10:47 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Illium Software's NewsBreak, my favorite feed reader for Pocket PC, has just been updated. NewsBreak V1.0.1 adds support for Google Gmail and other feeds that require authentication, as well as improved storage card functionality.

Thanks to WM247 for the tip.

05:39 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

The ROAD S101/S101K looks like an interesting device. Advertised as the perfect all-inclusive solution for everyday business, the Linux-based S101 combines a mobile phone with the functionalities of a desktop PC (at least that is the claim).

The relatively unknown German company ROAD GmbH, who is partnering with Trolltech AS and Siemens AG , has also two more smartphones under development, which are based on the S series, but will have a larger keyboard plus additional hardware feature (and run either Symbian or Windows CE instead of Linux).

Credits go to PalmAddicts for the news.

04:48 AM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | News

Hans from Newspaperindex was able to get hold of and scan the first omnibus newspaper ever published in Scandinavia from January 1749 (thanks Boing Boing!).

The newspaper is in very good condition since it was not printed on paper made from wood but from flax and cotton that can last for much longer time. It is kept inside a book in a privately owned historic library in the countryside in the snow covered hilly in East Jutland in Denmark. Only a handful of other copies are held in The Royal Danish Library in Copenhagen, but this is the first time the publication has been scanned and made public in the digital world. The newspaper has the title “Kjøbenhavnske Danske Post Tidender”, a few years after it changed name to Berlingske Tidende. This first edition had 8 pages and it was since printed twice a week.

Download the entire newspaper as pdf here (you better know gothic Danish to make any sense out of it!).

04:14 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Interesting comparison by Jeff from my favorite blog Writing On Your Palm:

Take a look at Apple. They have a small chunk of the market compared to HP, Dell, etc. but they're far more profitable. They design products that are clean, simple, easy to use and have a certain cool elegance. Their hardware is uninspiring on a spec sheet, but beautiful to see and wonderful to use.

The same could be said of PalmOne. Like an Apple Powerbook, the Tungsten T5 loses the "bag of features" comparison to competition from HP and Dell. But it's simpler, more elegant and can inspire fierce brand loyalty. It costs more than the Wintel competition for the power it delivers, but it's not all about features.

03:32 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Sunrise

To everyone who is desperate to hear more about Lauren's upcoming Sunrise Viewer, here is a small FAQ that should answer the most common questions (thanks Laurens!):

What makes your viewer different from other offline viewers like Plucker?
The viewer has dedicated support for newsfeeds. Essentially, it's a crossbreed between an RSS newsreader and an offline web viewer. You can mark items as read/unread/flagged or copy/move/delete them between archives. You are encouraged to use newsfeeds as much as possible, but you can still view documents with a "normal" web site structure.

Will your viewer support offline reading only?
Yes, the viewer will support offline reading only. A future version might have the ability to retrieve and convert sites through a WiFi or Bluetooth connection from the handheld, albeit with limited capabilities compared to the desktop converter.

When will your own viewer be released?
The first public beta will be made available in May, with the 1.0 release to follow in June. These dates are, of course, tentative.

How much will your viewer cost?
The price has not yet been determined, but it will certainly not deviate much from the norm for handheld software.

Will the desktop converter support non-Windows platforms?
Initially, the desktop converter will only support Windows, but Mac OS X and Linux versions further down the line are a possibility. This depends on user demand. At any rate, support for non-Windows platforms will be introduced only for the commercial viewer. There will be no freeware Sunrise versions supporting Plucker for Linux or Mac OS X.

Will your viewer be called "Sunrise"?
No, "Sunrise" was always meant to be only a working title. The final name has not yet been determined.

Will your viewer support the Plucker format?
No.

Will the desktop converter support the Plucker format?
No. Plucker support will be removed entirely.

Will the Sunrise version that supports Plucker be open-sourced?
No. You can continue to use the existing freeware versions that output Plucker documents, however.

11:22 AM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Looks like Paris Hilton got hacked again. Hiltonhacked.com claims to have images and other information that were stored on her Sidekick device.

T-Mobile was recently in the press when Nick Jacobsen, a 22 years old computer hacker penetrated the T-Mobile servers. He not only accessed Paris' account, but also downloaded information on secret service agents who were investigating him. Some more technical detail about the possible hack can be found here.

You would think that T-Mobile would have paid attention the first time it was hacked? Paris, time to get a new cell phone provider!

08:32 AM by doctorow in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

The European release of palmOne's Treo 650 has been delayed until the second quarter of 2005, according to The Register:

Launched in the US in October 2004, the 650's European debut was initially pegged for February 2005, according to comments made at the time by Ed Colligan, the company's president and soon-to-be interim CEO.

However, PalmOne said yesterday that the handset will now ship here in Q2 - at least five months after the 650 shipped in the US.

At least PalmOne has the backing of the Orange network, which will offer the smart phone to its UK, French and Swiss customers. Orange said the 650 will support its TalkNow push-to-talk service when the handset goes on sale. TalkNow is currently available only on the Treo 600.

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

Is it really Sunday again? Hoorah! Time to dig in to another digest of MobileRead delectables

µBook
µbook 09.c released

Current E-Books Trends
NanoChromics Display - digital ink based on nanotech
Why you should read e-books... and why you won't (essay)

General Chat
Exclusive: PalmGear & PocketGear Mobile and Feeds
Gmail invites 1 click away (reminder)
Maxpedia - Wikipedia mobile proxy
Windows Mobile tops PalmOS in 2004 (Gartner)

Other Gadgets
SanDisk BookLocker - flash drive for e-books

Palm
A Sony Clie TH55 successor soon? There's hope!
MobileStream Landscape 1.0 for Sony CLIE NX/NZ/TH released
More Information About PalmSources Future in Phones
PalmOS on Nintendo!
PalmSource CEO: "Linux is the future"
PalmSource to build momentum in mobile market
SlashBlog - instantly publish your mobile photos
Xplore M68 PalmOS-powered smartphone announced

Pocket PC
KBattery 1.0.3 freeware battery gauge
Mini-Mozilla project looking for Pocket PC developers
palmOne eyeing Windows Mobile / latest rumor
Yeti3D Pro optimized for Dell Axim X50v

Smartphones
Symbian outpacing the rest

Sunrise
Sunrise PalmOS viewer reloaded