My Digital Life

The week of March 10th in My Digital Life

We only have 3 months to wait until Exchange ActiveSync is available on iPhone. There are a few lucky Apple partners that are apparently using it now in beta form. But what's 3 months, I have been waiting for T-Mobile's 3G network for over a year now...All that said I am still happy with my unlocked AT&T Tilt running on T-Mobile. Today I will be loading SPB Mobile Shell 2.0 (pocketnow review) on the Tilt.

It looks like T-Mobile has made some additional upgrade to the [email protected] service. The call drops seem to have dissapeared, although I have noticed some conversation pause, but the call does not disconnect. Although still annoying I would rather have a pause in the conversation, then a dropped call.

All of my Verizon SMT5800 video reviews segments have now been posted on pocketnow.com, this week I will post the summary review. If you are looking for a Verizon Windows Mobile Standard device, I would take a hard look at this one, it is a solid performer.

My review of Altec Lansing's SoundBlade Bluetooth speaker should get posted this week on pocketnow.com. This is a good sounding Bluetooth speaker that doubles a full featured speakerphone.

I still need to update my iPhone to 1.1.4, hopefully I will have time this week. The problem with firmware updates is not the time it takes to perform the upgrade but the time you have to schedule in to deal with issues...

This week:

• Work on trapster.com article.

Sony Ericsson X1 on track for 2nd half, rumors of delay for the 3G iPhone

After rumors of a delay into 2009, Aldo Liguori, Sony Ericsson corporate vice president for global PR confirmed, to the unofficial Sony Ericsson blog, that the X1 (X1 official web site)  is on track to be delivered in the 2nd half of 2008.  Sony is as well known as Apple for its emphasis on design and with specification like these, the X1 could become a real competitor to the iPhone. The X1 does have its drawback with a maximum of 400MB of internal memory vs the current iPhone's 16GB and no iTunes. However, the X1 does have GPS, Bluetooth A2DP (stereo). and Exchange ActiveSync which are not available on the iPhone. The X1 also has quad band UMTS which will allow it to run on any UMTS system, including T-Mobile USA future 3G network. As has been rumored, this phone could be the Windows Mobile device T-Mobile USA launches it 3G network with. Let's hope...and maybe they can provide [email protected] functionality as well as Sony controlling software upgrades. I know that is probably too much to ask for.

On the iPhone side, according the Wall Street Journal, RBC analyst Mike Abramsky said the launch of Apple's 3G iPhone this summer could be delayed by carrier networks' testing and fine-tuning of the product. I have always thought that the launch of the 3G iPhone would be for the holidays and at this point this still holds true.

If both phones are available for the 2008 holiday season it will be interesting to see how the X1 fares against the iPhone.

Wall Street Journal reviews T-Mobile's Talk Forever

Walt Mossberg reviews T-Mobile' Talk Forever land line replacement plan. The title of his review is "T-Mobile Service Ties Cellphones to Home, With Some Sacrifices", (link to free article) if it is not an Apple product he will find something wrong to say about it. I agree no product is perfect, not even Apple products, but to put forward such a title for a review gives the audience a less than good taste before they even start reading the article.

As I read the article the only thing he could find wrong with the service was the fact that it does not work with devices that use analog modems like alarm systems and Fax machines. His other comment was about 911, he states: "Also, unlike landline phones, it doesn't automatically transmit your home address to 911 emergency centers. You have to manually supply that address to T-Mobile during signup, and the company then sends it to your local emergency center." . These two sentences make no sense. What is the difference between "automatically transmit" and "send". In both cases the address of record is transmitted to the 911 center. The only differences is that the land line phone systems have a direct connection to 911 centers, while VOIP and cell phone services use E911 which uses an intermediary system to transmit the address. I would not call these sacrifices, rather quirks with the service that you need to consider before shutting off you land line. These are the same trade offs you have to make if you want to switch to VOIP, although services like Vonage provide some level  of fax and alarm system compatibility.  I still have a land line because I want a reliable fax line and I have an alarm system, although I am always researching alternatives.

The bottom line; he loved the service. He states: "For my tests, I used a cordless phone supplied by T-Mobile, which included a base station and one extension handset. I was able to make and receive calls all over my home in exactly the same manner, and with exactly the same quality, as I do with my normal cordless landline service.". This sounds like an endorsement to me. To date I can't say that about my [email protected] service, but I have not tried T-Mobile new router and setup.

 

The week of February 25th in My Digital Life

I started writing this post on my iPhone using Typepad's Safari web application (http://i.typepad.com). Using the iPhone touch based keyboard takes a little while to get used but is usable. It takes a light touch which shows how responsive the screen is. It is really to bad Apple did not implement cut and paste, but hopefully they will add it in the not too distant future. I am sitting outside  and wished my ThinkPad screen work as well in the sunlight. I am finding that the TypePad Safari application does not work very well if you type more than a paragraph, it seems that they forgot to add a text scrolling function. I am able to write as much text as I want, but editing it is close to impossible. I am signed up for a TypePad mobile beta, but have not heard anything back from them. Back to ECTO on my Thinkpad. I can't wait for the iPhone SDK to come out at the end of the week. It will be very interesting to see what applications come out in the next six months. The ones I really want are Pocket Informant, Sling Player, and some type of Exchange ActiveSync email client.

I am traveling this weekend and after ranting, I have to give kudos to T-Mobile. I flew out from Washington on Friday and had my flight canceled due to weather which meant waiting around at Dulles airport. I was pleasantly surprised to find that T-Mobile HotSpot was available all over the airport .  Dulles has done something very interesting and very consumer friendly, they have allowed all the major WIFI providers access to their wireless infrastructure. This means that you can access the Internet with just about any account. My wife's [email protected] T409 also connected on its own without issue. She successfully made and received several calls. This goes in the + column for service and value.

This week:

• Finish the Verizon SMT5800 video review this week
• Finish the Altec Lansing SoundBlade Bluetooth speaker review for publication next week

The week of February 18th in My Digital Life

I have had a busy weekend and week migrating a customer from a hosted Exchange 2003 environment to an in house Exchange 2007. Exchange 2007 is an improvement over Exchange 2003, however it has its quirks. I have not had time to blog or work on my reviews, but there has been some interesting news this week. It looks like all the major carriers are or will be offering unlimited plans. The price point seems to be $99 for a single line. I just read in WSJ that T-Mobile has officially announced their land line [email protected] program which allows you to plug in traditional phones into a $50 router and $10 per month. I may have to try it to see if it resolves the call drops my wife experiences with her T409 and our [email protected] service. It looks like HD-DVD is slowly dying with NetFlix's announcement that they will only carry Blueray DVDs and that Toshiba will stop building HD-DVD devices.

Authored with Pocket SharpMT and sent via T-Mobile's Edge Network

My rant of the day - What is happening with T-Mobile!

I have been a T-Mobile customer since the Voicestream days. I embraced GSM technology early because it was available in more places worldwide than anything else. These days this is still true, however after making some leaps forwards with coverage and technology, T-Mobile seems to be losing technological and marketing ground to AT&T at such pace that I am seriously considering switching.

On the technology side:

• The lack of 3G is starting to impact my use of T-Mobile . While AT&T just announced another major upgrade to its 3G network, T-Mobile is still using EDGE with no word or date for 3G. I end up having to use a Verizon EVDO card for data access on my laptop. If I was using AT&T I could tether my phone to the laptop; no need for the extra card and service.
• There have not released a new business class Windows Mobile phone since the Wing. The Wing is a very nice device but in over 6 months T-Mobile has failed to fix the memory leak. You must resort to hacking in order to make the device really usable. I am now using an AT&T Tilt on the T-Mobile network, unfortunately I can't use 3G.
• The [email protected] service is a great addition, however the available phones are lackluster. They released the Blackberry Curve with [email protected] capability but where is the Windows Mobile device with that support. The technology is good but it is not 100% stable, my wife gets frequent disconnects (1-2 times a day) during conversations making it very frustrating to use. I don't seem to have the problem but I don't use it as much since it does not work with Windows Mobile.

On the marketing side:

• T-Mobile has lost Starbucks locations for their HotSpot service to AT&T (press release). T-Mobile HotSpot is effectively loosing 7,000 locations. T-Mobile's website (link) mentions 8,888 locations. If you subtract the 7,000 Starbucks locations, that leave 1,888 locations. With Starbucks AT&T WIFI locations jump to 17,000. Does this mean the end of the T-Mobile HotSpot service? One of the innovative features on T-Mobile HotSpot service, was the ability to use you [email protected] phone for free, now that will be gone as well.
• They have not released a powerful or exciting phone for a while now, and they have nothing that comes close to the pizazz of the iPhone. The Blackberry Curve has nothing technologically advanced about it and the Shadow is not very exciting.

They seem have lost their way and are standing still. That is sad, because I always viewed them as the up and coming underdog deploying new technology in step with competitors. At one point they were even better on price, but looking at the AT&T plan offerings it looks like AT&T is matching them. They are loosing the differentiation battle in a big way, the only thing that is holding me back is the dreaded contract. If T-Mobile does not have anything new and exciting by the time my contract is up, I will be forced to look elsewhere for my cellular service...

Update 2/13/08: T-Mobile released a statement yesterday that they had signed a five year roaming agreement with AT&T. This will allow T-Mobile HotSpot customers to roam on AT&T WIFI network in Starbucks owned outlets at no extra charge.

My Windows Mobile application list as of January 30th

As I reported on Monday, I flashed the radio ROM on my Tilt with 1.27.15.32 off of the newly released HTC ROM. This radio ROM seems to provide noticeably better GSM signal strength. The downside is slow GPS acquisition time, but that is OK given the improvement with the GSM reception. One other note about the GPS, if you cannot acquire your position, such as inside a building rebooting seems to be the only solution to get it going again when you step outside.

Dutty released V4 of his custom ROM and I may update this weekend. Since I don't have any major issues with V3, I am not chomping at the bit to upgrade. Dutty is working on a WM 6.1 upgrade, I may just wait for that.

Since I now have Sirius in my BMW, I have gotten use to listening to their programming from BBC One to Classic Vinyl and with the included streaming service I can listen using my PC, however now I am turning my attention to listening to Sirius on my Tilt. I found three solutions which I am testing:

• Emulamer's SiriusCE (free)
• SelectRadio ($25USD)
• GeeksToolbox.com SiriusWM5 (free)

I will report back on my choice later.

I just updated Zagat To Go to version 6. The OTA download at m.zagat.com is temporarily unavailable, but I downloaded it from the Handmark website. This update should provide a better solution for dialing the establishments directly from Zagat To Go.

It is clear that the Bluetooth headset volume is an issue with the Tilt and you need to use a headset which has some amplification capability such as my Blueant V12. I am satisfied with the volume, although I have it set to 10. I have not tried it in a very noisy environment.

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:

Upgrades:

• Zagat To Go Version 6

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 1.5
• 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

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...

My Windows Mobile application list as of January 3rd

My new AT&T Tilt has brought a new environment with a host of updated applications found in Dutty's DualTouch ROM. I am pretty much using the same set of applications I have been using. The one very nice feature of the ROM is that applications like Battery Status and Total Commander are included in the ROM (I added an In ROM section). With over 110MB of available Program memory I have installed all of my application in Program Memory. I am currently at 88MB, which is excellent.  This leaves my 2GB free for media and documents. I tried to use the HTC Home screen but found that the spb Mobile Shell was still superior along with PocketBreeze. So my Today screen remains the same.

There is very nice utility called AdvancedConfig version 1.1 which allows you to tweak all of the performance variable and suggests appropriate settings.

duttythroy has a great library of application cabs here.

Eventhough Dutty's post on xda-developers says that the .NET Compact Framework 3.5 is installed in ROM, I had to install the .NET CF 2.0 for Zagat To Go and the AdvancedConfig utility reports .Net CF version 2.0.6129.0 so I am not sure what is going on..

Device Information:

• PPC Model: Kaiser
• OS ROM version: CE OS 5.2.1933 (Build 18533.dutty's) V2
• Radio ROM version: 1.27.12.32
• Carrier: T-Mobile USA

Additions:

• AdvancedConfig version 1.1
• duttythroy Adobe Reader version 2_00_288531
• Google Maps version 2.0.012

Upgrades:

• Omega One 1-Calc version 2.3.1
• PhatWare Phatpad version 4.4
• Ilium Software eWallet version 6
• BatteryStatus version 1.04.203 Beta4 Build 0253 (built into ROM)
• JetWare Bluetooth HFP Extensions version 1.31
• C. Ghisler & Co. Total Commander version 2.5 Beta 3 (built into ROM)
• Windows Live Search version 2.5.2908.31943 (I love the speak feature)

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
• Gougelet PE XnView Pocket version 1.35
• Sunnysoft's Backup Manager 4002 (review here)
• SlingPlayer Mobile version 1.5.098

In Storage Memory:

• Spb Mobile Shell version 1.5
• 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 5.0.14
• Developer One ScreenSnap version 6.1

In ROM Memory:

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

On 2GB Mini SD card:

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

Google Maps Mobile 2.0

 

Update 11/30/07: After using the new version of Google Maps yesterday, here are my thoughts. This is a nice feature but currently it is not very usable unless you are driving along roads like interstate highway where cell towers are placed along the side of the road. Driving from point a to b on an interstate highway gives you pretty good location accuracy, however once you drive into a neighborhood the location information is not very accurate and I find it less than useful. Hopefully Google can tweak their calculation to make this feature more usefull.

Google just released a new version of Google Maps for Windows Mobile (download link) which includes an interesting beta feature that attempts to determine your location based on the cell tower you are connected to and your signal strength.

The feature worked with my T-Mobile Wing, however I could not get it to work with the Verizon i760 ("your location is temporarily unavailable"). On the T-Mobile Wing, it told me that my location was within 1700 meters from the tower. Unfortunately it did not give any indication of direction from the tower. Right now the beta feature does not seem to useful, however I think it has potential if they can figure out direction from the tower. I will be trying it in different locations today and will report back.

 

Will T-Mobile USA turn on 3G in December?

Will T-Mobile USA turn on its 3G network in December? That is the question. Rumors are flying that T-Mobile USA will make a big announcement regarding 3G on or around December 6th. Apparently the upgrades are almost complete and they have been waiting for the U.S. Government to relinquish the air space.

For as long as they have been working on this upgrade, T-Mobile has done a great job of keeping details secret. No one seems to know if the coverage will be be nationwide or just in the test cities of New York, Seattle, and San Fransisco. There is also very little known about the 3G devices that will be available. No one is clear on what frequencies will be used (850, 1700, 1900, and/or 2100), the only clue we have is the HTC Kaiser is a tri-band, 850/1900/2100 UMTS device.

As T-Mobile customers, our wait may be coming to an end. Let's hope anyway.