10:01 AM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Here's an offer any great Windows developer might have trouble ignoring... write a great program for UMPCs and you can win one. Have you got that application idea that you've been sitting on? Maybe this is the time to write it.

"Today’s apps must work in an increasingly mobile environment and must allow new means of input: ink, touch, and more. Build a great application that encompasses these needs, write an article about what you’ve done, and you may win one of three cool Samsung Ultra-Mobile PCs. One winner per month, 3/15/07–6/15/07. Check out www.CodeProject.com for more details."

But don't surrender yourself entirely in the hands of a few judges. I'd suggest that you make sure it's an application you already have the desire to write, and that you don't have to give up rights to the application to the contest owners. Otherwise, if you don't win you might be left being nothing but free labor for someone else that gets your program and idea.

Update: In case you are wondering, it turns out that there are two apparent weaknesses to the contest:

It is a condition of entry that you grant to The Code Project a royalty-free, non-exclusive, transferable, irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide license to reproduce, and otherwise use and publicly display your entry (in part or in its entirety) in any and all media for any purpose. All entries submitted and judged as winners may appear on The Code Project Web site(s). All articles submitted by you will retain your copyright and will be attributed to you.

07:00 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Week in Review

Missed some of our big mobile stories this week? Time to catch up:

E-book Devices, iRex iLiad
FBReader is being ported for the Iliad!
Mobipocket for iLiad rumors too loud to ignore

Mobile Devices, Others
2nd generation UMPCs make a splash

02:30 PM by Alexander Turcic in More E-Book Readers | iRex

If there has been one reason not to buy the iRex iLiad, it is the device's inability to display DRM-protected content (which includes most e-book bestsellers that are legally available today). Of course iRex is aware of this "issue", and if we're willing to give the recent rumors a fair shake, Mobipocket Reader for the iLiad is soon going to make a public apperance. Need proof? Check out these links:

• Mobipocket getting ready... (donkaarlos)
• Mobipocket support on its way... (Riocaz)

While I'm not saying that Mobipocket is the best reading software out there, and despite my strong dislike for proprietary DRM, it's still a major step forward because Mobipocket will finally allow iLiad users to read commercial e-books on their beloved device.

PS: We heard that Mobipocket for iLiad will run in a Java VM (rather than being a native Linux binary). Can anyone comment whether the iLiad is fast enough to work comfortably with Java code?

Related: If you don't need to view DRM-protected content, you should keep an eye on FBReader, an excellent reading software that is currently ported for the iLiad by Adam B.

01:09 PM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

If you thought that you were done hearing about UMPCs/Origami devices, then you were sorely mistaken. Not only are we hearing about some great improvements, but we hear of some significant signs new products from the CeBit event going on in Germany.

Here is a brief rundown of some of the UMPC news that struck me as most exciting:
* Samsung Q1 Ultra (the rumored Q2) has been announced with higher resolution screen, better Aero support and a thumb keyboard.
* There will be a dedicated line of Intel processors for UMPCs that will bring extremely low energy consumption and better performance. Other components such as screens will be improving quickly also.
* Multiple new devices will be announced in April, including the famous "Yahoo prototype" form factor.
* A new Intel processor and chipset will be behind the Samsung Q1 Ultra, and will also be the impetus for a number of other new devices with better battery llife and Vista support.

It's becoming a lot more exciting, but also frustrating for those of us that are increasingly anxious to get a UMPC or small tablet PC into our home on a limited budget. The ever present "just around the corner" devices are certainly looming large for the UMPC buyer! Or is it just me that wants to buy one, and can't justify spending on another better model every year?

For more interesting looks at UMPCs, check out these sites:
UMPC Portal
JkOnTheRun
GottaBeMobile
UberTablet

05:36 PM by CommanderROR in iRex | iRex Developer's Corner

Our valued member Adam B. has managed to port the nifty e-book software FBReader for the Iliad. The work is far from complete, but an "Early Alpha" version has just been released in this thread

FBReader is the program that made the Nokia 770 Internet tablet into a very popular e-book reading device, so this could make reading on the iLiad even more attractive to many of us. The program offers a lot of features that iLiad users (and users of other e-book devices) have been asking for. The FBReader specs even include the Mobipocket format (alas only for DRM-free files).

Now, if only iRex could manage to provide us with a VERY attractive offer for a new, suspend-mode capable iLiad in exchange for our ailing first-gen model, then all sides would be that much closer to being happy.
The way things look right now, iRex is facing serious financial impact whatever they do. There are threats of legal action, requests for refunds and many unhappy people on all sides.

Let's hope that this crisis can be solved to everybody's satisfaction so that people like Adam B., Antartica, k2r and others can continue to improve its finer features for all of us. I think a battery replacement is not going to be what it takes to do this, but well, that's just my opinion.

07:00 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Week in Review

If you've been too busy to check out MobileRead this week, check out our usual roundup:

E-book Devices, Future E-Book Devices
MedTab ET-100 - care to spend $3,995 on an E Ink device?

E-book Devices, iRex iLiad
iLiad Firmware 2.9 (and iLiad "Companion Software") Released!
Undocumented WPA support with iLiad 2.9 firmware - how to enable it

E-books, News
Microsoft accuses Google Book Search of copyright violation

E-books, Reading Software
Sumatra PDF free Adobe Reader replacement for Windows

Miscellaneous, Lounge
Commodor Comeback?

Mobile Devices, Handhelds and Smartphones
Palm to release Hawkins' secret new product in 2007
Ilium releases NewsBreak 2.0 RSS reader
Palm hires ex-Apple engineer

01:23 PM by Hadrien in E-Book General | Deals and Resources (No...

We just released a tool allowing you to convert single RSS feeds into PDF files formatted for the Sony Reader and iRex iliad. We'll release more advanced features in the future, including the possibility to create PDFs from multiple RSS feeds, and some sort of widgets (Sudoku, weather forecast, crosswords, etc).

Right now, the RSS -> PDF conversion is in still beta and we'd like to test it extensively during the next few weeks. The conversion already supports TOC + images in feeds, and basic formattings such as bold/italic/simple tables. Just like with other features from Feedbooks, we offer PDF output templates for A4/Sony/iLiad. You can also customize the output the way you want.

We're looking for bugs and ways to improve this new core feature -- any feedback is welcome!

Link: http://www.feedbooks.com/news

11:43 AM by NatCh in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

This is an interesting bit of news. It seems that this fellow, Paul Mercer, was involved in developing the original iPod OS, and back in the '80s worked for Apple on the Newton.

Paul Mercer, whose start-up Pixo -- since acquired by Sun Microsystems -- helped create the original iPod operating system for Apple, joined Palm in February, according to a Palm spokeswoman.

In addition to his work for Pixo ... Mercer was an Apple engineer during the late 1980s and early 1990s, working on a variety of products, including the Newton, Apple's ill-fated effort at creating a personal digital assistant device.

I s'pose this is too recent to have any affect on the mysterious "Third Business," but it's still suggests that things might just be 'happening' over at the House of Palm.

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