Plastic Logic eReader demo

In the near future, you will be able to read newspapers, magazines and personal documents on a large Kindle like device. According to various news sources, the media conglomerate Hearst is planning on adoping this model.

Check out another demo (this device was covered earlier on this blog):

Video of Windows Mobile 6.5 in action

Video of Windows Mobile 6.5

Video of LG Watch Phone

It speaks for itself.

Flat World Knowledge - Free textbooks online

A site called Flat World Knowledge has started offering free text books online. The selection is limited at them moment but it is getting some news attention.

Microsoft Recite - Voice Notes and Search for Windows Mobile

If you have a Windows Mobile phone (AT&T BlackJack II, AT&T Pantech Duo, HTC Diamond, Motorola Q9C, Moto Q9m, Palm Treo 800w, Palm Treo Pro, SMT 5800, T-Mobile Dash, T-Mobile Shadow, and T-Mobile Wing), you can download the technology preview (not the final version yet, more like pre-beta) of Microsoft Recite mobile voice search technology.
More information is available here and here.

Skype for iPhone coming? Maybe...

There are already a few apps (such as Nimbuzz and Fring) on iPhone that provide Skype VOIP phone calls when you are on wi-fi. But they aren't the best because they don't show contact status properly and sometimes take a minute or so to log you in. People have wondered why Skype hasn't released a version for iPhone when they provide versions for so many mobile devices.

According to this:

"Silverman refuses to be drawn on his specific plans for Barcelona. But industry watchers reckon Skype plans to release a version of its software for Apple's iPhone as it gears up to do to mobile what it has done to landlines.

Under Silverman, Skype has been building steadily on its products for mobile users. It now works with phones based on Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system, and a slightly more basic version is available for owners of LG, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson handsets. The company also has a partnership with the mobile network 3, with a range of jointly branded phones. "

Full version of Adobe Flash 10 coming to mobile phones

According to this CNET article:

"Adobe announced at the GSMA Mobile World Congress here Monday that Flash Player 10, which is the full version of Flash that runs on PCs, will be available on smartphones running Windows Mobile, Google's Android, Nokia S60/Symbian, and the new Palm operating systems. Devices with Flash Player 10 are expected to hit the market starting in early 2010."

While iPhone is not listed among the phones, it is known that Adobe is working with Apple to figure something out. It has been challenging for them.

Former Taliban ambassador loves his iPhone - really!

(Image Source: Al Jazeera English)

According to an article on Al Jazeera website:

"I could not believe my eyes. We had arrived to interview Mullah Zaif, the Taliban's former ambassador to Pakistan who is now under virtual house-arrest on the outskirts of Kabul, when he walked into the room, sat down on the couch and pulled out an iPhone. A former member of the Taliban! An iPhone! How times have changed.

...

"I'm addicted," he said, "the internet is great on this, very fast."He proceeded to show myself and our film crew his favourite websites. "

I had no idea that iPhone was selling in these locations! But it tells about the simplicity and power of this device. It is still the best at what it does.

Your desktop on the web - Microsoft Live Mesh

Microsoft is heavily pushing web based services these days. The FREE Live Mesh (beta) service looks very promising. It offers a number of options of synch'ing files between different computers and 5GB of online storage. You might also be able to stop paying for GoToMyPC (I haven't tried this yet). According their site:

"When you sign up for Live Mesh, you automatically get your own personal Live Desktop—your Windows PC on the web—complete with 5 GB of free storage. Synchronize files to your Live Desktop, and you’ll be able to access them using almost any web browser, no matter where you are.

And who says you can’t be in two different places at once? With Live Mesh, you can connect remotely from one computer to another, so you can access files, programs, and settings as if you were sitting in front of that remote computer. "

The full overview is here.

Thinking about buying Kindle 2 - Check this out first

If you don't like Kindle and Sony Reader's small screen (most PDF documents/eBooks require 1024x768 resolutions for full page view unless you are using iPhone or Nokia N8xx tablet; Kindle is 600x800), you might want to wait until 2010 for Plastic Logic's reader.

Check out this video:



I bought Sony Reader over a year ago and promptly returned it because it was no good for PDF eBook reading. Nokia N800 worked much better and iPhone's PDF reader app (called Files) is wonderful.

If you wait 3-4 years, you will see color readers (and writers) based on long battery life E Ink technology.

Also check out these readers from iRex technologies. None of these provide the Amazon platform yet but Amazon should allow them rights/access to their store (unless Amazon wants to be in the hardware business).

Coming soon - Microsoft Mobile phone online backup

Microsoft will soon launch their My Phone service that will allow Windows Mobile 6+ phone users to backup their phone data and restore when needed to the same phone or to a new phone.

For more information on Microsoft® My Phone service, check out this page.

Microsoft Ringtones for Windows Mobile phones

Download FREE ringtones for your windows mobile phone here.

Software downloads for Windows Mobile

If you have a Windows Mobile phone, check out these links on Microsoft Windows Mobile site for goodies:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/en-us/downloads/default.mspx

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/en-us/totalaccess/default.mspx

Samsung Projector Phone = Cool

Check out this phone from Samsung. It has a built-in projector! It also has 5MP camera and OLED screen.

Check out the videos

Adobe still working on Flash for iPhone

Adobe CEO confirms that they are still working on Flash for iPhone which has been a challenge for them. This means that some day you will be able to watch more than YouTube and the sites that support iPhone. I don't really miss Flash on iPhone but if it is an option, I will take it. If the hardware is too limited, maybe the next version of iPhone will have support for it (just my guess). But Adobe confirmed that they are working with Apple because iPhone SDK alone is not sufficient.

Apple releases iPhone 2.2.1 update - bug fixes

Apple released a minor update to iPhone software. The latest version is 2.2.1. You can download it via iTunes.

It fixes a bug (it was introduced in version 2.2) in photo software that caused blurry image when an image was saved from the mail application (MMS equivalent for iPhone). Another change is improved stability of iPhone Safari browser.

It is supposed to work with iPod Touch as well. If you are not sure, you can wait a day or two to hear about others' experiences before updating.

Google's GDrive storage possible this year

A number of news outlets are speculating that Google is working on the online storage that will make cloud computing a reality. According to the Guardian:

"Google is to launch a service that would enable users to access their personal computer from any internet connection, according to industry reports. But campaigners warn that it would give the online behemoth unprecedented control over individuals' personal data.

The Google Drive, or "GDrive", could kill off the desktop computer, which relies on a powerful hard drive. Instead a user's personal files and operating system could be stored on Google's own servers and accessed via the internet."

Microsoft's SkyDrive offers 25GB (yes that's GB) - FREE!

Microsoft's SkyDrive service offers 25GB of storage and is available now! The only limitation is that upload file size is limited to 50MB each. But it is still free storage that can be used to backup your pictures and other files. Check it out.


These services would work great with TrueCrypt which is the best encryption utility available. You can encrypt your files and then upload them to online storage for a backup!

Apple awarded the multi-touch patent

Apple (Steve Jobs, et al.) has been awarded the multi-touch patent on January 20th, 2009. This means less competition for iPhone multi-touch technology which is one of the great mobile phone innovations.

A similar technology seems to have been used in the upcoming Palm Pre phone and Apple COO Tim Cook has said that Apple will not let their intellectual property get ripped off. This could result in an interesting fight between the two as Palm has collected numerous patents over the years and if they find something in their portfolio to go against Apple for, Sprint customers might actually see a device like iPhone (even better for multi-tasking) available to them. They will still have a big challenge of duplicating the success of iPhone app store.

Here are the full details of Apple multi-touch patent. The patent is not available via Google patent search yet.

Customers not happy with BlackBerry Storm - Still sells 500,000 units

According to this Wall Street Journal article:

"Some Storm owners have complained about everything from clunky software for typing on the touch screen to the device's sluggish performance with basic tasks like dialing-by-voice or taking photographs.

"I found myself wanting to throw it in the ocean due to my frustration with its overall usability," said Steven Golub, a longtime Verizon customer from Morristown, N.J., who bought the Storm the day it was released, but returned it a few weeks later."

Other sites like CNET crave and Apple Insider are covering this too.

During the time I tried using a friend's BlackBerry storm, I wasn't excited about it. It is no iPhone.

Video demo of Nokia N97

Here is a video demo of Nokia N97 phone.

Some Gmail tips and Disposable Email addresses

Check out this article if you want more power and flexibility out of your gmail account.

It shows you how you can use one email account with different sites by using a . (period) or + in the email address and you can generate a number of email address combinations that can be used for different needs (such as for bills, friends, social networking sites, registrations, etc.). You can then track who is selling your email addresses!

Mailinator for disposable email addresses

Another option I like for disposable email addresses is Mailinator. It allows you to get a dispoable email address instantly (without any registration). Check out their site. Just keep in mind that the email addresses are really disposable and emails are deleted frequently so don't use it for anything longterm. It is best used for sites that require registration to post in forums where you don't care about the privacy of emails from the sender.
As an example, if I want to use an email address like mobilebookmarksblogspot@mailinator.com, all I have to do is just use this email address whereever I want (without any registration) and read my Inbox by going to http://www.mailinator.com/ and keying in my Inbox address "mobilebookmarksblogspot". It's that easy! Note that all emails sent to this address will be deleted within a few hours and that anyone (including you out there) can read this Inbox contents.

Mobile networks handled Inauguration load fairly well

While the mobile networks had much higher network load in the Washington, D.C. area today, their preparations worked well and there were no major problems. Check out the PCWorld article for details.

More browsers available for iPhone

Apple has approved third party browsers for iPhone. These however seem to be more or less a different UI for the same browser engine as the Safari browser that comes with iPhone. They are like version 1 of a browser with many shortcomings.

It will be interesting to see if Apple will allow "true" third party browsers like Opera on iPhone. The included Safari browser is already the best mobile phone browser.

For more details on the new iPhone browsers, check out this PCWorld article.

Convert videos for mobile devices - Format Factory

Ever wanted to convert your videos to play on your mobile device (such as iPhone or iPod touch or other devices)?

Format Factory looks like something you could use. It can convert videos to many different formats and resolutions.

Combine this with Abyss Web Server X1M, you can watch your videos on your mobile device on the wi-fi home network!
(If you do use a web server on home network, make sure that you have a Router protecting you from outside).

I tested this combination to watch videos from PC on iPhone over wi-fi and it works great! You can play the videos directly from iPhone safari browser! And it is FREE!!

Palm Pre - Better than iPhone?

I really like the OS and software on the new Palm Pre phone. It is as good as iPhone and even better in some aspects with true multi-tasking support and very finger friendly.

Check out all five videos of Palm Pre demo. They are worth watching. Its UI is gorgeous and smooth and the browser is based on the same Webkit engine that iPhone uses!

And did I say it does multi-tasking that iPhone doesn't? Now don't ditch Sprint for iPhone.

Palm Pre Demo Video 1:



Palm Pre Demo Video 2:



Palm Pre Demo Video 3:



Palm Pre Demo Video 4:



Palm Pre Demo Video 5:



Coming to Sprint in the first half of this year! It will also be available in other countries a little later.