Tracy and Matt

CoolSmartPhone.com have just gone live with what is probably the first full review of the all new HTC Touch Slider.

There are two versions of the HTC Touch Dual, one has a 16-key phone-style keypad with number keys and the other has a 20-key QWERTY style keypad (similar to the Blackberry or Sony P1i) where each key has two letters associated with it. This review deals with a pre-production version of the 20 key variant

Hopefully, we'll be getting our hands on a 16 key production review device shortly, but for a head start, head over to CoolSmartPhone's review

Posted by: Mark

[Post tag(s): smartphone blog, Pocket PC blog, Tracy & Matt, Sprint,

Just a very quick post, to add to our earlier news regarding Live Search, the free download from Microsoft. It actually supports GPS (if you have the capabilities), and also voice input/recognition. Just to show off, or genuinely useful?

To download the application visit the Live Search website here.

Posted by: Mark

[Technorati tag(s): smartphone, Pocket PC, Living Images, Live Search, Tracy & Matt]

VITO Technology is proud to present a brand-new web site with top quality software for your Windows Mobile Pocket PC. The six refined sparkling applets are just getting ready to show you the best of Windows Mobile. You?ll discover your Windows Mobile can do like iPhone and much more!

iWindowsMobile

Right now iWindowsMobile.com holds two applications to freshen up & upgrade your Pocket PC: FunContact and AstroNavigator II. AstroNavigator II has already become well known among Windows Mobile users for its finger friendly interface and fancy graphics with animated menus. Now they can have the same effects while managing contacts with FunContact.

FunContact is a Windows Mobile contact manager that brings iPhone experience to your Windows Mobile Pocket PC. Now you can scroll a contact list just with a flick of a finger. The animated menus and sparkling interface with big tap-ready buttons make contact managing a real fun!

Apart from its fancy finger-friendly interface FunContact provides quick access to the list of favorite contacts and to call history. Contacts can be sorted by first name, last name or company. The touch & feel principle of FunContact makes it a truly indispensable Windows Mobile contact manager!

You are very welcome to go to iWindowsMobile.com and download the applications to see for yourself the brand-new looks of Windows Mobile on your Pocket PC!

Posted by: Mark

[Technorati tag(s): smartphone, Pocket PC, Vito, iWindowsMobile.com, AstroNavigator, Pocket PC Software]

T-Mobile recently made some changes to their 'Web-n-Walk' mobile data services and have now announced a new 'Pay-per-day' mobile broadband service:

Pay-per-day mobile broadband launches for the first time in Britain as T-Mobile launches laptop surfing for never more than £4 a day. From November 1st, the mobile operator, who has pioneered Internet on the move, will offer new and existing customers the chance to get super fast Internet access without a contract. The operator has also slashed prices on its pay monthly mobile broadband tariffs, web?n?walk Plus and Max to enable mobile broadband users the chance to go mobile for less.

Customers can for the first time experience a high speed Internet connection wherever they are via a T-Mobile USB modem and their laptop, without the monthly commitment. Unlimited browsing allows customers to take full advantage of the internet, the way they like at any time, without the constraints of a fixed line, for no more than £4. Customers will be notified if they are using web?n?walk Plus Daily regularly enough to benefit from an upgrade to web n walk Plus or Max contract, which is now only £20 or £35 per month for unlimited web browsing!

T-Mobile has also confirmed that it will be permanently cutting the cost of its web?n?walk Plus and web?n?walk Max price plans. The web?n?walk Plus package, which allows you to browse, email, download, stream and instant message, has been slashed from £29 a month to never more than £20 a month. Meanwhile, web?n?walk Max, which provides all the same benefits of web'n'walk Plus as well as Internet calling services like Skype, has been cut from £44 a month to never more than £35. The new web?n?walk tariffs are available to all existing customers as well as new customers available from now.

Richard Warmsley, Head of Internet on the Move, T-Mobile, said:

?We know consumers value the flexibility of mobile broadband, accessing the internet for all the reasons they love, whenever they want, wherever they are. Now they can try this just £4 without the constraints of a fixed line. When they are ready, we?ll happily recommended a monthly mobile broadband plan, that gives them even more value at our new reduced prices.

Our experience shows that customers want clear and simple price plans that offer value for money, and that is why we are offering flat-rate unlimited price packages and have further improved the value of our web?n?walk Plus and Max packages.?

Also within the portfolio of mobile broadband services, T-Mobile offers the largest worldwide Wi-Fi network, with over 1,200 HotSpots in key locations across the UK and 21,000 worldwide. The network offers the fastest 3G across the UK with speeds of up to 3.6mb per second, increasing to 7.2mb per second later this year.

Key features:

The tariff is subject to a 'fair use' policy but as yet we don't have the details from T-mobile as to what they consider fair use. It seems like a decent option for those that don't need to use mobile data every day.

Posted by: Matt

[Post tag(s): smartphone blog, Pocket PC blog, Tracy & Matt, T-Mobile, MDA Touch, Mobile Broadband, pay-per-day]

Microsoft have released Live Search for Windows Mobile which claims to turn your phone into a commercial phonebook (think Yellow Pages), Map and City Guide.

Microsoft Live Search

Quote:

Find it.
Find local businesses, restaurants, and shopping in your neighborhood or where you travel.

Map it.
Get maps and detailed driving directions, and track your real-time location with optional GPS integration.

Plan it.
Take the fastest route with visibility into up-to-date traffic conditions.

To download the application visit the Live Search website here.

Posted by: Toby

[Technorati tag(s): smartphone, Pocket PC, Living Images, Live Search, Tracy & Matt]

We've reviewed a number of digital photo frames in the past and have generally been impresed with them but they always seem to be rather expensive when you consider the technology involved. Often photo frames will set you back £150+ just for a 7" display which seems rather a lot when you can get a 17" monitor for under £100!!

This is where the digital photo frames from Living Images are different. They have a whole range of frames starting at just £49. The model we are reviewing here is under £80!

We decided to have a look at some of the photo frames on offer and here we have the 7" Living Images Memory View Digital Photo Frame with 128MB Internal Memory.

This particular photo frame has a number of cool features, including Mpeg video support and built in speakers, on top of that it comes with an IR remote control!

Living Images 7" Digital Photo Frame Specification

We'll post a full review of the Living Images 7" Digital Photo Frame soon.

Posted by: Matt

[Technorati tag(s): smartphone, Pocket PC, Living Images, Digital Photo Frame, Tracy & Matt]

I know a lot of people are very keen to get their hands on the TyTN II and have been waiting for the device to be released by their favourite operator. O2 and T-Mobile have the TyTN II available already.

I've had a few emails about this today and according to the information I have, Orange now have the HTC TyTN II in stock and will commence shipping on Monday 15th October, quite a lot earlier than we anticipated.

I'm just seeking confirmation from our contacts at Orange and will let you know!

EDIT: Orange Business Customer Service department confirm that you can now order the unit and that the device only price is £300 + VAT.

Posted by: Matt

[Post tag(s): smartphone blog, Pocket PC blog, Tracy & Matt, Orange, HTC TyTN II, Windows Mobile Blog]

ROUTE 66, the personal satellite navigation pioneer, will soon be announcing the launch of its new MINI and MAXI ranges of ultra-slim navigators. The new personal navigation devices (PND) run on the same award winning software used to power the Nokia 6110 Navigator handset. The sleek 19 millimetres thick brushed-steel devices come in either a 3.5 inch screen (MINI) or 4.3 inch widescreen (MAXI) and both are suitable for pedestrian and in–car navigation.

Route 66 Mini

Route 66 Maxi

The MINI and the MAXI are both available in regional (UK and Ireland maps) and European (all of Europe map) versions. Users who purchase the MINI or MAXI regional versions can download additional maps directly to the PND, be it an individual city for an impromptu weekend away or an entire country providing users with the capability to tailor the device to individual travelling needs or upgrade it to full European capability. In addition users who buy a Route 66 Mini or Maxi will be able to download Lonely Planet guides absolutely free.

We'll bring you more news as we get it.

Posted by: Matt

[Post tag(s): smartphone news, Pocket PC news, Route 66, Satnav, Lonely Planet, GPS, Tracy & Matt]