TheWindowsPhone

Maybe it’s no Windows Mobile 6.5, but it’s nice to know HTC isn”t ignoring the poor schleps who don’t get Windows Mobile 6.5 upgrades.

For users of the not-too-long-ago really hot HTC Touch HD, HTC has just put out two new updates for Windows Mobile 6.1:

• Office Mobile Enhancement: “this update is applicable to all ROM Versions” and “updates your Office Mobile products to make your life even more convenient, giving you the flexibility to work the way you like. Now with enhanced Find & Replace functionality, this feature frees you to quickly edit your documents on the go”.
• Notifications Enhancement: “this update is applicable to all ROM Versions” and “combines your SMS function with our unique notifications to bring you your messages as soon as you get them. You will receive notifications whenever your phone is powered on and has reception, allowing you to stay close to the people you care about while on the go”.

[via]

Is Windows Mobile 6.5 is helping to drive sales of HTC Windows Phones? According to HTC CEO Peter Chou:

HTC is currently cooperating with a number of carriers in Europe, including T-Mobile, Orange and Vodafone, to promote the sales of HTC HD2 and demand from those carriers is outpacing supply, Chou indicated.

Digitimes and HTCPedia read this as evidence that WinMo 6.5 is helping to sell devices, but you’ve got to wonder: HTC makes excellent quality devices, has completely replaced the Windows Mobile interface with TouchFlo, TouchFlo 3D, and now Sense and just re-branded themselves and launched a new, expanded marketing campaign… so is this demand for their devices thanks to Windows Mobile 6.5 or in spite of it?

Anyone care to hazard a guess?

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/N-MZuzb1J8Y" width="425" height="344" allowfullscreen="true" fvars="fs=1" /]

One of my favorite RSS readers on my old HTC Tytn was SmartRSS reader from BeetzStream has just been updated to a new version, SmartRSS Touch Edition. I only stopped using SmartRSS because another, more touch-friendly RSS reader came across my lap, but I’m now evaluating the demo version of the new version of SmartRSS to see if I should switch back.

Here’s what BeetzStream’s website has to say about the new SmartRSS Touch Editiion:

• iPhone Touch style application
• Fingers/Stylus inputs only, no key is used
• Requires Windows Mobile Professional edition, i.e. it needs a touch screen, SmartPhone devices won’t work
• Needs .Net CF 3.5: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=AB99342F-5D1A-413D-8319-81DA479AB0D7&displaylang=en
• Works best with VGA devices, QVGA(240×320) is mininum
• Supports WM 6.0, 6.1, and 6.5.   Should work with WM 5.0 as well, if .Net CF 3.5 is installed

Watch the little video to get an idea of how it works, then head over to BeetzStream’s website to download an evaluation copy. I can’t figure out where to buy it, should you decide to… doesn’t look like there’s a link anywhere…

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/1Wg2aP4vT7Y" width="425" height="344" allowfullscreen="true" fvars="fs=1" /]

This video shows a port of HTC’s TouchFlo 3D version 1.3 running on a Samsung Omnia 2. TouchFlo looks quite comfortable on the Omnia 2, but 1.3 is a pretty old version. No word on where you could nab this, but if I find out I’ll post the link.

[via]

Herg, a developer at XDA, has ported Sony’s X1 Panels over to the HTC Touch Pro2. There is also a link for additional Panels you can download, but it doesn’t look like many work just yet (no Facebook, no Skype, but yes to Windows Live). Check out the download links here at mobilitydigest if you want to give it a whirl, and please report back with your thoughts!

[via]

Possibly the most popular Windows Mobile UI replacement around, Spb Mobile Shell 3.5 has been bumped up to 3.5.1 beta, available for download in the SPB Club Forum. Mostly bug fixes here:

• SPB Pocket Plus close button makes Shell unresponsive
• Set Ringtone doesn’t work for Contacts
• 6.5: Theme shows incorrectly for Carousel and Tiles views
• Added current conditions threshold for weather widget
• Agenda: One day is shown twice, 25 осt date is the transition to “winter” time
• 3D SMS viewer: First word disappears after enter
• Twitter issues fixes
• Kinetic scrolling doesn’t stop on Asus P565
• 3D SMS viewer: Picture is absent.
• 3D viewer: Date isn’t shown for SMS and Email
• 3D email viewer: First account always shows
• Birthday widget doesn’t update itself when contact info is changed
• New filter category is available only after MS restart
• Task widget makes task sychronization with Outlook longer
• Feature: introduced default action for weather widget (now choose between “Open forecast” and
• “Open conditions”)

Interestingly, there is no mention of a fix for the strange problems that HTC Touch Pro 2 users are experiencing. Lots of threads in the forums, but no official response from Spb. Nonetheless, Mobile Shell is a wicked program for the rest of us and anyone using 3.5 should probably grab this update.

Peter Chou (CEO of HTC) and Steve Ballmer held a joint conference today in Taiwan to officially announce one of the most highly anticipated Windows Phones so far: the HTC HD2. Much has been leaked and learned already about the HD2’s powerful 1Ghz processor, it’s massive 4.3″ capacitive WVGA touchscreen, and that it will be the first HTC Windows Phone to sport Sense instead of TouchFlo, but this announcement makes it official:

The HTC HD2 shows what’s possible through our close partnership with HTC and it breaks new ground for Windows phones by delivering a beautiful multi-touch screen that people will love.

So says Mr. Ballmer. The full press release (after the jump) says the HTC HD2 is now shipping in Asia and will be shipping to North America in “early 2010″. Honestly, I can’t wait to get my hands on one of these!

Read the rest of this entry →

HTC has posted a free Windows Mobile 6.5 ROM upgrade on their website for HTC Diamond 2 users. Be sure to back up your data first, otherwise the upgrade process is simple!

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/lv7i-QWs1mw" width="425" height="344" allowfullscreen="true" fvars="fs=1" /]

This video from PocketNow shows how users can now select text from within TouchFlo 3D 2.5 build 1920. It works similar to the iPhone, with a selector popping up that you can stretch to engulf the text you wish to select.

[via]

The screenshot above is from Windows Mobile “6.5.1″. I use the quotes because it doesn’t actually have a version number or name yet, but it is floating around the forums and features some nice user interface improvements over the much-ballyhooed Windows Mobile 6.5 launch earlier this month.

Windows Mobile 6.5.1 is faster, sleeker and considerably more touch-friendly than vanilla 6.5. Of special note are the big, touch-friendly Start, OK and navigation buttons along the bottom, finally replacing the decade-old style and moving them out of the top icon bar.

The Windows 3.1-era checkboxes and radio buttons and other UI elements have also finally been updated and look quite modern. On one of the latest builds (they’re numbered 2xxx) there is even an updated Contacts app that is much more finger-ready.

All of these little updates and changes make Windows Mobile 6.5.1 the OS 6.5 should have been. With all these tweaks hot on the heels of the official Windows 6.5 launch, it really begs the question: why did Microsoft go through the bad press and harsh criticism of such a minor update when they had “6.5.1″ so close?

Meanwhile, there is still no official word from Microsoft on just what exactly this version is or when it will appear on Windows Phones. Microsoft has fought for years against their image as a “fu!# it, ship it!” type company for putting out buggy OS after buggy OS on the desktop. Let’s hope that mentality isn’t seeping into the Windows Mobile team!