01:12 AM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

One of the greatest technological limitations that hinders the adoption and growth of mobile devices is the slow improvements of battery and power technologies. Battery weight and size is a large part of mobile device weight and size. With ever increasing power needs, the batteries are increasingly the weak link in the devices.

Quite a bit of research has been done in this area, and fuel cells are a very promising technology. Now combined with nanotechnology, it seems we may finally be on the verge of a breakthrough that would affect almost every facet of life.

The Washington Times is reporting that

Developments are under way that could wipe batteries off the face of the Earth. Researchers at the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI), a consortium of Oregon educational institutions, say they have made significant breakthroughs in a power source that essentially turns 20 pounds of batteries into 8 ounces of fuel the size of a cigarette lighter.

In the next 3-5 years, a working prototype is expected. It will be a fuel cell that is part of a portable air conditioner for soldiers which should be the size of a paperback book, and weight less than 4lbs!

The full article is available at Teeny, Tiny Tech but requires a free registration.

08:35 PM by PaulJManoogian in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

i-mate has made some in-roads with Skype, and have announced the first wireless mobile handsets which will be preloaded with the ever-popular Skype internet phone software. The PDA2K (pictured) from i-mate, along with with the PDA2 handsets will be released with Skype ready to run on the start-up of the device.

Both models boast the dual-mode GSM/GPRS standards and are equipped with wireless LAN functionality. Skype software will also be included on the new i-mate JAMs, as well. All of the i-models are based on the Windows Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition platform.

With the growing market of Voice over IP, industries and individuals are looking for better call pricing. This is where i-mate customers have a choice - they can make calls over the internet, or through their standard service providers.

i-mate is said to be hosting a press and industry briefing on February 14th (Valentines Day) during the 3GSM World Congress about their new agreement with Skype.

i-mate's global headquarters are in Dubai, with offices in Australia, and a recent expansion into the UK and Italy, and with plans underway for the US i-mate launch.

Via [ GeekZone ]

04:11 PM by Bob Russell in Archive | Portable Audio/Video

There is an excellent article by Lance Wehrung at 1src which is all about converting a DVD to be viewed on a Palm or Pocket PC. I haven't tried it myself, but it provides step-by-step screenshots of the entire process with lots of supplementary information.

The article appears to be in response to the following question

Lance: I have been in search of the simplest and easiest way to take a DVD and make a video that is viewable on a portable device, such as a Palm OS5 device or a Pocket PC device. So far in my search, I have come across a very simple way to take a DVD and make a video that is viewable on a handheld that only requires approximately 242 MB.

All the required software is indicated and is freeware except for the MMPlayer that you can get for $14.95 for Palm. Of course the freeware authors would appreciate your support if you decide to use the software.

My current approach is to use the commercial product DVD Studio, which has a version for both Palm and PPC, and when you register you get licenses for both versions. But I've had some problems with gaps in the audio track, so I'm working with the support team to resolve. It's a great program if I can get things to work as advertised.

Give us your thoughts about any method you use to watch DVDs on your PDA.

09:48 AM by ignatz in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Engadget has an article by Ross Rubin dissecting the "ailing PDA market". In some ways it's more of the same that we've seen before, but it's still worth reading. A worthwhile snip:

The PDA paradox is that, ignoring cell phones for a moment, consumers should be more willing to gravitate toward a multifunction portable device than a dedicated one due to the space constraints of mobility. But since the introduction of the original PDA, there’s been a mini-explosion of portable devices free from carrier oversight. But for a hard drive, PalmOne could have developed the iPod or Portable Media Center. Instead, we see companies such as Archos taking portable video players and co-opting PIM functionality. ... Perhaps, beyond the PIM features, PDAs have simply suffered from the jack-of-all-trades problem.

I'm not sure how I feel about what he's saying. I don't think that PDAs are really "dying" so much as transitioning. With the flourishing of new portable tech it's inevitable that there will be a rise and fall of devices. I do think that we may be closing in on a saturation point with the current crop of portables. I also think that the market forces are much too harsh for some very useful devices. (Not every portable device can be an ipod.) But where will we be in 2-3 years? 5-7 years?? Put a 20 gig hard drive in my Palm and make it open like a book and let me make phone calls on wifi and cell networks. I don't think that there will be a "jack-of-all-trades problem" then. In fact, in the end, once the tech matures, I hope that there will be a jack-of-all-trades solution!

I think that all the predictions of the "death of PDAs" are completely overblown. These devices are much to useful to disappear, even with the threats from media players and smartphones.

06:42 AM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Almost no one these days thinks of using a computer on the internet without some kind of virus protection, and hopefully some sort of a firewall. But the same can't be said of portable computing devices and smart phones. So far, such attacks have been relatively rare and the devices themselves have only become widely adopted fairly recently.

But not only are the devices more common, but the data stored on them more important, and the devices are increasingly connected. WiFi, bluetooth and mobile phone internet capabilities are putting devices within the reach of malicious code more than ever.

IBM is reporting for 2005 that

Based on early indicators, a new and troubling trend this year may be the aggressive spread of viruses and worms to handheld devices, cell phones, wireless networks, and embedded computers, which include car and satellite communication systems.

There are some anti-virus programs available already, but not much is known about them by the typical user. They do not generally get rave reviews, nor are they reviewed much at all. In fact, they have been considered overkill.

So, 2005 is the year of the rooster, the year of handheld computing, the year of mp3 phones, and now it's also the year of portable device viruses!

(via PocketPCThoughts)

01:44 PM by ignatz in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

There have been rumors since late last year that the T3 was being discontinued. The evidence appears to be piling up. The Palm Store does not list the T3 any more. There are rumors on PalmInfocenter here. Here's another user confirmation from PalmAddicts.

It would seem that when current stocks are exhausted, there will be no more new units available for purchase. Sad to think that they would kill what is still a very popular unit. Hopefully this indicates that there are more Palms to come, but I'm not holding my breath.

12:05 PM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

PocketTVTeam announced that PocketTV 1.0.3 finally supports the Intel 2700G video hardware accelerator of the Dell Axim X50v.

While I am happy to see that there is competition, I am not convinced that PocketTV 1.03 would offer me any advantages to using Betaplayer, the free alternative. First benchmark tests show that Betaplayer is still in the lead!

11:57 AM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

RIM has finally released its first Wi-Fi Blackberry, the Blackberry 7270. It offers Wi-Fi built as well as a VoIP client (using Nortel and 3Com technologies); alas, it doesn't have cell phone capabilities.

Both Nortel and 3Com will put a SIP client on the device, and sell it to business users, alongside voice-only Wi-Fi handsets from Spectralink. "First generation Wi-Fi phones haven't been terribly good, because of their battery life," said Mike Valiant, market development director for enterprise voice at 3Com. "This is the first in a portfolio of other Wi-Fi devices: it's good enough to put alongside the Spectralink devices." The two companies are selling the 7270 as a device that offers instant messaging, e-mail and telephony in one handy unit, but offering it to people lower down the executive chain, who aren't so mobile, and can't run up the high mobile bill of a typical BlackBerry user.

[via TechWorld]