Archive for June, 2009

By June 7, 2009 Read More →

Touch Pro2 advanced tweaking

 

 

I have used the Touch Pro2 for almost a week.. I have lived with the ROM in its default naked splendour for as long as it took me to write the reviews.   I couldn’t resist having a peek in the registry now they are finished!

I am a self confessed power user.  The changes i am about to make have been tested, and used by me.. but neither I, nor Tracyandmatt.co.uk will take ANY responsibility for any damage and / or void of warranty that may incur!  As a general rule, if you mess up your registry, you may need to hard reset your device to get it working.  Worse case scenario, you will reduce your brand new device to a paperweight, or have it locked due to an Exchange admin that doesn’t allow any registry to be tampered with!

The essentials:

SPB Backup or similar.  (trial available)
Registry Editor (for editing directly on the device  Freeware)
Remote Registry Editor 1.2   (for editing the devices registry on your PC  Freeware)
Advanced Configuration Tool (Freeware)
Microsoft .NET compact Framework 3.5

 

First things first.  Some of the stuff that I am about to show you can be done in other ways!  There are settings in the Windows Mobile 6.1 menus that you can set.  I am doing this using a fresh install, with no additional programs or tweaks.  All i have done is connected it to exchange, and configured my 3g connection. Some of these tweaks may also work for the Diamond2, or other HTC devices.

The backup has already been done: so lets start by updating the .NET Compact Framework:
The download is around 40meg, but only installs a cab that’s about 4mb pre-reboot, and about 1mb after.

Next I install the registry editor, and Advanced configuration tool.  I have also extracted the remote registry editor to a folder on my desktop (no install needed!)

 

Firing up the configuration tool.  And a big heads up to Julien Schapman from http://www.touchxperience.com/ for this excellent tools. 
If you get this error, then go back and follow the instructions again!

 

advanced-config-error

You are greeted with the warning screen  and you can tick the box after you have read the warning, and hit OK.  You are then greeted with the initial screen.

advanced-config advanced-config-warning

 ac-initial ac-initial-2 ac-initial-3

ac-menu ac-menu-more

The amount of setting in here that can be changed is mind blowing!

There is a TON of configurations in this tool!  pretty much anything that you want to change can be done relatively safely from within the interface.  Green means default, a changed setting shows in RED.  The Menu option “More Settings” hides a few more as well! 

The First thing I change is the cab warning setting, under miscellaneous. 

as-misc-cab-on as-misc-cab-off

 

This doesn’t warn me anymore if the CAB file that I am about to install has not been signed by the Mother ship.  Luckily HTC and Microsoft allow unsigned apps to be installed, but do give you a “are you really sure” warning.  Your provider MAY disable the ability to install unsigned applications, and out of respect to those providers, I am not going to show you how to unlock that feature directly.  Please use Google in this case first, then come back.

The next setting that I like to change is under Phone settings, The call history cleanup.  I always set that to never, as I tend to get more than 300 calls a month!

 ac-phone-history1 ac-phone-history2

 

I personally also enable EONS, as I tend to find the info useful, however.. I am a geek!

ac-phone-eons

 

Next is the GPS Setting, and enabling assisted GPS

ac-gps-assisted

Onto Messaging, and enabling the sent SMS message.  I only activate this because i am paranoid about people actually receiving SMS’s and I always enable the delivery notifications as well.  Better to be safe than sorry!

ac-sms-notify

That’s all i really change with this tool, actually more to the point, that’s all i am willing to change at this stage.  There are a few other bits in there that i am interested in, mainly power management, but until i have time to road test them  I am not touching anything!

Time for a soft reset.  then on with the tweaking.

ac-reset ac-reset-2

 

Whilst the device is rebooting, Time to fire up the remote registry tool!  This tool is great!  It was designed by a company called Breaksoft, who seem to have just disappeared off the web.  So the download file listed above is hosted on my server for download.  It allows you to use the normal keyboard and mouse of your PC to edit the registry via Active sync or Windows Mobile Device Centre.  You need to attach via cable, or its slow!

I mainly use the registry to “unlock” new camera modes on the HTC Touch Pro2

 

The settings are found in Mobile Device\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\HTC\Camera

rrt-camera

 

Now..  those settings P1 – P10 are camera modes.  I activate them ALL, by going in to each one and making sure that the key “Enable” is set to “1”

Burst
Mobile Device\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\HTC\Camera\P6
Sports
Mobile Device\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\HTC\Camera\P8
Video Share
Mobile Device\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\HTC\Camera\P9
GPS Photo
Mobile Device\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\HTC\Camera\P10

 rrt-camera-moderrt-camera-mode-enable 

Change this key from 0 to 1 to enable the mode!

 

Another reboot, and lets view the changes.

 

camera-new camera-new2

 

The Burst option takes 30 pictures in quick succession.
The Sports Option Takes 5 pictures in REALLY quick succession.
The video share configures automatically for sending via email

The GPS Photo starts GPS taggingcamera-gps

Once you have taken the photo, save it to your PC, or upload it to your favourite web album. 

I Imported it to Picasa first, to show you the automatic tag. 

geo-tag-picasa

 

And I also uploaded it to my Picasaweb account.  http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/N31WUzl-mLI5FoWd9JoCXA?feat=directlink

Here you can see the linking automatically to Google maps.

 

So.. there we have a mini guide to a few tweaks that you can use to enhance your HTC Touch Pro2 even more.    

Posted in: Phones
By June 6, 2009 Read More →

HTC Touch Pro2 Review (the really long Part 3)

The Flagship of HTC’s 2nd quarter line-up is hoping to appeal to business and "normal" users.  Packed full of features, with the newly designed TF3D interface hiding the Windows Mobile 6.1 core, the Touch Pro2 just screams usability. In third and final part of the review, we are going into a  "detailed" version of the phone and its hardware.  We got a bit "snap / screenshot happy" on this review, so bear with us.  There are a ton of pictures!

 

 

pro2_angled_right  
The HTC Touch Pro2 Closed

What’s in the Box?

  • HTC Touch Pro2 Handset
  • 1500 mAh Battery
  • Mains Charger with UK adapter
  • HTC ExtUSB charge / sync cable
  • HTC Stereo headset, with inbuilt mic, and answer / reject button
  • Soft Case (without belt loop)
  • User Guide & Manuals
  • CD’s containing software & Manuals
  • Quickstart Guide.
  • Spare Stylus

Check out Matt’s HTC Touch Pro2 unboxing video for more info.

Technical Specifications of HTC Touch Pro2

  • Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
  • Qualcomm MSM7200A, 528 MHz
  • RAM – 288 MB
  • ROM – 512 MB
  • 3.6-inch TFT-LCD touch-sensitive screen with 480 X 800 WVGA resolution
  • Adjustable tilt screen
  • HSDPA/WCDMA:  Up to 2 Mbps up-link and 7.2 Mbps down-link speeds
  • Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE:  850/900/1800/1900 MHz
  • Bluetooth 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate and A2DP for wireless stereo headsets
  • Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11 b/g
  • HTC ExtUSB (11-pin mini-USB 2.0, audio jack, and TV Out in one)
  • Internal GPS antenna
  • microSD memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)
  • Slide-out 5-row QWERTY keyboard
  • Main camera: 3.2 megapixel colour camera with auto focus
  • Second camera: VGA CMOS colour camera
  • Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery 1500 mAh
  • 116 X 59.2 X 17.25 mm (4.57 X 2.33 X 0.68 inches)  (Some are reporting the size as 116 x 59.2 x 16.8mm)
  • 175 grams (6.17 ounces) with battery

 

General

Over the past few days I have had the pleasure of using the Touch Pro2, and I have to admit, it’s hard to imagine living without it.  Its one of those devices that business users are going to rush out and buy in their thousands, and the average Joe is going to think "I am not a business users, so why should I bother?"  Let me tell you why.  The phone is simply stunningly designed for ease of use, complete usability, an almost zero learning curve and a bundle of features that makes even James Bond wish "Q" had invented this when he was in a tight spot!

 

The entire handset has been gently curved to sit ergonomically in all but the tiniest of hands.  The front is simply dominated by a huge 3.6 inch screen, that displays its colour vibrantly in a resolution of 480 x 800 (or 800 x 480) WVGA.  On the top right sits a front facing CMOS video-call camera, whilst the centre sports a speaker grill flanked by 2 status LED’s and hidden to the left slightly under the dark facade is a proximity sensor for switching off the screen whilst in a call. 

pro2_front

The Touch Pro2 front view

 

 

Directly underneath the screen sits the Zoom Bar, and 4 lightly curved buttons.  These have the function of accepting a call, opening the start menu, going back and ending a call / calling up the home screen.  You can see from the reflections in the shots, that the whole front has a nice silver trim.   The whole rounded edge effect really does make the device exceedingly "clean" from a design perspective, and a fingerprint magnet from every other!

 

pro2_keys

Close up of the buttons on the Touch Pro2 

 

The bottom of the device has the usual microphone hole, and the HTC ExtUSB connector for charging / synching.  You can just see the stylus peeking there on the bottom right.

 

pro2_bottom  HTC Touch Pro2 bottom view

 

 

The top has a power button recessed enough not to be able to switch the device on by accident, but not too sunk in to make it a pain to operate.  You can also really see the curves.

pro2_top

HTC Touch Pro2 top view

 

The right hand side has a secondary microphone hole, and the stylus slot.

 

pro2_right

HTC Touch Pro2 right view

 

The left hand side shows the one-piece volume rocker (with 2 independent switches underneath!)

 

pro2_left

HTC Touch Pro2 left view

 

The back of the device  is again dominated, this time by a different feature, the speakerphone grill.  There is also a camera opening in the back cover (no plastic covering though!) and a LED lit mute button. This glows green when on a speakerphone call, and red when muted. I don’t normally mention anything negative at this point of the review, however there an exception has to be made!  I don’t understand why HTC decided NOT to cover the lens hole with a piece of clear plastic!  It is such a large opening, that i have found all kinds of stuff protruding from it!  It is also an obvious fluff / dust magnet for the inside of the device!  Don’t get me wrong, the lens is nicely recessed, but still…

pro2_back

HTC Touch Pro2 back view

 

This device looks sleek and not too dissimilar from another device when closed, with the exception its silver and black, not white.. ooh  and has a bigger screen!  Its appeal with most users will be the way in which it sits in the hand and effortlessly allows single handed use.  Open the device up however and you really let the beast out of its cage. in the best way possible.

 

 

Pro2_angled_open

The HTC Touch Pro2 Open and in full tilt

 

The Touch Pro2 has a similar action to the Tytn II when opening, a slide open, and then the possibility of tilting the screen, making it look and act like a mini Notebook / net book.  The hinges are spring loaded, and feel very solid.  HTC have improved the design over previous version considerably.  It feels secure, and even the tilt function feels natural.  The "first generation" of this design felt to me as though the screen would snap off.  This simply snaps into place and stays there.  The pressure needed to close it again is deliberate and just enough to make it ease into place.

 

pro2_open_front

The HTC Touch Pro2 full open view

 

The device sports a full 5 row Keyboard in a variety of configurations depending where you buy it.  We have the UK qwerty version.  The keys are spaced out, backlit, and a joy to use!  The difference from other HTC keyboard is obvious when you use it.  So much so, I actually wrote the first part of the review on it without any problems.  I love having a full row or number keys, and most of the symbols that you would use in day to day texting / emailing are there with a quick press of the function key.  There is also a dedicated mail / text button, and some of the keys double up to switch functions on and off, such as Comm Manager, Browser, XT9, and SMS.  There is also a dedicated crtl button, along with the shift and Function button.  I have no idea WHY there is a crtl button.  If anyone can enlighten me, I would be appreciative. It may be a Windows Mobile 6.5 pre-requisite, but that is just a guess.( ***  I got enlightened!  Its for copy and paste!  doh! ***)   There are 2 white LED’s that tell you the status of the keys as well.

 

pro2_keyboard_close

Close up of the keyboard

 

 

When closed, the size is not that different to the newly released Dimaond2, with the exception of the height of the device obviously.  The difference in screen size is accentuated by the design, and although not that much bigger, seems much more so. 

 

   pro2_d2

   HTC Touch Pro2 Vs Diamond2     

 

The comparison everyone will be making is against the TyTN II.  I have a friend that has a TyTN II and he had a "nerdgasm" and was shaking so much i removed the phone from his hands until he had sit down at a table.  Whilst he was working out how to sell his grandmother, and wiping the drool collecting near the beermats,  I had a chance to hold the TyTN II in my hand again, and I have to agree with Matt.  The TyTN II was in need of an overhaul.  The only similarities that the TyTN II has, is the open and tilt mechanism.  I cant think of one single reason not to upgrade!  I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

 

 

pro2_tytn2_d

 

pro2_tytn2_e

 

 pro2_tytn2_a

 

      pro2_tytn2_b

pro2_tytn2_c

This is where it really matters, compared to the Touch Pro2, the TyTN II has all the charm of a housebrick!

 

Review

I got a lot of feedback from the Diamond II review that I did a few weeks back.  The interface does have a lot of similarities, so I am not going to go over all the functions again, however i am going to cover a few of the things i covered in that review. The main thing you will notice are the screenshots of landscape view.  I have tried to show both views, as this device does lend itself extremely well to using it open and closed!  

 

The initial setup of the device is painless, and as is common in all the new Windows Mobile devices, requires minimal input.  Gone are the days of calibrating screens and setting the region.  I am not going to bore you with all the details that i put in part 2, but after setting up my 3G connection, and connecting to exchange I was greeted with the home screen, in an interesting shade of purple.

 

home-vertical  home-horizontal

home-horizontal2  home2-vertical 

 

The main screen now holds up to 5 appointments, and in landscape mode scrolls up and down in groups of 3.  You will also find that the "quick pick " navigation bar disappears, replaced by a little icon to save screen space in portrait mode.  This is a great idea, as it really does not make any sense to permanently use up a percentage of the screen when it could be showing a webpage!  Those eager eyed amongst you will notice that the clock cannot be minimized in horizontal mode.

 

home-horizontal-menu

 

Everything (almost)that was in the Diamond 2 is in the Touch Pro2, and a few more bits beside to make up for absent friends.  Yes I am talking about the thing that is creating more buzz online that a certain Scottish singers medicated rest.The FM Radio! It seems that someone in HTC though that the Touch Pro2 didn’t need a FM Radio and if the net rumours are true, this shaved 0.6 mm of the thickness of the phone, and brought the release date forward 2 weeks. 
I haven’t actually opened up the device with a Torx  and checked myself, yet (only joking Matt),  but the gaping hole in the F section of the all programs list does at least confirm that there is no FM Radio software included. So for all those that are so devastated and are seriously going to gripe about the lack of Radio Sussex availability , may I suggest pointing your Streaming Media Player to  http://lazygit.no-ip.info:5560/ and listening to Radio Caroline instead!

**** UPDATE  ***

Some clever folks over at another website that are a bunch of developers for the XDA have managed to create a CAB file that re-activates / installs the FM radio software.  There is still no official word as to the side effects that this may have by installing it!

 

 

The People Centric theme is continued and enhanced on the Touch Pro2.  The Contacts in the phonebook now have the native ability to link to facebook profiles, something that was "edited out" on the Diamond II, and is a feature you will either love or hate.  I would prefer having the ability to use Linked-In or another more "business orientated" service, but its a good start.  (More details in Part 2 of the review!)  The Landscape view of the people section is lousy.  This is one of the times that portrait wins hands down!

 

people-landscape

However, the menu item "people" makes up for it with a huge picture, and all the info next to it.  If you have multiple numbers and emails, the button increase as well allowing one touch dialling.

 

people-landsdcape2

Yes the photo is real, and yes it is my girlfriend!

 

 

The next tab worth noting is the Internet page.  In landscape, it is impressive!  The push pages are still present, and still allow the "pulling" of static pages. 

 

internetpage-wide

 

web-wide web-portrait

This is where the screen comes into its own.  The clarity of the screen is brilliant, and Opera does a great job of loading the page fast.  Youtube videos have vibrant colour, and the speaker is clear enough to hear  "Christian Bale vs David After Dentist" right the way down to the front pew of the church. (if you haven’t seen the clip..  go watch it now.. NSFW! I will wait!)

 

dentist1

 

The camera is not as powerful as the one recently outfitted to the Diamond II  but it is still a respectable 3.2 megapixel.  Now normally when cameras get tested we do a "real world" review.  Unfortunately for you guys my real world is very clear blue skies, brilliant sunshine and 30 odd degrees Celsius, and the picture quality does the weather justice!  I took 3 photos to test with, Indoors with OK lighting,  outside with indirect sunlight and outside in direct sunlight (actually, almost pointing at the sun!)  As you can see from the indoor shot, the camera is good enough to get by without a flash! Just so you know, the in camera focus was set on the beer glass during the first shot, by tapping the screen and moving the crosshairs.

IMAG0035   IMAG0038   IMAG0037

 

I also took some video as well, as i know this is something that you guys & gals care about.  Not very interesting video, but video nonetheless.

HTC Touch Pro2 video test

 

 

Before I move onto the actual phone features, I am gong to give a special mention to something tucked away in the settings menu.  Please welcome the very much grown up, and very mature Bluetooth interface.  I don’t know what Bluetooth Radio Stack that HTC is using, or who designed the new interface, but I bow down to you.  I have used a multitude of Bluetooth software in my time working with all kinds of mobile devices and PC’s.  This is by FAR the best implementation of Bluetooth software I have ever seen.  Its easy and intuitive, quick & powerful and at last has a status field so you can measure the strength of the Bluetooth signal.  It also has pretty pictures next to the names of the devices!

 

 

 bluetooth-2 bluetooth-4 bluetooth-1 bluetooth-3

jawbone bluetooth-search bluetooth-search-2 bluetooth-search-3

 

The phone part

HTC has the following to say on their website about the Touch Pro2:  

"Business success depends on human interaction. You can often get more done with a quick phone call or a face to face meeting than you can in strings of emails. So why do all business phones seem to ignore the importance of calls? The Touch Pro2 treats your calls with as much care and attention as your messages."

They have taken their people centric communication to new levels in the phonebook, and have integrated this seamlessly with the Phone, Email and SMS actions.  I didn’t realise how useful it would be having all the information in one place.  When I contact some clients, I often end up  calling them, messaging  or emailing information over the course of a day.  Its great to just pull up their contact, and have everything in one place.  The entire call history, all SMS’s and all emails and responses.  I love the way you can just press one button to call them from an email.  This was in the Diamond II review as well, so I am only going to highlight the new additions.

 

"Straight Talk"

 

The conference calling is a tough one..  Mainly because the software I use for my screenshots will not record the interface of a conference call!  I don’t know how HTC managed to do it, but it does actually do exactly what i says on the tin.  Its a common problem with any type of conference call,  that when 5 people get into a room, albeit virtual, they all start talking at once.  Have 3 people in one room, and 2 other phoning in and the problem compounds.  The Dual microphones do help a lot in this scenario, filtering out background noise to a minimum.  The speakerphone is solid and loud, and it helps to activate the audio booster.  Its not the loudest in the world, nor does it compare to some ?600 speakerphone options that I have used, but it is miles better than the other speakerphone options on the other HTC devices.

 

Cracking open the back of the device you can see the dual speakers flanking the camera lens, and also the white button that is LED lit for the mute function. 

open-back

 

DSC_7494.NEF
now you know why I let Matt take the photos!

 

For those of you looking for the reset button, it is hiding on the left hand side, and a pain to see, let alone press!

 

DSC_7499.NEF

 

The SD Card is sitting opposite on the right hand side, and i removed it a bit so show the slot more clearly.

 

 DSC_7496.NEF

 

Its amazing that those 2 speakers are capable of pumping out so much sound.  I don’t have a conference room, so I was limited to testing in a pub last night.  The people on the other end of the conference call didn’t actually know we were in a pub, and still had no idea 10 minutes later after I finished the call.  It certainly passed the real world test in my eyes..  Being able to have a business conversation whilst sitting in sunshine and drinking a beer is just one of the many un-advertised perks of this phone!

 

Conclusion (for now!)

 

Its bigger and heavier than the Diamond II, but doesn’t really feel it.  The software is a dream to use, and the keyboard is so comfortable that you can happily type a 1000 word review on it.  The web browser displays webpage’s in a way that i am used to on a normal monitor.  The PowerPoint facilities are brilliant.  It supports TV out, and that will be reviewed early next week when my cables arrive.  The speakerphone and conference calling works, and works well.  The battery life is really, really good.  I am able to last a full 20 hours on a charge, and I use the phone a LOT, a  "normal" user should see 2 days without charge.  

It’s the little things that just top this device off though.  The screen doesn’t switch off, it fades to nothingness, so does the keyboard lighting.   The menu items dissolve into each other in a subtle way that you know they did something, but you are not sure what.  There is nothing on this device that isn’t rounded, polished or generally overhauled.  That goes for software as well as hardware. Plus its one of the phones that is getting an boost to Windows Mobile 6.5 when it is released!

 

Is it worth and upgrade from a TyTN ii?  Yes.  From a Diamond II, if you want the keyboard yes.  From a Touch Pro?  Without a shadow of a doubt.  Is it the next best thing since the iPhone came out?  I don’t know. Honestly I love this device, and it is without a doubt the best Windows Mobile phone that I have had the pleasure of using, and owning.   Now.  where’s my next meeting?

See also Part 1 and Part 2 of my HTC Touch Pro2 review.

 

Review by: Piero (MVP)

Posted in: Reviews
By June 6, 2009 Read More →

Review: World Cup Ping Pong Lite for iPhone

Here we are reviewing free version of Ping Pong game for iPhone made by Skyworks – a company established and run by people who established Acitivison. Skyworks is making games with huge attention to detail and maximal realism of playback.

Posted in: Phones
By June 6, 2009 Read More →

TVGuide.co.uk now available as iPhone app!


Our fav telly guide for British TV is now available also as iPhone app. While this app has some nice features, it is a little bit dissapointing and not as good as using the website on the desktop browser.

Here is the main screen of this application:

Posted in: Phones
By June 6, 2009 Read More →

HTC Touch Pro 2 review

DSCF0423

The HTC Touch Pro 2 is generating quite a big of buzz around the web but is this expansion of the HTC Diamond 2 the be all and end all of Windows Mobile devices? After the break I will be investigating.

Posted in: Phones
By June 5, 2009 Read More →

eXpansys Friday deals 5th June

These offers are only available through the links below which are active between 11am and 4pm UK time on Friday the 5th of June*. Normal pricing will precede this time and resume at 4pm on Friday.

 

TomTom GPS Receiver
Info

TomTom GPS Receiver
Bluetooth

Normally £29.99
Now £24.99
Save £5

Aliph Jawbone 2 Headset
Info

Aliph Jawbone 2 Headset
Black

Normally £87.99
Now £67.99
Save £20


Info

Toshiba Portege G910
Windows Mobile 6.0 Pro

Normally £159.99
Now £144.99
Save £15

MWg Zinc II
Info

MWg Zinc II
Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro

Normally £199.99
Now £174.99
Save £25

Acer DX900
Info

Acer DX900
Dual SIM

Normally £399.99
Now £379.99
Save £20

HTC Touch Pro2
Info

HTC Touch Pro2
Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro

Normally £529.99
Now £494.99
Save £35


These deals are available on Friday the 5th of June 2009 between 11am and 4pm by following the links above only. Normal pricing will apply outside of these hours*.

 

Posted by: Matt

[ Post Tags: expansys, deals, special offers, tracyandmatt.co.uk ]

Posted in: Deals & Offers
By June 5, 2009 Read More →

Palm Pre review by Pre Central

image Palm Pre reviews have been popping up all over the internet over the last few days but one review stands head and shoulders above any other, Pre Central have produced a review so detailed that there is no point in even buying a Pre now to review, even if we could (no gsm version yet) as we know everything about it. They cover every little bit of the hardware and software and have even included many videos to enjoy.

If you planning on making a trip to get a Pre when they are finally launched tomorrow, take a read of the review over at Pre Central, once you have you will be in that queue, we guarantee it.

After the break we also have the just released video of the Palm Pre advert.

The Review can be found here.

Posted in: Phones
By June 4, 2009 Read More →

HTC Touch Pro2 review (Part 2)

HTC Touch Pro2 review Part 2 – The Business use review

Ahh.. the Joy of remote Admin capabilities on a phone!

I admin a few servers, and I chose this one because I don’t limit it in any real way. I enforce a strict pass code policy, SSL and that’s really it.

This is a NAKED install. The Touch Pro2 has NOT been configured for anything. All its doing is sitting here, fresh from a hard reset.

This is a "step by step" and a review of sorts combined! It’s a bit long and there are lots of pictures as well… I warn you now! Click on any image to make it full-size.

Don’t forget to also check out Matt’s HTC Touch Pro2 unboxing video for a more general look at the handset.

 

Systems:

  • HTC Touch Pro2
  • Small Business Server 2008 x64 Premium, including Exchange 2007
  • Windows Vista x64 Ultimate
  • Microsoft Office Outlook 2007
  • One Note 2007


Active sync:
You have to LOVE the fact that the new devices come "pre-installed" with graphics. It makes life so much easier.

WMdev-new

A quick click on "setup your device" and the next page appears…

Async2 Async3

All pretty simple… I tick everything!

Next up is the Exchange server window. Again, pretty simple. Just enter the details that you got from your administrator… A quick check.. and ready to name your device.

exchange details checking naming

A note on Names… If you get to choose be inventive, but not obscene! The admin can always see these names! There is nothing worse than seeing "Steve’s phone" as the name of a device, when I have 3 Steve’s all with phones!

and the PC screen should show you the initial sync page!

firstsync

Meanwhile.. on the phone… Its telling me I need to enter a password. Just for fun, I flipped the screen allowing me to use the wonderful QWERTY Keyboard

policy settings password horizontal

As soon as I have entered the password, I get greeted with my main screen with all the info I could need…

home-horizontal home-vertical

home2-verticalhome-horizontal2

Those eager eyed people will notice that the clock cannot be minimized in horizontal mode, however the appointments do scroll in batches of 3!

So.. what are the advantages of Exchange vs. "regular" outlook synching? The first is ease.. All your contacts are updated across ALL machines LIVE. If you meet Bob at 2pm, enter in his details and your phone dies at 2:15, your webmail has his contact details. So does your work PC. The same goes for appointments. You don’t need to play with your contact settings or calendar. Although.. saying that DO NOT use PIMbackup to restore your contacts BEFORE you sync with Exchange the first time. Exchange does not ignore double contacts. So basically all you are ensuring is a HUGE headache deleting doubles!

The other thing it adds is access to the company directory if it is enabled by your administrator.

home-horizontal-menu home-horizontal-menu-closed

Clicking the little icon in the bottom left opens up the menu…

Navigate to People:

Setup your contact card: (Facebook???)

contact-card contact-card-facebook

facebook-login facebook-login-2

Finally, a real reason to update my Facebook Profile with all my info, even if it’s just the once! Saves a hell of a lot of typing!

facebook-details facebook-done

And all info is inserted, including facebook photo, and status updates!

(OK, so not exactly Exchange, more HTC, and you will see it in the detailed review as well… But still nice because that info about the birthday and anniversary and stuff will ALL be synchronized into your Outlook, as well as the photo!)

All-People

Now my Phone book is up to date, time to start doing business:

company-directroy

The "greyed out" Company Directory opens up a whole new secondary phonebook. Unfortunately, for you guys, I couldn’t get any of my clients to allow me to show you their deepest darkest secrets, and my Directory on my small business server contains so much information about clients that is confidential, it was reduced to blur heaven.

Status-Updates

The People Centric communication that was so raved about by HTC is so apparent here. The tabs at the bottom allow you to view updates from everyone. If only it supported Linked-IN instead of Facebook it would be ideal. Scrub that.. BOTH!

You can see it has scanned my address book and found 16 possible matches. I know I have over 100, but my freaky filing system in Outlook is to blame for that!

facebook-match

Sorry for the red all over the place, but hey… I respect my mates privacy as much as they do mine!

Now.. Back to the essentials of Exchange…

 

SECURITY

We have all lost a phone in our time… or 2! Either you left it on the bus / in the bar / Next to the bin where you woke up/ Airport (delete as applicable) or some light-fingered so & so "relieved" you of your burden.

The security features built into the device are superb. Basically your exchange admin can force a length of password, and how many times you enter it wrong. If he wants to make your life hell, he will choose a super complex password, and 2 times entry. I choose simple PIN, and 5 tries. That way even when drunk exhausted, you should be able to manage it. After the 3rd try of 5, comes the "are you a thief, drunk exhausted, or did you forget your screenlock" Test…. I entered the code it asked for, and still tried to enter the wrong code a 3rd and 4th time… 5th and final time is looming, and it gives you a VERY severe warning….and another monkey test….a1b2c3 entered.. and the password screen comes up again!

lock-1 lock-first lock-third lock-5

DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!!

We are trained professionals… and I tried it at home first out of curiosity… See that warning that states "all information"? IT MEANS ALL INFORMATION… Memory card, sim card, phone reset to factory defaults (albeit WITH password again!) basically an expensive brick! Before you attempt entering the password again.. contact your admin! They can go into your account on their server and access a "password reset" code unique to your device.

Forgot-password reset-screen

By the way.. Admins… If you ever have to "remove" someone from your organisation.. you can remote wipe the device as well. You should know how to do it, if not, Exchange help will tell you how! Oh.. and for those clever enough to remove the SD card, it encrypts it… Admin wins again!

Interestingly remote desktop for windows mobile is NOT included on the Touch Pro2. A quick Google search showed a thread on an official Microsoft site (http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/windowsmobilehelp/thread/221a4420-0b8d-4582-89d0-6b34d7d8d581) pointing to it for download, albeit NOT from Microsoft. I am not going to recommend downloading it, nor will I advise against it, as I am not sure of the legalities.. all I know is it IS very useful to have installed on your device! For the same reason I am NOT going to post the superb interface or screenshots of me accessing a server and using the touch screen in Horizontal mode like a tablet PC whilst I connected. Nor will I show you the benefits of Auto resizing the screen so it fits the device, and allows you to copy and paste between the storage card and the server.

Microsoft DO offer this component to all Windows Mobile 6 device manufacturers, and carriers. It is up to the individual companies to include the cab / install or not. It seems that HTC did not for some unknown reason.. Shame really, as Microsoft do NOT offer it for download from their servers directly.

What I can tell you is that if you connect in portait mode, it doesnt auto rotate into landscape mode, and its as slow a walking through TAR on a 3g connection!

 

OneNote Mobile.

I LOVE OneNote. A client of mine that "thinks so far out of the box that he’s not even in it anymore" recommended me to a few others, based on me recommending this tool! I use it when I can instead of the normal notebook because of the ease or synchronisation, and the amount of things it can do..

Basically it’s a bit like Word, but with knobs on…. and a LOT better than notepad!

Format in Bold, Italic, Strikethrough, underlined or a combination of all of them.

Insert bullet lists, or numbered lists with ease,

Insert Pictures or recordings, either from the galleries, or "on the fly"

onenote-menu onenote-menu-format onenote-menu-list

And then sort them all on your PC, and synch them to your Laptop, or integrate them into Outlook. If you haven’t used this tool, and you have Office Professional, then take the time to use it. It costs less than 30 GBP from the web if you don’t already have it in your office package, and worth EVERY PENNY!

 

Conference Calling

New to this model is the conference call mode.

conference-call conference-call2

The little button in the right hand side corner switches between normal call and conference call mode. Now.. I KNOW I can (and do!) make 2 calls at once. This function makes it a joy to use. By switching the toggle, it adds check boxes next to the names in your address book / recent call list. I don’t know if it is limited to just 2 lines from the carrier, or if you need special provisions, but hey… I will test it and let you know in the full review.

 

The Speakerphone

I Love the way you can flip this thing onto a table and have a Speakerphone. I Love the mute button placement on the rear of the device (pics in the full review!).. I don’t love the audio quality that much.. .but to be fair I haven’t really given this bit a full blown test yet, rather a 2 minute call with a guy that speaks 30000 words per minute! I will be covering this in MUCH more detail in my full review!

 

WorldCard Mobile

This is one of the MOST useful tools I have fund on the device for daily business use! It takes a photo of a business card, and "reads" the information into a contact. I gather a ton of business cards when I am on seminars and business trips, and I hate having to type them all into my phone, so much so I have a shoebox full of cards. These could be valuable business contacts, if only I had the numbers on me when I need them!

I chose a contact card that I picked up here in Malta, admittedly a bit worse for wear, and buckled and has a few coffee stains on it…Sorry Adrian!

Fire up the tool, Hit start, and position the shot… The resulting photo is as follows…. You can see the options at the top of the screen. My version only supports English, and I don’t know if it supports other languages, feedback appreciated!

worldcard businesscard card-inserted recognize

analysis detailled-card cortis

 

The interface is simple, either rotate the card, magnify or recapture, and of course recognize. This is a real world test.. So I am just going to hit the recognize button. It whirs for a second, then I get greeted with the recognized text.. It’s not perfect, but as you can see… It did a really good job, and I can assure you that "editing" the info is a heck of a lot faster than typing it all out. Hitting the browse button shows you the fields recognized, and the text it read… And apparently it "learns" with the more cards you input! A simple click on Export, and the info is saved to the address book… Thank you Penpower.net !!

 

JetCet Presenter 5

jetcet-prog JC-open JC-1 JC-2

My mate Charley sends me PowerPoint presentations on a daily basis. He is the sort of person that likes to send his "friends list" a ton of these (normally music filled) bundles of joy. I selected a typically hefty one to really test the power of the phone. We are talking a 5mb musical extravaganza of sight and sound! The program opens ppt and pps files, but interestingly doesn’t display both types at once! Here you can see one on my storage card, this time in German called DieKraftderBerge.pps (the power of the mountains!)

I barely had time to blink, and it was open and displaying the slides in all their glory! Now.. this is a PPS file, not a PPT. What’s the difference?? Not a lot actually! A PPS is a PowerPoint Slideshow, and starts playing as soon as you double click it. A PPT is a PowerPoint Template, and editable when you open it through PowerPoint. How do you convert a PPT to a PPS?? Rename it! That’s it, no trick or magic converters… If you have an PPS file and want to edit the content, rename it to nnn.ppt and go right ahead! But I digress,….

As you can see, this exemplar has 30 slides. And I can edit them in FULL on the PPC. I can edit transitions, text, slides and everything I can normally do on the full blown PowerPoint. I can even run the show, and use the touch screen to mark things in pen, or use the pen as a virtual laser pointer! So how does this differ from PowerPoint Mobile? I can edit stuff, and then display it on the fly. The guys at Richmond didn’t include that bit of PowerPoint when they compressed it down for the handheld devices! Combine this program with the AV / TV Out cables from HTC, and you have everything a conference needs! Maybe I need to have a chat with the site sponsors… Hint Hint!

So there we have an Business use round up… Not the most detailed, but enough to whet your appetite…

Questions, comments or suggestions in the comments please… I will answer all those I can in the full review due in a couple of days!!

Head over to Part 3 of my HTC Touch Pro2 review or go back to Part 1.

 

Review by: Piero (MVP)

Posted in: Reviews
By June 4, 2009 Read More →

CNET take a look at the Palm Pre

image Well respected tech site CNET have put together a detailed review of the Palm Pre and a look around video which is worth checking out. They sum it up as a bit of a mixed bag but the positives seem to out weigh the negatives:-

The good: The Palm Pre’s multitasking capabilities and notifications system are unparalleled. The smartphone features a vibrant display with multitouch functionality as well as a solid Web browser and good multimedia integration.

The bad: The Pre’s keyboard is cramped. Battery life drains quickly and the smartphone can be sluggish at times. Lacks expansion slot, video-recording capabilities, onscreen keyboard, and Flash support. .

The bottom line: Despite some missing features and performance issues that make it less than ideal for on-the-go professionals, the Palm Pre offers gadget lovers and consumers well-integrated features and unparalled multitasking capabilities. The hardware could be better, but more importantly, Palm has developed a solid OS that not only rivals the competition but also sets a new standard in the way smartphones handle tasks and manage information.

Video after the break.

Posted in: Phones
By June 4, 2009 Read More →

HTC Snap video unboxing

DSCF2003 The long awaited successor to the MDA Mail, HTC S620 or T-Mobile Dash is here and we have done our usual quick unboxing video for you to enjoy.

This phone is a little beauty for email and texting due the amazing keyboard, the best I have used on a front facing QWERTY device and its rocking with 3G HSDPA with download speeds of up to 7,2mb/s.

We will be testing this over the next few days so expect a full review really soon.

Video after the break.

Posted in: Phones
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