My Favorite Windows Mobile Standard Device is…

I’ve been a big fan of non-touch smartphones for a while now. I find that they are faster to navigate around, easier to use with one hand, and all around more stable than their touch brothers. I have also been very lucky in that I have had access to many of the different models that have come out over the years. Recently I made the following comment on Twitter: I think the Samsung Propel Pro is my all-time fav Windows Mobile Standard device. Original BlackJack with scroll wheel is 2nd. I was asked to explain why I felt this way, but that’s one area where Twitter falls short. There was no way I could explain why the Propel Pro was my favorite Windows Mobile Standard device in just 140 characters. So I sat down to explain why and ended up with 850+ words on why it’s my favorite.  I can’t see how to condense this down to just 140 characters.

Without wasting any more time, here are the reasons. Please let me know your thoughts and which non-touch Windows Mobile device is your favorite.

1: Form Factor – There are 4 main form factors – A) Screen with no keyboard, B) Screen with a side-slide keyboard, C) Screen with front-facing keyboard, and D) Screen with front-facing number pad only. I like the physical keyboard as I find it provides a better experience for people that do a lot of writing on their devices. That factor alone removes half the options from the above list leaving a front-facing keyboard or a side-slide keyboard. A lot of devices have the side-slide because it offers a larger keyboard while allowing it to slide away for protection. What drove me nuts when I was using a side-slider, is having to wait for the screen to rotate. It’s just too slow. The front facing keyboard devices don’t have this problem because there is no delay in waiting for the screen to rotate. The downside is that the keyboard is now exposed all the time.  The Propel Pro from Samsung is one of the few devices, and only current device, that offers a front facing keyboard but hides it with a up-slider design. That means there is no delay in waiting for the screen to rotate when you slide out the keyboard to type a message. Perfect!

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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.

Taking a Closer Look at Samsungs Jack Smartphone with Windows Mobile 6.5

Last week, Samsung released Windows Mobile 6.5 for their popular Jack Smartphone. Microsoft claims that the Windows Mobile 6.5 update is all about touch. It offers an improved home screen and today menu for touch screen devices, as well as an updated version of Internet Explorer Mobile, Market Place for Mobile, and a number of more finger friendly enhancements to the general user interface. But the Samsung Jack does not have a touch screen. So is there any reason to apply this update?

Samsung offers the following list of enhancements and additions that Windows Mobile 6.5 brings to the Jack:

• Internet Explorer Mobile 6
• Windows Market Place for Mobile
• Modified UI with updated text & icons in several areas
• Enhanced, Java platform
• Battery optimization
• Radio signal optimization
• Fixed, T9 predictive logic (able to use z character)
• Added, RNDIS bypass support (Settings>Connection>USB) for simpler desktop connectivity
• Added, AT&T WiFi and Mobile Share
• Added, Vlingo for Windows Phone for improved voice recognition

The two big things that you’re going to see after upgrading to 6.5 are an improved web browsing experience thanks to Internet Explorer Mobile 6 and the new Market Place for Mobile. I’m sure that Samsung has done some tweaks to the battery life, but it’s nothing ground breaking. I haven’t noticed an extra day or power or anything. As for the modified UI, take a look at the pictures below and you be the judge if there’s anything there that is so over the top you just have to have it, because, frankly, I don’t see it.

While the market place is a welcome addition, it has yet to receive the praise or attention that it needs from developers to make it worth while. Many developers still see developing for Windows Mobile as a costly endeavor and that hasn’t changed with 6.5.

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Samsung Releases Windows Mobile 6.5 Upgrade for Jack

Samsung has released their ROM upgrade to Windows Mobile 6.5 for the Jack Smartphone. Now, to be clear about which Samsung Jack we’re talking about; If you have a Rogers or Fido Samsung Jack, then this upgrade is not for you. If you have an AT&T Samsung Jack, then this is your path to Windows Mobile 6.5. The full details and installation instructions can be found on Samsung’s website. And just like with past upgrades, Samsung has made it as difficult as possible to upgrade your device. There’s numerous steps and hoops that you need to jump through, but in the end I think the result will be worth it.

Before performing this upgrade, be sure to backup any personal information you might have on the device. The upgrade will wipe the device and restore it to factory default settings. If you don’t have a backup procedure in place, I highly recommend you install Microsoft’s My Phone service and backup all your data to the cloud for free. You can sign up here, or read more about it in my review – here.

I’m off to upgrade my Jack. If you have any problems or questions about the upgrade process, just post them in the comments here and I’ll do what I can to help. I’ll post my thoughts on the new ROM once my device is flashed and I’ve had a chance to play around with it.

Update: It looks like the update will not run on Windows 7, even if it’s run under compatibility mode as an administrator. You’ll need a machine running Vista or XP in order to do this upgrade. When I launched the installer on Vista, it failed the first time. I had to run the installer as an administrator in order for it to work.

Palm and Motorola Call it Quits on Windows Mobile

This past week word broken that both Palm and Motorola would stop using Windows Mobile on their handheld devices. That can’t be good news for Microsoft as they struggle to regain market and mind share as new mobile operating systems are moving in quickly. But is really all doom and gloom? Sure, it’s never good to lose customers to the competition, but did Palm and Moto really bring that much to Windows Mobile?

With all the handsets created by both Palm and Moto, only 1 device ever made Microsoft’s million plus sellers list – only 1. That device was Motorola’s Q, a ground breaking device for its time, even if it had a hard time making it through a day on a charge. Just like the RAZR, Moto has tried to recapture their success with similar styled follow-up devices without much luck.

As for Palm, their users a very loyal and typically love their handhelds. However, Palm was never able to get their popular Treo handsets into the million plus sellers club. It’s no surprise that once Palm was able to release their new, long awaited follow-up to the Palm OS, dubbed the WebOS that they would toss in the towel on Windows Mobile. The new Palm Pre running the WebOS is getting mediocre reviews on the street, but Palm.afford to continue working with 2 mobile operating systems. They need to curb the cash flow and cutting the mobile license fee that Microsoft asking for Windows Mobile is one sure fire way to save a little money in the short term. Can they last purely on their WebOS? We’ll have to wait and see on that one.

For me, I’m more looking forward to what Samsung, HTC, HP, etc… are going to release next, and what LG is going to bring to the table when they get their first devices out of the gate later this year.

HTC Snap vs Samsung Jack – FIGHT!

Being a big fan of the Messenger style Windows Mobile devices, I was pretty excited to see HTC return to this market with the Snap (T-Mobile Dash 3g, Verizon Ozone, etc…). While they were away, Samsung really stepped up their game and released a number of devices. HTC typically does a great job on the hardware, so let’s compare it to the latest and greatest device from Samsung and see how it fairs.

Processor

Both the HTC Snap (also known as the T-Mobile Dash 3G) and the Samsung Jack sport a 528MHz processor which provides a wealth of power for general tasks. Despite the fast processor, I have noticed some lag on the HTC Snap. Especially on opening the start menu after a fresh reboot. It’s a good 4-5 seconds waiting for the start menu to populate. It draws the windows almost instantly, but it takes a while to show the available programs. Advantage – Jack

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A Closer Look – The Samsung Jack Reviewed

It may not be called BlackJack, but the new Samsung Jack is the third release in the popular BlackJack series of smartphones. The original BlackJack and BlackJack II devices both reached the million plus sales mark. Can Samsung repeat that success with this new phone? If first impressions are any indication, then the new Jack should easily live up to the reputation of the BlackJack’s before it and reach that million seller mark.

Here’s a rundown of the technical specifications for the new Jack:

• Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard (Non-Touch)
• 528MHz Processor
• 256MB ROM / 256MB RAM
• Supports 16GB MicroSD
• GSM/GPRS/EDGE – 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz
• 3G UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA – 850 / 1900 / 2100 MHz
• HSDPA – 3.6 Mbps
• 320 x 240, 2.4 inch screen
• QWERTY Backlit keyboard
• 1480 mAh Battery
• 3.2 Megapixel Camera
• WiFi – 802.11b/g
• GPS
• Bluetooth 2.0
• 4.4 x 2.4 x 0.5 inches (H x W x D)
• Weight – 3.6 ounces

If you compare these specs to the BlackJack II, you’ll notice that the processor is a whole lot faster, and the battery is a whole lot less. The BlackJack II sported a 260MHz processor, while the new Jack has a 528MHz processor. That’s a pretty significant upgrade in speed and it’s noticeable. The battery goes from 1700mAh down to 1480mAh. That’s a drop of 220mAh! We’ve got a faster phone with a smaller battery and if you guessed that battery life dropped, then you would be right. The BlackJack II would easily make it through a day and most of the second day before it would need a charge. With the Jack, you will get 24 hours our of a charge and then need to charge it. If you have a busy day, you’ll need to charge it when you get home. Otherwise, you’ll probably need to charge it on the way to work in the morning. [ ..Read More.. ]

Hard Resetting the Propel Pro Smartphone

Occasionally something goes wrong and your device becomes unresponsive or perhaps you just purchased a used Propel Pro off eBay and want to wipe it clean before you start configuring it for your personal needs. Regardless of the reason, I’m going to tell you what you need to know to hard reset the device and make sure it’s back to the factory default.

The Propel Pro, also know as the i627, shares a lot with the Samsung Jack (i637) including the process of hard resetting and just like the Jack, there are 2 different methods for hard resetting the Propel Pro – Master Clear and Master Reset. The Master Reset function will reset the phone back to factory settings. The Master Clear option will reset the phone and wipe clean the user storage locations.

If the phone still starts then you can wipe the phone from the Start Menu by pressing Start / Settings / Security and then select the reset method of your choice. You will then see a prompt to enter a password before the wipe takes place. By default, the reset password is 0000 (that’s four zero’s).

If your Propel Pro will not start, you can still perform a reset. From a powered off state, press the power button while holding down the “F” key on the keyboard. Keep holding down the “F” key until you see the format menu. Here is where you can select which type of reset you would like to do. Press 1 for Master Clear and 2 for a Master Reset. After making your selection, the device will then be wiped.

Now you’re back to the beginning and can start to customize the device to your liking.

UPDATE: I mentioned above that during a hard reset from the Security menu, the phone will prompt you for a password. That’s not the case with the Propel Pro. It will take do the wipe as soon as you say “Yes” to either method. So PLEASE be careful when doing this!

A Couple New Toys for Me

Recently I was able to get together with our Editor in Chief, Mike Temporale for a quick bite and snag a couple of great phones to play around with; the Samsung Omnia and HTC S740 (THANKS MIKE!!).

The Omnia is a slate-style Windows Mobile Professional device running on the Bell Mobility network. I already have a Bell account, so I just switched over to this phone. Using it as my main phone and loving it. The screen is a good size and it is quite lightweight.

It does take a bit of time to get used to a new phone, so I will be sharing some thoughts.

Since the Omnia is still available from Bell I will be posting about some of the apps I have put on it and how I have customized it for my liking. It may not be the latest Windows Phone but it is a great smartphone that is a little less expensive.

The HTC S740 is a Windows Mobile Standard device that is unlocked for use on Rogers. Since I don’t have a Rogers account I am simply using WiFi with this one. Its a great little smartphone with a very nice sliding keyboard. I gotta say, this is one well made piece of hardware.

This one is just going to be for playing around. I actually have always used the Professional version of Windows Mobile and wanted to see what the Standard version was like.

More to come.

Understanding Vanity Dialing in Samsung Smartphones

Samsung has included a feature in their phones called Vanity Dialing. As the name implies, this feature will allow you to dial those ever popular vanity numbers like 1-800-Flowers or 1-800-Samsung. You can find Vanity Dialing on the new Samsung Jack, Propel Pro and even the older BlackJack II devices under Start / Settings / Key Settings / Vanity Dialing. After turning this on, you will need to reboot your phone before you can use the feature.

Now that you have turned this on, you can easily dial vanity numbers without trying to remember what number M, or I, or K, or E. You can use your QWERTY keyboard to enter the full word easily and the smartphone will automatically replace the letters with the correct numbers. To use the feature, start entering the number as you normally would. When you get to the letters, press the function (Fn) key and then type the word using your keyboard. For example, if you wanted to dial 1-800-MobileJaw, you would press 1, 8, 0, 0, Fn, M, o, b, i, l, e, J, a, w (without the comma’s). That’s easy enough, right? So get out there and dial those vanity numbers!

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