Ivy The Kiwi?: The First Proper Game For Windows Phones?

By Benedict Wee

Windows Mobile 6.5 is far from the revolutionary mobile operating system we've come to expect, especially when compared to Google's Android or the iPhone, but that isn't stopping Japanese mobile game developer PROPE from creating a stunningly beautiful puzzle-platformer starring our very own mascot.

In Ivy the Kiwi? you help a lost kiwi chick find her way home by drawing vines along its path to help it climb out of holes, avoid predators and in certain cases, launch into breakable walls. There are 50 stages in total to complete with an online ranking board to compare high scores.

Perhaps this might be the game that will help Windows Phones get a foothold in the mobile OS wars but nothing is standing in the way of the game coming to the other smartphones in the market and to handhelds like the DSi and PSP via downloadable content.

Ivy the Kiwi? gets released in December on the Windows Marketplace but there's currently no exact date nor price for the game.

Windows Marketplace Now Available For Windows Mobile 6 Phones.

By Benedict Wee

While we have yet to see smartphones running Windows Mobile 6.5 over here in New Zealand, those who've been clamoring for the Windows Marketplace can now install it to their Windows Mobile 6.x phones by directing their phone browser to http://mp.windowsphone.com

According to the announcement on the Windows Blog, roughly 90% of the applications available on the Windows Marketplace is optimized for older Windows Mobile 6 phones, which is a pretty decent number of apps. So rejoice Windows Mobile 6.0 and 6.1 users, you've now got an application that consolidates a list of other applications to download from.

Source:

The Windows Blog - Windows Marketplace For Windows Mobile 6.0 and 6.1

Buying Guide: HTC Touch Pro2

By Benedict Wee

When you've got the iPhone dominating the realms of popular culture, the BlackBerry being the top favorite of business professionals and Google's Android spreading like a zombie virus throughout phone manufacturers, it's hard for older -and admittedly, less user friendly- mobile operating systems such as Windows Mobile to maintain their niche in the smartphone market.

However, after spending about a week with the HTC Touch Pro2, I've come to the realization that although Apple and Google will soon be the mobile OS of choice by many in the next year or so, it is still too early to discount the current phone choices we have available to us in New Zealand. So here with go with a buying guide to Telecom's latest smartphone.

Why I like it

HTC's TouchFlo UI:

Let's start off with the best bit about the phone. Starting from Windows Mobile 6.1 and working backwards, Microsoft's mobile OS has been the bane on the existence of many users who've had to deal with the two-handed, stylus-only, only-accurate-when-standing-still interface hell.

HTC had the foresight to cover all that nastiness with their TouchFlo UI, which has gone through many incarnations since their implementation on early WinMo handsets, to the awesome software interface present in the Touch Pro2.

Aside from the initial five second lag when you turn on the phone and the two second one when you wake it from sleep mode, TouchFlo is fast and is very responsive to finger touches, swipes and long presses. From scrolling past programs to flicking through pictures to touching song selections, the UI works smoothly and I hardly encountered any misread errors when I wanted it to do a particular function or input words/numbers.

Speaking of input, the virtual keyboard works the same way as the ones found in Android mobiles and the iPhone so writing texts and emails, surfing the web and dialing numbers are done using fingers and even fat digits (such as mine) aren't a problem as the keys are adequately spaced out and there's always the good-old "predictive text" feature to help solve misspelt words.

Navigation through the basic features of the Touch Pro2 is done easily by sliding the bar located on the bottom of the screen horizontally to scroll from one program to the other. Everything you usually do on a daily basis is located on the bar: contacts, web browser, weather, text, emails, music, calendar, pictures etc. are all there and if you've got a specific program you plan on using repeatedly, there is always the Start button on the top left of the screen which sends you to the list of programs installed in the smartphone. The Start button mimics the one used in Windows Mobile 6.5 by using big icons on a scrollable list which is navigated by flicking the screen up or down.

Overall I'd say that HTC's TouchFlo UI is a good enough reason to buy this phone but then it wouldn't be very professional of me to not go though the rest of the other features.

Sound quality and microphone:

It's really good. Crystal clear voices coming thru the speakers and dual microphones ensure that calls are never misheard and I'd dare say they're quite on par with landline quality. Of course this is also dependent on the mobile connection you have. Telecom works perfectly on the West Coast and I didn't have a problem in talking or listening from my contacts.

HTC's Straight Talk:

Another well-implemented HTC feature, Straight Talk allows you to switch from email to single, multi-party or conference bridge calls. This feature is easy to use and is practical, considering the phone is designed for business purposes. Combine this with Windows Mobile and the great sound quality of the phone and you get what is essentially a full-on portable office.

Meh

Tilting Screen:

Although I thought it was a cool feature at first, later on I realized that I had no idea how I'd use the feature in my everyday life. Does it become an upright alarm clock next to my nightstand? Do I put it on the table and use it as a mini-notebook?

The mechanics of the phone work really well, the keyboard slides out smoothly and everything clicks into place when the screen is brought upwards, making it a solid piece of equipment but I feel the tilting screen is kind of gimmicky and does nothing helpful to the phone as a whole.

Physical Keyboard:

I guess business-types aren't comfortable with using virtual keyboards. I have nothing against physical ones however and the Touch Pro2's is nice and responsive but I found myself using the virtual one more. It could be also that the physical keyboard can only be used when the phone is in landscape mode and that the virtual one in portrait, and I did use Touch Pro2 in the latter more than I did the former.

If I had any gripe, it would be that the physical keyboard adds a significant thickness to the phone, essentially doubling its size.

Zoom Bar:

I didn't even notice it was there till under certain lighting conditions were met and the icon magically appeared. The zoom bar is located at the bottom of the screen (and in landscape mode, to the right) and it's supposed to help you zoom in or out when viewing images, web pages, maps or reading email.

I don't know if I was doing it correctly or if the response wasn't good but using the zoom bar felt clunky and at the end of the day I didn't find any reason to utilize the feature, choosing to use the options located in the program itself instead.

Why I do not like it

No headphone jack:

Really? In this day and age? Granted you wouldn't see your businessman pumping tunes into his ears with headphones while walking down the street and most likely the only time they'll be listening to music will be when they're in the car, but placing a 3.5mm jack into the pretty big smartphone shouldn't be a problem and you never know what market you'd open to if you had put in a simple feature such as that. Also, it would be nice not to disturb anyone should I want to watch a quick video on YouTube while I'm at work.

Size:

Ok this thing isn't exactly pocket-friendly. The Touch Pro2 possess a considerable size and frame which means you should expect to see an unsightly bulge if you decide to carry it in your pants. The smartphone seems more of a hold-in-your-hand or store-it-in-your-handbag kind of a gadget though its size does betray its weight so carrying it around wouldn't be an extra burden.

Other things to know

Camera: Average quality pictures and video. To be expected as it is only 3.2MP.

Screen: Great. Crystal clear and easily readable. Not grainy at all.

Conclusion

I like the phone. Yes its size may be a little too big for my tastes and I could do without the physical keyboard, but bearing in mind that the phone is designed for PMEBs and therefore business use, you can see that the Touch Pro2 does suit its intended clientele really well. With its big (and very clear) screen, a fantastic UI and possessing great quality sound clarity, I'd gladly take this phone over a BlackBerry any day. If you're a Telecom customer and are looking for a good business smartphone, I'd highly recommend this one.

The HTC Touch Pro2 is now available all Telecom NZ shops for NZ$1499 without contract.

HTC Touch Pro2: First Impressions (Update: with video)

By Benedict Wee

The courier dropped by with Telecom NZ's HTC Touch Pro2 to test out for the upcoming issue of In Business so I thought I'd post some first impressions of the phone here before doing a full in-depth review:

12.05 pm : Package just arrived. Opened it up. Cool HTC box with an XT Network sticker on the top right hand corner.

12.10 pm : Opened the box, contents inside include:

• The HTC Touch Pro2 smartphone
• A USB wire (that charges the phone and connects to the PC)
• A USB socket charger
• A Leather case (Kinda ugly one at that)
• Mini-USB headphones
• A Battery
• An extra stylus
• A screen protector (Nice. It's considerate of them to include one, being a touchscreen phone an all.)

12.15 pm: Phone feels solid and bulky, but in a good way. Makes you feel very business-like. Its size and shape betray its weight as it is pretty light (178.5g).

12.30 pm: Fiddled with the back cover in an attempt to put the battery in. Gave up and consulted the manual. Finally got the cover open and turned on the phone.

12.35 pm: The initial start-up is pretty slow but it's expected as Windows Mobile phones take some time to load when you first turn it on.

12.36 pm: Phone's up and running. Wow, TouchFlo runs really smoothly, no lag whatsoever. Graphics are crystal clear despite the reflective screen (which seems to catch my image every time I take a photo/video of the mobile).

12.45 pm: Physical keyboard slides out with a solid "click". Keys immediately light up and the screen is automatically adjusted to landscape mode. Tilting the screen upwards feels natural, turns the phone into a mini-notebook which is pretty neat. Typing on the physical keyboard feels good, keys are soft yet responsive.

1.00 pm: Testing out the XT network with the browser and Youtube application. Sites and videos are loaded fast enough to be considered near-broadband speeds. I'm pretty impressed.

2.00 pm: Just realized that I have not used the stylus at all. The HTC TouchFlo user interface is pretty amazing, everything is finger friendly (even the virtual keyboard) and transitions from one program to the other are seamless, you wouldn't know the phone is running Windows Mobile if not for the logo on the Start bar located at top left corner of the screen.

First Impressions Summary:

So far, I'm loving this smartphone. Though many would discount its size and shape, it is good to remember that the Touch Pro2 was designed with business professionals in mind. I can't see college students nor your average-kiwi wanting to own one of these but I do think that this phone could be a shining statement of individuality and style for those working in the CBD area where BlackBerries are commonly found.

Look out for my full review next week.

Windows Mobile 6.5 Update Now Available For HTC Touch Pro2 And Snap

By Benedict Wee

If you've got a HTC Touch Pro2 or Snap then it's update time!

Well, it might be.

Head over to the official HTC website to get instructions on how to upgrade your smartphones to Microsoft's latest mobile OS but bear in mind that they might not work as it is dependent on factors such as carrier branding and locking. If you can't update your mobile you'll have to wait for our telcos to support it.

HTC Touch Pro2 Link.

HTC Snap Link.

Source:

Engadget Mobile - HTC Touch Pro2 and Snap Among First Official WinMo 6.5 updates.

Freaky Windows Phone Ad Tells You What Windows Mobile Does.

By Benedict Wee

The rebranding and launch of Windows Phone (known previously as Windows Mobile 6.5) comes with an ad explaining how you can carry your work/social/virtual life with you everywhere you go:

If anthropomorphic icons of the programs I used appeared in my home as I was leaving for work I'd be screaming in fear.

Source:

Engadget - Windows Phone Commercial Is Confusing For A Variety Of Reasons.

'My Phone' For Windows Mobile Now Live

By Benedict Wee

With the release of their latest mobile OS -Windows Mobile 6.5 (a.k.a Windows Phone)- Microsoft has launched their new My Phone service for all mobiles running Windows Mobile 6 and up.

My Phone allows you to backup and arrange data stored in your mobile such as contacts, texts, photos, calendar events, documents and music to a personal account so should you ever lose your phone or purchase a new one the information can be easily retrieved from their servers. Though you can only store up to 200MB worth of said data, there are plans to expand the storage space for an additional fee.

Speaking of additional fees, paying an additional US$5/NZ$7 gets you the Premium service which allows you to:

You can try this service for 60 days for free. To see if your WinMo phone is compatible go to Start -> Settings -> System -> About on your mobile.

My Phone for Windows Mobile Link.

Flash 10.1 For All Mobiles! .. Cept The iPhone.

By Benedict Wee

The people at Adobe have announced that their next version of Flash - version 10.1- will come to Android, BlackBerry, Symbian, WebOS and Windows Mobile phones and will be GPU accelerated which means watching flawless YouTube videos in HD.

Though the full software will only be available mid-2010, the beta version will be released to Windows Mobile and WebOS phones by the end of the year with Android and Symbian following early next so expect to stream television shows on your mobile in just a couple of months.

Too bad for iPhone users however. Given Apple's overprotective attitude towards their smartphone Adobe is reporting that there isn't much progress in developing Flash for the system. Sad, Flash support could work wonders on a device that relies heavily on a touch interface.

LOS ANGELES — Oct. 5, 2009 — At Adobe MAX, Adobe’s worldwide developer conference, Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) and Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq:RIMM; TSX:RIM) today announced they are working together to bring Adobe® Flash® Player support to the BlackBerry® platform. RIM is joining the Open Screen Project, a broad initiative dedicated to enabling standalone applications and richer Web browsing across mobile phones, televisions, desktops and other consumer electronic devices through the Adobe Flash Platform. The collaboration is expected to bring the full Flash Player browser runtime to BlackBerry smartphones.

“As an industry leader for innovative smartphones and wireless solutions, RIM delivers superior mobile user experiences to customers around the world,” said David Wadhwani, general manager and vice president, Flash Platform Business Unit at Adobe. “It’s a natural fit for both companies to work together to bring Flash technology based video and Web content to BlackBerry smartphone users.”

“As part of the Open Screen Project, RIM will be working with Adobe to deliver a great Flash technology experience on BlackBerry smartphones and to enable users to enjoy the exciting content and services that Flash technology developers and content creators are bringing to the Web,” said Alan Brenner, SVP at Research In Motion.

Led by Adobe, the Open Screen Project includes close to 50 industry leaders working together to provide a consistent runtime environment and user experience across mobile phones, desktops, and other consumer electronics devices. The initiative addresses the challenges of Web browsing on a broad range of devices, and removes the barriers to publishing content and applications seamlessly across screens. For more information, visit www.openscreenproject.org.

Source:

Gizmodo - Flash 10.1: Full Flash For Everyone But iPhone, Actually Playable HD Vids

Adobe - RIM joins Open Screen Project

Sidenote: Doesn't Ming the Merciless look kinda like Steve Jobs with a beard?!

Windows Mobile 6.5 Phones Out October 6th, But Not For New Zealand

By Benedict Wee

Microsoft has announced over at the Windows Mobile Blog that the first phones to run the finger-friendly mobile OS will be available in just over a month.

Windows Mobile 6.5 will come with improved email/text/calendar notifications and updates, the latest version of Internet Explorer Mobile and My Phone: a free service which will allow users to protect, edit and configure the data stored in their smartphones remotely from a web browser. The mobile OS will also come with Windows Marketplace which will allow users to download applications for their phone just like the iPhone and Android mobiles do.

Unfortunately we won't be able to get in on all the Windows Phone action as the list of mobile operators in the Asia Pacific region currently only include Japan, Korea and Australia.

Sources:

Windows Mobile Blog - Windows Phones Are Coming On October 6th

Latest Windows Mobile Market Ad Takes A Potshot at Apple

By Benedict Wee

Microsoft's latest "Race to the Market Challenge" cartoon ad has strong overtones of them taking a jab at the Apple App Store fiasco.

Good plan too, it's a perfect time for them to take the opportunity to gain some developers frustrated at making Applications for Apple.

Fake Gadget Tuesdays: Get Windows Mobile 6.5 Before Everyone Else? And Bonus Article: How I Tried To Buy A China Phone

By Benedict Wee

This article is continued and concluded here.

Okay, so it's Wednesday. I'm a bit late cause I was caught up in all the "Drop The Rate Mate" excitment of yesterday. But better late then never no?

Also, this article comes with an extra play-by-play notes about my journey to get today's featured fake gadget so it contains helpful information should you decide to enter the world of mobile knockoffs.

Gadget: Sunno My Touch HDi

Place of Origin: China

"Inspired" by: The HTC HD

I've been meaning to get a new mobile for my 2degrees SIM but I don't have the urge to buy an iPhone 3GS as I once did after Apple's dubious ethics and the phone's security issues got aired to the public. That and all the bad handling of its initial launch by Vodafone was enough to turn me off the mobile completely so the only other option I'm left with is a Windows Mobile smartphone.

Windows Mobile 6.5's Marketplace Prototype

Being the gadget lover that I am I'm always looking for the newest shiniest toy that the tech world has to offer so when Microsoft announced that their new mobile OS would be touch-friendly I got pretty excited. Even better, I saw a video a week ago where a person managed to hack a HTC HD China knockoff and get it to run a version of Windows Mobile 6.5.

A HTC HD Knockoff Running Windows Mobile 6.5

The original specifications of the HTC HD were pretty impressive during the time it was launched in September last year. The 528 MHz processor with 288 MB RAM and 512 MB ROM powered Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional smartphone came with a 5 MP auto-focus camera and a 3.5mm headphone jack with Wifi, 3.5G and bluetooth connections. Its features would've distracted gadgetphiles from the underpowered iPhone 3G any day. It was a pity that this phone did not get released in New Zealand, otherwise consumers would have a better variety of smartphones to choose from.

The HTC HD

Its knockoff version -the Sunno My Touch HDi- has surprisingly similar specs: a 533 MHz processor with 256 MB RAM and 128 MB ROM, 5MP camera, 2.5mm headphone jack and it comes with Wifi and bluetooth connections. The best bit is that they've managed to install a similar build of Windows Mobile 6.5! This would make the phone one of the first to carry Microsoft's new mobile OS. Sweet!

The phone comes at a pretty low price of US$234 or US$234.99 (NZ$351.59 and NZ$353.01 respectively) with shipping. Why the two prices? I'll explain later. The HDi looks like the real thing and I'm pretty impressed at the way the pirates managed to create an almost perfect replica. Too bad about the 2.5mm headphone jack though, this means that you won't be able to plug in your earphones and having to rely on a crap usb-converter. This phone runs on GSM 900/1800/1900 MHz networks so there is no 3G which is expected since it was developed in China.

The Sunno My Touch HDi

My arbitrary score for almost-the-real-thing-ness: 11/10

The phone looks exactly like a HTC HD and it's not like your mates would know the difference since the actual mobile wasn't sold here. It gets an extra 1 because it runs Windows Mobile 6.5 which doesn't come out till Spring, making it really unique and rare.

Bonus Feature: How I tried to buy a China phone

As I mentioned earlier, I needed to look for another smartphone to put my 2degrees SIM in and since the iPhone 3GS is out of the question I decided to purchase the HDi, mainly cause of Window Mobile 6.5. The company I chose to buy the smartphone from is called FastCardTech.

I've visited this website before on numerous occasions to research China knockoff mobiles and they looked pretty legit despite the terrible spelling, glaring grammatical errors and their fondness for repeating the specifications of a mobile in different colors and fonts ad nauseam. What drew me to try purchasing from the site was the huge variety of phones they offered and the different ways you could contact them should any problems arise. And boy were there problems.

One thing that did concern me was the way they answered inquiries about the phones they sold. It was not so much the bad english but the way they tried to avoid questions that would shed a negative light on their products. One of the most common inquires people would ask was if their phones had 3G connections and they would reply by giving the available connections that the phone had like "It has Wifi" or "It uses GSM so and so" instead of just saying no.

Besides that I was pretty confident that this wasn't a scam site so here is the timetabled version of my China knockoff phone journey.

Sunday, 9th August 2009:

- Saw the Sunno My Touch HDi on the "Smart Phones" tab of www.fastcardtech.com and decided to order it straight away. Signed up for membership and was instantly granted access to my profile and orders page. Ordered the phone plus a 4GB microSD card.

Total cost: Phone (US$209) + 4GB China Brand microSD card (US$12) + Shipping (US$25) + Poundage (US$11.59) = US$257.59/NZ$387.03

Notes: "Poundage" means PayPal charges which they make you pay at 4.7% of the total cost. They also accept Western Union Money Transfer and MoneyGram but sending money though those methods would be tedious, more expensive and less secure. At least with PayPal you could dispute any errors and getting a refund would be easy.

- Paid with PayPal and since credit card is tied to an overseas address wrote the correct address in the notes section of the payment so they could send to the correct country. Also sent them an offline message via Windows Live messenger to confirm address.

- Was returned to the www.fastcardtech.com website with an error message stating that the payment failed. Panicked and sent them a message on the phone's Q&A section. Returned to my profile and saw that the order was processed. Relief.

Monday, 10th August 2009:

- Woke up to an email from fastcardtech.com, they told me they couldn't process my order as my address stated an overseas address despite the note I put in. I sent them an email back immediately explaining that I've done this with ebay before and encounted no problems. Waited for them to reply back.

- It's late afternoon and I've received no reply. I get concerned but the customer service officer I left a Windows Live Message to has logged on and I talk to him directly. He explains in basic english that I should have added: "Do not send to postal address but this one instead" to the PayPal reciept. He then suggests that I call PayPal customer service to see if I can amend the note, if I'm unable to do so they'll issue a refund.

- I do. they can't. I tell him. He then sends a message to request a refund.

Notes: The Windows Live customer service person, although helpful, replied to my questions really slowly. I got about a total of 4-5 sentences worth of replies in an hour and because english isn't their first language expect to simplify your questions and get simple answers (some I got were just an "OK") in return.

- I ask how long will it take for them to issue a refund and he tells me the US office isn't awake yet (it was 4pm here) so it will be a couple of hours before I can get the money back and I will have to create another order.

- It's 11pm and I've still not gotten the refund. I message customer service on Windows Live again and he tells me they're still not in yet and I should receive it a couple more hours. I go to sleep.

Tuesday, 11th August 2009:

- I wake up and the refund has been... refunded. I decide to play it safe and create a New Zealand PayPal account. I make an order on the site again.

Total cost: Phone (US$209.99) + 4GB China Brand microSD card (US$12) + Shipping (US$25) + Poundage (US$12.45) = US$259.44/NZ$389.81

-"Wait. What?" you say? Yep, they've increased the price of the phone by US99 cents. I was wondering if I chose the wrong mobile or there was a mistake in the calculation. After adding/deleting the quantity over and over again for about 20 minutes I realized that I was better off just checking my previous invoice. I did and lo and behold, they did increase the price of the phone. Yeah it's only a US buck but it did increase the PayPal charge as well (4.7% of the total cost remember).

- Am a bit irked by them changing the price but I resign myself to the situation and proceed with payment. Wanting to get an answer but not wanting to provoke anything I send an anonymous message in the phone's Q&A section asking about the price increase.

- Am thinking every is going to be alright now. I've paid for my order, used a New Zealand PayPal account and a New Zealand address. Nothing can go wrong. Yay!

- It's 8.25 pm and I get an email from the company's after-sales team. Their english was equally difficult to understand so I tried to get a rough sketch of the situation:

• The HDi has AWESOME processing speeds.
• The HDi will come with equally AWESOME Windows Mobile 6.1.
• This is because there is a software problem causing Windows Mobile 6.5 to crash every so often.
• So they're sending out the Windows Mobile 6.1 version.
• When the factory releases the new Roms of Windows Mobile 6.5 they will support install it on their phones.
• They hope I understand the situation.
• If I encounter further problems or need a Windows Mobile 6.5 HDi they will offer a refund.

Notes: By now I'm feeling really crestfallen. I have two theories; either they never had a Windows Mobile 6.5 HDi in the first place and were just trying to offload their old stock (the 6.1 version has been around for awhile) by saying it did or they truly found a problem with the OS and were being honest. I decide to give them the benefit of the doubt and op for the latter since they did inform others of the error on their site as well.

- I do not want a Windows Mobile 6.1 HDi. The reason I bought this phone was because they said it runs 6.5 and I request a refund by replying to their email.

Wednesday, 12th August 2009:

- Woke up. Checked email. Refund wasn't there. Went to the page and sent a message through the invoice. No reply. Went to the phone's Q&A section and they've replied to my price hike query. They claim to have never increased the price. What they don't know is that I still have the two same orders on my account with the different charges. They did answer me (which is good) but they lied about it (which is very bad).

- Came back home just after lunch and saw that their Online Live Support was active on their website. Went in and told them about my situation. No reply.

- Cooking dinner. Tried Online Live Support again and asks if anyone is there. Someone finally comes through. The guy's name is Philippe. He says "Sure, how can I help you?". I tell him my situation. He doesn't respond.

- Decide to try Windows Live customer service. I get an answer! He explains that even though they're only shipping the HDi with Windows Mobile 6.1, they will release a software update that will allow current users to upgrade to Windows Mobile 6.5 and it will be available at their site for download when it becomes ready.

Notes: So now I'm thinking, do I take the bait and trust them? They were being dishonest about the price hike and it's been an uphill battle trying to get a phone sent to me.

- I do because I still need a 2degrees phone and hey, it makes for writing a good article. I tell him not to refund the payment and wait for the phone to arrive.

To be continued.

So there you go, a personal journey of purchasing a China knockoff smartphone. I will post this part of the blog again as a new post when/if I receive the phone and will probably give my first video review as well. I'll also share my thoughts about what I've learnt about this experience. For now though, if you're thinking about buying a knockoff, proceed with caution.

Demo Of Windows Mobile 6.5/Windows Phone Looks Promising

By Benedict Wee

BGR has a video demo of the (almost) final build of Windows Mobile 6.5 (now called Windows Phone) and its new features. It looks pretty and the touch-only user interface is easy enough to use though it does suffer some lagging issues and there's no multi-touch because it appears on different smartphones. Here's hoping they get ironed out when the mobile OS gets launched later this year.

A quick rundown of the Windows Phone's new features:

• Drop down notifications at the unlock screen - Pressing the unlock button on the top of the phone will yield drop down notifications of icons such as missed calls, texts and email. Slide the icon to the side and you're immediately sent to the notified application.
• Zune UI - The main interface takes its inspiration from Microsoft's Zune media player. You scroll up and down to navigate the basic functions of the phone (dialer, texts, email, music, MSN etc.) and slide left/right to explore the sub-menus of a chosen function (text inbox, text outbox etc.).
• Phone Wizard - The Wizard function on the main interface allows you to set up your phone (i.e. security, clock, background, ringtone) and email accounts quickly. Pairing of Bluetooh devices happens automatically so you don't need to input a password.
• Start Button - Located on the top left of the screen directs you to the applications page where the Marketplace resides.
• My Phone - Like MobileMe for the iPhone, content on the phone is stored in a "cloud" including contacts, texts and pictures you've taken with your mobile. If you lose your phone you can just buy a new one and get back all the content you lost. You can also access and modify your phone's content via web browser. Unlike MobileMe however, this service is free with 200MB worth of space with bigger premium storage at a yet undisclosed price.
• Internet Explorer - Full IE browser experience with Flash support.
• Microsoft Tag - A barcode reader using the phone's camera.

Things are looking up for Microsoft, but with big players like the iPhone and Android appearing on multiple smartphones it will be a tough battle for a share in the mobile market.

If they manage to stream their other products like Windows 7 for PCs, Xbox Live and Zune together however, they might stand a fighting chance.

Source:

The Boy Genius Report - Final Build Of Windows Phone Shown Off

Samsung Chip Would Give New iPhones That Extra "S"

By Benedict Wee

Samsung and Intrinsity have developed a new chip similar to the one the iPhone 3GS currently runs with an improved speed of 1GHz. Code-named "Hummingbird", the chip could power Apple's next iPhone which currently runs on a 600MHz Samsung processor.

They aren't the first 1GHz chip makers however, Qualcomm announced their processor earlier this year and it powers Toshiba's TG01 smartphone which runs Windows Mobile 6.1, recently released in the UK and Japan markets.

In addition to the new iPhone, expect such fast speeds to be commonplace in Android, Palm and WinMo 6.5 running mobiles as early as next year.

I've suddenly lost the urge to purchase any smartphones, best wait for these fast ones to be announced.

Source:

cnet - Samsung chip hits 1GHz. Is it bound for the iPhone?

Hijack All The iPhones In The World By Texting

By Benedict Wee

Cybersecurity researchers Charlie Miller and Collin Mulliner have found a dangerous flaw in the way the iPhone handles text messages that could potentially be used by malicious hackers to take control of Apple's smartphone just by sending it a text containing a single square character.

This cipher will allow whoever sends it the ability to call people, surf websites and turn on the microphone and cameras remotely, basically taking over the iPhone's every function. This also means that hackers will be able to send the square character through a controlled iPhone to other iPhones, spreading the bug.

Miller recommends that you turn off your iPhone immediately should you receive a text such as this to prevent your mobile from being infected.

The researches have also found a bug that could disconnect you from your telco's wireless network on both the iPhone and Android-running mobile phones for 10 seconds. This process can be done repeatedly to keep the mobile off the network.

While they've reported the two vulnerabilities to Apple over a month ago, the iPhone maker has yet to release a patch to fix this potentially disastrous problem. Google however, have. Apparently the iPhone is not just bad for business people, it's bad for everyone! I'm wondering why Apple is being so complacent about their easy-to-hack smartphone, used by millions of people round the world.

Miller and Mulliner have also found a similar text bug that can remote control Windows Mobile phones, though they've yet to inform Microsoft of the vulnerability.

Source:

Forbes.com - How To Hijack 'Every iPhone In The World'