Adobe working on Flash Player for iPhone - waiting for Apple approval

According to Flash Magazine, Adobe is working on Flash player for iPhone but Apple will decide if it will allow it to run on iPhone.

Here is a quote from the article:

"At the Flash On The Beach (FOTB) conference in Brighton, Sr. Director of Engineering at Adobe Systems Paul Betlem, confirmed that Adobe is indeed developing a Flash Player for the iPhone. However, Apple calls the shots as to when it'll be available."


Also check out this.

But do you really want Flash Player on your mobile phone? If you had flash player in your mobile browser, you could watch videos on more sites but a lot of resource intensive web advertisements now use Flash and it is going to kill your mobile browser experience. So maybe Flash for a mobile phone browser is not a good idea. But they could make it such that it doesn't load until you click on a video (the way embedded YouTube videos work on iPhone) and it loads separately in a video player.

Free Instinct like Voice Command for BlackBerry phones

Check out the website of Tellme (a Microsoft subsidiary). They provided the voice command software for Samsung Instinct. It is now available for BlackBerry phones as well so give it a try. It is an attempt by Microsoft to compete with Google in the search business. An iPhone version of Tellme is also in the works (but probably not top priority for them).

They also have a number 1-800-555-TELL.

Sprint to launch WiMax soon

Sprint is set to launch WiMax service in Baltimore soon under the brand name XOHM™.

Check this out for details: http://www.xohm.com/baltimore/

According to USA Today:

"Prices will start at $10 for a day pass, good for 24 hours of unlimited usage. Monthly service starts at $35. There are no contracts.

To use the service, Baltimore customers will have to buy a special WiMax "aircard" or modem, which cost about $45 apiece. There are also special launch discounts, including a $50-a-month plan that offers subscribers unlimited data usage for life.

In Baltimore, Sprint is promising 2 to 4 megabits per second, though it says surfing speeds can rocket to 10 megabits or more, depending on the number and type of applications running. "

Skyfire browser (beta 0.8) available now - for Windows Mobile & Nokia N or E series

(Image Source: dallasnews.com)

According to this and this, the beta version of Skyfire mobile browser is now available for download (after you register). The previous beta was limited to a few early signups so go get yours now.

Download Skyfire 0.8 Beta here. This browser has full HTML rendering, support for plug-ins like Flash, QuickTime, and Windows Media, and Web 2.0 applications!

For full list of features, check this out. Keep in mind that it works similar to Opera Mini (uses a backend server to do the heavy lifting) but is better than Opera Mini. So I personally wouldn't use it for banking sites because your information would pass through the skyfire servers.


Requirements

- Windows Mobile (5 or 6), or
- a Nokia N or E series (3rd edition) phone

I think that Microsoft should buy this company soon.

Windows Mobile 7 Delayed

(Image Source: the unwired)

According to various sites, the release of Windows Mobile 7 has been delayed. Microsoft recently informed its partners about the delay (moved from early 2009 to late 2009). This means that Windows Mobile 7 might not reach the hands of consumers even by late 2009 or early 2010. This is a serious blow to Microsoft in the mobile space because Apple iPhone, Google Android and Nokia's OS are all moving along.

Windows Mobile 7 is expected to have Gesture recognition and speech input.

However, Microsoft is expected to have a better browser before the release of Windows mobile 7 (likely to be in Windows mobile 6.2). The improved browser will be similar to the desktop version of Internet Explorer 6 and will probably be called Internet Explorer Mobile 6. It is likely to have full Flash support.

Here is more information on the delay of Windows Mobile 7.

Information on next Sprint Instinct update - Release MR4

Here is some information on the next software update for Sprint Instinct according to Sprint Administrator. Looks like Sprint is now on a roll (MR3 was just released yesterday)!

"MR-4 Information [ NEW ]

We anticipate an official Public Release Notes announcement of MR4 when that firmware enters certification test on 10/13 (all dates are estimates and are subject to change with no notice). Unofficially, firmware MR4 will include:

* Java refit to better enable 4-way/OK and text input to LCDUI widget-based applications
* Work Calendar support through an enhanced Sprint Mobile Email Work revision
* support for native document viewing for many popular office document types including .doc, .pdf, .ppt and others
* resolution to roughly 50 additional open tickets "

This might be the best update for the Instinct phone!

UPDATE:

It seems that the Work Calendar support has now been removed from the message post in the baw forum.

Check out the comparison of Samsung Instinct vs HTC Touch Diamond

Check out the interesting comparison of Sprint Samsung Instinct vs. Sprint HTC Touch Diamond here.

Some pictures are here, here and here.

Sprint Samsung Instinct MR-3 Update now live - Browser update and other fixes

Sprint Samsung Instinct phone's MR-3 Update now live. Here are the details according to the baw forum post by Sprint Admin team:

"The validation testing has concluded and the files are posted in production. Customers will be able to pull down BH29 starting now. Additional communication will be provided tomorrow.

Instinct firmware BH29 includes the resolution of 249 tickets open since the previous public firmware release, BF30. The release also marks the first public release of the updated Instinct Web Browser, version 1.1. The new browser is based on an entirely new codebase and brings an 10x improvement to rendering speed, most noticeable in the areas of pan/zoom/resize functionality.

New browser features include:

* VC [voice command] Button -> Hide/show controls; browser controls can be hidden to provide more screen to webpage display

* Favorites enhancements -> Improvements to favorites UI allows for sticky mode lock

* 34 other web browser tickets resolved

Instinct Admin Team"

Update on MR-3 release for the Sprint Instinct (Firmware Revision BH-29)

Here are the currently available details on Sprint Instinct MR-3 release (firmware update):

"Good Day, all!

After some research, this is what we know about the MR-3 release for the Instinct. Firmware Revision BH-29 is scheduled to get a Go/NoGo decision tomorrow, 9-24. DougR reports that we have a high level of confidence, but not 100%, that the GO call will be made. If that is the case, then users will be able to initiate their own updates of the handset late in the day on the 24th. We will update this forum as soon as the Go/NoGo decision is made.

Stay tuned - we'll update you tomorrow after the Go/NoGo call.

Thanks,

Will England
Buzz About Wireless Admin
Sprint Nextel "

Does iPhone 3G work with AT&T Pay As You Go SIM Cards?

According to this and this, iPhone 3G accepts AT&T GoPhone "Pay As You Go" and "Pick Your Plan" SIM cards.

So it might be possoble to use it without a 2-year contract by signing up for $19.99 MEdiaNet option? Maybe someone will try this on an eBay iPhone 3G to see if it really works.

CAUTION: This is probably against AT&T's official policy so you are at your own risk if you think about doing anything like this!

UPDATE:
According to this, AT&T is now cracking down on users of iPhone 3G that are using the MEdia Net Unlimited plan. Here is the text of the email sent to a customer:

"Subject: Important information regarding your iPhone 3G

The new AT&T - Your world. Delivered.

Our service records indicate that you are using an iPhone 3G with a data plan designed for other devices.
To avoid unexpected data overage charges and enable Visual Voicemail, please contact your telecom manager, or an AT&T representative at 1-800-331-0500.

Thank you for choosing wireless from AT&T. We appreciate your business.

Sincerely,
AT&T Customer Service"

T-Mobile to throttle 3G speed on Google Android phone G1?

According to T-mobile's website on G1 phone features:

"**3G coverage is available only in certain markets. See coverage map for details. Data: If your total data usage in any billing cycle is more than 1GB, your data throughput for the remainder of that cycle may be reduced to 50 kbps or less. Your data session, plan, or service may be suspended, terminated, or restricted for significant roaming or if you use your service in a way that interferes with our network or ability to provide quality service to other users."

If you plan on watching a lot of YouTube or do other data intensive operations on your T-mobile G1 phone, make sure to try it out in the first month to estimate your total bandwidth usage.

Other carriers generally have a cap of 5GB vs. T-Mobile's throttling on over 1GB.

Sprint's Google Android phone by end of this year/early next year?

A number of reputable press sources are now reporting about the possible launch of Sprint's Google Android phone before the end of this year or early next year. Here are some of them:

According to mobile magazine:

"There is certainly a lot of hullabaloo surrounding the pending announcement and launch of the HTC Dream G1 Android smartphone, but T-Mobile isn't the only one getting in on the Android action. It has now been reported that Sprint is not only getting an Android phone of its own, but it is getting one before Santa makes his rounds this December!"

According to AP:

"Among U.S. carriers, Sprint Nextel Corp. has apparently taken the bait along with T-Mobile, and is a member of the Open Handset Alliance. Verizon Wireless has not ruled out Android phones, but is putting its energy into LiMo. AT&T is holding off on making decisions about Android."


According to electronista:

"Sprint's known plans to produce an Android phone are also included in the leak but suggest that the device won't simply be a copy of the G1; details are unmentioned but should include "other functionality" than what T-Mobile's device offers. The CDMA carrier's handset is widely known to be scheduled for a launch early next year."


According to InformationWeek:

"Sprint Nextel [is] also planning to unveil an Android phone and, if it follows tradition, subscribers will have to sign a two-year contract to get a phone."


According to Wall Street Journal:

"Other carriers such as China Mobile and Sprint have said they would develop Android-powered phones, but some have experienced delays in integrating Google's services with their own, people familiar with those companies' plans said."


Why Sprint's Google Android Phone was Delayed?

According to this WSJ article from June, 2008:

"Google now says that the handsets won't arrive until the fourth quarter. And some cellular carriers and makers of programs that work with Android are struggling to meet that schedule, people familiar with the situation say.

T-Mobile USA expects to deliver an Android-powered phone in the fourth period. But that launch is taking up so much of Google's attention and resources that Sprint Nextel Corp., which had hoped to launch an Android phone this year, won't be able to, a person familiar with the matter said.

China Mobile, the largest wireless carrier in the world with nearly 400 million subscriber accounts, had planned to launch an Android phone in the third quarter but it has run into issues that will likely delay the launch until late this year or early 2009, a person familiar with the matter says."


The last official announcement from Sprint regarding Android was in Nov, 2007.

Interesting tidbit about Sprint and Android

According to this:

"In July, Mr. Webster got an e-mail from Jake Orion, a Sprint Nextel executive, who wanted to talk about Google and Android. (Sprint hopes to offer a phone with Google’s Android software next year.)

Mr. Webster said he interviewed Mr. Orion via e-mail. Mr. Orion suggested Google needed to be more pragmatic in its approach, particularly when working with carriers. Later, after the interview was posted, Mr. Orion contacted Mr. Webster and asked him to take the interview down, saying his comments had ruffled feathers at Google. Mr. Webster complied. “I told Jamie, ‘I’m not going to go to bed thinking I lost this guy his job,’” said Mr. Webster."

T-Mobile launches first Google phone

T-Mobile today announced the launch of first Android-powered mobile phone in partnership with Google.

Check out the launch videos from the "Conference Index" menu here. The G1 phone would sell for $179 with a two-year contract starting on Oct. 22.

Keep in mind that T-Mobile 3G coverage is limited (compared to other carriers) at the moment even though they have rolled out 3G in more markets recently.

Some other videos of T-mobile G1 by MobileBurn are included here:

CNET Asia - HTC Touch HD browser pictures

( Image Source: CNET Asia)

CNET Asia has more pictures of HTC Touch HD here. The HTC Touch HD phone looks similar to HTC Touch Diamond but with a bigger and higher resolution screen, better camera and probably more advanced hardware. The browser looks very nice and this phone is about the size of an iPhone (maybe a little thicker).

This phone would be excellent for reading eBooks and PDF files!

Can cellphones affect the sperm quality?

A small study was done by Cleveland Clinic on the effect of leaving a cellphone in talk mode on the quality of semen in close proximity. Here is a summary of the results:

"Sperm mobility was significantly lower in exposed samples compared with unexposed samples."

"Sperm viability was significantly lower in exposed samples than in unexposed samples."


Some of the articles covering this are here and here. Here is the full PDF and here is a PDF of the research done earlier.

How to get stock quotes on your Samsung Instinct phone

I see a number of requests from Sprint Instinct users looking for a stock quote application. Unfortunately the Instinct phone doesn't have a stock quote application but there are a number of ways you can create your stock portfolio and view it on your Samsung Instinct browser. Here is one way to do it:

• Go to http://finance.yahoo.com/badges/
• Click on Start now and login with a free yahoo account.
• Select the "Quotes" module.
• Enter up to 10 stock symbols.
• Select other settings like width, color theme, etc. and agree to the terms and conditions.
• Click on "Get code"
• On the next screen you will see some HTML code. Copy that code and save it in notepad or any other text editor and save it somewhere on your computer.
• Now you can go to your website (or create a free blog) and paste this code there and you are good to go.
• If you don't know how to create a web page, check your ISP (internet service provider's) support/help website. Most ISP's allow their customers to create a personal web page. You can paste this code there or get a free blog from blogger.com (you can make it private and password protect it if you want).

You can use this method with any smart phone that has a decent browser!

CNet Crave - How is your Instinct? - Post your experience

CNet crave wants to know about your experience with Samsung Instinct phone. Here is where you go and provide a summary of your experience with this phone after using it for sometime:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10046177-1.html

From the above site:

Owners of the Samsung Instinct, I want to hear from you. Though the iPhone rival was one of the hottest cell phones of the summer, its successes and shortcomings haven't received quite as much attention as Apple's device.

Make sure you provide your honest review there so that others can benefit from your experience with the phone.

Video of gorgeous HTC Touch HD phone - Check out that browser!

Here is a video of the recently announced HTC HD phone (not the same as Sprint HTC Touch Diamond). The other two phones in the video are Samsung Omnia and guess what...

Next 12 months are going to be very exciting in the world of high-end phones so if you are past your 2-year contract with any carrier, don't renew that contract yet!

(Are they speaking in French?)

Businessweek on HTC Touch Diamond - "What were they thinking?"

According to businessweek's review:

"The HTC Touch Diamond from Sprint is a richly featured smartphone, thin and light, with a big and gorgeous display. And one feature so bad that it renders the Touch Diamond all but unusable.

It is almost impossible to type accurately enough for the software to divine your intentions, making typing an agony.
...
But wait, there's more. In critical situations, the keyboard often covers the text box in which you are trying to enter data. "

So if you are exchanging your Instinct phone for Sprint HTC Touch Diamond, keep this in mind that if you type a lot, you might want to wait until the release of upcoming Sprint HTC Touch Pro (keyboard version) if you can handle a fat phone.

Sprint trying to cover-up bad press about Instinct phone problems??

There was a link to this blog in the user profile signature at Sprint's Instinct Insight (buzzaboutwireless) forum. When a Sprint moderator saw it and probably saw the prevoius blog post, the signature was promptly removed (it was present since the release of Instinct without any problems!)

Note the time of the moderator message! Sprint now has forum moderator's working even at midnight!!

Here is the message from Sprint forum moderator:

Your sig - sorry
From: Raine

Date: 09-17-2008 11:54 PM
Hey .., I'm really sorry to do this, but I've had to remove your signature. I'm sure you've got a great blog going, and I definitely wish you the best. Unfortunately, the BAW guidelines state: "The Community is provided as a service to Sprint customers and is not intended for the promotion of third-party services, products, Web sites, or organizations. Do not post content that would constitute advertising, junk mail, spam, chain letters, or any other form of unauthorized solicitation. " Since you were linking to a third party website, and it was being advertised, I needed to remove the link. I understand you're not trying to sell anything, but the rule still stands. Feel free to check out our guidelines here.-- Raine

So what do you think??

I am wondering if Sprint hired the moderators just to keep the forum clean or to cover up the negative information about the phone?

The Sprint Instinct forum users have been complaining of increased censorship in the forum lately with entire negative posts missing (even the ones without bad language!)

UPDATE:
Today (the next day) the moderator sent this message:

"Re: Your sig
From: Raine

09-18-2008 11:26 AM
Hey ...,
We've decided as long as you don't continually advertise within your posts, the link in your signature can be put back.
Feel free to post it back up! "

Interestingly, there were no "continual" advertisements in the posts (except the original links to this blog from when Instinct was newly released and baw forum admins were well aware of those).

Browser fix delay frustrates Sprint Instinct users

After it was announed that the browser fix for Sprint Instinct phone would be delayed by another week from the previously planned date, a large number of Instinct users have vented their frustration in the Sprint's buzzaboutwireless/instinctinsight forum. As of this writing, there were over 100 posts made by mostly upset users. Here is the announcement with the big outcry (in a Sprint moderated forum so expect some censorship):

"While initial information had listed Sept. 17 as the date the firmware upgrade (MR-3) would be available, the new release date is Sept. 24th.

We apologise for this delay, but we are commited to doing this the right way and releasing a reliable, working update to our Instinct customers.

If we have any further information, we will follow up here.

Instinct Admin Team"

While the Instinct phone has been selling like hot cakes because of massive advertising campaign, many of the users have experienced serious deficiencies in the phone software. The user frustration arises from the fact that many of the users are now past their 30-day trial return period and are locked in a 2-year contract with Sprint and it has been almost 3 months since the phone release but the problems are still not fixed (despite some attempts by Sprint and native app vendors issuing certain updates and promises for more). These problems include browser crash on many popular websites, TV application crash, Navigation application crash or lock-up, phone unresponsive momentarily at unexpected occasions and email connectivity errors.

I have two de-activated Sprint Instinct phones sitting on the table. My wife and I used them for about 2 months and after many frustrating experiences, we decided that our time was worth more than dealing with those issues.

I also looked at the possibility of fixes from Sprint in the near future and came to the conclusion that it will be very challenging for Sprint to fix those crashes because they seem like memory leak or memory related issues, possibly at the firmware or Java virtual machine level (because it is not just one single app that has the problem; many of the apps crash or become unresponsive). They could also be from a slower processor or insufficient memory. The app code would have to be seriously optimized to work in an environment like this.

I replace my PDA/smartphones every 2 years and didn't think that waiting 3-6 months (or maybe even longer) for everything to be fixed to my satisfaction was worth my time while I was paying mandatory Instinct data plan rates without proper value return.

On top of that, one of the Instinct units had a touch screen sensor failure and I had a very frustrating experience getting it replaced.

So I went and got 2 iPhones and I have been very happy (mostly) with my phone since. iPhone 3G is light years ahead of Instinct in its current incarnation but the well publicized iPhone problems are true. If call reliability is important to you, don't get an iPhone. I have had the "call failed" message a number of times on my iPhone 3G and had to call the person again. And it doesn't have the turn-by-turn navigation yet. It only has google maps with GPS. And some apps do crash occasionally. But it has thousands of apps (many great ones for free) and it is unlikely that Instinct browser will ever be as good as iPhone's safari browser (webkit engine based which will also be the engine for Google's android phone browser). I also had occasional network issues with AT&T's 3G network.

So basically, iPhone is on the wrong 3G network in US. Sprint should have had the iPhone and it would have been an even better marriage. But iPhone is such a great device overall that AT&T's network issues and other problems are much more palatable than the frustration with the Instinct phone.

With T-mobile's Google android phone launching soon, I wouldn't be surprised if some of the Sprint Instinct users jump ship. According to the Wall Street Journal:

"The first mobile device powered by Google Inc.'s "Android" mobile phone software is expected to sell for $199 and will showcase the Google brand, people familiar with the matter say, a departure from the standard practice of listing only the manufacturer and wireless carrier on handsets...

The carrier [T-mobile] plans to unveil new data plans in conjunction with the device that will be "aggressively priced," the people said."

I am waiting for my last Sprint bill with $400 ($200 x2 lines) added for early termination fee (ETF) before I sell the two Instinct phones to recoup some of the ETF costs. I do not regret getting the iPhones at all. They are far superior devices albeit with a more expensive carrier (text messaging costs extra) and inferior 3G network than Sprint's. However, the ease of use, far superior browser and tons of free apps and games more than make up for these limitations.

I would have stayed with Sprint if there was an announcement from Sprint with a firm date of Sprint's Google android phone. The last announcement from Sprint that I saw regarding the android platform was a while ago (but the rumors say before the end of this year). With Instinct, I think Sprint bet on a wrong phone but according to Sprint CEO Dan Hesse, "Samsung is making as many as they can, but they still sell out. Our employees still can't get them."

I guess Instinct marketing campaign is working better than the phone itself but some users vouch that they did not experience the problems that my two Instinct phones and hundreds if not thousands of Instinct early adopters have experienced.

Google Android phone demo - Sep 16th, London

Here is the video of Google Android phone demo at Google Developers Day, September 16, London.

It looks smiliar to what might be sold through T-mobile (announcement on Sept. 23) starting late next month.

Where is Sprint's Google android based phone??

There was HTC Touch and now there is HTC Touch 3G

Check out the newly announced HTC Touch 3G phone here.

Just as iPhone went from iPhone to iPhone 3G, it seems that HTC named the newer version of HTC Touch with 3G suffix!

There is another one called HTC Touch Viva™. Check it out here.

Video - Samsung Instinct (Telus version) running Opera Mini 4.1

Here is a video of Samsung Instinct (Telus version) running Opera Mini 4.1 browser. It seems that this does not have the problem of freezing on loading screen (on second and sunsequent runs) that earlier versions of Sprint Instinct phones had:

HTC Touch HD pictures leaked

After some HTC Touch HD phone pictures leaked, HTC has made them available on their website.

Note: This phone is not the same as the newly released Sprint HTC Touch diamond. Its screen is even bigger than the iPhone screen and much higher resolution!

Highlights

• 3.8-inch wide, WVGA (480 X 800 pixel) display offering a cinema experience on the go
• Vibrant TouchFLOTM 3D user interface, responding perfectly to your finger gestures when scrolling through contacts, browsing the web, and launching media
• Surf and download at broadband speed with HSDPA internet connectivity
• Google Maps enhanced by the wide screen viewing platform
• 5 megapixel camera for quality stills and video
• 3.5 mm audio jack makes the Touch HDTM compatible with the majority of audio equipment available

Specifications:

Processor: Qualcomm® MSM 7201A™ 528 MHz
Operating System: Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional

Memory
ROM: 512 MB
RAM: 288 MB

Dimensions
115 mm x 62.8 mm x 12 mm(4.35 in x 2.5 in x 0.47 in)

Weight
146.4 grams (5.164 ounces) with battery

Display
3.8-inch TFT-LCD flat touch-sensitive screen with 480 x 800 WVGA resolution

Network
HSDPA/WCDMA:
Europe/Asia: 900/2100 MHz
Up to 2 Mbps up-link and 7.2 Mbps down-link speeds Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE:
850/900/1800/1900 MHz
(Band frequency and data speed are operator dependent.)

Device Control
HTC TouchFLO™ 3D
Touch-sensitive front panel buttons

GPS
GPS and A-GPS ready

Connectivity
Bluetooth® 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate and A2DP for wireless stereo headsetsWi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 b/gHTC ExtUSB™ (11-pin mini-USB 2.0)

Camera
Main camera: 5 megapixel color camera with auto focus
Second camera: VGA CMOS color camera

Audio
Built-in 3.5 mm audio jack, microphone, speaker, and FM radioRing tone formats:
AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, QCP, MP3, WMA, WAV
40 polyphonic and standard MIDI format 0 and 1 (SMF)/SP MIDI

Battery
Rechargeable Lithium-ion or Lithium-ion polymer batteryCapacity: 1350 mAhTalk time:
Up to 390 minutes for WCDMA
Up to 310 minutes for GSMStandby time:
Up to 450 hours for WCDMA
Up to 390 hours for GSM
Video call time: Up to 120 minutes(The above are subject to network and phone usage.)

Expansion Slot
microSD™ memory card (SDHC™ capable)

AC Adapter
Voltage range/frequency: 100 ~ 240V AC, 50/60 HzDC output: 5V and 1A

HTC Touch Diamond is now available on Sprint website

HTC Touch Diamond is now available on Sprint's website with the following pricing:

Regular price:$549.99
Instant savings: -$200.00
Mail-in Rebate (selected plans): -$100.00
New price: $249.99
Requires 2-yr Agreement

A cut above the rest
With the touch of a finger, check your work and personal email, surf the web on the 2.8″ touch-screen and access your personal photos, videos and music stored on the 4GB of internal memory. Mail-in rebate requires an Everything plan, Talk/Message/Data Share plan, Data Premier add-on or PRO Pack add-on. Get free shipping and free activation when you purchase a phone with a new line of service online!

Highlights
3.2 megapixel auto-focus camera and camcorder with zoom
Windows® Mobile 6.1

Key Features
Sprint Music Store
Sprint TV enabled
GPS enabled
Web, email capable
Built-in camera
Speakerphone
Bluetooth
External display
Voice dialing
Broadband speeds where available

Full Feature List

TouchFLO™ 3D
TouchFLO™ 3D gives you one-touch finger or stylus access to the web, TV, e-mail, messages, contacts, photos and music the second you pick up your phone…and you experience it all in vivid 3D.

Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Software
Windows Mobile 6.1 provides features allowing you to stay connected to your business and personal data on the go. Windows Mobile 6.1 supports many forms of email including HTML mobile. Edit documents using Microsoft Mobile applications. Easily transfer your digital multimedia from your Windows-based PC to your device.

Memory
Store pictures, videos, music and other data on the 4GB of internal memory.

Built-In Wi-Fi Capability
High-speed data connection between the device and nearby Wi-Fi access points for the ultimate in mobile connectivity.

3.2 Megapixel Camera and Camcorder
Capture high-resolution images with the digital camera and zoom. Create your own video clips and easily share them with family and friends.

Bluetooth® Enabled including Stereo BT profile
Enjoy the convenience of hands-free communication by using headsets, car-kits and other Bluetooth-compatible devices.* Stereo Bluetooth lets you listen to your music on the go or listen to your music using compatible accessories without wires. *Bluetooth wireless accessories are sold separately.

Wireless Email-Corporate & Personal
Outlook email with Microsoft Direct Push Technology and HTML support. Send and receive email from multiple corporate and personal email accounts. Also, get wireless email access to popular commercial POP3 and IMAP accounts like AOL, Gmail, Earthlink, and Yahoo!

Text, Pic and Video Messaging
Tell your story to friends and family with text, pictures and video taken in the moment. Send messages to other phones, email addresses and more all from your phone.

Live Search by Microsoft®
Live Search by Microsoft® lets you use device web and location capabilities together to find just what you want right now.

Sprint TV® Enabled
Watch live TV and video-on-demand with full-motion video and vivid sound. Catch the latest news, sports, weather, entertainment and movie trailers on the go.

Sprint® Music Store
Download stereo-quality tracks instantly to your wireless phone or PC. Choose songs from thousands of artists in virtually every genre and listen wherever you go.

GPS Navigation
Search for the closest coffee shop, or navigate to a specific address with a 3D map that moves with you. Asking for directions is a thing of the past.

MP3 Player
Transfer music files from a PC or download from the Sprint® Music Store and listen to your songs via the speakerphone or a stereo headset accessory.

Background music playing mode
Use the Sprint Music Store to listen to music while sending text messages, browsing the Web, or playing a downloaded game.

Speaker-Independent Voice Dialing
Say the name of any entry in your phone book and the number is dialed automatically without using the keypad. This feature is speaker-independent, so there is no need to train the phone to respond to any one person’s voice. Receive an audible status report of your phone/s coverage, signal strength, and battery strength.

Picture caller ID
Identify callers at a glance by linking downloaded photos and other images to your phone book.

Productivity tools
View and update your calendar, schedule appointments, check your task list and more while you’re on the go.

TTY
Able to connect to a TTY device and allow anyone who is hearing-impaired to communicate.

Hearing Aid Compatible
M3 Rating

High-resolution satellite maps on your phones soon?

Geoeye recently launched a satellite that will provide high resolution (0.5 meter) satellite images to Google. This is from their press release:

GeoEye-1 will simultaneously collect 0.41-meter ground resolution black-and-white (panchromatic) images and 1.65-meter color (multispectral) images. Designed to take digital images of the Earth from 423 miles (681 kilometers) and moving at a speed of about four-and-a-half miles (seven kilometers) per second, the satellite camera can distinguish objects on the Earth's surface as small as 0.41-meter or 16 inches in size. Due to U.S. licensing restrictions, commercial customers will get access to imagery at half-meter (0.5 meter) ground resolution.


According to this Reuter's article:

GeoEye said it successfully launched into space its new GeoEye-1 satellite, which will provide the U.S. government, Google Earth users and others the highest-resolution commercial color satellite imagery on the market.


According to this Information week article:

Google has expanded its reach into space with the successful launch Saturday of a new satellite that will provide the company with exclusive images for its maps.

Although GeoEye did not mention Google in any of its announcements regarding the satellite, the search engine giant's name appeared on the satellite and company founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page attended the launch, according to reports. GeoEye said it plans to sell the images to customers around the world, but a Google spokesperson said that Google has exclusive rights to the images for commercial maps.

I read somewhere that these maps might be available to Google users in 3-6 months! These might even be better than the high resolution bird's eye maps available on Microsoft Live maps. I can view Google maps and Live maps with bird's eye view on my iPhone 3G. These are nice.

Without the LCDUI Java keyboard, Sprint Instinct users can use the Google maps app but are not able to enter any text to do a search. The LCDUI update is scheduled for later this year.

Sprint CEO Dan Hesse talks to Forbes

Forbes' website has an interview with Sprint CEO Dan Hesse. Here are a few highlights:

"Sprint's customer service ratings have lagged those of competitors. Where do you want to be in those rankings?
No. 1, absolutely. In some of our care centers, you'll see banners on the walls with respect to wanting to become No. 1 in J.D. Power [rankings]. If you don't have your eye on the gold medal, you aren't going to win. There's no reason we can't do it, especially by making these bold, dramatic moves. I think people will finally start to realize this is a very different company from a year ago.

Speaking about data brings to mind Sprint's flat-rate "Simply Everything" plan. Are other simplified plans in the cards?
We are definitely moving to a more simplified fee structure. This year, we've eliminated 85% of the combinations that we were selling to customers. It's making things simpler for our customers and internally for our care reps and salespeople. They could do a much better job if we didn't make their job so complicated.


Sprint introduced a number of new phones at CTIA. Are there any likely successors to the Samsung Instinct, your flagship phone?
We feel very excited about our new phones. They're all newsworthy in their own right. We think the HTC devices [the Touch Diamond and Touch Pro] will be considered iconic and [will] do very well. The Instinct will continue for quite some time, perhaps with improved versions of it. Samsung is making as many as they can, but they still sell out. Our employees still can't get them.

With all your new data-enabled, 3G phones, are you worried your network will have capacity issues like some say AT&T has with the iPhone 3G?
Absolutely not. I give my predecessors credit for building a really strong data network and we have continued that work. Our data loads, because of things like "Simply Everything," have increased significantly. But we manage the network to deal with it. "

Video review of Sprint HTC Touch Diamond

Here are the mobileburn video review clips of Sprint HTC Touch Diamond:

Video 1:



Video 2:

Opera Mini Browser on Sprint Blackberry curve 8830

Here is a video of Opera Mini Browser on Sprint Blackberry curve 8830. The scrolling on a web page looks very cumbersome compared to smooth and fluid touch scrolling of Opera Mobile 9.5 browser on Windows Mobile devices (such as HTC Touch diamond) or of Safari browser on iPhone.

Sprint Instinct LCDUI (Java) fix to enter certification test around 10/13

According to this thread at baw forum:

"Sprint anticipates the LCDUI fix entering certification test on or around October 13. This date is subject to change based on results of unit and system testing. When the MR for the LCDUI fix enters test, we will be publishing public release notes with the anticipated over-the-air release dates, subject to change.

Congratulations - it's in the works folks! The petition worked, and can now be closed.

Will England
Buzz About Wireless Admin
Sprint Nextel "

This is good news for all the Sprint Instinct users who have been very patient with the lack of downloadble third party apps for the phone. This will likely allow many of the Java mobile apps to run on Samsung Instinct phone once the certification is achieved. This will also make Instinct one of the first phones without an actual hardware keyboard to support Java LCDUI keyboard with the aid of virtual keys.

CNet review of Sprint HTC Touch Diamond

Here is a CNet review of new Sprint HTC Touch Diamond. Much thicker if you are used to Samsung Instinct (probably bigger battery for power hungry windows mobile). But likely much better than Instinct if you are a power user.

After testing Opera Mobile 9.5 beta on my old PPC-6700, I can tell you that Opera Mobile 9.5 on Sprint HTC Touch Diamond will be much better than Instinct's Obigo browser and Opera mobile has excellent iPhone like fluid scrolling and double tap zoom in and out. If browsing is important to you, make sure that you check this phone out.

Telenav for iPhone - possibly better than Samsung Instinct...

According to this Forbes story, TeleNav has better than Instinct navigation application for iPhone. I remember reading earlier that Apple didn't allow true navigation on iPhone 3G as part of its developer software licensing terms. Even TomTom had something in works for iPhone 3G. It is possible that Apple might allow it or come up with their own. Here is the teaser from the Forbes story:

"With its built-in GPS chip, Apple's iPhone 3G is poised to become a major player in mobile location services. The phone is already capable of tracking a user's location, a feature that developers have marshaled to locate nearby stores and restaurants. In a few months, wireless location-based services provider TeleNav will debut new software for the iPhone that will likely include turn-by-turn directions, voice prompts and 3-D maps.

The firm is tight-lipped about the software's exact features, but says the application will resemble the mapping features it developed for the Samsung Instinct, another touchscreen phone. Following its June release, the Instinct has won plaudits for its easy-to-use, voice-guided maps and comprehensive directories of local businesses.

Apple being Apple, the iPhone app will have some additional flair, says Sal Dhanani, TeleNav's senior director of marketing. "It will be cooler, have more pizazz," he promises.

Will the thousands of iPhone developers worldwide be able to use the maps for their own apps? Possibly, according to Dhanani. "We have no reservations about opening the data up to third parties, but it probably won't happen right out of the gate," he says."

Knowing AT&T, I bet they will ask $10 per month for it when it comes out though!

HTC Touch Diamond - PCWorld review

PCWorld has a review of HTC Touch Diamond here. Some highlights:

"Since it is based on Windows Mobile, the Touch includes the full suite of Windows Mobile applications in addition to HTC's own. While this presents you with two media players and two Web browsers, it also means that the Touch Diamond comes preloaded with quite a bit of software (including Outlook Mobile and Office Mobile).

For browsing the Web, you get Internet Explorer Mobile and Opera Mobile. The Opera browser can handle regular Web sites as well as mobile sites--and it can do so over the Sprint EvDO broadband network or over a Wi-Fi network. But like similar smart-phone browsers, it does not include Flash support out-of-the-box.
The Touch Diamond's built-in accelerometer can recognize when you tilt the phone on its side."

The Opera Mobile 9.5 (don't confuse it with Opera Mini 4.1 that Instinct users are waiting for)browser on HTC Touch Diamond is nice and almost as good as iPhone's browser. I recently tested Opera Mobile 9.5 beta (free download here if you have a Windows mobile pocketpc device) on my previous phone PPC-6700 and it is much better than Instinct's browser in its current version. But it had problem displaying a very small number of websites that iPhone browser was able to display better. Overall, if you get Sprint HTC Touch Diamond or iPhone (or Google Android phone in the near future), you are in much better shape than getting Instinct if you are looking for third-party application support and lot of flexibility and power. Instinct is good for basic needs and is much more buggy or probably has memory deficiency issues causing it to lock up.

Latest Sprint Instinct navigation update causes more headaches

According to various users at Sprint's baw forum, the latest Sprint Instinct GPS Navigation application update (Software version: BF30, Navigation App version: 2.1.0.23) causes phone to lock up if you follow the following steps:

• Open Navigation
• Go To Maps and Traffic
• Press the PHONE key
• Press the Contacts, History or Dialer tabs
• Phone lock up for some time (sometime it is fine, sometime it locks up or crashes)

A possible workaround is to hit the back arrow button at the bottom twice and then select "Yes" to "Exit Sprint Navigation".

Some people did not experience this problem though.

UPDATE:
According to this latest post, the Navigation app upgrade was found to be flawed and will be removed.

"Navigation Upgrade Flawed - to be removed
Due in part to the problem reports on this forum, we have identified a flaw in the Navigation upgrade to version 2.1.0.23. This flaw causes the handset to lock up or stop responding for a significant amount of time. Because of this defect, we have turned off the over the air upgrade for Navigation.

Customers who have already had the upgrade to version 2.1.0.23 will be prompted to update their navigation application again. This update will return the navigation to the previous production version, 2.1.0.21.

At a future date we will release a new upgrade to navigation.

Thank you all for your problem reports!

Will England
Buzz About Wireless Admin
Sprint Nextel"

Want a portable PDF and eBook reader - Plastic Logic Reader

A company called Plastic Logic previewed a nice Electronic-Reading Device. Check out the second half of this video. This is neat for those that don't want to lug around heavy books. It looks better than Amazon Kindle. But after using iPhone, I can say that iPhone browser and PDF reader are plenty for my needs. I bought a $6.99 app called Files on iPhone 3G that was able to open large 1200+ page PDF files (20MB+) and is quite usable. I don't know if Instinct phone will ever have a good PDF reader. iPhone natively supports PDF reader and most other common document formats in email attachments and browser.

RIM announces Flip-Screen Blackberry Pearl

RIM announced a new Blackberry phone - the flip screen Blackberry Pearl 8220. Full device specifications are available here.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 launching abroad on September 30th

Another high-end smart phone Sony Xperia X1 will soon be launching in a few countries - United Kingdom, Germany, and Sweden (not in US yet).




It has the highest resolution touch screen (800 X 480) of any mobile phone. In comparison, Samsung Instinct screen has a resolution of 432x240, iPhone 3 has 480x320, HTC Touch Diamond has 640x480.

Full Specifications of Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 are here.

Some more details of next Sprint Instinct software update

Here are some more details on the upcoming Sprint Instinct software update:

"InstinctAdmin
Sprint Administrator

Sprint Product Development has announced that MR-3 will be releasing later this month - this software update will fix many of the bugs in the web-browser including crashes, rendering speed and more. This is a full rewrite of the browser. Over 249 bugs have been fixed, including the handset crash on entering text like 'microbrew', 'townhouse' and others.

Full details can be found on the Sprint Developer forum "

Apple iPhone and Samsung Instinct head to head

(Image source: ReadWriteWeb.com. Click on image to view larger)

According to this, the web traffic from iPhone had the fastest growth in August but it was closely followed by Samsung Instinct! This means that among the smart phones, iPhone and Samsung Instinct users are spending more time online compared to the other phones.

Switched to iPhone from Instinct

After my frustrations with the two Instinct phones (documented here and here), I finally switched to two iPhone 3G's. I will be doing more reviews later but here is the bottom line based on my experience (after owning Instinct's for over 2 months and 3G iPhones for about 10 days):

iPhone 3G - Great (some third party apps crash though) but no turn-by-turn navigation or live TV. Free AOL radio and Pandora radio better than Instinct's radio and stitcher is nice for over the air (OTA) news podcasts. GPS with Google maps is ok but not great.
Instinct - OK phone but low on memory and has memory leak issues. Has nice voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation (not reliable on my Instinct, crashes after a while) and live TV (not reliable on my Instinct, crashes after a while).


AT&T 3G network - Not too good but iPhone does have wi-fi if you are near a free hotspot or at home.
Sprint 3G Network - Excellent.


AT&T rates - High
(I am using the free text messaging workaround - Yahoo push email between two iphones, works better than text messaging but will only work with properly setup iPhones and blackberry devices with data plans)
Sprint rates - Best (cheapest!)

After being a loyal Sprint customer for over 8 years, I just canceled my 2 month old renewed Sprint contract and will be paying $200 per line early termination fee. Sprint practically made me leave after the hassle I went through to get the defective Instinct phone replaced (Instinct apps crashing didn't help much either). Halfway through the hassle, I decided it wasn't worth it so I walked into AT&T store and the store manager gladly offered me the iPhones. But I persisted with Sprint before canceling and finally got the defective Instinct phone (was still under 1 year manufacturer's warranty) exchanged for $55+tax. Now I will try to sell them after I receive the $400 early termination bill (for 2 lines) to recover some of these costs.

This blog will stay alive with the coverage of latest toys and I will do more Instinct vs iPhone reviews as I have the privilege of owning 2 Instinct phones (3 if you count the one before the replacement; until I Master Reset and sell them all) and 2 new 3G iPhones!

If you are considering switching to iPhone and are already past the 30-day contract period, my recommendation is to wait until HTC Touch Diamond is released on Sprint and give it a try first (if Sprint will let you exchange it without paying the full existing-customer price). It will be much more comparable to iPhone. I couldn't wait that long because one of my Instinct's wasn't working and wife was without a phone and Sprint was making me go through too many hoops so I ended up getting iPhone half way through the process of getting Instinct replaced. I will still give it to Sprint that they have the best phone replacement policy among all US carriers because if it happened to my iPhone, I will be going to local Apple store to fix it under their 1 year warranty and not AT&T (which I don't like much anyways). If I drop and damage my iPhone, I will be SOL (actually Apple might repair it for an out of warranty fee as long as it is not liquid damage or beyond repair). Or I might go with the Squaretrade iPhone warranty (which one should be able to get on Instinct phone or anything else as well!)

Details of Per Incident Service and Repair Pricing on Sprint phones

Here are the details of latest per incident service and repair pricing of Sprint phones:

"If you have insurance on the line you may make a claim with the insurance which would cost $50.00 for the replacement phone through Asurion (which is the insurnace company).

We also have a Per Incident Insurance for customers that do not have the Total Equipment Protection plan on their phone line.

This became effective 7-20-08

The New Per Incident Pricing is applicable for all Service & Repair In store, Self-Service, and Advance Exchange repairs and replacements.

Repairs and Replacements due to Mechanical/Electrical Failure or Normal Wear and Tear
- Non-PDA devices and Mobile Broadband Cards $35.00
- PDA devices $55.00

Repairs or Replacements due to Physical Damage
- Non-PDA devices and Mobile Broadband Cards $99.00
- PDA devices $119.00

These items are ALWAYS considered Physical Damage
- Cracked/Broken Housing
- Cracked/Seperated Flip/Hinge Assemble
- Cracked/Bleeding LCD
- Cracked/Broken Lenses
- Broken/Bent Port/Pins

These service will be completed at no charge to the customer:
- Device Unlock/Reset
- Phonebook Swap
- Software Customization
**Excludes antenna replacement.

I hope this helps. Whatever store you went to should have informed you of these options as well, you may want to go back and mention this to them.

Brittany Smith
Sprint e-Care "

I didn't know about this pricing until a couple of days ago. I had to recently get my Instinct phone replaced at Sprint's local corporate repair center and they were first asking the full price ($449.. I think) and then $119 and then finally after arguing with them that there was no damage (touch screen sensor failure - should be considered electronics failure within 1 year warranty) they said as a courtsey they would replace it for $55+tax. If I had known about the policy/rates above, I would have asked them to do it for the "Non-PDA devices and Mobile Broadband Cards $35.00" rate because Sprint clearly says that Instinct is not a PDA and is not even listed on their website among PDA phones :-)

Streaming media on Sprint Instinct using Orb

CAUTION: I am not sure how secure Orb is so make sure that you have at least some firewall or router on your network and your PC is not directly connected to the internet.

Here are the steps to stream media on your Sprint Instinct phone using Orb:

• Download Orb on your PC from here and install it.
• On your PC, start Orb (something like Start->All Programs->Orb Networks->Orb->Orb).
• If it goes to the task bar on the bottom right, right click on the icon that says "Orb" and select "Configuration".
• Follow the setup as shown in these screen images

(click on image to view larger)

• Then login to the Orb website at https://mycast.orb.com/orb/html/index.html
• If you have iTunes installed and Podcasts setup, you will be able to see them on the Orb website. Any other music and video files in the the folders added to Orb (see screen image above) will also be listed on Orb's website.

(click on image to view larger)

• You can even add other online streaming media that normally doesn't play on Sprint Instinct directly to re-stream through Orb custom channels. You will then be able to play this media on your Instinct phone!


• The screen print below shows you how to create custom channels in Orb and add streaming media links/URL's (from sites such as http://www.channelchooser.com/mobile.php) that can be played on your Instinct phone.

(click on image to view larger)

• Now from your Sprint Instinct phone, login to Orb's website at https://mycast.orb.com/ and select the checkboxes to remember login and autologin.
• Once you are logged in, click on Settings and then from the Streaming formats, select the 3GP-AAC/RTSP format (.3gp). This is important for playing on Instinct's player.
• You can try different streaming speeds or leave it to default for now.
• You can now go back to Orb's mycast home page on your Instinct (https://mycast.orb.com/) and click on any media that is available to play it. It will open up in Instinct's player and will look like the same player that plays Instinct's TV app.

Another Instinct update post at Sprint's developer forum

UPDATE: Based on this post at baw forums, the browser update on 9/17 looks to be real. Here are the details:

"MR-3 is the browser fix. It's on 9-17, unless something changes. :-) Java fix is not ready yet, although Samsung / Sprint are developing it. That is all I know for sure. I do not know when it'll be ready or launched.

Will England

Buzz About Wireless Admin

Sprint Nextel "

Another confirmation:

"That's the official word - for real. I got it in my email at 4:30 PM; unfortunately I was playing POETS day (power off early, tomorrow's Saturday) and missed it till this morning.

Sweet! Can't wait to see what the browser fix does.

Will England
Buzz About Wireless Admin
Sprint Nextel "

(Click on image to view larger)

Another post showed up at Sprint's developer forum late Friday evening promising what seem to be "unbelievable" improvements in Sprint Instinct's browser. It is difficult to guess if it is a genuine message from Sprint or another attempt by someone with unauthorized access.

While the post tries to look very genuine, there are some things that stand out:

• Posted late Friday evening (around the time most employees are ready to head home for the weekend)
• Use of "subject to change with no notice" instead of commonly used "subject to change without notice"
• Use of "brings an 10x improvement to rendering speed" - Generally, the companies are not so specific in any public statements to say "10x improvement" which seems somewhat on the far-fetched side considering the current browser performance.

We will have to wait until Monday to find out for sure if this is indeed a genuine message from Sprint and if so, why wasn't it posted in a more public forum at Sprint's buzzaboutwireless forum where Sprint's forum administrator had said this earlier on the same day (he did indicate some kind of update but not so specific like the developer forum post):

"Nope - especially if I post rumors, innuendo, hearsay or other non-substatiated facts. When I post something it is to the best of my knowledge complete, correct and accurate. If I hose up and get something wrong, I'll follow up with that.

I can say there is an update planned, but I don't have a list of what is in it, nor do I have the timeframe for the release. Once that is firmed up and final, it'll be out here.

Will England
Buzz About Wireless Admin
Sprint Nextel

However, there are some screen images here and here that seem real.

ZDNet - Review of Samsung Omnia

ZDNet has a nice review of Samsung Omnia phone. Some of its features that aren't even in the iPhone include the ability to rotate in three directions in all apps, tethering, 5 MP camera with video recording, flash and image stabilization, ability to download podcasts wirelessly, FM radio, Microsoft office mobile support, copy and paste, turn-by-turn navigation, haptic feedback.

Don't forget to check out the photo gallery here.

Google's Android phone - HTC Dream to launch on October 13th?

According to several websites, some leaked documents indicate the official launch date of HTC Dream (T-Mobile G1) is likely to be October 13th and T-Mobile will start taking pre-orders from existing customers on October, 17th. It is likely to cost $199 after instant rebate and a new 2-year contract. There will probably be two unlimited data plans ($35 per month that includes unlimited data and text messaging and $25 per month that includes unlimited data and 400 text messages).

AT&T iPhone Data Outage today

It seems that there is widespread data outage affecting iPhone users (and users of other AT&T phones). According to this post in Apple forums:

"There are multiple reports of a widespread AT&T data outage affecting both 3G and EDGE networks. Phones show as connected to 3G or EDGE, but cannot access data. Voice, visual voicemail, and SMS are unaffected.

Reports so far from Boston, DC, Chicago, St. Louis, etc., but given the time difference it's possible that other parts of the country are affected as well. A call to AT&T support confirmed the outage as 'affecting many cities'. A few reports in the Apple Discussions so far, more on AT&T's forum, and at least one blogger's confirmation picked up by Google."

An AP report confirms that:

"AT&T Inc.'s wireless data network was down Wednesday morning in parts of the eastern U.S., according to user reports and the company. AT&T spokesman Michael Coe said the company was looking into the problem, but could not describe its extent."

UPDATE: AT&T says that the problem was caused by routing issues and was fixed by noon.

Do you like this blog? Here are some blog stats

What started as a way for me to bookmark the websites to use on my Sprint Instinct phone's browser has become a popular blog among Samsung Instinct users. So here are some blog stats (as reported by Google) since its inception about 2 months ago.

I was surprised to find that there were some visitors from South Korea (home of Samsung)!

(click on image to view larger)

Suggestion to Sprint

A suggestion to Sprint was posted here. Copy and paste follows:

"A large number of Sprint Instinct users are upset about the poor performance of included browser and also about the browser crash on a number of popular websites. However, most of these users are hopeful. Hopeful because of Instinct's "supposed" Java MIDP 2.0 compliance which could potentially allow these users to run Opera Mini 4.1 browser on their Instinct phone. This is a lightweight browser that runs even on the most basic handsets that support Java but isn't usable on Instinct because of a missing hardware keyboard and missing virtual keyboard implementation.

Suggestion to Sprint

1. Set up a conference call with Opera this week.
2. Tell them that Sprint is interested in a custom/OEM version of Opera Mini 4.1 for their popular Instinct phone.
3. Ask Opera to create a custom version of Opera Mini for Instinct that supports Instinct's SIWL (Sprint Instinct Widget Library) keyboard.
4. Work with Opera to make sure that this browser is delivered as soon as possible (a simple download of .jad/.jar installers from Opera's website will work while OTA delivery options are thought out).
5. Happy Instinct customers!

Benefits to Sprint

1. Happy customers!
2. Increased Instinct sales!
3. Reduced network traffic (Opera Mini compresses web pages significantly) and better network utilization!
4. Improved customer retention!

So why wouldn't Sprint do this???"

Sprint Instinct LCDUI - Current Status

LCDUI - official update from Sprint ADP

"wengla02

Sprint Administrator

Posts: 1216

Registered: 11-21-2006
Message 1 of 28 Viewed 587 times

1: There was an email posting claiming to have a fix by Sep 1, which is incorrect. We apologize for any confusion this has caused (and the reason why we removed that thread)

2: We are working with Samsung for a solution to enable LCDUI. Our timelines to deliver the solution are based on two criteria:

A: having to minimalize the size of the software updates we can do, as they are being done over the air

B: as the existing VM does not support touch mappings for LCDUI, how to come up with a solution to support LCDUI

We provide these forums as an avenue for developers and users to provide constructive dialogue and feedback. We will continue to provide updates (including timeframes and scope of functionality being supported) as we have more information to pass along.

Thanks

Sprint ADP

Origninal Post at ADP
Will England

Buzz About Wireless Admin

Sprint Nextel"

UPDATE: The screen print below (as of 9:25pm Central) seems to indicate that someone other than a Sprint representative might still have access to update their developer forum:

(Click on the image to view larger)