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28 March PDA NirvanaAs annoyed as I am by Ubiquio/MWG's total abandonment and nonexistent customer service the truth of the matter is that I love my Ubiquio 503G. In fact, my husband recently commented that he hasn't seen me this content with a device since I had my Treo 650. And believe me, that's saying a whole lot.
I think back to my Treo 650 days and wonder why they seem so idyllic, and if its ever possible to go back to that frame of mind. The answer, unfortunately, is that ignorance is bliss. I didn't really know any other operating system beside Palm, so everything I read about devices seemed foreign and far-removed from me. I also realize that the canndybar QWERTY form factor is a necessity for me. From November of 2006 to November of 2007 I used a Samsung Blackjack almost exclusively. In fact, if it hadn't been for the limitations of Windows Mobile Standard I probably would have been happy with it for longer. Its been about 4 months with my Ubiquio 503G now and I must admit- I'm pretty content. I seem to have found the perfect balance of software which works well on it. I've grown accustomed to the quirks, especially the double-press needed to get a period. I've looked at other devices (most recently, the HP 910c) and with the exception of the promise of company support, I can't really see what other pressing features it would bring me. In other words, I just may have found that elusive PDA peace I've been looking for.  18 March My Next Phone?While I've been happy with my Ubiquio for the most part, I've been disgusted with the lack of support from TechFaithWireless/MWG. To date I am still waiting on a Rom upgrade to fix the following issues:
-Occasional freezing of the D-Pad
-Jumpy scroll wheel
-ROM and RAM increase
-Name search as default, not numbers
-LED for emails.
The support team has been MIA for over 4 months now, and it seems they've totally abandoned the device. So, it seems that the Rom version 3.06 may never see the light of day. I don't know if I can stay faithful to a device that has reached the end of its potential.
The HP iPaq 910C seems like it may be a worthy successor. In addition to everything that the UBiQUiO has as well as GPS. Hey, maybe I'll take up Geocaching!
The two devices are eerily similar, and rumor is that the HP will be released this year on AT&T. That couldn't be better news for me, since I'm eligible for an upgrade in April! 15 March Blackberry Curve QuestionAs everyone who reads Mobigasmic knows, I do not do Blackberry. I don't know, it's just not my style- they can Curve it, Pearl it- I'm not fooled. However, my cousin is, and she insists on dragging me into her Black(berry) hole with her. First she wanted me to help her track down an IM client. Today she called to lament that she couldn't open Word documents, and apparently the only solution is to buy a 3rd party program which costs a hefty sum.
Anyone out there know if there is a workaround to view and/or edit Word and Excel documents on the Blackberry Curve or am I going to have to drag her kicking and screaming over to Windows Mobile, or at the very least Palm?
 16 February HP iPaq 614c available Mondayhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/473/f/6512/s/9248fb/story01.htm
12 February Today Screen AnimationMyMobiler has just released a new version of its software which not only allows you to control your device from your desktop, but also allows you to capture video images. To test this, here is my Today screen.
MSN Direct DropsMSN's answer to YahooGo was released to day and it definitely seems like a promising attempt. So far its only available for Windows Mobile Standard, which excludes yours truly, but from the footage I've seen it looks pretty fetching. It only shows weather, news and stocks for now which is less than Y!Go but it does include a homescreen plugin which would appear to up the ante somewhat.
11 February HTC P3470This HTC looks like a trimmed down, sexier version of the Touch. Unfortunately it has no 3G or WiFi, but it does have GPS. However, for $650 I'm sure there are more fulfilling devices to be had in Europe.
08 February PDA Wishlist
Overall, I've been pretty happy with my UBiQUiO 503G as well as the selection of software loaded on it. But, as the perfectionist I am, I still have some minor wishes that I would love to see fulfilled sometime soon: Device: -On my UBi, I would love for the scroll wheel and navpad to be fixed. The scroll wheel is way too jumpy and the navpad misses a press every now and then. -Every once and again I get a keypad freeze up, but I suspect its related to a piece of software. -I need to be able to program the video call button to something else! -The LED only works for text messages. Fix this UBiQUiO!! Software: -I'd love for someone to develop a Twitter application that shows up on the today screen. Like SPB Insight, optional image of the user and regular updates. It would be amazing if somehow I could update my status right from within the application! -Facebook needs something deeper than the mobile website. I recently found out about T9 Space which is a slight step up, but still doesnt work quite right. The API is now available, I'd love to see a Windows Mobile Facebook application that is more than just a notifier. Currently, I upgraded to unlimited Text messaging and have been relying on using Text notifications. -Pocket IE isn't cutting it! I stopped using Opera Mobile because it was just too large, and took too long to open. But, I want something with more speed, and the simplicity of Pocket IE. Could Skyfire be what I need? Hopefully I get accepted into the beta! -One of the simplest but most useful application for Palm was one called TrackerDog. The purpose of TrackerDog was to list all your installed applications, then check them to ensure you had the latest version. if it found your installed version to be outdated, you had the option of allowing it to download the updated program from the website during Hotsync. This is sooo needed for Windows Mobile! Keeping track of updated versions is just about a full time job. 09 January Rainbow PearlWhile on the one hand its nice to see Blackberry offer the Pearl in different colors, its kind of inconvenient that the color availability is driven by carrier. Here are the red Pearl for Sprint and the pink (ugh!!) for Verizon.
05 January Slingplayer for Blackberry...soon!Even though Sling doesn't natively support the Ubiquio 503G...or,it seems, most landscape ppcs, I still consider it to be one of the major technological developments of the past decade. I use it on my laptop on a regular basis. Now Blackberry users will soon bee able to join in the fun! According to Engadget, Sling is going to demo this at CES this year. Am I the only person bummed not to be at CES?
28 December Viigo RSS Reader
This is the newly released freeware RSS reader from Viigo. My verdict? I'm afraid I'm going to have to give this one a thumbs down-it lasted a grand total of about 5 minutes on my UBi. First, and most annoyingly, the GUI for this program completely covers the top and bottom bars- which would be fine except for the fact that every time you navigate within the program there is an annoying 'flicker' which briefly flashes said bars. Navigation is slow and almost seems like the data is offline and must be retrieved as you enter each article. As much as it pains me to criticize freware, I'm afraid I must. You're better off using Bloglines mobile via your web browser- a solution which is also free. 17 December Mobi-Overdose
There is such a thing as too much tech, as you can see. Here's what my desk looked like last week as I prepared to clean house. I've got the first Ubiquio, which I purchased but then arrived without the battery. I couldn't wait patiently like a normal person for the replacement battery to be sent, so I ordered another one! Then there's my Cingular 8525 which I picked up from my Cingular upgrade. I liked the device, but I am always weary of devices with moving parts. Also, with one arm/hand almost exclusively dedicated to holding the little guy I definitely needed a one-handed device. My Blackjack might have filled that void, but lack of WiFi and WM Professional made it come up short. The three excess devices have all sold on eBay now, and I hope that they have found good homes where they can be appreciated for the gems they are. 15 December My MobilerFor some reason, it seems that I cannot get Soti PocketController working with my UBiQUiO 503G....I just end up with a fuzzy, snowy display on my desktop. After searching, I found that there is a freeware application called My Mobiler (www.mymobiler.com) that works just as well and does not have the issue of Soti's app. You can also zoom in to get a larger display of your device on your desktop. Use your mouse and keyboard to control the device as normal:
 11 December Windows Mobile 6.1
Hurray! The latest update of WM6 is 6.1 and FINALLY includes native support for Office 2007 docs. Now I have a reason to seriously ponder getting O2K7 on my PC...hmmmm. 10 December My 'UBi'
I know it seems like I say it every time I get a new device, but this time I really mean it....this is THE one. Its my new UBiQUiO 503g and it has everything that I've been looking for in a device: -Windows Mobile 6 Professional (my Blackjack was nice but I just cannot be as flexible with the Standard version no matter how hard I try) -WiFi (again, missing from my Blackjack and Treo 650 back in the day) -QWERTY Keyboard (none of that slideout stuff-it just makes it inconvenient to access -Pocketable size (remember my lovely Universal? Couldn't use that thing without a damn parade!) -3G (this thing is FAST on the Cingular 3G network) In other words, I love it. Its the perfect one handed device for me and now that I've tricked it out its exactly what I want it to be. There are a few issues that plagued it when it first came out, but UBiQUiO has been really good with releasing improved ROMs so I'm pretty comfortable. Now my Blackjack and 8525 are going up on eBay! 08 August TIme for a changeFor the past few months I have been using the same homescreen on my Blackjack and I feel like it may be time for a change. Here is what my old screen looked like:
And here is one of the top contenders to be my new homescreen. I am still adjusting to the busy-ness of it, but so far its certainly got my attention:
If you like how it looks, you can get it over at the SBSH forum here. 17 April Amazing YouTube Mobile SubstituteThere's been a lot of hoopla lately regarding the availability of mobile video, YouTube-like content for your Smartphone or PocketPC. Basically, unless you have Verizon wireless, there isnt a whole lot to look forward to on the immediate horizon. So, as I always do, I scoured the web determined to find a solution....and boy, did I ever hit the mother load! Check out 'Avazing', this is a cool community based databank of mobile-optimized video clips and shorts. It kind of reminds me of what MSN Soapbox should be, but stops short because the videos just do not play smoothly on my Blackjack.
Avazing can be configured to download the movies to your phone only when connected to Activesync (great if you pay per KB of data) which means that it does store the data locally on your device-no streaming necessary. You determine the amount of clips you want to download and once it has downloaded you are presented with the list of all available clips on your phone:
Selecting the video will play the highlighted clip:
Once the clip started to play, I was a bit confused. The player looks exactly like the WM player with the Samsung skin built into the phone so I didn't understand why the heading said "Avazing video player". However, once I checked the menu, I noticed that the options are actually from the Avazing application:
This is one of the those finds that I absolutely love: its simple, it fills an open niche in my device and, most importantly ITS FREE!!!! 08 April Multi-Platform Banking SolutionThere are several different Banking software solutions out there, and if you own a mobile device then you know that trying to find a sync-able option is another battle altogether. Here's my dilemna....I own a desktop, a laptop and a Smartphone...but I'm not always on top of my syncs (i.e. sometimes I go a week between syncs). This means that it is very difficult for me to maintain my banking summary, and keep it updated, on all 3 devices. A persusal of a forum led me to a post where the writer suggested an online based solution for banking records...hmmm. At first I was skeptical, especially about the security aspect of the site, but when I checked out ClearCheckBook.com I realized that there is really no need to have the details of my transactions secure!
On this site you create an account and then can enter all of your bank accounts, credit cards, etc by name only and then enter the transactions. None of the information that you enter is sensitive data (i.e. $10 spent at Starbucks!) and then the information is available to you anywhere you have an internet connection!
The site loads in a usable fashion on my Blackjack, but I noticed that there is a daily countdown ticker on the page http://www.clearcheckbook.com/mobile which now indicates that a special mobile version should be available in 41 days! 16 March Finally! TV Guide on my Blackjack!
One thing which has been a minor nuisance for me since I settled solely on a Smartphone device is the lack of a TV Guide program for this platform. The mobile TV Guide website hasnt worked in over a year, and UGuide which was available briefy in Beta has been closed, probably to reopen as a premium program (sorry, but I simply will NOT pay for a java app!) To me, the Tv Guide function on my mobile device helps me remember what comes on tonight, and if its an episode I've seen or not without having to interrupt a DVD I might be watching or if I'm away from home. This week I revived this search determined to find a solution to this issue. And it was actually very simple! Styletap is a cool app that allows Windows Mobile devices to run Palm apps, and recently it has been appended for the smartphone. By downloading Styletap, I can run Pocket TVBrowser which is one of my favorite TV Guide applications. Not only that, but I can run a plethora of Palm apps that I previously had to abandon and were never adapted to the WM Platform (Helloooo BeBop!!!)
Styletap does two things which I really like. One is, it launches as the Palm Launcher to show you the Palm apps that you have installed on your device: And the other is that it creates a shortcut directly to the application within Styletap so that I can add a TV guide shortcut to my WM Right Menu program and it automatically launches the TV Guide program and opens Styletap on its own. The reason that is important is that it speeds up my access to the program I need by not having to launch Styletap, then select the app I want. As you can see, Palm even has the version of American Baby to Go which I couldn't find anywhere! 17 February Sneak Peek at the HTC Universal SucessorHere are some cool shots of the I-Mate 7150 which has Windows Mobile 6, 520Mhz SPU, VGA screen, WiFi and tri-band 3G
I love that this device is thinner than the Jasjar and also that it has the much needed soft keys on the front of it, which makes it more convenient to use when closed screen up. It also supposedly has Windows Mobile 6 but all the shots I've seen on it seem to be WM5. Hmmmm...... |
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