug my Wing on my night stand every night, I have scheduled the backup to run at 23:59 everyday and store up to 5 backups on my SD card. We will see how well this scheme works, regular backups are a very good thing to do anyway.

I decided to copy my blurb from Monday on changing the page pool here. This is too important to be mix in with other subjects.

To change the page pool, I meticulous followed Paul's instructions found at MoDaCo here. After a little bit of soul searching, do I risk it or not, I took the plunge with a 6MB page pool update. I can't thank Paul enough for his writeup. After 24 hours, I can load the camera and SlingPlayer when I want, no reboot required. Life was already good with the Wing but it has just gotten much better. One minor caveat about the article, it is for the HTC Touch, although the two phones share the same base architecture, the Wing's addresses are slightly different:

• Part02 of the my ROM starts at hex 0x39d0000 instead of 0x40d2000
• The direct address in my ROM is 0037B55A instead of 0037B558

Your Wing could also be different, so make sure you follow the instructions precisely and substitute the addresses from your ROM. I decided to go with a middle of the road approach with a 6MB pagepool. From all the posts I have read, everyone is pleased with 6MB. Some individuals are reporting lock ups with 4MB and I don't think 8MB gains enough to make a substantial difference.

I also want to thank Willem Jan Hengeveld (aka itsme) for the tools that made the ROM update possible, as well as Maël Hörz for building a simple and powerful hex editor, HxD.

If you are interested in learning more about the page pool, here is a paragraph on MSDN which describes the Windows CE 5.0 page pool. Remember Windows Mobile 6 is built on Windows CE 5.0 not 6.0. Windows CE 6.0 is being used to build Windows Mobile 7 and will revolutionize our devices memory utilization. Hopefully hardware manufacturer like HTC will come to their senses and add more RAM.

For those who are not comfortable with hex editing, Paul over at MoDaCo has put together an application which modifies the ROM image (link).

It also looks like the utilities to read and write the ROM, used for the page pool fix ,can be used to make other custom changes. Hopefully more changes can be made to increase free memory...

The week of June 25th in My Digital Life

This morning, I have a question I would like answered; Who decided on a 12MB page pool for the T-Mobile and why? Was it HTC, T-Mobile or is this the default in the Microsoft Windows Mobile 6  Adaption Kit. Performance would definitely be a reason, but if you can't run anything what is the point of added performance, so If someone out there would like to educate me, I am sure my readers (me too) would love to hear from you...

Anyway, yesterday I meticulous followed Paul's instructions found at MoDaCo here. After a little bit of soul searching, do I risk it or not, I took the plunge with a 6MB page pool update. I can't thank Paul enough for his writeup. After 24 hours, I can load the camera and SlingPlayer when I want, no reboot required. Life was already good with the Wing but it has just gotten much better. One minor caveat about the article, it is for the HTC Touch, although the two phones share the same base architecture, the Wing's addresses are slightly different:

• Part02 of the my ROM starts at hex 0x39d0000 instead of 0x40d2000
• The direct address in my ROM is 0037B55A instead of 0037B558

Your Wing could also be different, so make sure you follow the instructions precisely and substitute the addresses from your ROM. I decided to go with a middle of the road approach with a 6MB pagepool. From all the posts I have read, everyone is pleased with 6MB. Some individuals are reporting lock ups with 4MB and I don't think 8MB gains enough to make a substantial difference.

I also want to thank Willem Jan Hengeveld (aka itsme) for the tools that made the ROM update possible, as well as Maël Hörz for building a simple and powerful hex editor, HxD.

If you are interested in learning more about the page pool, here is a paragraph on MSDN which describes the Windows CE 5.0 page pool. Remember Windows Mobile 6 is built on Windows CE 5.0 not 6.0. Windows CE 6.0 is being used to build Windows Mobile 7 and will revolutionize our devices memory utilization. Hopefully hardware manufacturer like HTC will come to their senses and add more RAM...

Last week I was evaluating Spb Mobile Shell 1.5 and had to remove it. I am happy to say that I am now running it without any issues. It is a big application (Spb needs to reduce the footprint), however with the 6MB page pool, I can run it without affecting my use of the camera or SlingPlayer. I have updated my Spb Mobile Shell pocketnow.com review. It should be published this week.

In my travels to find a better utility to monitor the battery, overclocking and memory usage, I found BatteryStatus. This is a great little 133KB Today plug in which is packed with useful features. I will be discussing it some more later this week.

Funny how things turn out, after my growing disappointment with the Wing's available memory, I was prepared to blog a rant. Today I am as happy as can be with the Wing, however T-Mobile should be providing an update. This is a very dangerous procedure to try for the lay user. Did they ever test the Wing with 3rd party applications? The answer has to be no. If they need help I will gladly sign up as a tester, I have quite a library of 3rd party applications I received for review purposes...

This week:

• Complete my way overdue review of Blueant's excellent Supertooth in car Bluetooth system.
• Post my Today screen updates.
• Post an updated Windows Mobile application list
• Write up my experience with BatteryStatus

T-Mobile Wing - Startup sound and animation

Some folks are finding the T-Mobile jingle during the boot process annoying, especially when you have to reboot in a quiet environment. As usual, with the help of xda-developers I was able to find the registry key.

Registry: HKLM\SOFTWARE\HTC\StartupAnimation
Key: Enable (dWord)
Values: 0 = jingle off 1 = jingle on

Key: Volume (dWord)
Default: 127
Values: 16 - 200 

You can also modify the sound and animation by changing the WAV and GIF files in these two keys.

Registry: HKLM\SOFTWARE\HTC\StartupAnimation
Key:  WAVFile (SZ String Value)
Default: \Windows\T-Mobile startup.wav

Key: GIFFile (SZ String Value)
Default: \Windows\TMO_Startup.gif

This registry key exists in Windows Mobile 5.0 and 6. As always you should be careful modifying the registry.  

Sling Media releases SlingPlayer Mobile 1.5 with WM6 support

Sling Media announced the release SlingPlayer Mobile 1.5 yesterday.

The new version supports Windows Mobile 6 Standard (Smartphone) and Professional (PocketPC). It includes:

• Added support for installation of SlingPlayer Mobile via Automatic Installer method using Windows Vista PCs

• Supports remote control functions for additional A/V devices

• New remote control skins with refreshed look and feel
• The implementation of  messaging for the availability of updated Slingbox firmware
• A fix for the channel number not displayed properly with coaxial video input
• The replacement of the  Outdoor Life Network channel logo with one for Versus
• The replacement of the UPN and WB logos with CW’s logo
• Fixed issue of disabled keyboard shortcuts used to invoke shortcut functions on second row of Favorites (Windows Mobile 6 Standard)
• Fixed issue of video screen not properly centered in 128 x 96 resolution (Windows Mobile 6 Standard)
• And, various bug fixes

My experience with the beta on my T-Mobile Wing has been excellent. I have been very impressed with the video performance using T-Mobile Edge's network. The video stream rarely breaks up and the picture quality is acceptable. WiFi is definitely better but Edge works. SlingPlayer memory management has also improved. All in all this is an excellent upgrade.

Updates and trial software can be downloaded here.

Maybe the French Goverment should be using Windows Mobile!

Yesterday, I found this story in my daily Wall Street Journal morning brief email. I love the tag line.

"Betrayal by BlackBerry

The French national-security office SGDN has warned the country's new cabinet members and presidential staff to stop using their BlackBerrys because confidential political and economic information could be intercepted by the Americans. Since the BlackBerry is produced by Research in Motion of Canada and its data transmissions processed by servers in the U.S. and U.K., France fears the U.S. National Security Agency could get its hands on any information sent through a BlackBerry, Le Monde reports. The Financial Times notes that while a vast array of industries and executives have come to live by the BlackBerry, the French oil giant Total has never let its employees use one because of "security reasons." "There are plenty of other perfectly good PDAs," Total says." (Source: Wall Street Journal morning brief)

The story was picked up by every major news organizations, however no one mentioned that Microsoft's Windows Mobile might be a good alternative, since it does not use the Network Operation Center (NOC) concept. With the Microsoft ActiveSync Server Direct Push technology the secure connection is made directly to the Exchange Server without having to go through a NOC in the US or UK...

Two Windows Mobile 6 registry requests

I have had several comments requesting the following registry hacks. I have not been able to find them, so I am posting this in the hopes someone has found a way to address the issues.

1. The ability to turn off the boot up jingle. I know I read about a registry key for this somewhere but as usual now I can't find it...
2. The ability to turn off the blinking LEDs. There was a registry hack for Windows Mobile 5.0, but the registry entry is no longer there in Windows Mobile 6. I personally like the LED, they tell me whether I have a new message, I have signal, and that Bluetooth is on.

Thank you for all your comments, it definitely makes this blog more useful...