GearBits

Update...Treos and Other Bits

Sorry for the lapse...I was out of the country and I guess my co-authors have not much to say at the moment. Here are a few tidbits of recent note:

Treo 270 in for Repair
My wife's Treo 270 died while she was in Ireland this past week. Actually, just the screen and backlight died; the rest of it seems OK. Apparently, palmOne is charging me $179 for an advance exchange for this beast. Not a great deal, but not terribly bad, IMO.

Treo 600 Battery Life Redux
Like the idiot I am, I left my Treo 600 in my car when I left for my trip Thursday afternoon. I got back to my car around midnight last night -- that's about 4.5 days or 108 hours later -- fully expecting the unit to be deader than a doornail. Much to my surprise, it still had 36% charge left. I finally dropped the unit in the charger today at noon just out of habit; it still had 28% battery left. So, over the course of 5 full days (120 hours), the phone (a) remained in standby (phone on), (b) supported nighly back-ups of its RAM to SD card, and (c) was used for about 20 minutes worth of phone calls and about 15 minutes of PDA activity. Given that it probably could have gone 6 full days had I pushed it, I'm still very, very impressed by the Treo 600's battery life.

Eats, Shoots and Leaves
While on the flight from Dublin to O'Hare, I read Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss. Fabulous read. I'm quite sure I still have solidly entrenched mispunctuation habits, but I'm trying hard to overcome them. The attractiveness of joining a militant punctuation society is such that if you see someone with a Sharpie correcting a sign offering "Half Price Drink's", that's quite possibly me.

Sony Puts Handhelds on Hiatus in US
Sony has suspended selling its Clie line of Palm OS-powered PDAs in the US until further notice. It seems likely that the rapid rise in popularity of palmOne's recent Zire and Tungsten models and the forthcoming release of the PlayStation Portable (PSP) both made Sony reconsider whether trying to sell PDAs in North America made much sense. Brighthand has a short article on the announcement -- feel free to engage in wild speculation at your leisure.

CTIA Cellphone Directory - Open to Abuse?

The Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA) has announced that it is putting together a directory which will contain 75% of the 163 million mobile phone numbers in the USA.

The CTIA is positioning the directory towards real estate agents and other mobile professionals who want people to be able to find their mobile numbers.

However, critics fear that publishing the directory will undermine privacy and open phones to a flood of unwanted calls. In addition, the numbers make it easy to deduce addresses of phones that receive e-mail since usually the number is the user name part of the e-mail address, opening users to e-mail abuse.

One major carrier, Verizon Wireless, has vowed to keep its 39 million subscribers out of the directory, calling the initiative misguided.

There are big numbers at stake. Consulting firm Zelos Group estimates that the directory could generate an estimated $3 billion in annual fees and additional minutes by 2009.

Since cell phones were introduced, mobile numbers have remained private because in the US, recipients of calls pay for air time, and so are reluctant to distribute numbers. Furthermore, 30% of users change carriers each year, making an accurate directory difficult to compile. That changed when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allowed the portability of mobile numbers.

Mobile Gear: What Features Take Precedence?

I'm fascinated by how consumers categorize their technology. For example, what's the difference between a phone with PDA capabilities and a PDA with phone capabilities? Yet, for some reason, consumers make these distinctions. What's really troubling is that the consultants and pundits (e.g., Gartner) seem to have latched onto certain categories and are pitting one against the other as if it were an illegal dogfight...last one standing wins.

So, let's recap what can be observed out in the marketplace today. What features seem to drive name/image dominance for handheld and mobile devices?

1. Phone -- If a device can be used as a voice phone on a cellular network, it is generally first and foremost considered a phone. Some exceptions to this include the Pocket PC Phone Edition devices, which people generally regard as PDAs, and the Palm Tungsten W, which people generally regarded as a piece of crap. So, the phone feature seems to dominate all other features...generally.

2. Gaming -- Second behind phone is gaming. If a handheld has significant game-playing capabilities, but is not a phone, it will essentially be labeled a gaming device. An example of this is Nokia's n-Gage -- it's a crappy phone and a decent gaming device, yet people still refer to it as a phone. However, consider the Tapwave Zodiac. The Zodiac is considered a gaming handheld despite it having significant PDA capabilities. Were it to have phone functionality, I posit that folks would refer to it as a phone (a la the n-Gage).

3. PDA/PIM -- Personal Digital Assistant or Personal Information Management functionality seems to be third on the influential feature list. If a device has this, but is not a phone or a gaming device, it is generally considered a PDA. There are relatively few exceptions, with the iPod being the most (only?) noteworthy one. The iPod's PIM functionality is crude at best, so perhaps this isn't really even that much of an exception.

4a. Camera -- Camera functionality (both still and video) seems to have no dominance over any other feature. The Sony Clies and the Palm Zires that have cameras are still primarily considered PDAs, and my Treo 600, which has a camera (albeit a lame one), is still considered a phone. Only devices that are strictly cameras (i.e., have no other significant capability) are regarded as cameras. The only exception I've found in this regard is the Panasonic series of multi-function devices (e.g., their D-Snap line) that combine a still camera, video camera, MP3 player, and voice recorder all in one. In that device, the camera dominates the MP3 functionality.

4b. MP3/Media Player -- Being able to play music or video clips is a laudable objective for a handheld. However, it is fairly undistinguishing if this is all a device can do. Most other features (e.g., phone, gaming, and PDA/PIM) overshadow music and video playing if those features are present on the device. Consider (again) the Tapwave Zodiac. It's an excellent multimedia device, yet folks think of it first as a gaming handheld and then as a PDA, with audio and video as an "oh, yeah, it can do this too" feature. Only dedicated devices like the forthcoming Samsung Yepp YH-999 Portable Media Center are known for their audio/video playback capabilities. Were these to have phone functionality or gaming controls or established PDA/PIM functionality, they wouldn't be nearly as lauded for their A/V features. At least that's my guess.

Note that I have Camera and MP3/Video as tied for fourth. It seems there are a lot of examples of cameras that can do the audio/video playback thing and A/V devices with built-in cameras, so I don't see a clear precedence here. Maybe that will emerge as dedicated A/V devices get better and people start considering camera functionality as almost an assumed feature for mid- to upper-level electronics.

OK, I'm interested in hearing what you all think about my theory here. What are the exceptions (gadgets) to my rules that you've seen?

Fast Phone Fingers

TechDirt and Engadget have stories about the world's fastest phone text typer. Using a standard mobile phone keypad, James Trusler tapped out "The razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human." in just 67 seconds (try it...I doubt you can do it in twice as long the first time).

Of course, I was curious how long this would take me on my Treo 600. Turns out that my second try (first try was interrupted by a phone call...go figure) took me 59 seconds, 8 seconds less than the world's fastest keypad poker (and I'm not a stellar thumb-board typer). Makes me realize again why I would hate to have to go back to a regular mobile phone.

So, how long does it take for you to enter this phrase on your device using your preferred method?

Impressive Battery Life on the Treo 600

Just a quick post: I've now been using the Treo 600 for well over a month. So far, I'm damned impressed at its battery life.

For example, I can easily go an entire weekend of fairly heavy use (mostly PDA+GPRS plus some talk time) without even coming close to running the battery down.

Another example is from last night. I spent almost 3 straight hours using it for ebook reading (Lessig's Free Culture is excellent, by the way) with the phone on standby and GPRS enabled the entire time. When I finally turned in, my battery was still at 87%. No PDA-phone I've ever used had even close to this much stamina. Well done, guys!

Mobile Phones Legal On Some Flights

Travel news reports are noting that in some jurisdictions, mobile phones may now be operated in calendar, photo viewer or similar mode.

The British Civil Aviation Authority has begun allowing this in planes under its jurisdiction, because they've decided that - in this so-called "flight mode" with the radio disabled - phones do not interfere with pilot systems.

Furthermore, the BCAA suggests that all airlines should let travelers perform all other non-phone functions - read and write documents, play games - on smartphones, in the same vein as laptops, handheld games, or MP3 players.

Flight crews are saying it is not their responsibility to check for "flight mode", but the BCAA says it is. The BCAA does require that phones make it clear when their transmitter is off - for example, Sony Ericsson's P900 smartphone displays "FLIGHT MODE" on its display.

It is not clear whether the US Federal Aviation Administration will follow the BCAA's lead.

Name That Tune

Have you ever heard a song on the radio and thought - "That's great! Now who is that artist?" - and the DJ forgets to let you know? With a new music recognition service from AT&T Wireless, you can easily name that tune.

Customers dial #ID for the identification service, then hold their phone up to the speaker. In 15 seconds, the NowPlaying service sends out a text message with the current song title and artist, as well as information on the last five songs just played (in case you missed one of those).

The service is the first in the US, and is provided by Musicphone in cooperation with Shazam Entertainment, which has provided a similar service in the UK based on proprietary recognition technology and a database of over a million recorded songs.

The UK service includes an additional option to purchase the artist's CD containing the song, once it has been identified.

Nokia Re-N-Gages

Nokia has just announced the latest addition to their N-Gage series, the N-Gage QD.

The N-Gage QD improves on the original with a number of new features, including a brighter screen, a better user interface and game controls, a hot-swappable multimedia (MMC) slot, better battery life, and new smartphone features.

The new smartphone features include personal information management, email, and an XHTML browser.

In addition, the microphone and speaker in the QD have been reoriented from the original, making for easier handling as a phone.

A new launcher application simplifies connecting the Nokia's mobile network community via the N-Gage Arena, downloading and playing all available titles, as well as taking part in multiplayer gaming via Bluetooth wireless.

Nokia expects pricing to be in the range of $199 at retail, or $99 with a mobile contract. The N-Gage QD game deck is expected to be available in May-June 2004 worldwide.

400 Pixels Per Inch for Cellphone Screens

Samsung has demonstrated a 2-inch LCD panel with an equivalent resolution of 400ppi, yielding a VGA-equivalent-quality screen for use in cellphones.

Samsung's screen is based on Si-TFT technology. While the number of pixels in the panel is 240 x 640, the high-resolution display is theoretically equivalent to VGA (400-ppi, 480 x 640 pixels) was achieved by a special Four Color Rendering (4CR) technique, proprietary to the company.

The 4CR realizes high resolution equivalence with fewer pixels by utilizing RGB sub-pixels on adjoining scan lines in color and gradient renderings.

A similar technique called field sequential (FS) rendering divides pixels sequentially, displaying colors in the order of RGB.

Samsung has already demonstrated several LCD panels featuring FS rendering, technique, but this is one of the few using 4CR, and the first with this level of resolution, 10x earlier models.

Samsung claims a luminance of 200cd/m2, a contrast ratio of 200:1, and 262,000 colors, with color reproduction area against NTSC at 70%.

Phone Your Television

NTT DoCoMo has announced that phones from its 3G FOMA videophone series can now be used in Japan to control home appliances from almost anywhere the phone can be used.

The heart of the system is an in-home control box that is contacted by the phone, and which in turn processes commands to appliances via infrared (IrDA) or via cable connection.

The controller can be connected to a PC via a USB port, or to external sensors (such as light or motion sensors) via an independent I/O port. It is connected to the mobile FOMA network via a special data card.

The system lets users control lights and air conditioners, for example, turning them on or off as appropriate.

More amazingly, it enables users to remotely program recording a television program, and then transmit the playback on the phone, streamed through the FOMA network.

A FOMA videophone can also transmit pictures to the controller, for viewing on a connected screen.

Selling my Kyocera 7135

I'm selling my Kyocera 7135 Palm OS smartphone on ebay.

If you want it, go bid on it.

Mobile Phone with Fastap Keypad

LG Electronics has just released the first mobile phone integrating a Fastap keyboard.

Based on a CDMA 800/1900 MHz LG-5450 handset, the new phone integrates a miniature alphabetic keyboard wedged in between the regular numeric keypad.

The company claims that the Fastap keypad allows a more user-friendly approach to keyboard input for communication via email and short-message-service (SMS). Additional capabilities include a VGA camera.

Canadian carrier Telus Mobility is expected to be the first to offer service for the Fastap-enabled handset.

Digit Wireless are the inventors of the Fastap keyboard. The Massachusetts-based firm is a technology innovation and licensing company and plans to license further technology to mobile device manufacturers.

Digit Wireless recently received a second-round financing of $3.3M from Qualcomm and Telus Ventures.

Bill's Treo 600 Photo Tips

If you've viewed Live from Mundania, you've noticed that the photos I've been taking with the Treo 600's camera are...well...total crap. I'm really not that bad a photographer...honest.

Well, it seems that Bill Koslosky, a.k.a. Wireless Doc, has posted the start of a rather nice-looking Treo 600 Camera Primer. While there's not a whole lot there yet, Bill emailed me today to tell me that he's working on some new material that should be posted soon.

What impressed me the most was the quality of the photos he's getting out of the Treo 600's camera. For example, the photo shown below is just one of several that are pretty amazing especially when compared to the garbage that mine seems to produce. I'm willing to accept some blame for bad pics, but I'm still not 100% convinced that my phone is acting the way it should. I guess I just need Bill to teach me the Zen of Treo 600 photography.

Siemens Launches Home MMS Phone Service

Siemens Mobile has just launched the first home phone with fixed-line multimedia messaging service (MMS).

The Siemens Gigaset SL740/SLX740isdn combines a high-res color display and integrated digital camera in a cordless phone. MMS capability allows photo capture and sharing from the home, and includes a 640-character SMS feature for captioning or straight communication.

The Gigaset borrows a few other tricks from mobile phones. It allows personalization of the digital phone book with snapshots, and allows different polyphonic ringer melodies assigned to specific phonebook entries.

Ringtones, logos and pictures to personalize the phone are downloadable from the Gigaset website.

The Gigaset also features synchronizability of its address book with Microsoft Outlook, and a calendar function that store dates and reminders, such as birthdays and anniversaries, next to phonebook entries.

Good Deal on Treo 600 Cradle

Not wanting to spend the $30 that palmOne is asking for the Treo 600 charge/sync cradle, I went searching on ebay. I found some superb deals.

One vendor in particular, Dan's Cellular Accessories offers the Treo 600 cradle and a second Treo 600 stylus for $8.99 plus $6.99 shipping. All told, that's roughly half of what palmOne would have charged me.

I've purchased some things before from Dan (including a set of stereo headphones for my Kyocera 7135) and I've found the quality of the items I've bought from him to be equal to what I get from the manufacturer -- I believe they're manufactured by the same Asian companies that make the OEM products.

So, if you're in the hunt for phone or PDA accessories, give ebay a look.

Lovin' the Treo 600

I'm now fully switched over to my new Treo 600 (shown). All the apps and data that resided on my previous smart phone (the Kyocera 7135) have been transferred and I'm living large.

As a phone, it's dandy -- it does everything a phone is supposed to do and it does them superlatively. The size, weight, feel, and interface are all just terrific. Yes, there are smaller phones out there, but the Treo 600 is not what I would call large by any stretch.

As a PDA, it's very good. While the low-res screen reduces the amount of stuff you can see at any one time, the display is amazingly bright and clear (and it's the same 160x160 that I had on my Kyocera). The 32 MB of RAM is adequate (but not tremendous) and the 144 MHz processor is quite snappy. The SDIO slot provides nearly limitless expandability.

The real work of art here is the interface between the PDA side and the phone side. Unlike the Kyocera, there really is no division between these two functions. On the 7135, it was very apparent whether you dealing with a "phone" function or a "PDA" function -- shuttling between the two function sets was difficult and obvious.

In contrast, the Treo 600 blends everything quite perfectly. Using GPRS in a PDA application is seamless and transparent. Initiating a voice call from the Addressbook is fall-down easy. Handspring/palmOne really knows their stuff when it comes to user interfaces.

Then there's the battery life...it's heaploads better than I expected. I can easily go three days on a single charge with moderate PDA and phone/GPRS use. My Kyocera and my old Treo 270 would struggle to go 24 hours. Realizing that "battery = weight" makes me even more accepting of the Treo 600's 6 oz. weight (typical for handhelds, a bit heavier than most cellphones).

But, nothing is perfect. I wish the SDIO slot were full-power rather than it being a bit underpowered (it's not clear whether it's actually SDIO compliant in that regard). I also wish that T-Mobile's GPRS speeds were better. They're not bad in most spots, but the throughput can vary a fair bit from location to location and it still pales in comparison to Wi-Fi. I'm hoping that EDGE will come to T-Mobile fairly soon (is a hardware change required on the phone?). Finally, and this is the tiniest nit to pick, I wish it had a feature that my Tungsten C has -- hold down a letter key to capitalize it. I really like that feature and I wish the Treo 600 had that as an available option. The Shift key isn't inconvenient...it's just that I often capitalize after-the-fact and the TC's approach lets me change my mind after the letter has been struck.

Overall, to borrow from McDonald's, when it comes to the Treo 600, I'm Lovin' It.

Handspring/palmOne Begins Shipping Treo 600 for T-Mobile

I just received notice today that my pre-ordered Treo 600 for T-Mobile has shipped. I pre-ordered it back on February 10th (the first day pre-orders were being taken). The promised delivery date had been "sometime in March," so I'm glad to hear that it's on its way earlier than expected.

More when it arrives later this week...

Switching from Verizon to T-Mobile

So, I'm planning on switching my cellular service from Verizon to T-Mobile. My Verizon contract expires on Monday, and my Treo 600 should be getting here in early March.

I've already confirmed with T-Mobile that I can port my Verizon number over, so that's fine.

Anybody have any reactions or recommendations regarding this switch? Good packages at T-Mobile? Interesting wireless data options I should consider?

Cingular Acquires AT&T Wireless

US mobile telephone operator Cingular has announced that it will acquire rival AT&T Wireless for $41B. The deal creates the largest US wireless provider, with 46 million customers and sales of over $32B.

Cingular is a joint venture between BellSouth and SBC Communications, with over 24 million customers. AT&T Wireless is the second-largest US wireless carrier, with over 22 million subscribers.

British mobile phone company Vodafone was the other participant in a bidding war for AT&T Wireless, which was up for sale with a deadline of Feb 13, extended to Feb 15.

The acquisition is still subject to shareholder and regulatory approval, but is expected to close by late 2004.

Motorola Camphone Swings Into Action

Motorola has just announced the V80 cellphone, which sports a unique rotating cover design.

Closed, the V80 shows off an colour display for playing games and photo caller ID alerts. Push a button, and the cover swings open to unveil a full-sized mobile phone.

Rotate the cover to a 90-degree angle, and the phone turns into a 640x480 VGA camera, with auto-landscape mode, photo messaging and integrated Bluetooth for photo-sharing.

The V80 also makes creative use of MP3 ringtones and lighting. Users can attach favourite songs or light patterns to friends' numbers to identify incoming calls, or can play JAVA games with flashing lights, arcade-style.

Olympus Enters Camphone Market

Olympus has announced its entry into the market of mobile phone camera modules.

The new camera module, pictured here with a Japanese 100-yen coin for a size comparison, realizes its thin size by employing free-shaped prisms for aligning light rays.

The free-shaped prism technology was previously employed by Olympus in a head-mount display, called Eye-Trek. The experience carried over in the design of the miniature camera module.

Compared to conventional camera modules for mobile phones that require several lenses vertically stacked on one another, the resin free-prism model is much thinner, at 8.5-mm. Olympus' camera module has an F value of 2.8, is designed for a 1/4-in optical instrument, and supports a 1.3-million-pixel image sensor.

Olympus is expecting to ship camera modules by spring of 2004, and mass-production in fall 2004, with an estimated production run of 500,000 units per month.

1-GB SanDisk SD Cards

SanDisk Corporation is now shipping the world's first production 1-GB secure digital (SD) card.

At $500, the 1-GB SD card has the capacity to store over 30 hours of digitally compressed music, 1,000 high-res digital images, and over five hours of MPEG-4 compressed video.

This new SD card uses a novel stacking technology, which enables SanDisk to double the previous memory capacity without increasing the size of the card.

SanDisk worked with Sharp's Integrated Circuits Group to devise a way to stack additional layers of NAND MLC die in ultra-thin packages without increasing the card size. In the 1-GB card, two ultra-thin packages are vertically mounted in the same height that currently houses a single package.

The new stacking process also has the potential for application to compact flash (CF) and Sony memory stick (MS) storage media.

Cellphones: Can't Live With 'Em, Can't Live Without 'Em

Almost one in three (30%) adults say the cellphone is the invention they most hate but cannot live without, according to the 8th annual Lemelson-MIT Invention Index study.

Other very essential but despised inventions cited by the survey are the alarm clock (25%) and television (23%).

The Lemelson-MIT Invention Index, which looks at attitudes toward inventions, also looked at the impact of other inventions such as email and voicemail. While teens overwhelmingly believe email (81%) and voicemail (71%) make life easier, adults agreed only to a lesser extent (59% and 58%, respectively).

Kyocera Recalls Exploding Batteries

Kyocera has issued a recall notice concerning a certain model of battery sold in its 7135 smartphone (shown).

1/23/04 CPSC, Kyocera Wireless Corp. Announce Recall of Batteries in Smartphone Cell Phones

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the manufacturers named below, today announced voluntary recalls of the following consumer products. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. (To access color photos of the following recalled products, see CPSC's Web site at www.cpsc.gov.)

Name of product: Batteries in Kyocera Cell Phones (Model 7135 Smartphones)

Units: About 140,000

Manufacturer/Importer: Coslight International Group, of Hong Kong, manufactured the batteries for Kyocera Wireless Corp., of San Diego, Calif.

Hazard: The recalled batteries can short-circuit and erupt with force or emit excessive heat, posing a burn hazard to consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: Kyocera Wireless Corp. has received four reports of battery failures, including one minor burn injury.

Description: The recalled batteries are included in Kyocera model 7135 Smartphone cell phones. The black and silver flip-up phones say "Kyocera" at the top of the screen. The recalled batteries have the red and white Kyocera name printed on the front and a product code ending with -05 printed on the underside.

Sold at: Verizon Wireless, US Cellular and ALLTEL Corporation stores, in addition to Web site and telemarketing retailers nationwide sold the cell phones with the -05 battery from September 2003 through December 2003 for about $500. The batteries also were sold separately during this time for about $21.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers with the recalled units should immediately stop using the battery in the cell phone. Kyocera Wireless will contact consumers to arrange for delivery of a free replacement battery. If consumers are not contacted by Kyocera by Feb. 6, they are asked to contact the firm to receive the free replacement battery. The batteries should be stored in an environment with non-flammable materials.

Consumer Contact: Call Kyocera Wireless Corp. at (800) 349-4478 between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. PT Monday through Friday, or visit their Web site at www.kyocera-wireless.com.

To Upgrade or Not

My one-year contract with my mobile carrier is about up and I'm contemplating a change. Now that I can take my number with me (thank you, Congress), changing cellular carriers is more of an option.

Currently, I use a Kyocera 7135 on Verizon Wireless. While I have no complaints about Verizon's service (coverage and uptime have been stellar), I would prefer to go back to a GSM because the high-speed data options are better. Even the "broadband wireless" service that Verizon has rolled out in DC and San Diego doesn't seem as convenient to me as my phone always having an IP address like it does with GPRS (at least I don't think it does with Verizon's new service...I think it still requires logging on and/or dialing up). I'm not nearly as concerned with bandwidth as I am with coverage and not having to dial up or change modes to get a data connection.

I enjoyed using my Treo 270 on T-Mobile, so one idea I had was to get a Treo 600 (shown) and go back to T-Mobile. But, given that Palm OS 6 is coming out fairly soon, I'm having doubts. One concern is that, given the long validation periods that the carriers require for new handsets, we may not see Palm OS 6-powered smartphones until early 2005.

But then, I doubt I'm typical. My phone basically does three things. First, it's an organizer -- the Palm OS side of things handles all my PIM with aplomb. Second, it's mobile Internet, for email and web on-the-go. Third, it's a voice communicator, since only about 15% of all my minutes used over the past year have been voice calls (the other 85% being data calls). As I said, I'm sure that puts me pretty far outside the mainstream cellular customer. But, as smartphones get better, maybe it will become more the rule rather than the exception.

Quicktime Does CDMA, GSM

With the latest release of QuickTime, Apple is claiming that it has developed the first mainstream media format for rich multimedia content across CDMA 2000 and GSM wireless networks.

QuickTime 6.5 enhances the popular software - already a leading platform for high-quality audio and video over IP, wireless and broadband networks, with over 175 million downloads for the 6.0 version - and enables users to share high-quality multimedia across the two predominant wireless networking technologies worldwide.

The new release supports 3GPP and 3GPP2 standards, including Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), Adaptive Multi-Rate (AMR) and Qualcomm Code Excited Linear Predictive (QCELP) audio codecs, MPEG-4 and H.263 video codecs, 3G Timed Text, native .3gp and .3g2 file formats, Movie Fragments, cross-platform Unicode text support, and enhanced DV playback.

T-Mobile Now Supports Treo 600

I just spoke to a customer support person from T-Mobile and she confirmed that they are able to accomodate the Treo 600 smartphone in their system.

While you can't yet buy the Treo 600 directly from T-Mobile, if you acquire one elsewhere (e.g., directly from palmOne), a T-Mobile SIM card can be obtained at any store and the phone will work with your T-Mobile account.

Optimal Use of Mobile Technology

As an academic researcher, I study how technology can be used by organizations and businesses to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of what they do. This line of investigation often leads me to think about how we, as users, have many of the same issues that corporations do. That is, how should we purchase, implement, and use various technologies to bring about the best personal results for ourselves?

Companies have a lot of techniques at their disposal that help them measure their existing and potential technology decisions: time-and-motion studies, return-on-investment (ROI) assessments, business process re-engineering...the list goes on and on.

However, the tools available to Joe User (you and me) are much more limited. Granted, you and I don't have corporate boards we need to answer to in order to justify our technology investments (although spouses might serve the same purpose). But, is there any less reason that we shouldn't be able to systematically examine how we individually use and apply personal and mobile technology, and then strive to make better investments? Does it not seem reasonable to want to get the most bang (in terms of usefulness and enjoyment) for our technology buck?

What I'd like to see is a set of software tools. The first type of tool would probably be PC-based, and it would help us analyze our cellular use and develop a cellular profile. For example, I suspect that about 85% of my mobile minutes are spent on data calls, but I don't really know that for certain. It could actually be 50% -- I just don't know. Understanding this aspect of my usage would help me decide what kind of device(s) I should be looking for (data-centric, voice-centric, or mixed?).

The second type of tool would be an application, or family of apps, that I can run on the various devices I use. It would give me a breakdown of how I operate my devices. For example, how often do I turn on each device? How long is each device on each time? How much time do I spend doing different things (e.g., using PIM (personal information management) functions, browsing the web, listening to music, playing games, etc.)? Again, knowing all this in a more thorough and systematic way would help me determine what kind of device(s) I should be looking at.

Finally, the third type of tool I want is a comprehensive decision-assistance tool. This could, and perhaps should, be a web-based tool. It would include information on all the various handhelds, phones, and related devices (MP3 players even, maybe). Then, by entering in my personal usage information (from the above tools), this app would determine which devices best fit my user profile.

Of course, that assumes I'm a mature technology user and that my current actual usage best suits what I need to do. If someone wants to change how they use their devices, this type of tool would help with that as well (need to do more mobile email? no problem).

In short, I'd like to see this happen. Will it happen? Most definitely not, for no one person would benefit enough from doing it to produce it all, and it might require the assistance and/or blessing of way too many device makers for such a project to be feasible. So, is there a subset of this dream, a whittled-down core concept, that would still be useful? Possibly...I'm still thinking about that.

Converged Devices: A Tale of Trade-offs

In a new article, Brighthand's Steve Bush says he has changed his ways. While he has long been a proponent of using two devices (a PDA and a phone), he is now a convert to using a smartphone. His new device, which I assume was a gift from Microsoft, is a Motorola MPx200 Smartphone.

The one task that Steve does not mention at all is entering text into the device. While the Microsoft Smartphone is a pretty nifty concept, since it has neither a touchscreen nor a thumb-keyboard, it doesn't allow for much, if any, text entry (short of the old-fashioned numpad-multiple-press approach). It has predictive word guessing, but if it's the same as on the Pocket PC, that's of minimal help.

So, my hunch is that Steve uses his phone/PDA as a phone first and a data-viewing device second. My personal use precludes this device since I enter a lot of data directly into the device (new contacts, appointments, to do lists, etc.). I just can't imagine having to tap out 2-2-8-8-9-9-9-0-2-2-7-7-7-3-3-2-3 just to get "buy bread" when 9 key pushes is all that's needed on a thumbboard.

This just goes back to illustrate (yet again) that we've yet to see the "perfect" device for a majority of users. Or have we? Perhaps such a device is merely just the simple cellular phone without any data stuff on it -- at least here in North America, that seems to be what the vast majority prefers.

Petition Verizon to Validate Treo 600 Smartphone

If you're a Verizon customer, you can't currently even consider getting the yummy new Treo 600 smartphone from palmOne (nee Handspring).

However, there's a rather sizable online petition going to get Verizon to add the Treo 600 to its approved handset list. You can sign the petition here<.a>.

Plus, Gizmodo is reporting that Verizon is saying that it's considering it, so there may be hope yet.

N-Gage Hacked

Nokia has admitted that hackers have cracked its N-Gage copy protection codes, allowing copied games to be traded over the Internet.

While Nokia hopes to sell up to 9 million units by the end of 2004, a key part of revenue comes from games, so this latest setback is critical to Nokia's bid to find a foothold in the mobile gaming market.

Talk to the Hand

Telecom giant NTT DoCoMo has demonstrated a prototype wristband phone - called Finger Whisper - which works by transforming the user's hand into a phone, with a microphone on the wrist and a finger earpiece.

To start a call, the user touches forefinger to thumb, enabling voice-recognition dialling via a microphone in the wristband, which also allows calls out.

Calls coming in are converted by Finger Whisper into vibrations transmitted to the bones of the hand. Put your finger in your ear, and these vibrations are sent to the eardrum, and converted back to voice by the brain.

A Cingular Sensation

Ever needed to take a business call at home but not give out your home number? Hated juggling between multiple numbers? Cingular Wireless promises to make things easier with the FastForward cradle.

The patented device plugs into an electrical outlet. When a Cingular Wireless phone is inserted into the cradle, calls to the cellphone are forwarded automatically to a designated landline phone, while the cellphone’s battery is being re-charged. Remove the cellphone, and call forwarding is deactivated. Simple!

The $40 FastForward cradle is compatible with select Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, and Siemens phones. A $3 monthly package enables unlimited call forwarding capability...and also saves your cellphone minutes for use when you actually are on the go.

Looks like a winner to me!

Handspring, Palm One

It's official... Shareholders have approved Palm's spinoff of its PalmSource operating system unit, and the acquisition of Handspring by its palmOne hardware unit.

PalmOne will be helmed by Todd Bradley, currently leading the Palm Solutions Group. Its Handheld Computing Solutions group will be led by Ken Wirt, currently a senior VP for Palm Solutions, and its Smart Phone Solutions group will be led by Ed Colligan, currently Handspring President.

Jeff Hawkins, founder of Palm and currently Handspring's Chairman and Chief Product Officer, will be Chief Technology Officer for palmOne. Donna Dubinsky, Handspring CEO, joins palmOne's board of directors.

Under the stock swap formula put together earlier this year, Handspring's shareholders would own 32.2 per cent of the new company, and Palm's shareholders would own 67.8 percent.

Officials hope the new focus brought about by the PalmSource spinoff and Handspring acquisition will help it stay ahead of rivals in a shrinking market.

Folks Really Digging the Treo 600

Several websites have posted initial impressions of their recently obtained Treo 600 smartphones from Handspring:

• Alex King seems to love his and he posted several photos of the contents of the box and a comparison to his Handspring Treo 300.
  
• Gizmodo says they have "...been getting a TON of email about the new Treo 600, mainly from readers who have gotten one and can't believe how good it is."
  
• TreoCentral got a 24-hour take-home preview and had many, many laudatory comments about the 600.
  

Update: While the Sprint Treo 600 has been launched to much acclaim, the GSM/GPRS version that is supposed to come out on T-Mobile has been delayed again.

No Frills Mobile

In this mobile age characterized by the flavor-of-the-day feature, where the camcorder phone trumps the camera phone, it's refreshing to find a company whose business plan is based on the motto "Less is more."

The Cyclone phone, by New Horizons Technologies International (NHTI), is about as basic as you can get - but it works! It is recyclable and rechargeable, and in its guide as the 911+ emergency cell phone, can be powered by three regular AA batteries!

The five-ounce phone is packaged with nationwide minutes and retails for $39.99 (15 minutes); $49.99 (30 minutes); or $59.99 (60 minutes), and will be available at your local grocery, hardware store, or Kwikee Mart. Duracell, a major partner, will be marketing the phone alongside its battery displays.

The purchaser activates the phone himself by dialling a toll-free number. A live operator asks for his ESN (electronic serial number), and gives the customer his own phone number. Voila!

The low cost and simplicity means the phone will appeal to seniors and to parents with pre-teen children - who may need to phone home, but don't need to SMS. NHTI hopes people will buy the Cyclone like flashlights, and store them throughout the house, car, cottage, school locker or backpack....ready for use in the next emergency.

Samsung SGH-i505 Looks Compelling

PalmInfocenter has a story about a new phone that Samsung is working on, the SGH-i505 (pictured). The SGH-i505 is a GSM clamshell phone based on Palm OS 5.2.1.

The nifty bits of the SGH-i505 are the high-res screen (320x320), the integrated VGA camera, and the fact that you can swivel the screen 180 degrees to lay it back down over the keypad (the first that we know of that lets you do that).

The story was broken first by msmobiles.com, which seems a bit odd, and is the source of the photo shown. Given that Samsung has recently delayed the SGH-i500, its previously announced GSM Palm OS 5 phone, perhaps the SGH-i505 is already set to replace it even before the SGH-i500 is ever released. Stranger things have happened, for sure.

No Future for Microsoft's Mobile Devices?

There seems to be growing concern about the future (if not the present) for mobile devices using Microsoft operating system, Windows Mobile. Two recent blog entries offer some interesting insights into this issue.

Mike Rohde recently blogged some thoughts about stagnation in the Pocket PC space, especially as he compares it to the innovation going on in the Palm OS camp, and offers some links to other stories to support his ideas:

"I don't think Pocket PC is going away, but rather that Microsoft may be looking to greener pastures like their new Smartphone platform or Tablet PC platform."

However, per Gizmodo, Steve Sande over at PDAntic has some rather significant concerns over Microsoft's strategy, or lack thereof, and doubts the longterm commitment that Microsoft is making to any of its mobile products, including Tablet PC:

"I just don't feel like Microsoft is doing much to generate any excitement in the mobile computing world lately. Last week's introduction of three new PalmOS devices from PalmOne is one of several "symptoms" that indicate to me that things might not be going all that well in the Windows Mobile world."

So, what's up with mobiles in Redmond? Given that both JVC and Gateway have recently abandoned their stated intentions of developing Windows Mobile products, is Windows Mobile in trouble? Is it being ignored by Microsoft in order to shore up other, more reliable (and traditional) products, or does Microsoft just simply not get mobility (like it didn't get the Internet for a while)?

Treo 600 Video on CNET

CNET's Brian Cooley talks with Joni Blecher about the Handspring Treo 600 smartphone.

Watch the video here. My goodness, that thing is small!

Editorial comment: After watching the entire video, one starts to wonder how Joni Blecher got that job. Could she know less about the devices she reviews?

Origami Yields Better Phonecams

According to New Scientist, origami techniques are providing cameras in cellphones with a much better focusing mechanism.

"Thanks to a novel and ultra-cheap micromotor technology, cellphone cameras should soon be able to zoom and focus with the same precision as the autofocusing lenses used in expensive stills cameras.

1 Limited of Cambridge, UK, has found a novel way to make a thin sheet of a piezoelectric ceramic material work like a motor. It can move whatever is placed on top of it, or it can be rolled into a cylinder to grasp and move a miniature camera lens."

Moving from fixed-focus to variable focus should provide a large improvement in picture quality. Of course, I'm not sure I'd put picture quality as my #1 concern when it comes to cellphones, but maybe that's just me.

Phone Sales Killing PDA Sales?

In this article, CNET News.com reports on a report suggesting that increased mobile phone sales are leading to the decline in PDA sales:

"The market for mobile phones is increasingly encroaching on the market for handheld organizers, leading to the second straight year of decline in organizer shipments, according to a report from research firm IDC.

So-called "converged" mobile phones, which combine organizer functions with the ability to make phone calls, are taking customers away from the handheld device market, IDC said Monday. For 2003, worldwide shipments are expected to decline 8.4 percent, to 11.35 million units from 12.4 million units last year."

If you take a different perspective -- that "converged mobile devices" are both phones and PDAs, then one might conclude that the PDA market is doing well...actually growing. It's not clear why IDC arbitrarily decided that anything that can be used as a cellular phone is a "phone" -- I think the lines separating the various categories are getting too blurred to make this type of report very useful.

Think of the Palm Tungsten W (pictured at the right). Out of the box, it can be used to place voice calls, but it's primary mission in life is as a wireless data device. Is this a "phone?" It's not clear from IDC's report whether this is counted or not (I believe it would be).

OK, then, what about any of the PDAs that have Wi-Fi built-in? These can be used for voice-over-IP (VOIP), meaning you could place a voice call if you're within an active Wi-Fi network with an Internet connection. Is that a phone? If not, why not? Or, what about the phones that have merely a bare-bones calendar and address book? Are those considered "converged devices?" Again, it's not clear from the IDC report what the criteria truly are. In fact, one would nearly need to go device-by-device to establish which category each fits into and why.

So, as the lines between device categories continue to blur, and "converged device" has less and less meaning every day, I'll continue to take reports like this one from IDC with a huge grain of salt. Or, better yet, perhaps we should just start ignoring them totally. Maybe then these research/consulting houses would be forced to come up with something more useful than the omnipresent "exponential growth" curve that they seem to use to describe every technology on the horizon.

But then again, if they showed what a reasonably clued in person expects for most new technologies, many fewer copies of their reports would be sold -- nobody is interested in reading about things that are headed into obscurity. How do you spell "conflict of interest" again?