08:09 AM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Microsoft's forthcoming Windows Mobile 2005, code-named Magneto, will support the e-mail push technology we are familiar with BlackBerry devices. In future, Pocket PC users should be able to push live content out from a server to handhelds and smartphones. CRN is citing an anonymous source: ""Microsoft aims to kill BlackBerry. Every corporate type has a BlackBerry, and they all have Outlook. What is the cost going to be to RIM server when Exchange Service Pack and Magneto come out and they're not priced? Microsoft is giving it away for free."

The article also reveals that Microsoft plans to code-freeze WM2005 in April and to unveil its Magneto plans at the Mobile and Embedded Developers Conference 2005 next month in Las Vegas. According to the source, already more than 25 independent device manufacturers and ISVs are backing the Magneto release. Even more interesting is the scoop that beyond Magneto, Microsoft is already working on a "more feature-rich upgrade" of Windows Mobile, code-named Photon, with efforts to vastly extend the battery life.

02:53 PM by Gorod in E-Book Formats | Workshop

Editor's Comment:
This following post was recently entered by Peter Gorod, and I am delighted to highjack it for the front page. It's exciting to see this sort of tool appear. Peter has written a program to convert from MS Word documents to eReader format complete with tables and charts, etc. It can then be read on multiple platforms including PalmOS and Pocket PC.

I have not used the program myself, so I don't really know anything about it yet (nor can I guarantee its safety), but I encourage the more adventurous of our readers to give it a go and let Peter know on his forum what you think. Be sure to stop by here also to keep us updated on the general reaction! BobR

Hi,

I wrote a program to convert Word Documents to eReader eBooks.

It is easy (just press a button) and complete (chapters, images, links, dozens of things). I wonder if any of the people in these forums would like to give it a try? I would appreciate any feedback.

Check it out at the site given below and let me know what you think. I have set up a forum there for Support - please post there.

Thank you
Peter Gorod
_________________
Publish eBook - Convert structured Word Documents to eBooks with just one click!
http://pwp.netcabo.pt/Gorod/PublisheBook/

01:55 PM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Simon Collison wrote a quick guideline for Web masters on how to improve Web content to make it more accessible to people browsing with handheld devices. I bookmarked this one for later when we begin our redesign of MobileRead.

08:15 AM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

You knew it was only a matter of time until someone would bring out another Treo-resembling device running Windows Mobile. phoneArena previewed the forthcoming HP iPAQ hw6500 which is manufactured by HTC (same guys who did the great job with the Dell Axim X50 series). It runs the latest MS Windows Mobile 2003 SE and offers support for EDGE/GPRS and quad-band GSM. Fine, but why someone would come up with a mediocre 240 x 240 square screen is beyond me.

Don't hold your breath when looking at the other specs. Mobile users will miss built-in support for WiFi. Gamers and multimedia addicts will dislike the CPU (Intel PXA272 312 MHz) which will at best make programs run at a snail's pace.

Nice try HP, but for $850 I am expecting something better. Like a Treo supercharged!

07:18 AM by TadW in Miscellaneous | Lounge

e-Messenger is a web application that enables you to chat with your MSN, AOL and Yahoo buddies without having to install any program or Java applet. All you need is a JavaScript enabled browser and you're set to go and use e-Messenger. Even if you're behind a firewall.

This alone is already great, but it gets even better. e-Messenger can be also accessed with mobile phones and PDAs via the following links:

- xHTML or WAP 2.0: link
- WAP 1.1 or higher: link
- "Lite" HTML: link (alternative link)

Disclaimer: Keep in mind that you are effectively handing out your login data, and I cannot guarantee you that e-Messenger is indeed a trustworthy service.

06:00 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Week in Review

Here are the highlights from the past seven days of MobileRead:

E-Book Readers
Electronic Paper reviewed

E-Book Webstores
Amazon soon offering Mobipocket e-books?

General Chat
April Jokes
GMail increases storage capacity to 2 GB, anticipates more
Reminder: Still over 1000 Yahoo! 360 invites
Yahoo! 360° 100 invites available!
Yahoo! 360 -2'000 invites- one click away!

New Links
Answers.com Mobile
The World Factbook PDA 0.1

Other E-Book Resources
StoryCode.com - book review database

Other Gadgets
Firefly - innovative mobile phone for kids?
Killer PDAs #1 - Some Thoughts On Gadgets
New Li-ion battery charges to 80% in 60 seconds
Newsclip 1.0 - RSS Reader for Blackberry
Sony PSP Web-browser enabled

Palm
Don't forget: PalmSource announces Q3/05 earnings today
FontSmoother 1.21 released
palmOne TE2 and Zire 73 may hit stores very shortly
palmOne Tungsten C2 hitting stores in April?
palmOne Tungsten E2 hits stores on April 10
PalmSource swung to a loss in Q3 2005
Pics appearing of Palm's "LifeDrive"?
The Magic Lantern open-source media player

Plucker
Vade Mecum 0.6.5 Plucker reader for PPC

Pocket PC
Dell Axim 624MHz for $279
GSPlayer 2.22 update
Mini-Mozilla for PPC 0.4 with fix for Axim X50
MSN Video Downloads launched
NetFront 3.2 for PPC with WM2003SE support released
Pocket Informant 2005 R1 released
PocketScumm V0.71 released
SJphone - Loox 720 built-in VoIP software released
Skype for Pocket PC 1.1.0.4 with VGA support
WebCopier for Pocket PC 4.2 Now Available
Windows Mobile 2005 - another preview

Sci-Fi & Fantasy
2005 Hugo Nominations

Smartphones
Cell-phone virus getting smart
Samsung readies cell phone with Adobe PDF support

WiFi / Bluetooth Technologies
Boeing Connexion in-depth article
Orb Streaming Media now free
ROO Mobile offers free video streaming services
Wireless with a Linux-enabled PDA - new series

01:58 PM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Lounge

We still have over 1'000 unused Yahoo! 360 invites in this thread waiting to be clicked on. Those invites will expire if unused within 30 days. And here is the link to my test blog

11:59 AM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Consumers are generally frustrated, for good reason, with some really basic problems with the current state of mobile computing. Miniaturized computing produces way too much complexity, whether it takes the form of Tablet PCs or top-end PDAs. Electronic Day-Timers (entry level PDAs) are popular because they're simple, but they still have data entry problems and take some effort to set up. They also take up precious "carry-around" space that most people would prefer to use for a phone.

But there are a lot of things that people want to do as soon as the technology makes it simple and effective. To name just a few, we see demand forming for light, small, portable and connected devices that are one or more of the following:

• Phone
• Music Player
• Video Player
• Camera
• Photo Album
• Day Planner
• Note Taker
• Ebook Reader
• Document editor (e.g. MS Office documents)
• Presentation Device
• Email and Messaging Tool
• Gaming Device

But let's face it, while the tech geek may be able to do all of the above fairly effectively with some investment of time and money in a top-notch PDA and accessories, there is no device that's ready at the hardware or software level to even accomplish a portion of these things well for the average new user out of the box. Consumers are generally a lot more interested at what they can do well with reasonable effort, not what functions could theoretically be accomplished by a device, so they don't find PDAs as wonderful as the rest of us geeks.

So what could I possibly suggest that will help the situation? And why is it taking so long for products to improve?

Stay tuned to MobileRead for...
Killer PDAs #2 - It's A Crazy Market!, and
Killer PDAs #3 - The PDA You Always Wanted, But Didn't Know It!