Your eyes are not playing tricks on you; you’re actually looking at a dinosaur in the mobile phone market.  I asked my buddy why he has not purchased a new phone in the last 5 years and he said, “Because they have not build one as good as this one yet.” Let’s think about this for a minute: all versions of the iPhone, Android, Palm, and Windows Mobile didn’t get him to upgrade off the original T-Mobile Dash.  Even the new versions of the Dash he dismissed as crap compared to the original.  Now he said he is ready to upgrade to a new phone that is coming out in a couple months.

I personally blame Microsoft for making my buddy Brian wait 5 years between mobile device upgrades, but he has his eye on any new Windows Phone 7 device.  I want to pause for a moment because part of me wants to call him a WinMo fanboy, but he has been using the same phone for 5 yrs, so in his own words let’s call that cheap.  Despite purchasing and returning several phones he has not found anything he has liked as much as the Dash.

Windows Phone 7 is a huge change from Microsoft on the mobile front. Microsoft, unlike RIM, did not play it safe when it came to changes in their device ecosystem.  I have an iPhone 4 sitting in front of me and there isn’t anything exciting about the device that makes me want to even look at the screen anymore.  I don’t know if this is because I have been spoiled by the Android thing; not using it as my primary phone; maybe owning all the previous iPhones; or perhaps just a general lack of excitement compared to other platforms. Whatever it is, I don’t feel any zing, even though it is brand new and shiny.

I hope for Brian that the wait for a better Windows Phone (Mobile) device is worth the 5 year he has spent waiting.  I for one will be happy not to see this device the next time we are in the same room.  To think that I have had the iPhone 2g, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, BlackBerry Storm, Motorola Droid, HTC Incredible, BlackBerry Bold 9650, and an iPhone 4 in the same time-span he as been waiting makes me somewhat queasy. In fact, I am more than surprised that a mobile device could even last that long. But, in retrospect, he probably hasn’t dropped it in the water once. Ouch!

A few weeks ago Rod was with a mutual friend of our Da-Rell when Rod asked, “What is your favorite App for Windows Mobile?” Da-Rell gave Rod a demo of WMWiFiRouter. As you can imagine being an iPhone/Blackberry/Android user Rod was excited to teach me something about Windows Mobile. Shame on me for not finding this gem sooner.

WMWiFiRouter allows your Windows Mobile phone to function like a WiFi hotspot, this allows multiple WiFi enabled devices to connect and share the phones internet connection. For me it duplicates the functionality of my Verizon MiFi at a significantly lower cost. Unlike Rod that bought an iPad on Day 1 of Pre-Sales, site unseen, I like to take a more measured approach to decision making. Over the last several weeks I have been testing out WMWiFi and electing to leave my Verizon MiFi on the sidelines. TO my surprise I didn’t miss it.

How do I get a Copy

You can get a copy of WMWifiRouter from their site directly. Some more savvy WinMo users may be thinking why use this instead of the built in internet sharing? The answer, because it’s wireless. The other answer is you can connect multiple devices at the same time. One of the nice things I like about the guys at Morose Media Software was the fact that you can have a 21 day trial before you buy. Unlike a lot of software out there, the trial was fully functional.

What do I need

To use WMWifiRouter you need the following on your mobile device*:

• Windows Mobile 5: AKU 3.3 or newer
• Windows Mobile 6: 6.0, 6.1, 6.5 or 6.5.3
• Both a wifi and a cellular data connection
• An installed and working version of Internet Sharing**

* Additional requirements may apply. (For Example: USB Cable for USB connection, Bluetooth Receiver for Bluetooth connection)
** Some providers remove Internet Sharing from their branded devices. (For me it was under the Start Menu|Settings|Connections|Wireless Modem)

I use the AT&T Tilt 2 and had no issue using the app. For a list of reported devices that have successfully used the WMWifiRouter look here.

Installation and Setup

Another thing that I like about Morose Media Software is there documentation. Although the setup wizard is all you need, the instruction manual is very detailed and easy to follow. Once you download the .cab file to your phone tap it to install WMWifiRouter. Choose the location to install the app and hit install at the bottom.

That is it for the install!

Now go into your start menu, locate and launch WMWifiRouter.

Enter in your license or choose Trial at the bottom of the screen. Afterwards you must accept the License Agreement.

After you accept the License Agreement you are presented with a wizard to configure WMWifiRouter. First you choose a mobile network to connect to then you set your WEP Key just you would your router at home. ( I asked Morose Media why they were not using WPA. As it turns out WPA is not supported on AD-HOC networks although the WI-FI standard may change in the future. Therefore it is Not a limitation of the software)

There are a couple of house keeping things you may want to do to make sure your phone function properly. For example setting the WIFI connection to Best Performance vs. Best battery is a good idea because you could see errors when using WMWifiRouter. You can modify this setting directly in WMWifiRouter by going to Options|Tools|Wifi|Power control if your device does not support the change through an app then go to Start|Settings|Connections|Wireless LAN and select the Power mode tab. Change the slider to “Best performance”.

To make the process easier, WMWifiRouter changes all the phone setting for you when you launch it. When you close the app it puts all your settings back the way they were. There is also a reminder to make sure you have an appropriate DATA plan.

Now that you have completed the setup wizard you have some very large finger friendly buttons to turn on WMWifiRouter. There are 6 icons that can be used because there are different connection methods that the app supports.

You can do a

1. 3G to Wireless Connection – This is the most popular option

2. 3G to USB Connection – This allows you to share your mobile internet with a USB connection to your Laptop to get to the internet

3. 3G to Bluetooth Connection – This allows your Laptop to connect via Bluetooth.

4. Wifi to USB – This allows you to use your Mobile Phone as a WIFI Dongle.

5. USB to WIFI – This connection profile shares your USB connection over WIFI. (this USB to WIFI connection profile the internet feed comes through your computer to your mobile device over USB, and is then shared over WIFI.)

There are more details in the documentation.

To use your phone as a Wireless Router just press the 3G to Wireless button Once the Data Network is connected you will be able to see your Phone as a wireless device the default name is WMWifiRouter but you can change the name under Options|Configuration|Wi-FI network.

Review

Overall I love the Application I find the internet speed to be very fast. I really like the fact that I can Leave my Verizon MIFI at home and carry less devices. I also really like that the Icons are large and touch Friendly. WMWifiRouter also includes Summary Information for the Mobile Network Connection, Battery usage including temperature, and inbound/outbound data usage.

The battery drain seemed reasonably good. I was able to use my phone as a wireless internet connection during my nephew’s entire basketball game. What also impressed me is when I received a call from Rod I was able to use the phone while my Netbook still browsed the internet. This is one of the great things about a GSM network and WMWifiRouter takes advantage of it. I should also note that there was no noticeable slowdown in browsing. I had no issue connecting my iPod Touch but my Zune HD does not support AD-HOC networks (which is the type of Network WMWifiRouter creates)

Like any app there is some room for improvement.

1. I would love to see a tighter UI with the ability to slide the screen side to side instead of using the Green Arrows.
2. Also there should be a notification when a device connects to the phone. This would allow me a level of security if I choose to use the app without a WEP key. (this feature is currently in Beta)
3. During the Setup Wizard I would like to choose my Wireless Network Name instead of having to do it after the fact.
4. I would like the option of not having a Network key during the setup wizard. As it is right now if you leave the dialog blank, it will generate a key for you. Also you can not go back in the wizard to change it. (This feature has been taken under review. What more could you ask for!)

Overall I love the app and had no problem paying the 19.99 to get it. Hopefully Microsoft will update the Zune to support an AD-HOC network but I am happy not having to carry my Netbook, my phone, and my MIFI. Anything that narrows down the amount of gadgets I have to carry is a good thing. And WMWifiRouter definitely does the job.

Like many of you, I have experienced various platforms over the years, and over time, I have come to expect certain stand look-and-feel from base categories. I have been fortunate that I have managed to find that look-and-feel, along with similar functionality, in spite of the OS involved. That is, until I came to Android! Now, keep in mind that this didn’t always happen right away on other platforms, either. Let me give you an idea of what I was looking for:

Fizz Weather

I originally started using Fizz Weather on Windows Mobile and was very pleased when it was also offered for the iPhone/Touch platforms. It has a wonderful look, packed with information and lets you have a number of cities selected and updated in the background.

BerryWeather

On moving to the Blackberry Storm, I eventually found the same gorgeous look in the excellent BerryWeather application. As you can see, although it is not from the same vendor, it exhibits similar functionality and made me feel right at home!

However, after being patient, I have finally closed that gap with my designated ‘weather’ application on the Android platform.

Palmary Weather

I came across this application this weekend. One of the reasons why I had not seen it previously is that it is not sold from within the Android Market. Rather, it can be found from any of the application stores associated with the MobiHand online store. As an Android user, you may be hesitant to venture out, but I can affirm that MobiHand (via Crackberry.com) was my primary point of purchasing for all my Blackberry applications. They are very trust-worthy and easy to work with.

Palmary Weather offers access to over 58000 locations all over the world. It shows current conditions, 48-hours detailed forecast, 15-days forecast, airport delays, and weather alerts. Different maps like doppler radar, satellite map, precipitation, visibility, etc. are available. The clear interface will minimize your actions in getting to necessary information. All weather data is provided by leading weather provider CustomWeather.

Features:

• 58000 locations all over the world
• Current conditions
• 48-hours detailed forecast
• 15-days forecast
• Airport delays
• Weather alerts
• Doppler radar map
• Satellite map
• Precipitation map
• Visibility map
• Min temperatire map
• Max temperature map

This application is currently FREE from the MobiHand store and available for OTA download. If you are still looking for a favorite Weather application for your Android device, I encourage you to take a look at Palmary Weather. Enjoy!

Chris and I got together and came up with a short list of hopes we have for Windows Phone 7 Series.  We wanted to share some thoughts and hopes around Windows Phone 7 and ask you to share yours with us. We have many things we want to see in the new Windows Phone but we will start with these.

A little Zune Hope

1. I like that Microsoft is going the extra mile to build a device that does not require a PC. I truly hope this will extend to the Zune components. I want to be able to enter my Zune Pass information into the phone and have the option to download new content directly to my device.

2. I hope I will be able to create Zune DJ Playlists on my Windows 7 Phone or on my computer and have the playlists downloaded automatically without the need for the computer and phone to sync. This would essentially allow the DJ Playlists to be saved on the Zune servers and synced across devices.

3. This is my last Zune related hope. While the majority of podcasts are listened to on the web, I hope the Windows Phone 7 and Zune HD’s will get an option to add and update podcasts when mobile. While I did not like the limitation on the Zune HD, I did understand it. With a phone, you can always have a data connection. When that is the case, this is a must have feature.

Back it up

4. One of the major features of Android phones is the automatic online back-up. I hope Windows Phone will offer MSN, Live, and hotmail users an online back-up option. I know about Microsoft My Phone, but for this to be successful for 80-90% of the users, back-ups need to be automatic. I feel this should be part of the initial phone setup to avoid users that will just fail to back-up regardless of how many times they are told.

Build your own Device

5. Build a reference device. Microsoft did a fantastic job with the Zune HD and I really want to see a device consumers can buy that runs on all carriers. I would rather pay a premium to Microsoft for the hardware then worry about different carriers with different hardware. I am sick of watching Microsoft release new versions only to have devices never updated.  A device sold and controlled by Microsoft would push manufactures to address this need.

6. When I was asking many of my iPhone users about their favorite apps for the iPhone it was funny to hear maps was always mentioned.  I really want to see Bing maps support location sharing.  It is not enough for Microsoft to support sharing location details from Windows Mobile to Windows Mobile but they need to bridge the gap and provide a way to share you location to users of Google Maps or Bing maps.  I am not expecting a magic pill but I want to send a hyperlink location and know the user can open it up in Google maps or Bing maps.

Don’t forget the hardware

7. 3.5mm headset jacks on all devices.  As much as I have enjoyed using a USB to 3.5mm converter I will settle on a built in standard here

8. Take a page from the EU and adopt a single USB standard across all the devices.  While there is a revenue opportunity in a proprietery connector please avoid using one.

9. Proximity put the touch screen interface to sleep when placed to your face to prevent accidental button press.  The Blackberry Storm 1 had many calls muted, put on speaker, or even disconnected because it  lacks of proximity sensors.   I hope Microsoft avoids making this same mistake.  While software and address the flaw lets put the hardware in there from the start.

10. While Rod loves small phones and virtual keyboards make sure there is a line of devices with physical slide out keyboards.  Chris and Robb both prefer larger devices and like the efficiencies of a physical keyboard.

What would you like to see? Leave us your comments.

A lot of Windows Mobile users take pride in being able to install a new ROM on their phones. XDA-Developers create a ton of excellent ROM’s that add or change the functionality of WinMo phones. Now there is a downside to installing a “Cooked ROM”.

And that is you can really jack up your phone. There has never been a more perfect term than “Bricked” for a useless phone. Well HTC has released the Original ROM so that you can at least get your phone back to the original state. The ROM is located in the Downloads section on their site.

I wrote an article a while back that mentioned how bad the Sling Player Mobile interface was when compared to the iPhone. But today, All I can say is thank you Sling Media. One of my biggest pet peeves about any company who makes apps for mobile phones is the lack of cross device support. You have to make your software support ALL MAJOR DEVICES. There is no way everyone is going to settle on one type of Smartphone. So if you want to win, support them all. Also, every interface should have relatively the same look and feel. The biggest disappointment, to me, and the biggest offender for this was Sling Media. The iPhone interface for SlingPlayer Mobile was a million times better than Windows Phone. But with the release of SlingPlayer Mobile 2.0 not anymore.

I have a Slingbox. And if you don’t have one, you need to get a Slingbox right now. It is the coolest device. It basically allows you to watch TV on your mobile phone. There are two types

Slingbox Solo 179.99

Slingbox PRO-HD 299.99

They both work great. The biggest difference is the PRO-HD allows you to stream HD Video (provided your internet speed is fast enough) and it allows you to connect multiple devices to it (Satellite, DVR, Cable).

How I found out

I was driving home and launched my SlingPlayer mobile app. Imagine my surprise when I am prompted to update the software. I proceeded to step on the gas pretty hard and got home, let’s just say much faster than I should have. I jumped on my computer, went to www.slingbox.com, and what do I see in the downloads section?

You can’t download to the PC then transfer to your phone ( at least that is what the site says) so here is the mobile link. Also this update is for Windows Phone 6.1 or later.

The Install

Oh my god. I could not believe it. I thought they would never get this done. I immediately downloaded the software to my phone and started the install.

I had no idea what to expect but there was already a new screen at the end of the install which I thought was a good sign.

Now that I had successfully installed it, I went to the Start Menu and saw a shiny new icon that was updated from the previous version, another good sign.

I hesitated because I didn not want to be disappointed, but I finally went through with the click. When the screen immediately switched to landscape a tear rolled down my right cheek. In the old version you had to switch it manually. I was thinking did they actually make this work like the iPhone app they built?

Next I agreed to the EULA and the next screen that was presented to me was a sight for sore eyes. In the desktop app you created an account after you installed your Slingbox and SlingPlayer. When you logged into another computer that had the desktop SlingPlayer running instead of having to enter all the information again to connect to a particular Slingbox, all you had to do is log into your account. All your saved Slingboxes are presented to you. This feature would be especially useful on a mobile device because no one wants to type all the characters needed to connect to a Slingbox. Slung Media added this feature to the mobile version.You can even tell that I have different types of Slingboxes by looking at the pictures.

I have the original Slingbox and if you do too you will get this warning. It is the same warning you get when you connect with the iPhone. But not to worry it still works as you can see.

Oh how nice, the same tip you get when you first launch the player on the iPhone you get on Windows Phone now. But I guess we did not need it because we did not have this interface!

Look at the new buttons just AWESOME! My Soda can sized fingers can not miss these buttons.

But wait, what about the guide? Oh my, they updated that too.

The number pad on the remote has been updated too. Who couldn’t use this?

I can not tell you how excited I am. I was so mad at Sling Media and in an instant it all went away. But my joy didn’t stop here. There was icing for this cake. They added a DVR button. When pressed it brings up my recorded programs. With nice sized buttons to navigate.

There are a few other features but these are the ones that stood out to me. I have had a Slingbox pretty much since they came out. It is one of my favorite gadgets of all time. After I saw the app they created for the iPhone I had been down on Sling Media for a while. Well let me take this opportunity to say

It’s about time!

No apologies here. This should have been done a long time ago because Windows Mobile users where the first to support Sling Media and they left us behind. But I can also say Thank you Sling Media for showing other companies, who make mobile apps, how it’s done. Let’s hope they follow suit.

With the momentum of the Mobile World Congress Microsoft decided to ride the wave and announce the updating of the Windows Mobile Marketplace. There were a lot of enhancements mentioned in the Blog of Todd Brix ( Senior Director of Mobile Services )but the three that stood out to me are

Installation onto Storage Cards

This was a huge pet peeve of mine that affected my review of YomoMedia. This should never have been missed in the first place but I am glad it is finally being taken care of

Better Application discovery

Searching is not that great right now in the app store but it has been enhanced to allow searching for apps and games based on any of the words used to describe the app.

Developer Toolkit for 6.5.3

I am hoping that this gives developers a jump start on writing apps

You can read the full list of enhancements here. Hopefully these enhancements get the dev community more excited to build apps for the Windows Mobile Marketplace.

A really good friend of mine, Jerome has the generation 1 iPhone. We had and Instant message (IM) chain where he just unleashed his fustration with his iPhone. I know this is wrong but the content was so good I have to share it with everyone. Plus I asked Jerome first. As much as I wanted to egg him on this was just a several minute rant.

<RANT>

JEROME says: (11:27:38 PM)

I’m sick of my iphone…I’m waiting for the new version of Windows Mobile before I decide what my replacement is going to be.

Rod says: (11:27:47 PM)

SWEET MARY!! Chris is going to be laughing

JEROME says: (11:28:00 PM)

It’s really slow and it’s probably since I have a Gen 1 phone but not 100% sure.

Rod says: (11:28:51 PM)

Did it get slower over each core update? IE 1.0 – 2.0 – 3.0 – 3.1.

Rod says: (11:29:00 PM)

Or did 3.x do the most damage…

JEROME says: (11:29:10 PM)

don’t get me wrong I think it’s a great device and the apps are great but I think that Apple and AT&T are acting like thugs by charging a premium (data charges/pricing restructuring) everytime they have a new device.

JEROME says: (11:30:15 PM)

Oh yeah. Each update gave you more features at the expense/back of other paying customers who’ve ‘tested’ the product and how do you repay them? You charge premiums for upgrading!

Rod says: (11:30:52 PM)

but everyone pays for hardware upgrades so you have to explain that out

JEROME says: (11:31:58 PM)

This phone has gotten to the point where you can almost see all of the pixels as some of the ‘visual features’, fly off screen, dissolve, screen lock ups, etc. are implemented. That’s how slow the user experience is for a Gen1 user . Can you imagine waiting 5 seconds for the sms app to open up to send a txt that takes 1 second…very frustrating!

JEROME says: (11:32:49 PM)

Yeah. You pay for the hardware upgrades (I’m not disputing that) but you get charged a recurring monthly premium for using the data network….For example: I was paying $20/mo. for my

JEROME says: (11:32:55 PM)

3G

JEROME says: (11:33:46 PM)

On my old Windows mobile device (when I first joined Cingular) and going to the ‘EDGE network on my’ Gen1 iphone I ended up paying the same ($20/mo, which I was willing to accept because the device had many compelling features)…now to go to the 3G (my original data spead) or 3Gs (marketing ploy) and they want to up charge me a premium! That makes no sense…3G is 3G is 3G….you’re paying for a data network! It gets expense when you have 2 iphones (mine and my wife’s, that’s an extra $480/year!)

JEROME says: (11:34:31 PM)

While the Iphone is still a compelling device (based on features, etc) it is now becoming common place (Android, soon to be release Windows Mobile (I hope will be decent). I’m not sure but a bet you that when the droid came out and when the MS releases their new OS and phone data plans won’t change…

Rod says: (11:35:07 PM)

I am starting the blog post for you

JEROME says: (11:36:12 PM)

….but it comes at a cost

JEROME says: (11:37:32 PM)

Apple is FORCING people to move to new H/W at an incredible rate (basically every 12 months) at $200-600 a pop (depending if you’re willing to renew a contract) and yet no one is in an uproar. Had it been MS, people would be looking for blood, why is that?

JEROME says: (11:38:53 PM)

sure they have a large number of apps, sure they ‘might’ have the largest number of downloads of said apps, sure they reinvented the mobile phone but at what cost? $240/year/device (for the difference in data plan) to be valid for 12 months? Has Apple gotten over on us all?

</RANT>

I am not suggesting he is upset. I am just saying he cannot be alone.

In an unbelievable turn of events a leaked document is confirming that Windows Phone 7 will support multitasking. The document was leaked to the great team at XDA-developers. here is the quote from the document.

“As a preemptive multitasking operating system (OS), Windows Phone OS 7.0 supports multiple processes running simultaneously on the system. There is no limit to the number of processes that can run on the phone. The only limit is the amount of available system resources.”

This is huge news and should make Windows Phone users very happy. The other information obtained from the document was the frameworks for development. It looks like Windows Phone 7 supports Silverlight UI framework for event driven, XAML based development. and also Microsoft’s XNA UI Framework for lo-based games. XNA is the platform used for Microsoft Gaming including the XBOX. I really hope this is accurate.

VIA [ neowin.net ]

I checked in with MovieWedge and found out that although it had been estimated that this item would be available by the end of January, still no luck. I have communicated with them and the message is that they will have them in stock soon! Stay tuned and we will let you know the moment they are available.  I did register for the notify me when available option.