New Samsung B7330 Messenger Device Heading to Canada

Samsung is the king of Windows Mobile Standard based devices. Since the launch of the original BlackJack, Samsung has been improving and updating this form factor. Last year they released the B7330 in the Netherlands, and now it appears that it will make it’s way to Canada for Bell and Rogers. The B7330 is only the second Windows Mobile Standard (non-touch) device to feature the larger 320×320 screen. While it doesn’t sound like a big difference over the regular 320×240/240×320 screens we see on other devices, it does make a significant difference in the day to day usage of the device.

The device specs seem to be an exact match to the version from the Netherlands, with exception to the radio being used. This version will take advantage of the North American 3G network. There’s no pricing information that I was able to find. However, it appears that the B7330 will be available for purchase starting on April 28th (Yes, that’s today!) from Bell, and May 4th from Rogers.  You can check out the device and all it’s specifications from the Samsung Canada website.

Source = MobileSyrup

How To Tweak Windows Mobile 6.5 Today Screen

With the launch of Windows Mobile 6.5, Microsoft brought the XML based today screen that has been used on non-touch devices, to the touch world of Windows Mobile. While it’s not the exact same XML template, it still allows us to get our hands in there and do some cool customization. And customize we shall do!

The first thing you’ll need to do is find a tool that allow you to set the file permissions on the device. There are a number of tools out there, find one that allows you to toggle the read-only setting of files. If your Windows Mobile 6.5 device is from HTC and is sporting HTC Sense interface, you’ll need to turn that off. If you’re not sure how, check out my post from last week for details.

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How to Turn off HTC’s Sense on the HD2

This may seem like a pretty straight forward tip to some, while others will find it extremely valuable. For me, I was playing with HTC’s Hero device running Android prior to picking up the HTC HD2. On the Hero, the Sense interface can not be disabled. So the thought never crossed my mind when I started using the HD2. Your home screen style can be yours to decide.

From the Start menu, tap on Settings. HTC does a nice job of simplifying the settings screens with Sense on Windows Phones and we need to change a setting that is not exposed in their interface.  Tap on Menu and then select All Settings from the menu that appears. When the settings menu opens, tap on Today and then at the bottom of the screen tap on the Items tab. By default the HD2 is going to load HTC Sense for the today screen plugin. Just tap on Windows Default at the top of the list and then OK to save the changes. That’s it, that’s all.  Now you can enjoy using Microsoft’s default Today screen for Windows Mobile 6.5.

HTC Announces Legend, Desire and Mini

At Mobile World Congress today, HTC announced 3 new devices based on Windows Mobile and Android operating systems.

The HTC Mini is based on Windows Mobile 6.5 and brings the experience of the HD2 to a smaller footprint. The HD2 experience is truly something special. If HTC can make this into a smaller device, it will be interesting to see and use. The single best thing on the HD2 is the screen. If they can pack the processor and power into a smaller footprint, will the device be as attractive? It’s a hard question to answer. With a smaller screen, they will need to make sure that the smaller screen is just as brilliant as it’s larger brother or it won’t succeed.

The HTC Legend and Desire are both Android based devices. The Legend is like version 2 of the Hero, adding a AMOLED screen LED Flash, optical trackball, a faster processor – 600MHz, and some more memory.  The Desire is HTC’s version of their Nexus One phone, but with an optical trackball and an extra button.

You can read check out the press release over at MobilityMinded – HTC Mini, and HTC Legend, Desire. And then let us know what you think of HTC’s latest devices.

Custom Theme Generator for Windows Phone

Earlier, we posted about adding custom wallpaper to your Windows phone. In that post, the wallpaper was a custom Windows Start button that was meant as your desktop wallpaper. If you’re looking to further customize your phone so that it’s you from top to bottom, then you will want to check out the Microsoft theme generator.

The theme generator is for Windows Mobile 6.5 devices only.  First thing you need to do, is pick your device from the rotating images. Then you can select the color you want to use, followed by the wallpaper image. You can even upload your own image and zoom/crop the image as you see fit. Once you have it just the way you like it, you can save it as a CAB file to your computer and pass it around for everyone to enjoy. You can also send it directly to your phone using an SMS message. It’s free and it’s cool. It’s worth checking out. Build a theme and share it here with us! I would like to see what everyone is capable of creating with this tool.

Is it Really That Hard to get .Net Framework 3.5 on Windows Mobile 6.5 Device?

I was just going off about this on twitter and I felt it was worth posting about too. I downloaded the beta for FourSquare on Windows Mobile. However, the application requires .Net Compact Framework 3.5 on the device. At first, I figured that a new HTC HD2 running Windows Mobile 6.5 should already have the 2 year old version of the Compact Framework installed in the ROM. Guess what I found out – No .NetCF 3.5 on the device.

While that’s just short sighted and stupid on Microsoft’s part, the solution is pretty simple. All I need to do is download the CAB from the web and I’m good to go. Sadly, it’s just not that simple. You see, the .NetCF 3.5 installer is a 33MB desktop installer that contains the CAB files inside of it. So you can’t simply download it to your device and install.  Now I’m really wondering what the hell Microsoft is thinking. Have they lost sight of the end user in all this?

Let’s take a look at the steps to install the .Net Framework 3.5 on your Windows Mobile 6.5 device: 1) boot up laptop, 2) goto download page, 3) download huge 33MB installer, 4) install on desktop, 5) find 1 small 2.5MB CAB file left behind from installer, 6) ActiveSync your phone, don’t use ActiveSync then you need to copy it to a MicroSD card and insert that into your phone. 7) On your phone, launch File Explore and find the file. Run the file.

And now the steps if a CAB file was available directly from Microsoft’s site: 1) goto download page, 2) download file, 3) install file. DONE.

I would really like to see some sort of explanation on A) why it’s not already baked into the device ROM, and B) why the end user can’t simply download the CAB file directly to their device.

CES: HTC HD2 Coming to T-Mobile this Spring

Today, during the keynote at CES, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced that the HTC HD2 will be coming to T-Mobile’s network in the spring. If you’re not familiar with this smartphone, it’s the latest HTC device running Windows Mobile 6.5. It features a Qualcomm 1GHz Snapdragon processor with a high-resolution 4.3 inch capacitive touch screen, 5 megapixel auto-focus camera, GPS, and so much more.

While there is no word on the expected price or the actual date of availability, this is a significant win for T-Mobile, and will play a key part in growing their customer base.

For those of you north of the border, it’s worth mentioning that the HD2 on T-Mobile’s network would result in a perfect match for the new Wind network in Canada.

Let us know your thoughts on the HD2. Are you interested in switching to T-Mobile so you can enjoy this device when it arrives? The full HTC press release can be found after the jump.

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Taking a Look Into the Samsung Omnia II at Mobility Minded

Verizon has recently launched the Samsung Omnia II smartphone powered by Windows Mobile 6.5. This is the follow up to the extremely popular Omnia which saw a CDMA release in North America along with 2 different GSM versions released in Europe and the Middle East. Mobility Minded has posted a 3 part review that takes an in-depth view of this device. Part 1 is focused on unboxing the device. Part 2 walks you through the user interface that Samsung loaded onto the Omnia II, and part 3 deals with data input on the device. Samsung has done some great work with this follow up to the Omnia.

Check out the video’s at Mobility Minded and let us know if you’re thinking of adding one of these to your holiday wish list.

High Resolution Images of LG IQ

Last week I had a chance to play with the upcoming Windows Mobile 6.5 LG IQ smartphone. Unfortunately, the lighting in the venue was less than ideal for pictures. I snapped what I could at the best I could, but they’re not my finest device shots. Thankfully, I now have some really nice clean shots of the IQ so I’m posting them here for everyone to enjoy.

Click on the images below to view the original size image.

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Up Close and Personal with the LG IQ

Last night I was invited by LG to take a look at their new device line-up, which included the brand new LG IQ, better known under the code name Monaco. While the IQ is not currently on sale, it will be available from Telus before the end of the year. If you consider that it would be incredibly stupid to release a phone 1 week before Christmas and miss the majority of holiday shoppers, then you could assume that the phone would be available in the next couple weeks. LG would not confirm anything more than “before the end of the year”.

So what’s so special about the LG IQ? Well, it’s running Windows Mobile 6.5 and sports LG’s S-Class user interface, which made for a really nice and finger friendly navigation. The S-Class interface was fully customizable allowing you to change which icons are displayed along the bottom and appear in the expanded menu. LG also allows you to turn this off and use the standard Windows Mobile 6.5 interface if you would rather use that. The device has a 1500 mAh battery, 5 mega pixel camera, MicroSD, and a Snapdragon 1 Ghz processor. The finger scanner on the front of the device works as your navigation and authentication to unlock the device. When it comes to navigation, I found the finger scanner worked really well. It was very much like a touch pad on a laptop. Swiping your finger from top to bottom would cause the page to scroll. The S-Class home screen allows you to swipe left and right to alternate “desktops”.

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