January 2006

Live TV on Pocket PC
Softel's entry into the "Watch TV anytime, anywhere" holy grail is MyTinyTV, a Pocket PC application that lets you watch live TV on your favorite handheld. Though it's not a replacement for a TiVo, MyTinyTV does provide full and total TV listings with detailed programming descriptions. MyTinyTV is not a subscription for Internet TV. Instead,
it works with a desktop PC's TV tuner connected to the home's cable or antenna, sending the user's cable or antenna television channels and listings through a wireless network to their Pocket PC. You can also use it across the Internet though any wireless hotspot, like Starbucks or at airports or hotels. For such remote access you need a wireless Internet account an a good broadband connection at your house, where the desktop computer with the TV tuner is located. That way you can watch your home TV's offering from anywhere. -- Posted Monday, January 23, 2006 by chb

From Russia, with love
An interesting Windows Mobile/Symbian software company is attracting our attention. It's Speereo Software that has a corporate office in the UK and its R&D, technical, and marketing facilities in St. Petersburg, Russia. Speerio specializes on speech recognition and voice translator technologies. Now they launched a Ski Guide for Pocket PC, Pocket PC phone edition and smartphones that includes information about eight countries in Europe, including Andorra, Austria, Finland, France, Italy, Slovakia, Spain and Switzerland. The guide describes 61 main resorts in these countries, with location, skiing details, accommodation, restaurants, information about arriving and top events, as well as addresses, telephone numbers and emails when it is necessary. Check them out! -- Posted Thursday, January 19, 2006 by chb

Cingular 2125 - First MS Mobile 5.0 Smartphone
Cingular is now selling the first phone based on the Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone Edition. It's a fairly high end device with a comparatively large 2.2-inch display, a 1.3 megapixel digital camera that can do video as well, 850/900/1800/1900 quad band for international use, 64MB ROM, 64MB RAM, GPRS/EDGE data access, MediaPlayer 10 for music and video, mobile versions of the Office programs, and the usual elaborate email and messaging options. The 2125 is powered by a 200MHz TI OMAP chip, measures 4.6 x 1.8 x 0.7 inches and weighs 3.8 ounces. Talk time is 4 hours, standy up to six days. With a 2-year service plan, the 2125 runs just US$199 after a $100 rebate. [see the 2125 at Cingular] -- Posted Thursday, January 19, 2006 by chb

PhatWare's PhatPad 3.0 for Pocket PC
PhatWare announced a major new rev of PhatPad, its superb notes organizer for Microsoft Windows-based devices including Pocket PCs. PhatPad 3.0 allows users to draw pictures, write text and create animation on a virtual scratch pad. The Pocket PC Today screen add-on allows instant access to PhatPad and its recently changed documents, there's a two-dimensional document manager for Pocket PCs, the ability to add voice notes to PhatPad documents, a page preview window, improved digital inking, multiple customizable toolbars, and Windows Mobile 5.0 support. Download a 30-day free trial version, or to purchase a copy at the PhatWare web site. -- Posted Tuesday, January 17, 2006 by chb

Mobile disease and treatment reference software
San Mateo, Calif.-based Epocrates Inc., a provider of mobile and desktop clinical applications, announced the launch of the Epocrates SxDx disease diagnosis and treatment reference and symptom assessment tool. The application, developed in collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital's Laboratory of Computer Science, provides intelligent decision support to clinicians throughout the diagnosis process. Developed for Palm and Windows Mobile devices, the new product allows healthcare professionals to enter patient symptoms and findings to generate a clinically useful diagnosis index to the Epocrates disease reference. -- Posted Tuesday, January 10, 2006 by chb

Handmark supports WinMo-based Palm Treo 700w
Handmark and Gemstar-TV Guide International announced that TV Guide Mobile, a dynamic television listings and content service, is available for the new Palm Treo 700w smartphone from Verizon Wireless, the first Palm device using Windows Mobile. Through a yearly or monthly subscription, TV Guide Mobile provides consumers with the content and personalized tools they need to get the most out of the world of television. Handmark also announced that its Award-Winning Pocket Express wireless information bundle and ZAGAT TO GO, the mobile version of Zagat Survey's hugely popular restaurant and entertainment guides are now available for the Treo 700w. -- Posted Thursday, January 5, 2006 by chb

Turnkey mobile application development kit
MobileDataforce announced PointSync 3.0, a turnkey mobile applications development toolkit for Win CE and Pocket PC handhelds, ideal for use in industries such as utilities, engineering, heavy construction, facilities management, CMMS and mobile healthcare services. PointSync 3.0 enables business managers, IT departments and integrators to rapidly develop and configure mobile applications for use on handheld computers. PointSync 3.0 is a graphically-rich development environment that enables development of end-to-end mobile solutions with minimal coding required. Over 130 pre-built functions are packaged in PointSync, programmer object models can be viewed graphically, and developers can also view applications in XML. -- Posted Thursday, January 5, 2006 by chb