Edward at msmobiles.com, generally a very reliable and informed source on all things Microsoft, has just recently posted that he doesn’t think the next version of Windows Mobile, version 7, will have any major gaming features. There had been plenty of rumors, and maybe a little wishful thinking, that Microsoft would be putting some serious gaming clout into the upcoming release of Windows Mobile, but a source of Edward’s thinks otherwise:
(Microsoft has moved many top executives and engineers over to a new team designed to compete more effectively with Apple’s iPhone). One problem: I’m hearing from employees who work inside these teams that the political will to really develop a good Xbox-playing smartphone isn’t there. If that’s true, look for Microsoft to remain shut out of the battlefield and to remain a loser in the mobile space.
This quote comes from a former ‘softie blogger who has friends on the Windows Mobile 7 team inside MS.
Like Edward, I find this pretty frustrating, especially since they have such a hot, networkable device in the x-box. It’s great that Microsoft is merging their Zune services into Windows Mobile (a couple years late) and the new UI is going to be slick, but with Apple about to drop their new iPhone and Android nipping at their heels (and about to pass), Microsoft needs to realize they may be out of the game already by the time Windows Mobile 7 actually hits the market.
Gigantic Korean electronics manufacturer Samsung has announced it is launching its own mobile operating system in December. Bada (which means ocean in Korean) will be an open-source platform for non-smartphones, giving developers a platform upon which to write apps of all kinds… I guess making them smartphones after all. But is Samsung looking to take market share from the big guys like Apple, Microsoft and Google?
I like what Samsung is trying to do here: they see that, while smartphone sales are still high despite the recession and the future looks bright, there are still millions and millions of plain old cell phones being sold out there. This market is demanding all the same features as the smartphones are getting – music, photos and social networking capabilities – without the hassle that sometimes comes with one. The manufacturers are responding with a hodgepodge of lousy OSes, so there is an opportunity here for leadership and a marketshare grab for Samsung.
I see this creating a better cadre of low-end cell phones, which could ultimately help push up the low-end of smartphones, too.
The official launch is in December, and Samsung will drop the first SDK then, too, so we’ll have a better idea of the range of capabilities we can expect to see on every-day phones then. In the meantime, check out the Bada website for the latest details.
Here is a nice unboxing video of the new HTC Tilt 2 on AT&T. This video from pocketnow is pretty thorough, giving us a look at the original Tilt for comparison and then tearing open the FedEx package. We also get to see it up against the iPhone and the Touch Pro 2.
Edward J.R. over at MSMobiles.com has just put up a really great editorial on why Windows Mobile is a better OS for developers. Perhaps I’m a bit biased, but I really agreed with a lot of what he had to say.
For starters, Windows Mobile users can legally install apps that weren’t downloaded from the official Microsoft Marketplace, unlike on the iPhone where you’re breaking the law by jailbreaking your phone.
He goes on to lament the iPhone’s lack of multitasking, locked application space that prevents access to other apps (for sharing info and data), too few ‘hooks’ within the OS that developers can use to trigger events within their own apps, and more.
It’s a really good list and I encourage you to go check it out here.
I just read over at MSMobiles that Microsoft is finally going to be able to one-up Apple. Their appstore kill switch will go beyond Apple’s by actually removing the offending application from users’ phones. Yikes.
I’m a big ‘Softie at heart, but sometimes I have to wonder aloud if they get it… MS is getting powned by their competitors in a way that they’ve never experienced, market share is shrinking, no new mobile OS for another year, announcements that they’re charging for each country developers in which want to sell their apps… maybe they don’t understand how far behind the ball they are and that they should probably be begging developers to pitch a hand, not looking for 1984/Apple-esque ways to punish them.
A recent report released by RBC analyst Mike Abramsky suggests that smartphone sales may outpace PC sales by 2011.
Despite the slump in mobile phones in general (off 6% year-over-year), smartphone sales have shot up 27% year-over-year up through last quarter. In the US specifically, smartphone sales jumped 47% in the same period, led by the iPhone and the BlackBerry Curve.
286 million mobile phones were sold in total during the second quarter, and that number is expected to climb to 400 million, matching PC sales in 2011.
A recent study of VC-backed software companies developing for mobile platforms found that, while almost 50% of them prefer developing for the iPhone (over the other 5 major mobile OSes), only a minority are committing fully to the platform.
The study showed that only 33% of these companies are developing for a single platform, with the majority (67%) opting instead to develop their apps to run on multiple platforms. Of that majority, a whopping 76% develop for all 6 mobile OSes.
Waze is a social mobile application providing free turn-by-turn navigation based on the live conditions of the road. What does that mean? It means it collects passive information from all its users as they drive, in addition to using active feedback from drivers who choose to submit updates, photos, road changes, and so on, to provide its users with real-time traffic and road information.
This is a really great concept and a terrific use of the built-in GPS in most smartphones these days. Waze has been available for the iPhone and Android for a bit, but their site indicates the development of a Windows Mobile version. Watch the Waze guided tour to get a better understanding of how it works.
I imagine it requires a critical mass of users in any given area to be effective, but I haven’t tried it yet. In fact, their alpha program is looking for candidates to help get this project rolling, so why not head over to the Waze website and sign up?
Rhomobile has announced details around the ‘Mobile Application Development Challenge’ they are hosting, including an extension on the deadline. The contest promotes Rhomobile’s Rhodes framework, which allows developers to write once to create native apps for all leading smartphones including iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Symbian and Android, and features a $10,000 grand prize.
Are you a world class hacker looking to rake in some sweet pocket change? Well, for one I’d like to welcome you to our site (please don’t hurt us) and two, I’d like to introduce you to the Pwn2Own contest at CanSecWest.
Pwn2Own is currently running both desktop browser hacking challenges as well as mobile operating system hacking challenges. The big five platforms – Windows Mobile, iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, and Symbian – are all represented and willing to shell out $10,000 to the hacker that successfully breaks through their security barriers… in exchange for the code, of course.
We don’t know yet how good these mobile OS hackers are, but I’m betting several people will walk away swingin’ a big ol’ bag of cash. The browser hacking challenge has already seen one galant programmer break into Safari in 10 seconds! Nice work!
Intelligent Designs Group, LLC developer of cellular software has just announced the initial launch of their Total Control suite of software solutions covering Android, BlackBerry, iPhone – iPod Touch, and Windows Mobile.
With their Windows Mobile video surveillance software you can enjoy the ability to view & control live video streams from supported IP cameras and video encoders. Over 15 manufacturers and 170+ models are supported as well as direct connections with your device. No 3rd party servers are involved and there are no monthly or annual subscriptions.
Check out the above video for more information or head on over to their site for a free trial version!
An overview of Google Sync for Mobile. Provides two-way contacts and calender synchronization for many mobile devices. Please visit m.google.com for more information.
Google Sync (beta) has been released for iPhone and Windows Mobile phones! While Symbian and BlackBerry devices have been supported for some time, it’s good to see Windows Mobile now gets to benefit from this awesome application.
Google Sync lets you sync your Google services (Gmail and Google Calendar) with your phone. And the best part? It runs silently in the background backing up your contacts and saving all of your email information. Never lose your contact info again!
The Wall Street Journal announced this morning that Dell will be introducing two new mobile phones (codenamed ‘MePhone’) at MWC in February that will be so amazing that they look to take on market leaders Apple and Research In Motion head-to-head.
One of the phones will be touchscreen-only while the other will sport a slide out QWERTY (similar to the T-Mobile G1). One will run Windows Mobile and the other will run Android though at this point it is unclear which model will run which OS.
No further specs or carrier news are available. Rumour has it that the phones will go on sale September 9th, though I wouldn’t hold your breath.
Love to ski? Popular outdoor outfitter REIhas just teamed up with our good friends at Zumobito bring you the latest skiing conditions right on your Windows Mobile device (or BlackBerry or iPhone, too).
It’ll deliver reports on new snow, lift status, and weather forecasts from 1800 different ski resorts! The best part? It’s absolutely free! What are you waiting for?
I love Twitter. There’s no secret there. While I’m on the go (which seems to be most times) I use my Windows Mobile phone to tweet to the world. If you’re like me – a total tweet addict – you’ll absolutely want to check out my top 5 best Twitter applications for your Windows Mobile phone. There are some really great ones in there that you shouldn’t miss out on!
With all the competition from the iPhone 3G and Android, did you know that – according to Steve Balmer’s keynote at CES - Windows Mobile still sold 20 million handsets last year? It’s true! Now my theory that Windows Mobile will rebound isn’t so far fetched! Especially considering that sexy new HTC lineup for 2009 that was just leaked. Lots of potential there!
Curious about Windows Mobile browsers? Well everything you could possibly want to know and more about Opera 9.5, Skyfire, Opera Mini, Iris, Pocket IE 6, Pre-6 IE and NetFront. And the benchmark? None other than iPhone’s Safari browser.
The Samsung Omnia’s biggest selling point is its touch screen – it’s huge, very responsive, and looks very sharp. Also worth noting are its 8GB internal memory (expandable to 24GB with a 16GB microSD card!), great battery life, GPS built right in, and a 5MP auto-focus camera (with LED flash).
Remember the Motorola Atila? Motorola’s proposed answer to the iPhone 3G? Well, now that all the buzz has died down (as is the way with so many devices these days), new spy shots have been released as a reminder that this device will actually be coming out… someday.
According to some rumours started by the Inquirer today (ignore their linked ‘video proof’ as it’s clearly a joke), Microsoft is in the final stages of building a phone – the first of its own brand – that will rely on performance to drive sales. They’re allegedly developing a phone that uses one of NVIDIA’s Tegra processors. This processor (likely the APX 2500 chip) would theoretically give the Microsoft device 720p video playback and advanced 3D visuals that no other smartphone on the market has, to date.
ce22d: @jugglerKENTO 俺も前はiPhoneにしたくてしょうがなかったんだけど今みんなiPhone使ってて使いこなせてなさそうなやつもiPhoneにしててなんかいやになったから他のスマホあるいはWindowsPhoneにするかも iPhoneももっと何か変わったら考える 1 year ago from Chromed Bird
Gigantic Korean electronics manufacturer Samsung has announced it is launching its own mobile operating system in December. Bada (which means ocean in Korean) will be an open-source platform for non-smartphones, giving developers a platform upon which to write apps of all kinds… I guess making them smartphones after all. But is Samsung looking to take market share from the big guys like Apple, Microsoft and Google?
Edward J.R. over at MSMobiles.com has just put up a really great editorial on why Windows Mobile is a better OS for developers. Perhaps I’m a bit biased, but I really agreed with a lot of what he had to say.
I just read over at 
A recent report released by RBC analyst Mike Abramsky suggests that smartphone sales may outpace PC sales by 2011.
A recent study of VC-backed software companies developing for mobile platforms found that, while almost 50% of them prefer developing for the iPhone (over the other 5 major mobile OSes), only a minority are committing fully to the platform.
Are you a world class hacker looking to rake in some sweet pocket change? Well, for one I’d like to welcome you to our site (please don’t hurt us) and two, I’d like to introduce you to the 
