Tracy and Matt

Since posting details on how to modify the headset the ships with the Orange SPV M3100 to make it in to a headphone adapter so that you can use your own standard headphones I have had a fair amount of feedback.

It would seem that a lot of people want an adapter for their headphones but are either unwilling or unable to do this for themselves.

SO, for anyone wanting their headset turned into a headphone adapter like the one above I have decided to offer this as a service.

All you have to do is make contact with me through my contact form and send me your headset. I will then modify it for you and turn it in to an adapter that will allow you to use any standard headphones.

The adapter will be compatible with the Dopod CHT9000, Qtek 9600, i-Mate JasJam, O2 XDA Trion, HTC TyTN, HTC Hermes, htc Z, Orange SPV M3100 and T-Mobile MDA vario II devices. In fact it will be compatible with all HTC Hermes variants as well as STRTRK and Breeze variants.

I'm only offering this service to my readers, all I ask is that you send me your headset and cover the cost of the return postage and the 3.5mm jack socket.

EDIT: Now that Expansys are offering adapters for sale I'm no longer offering the service. Check out this post for details of the commercially available adapter.

Matt

[Technorati tag(s): smartphone, Pocket PC, Tracy & Matt, Orange, M3100, HTC Hermes, HTC TyTN, SPV, Orange SPV M3100, Hermes Headphones]

Brando have just released a decent looking hot sync/docking cradle for HTC Hermes devices.

According to the website the cradle will fit Dopod CHT9000, Qtek 9600, i-Mate JasJam, O2 XDA Trion, HTC TyTN, HTC Hermes, htc Z, Orange SPV M3100 and T-Mobile MDA vario II devices. It comes complete with the USB cable and features a fetching blue LED to indicate when it's charging.

I want one!

Check out the full review.

Matt

[Technorati tag(s): smartphone, Pocket PC, Tracy & Matt, Orange, M3100, HTC Hermes, HTC TyTN, SPV, Orange SPV M3100]

Ryanair has announced intentions that it plans to allow its passengers make calls on mobile phones and use handheld devices such as Smartphones and Pocket PC's whilst in flight.

It has signed a deal with Onair, part owned by Airbus maker EADS, to allow mobile use on all its Boeing 737 aircraft.

Passengers will be charged a roaming fee by mobile service provider, with Ryanair taking a slice of the income.

Ryanair shares climbed on the news of the potential extra source of revenue.

I'm not sure that I would be terribly pleased to be sitting next to someone that takes their phone on the plane. I can just imagine how popular that person would be when their annoying crazy frog ringtone wakes up half the passengers on a trans-atlantic flight!

It was only a few weeks ago that NO items of hand luggage were permitted on flights, now there is a proposal to encourage people to use phones in-flight. I guess that puts the myth that mobile phones can 'interfere with navigation equipment' to bed once and for all!

Matt

[Technorati tag(s): smartphone, Pocket PC, MoDaCo, Ryanair, EADS, Mobile Phones]

Just a quick update on the HTC Hermes D-Pad bug that we reported a few days ago.

The bug affects all know Hermes variants including Orange SPV M3100, HTC TyTN and Vodafone v1605.

I have now spoken with HTC about the bug and they fully acknowledge that it is a problem that they are able to replicate. They are looking into possible solutions and will get back to me when they can.

We hope that the issue can be fixed with some kind of firmware update but even if that's possible it could take some time for this to filter through. However, it is encouraging that HTC have spoken to us about the problem.

Please see the original bug report HERE

Matt

[Technorati tag(s): smartphone, Pocket PC, MoDaCo, Orange, M3100, HTC Hermes, HTC TyTN, SPV, Orange SPV M3100]

Review Part 4 - Summary

Go To Part 1 of the review.

Go To Part 2 of the review.

Go To Part 3 of the review.

It's been almost a month since the last part of my review of the Acer TravelMate 3012. I thought it was about time that I wound the reviews up with a conclusion.

Since I bought the TravelMate back in July I have used it literally every day, I've hardly used my desktop PC at home. The raw performance of the 3012 model really surprised me. Typically laptop PC's are somewhat slower than their desktop counterparts, however with the Intel's Core Duo processor there is plenty of power on tap.

There are a couple of negatives with the TravelMate. Firstly the LCD doesn't seem bright enough. Although indoors I have been running the backlight at 60% brightness, when I am sitting on a train 100% brightness isn't enough. That said the clarity of the screen is good.

The battery life isn't as good as I had hoped. Even with the backlight brightness set very low, and the CPU speed set to low I'm realistically only getting a few hours use. This is ok most of the time but is not great. Also, as I said in an earlier part of the review, I've had some issues with the power management. Sometimes the profile doesn't change when you unplug the power and the CPU continues to run at maximum speed, using up the precious battery power.

The final annoyance is that the homepage for Internet Explorer has been set to the Acer website and no matter what I do and no matter how I change it the home page reverts back to Acer. If anyone knows how to resolve then please let me know!

The built in webcam is pretty good. Running it at the full native resolution of 1.3 mega pixels results in a poor frame rate but at the sort of resolution that you would use for the likes of Skype or MSN Messenger then the frame rate is pretty decent. The camera software also includes some neat face tracking software that has some fun options such as attaching bushy eyebrows or a mustache to your face.

In terms of quietness the Acer is really impressive. The CPU fan runs very infrequently but even when it is running it is very quiet. This is a welcome change to my old Dell which was really quite noisy.

In conclusion the Acer TravelMate 3012 is a very capable machine. It's the fastest laptop I have ever owned and is a real pleasure to use. The problems that I've had with it are rather minor when compared with the rest of the package. It offers excellent value for money. I'm happy to recommend it to anyone looking for a small and light machine capable of delivering desktop performance.

Matt

[Technorati tag(s): Acer, laptop, TavelMate, Computing, technology, Dell]

Yesterday we told you about a bug that we had discovered with the Orange SPV M3100 joypad. As an update to that post we have had a few people contact us to confirm that this isn't just a problem with our devices but one the affects the HTC TyTN and the Vodafone v1605.

Now that the bug has been confirmed on multiple HTC Hermes variants we assume that it's a problem with the physical hardware as each operator will have different ROM implementations. However it is possible that the problem could be fixed with a firmware update, we hope that this will be the case.

We have made contact with HTC about the problem and they said that they will get back to us about the bug shortly. We will report back soon!

Matt

[Technorati tag(s): smartphone, Pocket PC, Tracy & Matt, Orange, M3100, HTC Hermes, HTC TyTN, SPV, Orange SPV M3100]

Muff and I have been playing more with the Orange M3100 today and have identified a bug in the hardware!

The bug that we have seen affects the Joypad on the SPV M3100. To put it simply, if you press and hold the joypad in any direction, then whilst the joypad is held down you press and hold ANY other key, once you release the joypad button the device 'thinks' that the joypad button is still being held down. Even changing direction quickly is not always recognised.

This may not sound like anything to worry about but it does mean that something as simple as 'rolling' around the joypad can produce undesired results. For a real world example, imagine playing a game where you use the joypad at the same time as other keys (say a shoot-em-up or a platformer) on the M3100 and not being able to fire at the same time as moving OR changing direction quickly to avoid getting hit, but things still move in the same direction on screen.

From a developers point of view it does mean that the M3100 will be almost impossible to write action games for.

This seems to be another example of the Pocket PC/Smartphone platform going backwards rather than forward. The first SPV device had a 9 way joypad but later models went down to just 5 way pads. Inconsistent hardware design is a nightmare for developers!

We believe that the problem is not limited to the Orange version of the HTC Hermes device. If anyone wants to confirm this or test it for themselves then do the following: Open the Start menu and start scrolling down using the joypad, as you see the selection bar moving downwards roll the joypad to the left or right and then roll it upwards. Do you notice that the scroll bar is still moving down?? Imagine that within games!!

EDIT: Confirmed on the HTC TyTN too!

Matt

[Technorati tag(s): smartphone, Pocket PC, Tracy & Matt, Orange, M3100, HTC Hermes, HTC TyTN, SPV, Orange SPV M3100]

The launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis, which was due to lift off on Sunday 27th August, has been posponed until Monday at the earliest to allow more time for teams to assess ground and flight systems following a strong lighting strike to the lighting protection system at the launch pad on Friday afternoon.

If it is determined that all systems are go for a Monday launch, the weather presents only a 20 percent chance of "no go" according to U.S. Air Force First Lt. Kaleb Nordgren of the 45th Weather Squadron at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

[Technorati tag(s): shuttle, nasa, Space Shuttle, ISS, Space, Science, STS-115, Space Shuttle Atlantis]