Taking a Closer Look at Microsoft Tag

Microsoft recently took the wraps off a new barcoding standard. The new system is called Tags and uses triangles arranged in a 5 x 10 grid with 4 different colors to produce a high capacity color barcode. What makes this new system better, or worse, than regular barcodes, QR Codes, or any of the other scanning systems already being used?

There are a couple significant advantages to this new system. Whether or not this is enough for the world to switch and start using Microsoft’s Tags has yet to be seen.

The fist big difference that you will notice is the use of color on this code. There are 4 colors – Black, Pink, Blue, and Yellow. The use of color means that the camera can pick out the image in poor conditions and still correctly determine the code. It doesn’t matter if it’s poor lighting or a blurry image, the camera can still decipher the code. As well, the use of color means that storing 1 byte (or 8 bits) requires just 4 symbols. By comparison, QR Code requires 8 symbols to store the same amount of data.

Typical barcodes and QR codes are black with a white background providing easy contrast for scanning. With the Tag solution, the black background followed by a thin 2 pixel wide contrasting boarder is required for the camera to successfully pickup the image and process it. I tested this with a white, yellow, and black boarder. The black border would not allow the camera to correctly frame the tag and thus not process it. Both yellow and white worked without any problems. [ ..Read More.. ]

HTC Responsible for 80% of Windows Mobile Device Sales

It shouldn’t come as a big surprise to hear that HTC has sold 80% of all Windows Mobile smartphones sold to date. After all, they dominate the Million+ sellers list with 7 out of the total of 11 devices. But when you start to break down the numbers, it really starts to get interesting.

Microsoft announced at Mobile World Congress that they sold 50 million Windows Mobile devices to date, with 20 million in the last year. HTC then announced that they have sold 40 million Windows Mobile devices since they started building Windows Mobile units. And remember, they have been with Microsoft since the start and for the majority of their existence, they built devices for other companies, only bringing their brand out in the last couple years.

50 million sold, less the 40 million that HTC accounts for, and that leaves 10 million devices. Of that 10 million, we know that Samsung has 3 devices in the million sellers list. Assuming, which we all know is a bad idea, that they only sold exactly 1 million units, that means Samsung is good for 3 million out of that 10. Motorola also, has a device on the million sellers list, so they account for another 1 out of that 10. That leaves us with 6 million units. Those 6 million units are divided across the rest of the device manufacturers like Palm, Asus, LG, HP, etc…

I’m not sure if having one company control so much of the Windows Mobile devices sold is a good thing or not. It’s nice to know that they are successful in what they are doing, and that clearly shows in the quality of their devices. We all know that competition is good for the consumer. Samsung is clearly in the best position in terms of competition, but they’ve got a long way to go if they’re going to threaten HTC. The recent announcement by LG to make Windows Mobile the primary OS for their smartphones could be the competition that the market needs. LGs plans to bring 50 different Windows Mobile devices to market over the next 4 years. Even with 25 of those coming in 2012, that still leaves just over 8 devices a year over 3 years. As much as HTC has done, 8 different models could be a strong push into their market.

Ah, the times are changing! I’m looking forward to seeing what these companies can do to innovate and bring new and exciting devices to the market over the next couple years.

[from InformationWeek via MocoNews ]

Pantech and AT&T Launch Matrix Pro Smartphone

Pantech, along with AT&T, announced the release of the Matrix Pro – a follow-up to their original dual slider. The Matrix Pro is a member of AT&T’s 3G family of devices, which means you can expect some serious speed when surfing on this device. It also sports a 528MHz processor, 256MB ROM / 128 MB RAM, a Quad-band GSM – GPRS/Edge/UMTS/HSDPA radio, aGPS, Bluetooth, and a 2 mega pixel camera. Like the Duo before it, this device does not have a touch screen, which means it’s running Windows Mobile Standard. You can read all about this device over at AT&T’s Matrix Pro website.

The Matrix Pro is scheduled to be available on February 24th at AT&T stores for $179 after a rebate and with a 2 year contract.

The full press release along with more images can be found after the jump.

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Samsung Adds New Valencia Device to Line Up

Samsung has announced a new messenger style device called “Valencia” that will be running Windows Mobile 6.5. This new device will sport a 393 MHz processor with 128MB RAM / 128MB ROM, a 320 x 240 non-touch screen, Tri-band GSM with GPRS, Edge, UMTS, 3G, and HSDPA. There’s a small 20MB internal storage along with a full front facing QWERTY, Bluetooth and a 2 mega pixel camera.

This new device looks very much like the BlackJack’s that we’ve come to love. However, with the Tri-band radio and front facing camera, it looks like this device is targeted for the European market. I really like the blue and white coloring.

Check out the high resolution picture below. [ ..Read More.. ]

LG Makes a Serious Commitment to Windows Mobile

Today at Mobile World Congress, LG announced their support for Microsoft’s Windows Mobile in a strong way. LG will make Microsoft’s Windows Mobile operating system the primary operating system for their smartphone devices. Over the next 4 years, LG will produce 50 different mobile devices powered by Microsoft’s Windows Mobile operating system. The bulk of these devices, approximately 25, will come in the 4th year. Leaving 25 other devices over the course of the next 3 years. If divided evenly over those 3 years it would be 8.3 units per year. I would expect that production would ramp up over the course of 3 years.

LG’s Windows Mobile news doesn’t stop there. They are also showing off 2 new devices. The first is a device called “HQ” that features a SureType QWERTY keyboard. From the information that I’ve been given, the HQ will have a 528MHz processor, 256MB ROM / 128MB RAM, a 240×320 non-touch screen, Quad-band with GPRS, Edge and UMTS. As well as 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth, and a 2 mega pixel camera.

The second device is called the “Eigen” and features the same 528MHz processor, a 240×400 touch screen, Quad-band with GPRS, Edge and UMTS. The Eigen also has 266MB ROM / 128MB RAM, FM Radio, 3G, WiFi, a 5 mega pixel camera, and of course, Bluetooth.

You can check out some pictures of both of these devices below. [ ..Read More.. ]

Microsoft Takes the Wraps off Windows Mobile 6.5

Today at Mobile World Congress, Microsoft has revealed the next version of their mobile operating system – Windows Mobile 6.5. The user experience in Windows Mobile 6.5 has changed significantly from past versions. From the lock screen you will be able to see your next meeting information along with quickly accessing voicemail, text messages, email, or the taskbar. Touch screen devices will now have a new home screen system that resembles the menu styles from Microsoft’s Zune music player. The start menu has also been re-worked – gone is the drop down list followed by folder full of icons packed together. The replacement is a hexagon grid of icons allowing quick and easy access using nothing but your fingers. Along with the new home screen and start menu, Microsoft has also updated IE Mobile. There’s no hiding the fact that this update is long overdue, but it looks like the waiting has been worth it with built-in support for Zoom, Flash, and Live Search. There are some high resolution screen shots of the new lock, home, and start menu screens.

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Microsoft’s New Recite For Windows Mobile Reviewed

Microsoft has just released a new application for Windows Mobile users called Recite. Recite uses search technology along with voice pattern matching to help locate an audio note and play it back. Simply put, record yourself talking and then search through previous recordings to find the one you’re looking for. Think of it like this, a voice reminder application with search!

Recite requires Windows Mobile 6.0 or newer and can be downloaded for free from Microsoft’s website at http://recite.microsoft.com or directly on your phone by visiting http://recite.microsoft.com/download. Currently the application is a “technology preview”, basically a beta state. Microsoft is encouraging customers to download it and give it a try. So I did! The download is about 800KB and the install is straight forward.

[ ..Read More.. ]

Where is the SMTP Patch for BlackJack II Users?

Back in the middle of November, Microsoft released a patch for people having problems sending emails on Windows Mobile devices. As it turned out, there was a small bug that would prevent devices from being able to send email from a given account. You could be working just fine for days or months and then whammo! You would never be able to send email from that account again.

I had that very problem and was happy to see Microsoft release a fix that was simple enough to apply. The only problem, as some of you may recall, is that when I installed it I lost all my email accounts. Oh, and who can forget the sudden and forced reboot. As it turns out, the BlackJack II reacted differently than expected to this patch and after a small up-roar, Microsoft updated the site and clearly outlined that the patch doesn’t work on the BlackJack II but they are working with Samsung to resolve this certificate problem. That announcement is dated December 1st.

Two things that really disappoint me here – the first is how Microsoft can release a patch and not test it against their top selling phones first. The BlackJack II is one of the devices on the million+ seller list. To release a patch and not test it against the current devices on that list is short-sighted and shows a clear disregard for Microsoft’s partners and their customers.

The other thing that disappoints me about this is that Microsoft has done nothing for over 2 months. The original patch release date was on November 12th and the warning for BlackJack users was posted on December 1st. It’s now February 8th and there is no sign of any updates for BlackJack users. Again, this is one of their best selling handsets yet we’re still left out in the cold for a fix to a problem that by all accounts is nothing more than a certificate issue. Seems to me like a patch could have been corrected and released inside of a couple days. I’ll even give them 2 weeks because we all know how slow Microsoft has become over the last couple years. But there is no reason for this to still be outstanding 2 months later.

So Microsoft, what do I and the other million+ BlackJack II owners need to do to get this patch? If it would help speed things up, I can lend you my BlackJack II.

Changing Menu Layouts Between Numbers and Letters

Some Windows Mobile devices are configured to show the menu items prefixed with a number, while other devices will use a letter of the alphabet. Sometimes the letter is in front of the menu item, while other times they underscore a letter in the menu item. Typically, devices with a front facing keyboard are using the letter option. While candy-bar phone are displaying the number option.

On the original BlackJack, Samsung used the number option. This made for quick and easy menu selections when combined with an oversized region for the number keys. On the BlackJack II, Samsung changed the number layout to 1 number to 1 key and switched the menu to the letter format. While I’m pretty good with the alphabet and QWERTY layout, I still find it faster and easier to navigate the menu’s using numbers and not letters. Thankfully, there’s a way to switch the layout to reflect your preference.

Break out your registry editor of choice and follow along!

1. Browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Shell
2. You should see a Value by the name of HasKeyboard. If you don’t see this, switch from KEYS to VALUES and it should display.
3. Change the value data in HasKeyboard to reflect your preference. Setting it to 1 will show letters and setting it to 0 will show numbers.
4. Save your changes and your done. No rebooting required.