A Look at SBSH PhoneWeaver for Android Devices

Recently I reviewed PhoneWeaver 2.1 from SBSH for Windows Mobile based devices and I was blown away by how powerful and the application was. It had a significant impact on my daily usage of the device. By creating different profiles in PhoneWeaver I was able to forget all about setting the volume or turning on and off Bluetooth for my drives to and from work.

Today, SBSH has released PhoneWeaver for Android based devices. That’s great news for everyone that’s picked up a Nexus One, EVO, Legend, Galaxy S, or some other Android device. Now Android users can enjoy the power of PhoneWeaver too.

I’ve been using the final beta versions of PhoneWeaver for Android over the last couple weeks. The application is pretty much the same as the Windows Mobile version. The interface is between Windows Mobile and Android is a little different, but the overall concepts and functionality are pretty much the same. The android version doesn’t have as many settings to tinker around with, but it’s just the first release. I’m sure it will expand nicely over time.

Once you install PhoneWeaver you’ll notice a new icon in the notification tray on your device. If you pull down the notification window you’ll see PhoneWeaver along with the name of the current profile. Simply tap on this to open PhoneWeaver and manually select your profile or edit/create a new profile.

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Sling Media Launches Android Version of SlingPlayer Mobile

Sling Media has finally released their SlingPlayer Mobile client for Android based devices. The mobile client is available in the Google Market for a price of $30. Initially, it will be available in Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, UK, and the US. And don’t forget, this is just the mobile client. You will still need the SlingBox (hardware) installed on your TV in order for this to work.

The timing couldn’t be better as many are looking to follow their favorite team in the World Cup. Ok, it could have been a little better if it was release at the start of the World Cup instead of a week or so in. For those interested, the full press release is available after the jump.

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SPB TV Upgraded to Version 2 for Windows Mobile

SPB TV for Windows Mobile devices has been updated to version 2. The new version offers video on demand and support for a new advanced video codec (H.264) to improve video quality with lower bitrates. Another significant enhancement is the change in price. SPB TV is now available for free. A small ad will be displayed while the channel is buffering. I was a little concerned about this, but after downloading the new version and playing around with it, the ads are not a big deal. They show for maybe 10 seconds after you select the channel and it starts to buffer content.

While the most recent update is for Windows Mobile devices, both touch screen and non-touch screen devices, SPB TV is also available for iPhone, Symbian, Android, BlackBerry, and WebOS based devices. For more information and to download a copy, check out the SPB website.

Share your Windows Phone 7 App Idea and Win!

Microsoft has kicked off a contest where you can plead your case for whatever app you would like to see on Windows Phone 7. The community will vote on the suggestions and the winning suggestion will not only have the application developed and listed in the marketplace as a free app, the winner will get $5000 plus a brand new Windows Phone 7 (once they are available). Sounds like a great contest on two sides – first, the community gets a chance to tell Microsoft what applications they want to see and a lucky winner will see it built. Second, enterprising developers can look over all the suggestions and get a good idea on what applications the community would like to see and possibly start their own development on these suggestions.

If there’s an application that you would like to see on Windows Phone 7, or if you want to see what people have already suggested,  head over to www.WindowsPhone7.com/iNeedThisApp/ The contest runs until July 8, so you have less than a month to submit your ideas and vote them up!

I’m wondering why nobody has suggested Cut and Paste as the app they want to see the most on Windows Phone 7? Surely someone is up to submitting this as a suggestion.  I would imagine it would get tons of votes!

SBSH GoNews Released for Android Devices

SBSH is well known in the Windows Mobile community for their top-notch applications like Facade, PocketWeather, PhoneWeaver and so many more. SBSH has released some of their titles for the iPhone, BlackBerry, and Symbian platforms. Today marks the first release for Android based devices. GoNews – a full featured RSS reader is now available as a free download for Android. GoNews will aggregate content from the sites you select, downloading it to the device. Because it’s stored on the device, you can read the news even when the device is offline. So you can download the content in the morning over your WiFi and then read it all day long without using your cellular data.

My favorite feature of GoNews is the ability to import your feeds using OPML file, making it so easy to setup with all the sites you already watch. GoNews is available for free in the Android store, or you can scan the QR code found on the SBSH website to automatically find and download the app. If you have an Android device, download GoNews and let us know your thoughts!

Profile Management with SBSH PhoneWeaver

I’ve been a long time user of Windows Mobile Standard (non-touch) devices. There are a number of differences between the two platforms, more than just the touch / no touch element that many people focus on.  One such difference is the concept of ring Profiles. With Windows Mobile Standard devices, you can pick between a number of pre-defined ringer profiles like Normal, Silent, Outdoor, etc. When I left the house in the morning, I would switch to Outdoor – when I got to work, Silent – hanging around the house, Normal. These profiles don’t just change the ringer volume, they also switch the Notifications, Alerts, New Message, and system key press volumes. Further, you could tweak each of the profiles so they did worked best for your needs.

The concept of these profiles is totally lost on Windows Phone Professional (touch) based devices. You have to mess around with the volume settings every time you want to change the volume. This is a simple task that most people do 3 or more times a day. It should be easy or even automatic. With PhoneWeaver from SBSH, it can be fully automatic and you can control so much more than just the volume of your speaker.

PhoneWeaver allows you to define smart profiles that can be activated automatically based on some predetermined event like Time, Phone Status, Agenda, or even GPS co-ordinates. The profiles can do so much more than just change the volume of your ringer. They can also enable / disable features like Bluetooth, WiFi, Cellular Radio, and the GPS. That means you can set PhoneWeaver to turn off WiFi, turn on Bluetooth, and turn up the phones ringer volume at quitting time. That way, your phone will be ready for the drive home.

The first thing you’ll notice once you’ve installed PhoneWeaver is the new icon in the top title bar of your device. The icon shows what profile is currently loaded on the device. Now, I’m not a big fan of putting extra icons in the top title bar of the device. I prefer the non-cluttered look for my device. However, I found this icon to be very helpful, at least while you learn how to use the software. Once you’re comfortable, you can dig into the settings and move it’s location left or right, or even turn it off.

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FourSquare gets Fancy on Windows Phone 7

FourSquare has been exploding on the mobile community over the last year. For those of you that are not familiar with FourSquare, it’s basically a location based social media game. By using your GPS co-ordinates, or AGPS if required, you can check into venue’s close to you. If you check into a venue more than anyone else, you become the mayor of that location.

There are FourSquare clients for BlackBerry, iPhone, Android, and most recently Windows Phone based devices. Any users of the Windows Phone based client can tell you how frustrating it has been to use. It regularly crash’s when trying to check into a location. For the longest time it didn’t suppor assisted GPS. So if you were inside a building you wouldn’t be able to get a GPS fix and check in. One pain point after another and there appears to be no updates.

And now we know why. It appears that a lot of effort has been put into creating a Windows Phone 7 Series client. This new client for a platform that hasn’t shipped yet, looks amazing and offers some really cool functionality. However, in the mean time we are all left to use an unstable, bug filled version.

Anyway, here’s some pictures of what you can expect to see for FourSquare on Windows Phone 7 devices when they do start shipping later this year. There’s more pictures over at Anand Iyer’s blog, Artificial Ignorance including new features like the social tab. If you’re using FourSquare, you’ll want to check them out.

I’m looking forward to the using the new application when Windows Phone 7 Series ships later this year. I just hope it’s more stable than the current FourSquare Windows Phone client. Then again, I’m certain it can’t be any worse!

SBSH Updates PhoneWeaver for Touch Devices

PhoneWeaver allows you to create simple profiles and will automatically switch between them based on the time, agenda, phone status or even location. I’m new to PhoneWeaver, and was surprised to see just how cool this application is. I’ve been looking for just such an application for years.  I only wish there was a non-touch version of PhoneWeaver to use on Windows Phone Standard devices. I’ve already downloaded the touch version and having it running on my HD2.

SBSH has updated PhoneWeaver for Windows Mobile touch based devices to version 2.1. The new version is finger friendly for easy use without a stylus, adds support for Windows Mobile 6.5.3, a customizable task bar icon, and a number of bug fixes and optimizations. You can read the full press release for version 2.1 release here.

 

You can download the trial version directly from the SBSH website.

Is Pocket Informant Developer WebIS Looking at Adding iPad Client?

Gear Diary’s Dan Cohen takes a little time to talk with Alex Kac from WebIS about their plans for the pending release of Apple’s iPad. If you’re a Pocket Informant or WebIS user, you’ll be interested in hearing what Alex has to say.

The iPad is scheduled to arrive for those that pre-ordered one on April 3rd. Initial response to Apples iPad announcement has been mixed, with many not seeing much value or place for the device in their current routines. Success of the iPad won’t be known until it starts shipping and there is some actual real world reviews.

The next question, given today’s Windows Phone announcements, is simple – are we going to see WebIS and other popular Windows Mobile developers return to Microsoft’s new mobile platform when devices start shipping later this year? Given the growing number of mobile operating systems, developers need to do what they can to make their products port quickly and easily to other platforms.

You can read details of Dan’s exclusive talk with WebIS over at GearDiary.

SPB News 2.0 and SBSH GoNews go Head-To-Head in a Review

RSS feeds have become one of the best ways to stay connected and updated on the news being posted on your favorite websites. If you’re wondering how to take advantage of RSS on your Windows Mobile device, or perhaps you’re simply wondering what some of the better RSS clients for Windows phones are, then you should take a look at the review Clinton Fitch has posted. It takes SPB’s News 2.0 and directly compares it with SBSH’s GoNews application. Both of these companies are well known for creating great software. With Clinton’s head-to-head post, you can be sure to get the application that best suits your RSS reading style and the features you need. Check it out!

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