04:13 AM by Colin Dunstan in E-Book General | News

Seiko Epson unveiled a flexible 200 ppi e-paper display at the SID 2005. The display, which hasn't been actually displayed but only shown in a presentation, is based on E Ink's electrophoretic paper technology and uses Seiko's advanced display manufacturing and electronic circuitry techniques. Only a month ago Seiko demonstrated a curved wristwatch incorporating the same technology.

Tech-On is quoting Seiko saying that the company "aims to commercialize the technology within 1-2 years" targeting such markets as handheld products.

03:01 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Mozongo has some details (via Pocketpcitalia.com) on the forthcoming smartphone by HTC, which is supposed to be available in early 2006. Preliminary specs:

• Windows Mobile 5.0
• Quad Band GSM/EDGE
• Texas Instruments OMAP 850 CPU
• 128MB ROM, 64MB RAM
• 2.8" QVGA display
• Bluetooth / WiFi
• 2.1 MP camera w/ LED Flash
• Slide out QWERTY keyboard
• Mini SD slot

02:47 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Hong Kong-based Kasuei Consultant Group released an update to its free hotspot finder Hitchhiker. Version 0.2 includes various improvements, including support for WEP and WPA-PSK, "Fire-and-forget" feature (keep trying all possible networks), quick launch toolbox for built-in network tools, audible note when connection established, connection prioritization based on score.

02:31 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

The WSJ is reporting this morning that GoodLink, an alternative push e-mail service offered to corporate phone users by Cingular, poses serious challenges to Blackberry-maker RIM. Unlike RIM's solution GoodLink is not device-dependent; Cingular will begin to offer the software and service on the PalmOne Treo 650 and the Siemens SX66, and other models may follow. However, taking on BlackBerry will be no easy matter:

RIM, which was founded in 1984, has a huge lead in wireless email, enabling it to brush off upstarts that have arisen in recent years. More than 42,000 organizations have a BlackBerry email server, and 2.5 million people use the hand-held device.

Still, some analysts see holes in the BlackBerry approach, namely that its technology operates by and large on its own devices. The company has made a concerted push recently to license its technology and make it workable on other devices and operating systems, with the idea of expanding and diversifying its sources of revenue.

But those efforts have yet to produce the desired results. The company's plans to put BlackBerry technology on a Motorola Inc. phone, for example, have apparently stalled.

02:08 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Chris De Herrera posted a step-by-step guide how to install Microsoft's software emulator that runs on Windows desktop machines of its forthcoming Windows Mobile release. Before you scratch your head looking for the missing download link, you should visit this post at Ipaq HQ where a user explains all required steps in further detail.

04:16 AM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Thanks to Kent from PocketFactory for pointing out this great deal: For a limited time, Dell is offering its Axim X50v handheld with an instant 20% discount (down to USD $399) including free shipping. The offer ends April June 1.

Other current PDA discounts:

• Axim "Deal of the Week" specially configured handheld (E-value code: X50624_HD2): 25% off
• Axim "Deal of the Week" specially configured handheld (E-value code: X50520_HD2): 20% off
• Axim "Deal of the Week" specially configured handheld (E-value code: X30624_HD1): 20% off
• Axim X50 and X30 624MHz Handhelds: 15% Off Instantly

03:37 AM by bartman in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

This is definitely not for the faint-hearted. An Italian site dedicated to Dell Axim Pocket PPCs has posted instruction how to disassemble a Dell Axim X50v providing a lot of screenshots for those curious but not crazy enough to do the same to their PPC. Whether you need to replace the display or the internal backup battery, this is a good guide to begin with.

08:06 AM by Colin Dunstan in Miscellaneous | Lounge

Found this one this morning over at jkontherun. GreatNews looks like it could eventually replace my currently favorite RSS client, FeedDemon. It has a few great features that FeedDemon misses, such as.

- a real database (SQLite), muuuuuuch better for performance and stability than the single file format used by FeedDemon
- tree-hierarchy... as much as I love FeedDemon, I hate how it groups channels instead of offering the standard tree hierarchy we know of Windows applications
- it's free!

Make sure to check out Alex's first findings on this tool.

And it doesn't require the .NET framework, which I personally detest. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

You can get nightly builds from here.