PPCW: HP Jornada 928 WDA. Two-part review with lots of pictures and details. In terms of hardware and software, HP seems to have an edge over the current PPC PE devices, but the battery life is disappointing.

10:04:28 PM | Comments: | Topics: pda_convergence wireless 

Samsung has been busy

Samsung has a bunch of interesting 1xRTT stuff in the pipeline. The SPH-A500 is a striking clamshell phone with J2ME support, available from Sprint now [infoSync, Web McDeb]. The SPH-i700 is a PPC Phone Edition CDMA device that sports a digital camera [infoSync, Pocket PC Thoughts]. The SPH-i600 is a SmartPhone 2002 CDMA device in a classic clamshell format [infoSync, Pocket PC Thoughts, PDA Buzz]. The SPH-i500 is a Palm OS CDMA device similar to the SPH-i600, but with a Grafitti area above the keypad [infoSync, Palm Infocenter].

Kyocera's 7135 Smartphone is also due soon, similar to the SPH-i500 and sporting an SDIO slot [Palm Infocenter, PDA Buzz].

9:45:42 PM | Comments: | Topics: pda_convergence pda_palmos pda_pocketpc technolust wireless 

Audiovox

PPCW has a user-contributed review of the Audiovox RTM8000 GSM/GPRS card. The short of it is that the card is great for data but not so good for voice.

Speaking of Audiovox, they finally have a keyboard for the Maestro and Thera. It's of the "folds-in-half" variety... I'd prefer a thumb-board.

Audiovox has yet to release EUU2 for the Maestro. Last month I also struck out trying to find it on Toshiba's site, and resorted to using the iPaq version. It worked, however, it took so long to update that I worried that my Maestro would become a paperweight.

9:14:36 PM | Comments: | Topics: pda_convergence pda_maestro pda_pocketpc wireless 

Krzysztof Kowalczyk: MMS Will Fail

Do we really need reports to state the obvious? Short summary: MMS will fail. [...]

Here's why it won't work. If people wanted to send you sounds wouldn't they just call you instead of sending a message? And where will they get those sounds and images in the first place? Built-in cameras are just a novelty. The quality is terrible, it will never match even the simplest digital cameras. This thing will wear thinly very fast.

I also believe that MMS will not be a great success for the carriers, but I do think that phone cameras will prove to be more than just a novelty.

Consider last month's Bye bye digital cameras?, which projects 14 million phone cameras sold worldwide in 2002 and 147 million in 2007 (vs 22 and 95 million digital cameras). Ray Ozzie recently wrote about how a tiny digital camera leads to more ad-hoc picture taking. Dan Bricklin has a series of writings about Web Photo Journals in which he advocates the use of tightly-cropped and reduced images.

Cellular phones are ubiquitous and unobtrusive. Phone cameras will allow people to record impromptu moments where they might not have thought to carry a traditional camera, or it's use might have "spoiled the moment."

8:11:31 PM | Comments: | Topics: digital_photography pda_convergence technolust wireless