My Digital Life

The week of October 29th in My Digital Life

Last Saturday, I received a Verizon Samsung SCH-i760 Windows Mobile phone to review for pocketnow.com. This phone has an interesting form factor with a numeric phone keypad on the front and a sliding qwerty keyboard. It has a 400MHZ processor and will be an interesting comparison to my T-Mobile Wing's 260MHZ overclocked processor. This will be my first video review. The video reviews are usually made up of 6 clips lasting about 3 minutes. They detail the aspects and operation of the device. I posted the  first in the series (the unboxing) today at pocketnow.com. This is an interesting medium, which requires more practice on my part...I am using my Sony DSC-W70 7.2 MP still camera to shoot the videos. I am consistently amazed at the quality of the videos it takes.

I finally finished my comparison of Windows Live Search 2.5 and Google Maps applications for Windows Mobile. During the process, I was amazed how much better Windows Live Search was than Google Maps. The article should get posted shortly on pocketnow.com.

These days it seems Apple makes news every couple of days. Today, the Wall Street Journal had article about Apple's new policy on the sale of iPhones. They will no longer accept cash and are limiting purchases to 2 units per person (the previous limit was 5). They are trying to stem the flow of sales to resellers. Tim Cook, Apple's COO mentioned in a conference call with analysts last week that Apple estimates that out of the 1.4 Million iPhone solds, 250,000 were purchased by customers intending to hack them (a fairly significant number). The iPhone dev team has finally put together a simple method to jailbreak version 1.1.1. Instructions can be found here. I may restore via iTunes this week and try it.

This week:

• Work on part 1 and 2 of my video review of the SCH-i760.
• Finnish a review of the iqua BHS-303 Bluetooth headset. Bluetooth headset are getting better and better, this one is quite impressive so far
• I am also adding a Sirius satellite receiver to my BMW. After my navigation computer and radio tuner upgrade, this should be plug and play. The real work will be installing the antenna inside the X5's rear spoiler, but the X5world instructions are excellent.

BMW DVD navigation computer upgrade - Part II

The first part of my project can be found here.

There are three connectors on the BMW navigation computer, Two are for I-Bus connectivity and one for the GPS antenna. Since the navigation computer is activated by any door opening and the swap needs to be done when the unit is asleep there are two ways to exchange the systems. Disconnect the battery or wait, with the rear hatch open, for 15-20 minutes until the navigation computer powers down. I chose the second method, the swap went as planned and the BMW MKIV DVD navigation computer booted successfully.

However the swap is not fully plug and play. From an electrical and connectivity standpoint it is, however from a software standpoint additional configuration needs to be performed. I found that the navigation computer was configured (in BMW terms "coded) for German. I was able to switch the language to British but found that this is different from US English. There are two major modes in the configuration; one is US, the other is Euro. The navigation computer I received is in Euro mode and the only way to get into US mode is to take it to the dealer or use a PC to I-Bus interface (link describing the process). Some of differences between the US English and British configuration is the use of feet vs yards and the voice/vocabulary used for navigation/voice commands. Everyone seems to like the British voice better, however the feet vs yard display is not universally liked by US drivers. I like feet better so the next major step in this process for me will be to code/configure the unit for US mode using the information from the X5World forum.

Interestingly the car's electronic configuration data does not seem to propagate across devices immediately. When I first drove the car, even though I had changed the language setting to British, the Bluetooth telephone display had some German labels. After about 30 minutes of driving, all the different screens seem to be updated correctly. The same effect occurred with the GPS' positioning, it took about 15 minutes before the car's position on the map was accurate. I am still having some connection issues with Bluetooth which I did not have before. It could be because of the Euro coding or I may have to re-pair my T-Mobile MDA.

I also decided to upgrade the MKIV navigation computer to the latest firmware available which is 4/1-80. I received the unit with 4/1-71. Again using the information on X5World found here, the process was painless.

Yesterday, I received the latest US 2007.1 DVD maps from Navteq (I was using my old maps on CD). The DVD contains the entire country, much more map detail and has more information about sites, restaurants and the likes.

A major new feature in the map display, on the MKIV navigation computer, is called perspective mode. This is the ability to view the maps at a 3D angle with the horizon in the background, however to turn this feature on you have to go into a hidden menu (very bizarre). I had trouble getting to the hidden menu but with the help of members on the X5World forum, I managed to access it yesterday. It looks very nice although, I am not sure how useful it is for driving. It was probably added for marketing purposes to match what Lexus and Honda have.

So far I am very happy with my upgrade. Here are the items I found so far that have made the upgrade worthwhile:

• Much faster map display.
• Related location Information contains phone number which can be automatically dialed from the navigation screen.
• Map views can scale to 500 miles (in US mode you can go to 1000).
• When you set the map heading to match the vehicle heading the map turns as you turn. On the MKIII, the map would redisplay. It takes a little time to get use to it but it is much smoother.
• Minor street details displays at 1/2 mile scale (900 yards in British Euro mode).
• Zip code entry for destination.

Next step Euro to US recode as soon as I receive my I-Bus interface. I am also lost my arrival time (I use this a lot), however it seems to be a known issue and the recoding process will fix it.

Upgrade of BMW MKIII CD based GPS computer to MKIV DVD based GPS computer

I recently decided to upgrade from a CD based MKIII GPS computer in my 2002 BMW to a DVD based MKIV GPS computer for everal reasons:

• Having to switch CDs when driving south from Washington, DC into North Carolina or west in Pittsburgh, PA.
• Faster processing speed of DVD based GPS computer.
• Better graphics.
• More information on maps.
• BMW is continuing to upgrade the software for the DVD based computer while the last update for the CD based DVD computer was released at least 3 years ago. I am afraid Navtech will also stop updating the maps. The current release for CD maps is 2006.2 while the DVD maps is 2007.1.
• Possibility of adding integrated Sirius satellite receiver with the purchase of a new radio.

From my research which was mostly done on X5 world (great source of BMW and X5 information), everyone on the forum views this as a plug and play replacement. The problem in the US is that you can only purchase a new navigation computer from a dealer. The retail price is around $2500. When you return your old navigation computer the price drops to around $1800 with various discounts. The cost is really not justifiable, I don't quite understand why BMW makes it so price prohibitive to upgrade. You can however purchase a used one in Europe via eBay. I found one and purchased it for about $800 from a seller which seems reputable, naviandbmwparts. I received it yesterday, installed it and will report back shortly on my experience.

Update 1/9/06: Link to Part II of my project.

The week of January 1st in My Digital Life

Updated 1/2/07 to fix PocketBreeze beta link.

A brand new year and it looks like I have lined myself up for a bunch of projects:

• I have finally decided to take the plunge into HDTV with a purchase of a Sony KDL-46XB2 46" LCD television. Even though the unit is on back order, the end of year specials were too good to pass up, I have waited a long time for LCD technology to come of age and pricing to be fairly reasonable, although I have to say that the price was still hard to swallow. This is the most by far that I have ever spent on any piece of audio/video gear or computer gear. This television will replace my 17 year old 32" XBR which is tube based and has been great, I hope I am satisfied with the quality of the LCD picture, with HD I think I should be. Moving to HD involves a slew of other decisions for my setup; such as staying with Directv or going with Comcast. Unfortunately Verizon FIOS is not yet an option down my street. Then there is the remote control issue, I have built an infrared network to all my components and generate IR signals with a HomeVision controller. I never bought a multifunction remote, I just use my Sony T-60 Directv DVR remote and generate the appropriate IR signals for all my A/V components with the Homevision controller. It has worked pretty well although it was not perfect, which begs the question on whether I should go with a multi function remote like the Logitech Harmony series. Lots of questions to be answered and much more blogging on the subject...
• I received a Slingbox Pro for Christmas. It was fairly painless to install and configure. So far I am quite impressed and will write up my experience.
• I decided to upgrade my CD based MKIII GPS navigation computer in my BMW to a newer faster MKIV DVD navigation computer. The BMW I-Bus infrastructure has been great, it has allowed me to add iPod integration with steering wheel controls/song display and Bluetooth for my phone. The GPS upgrade will be a simple plug and play. BMW has been ahead of the game when it comes to in car electronics integration, the fact that I can upgrade my 2002 to current technology, that is just becoming available on other cars, has allowed me to continue getting value out of a great vehicle.
• Phatware released Phatpad 4.0 on December 19th, I will be upgrading my PhatPad 3.0 this week. It looks like they made a lot of enhancement for Tablet use.

Reviews I am working on:

• I need to finish a review of the latest version of the Bluetooth Hands Free extension by Jetware Mobile which works well with my BMW Bluetooth ULF module.
• I will be reviewing the new sunnysoft Backup Manager, I have been using Sprite Backup 5.1, it will be interesting to see how sunnysoft stacks up.
• Spectec is about to release an SDIO GPS receiver with an additional slot which I will be reviewing.
• SBSH Mobile Software is about to release a new version of Pocket Breeze. A public beta of version 5.2 is available here. I will be installing this week.

The week of December 18th in My Digital Life

Having been a long time T-Mobile (VoiceStream) customer, it was good to see the December edition of Consumer Reports with their annual cell phone survey showing that T-Mobile had made significant strides over last year. T-Mobile's investment in their network is paying off (as a user I can vouch for that) and they need to continue expanding as well as quickly implementing 3G.

I usually take Consumer Reports reviews and surveys with a grain of salt. Many times you need to read between the lines to see if a product will meet your needs because their selection of top picks is most of the time based on subjective input. Surveys being the biggest culprit. The cell phone survey received 42, 921 responses gathered randomly from subscribers. Although the data has statistical faults, I think you can see trends from last year's survey. Survey respondents overall still liked Verizon and kept it at the top, however T-Mobile as a national carrier and Alltel as a regional carrier are going head to head with Verizon in most markets. If you want a cheaper alternative and international roaming T-Mobile is clearly the winner.

They also reviewed Smart Phones and given some of the national pundits reviews of the T-Mobile MDA, I was very pleasantly surprised that they rated the T-Mobile MDA at the top with a score equal to the Treo 700P and above the Treo 700WX. Given the MDA's superior functionality I don't agree that it is equal to the 700P, however having played with the 700WX I agree that the MDA is better even with Palm's special Today plug in. This is especially true with all the tweaks that the community has developed to make the MDA shine.They also gave Windows Mobile excellent marks in usability. The most interesting piece of the ratings was the Blackberry Pearl which found itself towards the bottom of the scores but at the top of a category called "Basic Smart Phones" which included the Motorola Q, Nokia N80, and SideKick 3. The Treos, MDA, and Nokia 9300 where in category of "Advanced Smart Phones".

Last week Ilium Software released eWallet 5.0. The major difference with 4.1 are the many synchronization options and support for Vista, although I am not sure I need to spend the $16.95 for the upgrade, the Vista compatibility will probably force my hand..

Items I am working on this week:

• A review of the latest version of the Bluetooth Hands Free extension by Jetware Mobile which works well with my BMW Bluetooth ULF module.

T-Mobile MDA - Half way through the 14 day return window

I am half way through my 14 day return window on my T-Mobile MDA (a.k.a. HTC Wizard), last week I blogged about my initial impressions. What do I think of the device today?

• I love the form factor and one handed operation is great, especially with the addition of the smartkey program.
• Bluetooth with my BMW X5 works but sometimes I can’t get the phone book to show up on the car’s display. I had a problem with the quality of the car’s microphone but adjusting the MDA phone volume seems to help. I do like the fact that the phone can      be in standby and still receive calls through the car’s audio system.
• The Flash ROM Program size of 44.08 is really too small and as reported on some forums, some applications leek memory and a soft reboot is required periodically. I have found that with heavy use, I need to reboot every 2-3 days. I use OmegaOne Battery Pack Pro to terminate programs that do not have an exit function.
• I purchased a Kingston 1GB mini SD card. I tried to uninstall Ilium’s NewsBreak RSS reader, to reinstall it on the SD card. Something went wrong and it did not uninstall correctly, now I can’t reinstall. I am afraid I will have to do a hard reset. A hard reset is performed by using the Clear Storage program in settings/system which reinitializes the storage flash.
• I have not had a problem with the processor speed, although I do want to try the performance tweaks provided on the xda-developer forum.
• The thumb keyboard takes some time to get used to, for now I still prefer Phatware’s Calligrapher Write Pad.
• The placement of and extensible design of the stylus is not great, I will probably start carrying my Rotring Quattro pen/stylus.
• I have gotten Edge data speed up to 180Kbps, but it is pretty consistently around 120Kbps in Arlington, VA.
• Email pull every 10 minutes has not been a problem, but I would love to try push.
• Signal strength has been fine for my use, but it is not as good as my trusty Nokia 6310i.

All in all so far I like the MDA and currently plan on keeping it. It is definitely in another league than the problem plagued HP iPaq hw6315. I think some upgrades to the GSM and Bluetooth stacks will help the MDA achieve its full potential, but it is currently a very useable and stable device.  The xda-devoloper forum is a real help in getting the most out the MDA.

T-Mobile MDA - Initial impression

I just purchased a T-Mobile MDA (a.k.a. HTC Wizard) and plan to blog about my trials and tribulations. 

• Bluetooth pairing with my BMW X5 worked and it does transfer the contacts to the car’s address book. I will need to do some more testing, but this is a good sign.
• I was able to easily pair it with ActiveSync 4.1 using my instructions here.
• I am confused about the 128MB RAM which only shows about 44MB available, I will need to research more.
• I need to purchase a mini SD card; it is too bad they could not fit an SD slot.
• I made two tweaks to Pocket IE; Views set to default and Zoom set to smaller. The screen is very crisp and this allows for a better display of non mobile sites.
• I love pulling out the keyboard and the display automatically switching to landscape. This was a simple but brilliant idea.
• The MDA is a little thick but I like the way it feels in my hand.
• The processor speed seems fine. 

A couple of forums that I am checking out are: 

1. XDA-Developers; this forum was extremely helpful when I owned the XDA.
2. Howard Forums - T-Mobile, great site for specific carriers.
3. I am taking a look at this site devoted to the Wizard.