My Digital Life

HTC goes for US brand name recognition

As  Windows Mobile geeks, we all know the HTC brand name. However, the average consumer in the US is clueless that Hi Tech Computers (HTC) is the world's largest maker of Windows Mobile phones. HTC is about to try to change this in the US with a multi million dollar advertising campaign dubbed "Set Your Fingers Free" which will be running in print, outdoor, online and on cable TV channels. The TV spot can be seen on HTC's US web site. It looks like the ad campaign is an admission that people want to use their fingers rather than a stylus, and of course an ode to the iPhone..

In an attempt to develop more brand awareness in the US, a year ago HTC placed it's logo on the back of each phone.

The back of my AT&T Tilt.

US residents can now also sign up for HTC's e-Club which includes hot fixes and ROM upgrades, however it is not much good unless you own an HTC branded device (no carrier devices can be registered). When I tried to register my unlocked AT&T Tilt which is an HTC Kaiser, I received this message: "Unable to register your serial number. The serial number you entered is not for an HTC branded product".

Back from my 2 week hiatus

 I thought I would blog during my vacation but I never found the time or inclination to write...It did give me a chance to ponder what my upcoming blog posts should be about. Here are some of those thoughts:

The big announcement while I was away was the release date and specification of Apple's 3G phone. I still have not watched Steve Jobs keynote, but from all the blog posts, I have perused, it looks like it was mostly about the price and 3G performance. On the price side, I found the new agreement with AT&T to subsidize the 3G iPhone very interesting. Finally someone at AT&T has realized that they were not going to stop the hackers, you have to change the economics to make it less appealing to SIM unlock the iPhone. In the end, Apple does not care, they get their money one way or another. It also looks like AT&T made sure that the T-Mobile USA 1700 3G network band was not included. Even if I forgo the economics of signing a contract with AT&T and terminating it, the fact that I can't use the iPhone on the T-Mobile 3G network is a real negative. In the end I will have to wait for July 11th to see all the fine print before making any decision. All that said, at $199, this device is going to fly off the shelves. It was to bad that there was no announcement or inkling of any MID type computer.

I used my Tilt with the HTC Windows Mobile 6.1 ROM update extensively (I found it very stable) during my vacation and found it to be very stable. I had my iPhone with me but never really used it. I was in France for 10 days, purchased an SFR (Vodafone) pay as you go SIM card. Windows Mobile 6.1 detected the 3G network instantly, although the APN was wrong. It was configured as SFRWEB when it should have been SFRWAP. With the SFR pay as you go plan, you only have access to a subset of the Internet, however I was able to synchronize with Exchange via ActiveSync. I ended up not using data very much because of the cost. All in all it was convenient having a local number but with the Dollar's exchange rate it is more of a luxury than a necessity.

Every hotel we stayed at had free WIFI. This made accessing the web to synchronize my email and watch some US news (via SlingPlayer) from the Tilt a breeze. Another valuable benefit was using HotSpot@Home with my wife's T409. We were able to call back to the US for free. We were able to do this at 2 of the three hotels. I kept getting a connection failed at the one hotel. In the two hotels we were able to use HotSpot@Home, the connection at one was much better but at both hotels the service was usable. I can't emphasize how great a feature this is even if it is not 100% stable.

My other pet project while on vacation was to use my new Fujitsu U810 MID Tablet PC. I mentioned earlier that I ended up not using the iPhone I brought with me. I think the biggest reason was having full browsing access on the U810. With the current iPhone's ROM version, what makes it appealing to use is that it is fun and that Safari works very well. If you take that away, other than having iTunes, I had no real need for the device. Obviously the 2.0 ROM and all of the potential applications will be a game changer. The other piece of my project was the ability to easily transfer pictures from my camera which I will blog about later.

My review of the Cellpoint Flamingo Music earphones was published on pocketnow.com while I was away.

 

My Windows Mobile application list as of May 28th

Yesterday, I reported that I made the move on my AT&T Tilt to the official release of Windows Mobile 6.1 by HTC Europe for the TyTn II.  I initially tried  Dutty's 6.1 test ROM from xda-developers which had many issues, today I noticed he had appended his post title with "[AMBANDONNED DUE TO BUGS]".  The HTC ROM I downloaded from via this post on MoDaCo, seems to be running very well. It does not have the bells and whistle that Dutty's ROM had but I was able to make the tweaks I needed with Kaisertweak. I also ran the Tilt Keyboard fix to make the Tilt's keyboard work correctly.

I also updated quite a few applications.

My one disappointment so far was the fact my backup with Sunnysoft's Backup Manager did not restore correctly and I had install all my applications manually, but it does give me a clean environment. 

Update 5/30/2008: On 5/29/2008 I had problems accessing the Internet with PIE,  rebuilt my Tilt and removed the United Airline PocketFly application for fear of incompatibility with Pocket Internet Explorer in 6.1. I will have to test further.

Device Information:

• PPC Model: Kaiser (AT&T Tilt version)
• Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
• OS ROM version: CE OS 5.2.19212 (Build 19212.1.0.3) (downloaded from MoDaCo post)
• Radio ROM version: 1.65.16.25 (included in ROM download)
• Carrier: T-Mobile USA

Additions:

• My Faves  from xda-developers no version info
• Kaisertweak version .41
• Microsoft Voice Command version 1.60.4622.0
• SBSH Pocket Weather version 2.0.7 (great integration with Pocket Breeze) (review)

Upgrades:

• Spb Mobile Shell version 2.1
• PhatWare Calligrapher version 8.6
• WebIS Pocket Informant 8 version 8.02
• SBSH.net PocketBreeze version 5.4.1
• Windows Live Search version 3.0.3047.24749
• SlingPlayer Mobile version 1.6
• Omega One 1-Calc version 3.2.3
• Ilium Software Newsbreak version 2.1

Replacements/Removal:

• AdvancedConfig version 1.1 replaced by Kaisertweak

Is not stable with Windows Mobile 6:

Need to Try/Test:

• United Airlines Pocketfly timetable
• Sunnysoft's Backup Manager 4002 (review here) (restore did not work from WM6.0 to WM6.1)
• Gougelet PE XnView Pocket version 1.35 (I am not sure I need this anymore)
• Stowaway Keyboard and Mouse drivers version 4.51
• Fizz Software Ltd Fizz Weather version 2.4

In Storage Memory:

• Spb Mobile Shell version 2.1
• PhatWare Calligrapher version 8.6
• JetWare Bluetooth HFP Extensions version 1.31
• WebIS Pocket Informant 8 version 8.02
• SBSH.net PocketBreeze version 5.4.1
• Windows Live Search version 3.0.3047.24749
• WebIS VoiceMinder version 1.6
• Omega One 1-Calc version 3.2.3
• PhatWare Phatpad version 4.4
• Ilium Software eWallet version 6
• Ilium Software Newsbreak version 2.1
• Zagat To Go Version 6
• Developer One ScreenSnap version 6.1
• SlingPlayer Mobile version 1.6
• Tilt Keyboard fix
• Developer One ScreenSnap version 6.1
• T-Mobile HotSpot login utility version 2.0
• Six Apart Typepad application version 1.01
• GeeksToolbox.com SiriusWM5 (free)
• C. Ghisler & Co. Total Commander version 2.0
• BatteryStatus version 1.04.203 Beta4 Build 0253 (no overclocking with the Kaiser)
• T-Mobile My Faves from xda-developers no version info
• Kaisertweak version .41
• Microsoft Voice Command version 1.60.4622.0
• SBSH Pocket Weather version 2.0.7 (great integration with Pocket Breeze) (review)

In ROM Memory

The good thing about the HTC ROM is that it is not bloated. The only two extra applications I have noticed other than the standard HTC applications are:

• Adobe Reader LE 2.0
• World Card Mobile (a business card scanner, I need to try it out)

On 8GB Mini SD card:

Only data, for the moment I have no need to install application on the SD card...

Ramblings for the week of May 26th in My Digital Life

Last week I signed up for the T-Mobile Family 4-Pack promotion and so far I think it will work out very nicely. Here is a summary of my observations:

• The selected 5 My Faves numbers are tied to the phone and not the account. The bottom line is that you can't share My Faves number across your Family plan (too bad).
• Once the My Faves numbers have been validated by the phone's My Faves application, you can swap your SIM card into a phone which does not have the My Faves application (like the iPhone). Your calls  to your My Faves numbers still count in you My Faves unlimited bucket.
• You can only modify My Faves numbers once a month. The message I received was that I could change them on June 1.

All in all this looks to be an excellent promotion...

With the official release of Windows Mobile 6.1 from HTC Europe for the TyTn II, I decided to take the plunge and upgrade my AT&T Tilt this last weekend. After backing up my unit with Sunnysoft's Backup Manager, I decided to try Dutty's 6.1 test ROM from xda-developers. I was unable to restore my backup and the ROM had several issues, the most troublesome was that I could not get the GPS to work. I decided to try the official release of the HTC ROM, I had to download it via MoDaCo, since HTC won't allow the download to a non HTC branded device. At this point I decided not bother restoring and I installed all my applications from scratch. I will have to update my Windows Mobile application list with my current configuration. All seems to be working well, GPS included...

I received my Fujitsu U810 and so far I am very impressed with its build quality. It is not the fastest machine (it gets a 2.1 Vista processor score), but I think it works quite well for web, email and text processing. The tablet functionality works very well (this one area where Vista shines). The size and weight  are just about perfect for my shoulder bag. I will be traveling soon and will report back on how useful this little machine will be.

This week:

• Working on a review of CellPoint's Flamingo Music earphones.
• Update my Windows Mobile application list

T-Mobile My Faves and the iPhone

Yesterday, I discussed my theory of operation for My Faves and the excellent Family 4-Pack promotion.  I believe the My Faves numbers are categorized as free calls by the T-Mobile billing system, not the phone. The reason you need a phone with the My Faves application, is that when you add or modify a My Faves number, it has to be activated by the application. The My Faves applications does this with no charge SMS messages.  If you use the web site to manage your My Faves numbers and you don't have an active phone with the My Faves application, the phone number stays in a pending state. Once the application on the phone validates the number, it becomes an active My Faves number and you can switch phones.

I tried this last night. I updated and activated a phone number with the My Faves application on my AT&T Tilt. I then switched my SIM card over to my iPhone and placed a called. This morning I checked my account and the call shows up a My Faves call (V).

Now my only question is whether the My Faves numbers need to refreshed periodically. I will have to test over my next billing cycle.  And obviously at this point I can't manage My Faves numbers using the iPhone.

Disclaimer: Since I have no internal understanding of how My Faves work and this is just a theory, if you choose to try this you need to validate that it works by monitoring your account on the T-Mobile web site. I am not responsible for any charges on your T-Mobile account.

Ramblings for the week of May 19th in My Digital Life

Back in February I ranted about T-Mobile's lack of news and direction (link), however as comments pointed out they are tough to beat from a value perspective. This month they have again upped the ante on value with a special promotion through June 24 called the Family 4-Pack (link from tmonews.com). The Family 4-Pack adds:

• Unlimited HotSpot@Home
• Unlimited calling to each family members 5 favorite poeple
• Unlimited T-Mobile to T-Mobile
• Unlimited Nights and Weekend

All of this for $9.99 per month in addition to your base Family plan charge and since it is an option, it has no contractual commitment. I was paying $19.99 for the HotSpot@Home option, replacing it with the Family 4-Pack saves me $10 per month. Since I have 5 phones on our Family plan we can call up to 25 My Faves numbers for free (5 per phone which can be shared). In order to get this promotion T-Mobile checks to make sure that all of your phones are compatible with My Faves, they do not care so much if they are HotSpot@Home compatible. It was interesting to find out that they knew I had connected with my iPhone, Wing, and currently HTC Kaiser (aka AT&T Tilt). They were concerned that the HTC Kaiser did not have the My Faves application. I tried to explain that I could install the My Faves application on the Kaiser but they did not think it would work so I told them I would use the Wing. I downloaded the My Faves application from xda-developers (link), installed it and it works just fine. I have been wondering how My Faves works, at first I thought the software on the phone added a code to the number called, but I am thinking that it is the billing system that handles the matching of numbers so you do not get charged. The only function the software on the phone seems to do is activate the number in your account profile by sending SMS messages. Without the software on the phone the number does not get validated and it is not active as a My Faves number. I am assuming it only does this once when you initially enter or modify the number. I will have to test my theory with my iPhone. If I make a call to one of the activated My Faves number on the iPhone, it should show up as a V call (My Faves) in my account on the T-Mobile web site. Obviously I can't add or modify My Faves numbers with the iPhone since it has no application to validate the number. Maybe someone will write one...Bottom line, I think this is a great promotion and it will keep me as a T-Mobile customer. I am now just waiting for 3G. Also it seems you can only modify a My Faves number once a month which makes sense, since if you could change the numbers at will, the plan could be viewed as totally unlimited...

I have decided to try a UMPC this month, the Fujitsu U810 to see how it might fit in with my travel gadgets. It is a Tablet PC with Vista that has a 5.6" screen and weighs 1.56lbs. This would definitely solve my photo sharing dilemma since I could easily transfer files from my camera and upload them to the Kodak Gallery for sharing. Costco is currently selling the 40GB model with Vista Home for $849 and adds 1 year to the base 1 year warranty for free. It will be interesting to see how useful this UMPC is.

This week:

• My review of SBSH Mobile Software Facade application for pocketnow.com. should be published this week. This is a smartphone (Windows Mobile Standard) today screen replacement.
• Finishing on a review of SBSH Mobile Software Pocket Weather.
• Working on a review of CellPoint's Flamingo Music earphones.
• Update my Windows Mobile application list

Ramblings for the week of May 5th in My Digital Life

Unless you were living under a rock this weekend, the big technology news was that Microsoft bailed on the Yahoo acquisition. On its face value, I agree with the decision, I was never convinced that Microsoft could properly execute the merger. However, what I have found very interesting is the competition between the blogosphere and the traditional media in coming up with theories good or bad. Techmeme's front page is filled with links from both spheres. The one I found the most interesting (and it has nothing to do with my fascination with Apple...) was the post by fake Steve with the crank shot of Dr Evil (Ballmer) and Mini me (Gates). As the hard charging winner take all executive he is, I always think Ballmer has something up his sleeve and maybe he is gambling on Yahoo falling flat on its face, then picking up the pieces for next to nothing. We will just have to wait and see. In the end the  unfortunate issue in this story, is that Wall Street will decide Yahoo's fate rather than Yahoo, and we all know how fickle Wall Street can be...

I never got to put my 8GB micro SDHC card through it paces last week, by transferring my still pictures from my Sony camcorder. I found that my AT&T Tilt is very fickle when it comes to charging. In addition to the HTC charger, I have an iGo Juice and a Gomadic dual charger. Both of these allow me to charge multiple and different devices by changing the adapter plugs. Last month I had an issue with the iGo and the Tilt, the mini USB adapter I had used with the T-Mobile MDA and Wing did not work so I ordered one specific for the Tilt. This trip I took the Gomadic dual charger, (it does not charge laptops and is smaller), and the same is true, none  of the three adapters tips I had worked, at the end of the first day of travel the Tilt was dead. Good thing I took along my iPhone and Samsung i760. Unfortunately, the iPhone is not compatible with the Delkin USB Bridge and to my disappointment the i760 does not recognize the 8GB micro SDHC card. My planned experimentation was a bust...I was glad for GSM's SIM card technology so I could easily swap it into the iPhone, not true for Verizon's CDMA technology. If the i760 was my primary driver I would have been dead in the water since you can't easily swap phones...although EVDO worked great for watching Directv via my Slingbox.

As I was rushing out the door last Tuesday, Sling Media decided to announce they had released an update to the SlingPlayer mobile for Windows Mobile and I neglected to modify the formatting used by pocketnow.com (bbphp) and my blog (HTML). All fixed now...

This week:

• Finnish and publish my review of SBSH Mobile Software Facade application for pocketnow.com. This is a smartphone (Windows Mobile Standard) today screen replacement.

twitter on Windows Mobile

Infinitum Software has a twitter compatible application called Twobile designed for Windows Mobile. It provides much more functionality than the mobile twitter web site http://m.twitter.com and makes twittering on Windows Mobile much simpler. It also provides a complete view of twitter, including friends, messages, replies, public timeline, followers, statuses, favorites and features. I think that is about everything the twitter API offers up.

Twobile main screen on my Tilt.

This along with the Vista Gadget from Rod Begbie makes using twitter a breeze. Now all I need is to figure out twitter's real value...

 

The week of March 17th in My Digital Life

This week I have been using Spb Mobile Shell 2.0. The new features I am gravitating to are the ability to get detailed weather from the Now screen and accessing the contact screen. I find myself touching the icons at the bottom of the screen rather swiping across the screen. It is funny how the iPhone lends itself to swiping while for me the Kaiser doe not. Maybe it has to do with the Kaiser recessed screen vs the flush design of the iPhone. The psychology of how the device feels is so important. There is no doubt that smooth surfaces with limited edges appeal more to touching.

I finally updated my iPhone to 1.1.4 with ZiPhone to keep it jailbroken and IPSF unlocked. It could not be any easier and with Apple's restore process all my settings were put back into place. It will interesting to see how Apple handles the restore process when custom applications are part of the mix.

I ran into a Bluetooth issue on my XPS 720 this weekend. Basically the system does not recognize the Bluetooth module. Installing new drivers request that the module be turned using Fn + F2, but that is for laptops not desktops. There are threads alluding to the issue but none of the fixes worked. I did a chat with tech support, they were suppose to get back to me and ship me a new module but I have not heard anything. Out of the 4 contacts (2 chats 2 calls) I made with Dell tech support, calling seems get better results. I may call today regarding since I have not heard back from my chat session.

I will be finishing my article on Trapster.com this week.

This week:

• Work on trapster.com article.

My Windows Mobile application list as of March 12th

Since my last update I decided to use the GeeksToolbox.com SiriusWM5  application to listen to the Sirius (see my post). I also upgraded Spb Mobile Shell to version 2.0 (see my post).

I have not yet made the move to WM 6.1 although Dutty has a ROM on xda-developers, but it is on my to do list. Still love the Kaiser (AT&T Tilt), although I am using the Verizon SMT5800 with Windows Mobile standard as a secondary device. I will probably come up with a list of software I use on that phone...

duttythroy has a great library of application cabs here.

Device Information:

• PPC Model: Kaiser (AT&T Tilt version)
• OS ROM version: CE OS 5.2.1933 (Build 18533.dutty's) V3 Dutty's DualTouch ROM
• Radio ROM version: 1.27.15.32 download discussion thread
• Carrier: T-Mobile USA

Additions:

• GeeksToolbox.com SiriusWM5 (free)

Upgrades:

• Spb Mobile Shell version 2.0

Replacements/Removal:

• Back Country Navigator  version 2.3.3 (I don't use it enough)
• Holux's GPS Viewer 1.5 (similar although less powerful application GPS Test 1.04 built in to ROM)

Is not stable with Windows Mobile 6:

• SWC Ltd - MultiIE version v4.0-d72

Need to Try:

• Stowaway Keyboard and Mouse drivers version 4.51
• Fizz Software Ltd Fizz Weather version 2.4

In Storage Memory:

• Spb Mobile Shell version 2.0
• PhatWare Calligrapher version 8.5
• JetWare Bluetooth HFP Extensions version 1.31
• WebIS Pocket Informant 2007 revision 4
• SBSH.net PocketBreeze version 5.3
• Windows Live Search version 2.5.2908.31943 (I love the speak feature)
• WebIS VoiceMinder version 1.6
• Omega One 1-Calc version 2.3.1
• PhatWare Phatpad version 4.4
• Ilium Software eWallet version 6
• Ilium Software Newsbreak version 2.0
• Zagat To Go Version 6
• Developer One ScreenSnap version 6.1
• Gougelet PE XnView Pocket version 1.35
• Sunnysoft's Backup Manager 4002 (review here)
• SlingPlayer Mobile version 1.5.098
• Tilt Keyboard fix
• Developer One ScreenSnap version 6.1
• T-Mobile HotSpot login utility version 2.0
• United Airlines Pocketfly timetable
• Six Apart Typepad application version 1.01
• GeeksToolbox.com SiriusWM5 (free)

In ROM Memory (Dutty's ROM):

• C. Ghisler & Co. Total Commander version 2.5 Beta 3
• BatteryStatus version 1.04.203 Beta4 Build 0253 (no overclocking with the Kaiser)
• AdvancedConfig version 1.1

On 2GB Mini SD card:

For the moment I have no need to install application on the SD card...