My Digital Life

My CES 2008 wrap up

As the press frenzy of the International Consumer Electronics Show CES 2008 winds down, it is time to review what I saw during those few days, and write up my thoughts and opinions of my first visit. I tried to see a bit of everything and will report on more than Windows Mobile. It was quite a week, so much to see and so little time with 140,000 of my closest friends ...I was definitely on information overload but in the end I concluded that all of the technology on display was evolutionary and there was nothing revolutionary, that said there were areas of the shows that were very interesting. I have whittled the interesting technologies into the following areas:

• GPS devices and associated applications
• Touch and Gesture user interface paradigm
• HD DVD and Blu-ray
• Wireless audio and video component connectivity
• Bluetooth
• Smartphones

Read my thoughts on pocketnow here.

Microsoft 27% 1st quarter growth not seen since 1999

Microsoft announced a 1st quarter 27% growth in revenue and 23% growth in net income. The Entertainment and Device Division revenue grew 91% thanks to Halo 3 and the XBox 360. The stock rose 11% in after hours trading. There was no mention of how Windows Mobile did.

In the second quarter, they are looking for a flat to -8% growth over last year's record revenue of $2.97 Billion. I guess the new Zune lineup will not help the bottom line!

From Microsoft Investor relations PowerPoint found here.

More insight can found on the SeattlePI Microsoft blog.

HTC steps up to the plate with TouchFlo gestures

The one innovation I am most enamored on the iPhone are the finger gestures.  At first I was a little skeptical that you could totally replace the stylus, but with the large 3.5" screen a stylus is no longer necessary. The end of your fingers (not your nail) works quite well.

Windows Mobile has been lagging in this area and Microsoft has not stepped up to the plate in the short term. Windows Mobile 7 is supposed to have some touch innovations, but at this point there is little information on this new release. In the meantime HTC, the premier OEM for Windows Mobile devices, is trying the fill the gap as best as it can. Although, Microsoft's intent with the Windows Mobile business model was to let OEMs innovate on top of the OS, I think finger gestures need to be part of the OS. They need to implement these in the same way they provided an API for ink recognition.

Here is a video courtesy of msmobiles.com demonstrating some gestures developed by HTC in their photo application:

Here is the link the HTC's Touch website.

Slingmedia sold to EchoStar Communications

Just last weekend, when I was using my Slingbox to view the Washington Redskins games off of my Directv HR20 DVR while I was in South Carolina, I was thinking how great it would be to have the Slingbox integrated into the DVR. This would eliminate the Digital to Analog and Analog to Digital conversions that occur going from the DVR to the Slingbox to IP streaming. The integration of Slingbox with the DVR would produce a better quality stream and help eliminate the remote control lag.

I guess I was not the only one thinking of this. EchoStar Communications, the owners of the Dish network, announced yesterday  (Sling Media press release) that it had purchased Sling Media for $380 million. This opens up a new front for the satellite TV service provider against Directv and the cable companies. EchoStar Communications is also investigating splitting up the company in two; a satellite television service unit (Dish Network) and a product/technology unit which would include Sling Media.

T-Mobile drops Total Internet add on data plan price to $19.99/month

The T-Mobile Total Internet add on data plan was $29.99, it is now $19.99. There seems to be some confusion over the start date of this change, however as of today it is active on my account. The T-Mobile Total Internet add on data plan includes access to their GPRS/EDGE and T-Mobile HotSpots networks. For $19.99, this is an excellent deal.

This new pricing maybe a pre-cursor to a $29.99 3G data plan, hopefully in the near future...

Ilisum Software releases ListPro 5.0

Ilium software is releasing version 5.0 of their award winning ListPro Windows Mobile application today. ListPro allows your create and organize shopping lists, to do lists, and checklists.

The major new features and improvements in Version 5 provide the ability:

• Change the font, the text size, and format your text in bold, underline, or italics
• Add pictures to collections, contact lists, or any item that you want to associate with an image
• Link directly to web sites from within the notes for quick access to more information
• Use bullet points and item numbering in your notes
• Share lists with friends or post them to your website with the new HTML export option
• Turn any list into a news feed using the new RSS/XML export option
• Send lists to any Windows Mobile Pocket PC or Smartphone instantly with one-click List Publishing
• Take important files with you - link images and documents to your lists and publish them to your mobile device using the Linked Files Folder
• Get started fast with the ListPro Companion step-by-step user guide
• More than 25 new templates including approved templates for Getting Things Done by David Allen

And a brand new look. You can find more information here. Over the next month I will be putting ListPro 5.0 through it's paces for review on pocketnow.com.

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.

Apple's iPhone and Corporate IT

According to the Wall Street Journal, corporate IT departments are being bombarded with requests on whether they will support corporate email on the iPhone. The overwhelming response is no, since the iPhone is only going to support POP3 and IMAP, two protocols which do not afford the security and device manageability of the Blackberry or Exchange servers.

This is an interesting parallel for Windows Mobile users who have hit brick wall with corporate IT departments which only support Blackberry's. The one difference may be the numbers of individuals (including CEOs) who will end up owning the iPhone. They may force stubborn IT departments to look at other solutions which support multiple device types. I am not sure what those solutions are, but I have to think that Apple is looking hard at this. The individuals who can afford the iPhone will include people in positions of power within corporations, if Apple does not respond to the security and remote administrative issues they could loose a large segment of buyers.

That said I think Apple is helping all of us break down a key barrier (hard for me to say but it is true); OS updates controlled by the carriers. The Apple contract with AT&T gives them total control of software updates, this may open the road for Microsoft to be more forceful with the carriers. You can see this already emerging with stores like Mobile Planet which provide an avenue to buy unlocked devices with a basic OS image. I know everyone wants a cheap device (subsidized), however given how much junk the carriers are putting on Windows Mobile devices with little Program Memory to spare, I think this is an approach worth considering. Apple will be selling the iPhone for $499 and $599 for a locked device with a 2 year AT&T contract (no subsidy here), this is no bargain. If you compare the HTC Touch at $589.95 on Mobile Planet, you get an unlocked phone with no contract. The only downside I see is the amount of memory 128MB and 64 MB on the Touch is still a far cry from the 8GB available for $599 on the iPhone. HTC really needs to step up...

On a side note; I know most members of the Microsoft Windows Mobile team feel our pain with bloated carrier OS images and little memory to spare, however everyone I talked to at TechEd are running the base OS on their devices, maybe they need to use the stock devices sold by carriers. They can then feel our pain and understand our plight better....

Pieter Knook, Senior Vice President, Microsoft Mobile and Embedded Devices division press conference at the 3GSM Congress

Here is the link to the webcast of his press conference at the 3GSM World Congress. Since T-Mobile USA won't have access to Apple's iPhone, they have chosen to cozy up to Microsoft and be the first to release Windows Mobile 6 devices. Hopefully that will go hand in hand with the deployment of their HSPDA broadband network.

It has also been interesting that Apple's and Cisco's fight over the iPhone brand name has been quiet.

Another reason to love Windows Mobile...

Like we need another reason...Anyway one of the great attributes of Windows Mobile is that it that it allows the use sophisticated applications like the Slingplayer.

Here is an example of the power. Today I received an email from a family member reminding me that an excellent documentary was on HBO tonight. I am out of town this week and am unable to view it. Using Slingplayer I was able to program my Directv Tivo back home to record the show. I can choose to view it later on my MDA or wait until I return home. Sure over T-Mobile's Edge network the viewing quality is not great, but I am amazed how well the Slingbox and Slingplayer optimize the viewing experience with the available bandwidth.

Try doing that with another device...

Posted using Word Mobile and PocketSharp MT