Author: pdasnews

Treo’s built-in web browser, Blazer could sure use some sprucing up, and the folks at Opera Software say they have just the thing, Opera Mini, for use on some Treo SmartPhones. Technically, however, Mini is not a browser. It’s a Java client – big gotcha – that retrieves re-formatted, compressed pages from an Opera-savvy server. Most recent cell phone models have a small Java client built in, so Opera Mini, at about 200k, can reside in a phone’s memory. Ironically, Treo 650, a high end smartphone, does not ship with a Java client, and adding one – also mercifully free – chews up almost 2 MB, a high cost to replace Treo’s native Blazer. Actually, you can’t really “replace” Blazer, since it’s in ROM, but rather you can just ignore it and install a third party replacement and use that instead. Blazer doesn’t really “blaze,” and Opera’s potential strength is its server-side compression, which could greatly reduce the number of bytes transmitted. Translate that to smaller files, faster download, lower cost, especially if you’re on a metered data plan instead of unlimited data. Other gotchas get in the way, however, not the least of which is that the program doesn’t yet support Verizon and some other phones/networks. (For a current list of what is supported, see this page. Read this review here:

“We strive for order in our personal and professional lives and one of the tools we use is a personal digital assistant or PDA. PDA’s come with a multitude of software applications to help us keep track of mundane yet important information we might otherwise try to store in our heads or on post-it notes. Although I personally never used them, post it notes adorn my monitor and desk as others find it necessary to give them to me as gentle reminders of my inability to remember such things.. In order to appeal to the masses, the software that comes with a PDA (Palm) is designed to be easy. And to a point, limited. The programs are a great way to learn how to use a digital assistant, but in most cases, eventually you’ll need something more. Since starting using a PDA I have become more organized. Or at least I now have a place to put all of this “important” information and can get to it easily and quickly when needed. I have used a lot of programs that claim to be better at organizing my schedule. Most of them (if they are still being developed regularly) are still around in some form or another and, like my kids, are growing larger, and at times, work about as well. One of the newer programs I found is TMP (Time Manager Pad). TMP may not be as well know as some of the other programs, however, it is one of those unique programs you can’t ignore because the developer has taken the key element of the palm software (easiness) and improved it. And I have found what I think is a nice piece of software.” Read this nice review here:

Some people have said that this is what the iPod Video should have been. Unlike so many other tasty gadgets we hear about being released somewhere in Asia, the Viliv P1 Portable Media Player is actually coming to the United States. It was originally released to the Korean market last summer. Developed by Yukyung Technologies, the Viliv P1 comes with a good-sized 4-inch widescreen TFT display, which can show off everything from Macromedia Flash to MPEG 1/2/4. If the 30 gigabytes of on-board memory isn’t enough for you, you can throw in a compact flash card to keep the “unlimited excitement” (as labelled under the screen) going. Audio support comes in the way of MP3s, WMAs, and even OGGs, as well as FM radio reception.Battery life is pretty good, with 6 hours of video viewing, or 11 hours of audio. This DivX and Xvid playing PMP should be hitting American and Canadian shelves sometime this March. via mobilemag.com

“A year ago our readers had a chance to take a closer look at the first handset, featuring a 5 mpix camera – particularly it was Samsung SCH-S250. Today we’re offering you one more review of another device with 5 mpix camera onboard – this time manufactured by LG. This very model has a number of indexes, e.g. LG SV550 – non-operator index, and the mobile operators gave it the name of LG KV5500, LG LP5500 (LG TeleCom). The core difference between the latter two devices is the menu’s appearance and the label itself, but not the functionality. Since the version we are currently reviewing has been released for LG Telecom mobile operator, we will accordingly use LG LP5500 index.” Read this great review at mobile-review.

P901iTV, in black(Click to enlarge)Panasonic is shipping a Linux-based mobile handset capable of receiving digital or analog television. The “P901iTV” features a pivoting 2.5-inch color LCD, and works with NTT DoCoMo’s 3G network in Japan. Digital TV services will launch in Japan this spring, DoCoMo says.Panasonic jointly developed its Linux mobile phone stack with NEC, which also supplies phones for NTT DoCoMo’s 3G networks. Panasonic (Matsushita) and NEC have both invested in MontaVista, and use its Linux OS in a variety of mobile phone designs, such as the new dual-mode 902-series DoCoMo phones. DoCoMo is also a MontaVista investor. The P901iTV runs MontaVista Linux, a MontaVista spokesman confirmed.NTT DoCoMo says the P901iTV is its first mobile handset to receive terrestrial digital broadcasting signals, as well as conventional analog signals. It says the phone was created “in response to the planned launch of mobile digital broadcasting in April 2006.”The P901iTV features a 2.5-inch QVGA (320 x 240 pixel) TFT (thin-film transistor) LCD supporting 262K colors. The display actuates the TV receiver when it is pivoted sideways, and the display can also be twisted and folded open against the rest of the wallet-like phone. Panasonic claims that up to three hours of continuous digital TV viewing is possible, or up to one hour of analog TV viewing. More at linuxdevices.com

Imagine that you are heading out the door one morning. You check for your stuff – keys, wallet, bag or purse, and cell phone. If you’re traveling light, that’s probably about it. The daily essentials. If you have a cell phone you’re sure to bring it along. And, if you have the Nokia N70 you’ll be bringing along a lot more than you might imagine. Watch this Nokia N70 video review here. From slashphone.com via dlmag.com

“Main event of the exhibition for communicators and smartphones market was Palm’s announcement of new operating system based on Linux core. Another surprise was large amount of new models based on Windows Mobile and Symbian. We knew about most of new communicators before their official announcement at the congress due to numbers of leaks, but Palm’s new OS became something truly new, especially since it was announced during Day 2, when most people left hope for something new after Day 1.” Check out this great article at mobile-review to learn all about the new models at 3GSM!

The new Minimo is here. That would be the latest version of the Mozilla open source browser for handhelds. It’s Version 013, and it works on smartphones and PDS that are running Windows Mobile.Building on the success of its larger-screen cousins, it offers tabs for multiple open pages and a left-side screen bar with direct links to Google, RSS sites, and other popular Web destinations. A new interface completes the facelift, which is available for free download at the Mozilla website.Some industry observers have commented that the offering won’t make much of an impact in terms of dollars and cents because the number of people running devices powered by Windows Mobile is still rather small. Given the marketing muscle of Microsoft, however, that figure seems likely to rise. The Minimo update is, however, the next step in graduation from PC Web access to full-scale mobile Web access. Check it here: via mobilemag.com

British Sky Broadcasting (Sky) and Symbian announced that BSkyB selected Symbian OS for Sky by mobile, the interactive application which puts the UK’s leading digital TV service into the hands of millions of mobile phone users. Symbian develops Symbian OS, the market-leading open mobile operating system for advanced mobile phones, also known as smartphones, which is licensed to the world’s leading handset manufacturers. Sky by mobile, offers Sky digital and Sky Bet customers an value-added way to access Sky on the move at no extra cost. Once downloaded from Sky by mobile onto an appropriate 2.5G or 3G Symbian OS phone, users are presented with a viewing guide with the same look and feel as the Sky Guide, Sky’s electronic programme guide. The Symbian OS application offers a range of TV content, including sports, entertainment, news and weather and provides access to a wide range of interactive services including personalised news, sports headlines and ‘on the fly’ betting for Sky Bet account holders. In order to handle this large volume of real-time multimedia content in an effective way the application was developed using native C++ on Symbian OS to ensure the best user experience possible without compromising quality. Symbian’s market leading position underpinned Sky’s decision to select Symbian OS as the platform on which to develop its Sky by mobile application. As of Q3 2005, 13 handset manufacturers had shipped 48 million Symbian OS phones to over 250 major networks worldwide. Gartner forecasts that by the end of 2006 smartphone sales will reach 87m with Symbian OS owning 83% of the market share at 72 million. Sky by mobile is free to Sky digital customers in the UK and Republic of Ireland who subscribe to two or more premium channels or who have a registered Sky Bet account. via phonemag.com

What’s new in iLauncher 2.3? * Captions Support * D-Pad navigation support * Look and Feel Customization * New Menu Replacement * iLauncher Settings Enhancements * Context Menu Enhancements * New True VGA hack option This option is intended for VGA devices only! * Additional Meters Path Selection * Command-line parameter support * Installer Changes * Fullscreen Mode Changes * Bug fixes and other enhancements Read more here: