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Zune Coming to Windows Mobile Devices
There’s been talk of a Zune phone since the very first day Zune shipped. The Zune interface is done remarkably well and naturally, people have longed to see a phone integrated into it. In case you’re not familiar, there’s another popular MP3 player that had a phone added to it within the last couple years. That device has been a huge hit for the parent company. Microsoft would be crazy to ignore the publics demand for a good MP3 player / Phone all wrapped together nicely.
Steve Ballmer has made your dreams a reality - almost. In a recent interview with CIO magazine, Steve didn’t go as far as announcing a device or release date. He did say that the Zune software is going to be ported to Windows Mobile devices and that the software will play a more important role when it comes to the PC and Windows Mobile devices.
But Does Windows Mobile really need Zune software? Windows Media Player comes installed on every device. Sure, many find the mobile version of WMP to be limiting and a horrible experience - those people can install any one of the third party media players available for Windows Mobile. Also, most Windows Mobile devices have the ability to use external storage cards. That means you can have about 8GBs or more available to store your music, videos, and pictures on. It’s not anywhere near the 120GB you can get on the latest Zune models, but it’s more than enough music for a day or two.
So what is it? Why would you want the Zune software on your mobile device? There are a number of reasons like User Experience (ease of use), Zune Marketplace, and a Sync that actually works without creating duplicates!
You can read the full interview with Steve Ballmer at the CIO webiste. [Source = WMPowerUser]
Searching for the Best Bluetooth Headset
I’ve been using the original Jawbone headset for a while now. For the most part, it’s been a really good headset. It can be a little awkward to put on at times and I find the in-ear volume could be a little louder. I’ve be thinking of replacing it for a couple weeks, but I really like the audio quality that the Jawbone has. There’s never a problem with the person I’m calling not being able to hear me clearly. Because of this, I’ve been holding back on buying something else. Unfortunately, I managed to bust the arm off it today. So I guess I need to start thinking of replacing it now.
I recently came across a review over at My Today Screen that compares the new Jawbone with the BlueAnt Z9i headset. Both of these headsets are top notch in my opinoun. So it was interesting to see that the BlueAnt actually outperformed the Jawbone in some of the tests, like audio quality, battery life, and even noise cancellation. I tend to rank those 3 elements as key for a headset. Given that the BlueAnt managed to beat the Jawbone, then I have to think that BlueAnt is a pretty awesome headset. Has anyone used one and have any comments - good or bad, about the headset? For that matter, any suggestions or comments on any Bluetooth headset?
Pricing and Availability Details on the New HTC Devices
If you’ve been following the talks about HTC’s upcoming devices - Touch HD, Touch Viva, and Touch 3G, then you’ll be happy to hear that Windows Mobile Italy has got the inside scoop on pricing and availability. The Touch HD is set to launch in Europe in Q4 of 2008 (yes, that means very soon) for about €849. That works out to about $1,200 USD. It will then be made available in other markets around the world. So Europe in Q4, then other places at some point there-after.
The Touch Viva is expected to launch in Europe this month - October 2008, for a mere €279 (about $390 USD). And lastly, the HTC Touch 3G which will be available in a number of different colours, should also become available this month - October 2008, for €499 (about $699 USD).
Check out more pictures and details over at the Windows Mobile Italy web site.
Sling Media Ships Slingbox Pro HD along with an Updated Player
If you’re a Sling fan like I am, then you’ll be excited to hear that Sling has started to ship the Slingbox Pro HD. The Pro HD hardware allows you to stream high def content in HD. While the regular Slingbox will stream your HD channels, it doesn’t offer HD quality. So the Pro HD is a welcome addition for HD fans. If you’re confused over the different versions of Slingbox and what each one offers over the other, you should check out this comparison guide on Sling’s website.
Along with the new hardware, there is a new version of the SlingPlayer Windows software available. Version 2 adds support for the new Pro HD hardware along with an updated interface, live video buffer, and the new SlingPlayer Guide. The new software doesn’t require the Pro HD hardware, so feel free to download it and run it against your existing Sling hardware. You can see more details about this release, along with screenshots over at Sling’s website.
Would You Purchase a Group of Applications?
Paul from MoDaCo, is asking for input from readers on your level of interest in purchasing a group of applications bundled together. The expected retail cost of the bundle would be around $200, but the bundle price would be about $50. Assuming there’s 10 applications in this bundle, some quick math would give us an approximate price of $20 per app. So if there’s more than 3 (2.5 to be exact) applications that you would have purchased in the bundle, then the rest of the apps are essentially free.
This could be really good for new Windows Mobile users who don’t already have any of the applications in the bundle. Or for anyone looking at picking up a couple new applications at a discounted price. The down-side is that the developer is getting a new customer but at a fraction of the revenue that they normally would have had. So if even a tenth of these new customers contact the company for support, the newly found revenue is gone. Of course, the increased customer base is always beneficial.
I’m certainly interested in a good deal. I just hope the companies that signup for Bundle.One @ MoDaCo are offering worth-while applications. I’ll be watching what happens.
Motorola Accuses RIM of Poaching Employees
It seems like Motorola is having a pretty hard time as of late. Not only are the feeling the pressure of increased competition in the mobile phone space, but now they are also having to deal with Research In Motion poaching key employees. Motorola claims that RIM has targeted 40 employees who can’t work for a competitor without revealing corporate / trade secrets. It’s expected that these employees are working on a new touch screen mobile device for RIM, code-named Thunder.
When it comes to mobile devices, Motorola has 2 lines, consumer and industrial. The consumer line tends to be non-touch screen based. But the industrial line, better known as Symbol, is a full blown ruggedized device running Windows Mobile/CE and is touch screen enabled. So, if RIM is poaching employees for use on their touch screen device, does that mean we can expect a RIM based Windows Mobile-based device?
[Source]
CntrStg - Changing the Face of CES
One of the projects that I have been working on outside of my day job and this site, is something called CntrStg - pronounced “CenterStage”. CntrStg is a concept that a group of us came up with while attending CES last year. In the past, every Community Leader, Blogger, and Podcaster would be racing up and down the Las Vegas strip to meet with various companies and listen to them talk one-on-one about their plans for the coming year. More often than not, we found ourselves crossing paths with one another as we entered and exited these meetings. Wouldn’t it make more sense for us to stay in one location and have the companies come and talk to all of us in one shot? CntrStg does just that. We have already signed up companies to present, as well as community leaders from some of the top tech and gadget sites around the Internet to attend. CntrStg will be the place to be during CES 2009!
You can read all about CntrStg, including our press release that should be going live on the wire as you read this post, over at the CntrStg website - http://www.cntrstg.com
Blogging Through Hurricane Ike @ jkOnTheRun
James Kendrick posted some very interesting articles about taking mobility to the limit during a hurricane. Out of all of his posts, I found this post particularly interesting as he outlines the different cellular reception he noticed on various carriers as the storm made its way past. Not many people have the ability to do this type of test, but if you ever found yourself looking straight towards a hurricane, you’ll be glad you spent some extra time making the right choice when it comes to carriers.
You can read all of James’ Ike posts here. And remember that you can keep track of these storms on your mobile using this page, and on your laptop using this page.
Microsoft & RIM Announce Live Search for BlackBerry Devices
Today Microsoft and RIM announced that they are working together to integrate Live Search into RIM’s popular BlackBerry devices. Research in Motion still has the dominate share of the mobile market, despite the success of Apple’s iPhone which comes pre-loaded with Google’s search functionality on the device. Google has already displayed it’s Android mobile OS with their search functionality built in. Once the OS is released, Google will have a small but significant corner of the mobile eco-system etched out. If Microsoft can leverage their existing Windows Mobile market share and add RIM’s BlackBerry share, they will have a solid lead in mobile search.
Live Search is already available for BlackBerry devices (in beta) and Windows Mobile devices. You can download it directly to your smartphone by visiting http://wls.live.com using your phones mobile browser. The BlackBerry version will be released before the end of the year and is expected to offer better integration with the OS and browser.
The full press release is available at the Microsoft Press Pass website.
How To Unlock GPRS Settings on BlackJack II with Windows Mobile 6.1
Now that Samsung has made the Windows Mobile 6.1 ROM upgrade official for the BlackJack II, I should take a minute and remind everyone about the post I made a while back that helps you to unlock the carrier networks settings. This is a new feature that was added to Windows Mobile 6.1 by special request of the carriers who are looking for ways to reduce support calls from people that toy around with the network settings and don’t know what they are doing.
Of course, anyone with a unlocked BlackJack II that is looking to use the phone on a different network will need to unlock these settings and modify them to match the settings for their carriers network.
You can read the original post with full details on how to remove the lock over here. And to everyone that’s upgrading, enjoy the new ROM and while you’re flashing your device, why not take on the No Reboot Challenge. What better time then right after a fresh and clean install of the OS. 