Day: February 15, 2006

A huge jump from version 1.2, Skype has just released the Skype 2.0 for pocket pc.The minimum requirements to run Skype for Pocket PC 2.0 are: * OS: Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC or Pocket PC 2003 * Display: 320×240, 640×480 (portrait or landscape), 240×240, 480×480 * CPU: 312Mhz + (Optimized sound quality versions for Intel Xscale, 312Mhz and for 400MHz+), b * Network: WiFi, 3G or EDGE Change log (including beta version) * bugfix: After ignoring the call, Skype is still ringing * bugfix: Call to device phonebook entry is started from Skype addressbar * bugfix: callto: link doesn’t work * bugfix: Info icon instead of missed chat icon * bugfix: Received Contact List icon is not displayed * bugfix: During a call, from call menu show profile and add contact don’t work * bugfix: Buttons on ‘Received contacts’ screen are not accessible in Landscape mode * 26.01.2005 Skype for Pocket PC 2.0 beta * feature: Automatic data connection, if no WiFi connection is available * change: Skype for PPC graphics updated to 2.0 style * change: ContactList sorting * bugfix: Incoming chat and call privacy options * bugfix: Impossible to cancel login when in ‘connecting’ mode * bugfix: Missed call notification not displayed for SkypeIn call * bugfix: Skype crashes after 2nd calling to PC and PPC user * bugfix: Chinese languages interchanged * bugfix: Skype stays in connecting mode * bugfix: ‘Call’ and ‘Chat’ buttons are enabled when user is not logged in * bugfix: Received ContactList is not authorized * bugfix: Second authorization request will block accepting first request * bugfix: Registering a new user, doesn’t sign in * bugfix: Login page shown before EULA Get it here

More news out of Barcelona, and this time it comes from Virgin Mobile. The company was showing off a funky looking multimedia phone that can do DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) TV. The handset was created by HTC, a company well known for pumping out original designs and high functionality in packages that never carry its branding, and is known as the Trilogy, though that name may by changed by Virgin before launch. This handy little handset is running on the very popular Windows Mobile 5.0, and shows off all its DAB TV goodness on a large-ish 2.2-inch display. The integrated 1.3 megapixel camera is adequate, and expansion comes in the way of a micro SD slot. You can probably expect all the usual bells and whistles like MP3 playback and whatnot as well. Give that hard button the side a touch, and you can instantly access all sorts of digital television, though Virgin Mobile hasn’t made any specific mention of what programming they’ll be carrying. Word on the street is that this UK release will be showing Sky and Channel Four.

Worldwide personal digital assistant (PDA) shipments totaled a record 14.9 million units in 2005, a 19 percent increase from 2004, according to Gartner, Inc. The 2005 results topped the previous record of 13.2 million PDAs shipped worldwide in 2001. Research In Motion (RIM) became the No. 1 PDA vendor based on worldwide shipments in 2005 (see first chart) as it accounted for 21.4 percent of total shipments. Its shipments in 2005 increased 47 percent from 2004. These results do not include an estimated 858,000 BlackBerry smartphones shipped in 2005, which Gartner classifies separately because of their voice-centric design. “RIM does not appear to be losing much momentum despite its legal problems and the threat of an injunction,” said Todd Kort, principal analyst in Gartner’s Computing Platforms Worldwide group. “Generally, BlackBerry users are staying put because of the high cost of switching, lack of suitable alternative devices, and the low probability of BlackBerry service being shut down.” Palm shipped 2.77 million PDAs in 2005, down 25 percent from 2004 shipments. These results exclude Palm’s Treo smartphone shipments of 1.95 million units in 2005. Palm regained the PDA market lead in the fourth quarter of 2005 with 1.04 million units shipped, reflecting the traditionally strong consumer PDA sales associated with the holiday season. “Consumer sales in the fourth quarter enabled Palm to surpass RIM and HP, but we expect RIM will recapture the lead in the first quarter of 2006 as consumer PDA purchases subside,” Mr. Kort said. “Palm’s PDA sales are being cannibalized by its Treo smartphones, which are expected to surpass Palm’s PDA shipments in 2006.” Microsoft Windows CE was the No. 1 PDA operating system (OS) in 2005 as 7.05 million PDAs were loaded with the OS, up 33 percent from 2004 shipments of 5.28 million units. Palm OS PDA shipments declined 34 percent to 2.96 million units in 2005. Gartner defines a PDA as a data-centric handheld computer weighing less than one pound that is primarily designed for use with both hands. These devices use an open market operating system supported by third-party applications that can be added into the device by end users. They offer instant on/off capability and synchronization of files with a PC. A PDA may offer WAN support for voice, but these are data-first, voice-second devices. Additional information is available in the Gartner report “Dataquest Alert: Record 14.9 Million PDAs Shipped in 2005, Up 19 Percent Over 2004.”

NEC is set to launch the Visual On-demand Tool of Life (VoTol) media player. A ‘cool’ portable device that shows its battery status via a moving water level. Now who says watching your player’s battery meter is boring?Of course, that’s not all there is to the VOTOL PK-MV300. It features a compact design, measuring just 123x61x18mm, and has an impressive 2.7-inch QVGA display. Its 188g weight complements its small and portable architecture. Switching or selecting functions is as uncomplicated as its design. The cap on top of the unit can be turned to shift between functions.NEC’s new device supports a wide array of media files too. The VoToL can play MPEG2, MPEG4 (SP/ASP), andWMV9 (DRM10 support) videos. It also recognizes a variety of audio formats such as WMA (DRM10 support), MP3, WAV, AAC, and Ogg Vorbis. It can also display still images in GIF, PNG, JPEG, and BMP file formats through its integrated photo viewer.The VOTOL has a 30GB capacity. Its SD card slot provides a convenient way to expand data space. This unit is NEC’s answer to the Apple iPod. Its debut is slated on March in Japan. The company has not made any announcement yet if it will deploy the media player in North America and Europe but unit price is set at 39,000 Yen (approx. US $332). via mobilemag.com

“Tatung is ready to ship the M1 Smartphone Platform to the European markets through selected distributors and ODM partners while Tatung declined yet to name these distributors and ODM partners. However, the platform should be available with specific IDs to differentiate the two distribution channels, but the overall functionalities are M1 is a Windows Mobile 5 platform that offers quad band GSM communication and GPRS Class B multi-slot class 12 data together with up to date features like Bluetooth 1.2 with A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) for stereo wireless headsets and speakers, 1.3 megapixel camera for pictures and videos usable for wireless messaging – all in a compact and lightweight form factor” Read more here:

Grundig Mobile has introduced its cell phone Grundig X5000. It’s a clamshell with the rotating LCD. The peculiar feature about it is an integrated 6-megapixel camera with 4x zoom, flash and video capture. It supports 22 shooting modes, including night shot, landscape, pavilion and so on. At the same time the user can choose between normal and macro modes.It’s possible to adjust resolution, contrast and exposure. You can snap video with QVGA or VGA resolution at 30 fps, the clip length is limited with the memory size onboard and storage card. Besides the phone has an MP3-player, equalizer with 6 modes and TV-out. The specs of Grundig X5000:
Standards – GSM (900/1800/1900 MHz) and GPRS class 10
Internal 2” TFT LCD, 640×240 pixels, 16M colors
External 1” OLED LCD, 96×64 pixels, 65K colors
6-megapixel camera
MP3-player
64-tones polyphony
20 MB of internal memory
Slot for miniSD cards
TV-out and USB
Wap
SMS, EMS and MMS
Li-Ion battery
Talk time – 4 hours
Standby time – 150 hours
Dimensions – 89x46x23 mm
Weight – 118 g via mobile-review.com

Datel is now also offering a 4GB hard-drive with media player for the Nintendo DS. Because the Nintendo DS lacks media player features Datel added them to a 4GB hard-drive. The Max Media Player for the Nintendo DS plugs into the game slot. After insert the media browser appears and you can play the stored MP3 audio files and videos and view JPEG photos. Via USB you can upload media files onto the 4GB HDD to have them available on the Nintendo DS.The 4GB Max Media Player for the Nintendo DS is available for pre-order on Lik-Sang for $179. It is supposed to ship in March. Visit Lik-Sang for more details on the Nintendo DS hard-drive. via i4u.com