Mar 18, 2006 | blog
So I’ve been using SBSH’s Pocket Weather (PW) for about a year and a half now – from way before SBSH picked up the product and its creator Adrian Oliver. While I’ve always been fond of the app, it has recently been even more useful then ever.
From its roots as a simple app that grabs the current conditions and forecast off the ‘net, to the current version that is highly configurable with custom radar & satellite maps, animated maps, and large number of locations to configure. The community has embraced it as well with numerous skins, themes, icons, buttons, etc… to help mesh with the overall look a person may be going for on their PPC.
Since I have the T-Mobile MDA, it has become very useful – simply because PW now does not have to connect to my phone over bluetooth and dial the ‘net, the data connection is built in. This of course applies to all such applications that access the Internet, but I’m talking about PW right now. The current conditions now update every 15 minutes, the weather maps every 30 minutes. I can whip out the MDA at any time and give everyone a quick full-featured weather report when needed. Talk about awesome!
This application alone has driven a few people to consider a PPC Phone like the MDA or other HTC Wizard based platform. And don’t forget the integration with SBSH’s PocketBreeze program that allows multiple Today Screen plug-ins to use the same screen space – highly recommended! There is much more but I’d recommend reading a review on Pocket Weather, and visiting the exceptional SBSH support forums for this and all their programs.
Reviews:
Mar 15, 2006 | blog
Now that I’ve got the T-Mobile MDA in my hands, the next obvious question is whether the Messaging and Security Feature Pack for Windows Mobile (aka AKU2) will be offered by Tmo. AKU2 contains the update for Windows Mobile 5 that changes the behavior of “push email”. The change allows the push-mail functionality that shipped with Windows Mobile 5 to behave more like the BlackBerry.
The original implementation of push-mail in Windows Mobile 5 had the mail system send a specially formatted SMS message to the WM5 device. The SMS message instructed the device to initiate an ActiveSync session with the defined server. The ActiveSync session would then pull the email to the device during the synchronization process.
With the new update, the process has changed so that the system never uses SMS messages to do this. Many users were put off by the need for an SMS package on top of the data package, on top of the cell plan. In the new system, the WM5 device keeps synchronizes itself with the server over the air.
Once the sync is complete the device sends an HTTP request to the server asking for any changes since the last sync – the catch here is that the request has a time out of (I seem to remember) 30 minutes. If the server has an update to any of the synced data during that time, it will return the request to the device indicating new data. A new sync is done and a new HTTP request is sent to the server again waiting 30 minutes. If there are no new data updates and the request times out, the device simply re-issues the request. This sequence goes on unless either the device or server is taken offline, or the configuration is dismantled.
For the new system to work, the device will make enormous use of the data connection. While the device will be connected almost all the time, data transfer only happens during the request and sync periods. If you have an unlimited data plan, that really takes the concern out of the picture cost-wise. Also, this is fairly battery efficient as simply keeping the data pipe open doesn’t use much power, only when transmitting/receiving.
It’ll be interesting to see how well this system works out. T-Mobile just released the MDA a few weeks ago so I’m sure they don’t have the AKU2 update pending too soon, and I currently have my MDA simply polling my email accounts on a 15 minute cycle. There are real needs for push mail like the BlackBerry and Microsoft’s implementation, but it is not a requirement for me at this time. Neat stuff!
Mar 12, 2006 | blog
Wow, finally got the new T-Mobile MDA, stopped by a Tmo store on Saturday and picked it up. Since I tested it last October/November, its changed little. It seems a bit more responsive than the test unit I worked with, the “My Email” configuration utility works, and the unit appears more stable than before as well.
Not a lot has changed, I’ll have to go from memory on the earlier unit, and as with all HTC built devices that I have worked with, the build-quality is very good. Also in the intervening 4 months, a number of third party software packages have had multiple revisions for Windows Mobile 5, and the phone edition in particular. So many of my favorite software packages that were performance hogs, or quite “flaky” before, now work rather well.
In the last 16 hours, I’ve installed:
- WisBar Advanced 2 (by Lakeridge Software)
- PocketBreeze 5 (by SBSH Software)
- ContactBreeze (by SBSH Software)
- iLauncher (by SBSH Software)
- Pocket Weather (by SBSH Software)
- ThinkOutside Bluetooth Keyboard & Mouse Drivers (by ThinkOutside)
One of the best things that I’ve found so far is that both my ThinkOutside Bluetooth keyboard and mouse work at the same time on this device – something that their earlier drivers in October 2005 did not do. That in combination with the landscape display mode, EDGE or WiFi connectivity, and an improved Internet Explorer really make a difference for quick but useful web browsing.
The wireless capabilities of the device are very important, with Bluetooth for personal device connectivity, Quad-band GPRS/EDGE, 802.11b/g WiFi it can adapt to the best connection available. The built-in slide out keyboard as well really makes a big difference when trying to answer an email on the go, and the existing mail client is adequate allowing multiple POP or IMAP Inboxes.
Another nice piece is the ability to tether a latop off this device while traveling with EDGE service – it allows the device to act as a modem for the larger computer, something that Verizon has only recently started to allow.
Overall, I’m pleased with the minor improvements and am glad to have purchased this device. As the MDA was back in October when I tested it, it is impressive in its capabilities and form.
Mar 6, 2006 | blog
Well, this is my first attempt to post frorm rry my iPaq, and I’m pleasentty pleasently surprised to find that WordPress works well with the older uerspon version of Pocket Internet Explorer.
Now lets hit the publish button and see what happens.
Update: It does work well – of course I was using “Transcriber” and made a few mistakes that I had to come back to correct. 🙂
Mar 2, 2006 | blog
i-mate today released a ROM upgrade for their popular K-JAM Pocket PC Phone running Windows Mobile, which includes the AKU2 “Push Email” upgrade! Available to i-mate customers through their Club i-Mate portal, the new ROM update allows for push email services through Microsoft’s Exchange 2003 with Service Pack 2 and advanced security options for corporate customers.
Some improvements are:
- Microsoft Messaging and Security Feature Pack (MSFP) Allowing:
- Direct Push email
- Remote device wiping
- Security policy enforcement
- Global Address List Lookup (for customers using a Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 with Service Pack 2)
- Communication Manager has been updated to allow:
- Current data services to be stopped
- Direct Push email to be started/stopped using a single button press
- Flight mode to be switched on/off.
Via: Pocket PC Thoughts, msmobiles.com
