Entries tagged with mobile - Channel 10

Redfly: A Netbook Entirely Powered By Your Windows Mobile Phone

sarahintampa — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 04:32:00 GMT

A company called Celiocorp has launched a completely different take on the netbook phenomenon. Instead of offering a lightweight computer running either Linux or XP like today’s netbooks do, this notebook PC is entirely powered by a device you already own: your smartphone. Dubbed a “mobile companion,” the Redfly device has an 8-inch screen, a full-sized keyboard and touch pad, and is connected to your smartphone via a USB cable or Bluetooth.

To use the Redfly notebook, all you need to do is install the Redfly driver on your phone (see supported phones here). You can then use the netbook like any computer. Its bigger screen makes it easier to read documents, write emails, or surf the web. Redfly supports remote desktop, virtualization and other cloud-based environments like Citrix, GoToMyPC, LogMeIn, Microsoft’s Remote Desktop protocol, stoneware, inc., and others. The netbook also features a VGA connector so you can connect your Redfly netbook to a projector for presentations.

As you use the Redfly device, you can be charging your smartphone too, assuming it’s plugged in via the USB cable. The Redfly battery works for up to 8 hours, according to the company.

Because Redfly has no OS, no CPU, no hard drive, and requires no software licenses, its cost is lower than a laptop PC (an Amazon search shows that price to be around $199). That’s also slightly more affordable than today’s crop of OS-powered netbooks, but not by much.

The benefit to using a mobile companion instead of a PC is that the device can get lost or stolen without any threat of losing important data. Of course, a lot of companies have already started doing this now via the use of virtualized business apps running on top of the OS installed on “regular” company laptops – all the important data is in the cloud so laptop loss or theft isn’t as big a concern as before. However, given the price ($199) of Redfly vs. that of a laptop, the replacement cost would be minimal.

Encarta Comes To MSN Mobile

sarahintampa — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 17:53:00 GMT

MSN Mobile, available from on any phone at mobile.msn.com, delivers news, email, sports, search, weather, entertainment links like movie listings and horoscopes, and even videos right to your mobile phone. Now you can add one more option to that extensive list: Encarta. The Encarta option is now available from the “All” menu, which is where you’ll find all of the items not listed directly on the main MSN Mobile homepage. From within the new Encarta feature you can check out a quote of the day, read three editorially-selected articles each day, take a quiz, and try to guess the Mystery Picture of the day. However, the most important feature in the mobilized version of Encarta is the article search feature. How many times have you had to whip out your phone and look something up in order settle an argument? I don’t know about you, but this is almost a near-daily occurrence in my house. With Encarta, searching for the answers to those questions is easy - just enter the term in the search box and go. You can rest assured that the answers you find are accurate, too, since it's coming from the Encarta Encyclopedia. (This is especially good for settling bets where money was involved, too. Not that I would do that, of course).

If you don’t have a smartphone, you can check out the Encarta app here. Otherwise, you can go to the MSN Mobile homepage and have MSN sent to your phone via text message.

A New App For Mobile Security: Maverick Mobile

sarahintampa — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 13:31:00 GMT

At this year’s DEMO conference, one of the best demos was from a Pune, India-based company called Maverick Mobile. Their new mobile application helps protect the data on your phone in the event the phone is lost or stolen. The app can be used to back up your data, encrypt it, track your device, retrieve your phonebook from a lost phone, disable the device remotely, and even sound a warning alarm if you know the device to be stolen. At time of launch, the Maverick Mobile app works on Nokia phones only, but in November, the company will debut their Windows Mobile and Blackberry versions.

The app incrementally backs up the data on your phone to their secure servers so you can always retrieve it easily. If your phone is stolen and a new SIM card is put into the device, the application recognizes the change and immediately encrypts all the data, including your phonebook, images, messages, etc. You can then retrieve the data from another phone that’s in your possession and – here’s the best part – that retrieval is done using SMS text messages that are automatically sent from the stolen phone...meaning the thief’s account is used to pay for them!

You can also hunt down your device once it's been re-activated. The mobile app can send your new phone the phone number, device ID, country code, operator name, and area code belonging to your stolen device.

However, the craziest thing about the Maverick Mobile app is that it actually lets you harass the thief! You can make spy calls to the device, which switches on the loudspeaker and mic of the stolen phone so you can listen in on the conversations made. But what’s even more hilarious is that you can disable the stolen phone remotely and then have the device sound a loud alarm that sounds like a siren. The only way to disable the siren is to remove the battery! You can also have the app send a customized message with the alarm (like “this phone has been reported stolen, to return it, please call…” (or whatever message you want).

I couldn’t find any company videos that would allow you to see the device in action, unfortunately. However, I did come across this video from eWEEK where they interview one of the company founders:

Microsoft's Holiday Preview - Windows Mobile

Laura — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:01:00 GMT

Call Santa because the Holidays are on their way - and call him from your Windows Mobile Phone. In this episode of our Holiday Preview Guide we check out the sexy new phones coming your way like the HTC Diamond, the HTC Touch Dual and the Samsung BlackJack II. There's plenty of reason to celebrate and if you need more- take at episode 1 of our Holiday Guide on the Xbox 360.

Sneak Peek at Live Mesh for Mobile

sarahintampa — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:52:00 GMT

At the Microsoft TechEd Australia 2008 conference keynote this morning, Dr. Neil and Amit Mital showed a quick preview of the Live Mesh application running on a Windows Palm Treo Pro. Long Zeng has the screenshots on his blog. In the demo, they showed how quickly a mobile photo could be synced to all the other devices on the Mesh. When will we see the mobile Mesh client app? “In the coming months,” they say.

In the meantime, it’s not like you have to do without – the Mobile Mesh web page is available at m.mesh.com from your mobile phone. It works OK on my Blackberry Pearl (for viewing at least) and you can view your files from an iPhone, too. However, a native mobile app for my Blackberry would be even better. Hopefully, the Live Mesh for Windows Mobile client will be the first step towards that goal.

TinyTwitter Updated: Now Add Pictures and Geolocate Your Tweets

sarahintampa — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:25:00 GMT

If you have a Windows Mobile device and you are a Twitter user, then you may have heard of an app called TinyTwitter. Many people say that TinyTwitter is already one of the best applications for using Twitter on their mobile phone, but now it’s even better than before! A recent update to TinyTwitter has added two great new features: picture uploads and geolocation. The picture uploading is done via a service called TwitPic and there’s nothing special you have to do to use it – just add append a picture to your tweet.

The new geolocation feature is pretty great too, especially because it’s using our very own Live Maps service to geolocate your tweets. Assuming your mobile phone has GPS built in, your tweets will be mapped out and posted on a timeline along with a link to Live Maps so people can see where you are. Don’t worry, though, it won’t be exact enough to encourage stalking.

To try out the new version of this app, go to TinyTwitter.com on your PC or visit m.ttwt.at from your mobile phone.

(Thanks to Jeremy Cath for the tip! Img courtesy PocketPCThoughts)

Get The Olympics On Your Mobile Phone

sarahintampa — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:43:00 GMT

Thanks to a partnership between Lenovo, Intel, and Zumobi, Windows Mobile users now have access to an app called the “Olympic Zoom Space,” which is available via a free download at http://lenovo.zumobi.com. This four-tile zoom space, like other Zumobi downloads, lets you quickly and easily view news and photos from the web without need of your web browser. The app features news, blogs, photos, and other updates from Lenovo’s “Olympic Podium” website, a site which focuses on providing you with a comprehensive guide to the Summer Games in Beijing.

Mobipocker – A Free eBook Reader for Mobile Phones

sarahintampa — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:23:00 GMT

You don’t have to have a Kindle in order to read eBooks when you’re on the go – all you really need is a mobile phone and some downloadable software. A good one to try is Mobipocket, a free eBook reader that works on Windows Mobile phones as well as on other smartphones like the Blackberry or Symbian devices. With the software installed, you can then build, organize, read, and annotate your entire eBook library. There’s also a desktop version of the software available that works as a combo eBook reader and RSS reader. In the desktop version, you can subscribe to the RSS feeds of various online news magazines and papers like PC Mag, TIME, BBC News, USA Today, and others, so you’ll always have something else to read besides just your eBooks. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear you can add your own feeds, which is a drawback, but their are 250,000 free feeds to choose from, so at least you have a good selection. Of course, eBook software just wouldn’t be complete if they didn’t offer you an easy way to download new eBooks, too, so Mobipocket integrates an eBookstore right within their application. From the store, you can find new eBooks to purchase as well as download free eBooks and samples. There’s even a virtual bookshelf where you can store your collection. If you want to try this software yourself, the download is available here.

(Via MakeUseOf)

New Windows Mobile App Portal

sarahintampa — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:28:00 GMT

There’s a new Silverlight-based portal for Windows Mobile applications designed specifically for customers in the EMEA region – that’s “Europe, Middle East, and Africa.” On this site, you can browse line of business applications by industry or drill down into apps for sales force enablement, field force enablement, GPS, and more. Each app features a description, a scenario for its usage, and its benefits. You can click to see screenshots and to access more links – like the link to the app’s website, for example. For anyone in this geographic region, the site can be a valuable resource to help you find the best business apps for your Windows Mobile device. To take a look for yourself, the link is: http://www.microsoft.com/emea/windowsmobileapps/default.mspx
(Via Mr Mobile)

Windows Live Messenger and Live Mail Come To Blackberry

sarahintampa — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:13:00 GMT

Got a Blackberry? Then you will love this: Windows Live Messenger is now available for Blackberry smartphones. Now, I was able to sign into WLM on my Blackberry via a pre-installed “IM” app that let me sign into any one of a number of IM services, but there are some advantages to using the new WLM app. With the new app, you can join group chats, set your status message and see others’ statuses, save conversations, use an avatar and see others’ avatars, send and received pictures and files, and gain access to over 60 emoticons. Guess what? I’m switching to this!

Along with the news about Windows Live Messenger, the other big news is Windows Live Mail’s arrival on Blackberry, too. The application will use the Blackberry’s “push” technology to deliver its messages and will set up a dedicated inbox just for Live Mail. You will also be able to see HTML email with the ability to view graphics, links, and contact photos in your email. To use either of these services, you only need to sign in once with your Windows Live ID information.

To download Windows Live Messenger for Blackberry, click here. (thanks LiveSide!)

Dashwire 2.0 Launches: Backup Your Phone and Sync Content To Social Web

sarahintampa — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:19:00 GMT

On Tuesday, mobile phone app Dashwire released Dashwire 2.0, a much improved version of their mobile phone backup and sync service. With Dashwire 2.0, you can backup your phone’s content – like photos, videos, text messages, ringtones, bookmarks, speed dials, contacts, and call logs – to Dashwire’s site on the web. This syncing is done automatically, so if you make a change to your phone, that change is reflected on the web, and vice versa. In addition, the app lets you share your content across several social networking sites. You can easily and automatically send photos and video to flickr, Facebook, bebo, and Twitter and you can also update your Twitter and Facebook status from the app. The Dashwire website also offers you a public page where you can share your mobile uploads with others who can then leave comments on the items. Dashwire 2.0 is free for Windows Mobile users - just go to m.dashwire.com from your phone’s browser to sign up.

Loopt’s Mobile Network Now Runs Virtual Earth

sarahintampa — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 01:57:00 GMT

At the recent AWDC event on the 10th, Loopt CEO Sam Altman demonstrated the upcoming Loopt mobile social network for iPhone (Loopt currently runs on numerous phones already, including Blackberry). The mobile social network they provide helps you connect with friends in the real world by dropping pins on a map to show your friends’ locations. What’s interesting about all this is that they chose Microsoft Virtual Earth to be the mapping service for Loopt on iPhone. This was spotted by VE evangelist Chris Pendleton, who caught a screenshot of the demo (pictured to the left - thanks Chris!). That’s especially interesting because this seems to be a departure from the mapping service they used before. Hmmm, wonder if they’ll let us switch to Bird’s Eye view? Anyway, congrats VE team! Hey, I heard you were just on CNN, too.

Windows Live Mobile Homepage Beta

sarahintampa — Tue, 27 May 2008 13:50:00 GMT

There's a new Windows Live Mobile homepage available at http://mhome.live.com. From this page, you can get on-the-go access to Live services like Windows Live Mail, Messenger, Spaces, and Search. There's also a "what's new" stream, similar to Facebook's News Feed, that shows status updates made by your friends. This feed comes from your Windows Live Spaces account and displays information like your recently uploaded photos, files, blog entries, lists, profile updates, and newly added friends. (via LiveSide)

Make Your Live Maps Collections Mobile

sarahintampa — Thu, 22 May 2008 13:18:00 GMT

The guys over at LiveSide have a tutorial on how to use the newly updated Live Search for Mobile to take your Live Maps collections with you when you're on the go by adding them to your mobile phone. The first step is to create the collection on your desktop PC. You could then simply make it a public collection and find it by doing a search on your mobile phone, but by following these steps, it's actually a bit easier to access it without having to search:

On your PC, go to Live Maps and create a collection.
Make the Collection a Favorite and then open your Favorite Collections.
Click the Subscribe button to subscribe to this collection. This is a one-time thing - now that you're subscribed, any updates you do to the collection will be automatically updated on the phone too.
Convert the URL to a TinyURL
On your phone, go to Live Search for Mobile, open Collections, go to the Menu and choose "Add Collection using URL"
Enter in the TinyURL you created and click "Done."

That's it! The collection will now be on your phone from this point on.

You can visit the LiveSide blog for even more details and watch a video they shot with Steve Lombardi from Live Maps where they check out the new features of Live Search for Mobile. (via/img courtesty of LiveSide)

iWindowsMobile Launches Updated ZoomBoard

sarahintampa — Tue, 20 May 2008 14:32:00 GMT

Their URL is simply iwindowsmobile.com, but their header image puts a heart in there, so I guess we could call the site iheartwindowsmobile.com. Regardless of what it's called though, the site offers up a treasure trove of downloads and apps for Windows Mobile devices, the latest of which is a refresh of ZoomBoard.

This new app offers an onscreen keyboard for quick and easy touch typing on Windows Mobile devices. As you touch a letter, the app can either zoom in on the part of the keyboard under your finger in a pop-up lens or it can zoom in on the entire keyboard. The keyboard comes in different color palettes - black or bright blue - and looks great on the new HTC Touch devices.

However, ZoomBoard is just one of many great apps on iwindowsmobile.com. There's also FunContact, a contact manager; GoodWin, a task switcher and launcher; and SMS-Chat, an instant SMS messenger. You can also get the three of those programs bundled together with the Communication Suite download.

In addition, there is also EyePhoto, a photo viewer which lets use your finger to swish through your pictures; Audio Notes Touch, an mp3 recorder; and AstroNavigator, an interactive slide sky map.

The site is owned by Vito Technology, a company based in Russia who makes all kinds of apps for Pocket PC, Symbian, and other Smartphones.

There's really only one problem with the apps from iwindowsmobile.com - they aren't free ($14.95/ea) and you're going to want to download them all!

Live Search for Mobile: Part Two

Tina — Tue, 20 May 2008 09:57:00 GMT

In part two of "Live Search for Mobile" I spend some time exploring Live Search with Andrew Bell.

Live Search for Mobile has just released the latest updates to our browser-based mobile search at m.live.com. One of our major efforts was to bring the power of product search to the convenience of a mobile phone. Think about how much time people spend shopping in brick-and-mortar stores — without the ability to do the product research they're accustomed to from their PCs.

We took the great product search features from Live Search and made them easy to use on your mobile phone. You'll see a list of popular products, user ratings, and price comparisons from online stores. You can also research products by reading a detailed overview or consumer reviews. Now the next time a consumer electronics device catches your eye in a store, you'll be able to get the detailed rundown on its performance, read the consensus wisdom of the Web, compare it with similar products, and even make sure it's being offered for a good price — all before you make that impulse buy. Now you can spend wisely, wherever you are.

Another of our favorite features this release was developed specifically for our friends abroad — those in the United Kingdom and Japan. Searching for nearby businesses is one of the most popular and most valued types of mobile search today. But most existing browser-based search services require the user to first type in their location — easy if you're always in the same place, but a chore when you're out and about, and a real challenge if you don't know exactly where you are.

With this new feature, users can simply click Find my Location, and their location will be set based on their proximity to cellular towers. Then they can get the most relevant nearby results for all their searches.

Force Sensing Technology

sarahintampa — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:42:00 GMT

An article on BBC News blog, dot.life, features an interesting project from Microsoft Research: force sensing technology. In a research paper cleverly titled "I Sense a Disturbance in the Force" (available here), researchers from Microsoft's Cambridge Lab -James Scott, Lorna Brown and Mike Molloy - describe how force sensing technology could be used to perform actions on mobile devices. Using a prototype made from a Samsung UMPC, the researchers created a way for people to interact with the mobile device by tilting, twisting, bending, or squeezing it. These movements let the device's users perform actions like flipping a page in a document or switching between applications. No word as to when we'll see this technology in our handhelds, but it definitely opens up some possibilities for future research in this area.

Twitter+Email+Flickr+Virtual Earth = Twisney.com!

sarahintampa — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 21:35:00 GMT

What do you get when you combine Disney World, Twitter, Flickr, and Microsoft's Virtual Earth? You get the awesome site Twisney.com! The site lets you send in email, IMs, text messages, or tweets in order to update the Virtual Earth map with your photos and news. When you send in your status update to Twisney.com, they match it to a location on the map by looking at the first few words of your message. You can use an abbreviation, a paraphrased name, or the location's full name as found on your map of Disney.

Examples:

btmr, on the front car of the train, let 'er rip!
thunder mountain, on the front car of the train, let 'er rip!
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, on the front car of the train, let 'er rip!
thunder mountain rr, on the front car of the train, let 'er rip!

If you're emailing in your update from a mobile phone, just attach the picture to the email, and send it to these instructions. That way, all your photos will be available from one page: www.twisney.com/username, which you can then share with your family and friends.

You can keep tabs on other Twisney users from your mobile phone from the mobile version of the site: http://www.twisney.com/mobile/overview

All the photos sent in to Twisney are uploaded to the Twisney group on flickr. You can also see them on a map here.

Guitar Hero @ your Mobile!

jukkaw — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 07:29:00 GMT

Do you have a Windows Mobile phone? Are you ready to Rock???

Now it's time to Rock with your Mobile. Magmic Games will take mobility to the new level!

Get you're own http://www.winplay.com/game/GuitarHeroMobile.

Guitar Hero® is now available on mobile! Rock out anytime, anywhere with this rhythm-based, three button game that stays true to the original.
Rock out anytime, anywhere with this rhythm-based, three button game that stays true to the original. Open with 15 jamming tracks, all taken from the Guitar Hero console series.
· Grow your set list with 3 new songs monthly*
· Play through 3 venues each with 4 set songs and an encore
· Shred as your favorite characters on four authentic Gibson guitars, in three killer venues
· Unlock guitars, earn achievements and break records
· Hit the right notes to drive the crowd wild with star power!

The initial game comes with these 15 tracks from some of rock’s greatest acts:

(1) Santana - Black Magic Woman
(2) Wolfmother - Woman
(3) AFI - Miss Murder
(4) Red Hot Chili Peppers - Suck My Kiss
(5) Alice Cooper - School's Out
(6) Pat Benatar - Hit Me with Your Best Shot
(7) Van Halen - You Really Got Me
(8) KISS - Strutter
(9) Smashing Pumpkins - Cherub Rock
(10) Stone Temple Pilots - Trippin on A Hole
(11) Matchbook Romance - Monsters
(12) Motley Crue - Shout at the Devil
(13) Black Sabbath - Paranoid
(14) The Allman Brothers Band - Jessica
(15) Scorpions - Rock You Like A Hurricane

Windows Mobile GPS -paikkatietosovellusten toteutus on kaikkien käsillä.

jukkaw — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 10:28:00 GMT

Useimmat varmaankin jo tietävät, miten helppoa puhelinsovellusten tekeminen on nykyään, kun käytössä on Windows Mobile puhelimet. Enää ei tarvitse olla monimutkaisia kehitysympäristöjä ja monen vuoden ammattikokemusta sovelluskehitykseen. Pelkkä kiinnostus ja läjä esimerkkejä jo riittää ja heti alkaa valmista syntymään.
Nyt kun yhä useammissa Windows puhelimissa on sisäänrakennetut GPS paikantimet ja puhelimiin tehtävät sovellukset ovat helppoja tehdä Visual Studiolla ja .NET:llä, on aika alkaa toteuttamaan niitä visioita, joita kukin on aiemmin mielessään vain kuvitellut.

Käytännön tarve sai Kari Ruuskasen tarttumaan Visual Studioon ja tutustumaan, miten paikkatietoa hyödyntävän mobiiliohjelman voisi helpoiten tehdä. Ohjelmointi kun ei työkuvaan kuulunut ollenkaan, mutta tarve ja visio sovelluksen toiminnoista oli selkeänä, piti vain ryhtyä tuumasta toimeen.
Tässä esimerkissä mennään läpi Kari Ruuskasen toteutus, jossa hyödynnetään niin tekstiviestejä, GPS paikkatietoa kuin Live karttasivun generointia - puhelimessa!!
Puhelin seuraa missä omistaja kulkee ja laatii siitä mm. Live Maps html-sivun, jota voi katsella selaimella.
Sovellus on säädettävissä myös siten, että kun puhelin siirtyy aiemmin määritetystä alueesta toiseen, lähtee siitä SMS viesti toiseen puhelimeen ja näin ollen tiedetään kokoajan, millä alueella puhelin on.

Lataa projektin koodit itsellesi, tutustu niihin ja hyödynnä niinkuin haluat.

SMSOfficer for Outlook

sarahintampa — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 16:14:00 GMT

A new plug-in for Outlook has been the talk of the net recently: SMSOfficer for Outlook lets you send and receive text messages from your Outlook to any cell phone. The service, which takes advantage of the Outlook Mobile Service, works with nearly any carrier worldwide and your copy of Outlook 2007. After it's installed, you get your first 10 texts for free, but then it's $20 for your next 250. You can learn more about SMSOfficer on the Outlook Team Blog.

SMS Notifier - your personal assistant in your mobile

jukkaw — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 02:26:00 GMT

Have you ever been in a situation where you just can't take an incoming call? Right after that you send a SMS message to notify the caller that you'll be calling back later. Finnish mobile enthusiast Aali Alikoski decided to write a small app for this kind of scenario.

This is a very good example of how easily you can do your own applications for mobile phones. You can download and freely use the codes from http://www.codeplex.com/SMSNotifier. Watch the introductory video of the application and take a short peek at the code project itself.

Silverlight on your Mobile Phones - Demo + Q&A!

Tina — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 15:00:00 GMT

That's right party people...Silverlight on your mobile devices. Amit Chopra from the Mobile Developer Group stops by the Channel 10 studios to talk about features and the future. He shows us a simple app as well as one that Bill Gates created. If you run an application on your mobile device and if you run the same app on your desktop it will run in scale. Some of the big questions are will your mobile device be running Silverlight or Silverlight 2.0? What about non-ms mobile phones? Find out now.

Silverlight Showing Up on Nokia Handsets Soon

Jesse — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 16:55:00 GMT

In one of the first of many newsbombs coming out of everyone's favorite desert oasis this week, the Silverlight team will announcing the porting of Silverlight to Nokia Series 60 mobile devices. Given that the Finnish juggernaut represents a majority of the smartphone market, support for Silverlight on Nokias (in addition to the previously-announced WinMo device support) will help bring the next web to the pockets of the masses.

(Mary Jo Foley for ZDNet)

HTC Cruise et HTC Pharos

bgauth — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 04:39:00 GMT

Voici le 3° podcast de la série avec HTC. Dans celui-ci, nous vous présentons les deux derniers mobiles GPS:

HTC Cruise
HTC Pharos