March 2006

DualCor, Inc. announced a Leadership Early Adopter Program (LEAP) where companies can review and test the DualCor cPC as well as influence DualCor product development activities. The DualCor cPC is the first ultra portable PC to simultaneously run full-function Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 and Windows Mobile 5.0, combining the power of a desktop PC, the instant-on of a PDA and the always-connected functionality of a cell phone. Its patented, dual-processor architecture and hard drive allow users to run real-time, non-diluted versions of enterprise applications in the field as easily as they are used in the office. The 6.5 x 3.3 x 1.2 inch DualCor has a 5" 800x480 passive touch screen, a 1.5GHz C7-M Via chip for Windows and a 400MHz processor for WinMo, a 40GB hard disk where files can be moved between the two operating systems, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, 1GB of Flash, Bluetooth and WiFi, 3 USB 2.0 ports, a mini-VGA port, audio in/out, a CF Card slot. Not much info on the phone capoabilities yet. Price is expected to be in the US$1,500 range. Our take: Surprisingly little is known yet about the DualCor. And the recent "Origami" release has put extra pressure on the more expensive DualCor. The DualCor is smaller, about the size of a Sony PSP, but the real-world benefit of the dual OS approach will need to be demonstrated first, especially for the strategic enterprise mobility solutions DualCor targets.

ActiveShopper Mobile Edition
For those handheld and smartphone users who absolutely cannot wait to find the best deals on something, the Shelron Group has now released version 1.0 of ActiveShopper Mobile Edition. The mobile edition is available to the public through cell phones and PDAs at http://mobile.activeshopper.com. As shown, the Mobile Edition includes a search field to get comparative shopping information from ActiveShopper's US or UK comparative shopping databases. Product info is then condensed to fit the relatively small screen size of most cell phones and PDAs, yet it still contains the product's full name, the number of online merchants who sell it, and the lowest available online price. -- Posted Tuesday, March 28, 2006 by chb

Syware adds HP PPC camera support to Visual CE
SYWARE, Inc., announced that its Visual CE rapid application development software for database and forms development on Windows Mobile Pocket PCs, has added direct support for HP Pocket PCs’ built-in cameras. When applications built with Visual CE are run on HP Pocket PCs with built-in cameras, users can take pictures and either save them directly into a database running on their device or save them as external files linked to the database record. For example, a home inspection company can create a database application that allows inspectors to add images of the specific problems they detect to their inspection reports. When an inspector returns to the office or synchronizes wirelessly, the image is uploaded to the server for inclusion in the final report. The application can use SYWARE’s Report CE to produce and print, onsite, an inspection report that includes the printed images. -- Posted Tuesday, March 21, 2006 by chb

The Phraze-It keyboard for Pocket PC/Phones
Prevalent Devices LLC announced a new on-screen mobile productivity application, Phraze-It text entry software for Windows Mobile Pocket PC. Phraze-It is a unique on-screen keyboard and input method that enables users to finger-type text via a choice of eight on-screen keyboard layouts, including one-handed or two-handed typing or thumbing input. Phraze-It has large on-screen buttons for accurate text entry and each key has only one character at a time. The system reduces the number of on-screen keys by using a "aeiou" home row as a starting point. Tapping each brings up between three and five consonants, so that any letter is two taps away. The system provides full keyboard functionality, large typing keys and a roomy text display area. [See how it works] Phraze-It runs on the Pocket PC 2003, Pocket PC 2003 Phone Edition, Pocket PC 2003 SE, Pocket PC 2003 Phone Edition, Windows Mobil Pocket PC 2005 and Phone Edition. -- Posted Tuesday, March 21, 2006 by chb

We review early Treo 700w software
We've lived with the Windows Mobile-based Treo 700w for a couple of months now, and it's a terrific device! We also tested some of the first software formatted for the Treo 700w and bring you our impressions on ALK's CoPilot Live v.6, Developer One's Code Wallet Pro 2005, NewsBreal v.1 by Ilium Software, and Handmark's Pocket Express. [see our reviews] -- Posted Tuesday, March 14, 2006 by chb

Mio to sell a million GPS devices in Europe in 06
In addition to being fond of PDAs and Pocket PCs, Europeans continue to snap up GPS-enabled handhelds at a record pace. Mitac's Mio Technology reports it's on pace to sell a full million of GPS-enabled device in Europe in 2006, twice the number of 2005. Worldwide, Mio expects to sell four to five million GPS devices in 2006, up from 2.8 million in 2005. -- Posted Tuesday, March 14, 2006 by chb

Fujitsu shows several new LOOX Pocket PCs
While Pocket PCs are hurting here in the US, Europeans still love them. As a result, Fujitsu Siemens continues to release cool new PPCs for the European market. At CeBIT, Fujitsu Siemens showed the Pocket LOOX T Series with Windows Mobile 5.0 and UMTS functionality. The LOOX T Series enables direct email push, has a QWERTY keyboard, a VoIP-capable GSM/UMTS mobile phone and a 2 megapixel auto-focus camera (Pocket LOOX T830). There are also integrated GPS, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth V2.0. The WinMo 5.0 Pocket LOOX N560, like every N Series model, has integrated GPS and a navigation bundle for all markets (reflecting how important navigation functions have become to both professional handheld users and consumers). The new Pocket LOOX C550 is aimed at upmarket business customers and consumers. It has a slim housing, a 3.5-inch VGA display and illuminated keypad, and is one of the lightest handhelds on the market (4.5 x 2.85 x .6 inches, 5.6 ounces). It includes WiFi, IrDA and Bluetooth, Windows Mobile 5.0 Premium Edition, and the latest Intel PXA270 processor. [pics of a LOOX PPCs][Product pages for all LOOX PPCs] -- Posted Monday, March 13, 2006 by chb

HP unveils rw6800 for Asian markets
On March 1, HP showed the HP iPAQ rw6800 Multimedia Messenger Series in Hong Kong. Available in white and silver, the 6800 was presented as designed for young Asian consumers as a full-featured device with tri-band 850/900/1800 GSM voice, GPRS/EDGE data, WiFi and Bluetooth. Based on Windows Mobile 5.0, the device uses Pushmail and Pocket MSN for interactive communication. There's also 3D sound effects from stereo speakersm a 2-mp camera, FM radio and an MP3 player. On the hardware side, the rw6800 uses a 416MHz version of the Intel PXA272, a QVGA screen, 128MB of Flash and 64MB of SDRAM, a mini-SD slot for storage, and a 1,530mAH Li-Polymer battery. It measures 4 x 2.3 x 0.75 inches and weighs 5 ounces. According to CNET, HP's Asian market representatives painted a somewhat grim picture for the "classic PDA product" market that is supposedly shrinking at 30% a year. As a result, HP will concentrate on the "converged space" and rapidly expanding smart phone sector. -- Posted Tuesday, March 7, 2006 by chb

Live video from remote camera to handheld
StreamerNet Corporation announced that its mobile-wireless audio and video streaming technology enables owners of Windows Mobile devices, such as the Treo 700W and other Smartphones, to view live audio and video streaming events straight from a remote camera to the handheld. In addition to remote viewing, StreamerNet technology also enables the user to receive and watch video email on the handheld device.

-- Posted Tuesday, March 7, 2006 by chb

Opera 8.5 beta 2 available
Opera offers the beta 2 release for Windows Mobile. This version is based on the same core as the Opera 8.5 desktop browser and brings the full internet to mobile Pocket PCs. The beta is available for both WM 2003 and WM 5.0. It features open URL with auto-complete, zoom, download, tabs, navigation and history, bookmarks, landscape/portrait mode, full screen/fit to screen, pop-up handler, pad-lock icon on secure sites, user preferences and a context menu. The beta expires June 1, 2006. [go to Opera 8.5 explanation and download page] -- Posted Monday, March 6, 2006 by chb

First PC to Pocket PC "malware"
The Mobile Antivirus Researchers Association (MARA) reports it has analyzed the first destructive program that can cross-infect a PDA or smartphone from a binary on a PC. Included in the anonymously submitted code was a textfile that described how the crossover virus works. -- Posted Wednesday, March 1, 2006 by chb