Excuse Me, That’s a Nice Looking Phone

Over the weekend I spent some time at a birthday party for a friend’s son. Through all the noise and commotion I spotted another Dad playing a game on his i-mate device. It’s not uncommon to see parents with their face buried in their mobile device at these events. However, I don’t often see people with i-mate devices. I’m seeing more and more Windows Mobile, but not so much with i-mate. So I figured that this person was either a hardcore i-mate fan, or a Windows Mobile fan who just happens to have settled on the i-mate PDAL device. Either way, I decided to talk with him and see how he liked Windows Mobile and i-mate.

I asked him how he liked that phone because I don’t see many of those around here. I even pulled out my BlackJack II so he could see that I am also a Windows Mobile user and hopefully jump right into a nice geek conversation about mobility. Ha! What really surprised me was that he didn’t really understand that he was running Windows Mobile. In fact, he didn’t even know the name. Now, a lot of people don’t know the Windows Mobile name. But someone running i-mate hardware is typically more aware of the OS than the average user who picked out the device from the carriers line-up. This person went on to tell me how great it is because he can open Excel documents on his device. Which clearly tells me that he didn’t understand that my device, although different in looks, runs the same OS.

What I’ve been trying to figure out since then is if this was a problem with him not understanding that Windows Mobile runs on numerous different devices? Or was it more that my device looked too “BlackBerry-ish” so he took one look and figured I was using a BlackBerry based device and felt the need to tell me why his was so great? Both of these are growing problems. So much so, that Microsoft is now calling Windows Mobile devices “Windows Phones” (the actual OS name will still remain Windows Mobile) in hopes that people will better connect with the OS of the device. I’m not sure that this will help people better understand that their Moto Q is running the same OS as the BlackJack II, or that the HTC Diamond is running the same as the Samsung Omnia. Both HTC and Samsung are doing their part to build iconic devices. Microsoft needs to do their part to take their OS to a new level and educate the consumer about Windows Mobile. What do you say Microsoft? Are your product and marketing team up to the challenge?

Pantech Matrix Pro Giveaway in Full Swing

The Matix Pro giveaway is in full swing – there has already been 3 winners! Everyday there is a new contest kicking off and a winner selected from a previous site’s contest. You can’t win if you don’t enter! If you’re not familiar with the Matrix Pro, then you need to check out our review of it over here. There are also links at the end of the review to some of the other sites that have reviewed the Matrix Pro. Check those out and get familiar with this amazing device.

To enter, check out this post – The AT&T Pantech Matrix Pro Giveaway Event – to find out what site is currently running the promotion and who is up next.  And don’t forget, we’ll be kicking off our giveaway on May 7th. So stay tuned for the details.

Invasion of the Feature Phone!

Have you noticed the number of feature phones increasing lately? More importantly, have you noticed now capable some of these phones are? Its got me wondering about where smartphones and feature phones are going to intersect.

Feature phones include the Sidekick, Samsung Instinct and Impression, LG Xenon and Motorola Hint and they are really quite capable; there is really very little that separates these from smartphone.  What keeps feature phones from being considered "smart" would be third-party developers, customization, tethering and a few other things.  The newest Sidekick does stretch this definition though, as it already has dozens of apps in its app store.

This is exactly my point though.  If you look at using phones more or less out of the box there is very little difference between these two classes.  You can browse, email, listen to music, watch videos, etc.  Believe it or not, there are a LOT of users of iPhone, Windows Mobile and Blackberry that are actually out-of-the-box types that do little or no customization.

One of the biggest differences we see is in the cost of data.  In Canada you can get $10 unlimited mobile browsing (which really doesn’t differentiate between browsing and downloading data) but data costs (for smartphones) are astronomical.  From Bell you can get $10 unlimited internet on a feature phone but on Windows Mobile you pay $35 for 500mb.  Pretty darn nuts!

So, what is going to happen?  Will we see high priced data packages start being used on feature phones or much better flat rates for all phones?  Obviously I would hope that carriers just bite the bullet and make mobile data flat rate and cheap.  Maybe figure out some way to detect tethering or something, but devices should be FULLY usable.

Lets hope that competition makes cheap mobile data a reality.

Samsung Is Hitting The Mark Here

There are no two ways about it, Samsung really is creating a nice little buzz with their latest Qwerty Smartphone.  The Propel Pro is just a fantastic Windows Phone running Windows Mobile Standard.

The more I read about this great little phone the more I salivate!  I think the hardware design (vertical slider) is a fantastic compromise and the Propel Pro adds a few things beyond the norm such as a first ever 320 x 320 display.  The keyboard looks to be great and the sliding mechanism springs very nicely.  To keep this thing singing all day they even come with a decent sized battery, 1500 mAh.

Since I don’t have one you won’t be getting a review here, just me going on about my cellular envy.  If you need a review there are a ton available, just Google it, baby!

Actually, here are some of the better video reviews to get you started:

Phonedog    Mobilitysite    Phonescoop    Pocketnow

Samsung, if you are listening (pshh, course they are!), Mike and I will each take one.  Thanks.

These are available through AT&T, so if you feel…propelled (bite me, its late) head on over and pick one up.

Enter the Matrix Pro from Pantech

When looking for a new cell phone, one of the first things you need to decide is between the more traditional 12 key number pad that makes dialling a number so easy, or a full QWERTY keyboard for fast and easy messaging. If you want the traditional 12 key number pad, then you’ll enjoy a more narrow phone that fits nicely into your pocket and provides the ability to quickly place a call. However, you are pretty limited in the selection of smartphones to pick from. On the other hand, if you pick the QWERTY keyboard, then you have a significantly improved experience in terms of messaging and a much wider selection of phones to pick from. The trade off is a bigger, wider phone that’s not as easy to dial numbers on. With advantages on both sides, it can be difficult to pick, so don’t. Enter Pantech’s Matrix Pro – this device offers the best of both worlds by combining a full QWERTY keyboard with a 12 key number pad and a powerful Smartphone operating system.

The Matrix Pro offers a full QWERTY keyboard with a 12 key number pad in a unique dual slider format. Slide the phone up to expose the number pad, or slide it to the right to expose the QWERTY keyboard. And when closed, the Matrix Pro is an attractive and easily pocketable smartphone.

The Matrix Pro is the follow-up to last years Pantech Duo smartphone that featured the same unique design. This updated version has a much improved sliding mechanism – both sliders are spring loaded and easily pop open or close. The Matric Pro also boasts UMTS/HSDPA Tri-band (850, 1900, 2100 MHz), Quad-band GPRS/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900MHz), 256MBROM, 128 MB RAM, support for MicroSD expansion card, 2.4 inch QVGA non-touch screen, 1300 mAh battery, 2 Megapixel camera, Bluetooth, and aGPS. All of which is packed into a 4.17 x 2 x 0.85 inch (L x W x D) footprint.

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The AT&T Pantech Matrix Pro Giveaway Event

Starting tomorrow, MobileJaw, along with 25 other websites, will be participating in giving away a Matrix Pro smartphone. Each site will run their own competition with their own rules. You can enter as many of the giveaways at each individual sites as you want.

What can you win? You’ll get a brand new AT&T Pantech Matrix Pro smartphone and a $100 gift card that can be used towards your account or to purchase accessories from AT&T. Plus the admiration of your family, friends, co-workers, and online communities.

Check the list below for the complete details about when each site will be starting their contest and links to the respective sites. Subscribe to their RSS and Twitter feeds so you can keep on top of the contest details and know as soon as the contest goes live.

I’ll have my review of this device posted soon, so keep your browser pointed at MobileJaw for all there is to know about this cool new smartphone.

Since the Matrix Pro is locked to AT&T’s network, this promotion will only be open to our U.S. based readers. Good luck to everyone and keep trying, you may just end up the lucky winner of a Matrix Pro!

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Changes and Updates to MobileJaw

Change is good, right? I sure hope so, because I’ve been busy making some changes over the weekend. But not to worry, none of the changes here are anything to be upset about. At least, I don’t think so. The first change was our mobile template. I had this enabled a while back, but turned if off because I was having some problems with the formatting and didn’t have the time to tweak things. It’s back now and looks much better. There will be some tweaks and additions made to the mobile template, but it’s good enough for now.

The next change is for new users. I’ve added reCAPTCHA on the registration page. I’m sure everyone is familiar with CAPTCHA by now. reCAPTCHA is a service that helps to digitize books and newspapers. They use words that the computer was unable to convert to digital format. You can read more about reCAPTCHA here, if you’re interested. Otherwise, just know that by registering here you’re helping to convert books to digital format. I had to enable this to slow and hopefully prevent the bots that are currently registering.

The last change I made was to implement Avatars. In your user profile, you can now choose to upload a small (60×60px) image to display alongside your comments, or you can setup a Gravatar if you would rather have a global avatar across all the sites you visit. (Thanks to the awesome work by Peter Sterling on his Avatar plugin!)

That’s all the changes I made over the weekend.  There are more changes coming along with lots of reviews and giveaways. So stay tuned!

Why the iPhone Just Isn’t Me

For the longest time I have been using mainly Windows powered PDAs and phones but with all the iPhone buzz I just had to give it a go. I got myself an iPod Touch 2G after Christmas and have really enjoyed using it.

Obviously there are a TON of reviews of the iPhone OS, so even if you haven’t used one you know about the finger-friendly interface and its tight application integration. It really is just a great platform that is fun to use. Combine that with the incredibly successful app store and this is just a killer experience. So, why would I say the iPhone isn’t my cup-o-tea?

The shortcomings of the iPhone OS have been talked about almost as much as its goodness; things like the missing cut and paste and lack of video/music formats, etc. There are a lot but many of them are going to be addressed in iPhone 3.0.

What I have not been crazy about is the control Apple has placed on the user experience. You no doubt have heard about “Jailbreaking” the iPhone, well that is simply a way of replacing the OS image with one that does not limit you the way Apple intended. Since this is something the casual (or the scared-to-brick-his-expensive-phone) user would do I don’t see this as a good option for most people. So, assuming you don’t Jailbreak your iPhone you are stuck with the design of the OS and how it works.

The iPhone experience is really quite good if you are ignorant of the alternatives or are not interested in making a lot of changes to your phone. You better also not plan on using a bunch of core app replacements; they are poo poo’d by Apple.

My current phone is an HTC Touch, which is certainly not cutting edge. It is not as fast, doesn’t have as large a screen, nor as good a camera as the latest Windows Phones. So, when I found myself using my HTC over my iPod I had to figure out why that is.

As a gadget nut I am always looking for change. I like to try new things, find new ways to do current things and create a new “feel” often. I end up playing with the HTC more than the iPod simply because there is more tinkering I can do. I have 4 different browsers, too many soft keyboards, a ton of Today screen plug-ins, and a couple of calendar apps. These are not the kinds of things you can do with the iPhone. Admittedly, I have this many browsers because none of them do exactly what I want and I have to switch between them, but at least that keeps things interesting and is something I can do.

I fully realize that my experience is not necessarily going to be like others. The iPhone OS just works out of the box; it is slick and silky smooth. Apps work because of the tight control Apple has over the app store, I get that and like the result. I just have found that I get just a little bored with how clinically perfect the iPhone OS is and like to tinker with Windows Mobile.

Having said all that, I won’t be parting with my iPod Touch. There are some things it does VERY well and I plan on using it for a long time to come. I plan on upgrading it to 3.0 and continue to using it for gaming, podcasts, reading and surfing, but my go-to device at this point will be the HTC Touch.

I am planning on getting a new phone this year but not sure what it will be. It isn’t going to be an iPhone though. I think they are great and are perfect for some people, it just isn’t my first choice. The Palm Pre is looking pretty tempting but I haven’t decided if it is too new for me to jump in right away. Most likely I will stick with Windows Phone but I really want a physical keyboard on my next device.

Windows Phones sorely need the 6.5 update and 7.0 needs to truly create a new experience, but we know Microsoft gets that and the results we are seeing so far look promising.

At the very least, there are going to be some great options…which is really what this post is all about.

Is a Microsoft Video Showing off Windows Mobile 7?

Microsoft recently announced Windows Mobile 6.5 and it’s not due to hit the street until the end of this year. Screen shots of 6.5 have been flooding the internet in the days and weeks following the announcement at Mobile World Congress. Now, Microsoft Strategy has released a video called “Software + Services” that clearly shows a mobile OS that is not Windows Mobile 6.5. This video talks about a connected world and shows mobile devices with a Vista styled Start Flag centered in the lower menu bar with a fictional IM application. It is possible that the interface is also fictional, but it’s hard to get past the similarity to the leaked Windows Mobile 7 images that we saw a while ago.

Steve Ballmer has confirmed that Windows Mobile 7 will be coming in 2010. So the existence of Windows Mobile 7 isn’t some big unknown. However, Microsoft has yet to publicly show the interface or any details from 7. Was the public release of this video a mistake? Did Microsoft actually plan to start showing and talking about 7 before 6.5 was released? Or is the similarity between this video and the leaked screen shots of 7 just a coincidence? Only time will tell.

You can watch the video over at the::unwired. I’ve captured all the device screens from the video and posted them below.

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HTC Snap Video Round-Up

This past week HTC announced their all new smartphone called the HTC Snap. The device seems to be getting a fair amount of buzz since it was announced. HTC was showing it off to everyone at CTIA this week and now there are a number of video’s appearing online showing the Snap in action. In particular, there are three video’s that I wanted to link to. The first video, shown above, by MobileBurn.com shows Eric Lin from HTC explaining how the new InnerCircle functionality works. The next video is from HTC and it’s more of a promo piece that shows off the Snap. The final video is from SoloPalmari.com and it shows the Snap playing a video. The playback is pretty smooth and effortless.

The more I see of this device, the more I want one. Come on HTC, hurry up and get the North American version released.

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