This will be a regular feature looking at PDA industry news as a whole, we will include under the PA-TECH banner and will be edited by myself and Jennifer. You can contribute your own PDA & technology stories for our PA-TECH section by emailing us at sammymcloughlin@gmail.com
And what about the downside of UMPC's? Well that's the question MobileRead are asking. You can find people that rave about UMPC's (well, a few of them anyway), and people that slam them. In fact, it has become a favorite sport to slam the UMPC as relatively worthless on the grounds that it's not as powerful as a full tablet pc, but too big to fit in your pocket. I think those comments show that people are missing the whole point, but that's a discussion for another day.
[From Lee] Hands-on with Napster's new 1GB player. Napster isn't so shy about their new DAPs after all. We just got to spend a little time with Napster's new 1GB PlaysForSure promotional player, and we liked what we saw for the most part.
You haven't lived until you've seen Zapruder-esque footage of someone opening a Sidekick 3 and mumbling to themselves. Great stuff.
Mmmm happy article 8 ways to kill someone with a nano. Why would you ever need to do this? Well, we aren't exactly sure. But there is likely a situation somewhere in the world where a person who only has a nano on them and needs to defend themselves against an attacker. This strange guide was written by ex-marine, Brad Collom.
The OQO 01+ has received a nice price reduction of $200 according to MobileTechReview. So what does that make the final cost of this machine? $1,699, still way too much.
As promised, Nokia has just posted the Internet Tablet 2006 operating system for download -- although as of this writing you get redirected to an error page -- giving 770 owners access to those handful of new features announced last month. You'll recall that instead of dropping a QWERTY-equipped version of the tablet as we were hoping/expecting, Nokia disappointed more than a few fans by only unveiling a software upgrade that adds an on-screen keyboard along with the Google Talk client. Even worse, Nokia warns that "installed applications designed for OS 2005 will not be compatible with OS 2006 edition
On July 1, it is 15 years since the world's first commercial Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) call was made. The network was delivered by Ericsson and operated by Mannesmann in Germany.
ALK has been making navigation software for a long time and was one of the first to support Windows Mobile. The company has struck a very clever deal with network operator T-Mobile which involves bundling its software with Windows Mobile devices, but you can also buy the software independently of any device for both Windows Mobile Smartphones and Pocket PCs. I chose to take a look at the software with an Orange SPV C600 for this test.
MobiTV is now available for Windows Mobile devices. It's about time, too. Mobile TV is dominating the tech airwaves these days, and it's only natural that Windows Mobile phones and smartphones be able to take advantage of the new technology.
The folks at the FCC have approved the Sony DCC-FMT50U, an FM stereo transmitter. After the zillions of FM stereo transmitters that came out as accessories to your iPod or other portable player, it's time for Sony to bring out their version of what an FM transmitter should be.
Asian-Pacific-based company, Dopod, has just introduced the CHT 9000 (HTC Hermes) through Taiwanese carrier, Chunghwa Telecom (CHT). The device features a Samsung 400MHz CPU, 64MB RAM, 128MB ROM, quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE/W-CDMA connectivity, Bluetooth 2.0, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, a microSD slot, a 2.8" QVGA (240 x 320) TFT-LCD, a 2.0-megapixel camera, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard (with Chinese character support), and Windows Mobile 5.0 with the MSFP.
Many cell phone carriers want you to think that you are limited to purchasing their brand of phones. But it is possible to buy a Cingular phone, and use it on T-mobile, and vice-versa. The phone needs to be "unlocked" and it is becoming a very popular thing to do with phones. PC Magazine has an excellent discussion on this subject, which was prompted by a letter to them. It's good information, and well worth reading.
Czech software house Maxicon s.r.o. has released a smartphone application that monitors incoming calls and accepts or rejects calls based on phone number. PhoneGate for Windows Mobile lets users discreetly reject unwanted calls with a busy signal while leaving the phone available for important calls.
VW has designed possibly the largest MP3 player ever. A new option on most VW models adds a USB port under the console. You can directly plug your MP3 player or a flash drive into the port and play your music back via the cars stereo system.
While the folks at Apple haven’t thought of incorporating Bluetooth in iPods, the leaders in Bluetooth stereo headsets, Jabra, has taken care of that. Jabra has unveiled A125s Adaptor for iPod which is the perfect way for Bluetooth enabling an iPod so you can enjoy music wirelessly via Bluetooth stereo headset or headphones.
Sony's first foray into handhelds since the demise of the Clie line is now available. You can order the VAIO UX Micro PC, neither a PDA nor a UMPC, through the electronic giant's commerce site or by phone.
