Pocket PC Thoughts: Telus launches Velocity Wireless 1xRTT plan

After years of being in "The Wireless Pit of Despair", it looks like there are some interesting options opening up in my area. Today I can get cheap GPRS, and now Telus is offering unlimited data for $50 CND a month. Sweet! The only glitch here is that they don't seem to be offering any 1X CDMA phones, so I have nothing to talk to my Pocket PC. PCMCIA cards and laptops are their focus at the moment, and I'm not aware of any CF 1xRTT cards.

That plan is a limited-time promotion, the real flat-rate plan is CDN$100/month. Canada already has one flat-rate GPRS provider, supposedly the US will get flat-rate 1xRTT from Verizon this month.

4:28:11 PM | Comments:

CNET: Mozilla finally turns 1.0

"Mozilla 1.0 will be compared against the latest generations of commercial browsers. So Mozilla spent the time necessary to make sure this release would indeed be ready for prime time," said a representative for Netscape, which created the project when it opened up its source code in 1998. Since then, Mozilla has operated autonomously.

Four years in the making...

4:02:00 PM | Comments:

PDABuzz: Native Palm synchronization for Entourage X users

PDABuzz.com moderator tech writes, "Microsoft is set to release a the Entourage X conduit July 15th. This finally gives Macs users the "Outlook-like" experience and PIM they have been waiting for. Speaking as an Entourage user, I'm pretty excited at the prospect. This also will give Mac users a "native" email sync option for their Palms for the first time." Oddly enough, Pocket PC users who happen to use a Mac and Entourage are still out of luck. One might think that Pocket PC support would come before Palm support, but maybe Redmond knows something we don't. Are there any Mac users out there that actually use a Pocket PC?

3:54:10 PM | Comments:

InfoWorld: EBay adds wireless rebidding service

Wireless Rebidding for eBay is run by InPhonic, a Washington, D.C., wireless software and services firm. Priced at $2.99 per month, the service includes unlimited auction alerts and bid placements, along with optional news, sports, weather and other informational alerts from a variety of content providers. Major carriers and many regional ones in the U.S. and abroad support the service, according to InPhonic.

 

3:46:09 PM | Comments:

In a classic fat-finger maneuver, I managed to "hard delete" the contents of my primary Inbox. If anyone can point me to a tool for recovering deleted items from an Outlook 2002 .pst file, I will name my first born after you...

2:40:55 PM | Comments:

CNET: Off-key efforts mar pay-for-play Net music

As the Internet upends the recording industry's traditional distribution system, some computer makers and retailers have been stepping into the music delivery business.

Last month, for instance, Gateway signed up with EMusic, which sells music from independent labels online, to bundle music with its direct-order PCs. The announcement was just the latest in a string of deals aimed at bringing music to the masses legally while spurring new sales of computers and extras such as CD burners, MP3 players and broadband Internet service.

But as hardware manufacturers, retailers and online music services sign deals at a breakneck pace, the question remains: What will it take to get consumers to bite?

I sampled the EMusic service early last year and was unimpressed, downloading a grand total of 17 songs. Taking a fresh look today, they have a few more artists and albums that I am actively seeking, but the value proposition just isn't there for an ongoing subscription ($45/quarter or $120/year).

I might use their service again if they offered a pay-as-you-go plan, but to actually subscribe I would need better search features, higher bitrates (128kbps is not enough), and a much larger catalog of music.

12:28:34 PM | Comments:

Adam Cury feels PPC Phone Edition love

I just don't know what to do with myself...I'm so incredibly in love with my XDA, Despite it being a total Microsoft/O2 product, with unavoidable lock-in, I've even started entering my calendar info..help! Send search party...

Most amazing is that Adam is Macintosh person. Pocket PCs don't play very well with Macs.

12:22:32 PM | Comments:

InfoWorld: Intel readying new XScale chip for cell phones

The processor is based on an XScale core running at 312MHz and, unlike Intel's present offerings for cell phones, includes a DSP (digital signal processor), said Lance Liu, technical marketing manager for Intel's Asia-Pacific wireless communications and computing group.

Integrating a DSP with the processor helps save space and power, as cell-phone makers will no longer have to use a separate DSP chip. Some competing processors, such as Texas Instruments' Omap, already include a DSP.

 

12:12:46 PM | Comments:

Infosync: GPRS won't succeed before 3G arrives

"In the end, GPRS and other 2.5G data services will succeed only after considerable experimentation with new applications," said [Bill] Clark [research director for Gartner's networking group]. "We expect GPRS to break even in the 2009-to-2011 time frame, long after future wireless services such as 3G are due to be deployed."

 

12:11:45 PM | Comments:

Robert Shaw: Quality and the Perfect Personal Device?

My latest personal device, the Sony Ericsson T39m, is beautifully made, synchronizes with my contact list and calendar in Outlook/Exchange, provides GSM tri-band support, has a POP3 email client, T9 predictive text input, Bluetooth, GPRS, a long-life battery, and best of all, it has a small and elegant form factor which just feels right. It fits in any pocket and really is the first device that I don't mind having with me anywhere, anytime. So the T39m has my vote as the current perfect personal device. Bravo to Ericsson. [via The Shifted Librarian]

I have been thinking about getting one of these. It's not officially available in the US, but importers and eBay have it for around $240.

12:06:27 PM | Comments:

Slashdot: Unofficial GBA SDK Available for Free

11:53:58 AM | Comments: