Archive for January, 2007

By January 26, 2007 Read More →

Microsoft releases Portrait 3.0 Beta

The latest Beta version of Microsoft Portrait has just been released.

Microsoft Portrait

Microsoft Portrait is a research prototype for mobile video communication. It supports .NET Messenger Service, Session Initiation Protocol and Internet Locator Service on PCs, Pocket PCs, Handheld PCs and Smartphone. It runs on local area networks, dialup networks and even wireless networks with bandwidths as low as 9.6 kilobits/second. Microsoft Portrait delivers portrait-like video if users are in low bandwidths and displays full-color video if users are in broadband. In low bandwidths, portrait video possesses clearer shape, smoother motion, shorter latency and much cheaper computational cost than do conventional video technologies. Microsoft Portrait pursues providing presence notification, chat/voice/video functions anytime, anywhere, on any device.

Find out more on the Microsoft Research site.

Matt

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Posted in: News
By January 25, 2007 Read More →

VITO Remote for Smartphone

VITO Technology releases VITO Remote for Smartphone – the first universal remote control for Windows Mobile Smartphones. You can finally replace all your TV, Video, Home Theater and other remote controls with your stylish and compact Smartphone!

Vito Smartphone remote

VITO Remote for Smartphone allows you to teach you Smartphone all the commands from the original remote controls for your home and office electronics. Simply place Smartphone and an original remote control with their infrared ports facing each other, press a button on Smartphone and then on an original remote control: your Smartphone has learned it! This way you can easily stow all the necessary commands to your Smartphone and control any of your home and office equipment.

With user friendly and straightforward interface you can easily create as many profiles as you wish for all your devices that can be controlled remotely. Every button can have a separate icon or a custom name. With multiple screen layers you can assign as many commands as there are buttons on the original remote control for one and the same device.

VITO Remote for Smartphones is available for $15.95 at vitotechnology.com. The system requirements are Windows Mobile Smartphone with Intel XScale or Samsung processor.

Matt

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Posted in: Apps & Games
By January 25, 2007 Read More →

Microsoft extends support for XP Home and Media Center

Microsoft has announced the addition of an Extended Support phase for the Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Media Center Edition operating systems, providing consumers with an additional phase of support.

With the addition of Extended Support, the support life cycle for Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Media Center Edition will include a total of five years of Mainstream Support (until April 2009) and five years of Extended Support, matching the support policy provided for Windows XP Professional.

The Microsoft Support Lifecycle policy standardizes Microsoft product support policies for business and developer products as well as for consumer, hardware, multimedia and Microsoft Dynamicsproducts.

Matt

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Posted in: Phones
By January 25, 2007 Read More →

HTC to release Athena as HTC X7500

It has been a good news day for HTC Athena fans with the news earlier about T-Mobile’s planned launch of the Ameo and now we discover that the HTC commercial arm are going to release the device as the HTC X7500.

HTC X7500 Athena

I must say that I prefer the device in black as the silver design that we have already seen looks rather 90’s. A few other things (semi)confirmed about the HTC X7500 are that it will include a 8GB Hard Drive, TV-out and a VGA-out connector.

It really is looking like an interesting device but I can’t imagine using it as a phone what would you look like holding that lump to your ear!? 😛

HTC X7500 Specification

  • 5″ 64k colors TFT display screen (640 x 480)
  • Intel Xscale 624 MHz processor
  • Built in GPS
  • 8Gb(!) on board storage
  • 3.0 megapixel camera
  • Front facing camera for video telephony
  • detatchable Qwerty keyboard
  • Bluetooth 2.0
  • Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0
  • GSM: GPRS/edge (850/900/1800/1900) and UMTS/hsdpa (2100 MHz for Europe)
  • 2100 mAh battery
  • Dimensions: 133.1 x 97 x 20 mm
  • Weight: 355 grams
  • WiFi

    • You can find lots more photos on HPC.ru

    Matt

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    Posted in: News
    By January 24, 2007 Read More →

    Repair your scratched iPod screen

    Ok so maybe this isn’t a ‘repair’ but it’s certainly the next best thing!

    I’ve had my iPod video for a little while and a few weeks ago I managed to scratch the screen, it’s a bad scratch caused by putting my keys in the same pocket as the iPod. I’m normally so careful with my devices but the mistake all but ruined the screen!

    I had an idea and called upon my old friends a JAVOedge. It may well seem like shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted but I thought that an Anti-Glare JAVOscreen might cover up the scratch and prevent any further damage.

    So today I got my screen protector from JAVOedge and after cleaning my iPod screen I applied it. I am simply amazed at the results! Have a look at the two pictures below. In the ‘before’ picture you can clearly see the nasty scratch but after applying the anti-glare screen protector it is virtually impossible to see the scratch, even up close and holding it to the light you can barely see it!

    iPod Video before

    iPod After

    Not only does the JAVOscreen hide the scratch but check out the anti-glare coating. This makes the screen so much easier to see, even in daylight it cuts out all the unwanted reflections.

    When you buy a JAVOScreen for an iPod from JAVOedge you don’t just get a screen protector that simply covers the screen area, the screen protector covers the whole of the front of the iPod. You also get a circular protector for the click-wheel and another protector for the back of the device!

    iPod Screen Protection

    So whether you are looking to protect your iPod screen from damage or you already have an scratched iPod that you want to ‘repair’ take a look at the JAVOedge JAVOscreen products – they are certainly a cheaper alternative to replacing the screen!

    JAVOEdge

    These screen protectors from JAVOedge are available for lots of other products too. So if you have scratched your mobile phone, iPod or PDA screen why not try a JAVOscreen protector?

    BTW – Images are straight from the camera, just resized for the web.

    Matt

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    Posted in: Reviews
    By January 24, 2007 Read More →

    HTC Athena coming to T-Mobile as Ameo

    A while ago everyone was talking about the HTC Athena, speculating about the specification and wondering if the device would ever come to market. Well today we seem to be a step closer as it looks like T-mobile are getting ready to launch the device as the T-mobile Ameo.

    T-mobile Ameo

    Details of the Ameo have started to emerge and PocketInfo have several images of the device as well as a more up to date specification. It now looks like the OS will in fact be WM5 and not WM6/Crossbow as we first thought however the images currently available are obviously Photoshopped so the final spec when it comes to release could be quite different.

    I’m still not convinced by the concept of this device, it’s pretty big yet the screen is ‘only’ 640 x 480. There are UMPC devices out there (eg OQO 2) that are only a little bit larger yet offer higher screen resolution, full blown Windows XP and gigabytes of hard drive space. Also a device like the Ameo could really benefit from USB On-the-Go but there is no mention of this in the spec at the moment.

    I’m just not sure where a device like the Ameo would sit in the market. I guess time will tell!

    T-Mobile Ameo Specification

  • 5″ 64k colors TFT display screen (640 x 480)
  • Intel Xscale 624 MHz processor
  • Built in GPS
  • 8Gb(!) on board storage
  • 3.0 megapixel camera
  • detatchable Qwerty keyboard
  • Bluetooth 2.0
  • Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0
  • GSM: GPRS/edge (850/900/1800/1900) and UMTS/hsdpa (2100 MHz for Europe)
  • 2100 mAh battery
  • Dimensions: 133.1 x 97 x 20 mm
  • WiFi

    • Matt

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    Posted in: News
    By January 23, 2007 Read More →

    O2 Flame to cost over $1000?

    Well I know that it’s a high spec device with VGA screen, 2GB Rom, USB on-the-Go etc. but would you really pay over $1100 (£600ish) for the O2 XDA Flame? Well if the prices at anything online are to be believed then that’s how much the device could set you back! Mind you, it is an Australian site and I have been told that electronics are a bit more expensive there so perhaps we can expect the Flame to retail for less in the UK – lets hope so!

    O2 XDA Flame

    No firm date for release (coming soon) but you can pre-order the XDA Flame if you are feeling flush!

    O2 XDA Flame Specification

  • Intel Xscale(R) PXA 270 processor at 520 Mhz.
  • 2.0 Mega Pixel camera
  • NVIDIA(R) GoForce(R) 5500 GPU
  • Wireless LAN 802.11b+g
  • SRS Mobile HD surround sound
  • USB On-The-Go
  • 2 GB Flash ROM + 128 MB RAM
  • TV out connector
  • 3.6 inch VGA screen
  • Windows Mobile 5
  • Bluetooth
  • Micro SD expansion slot
  • 3G – Tri band phone
  • Second camera for video calling
  • 2 Megapixel Auto Focus with Flash
  • 1600 mAh battery
  • FM radio tuner
  • Business card reader

    • Check out MrPalm for more images.

    Matt

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    Posted in: Phones
    By January 23, 2007 Read More →

    Windows Mobile 6 “Crossbow” thoughts

    Ever since the Windows Mobile 6 (Crossbow) rom was leaked and found its way on to the web we have had a number of questions about the likelihood of official rom upgrades being made available for HTC Universal and HTC Hermes devices.

    We now know, due to the Hermes and Universal leaked roms, that Crossbow is compatible with these devices so an official ROM upgrade would be theoretically possible. However I cannot think of a time where a hardware manufacturer has actually provided an official rom upgrade to a completely new OS version, and certainly not for free.

    It’s all a matter of licensing. When a device is produced and an OS rom installed a license fee must be paid to the OS manufacturer, in this case Microsoft. The license fee relates to a specific OS version and is not transferable to another OS version. For an official rom upgrade to be released I am sure that the device manufacturer or the device owner would have to pay a further license fee.

    The mobile market is a little strange in many respects. People generally expect rom upgrades and mobile software to be given for free. Compare this to the PC market. When Microsoft releases Vista would you expect them to give this new OS away for free?

    I’m pretty sure that we wont be seeing an official ROM upgrade path for Crossbow on existing devices. It’s a shame as I would be happy to pay for the upgrade for my TyTN!

    BTW – You wont find the leaked Crossbow ROM anywhere on this site.

    Matt

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    Posted in: Phones
    By January 23, 2007 Read More →

    Trojan.Peacomm raised to a category 3

    Time to make sure your virus definitions are up to date!

    Today Symantec Security Response raised the risk level of Trojan.Peacomm to a category 3 threat, due to the speed and volume in which it is being aggressively spammed across the Internet. The Trojan, which was first spotted January 17, 2007 has been raised to a higher category following a sustained increase in new versions of the attack which appeared over the weekend as the malware author responded to improvements in protection made by security companies by adjusting his tactics.

    Check out the Symantec site for further info.

    Matt

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    Posted in: News
    By January 23, 2007 Read More →

    Samsung i760 comes to Verizon, runs Crossbow

    Verizon have announced the Samsung i760 with an estimated release in the second quarter of 2007.

    Samsung i760

    The i760 will run Windows Mobile 6 “Crossbow” and is a 1xEvDO device. The Samsung i760 also has a slide-out keyboard but only a 1.3 megapixel camera. Memory is said to be 128 MB ROM/64 MB RAM and WiFi b/g and Bluetooth 2.0.

    See more at Engadget Mobile.

    Matt

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    Posted in: Phones
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