07:23 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Lounge

MobHappy has teamed up with FreeRange Inc. to preload a stripped-down version of their Java-based FreeNews reader with what they consider 14 "essential mobile blogs". Among the blogs you find classics such as Om Malik, Russell Beattie, Textually and TechDirt. Too bad they forgot to put Mobileread on the list. Maybe next time, guys?

Thanks to Mattoquai for sending this in!

07:30 PM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Sammy at Palm Addicts has produced another one of his nifty mini-podcasts. You can find it here. Unfortunately, it's not clear to me how to download, so I'm listening to them online. If you like these podcasts, drop Sammy a line and let him know. Hopefully they will be an ongoing feature of the site.

Interesting side effect... I think that if I listen often, I'm liable to adopt his accent unconsciously. It's quite hard not to pick up a bit. Sort of addict-ive, you might say!

06:33 PM by Bob Russell in Miscellaneous | Lounge

From PDA247, "[size=-1]LDW are looking for beta testers for Fish Tycoon for Windows which should look great on the big screen. If you want to be considered just complete this support form and include details of your Windows PC and operating system.[/size]"

06:27 PM by Bob Russell in Miscellaneous | Lounge

An interesting series of articles over at NewsFactor.com talks about the personal data that Google has access to, and where you might have concerns. It seems that we are quite trusting with online services.

Check out the articles here...
Part I
Part II
Part III

And, btw, what sort of information is stored in all those crazy urls that we pass back and forth to each other with things like session ids included... wouldn't those urls be another source of concern?

04:31 PM by Bob Russell in Archive | Portable Audio/Video

My knee-jerk reaction without knowing the facts yet is that Sony's high handed DRM approaches will kill the future of this device also, despite its traditionally excellent engineering. But I'll hold off on judgement till the facts are in.

The device is actually available for pre-order at the Sony site.

Read more here at Yahoo News from NewsFactor.com.

08:22 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

If you like iTunes you can from now on listen to all existing and future PalmAddict's podcasts via this link.

04:35 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

We don't know exactly what happened when Dell pulled the last ROM update from its Website, but now it has reappeared and it's save to assume that it'll stay there for some time longer. Official changelog for ROM A05:

• Support LEAP-WAP wireless encryption.
• Increase the data transfer rate of SDIO to 19.5MHz on PXA27X C5.
• Add a new network certification -- GoDaddy SSL certificate root into the ROM image.
• Phase in new updated Bluetooth stack BTW-CE 1.5.0.2601.
• Enhance Wireless encryption WPA-PSK network under Cisco AP with new IOS version 12.3(2) JA
• Bug fix for Home applet screen on the X50.
• Bug fix for WMV G2700 display codec. X50v only
• Bug fix for WMV Marathon display codec. X50 only

X50v A05 ROM download
X50 A05 ROM download

04:04 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Lounge

I feel like a kid in a candy store whenever Intel announces the development of a new processor. Only this time, Intel takes an aging product, the x86 CPU, and updates it with all the modern trimmings. In the Low Power Intel Architecture project (LPIA), the company is focusing on an ultralow-voltage version of the x86 to be used in mobile devices and consumer electronics.

"Power issues are a challenge to the entire electronics industry, at all system levels, from silicon to components and software," wrote Intel researcher Ram Chary in a white paper (PDF) on the LPIA project. "The challenge is compounded as the system is contained in smaller and smaller enclosures. We believe that the user interface should dictate the size of a device, not the electronics or the peripherals. Our research challenge is to find a way to fit the electronic functionality and feature set into these small form factors yet still address the power and heat issues from silicon and other peripheral devices."

Expect more details to be revealed at the Intel Developer Forum next week.

[via CNet]