HTC has released Windows Mobile 6.5 firmware updates for two of its devices – Snap and Touch Pro2. At the moment it’s a Europe thing only, but I’m sure updates for devices sold elsewhere are coming in the near future, as well. This is not to say you can’t download the latest firmware and try it out for yourself no matter where you bought the device – it’s only that you will be doing that on your own hand with an option to brick your phone, and you don’t want to do that, right?
Anyway, if you live in Europe and have one of the devices mentioned, hop over to HTC’s support page and click on the appropriate link.
Everyone wants a piece of the Chinese mobile market and Samsung is not an exception. They’ve prepared a version of the Omnia II device marked as i8180, specially customized for the consumers in the “world’s fastest growing economy.”
And by special version we mean WAPI (China’s flavor of WiFi), TD-SCDMA radio (instead of HSPA/EV-DO) and CMMB (China Multimedia Mobile Broadcasting) support. Rest of the specs are pretty much the same as far as I’ve understood, meaning that the glorious 3.7-inch AMOLED touchscreen stays on board, which is cool.
Exact release date is unknown at the moment and the same goes for pricing…
Input technology developer TravellingWave announced the launch of what they say is the first voice-powered text prediction application for mobile phones. Intuitively called VoicePredict, it will enable mobile users to input text using their voices and by typing one or two letter key presses per word speak. The software also supports emoticons, SMS-shortcuts, and contact names, and can “act as a powerful interface to social networks, including Facebook and Twitter.”
Currently in a beta, VoicePredict is available for Windows Mobile smartphones, and is set to hit iPhone and Android platforms in early 2010.
As for TravellingWave plans with VoicePredict, the company will market its software to handset manufacturers, mobile operators, developers of mobile operating systems, speech recognition applications and text prediction software. We’ll see how that goes. In the meantime, TravellingWave argues the preliminary trials of VoicePredict indicate that, on an average users experience a 75% reduction in the number of key-presses on a phone with a QWERTY keypad and it enables 80% faster insertion of symbols and contact names.
The baddest Windows Phone of the year may just be coming to Stateside on T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) USA’s network! A newly discovered T-Mobile slide suggests that the HTC HD2’s (Leo) will soon be available on T-Mobile USA. The slide highlights the HTC HD2’s massive 4.3-inch WVGA capacitive touchscreen, 1Ghz Snapdragon processor and multimedia capabilities in a push to bring T-Mo customers “mobile entertainment like you’ve never seen (engaged with) before.” If that’s not enough to believe that HTC sold T-Mobile on the HD2, we don’t know what is.
If you haven’t yet checked out our hands-on coverage of the HTC HD2 (Leo), you might want to brush up on what we consider to be the hands-down best Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphone of the year. The HD2’s gigantic capacitive touchscreen and pencil-thin silhouette make for a sexy handset, but there’s more to the HD2 than just a pretty face. Underneath, the HD2 packs a 1Ghz Snapdragon chipset, 5-megapixel camera (with dual-LED flash), integrated GPS, WiFi, microSD slot, FM radio, digital compass and a 3.5mm headphone jack. And with HTC’s HTC’s “>TouchFLO 3D (which has been tweaked to reflect HTC’s Sense design philosophy) making up for much of Windows Mobile 6.5’s downfalls, the HD2 is one helluva Windows Phone.
The T-Mobile slide makes no mention of when we should expect to see the HD2 hitting the US, but it can’t be too far behind the Nov. 11 European launch. Oh, and it’s probably a good idea to start scrounging for couch change. This bad-boy isn’t going to be cheap!
Can’t wait to get your hands on the HTC HD2 after seeing our bitchin’ hands-on video? Well, British retailer Clove will begin shipping the 4.3″ Windows Mobile monster on November 11 unlocked for £469. Both T-Mobile and O2 will be offering the HD2 as well, if you’re looking to save a few pennies through subsidies. If you’re slobbering for this one in North America, however, you’re going to have to wait until Q1 2010. We’re really looking forward to seeing the HD2 out in the wild, since it’s clear that it’s going to be HTC’s top-of-the-line mediacentric smartphone; with a nice UI update through Windows Mobile 6.5 and TouchFlo, it’s a pretty smooth ride.
Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) was on hand at CTIA WITE 2009 to give various demos of their new Windows Mobile 6.5 OS. Part of that demo included an in-depth look at the free Windows Phone backup service known as “My Phone.” For those of you net yet familiar with the new Windows Mobile 6.5, let me tell you it’s basically what you’d expect from a Windows Mobile update that is only meant to bridge the gap to Windows Mobile 7. The fundamental problems with Windows Mobile are still there, but it’s been skinned with a decidedly more finger-friendly UI and some nifty cloud-based services (My Phone and Marketplace). It’s a good compromise until Microsoft can launch Windows Mobile 7.
So, how does My Phone work? We had a chance to get a hands-on demo from the Windows Phone booth at CTIA. My Phone backs-up your Windows Phone data (contacts, calendar, SMS text messages, photos, etc.), and it also allows you to manage your photos and media directly on the web. Think of My Phone as a backup utility that helps you offload media for distribution to social networks. Best of all, it’s free (mostly)!
My Phone also offers some MobileMe-like premium features for $4.99. My Phone can be used to remotely ring your phone (even if it’s set to vibrate only), locate your Windows Phone on a map, lock your smartphone to prevent use or even remotely wipe the data on the handset. Each $4.99 purchase is good for 7 days and allows you to use each feature a handful of times. We’d like to see the premium services offered for free, but considering that most people will probably never use any remote management features, $5 sounds like a good enough deal.
Because My Phone was only meant to backup data and offload media to the web, Microsoft gives My Phone users just 200MB of storage space. Remember, My Phone isn’t a storage solution, it’s a backup sync solution.
Kempler & Strauss, the folks behind the “W” watch phone we covered recently, have used the CTIA in San Diego to show off their Billionair 7 Windows Mobile smartphone. Here’s the specs rundown:
HSDPA supporting speeds of up to 14Mbps on the downlink
WiFi, Bluetooth v2.0
3-megapixel camera
microSD memory card slot
The best thing is the price. It’s just $275 for the unlocked device, which makes it a great deal and an even better entrance to the smartphone world. Kudos to Kempler & Strauss for pulling this out.
Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) didn’t have a CTIA booth this go around, so they sent their Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2 with the “Windows Phone” booth to keep things interesting. There was no way I wasn’t going to get my hands all over the X2’s improved arc-slider and 3.5-inch OLED touchscreen. The X1 launched Sony Ericsson’s high-end XPERIA brand with high-end style last year, leaving some big shoes for the X2 to fill. We just had to find out if it did.
Changed from the X1 days is the touchscreen. The XPERIA X2 boasts a 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen that’s flush mounted. No more recessed resistive nonsense here. The arc-sliding keyboard is more comfortable and feels less cramped than the X1’s. And, of course, there’s the 8.1-megapixel camera tucked into the curvy shell.
The Panel UI still allows you to change your homescreen to fit your changing needs and moods. There are new Panels available too: a kind of cheesy Sim City-esque Sony Ericsson panel, new Windows Mobile 6.5 panels and more. The new Slide View feature takes center stage in the X2’s interface, serving up an inspired shortcut menu design that makes it easy to hop around oft-used phone features like missed calls, messages and panels.
We’ll let the video and photo gallery do the rest of the talking.
I had to do a double take when I saw this photo up on Engadget. What you’re looking at is a device with no formal name, I’m serious, it doesn’t have a name, but with specs that are pretty impressive: 3.5 inch OLED display, Windows Mobile 6.5, 5 megapixel camera, QWERTY keyboard, 8 GB storage built in, WiFi, GPS, all yours for only €700 ($1035). This … thing (how the hell could it not have a name?!) was announced today in Milan, Italy, with Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer himself up on stage calling this device “a statement of style”. Anyway, now take a look at the Nokia N97 Mini:
Which do you think is more attractive?
And am I completely nuts for seeing the resemblance here?
DYMO CardScan Mobile has been launched just in time when Windows Marketplace for Mobile has opened its virtual doors. The application does one thing – allows you to use your WinMo phone’s camera to scan a business card, recognize the text and insert the contact information to your address book. Windows Mobile 6 or higher is required, camera should count at least 2 megapixels and have the auto-focus feature. If you got everything that’s mentioned, you’re ready to go. Search for DYMO CardScan Mobile in the Windows Mobile store, the price is $14.99…
Can’t wait to get your hands on the HTC HD2 after seeing our 
