"With SyncMate 2.5 all Mac users can sync their Macs with Windows Mobile devices or Nokia phones, other Macs or Windows PCs, Sony PlayStation® Portable, USB flash drives, Google accounts and special online storage provided by Eltima! New version provides additional sync options."

SyncMate is available in both Free and Expert editions. The free edition allows you to sync only calendar, contact and and SMS data, while the Expert edition ($39.95) adds the ability to sync iTunes & video, iPhoto, bookmarks, folders, mail, notes and more. Read the press release for full list of features after the break.

"Bellevue, WA, USA: Eltima Software, global software Development Company, has released SyncMate version 2.5. SyncMate 2.5 enables all Mac users to synchronize Mac with Windows Mobile devices, Nokia S40 phones, Android phones (via Google account only), Windows PCs, other Mac computers, Google accounts, Sony PlayStation® Portable (PSP), USB flash drives and allows to backup Mac data online. (http://mac.eltima.com/sync-mac.html )

Among the new features added are the following ones:

• Ability to sync your Mac with Windows Mobile devices via Bluetooth (USB and Wi-Fi connections are also supported);
• Autosync option (lets you set various automatic sync options for any of supported devices: sync when device is available, sync every X minutes, etc.);
• Real-time synchronization (available for USB flash drive, other Macs, Sony PSP, Windows PC synchronization and syncs data immediately);
• Video conversion to AVI, MPG, MP4, WMV, ASF, 3GP formats in iTunes&Video plugin;
• Safari bookmarks synchronization with Windows PC browsers (Opera, Firefox, Chrome);
• Ability to sync iTunes & Video and iPhoto among several Macs;
• Ability to search through SMS messages and Calls history (by name, phone number, etc.);
• Ability to export SMS messages into TXT, CSV, HTML formats;
• Ability to add definite USB devices into ignore list if you don’t want to sync them now.

SyncMate is offered in two versions, Free and Expert.

SyncMate Free Edition enables you to sync Address Book and iCal entries in your Mac with their analogues in supported devices and back up these data to Online Storage Account. Google Contacts and Google Calendar synchronization options are also available. With Free Edition you can also read your SMS messages right from Mac OS X computer, share Internet between Mac and Windows Mobile devices and visually analyze detailed information of Windows Mobile devices connected (battery state or memory usage).

SyncMate Expert Edition provides all users with a full access to all synchronization features. Sync iTunes&Video, iPhoto, Safari and Firefox Bookmarks, Entourage and Mail Notes, ToDo's, Mail and even separate folders between your Mac and supported devices, create, send or delete SMS right on your Mac computer. With Expert Edition all users can install any .cab files to Windows Mobile devices right from Mac computer.SyncMate CompatibilitySyncMate is compatible with Mac OS X platform (Mac OS X 10.4 and higher, Mac OS X 10.5, Mac OS X10.6). Device compatibility: Windows Mobile Pocket 5, Windows Mobile Smartphone 5; Windows Mobile 6 Standard, Windows Mobile 6 Classic and Windows Mobile 6 Professional; Windows Mobile 6.1, Windows Mobile 6.5; Nokia S40 devices; PSP (running Firmware 2.7.1 or higher); MS Windows 2000, XP, Vista.

Additional information about SyncMate, along with detailed technical documentation, online help, changelog, upgrade policy as well as free installation package can be found at: http://mac.eltima.com/sync-mac.html(A free registration key for a review is available upon request. Contact Alex Taylor (alex.taylor at eltima.com) for more information or to request a registration key.)"

"Today we announced Google Buzz, a new product that integrates with your Gmail inbox and makes it easy to start rich conversations about the things you find interesting. Google Buzz lets you share web links, photos, videos, and more with those who are important to you. Rather than simply creating a mobile version of Buzz, we decided to take advantage of the unique features of a mobile device - in particular, location. We go through many experiences when we're on the go, and while there are lots of ways to share these experiences with your friends or even the world, there isn't always an easy way to let your audience know where you are when you post. Your location brings valuable context to the information you share. For example, does "Delicious dinner!" mean you're at a great restaurant, or that you had a wonderful home-cooked meal? Your mobile phone, which is with you almost all the time, can help answer these questions."

By now, you've probably read and heard all there is to know about Google Buzz. In an age where social networking is ubiquitous, you could argue that Google is a little late to the game. After all, Buzz still focuses on the core theme of status, link, photo, and video sharing, and that's nothing other social services haven't already executed. But there are elements in Buzz that help set it apart from the rest. For starters, it's built right into Gmail, so not only is there tight integration with your inbox, you're already connected to your growing list of contacts; in other words, no more finding or importing friends from scratch. It also integrates well with other services, such as Flickr, Twitter, Picasa, Google Talk, and Google Reader, plus thanks to Buzz's open architecture, there should be many more added to the list in the near future. And, of course, there's support for mobiles. Apart from presenting the aforementioned on a small screen, the mobile version of Buzz taps into many unique features of a mobile device, such as location services, so you can easily fetch a list of public buzzes near you, wherever and whenever. Or you can view public buzzes as a layer in the new Google Maps for mobile. Google takes it to the next level by tapping into its map data to use place names over the usual latitude and longitude. Intrigued? Jump the break for a video demo.

So, are there any buzzers in the house? If so, how are you finding it?

"Regardless of the desktop application that you play your digital music with, or how much storage capacity you have on your phone, Didiom Pro seamlessly scans your computer for audio files in the most popular formats, and maintains an encrypted channel between your computer and phone. What's more, when you add new audio files to your computer, Didiom Pro makes them available for wireless streaming and downloading to your phone in seconds."

Being able to access all my music and podcasts on my Windows phone is somewhat appealing, but I don't get grasp their business model - the app is sold on a 99 cent per month subscription, of $9.99 per year. If the desktop component of their app is installed on my system, transcoding the audio to 128 kbps, uploading the bits to my phone...why the subscription fee? There's typically a subscription fee for applications that involve a server-side component; some sort of Web-based storage or service. I've tried a few of these audio streaming programs in the past, and while they're fun to use, ultimately the battery drain from a constant data stream takes most of the fun out of them.

"SPB Time is an advanced, skinnable time toolbox for your Windows Mobile phone. Analog and digital clock modes, World clock, timers and stopwatches, and advanced alarms. A lot of time-related functions in this world's bestselling application!"

Spb Software has just released Spb Time 3.2. It adds a digital clock widget for Spb Mobile Shell, updates the database, and includes widespread enhancements and bug fixes. If you're a registered user of Spb Time 3.x, this is a free update. Otherwise, head over to our affiliate software store to try or buy.

"SPB Weather is the most powerful mobile phone weather forecast program. It combines the detailed everyday forecasts for 10,000 cities worldwide from several weather sources with the beauty and friendliness of up-to-date satellite images on a 3D Globe."

Remember when Spb Weather switched to Gismeteo as its data source? It wasn't the most reliable of sources for a lot of users. But all that has changed in the v2.3 update released this week. Spb has switched to Weather.gov as the source for US cities, while Foreca is now the source for non-US cities. Meteonova has been added as an alternate source, and the application also packs a collection of improvements and performance optimizations. If you're a registered v2.x user, then v2.3 is a free update. Otherwise, head over to our affiliate software store to try or buy.

"Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today unveiled Adobe® Flash® Player 10.1 software for smartphones, smartbooks, netbooks, PCs and other Internet-connected devices, allowing content created using the Adobe Flash Platform to reach users wherever they are. A public developer beta of the browser-based runtime is expected to be available for Windows® Mobile, Palm® webOS and desktop operating systems including Windows, Macintosh and Linux later this year... Flash Player 10.1 is the first consistent runtime release of the Open Screen Project that enables uncompromised Web browsing of expressive applications, content and high definition (HD) videos across devices. Using the productive Web programming model of the Flash Platform, the browser-based runtime enables millions of designers and developers to reuse code and assets and reduce the cost of creating, testing and deploying content across different operating systems and browsers. Flash Player 10.1 is easily updateable across all supported platforms to ensure rapid adoption of new innovations that move the Web forward."

The usability and performance of past Flash Player releases for Windows Mobile have been laughable at best. But this time around, Adobe is promising that 10.1 will deliver a new and improved experience. Don't get too excited yet, though. Such claims are best taken with a grain of salt until the release of the beta later this year.

"Microsoft will no longer be offering the Microsoft Recite Technology Preview as of December 31, 2009. After this date you will no longer be able to access Microsoft Recite from your mobile phone. The Microsoft Recite Team thanks you for your valuable feedback on this product. The ability to capture notes and reminders is an area we are still focused on and we will continue to consider your feedback to build out these rich experiences in upcoming products."

If you have any data on Recite that you want to keep, you need to head over to the Recite blog for instructions on how to get your data into a format you can keep, because come New Year's Day, the service will be shut down. Hopefully the technology will come back in another product, but for now it is a shame it is going away.

"Word dropped this morning that Torch Mobile, makers of the Iris Browser, had been purchased by Research in Motion. That's great news for BlackBerry fans, who have been in dire need of a browser for, well, ever. However, this is bad news for Windows Mobile. We just heard back from Torch Mobile spokesman George Staikos, and the response is unequivocal: 'The company will no longer continue developing for Windows Mobile or Windows-CE.'"

I just can't help but think that if another large company in the mobile market, such as one that may also be chronically dogged as anti-competition, were to do this, people would be outraged. But since it's RIM, I suspect no one will make much of a fuss. Pity to see a WM browser alternative bite the dust over purely financial reasons.

Product Category: Utility Software

Manufacturer: Morose Media

Where to Buy: Company Website

Price: $29.99

System Requirements: Windows Mobile 5 AKU 3.3 or newer or Windows Mobile 6, Both a WiFi and a cellular data connection, an installed and working version of Internet Sharing, 15 MB of free device memory

Pros:

• Easy to use;
• Exceptional setup wizard;
• Multiple connection options.

Cons:

• A bit pricey;
• Would love it to actively try to restore dropped data connection.

Summary: Tethering your handheld to your computer has come a long way from the days of strange connection strings, special cables, and slower than turtle speeds. WMWifiRouter provides a 1-click method for getting connected, but is it worth the price? Read on to find out!

What it Does

Simply put, it turns your Windows Mobile device into a broadband wireless router, the same kind you could buy for quite a lot of $$$. It does this by routing your cellular data connection (e.g. 3G or EDGE or even GPRS) through the device and out to the WiFi interface. Just like Internet Connection Sharing on a Windows machine, WMWifiRouter includes all the necessary components to assign addresses (DHCP) and route them (NAT) through the device. Windows Mobile does not have a simplistic networking design by a long shot. It features a fairly robust TCP/IP stack and thus supports things like non-traditional routing setups. The problem has always been exploiting that in a way that is easy for the end-user (you or I) to use. WMWifiRouter packages all of the bits and pieces up, and lets you quickly configure your network and start it easily. Assuming that your carrier or data plan allows tethering, you then have a running WiFi router to your cellular data connection.

Figure 1: The connected screen, showing status of the router.

Connection Setup

I discovered WMWifiRouter while on a train. Literally while wondering if such a polished product existed, I ran a quick search and downloaded the CAB file from their website. Upon running it, I was presented with an extremely nice setup wizard that walked me through the entire process of setting up the connection. I could choose the SSID or wireless router name, set a WEP encryption key to keep others out (or at least make it harder for them to get in), and configure other options. Each option had a nice description of what it did, which I thought was nice for individuals who aren't quite sure what each item may mean to their networking setup. After Setup, I clicked on the Cellular to WiFi icon on the homescreen, and got the screen shown in Figure 1. After about 30 seconds of it updating the status (telling me what it was doing), it was ready to go. I fired up my iPod Touch and found my new network, plugged in my WEP key, and was off and running

"Eltima Software, global software Development Company, has released SyncMate version 2.0, software for multiple sync, which simplifies the process of all data synchronization between Mac and Windows Mobile devices, other Mac computers, Nokia S40 phones and online accounts. SyncMate is offered at two versions, Free and Expert, and provides all users with even more synchronization possibilities than before. SyncMate Free Edition enables you to sync Address Book and iCal entries in your Mac with their analogues in supported devices and back up these data to Online Storage Account. Google Contacts and Google Calendar synchronization is also available."

Eltima Software's Mac-based, all-in-one sync solution, SyncMate, has hit v2.0. It's available in two versions, Free and Expert; both support Windows Mobile, although the Expert Edition adds a plethora of sync options and integration with iPhoto, iTunes, Safari, Firefox, Mail, folders, time, and more. Visit the Eltima Software web page to try or buy. The Expert Edition costs anywhere between $39.95 to $59.95, depending on the license type.

"SPB Software, a top mobile applications developer, releases SPB News 2.0 - formerly known as SPB Insight - an intelligent news reader that makes full-text articles (including images) available for offline reading on Windows phones. SPB News gives users the freedom to read the daily news from online sources of their choice, at a time and place most convenient to them. SPB News 2.0 has a new user-friendly touch interface, supports gestures, automatic updates, and smart scrolling in articles. Users of SPB Insight 1.x are entitled to a free update to SPB News 2.0."

Formerly known as Spb Insight, Spb News 2.0 is the latest release of this RSS/offline Web site reader. Improvements in this new version include a new touch-oriented interface, automatic and scheduled updates, smart scrolling in articles, and a bunch of fixes in overall stability and performance. Since it's not available yet in our affiliate store, you can grab it directly from Spb's Web site. Though the Web site doesn't mean Windows Mobile Standard smartphones, the information I was emailed does, so this should be compatible with both platforms.

"As far as I'm aware, the "connectors" and "Unified Storage" referred to here is a new concept for WM7. Unfortunately the job description doesn't go into any details, but in the context of communications, I'm predicting it's a new framework designed to handle all the communication storage needs on a phone in a single, structured and open-access system...If my prediction is correction, as opposed to the current method where each application has its own proprietary storage model (ex. Outlook Mobile, Facebook application, Twitter applications), this new framework would allow applications to store and retrieve any communications data on the phone in a consistent and managed manner, allowing for far richer integration."

We know that Windows Mobile 7 will be a big step forward from the past, and here's a hint as to what may be in store beyond a new UI and multitouch interface. Ironic what a "simple" job ad can reveal - especially about the potential for Zune intregation. Will all this come to pass? Hard to say for sure, but it's fun to speculate. Read on for more!

Microsoft's My Phone service is still in beta but you no longer need a registration code to get started. If you haven't yet subscribed to the service on your Windows Mobile 6.x device, now you can. It will back up your text messages, emails, contacts, appointments, documents, music and photos from your device or storage card.

It can be scheduled to back up in the wee hours of the morning so you never have to mess with it. It won't back up any data that is tied to an Exchange account though, as it assumes that is your backup plan for that data. Supported documents only includes what your device natively supports, like Word, Excel and text files. Third party documents, like those added by ListPro or HanDBase will not be backed up.

It is free and requires you to install an app on your device to get going.

Update: I forgot to mention, it is now available in 25 languages, so this should now work on a number of devices that couldn't participate in the earlier beta stages.

"Windows/Mac/mobile: SugarSync, a previously paid-only syncing service that got quite a few shout-outs in our feature-by-feature online storage chart, now offers a free 2GB plan that keeps documents synced across Windows, Mac, and mobile platforms."

SugarSync is a really slick service with some amazing features, but I've never wanted to use it before now because it's not a replacement for Mozy [Affiliate] based on my needs. Why not? SugarSync's pricing plans. I've got 267 GB worth of data backed up with Mozy, and it's costing me less than $5/month to do that. SugarSync's biggest plan offers 250 GB of storage and would cost me $20.83/month. With the vast majority of my files, I don't need to access them via the browser, so there's no ultra-compelling justification for the extra $15/month I'd need to pay for SugarSync. Thus, I haven't ever used SugarSync.

Well, that's changed now because SugarSync is offering a free account with 2 GB of storage - and it includes mobile sync. There are a couple of limitations with the free account - namely that it's limited to two computers and upload speeds are capped - but neither of those bother me. Because I have a hosted Exchange account, I rarely if ever do a desktop sync - and because of that, I rarely have an updated copy of my FlexWallet (yeah, I haven't switched to eWallet) file. With this free 2 GB acocunt, and their Windows Mobile client, suddenly I have a really easy way to keep my FlexWallet file updated on my device. Sweet!

"New from Windows Mobile: a Facebook application for your phone! Download the new Facebook application for Windows Mobile and: Send messages to any of the people in your Friends list; Take pictures and videos on your phone, then upload them right to Facebook; Send messages or call people in your Friends list; Manage your profile and post anytime, anywhere. Keep up with the latest news and posts with Facebook on your phone. Now your status updates can be up-to-the moment accounts of what you're doing. Photos and videos are about as close to live-action as you can get. Show your friends what you're up to, while you're out and about. Connecting and sharing on Facebook just got a lot livelier!"

In typical fashion, this had been leaked elsewhere previously, but now it's official: the release version of the software is public and available for immediate download. What I find most interesting about this is that it's a Facebook application developed and released by Microsoft. On the iPhone, Facebook developed their own app for it. On Windows Mobile, Microsoft had to do it. That doesn't say much for what Facebook thinks of the Windows Mobile platform, now does it? Looks like RIM developed their own app for the Blackberry though, so this isn't without precedent. Guess the people at Facebook just love their iPhones.

The app will work on all Windows Mobile 6 and 6.1 smartphones, both Professional and Standard - sorry all you Windows Mobile 5 owners. You can grab a mobile download here if you wish. I haven't taken it for a spin yet, but will shortly. Let me know what you think of it!

"Spb TV is a subscription-free mobile IPTV viewer, designed for tuning in to publicly available digital TV channels from all over the world. A downloadable software client, Spb TV makes a wide range of international live TV channels available for viewing directly on Windows Mobile phones. Spb TV does not only provide users with access to a world of live TV streaming on the go, but it offers exclusive on-screen controls and an integrated TV guide. Spb TV supports fast channels switching, use of intelligent stream correction, picture-in-picture mode, and export of show reminders into Outlook, brining the genuine TV watching experience onto mobile. Spb TV requires a high speed mobile data connection which may be available via 3G, Wi-Fi, or WiMax networks."

Spb Software has just added over forty new international channels to Spb TV, bringing the total channel count to close to a hundred. The majority of them were suggested by users, so if you can't find your favourite channel in the list, simply suggest it; there's a good chance that Spb Software will take it into consideration. If you've yet to try or buy Spb TV, head over to our affiliate software store (Classic/Professional, Standard).

Good news everyone! Yours truly has come into possession of two registration keys for Microsoft's My Phone Beta program! Since I'm such a nice guy I thought the best thing to do would be to give them away to our readers! For those of you that are unaware - "Microsoft My Phone syncs information between your mobile phone and the web..." - Basically it can best be described as a very simple and easy to use cloud syncing solution for Windows Mobile handsets. Exchange services for the rest of us!To qualify to win one of these two never before used registration codes, all you have to do is post a reply telling us about a time when data syncing has failed you miserably. It can be anything; like having your phone stolen and not backing up your contacts or getting the phone number of an attractive member of the opposite sex seconds before your waiter spills a cup of water on your Samsung Blackjack... Whatever you can think of!The contest will be going on now until Sunday April 12th, 2009 at 11:59PM PST, at which time I will go through and randomly select two entrants to be announced Monday April 13th, 2009. As I mentioned before the winners will be selected randomly so unfortunately bribing me with cookies will do you no good - but you are more than welcomed to try!

"Virtual Mobile is an online service allowing you to backup and control your whole mobile life. It allows you to securely remote control your mobile device and its data from any computer with an Internet connection. Virtual Mobile is a combination of all our award winning software. Secure your mobile device online with our new integrated Backup, Device Management and Security solution."

This is from the team that does Sprite Backup, but now it is online. Features include:

• Backup and manage your contacts, calendar, sms, photos, calendar and call history securely online.
• Control up to four phones from one VM account.
• Restore or Migrate your data across your phones.
• Remote Mobile Device Security like Remote Lock and Wipe
• Management of phone content / functions online

The beta is free, though I am sure there will ultimately be a cost. It supports Windows Mobile 5 and 6.x. If you are interested in trying it out, head over and sign up.

I posted about My Phone last week, but my understanding of it was incorrect - which is kind of funny given that I was part of a briefing about it at Mobius in late 2008. What can I tell you other than it's painful to try to keep track of all these Microsoft "sky-codename" services.

My Phone is, currently, strictly a backup program. It's not "Exchange for everyone else" like I thought, though clearly the team is thinking along those lines. At launch, My Phone is simply a way to keep your contacts, calendar, tasks, text messages, photos, videos, music, and documents backed up to Microsoft servers so, in case of phone loss or damage, your stuff will be protected. It's not a cloud sync tool like I first thought, but the pieces are certainly there to allow for that. It's not a substitute for a program such as Spb Backup [affiliate] for instance, because it won't keep an image of your device with all your programs installed.

Document types supported for sync are ppt, xls, doc, one, wks) as well as txt, rtf, pdf, html and xml. It's kind of curious that it wouldn't just allow you to specify a folder and take everything in it. It will work over WiFi, so if you have a limited data account you can use WiFi for your initial sync then use your data plan for updates beyond that.

At launch, Microsoft is offering 200 MB of storage, and the service is free. Right now it's advertising driven, but it's simple enough for Microsoft to add carrier branding and you'd have "Verizon My Phone" or something similar. It will work with any Windows Mobile 6.0 or 6.1 smartphone, both Standard and Professional devices. If your phone already has Exchange sync, that takes priority over your Contacts / Calendar / Tasks, which makes sense. Multiple phones are going to be supported - apparently it's going to be as many as you want. I suspect that 200 MB is per account though, not per phone, so if you have four phones you'll still have 200 MB total. Premium accounts with more storage is an option Microsoft is considering. After the break are some screen shots of My Phone.

"The new Spb Wallet 2.0 - a secure repository of most valuable private information, such as PINs, passwords, keys, account, passport, and credit card numbers - has versions for non- and touchscreen Windows Mobile devices, Symbian Series 60 smartphones (including Nokia 5800 touch screen), Apple's iPhone and iPod, and a desktop component. The new multiplatform approach allows users of Spb Wallet to keep their private data safe, even when they swap phones or mobile platforms. Spb Wallet securely stores sensitive information AES 256-encrypted and password-protected, supports automatic lockup, clipboard cleanup, and protects from phishing. The data can be synchronized between (and accessed from) multiple PCs and mobile devices. The virtual, electronically stored items, such as cards and passports look like real ones: Spb Wallet 2.0 offers an integrated online database of over seven thousand most popular cards, and the option to order more custom images - for free. The new Wallet 2.0 for Windows Mobile boasts Autocomplete for PIE, new finger-friendly UI, adaptive skins, smart scrolling, gestures, animation effects, and a new logon panel. The desktop version offers advanced integration with web browsers, automatic supply and capture of websites login information, password generator, migration wizard from custom CSV formats and other wallet applications."

There's certainly no shortage of new and improved features in Spb Wallet 2.0. It's in our affiliate software store (Windows Mobile Standard and Classic/Professional) in the form of a free trial version, or a full version for $29.95. However, if you're an Spb Wallet 1.x user, you can upgrade to Spb Wallet 2.0 for $14.95 - or for the sweet price of $0, if you purchased it within the last 90 days. Check out the press release for links and additional details.

"A couple months ago, Tasks launched in Gmail Labs. Tasks lets you easily create and manage to-do lists right in Gmail. Now, you can access and manage your task lists from your phone, too. Just go to gmail.com/tasks in your mobile browser and log in."

For many Windows Mobile users this won't be of much use. As of right now, there is no way to sync your tasks to your phone, or Outlook for that matter - at lest not without jumping through hoops. I've seen articles that will let you sync Google tasks with Toodledo and then sync them with Outlook, but that seems like too much work. You'd have to have tasks set up to remind you to sync all of the services.

However, for some Windows Mobile users and other phone users that are more interested in having tasks in a central location on the internet rather than locked down to your PC's copy of Outlook, this may be the ticket. The only real issue is you need a web connection for this to work on your phone. It won't sync to your Windows Mobile tasks database, so there will be no task maintenance, or even review, in places with low or no signal, like in a plane or subway.

Apple has released 2.2.1 firmware update for the iPhone so it shouldn?t come as a surprise if the iPhone Dev Team comes out with an appropriate iPhone 2.2.1 jailbreak to crack this latest firmware. Mac users will be happy to know that a full Pwnage Tool for you. Windows users, on the other hand, are still limited to QuickPwn, but they reassure that?s it has been updated already to version 2.2.5-2. They also give a stern warning that if you plan to unlock your 3G iPhone, you shouldn?t upgrade the baseband as YellowSnow doesn?t work on it. So, essentially, you have to upgrade to firmware 2.2.1 without applying the new baseband settings. Likewise, they?ve provided instructions on how to fix the DFU issues on Mac OS X 10.5.6. Their latest post is a very comprehensive and pretty detailed one which will pretty much answer all your question regarding their newest release and on what device it?ll work on.

If you still don?t know how to unlock your iPhone 3G, you can read our YellowSnow iPhone 3G Unlock page for more details.

[dev-team blog via gizmodo]

"SmartphoneNotes is a powerful text notes organizer for Windows Mobile-based Smartphone. With SmartphoneNotes, you can easily create and manage text notes directly on your Smartphone and synchronize them with Microsoft Outlook® on your desktop computer"

This app appears to make Notes on your device behave a bit more like they do in Outlook, allowing you to color code and categorize them. All of the settings are synchronized back to Outlook. Be sure to look at the requirements. For the Smartphone (aka WM Standard) it supports all the way back to 2003, but for the Pocket PC, you need Windows Mobile 5 or later. Vista and XP are supported, and it is compatible with Outlook 2000 or later, assuming the OS supports it. I am not sure if Vista and Windows Mobile Device Center support Office 2000 or not. We could have a discussion as to whether it supports 2002, 2003, or 2007 as well, but that is really for another thread.

There is a trial version for both platforms. The Smartphone version is $17.95 and the Pocket PC version is 19.95.

"SeeqPod Mobile brings Playable SearchTM to Windows Mobile powered phones and devices (and the upcoming Windows App Marketplace). Now you can use SeeqPod's award-winning* Biomimetic Search & Discovery technology to find playable search results, and Wikipedia articles all from your phone! Get instant playable access to SeeqPod's ever-growing and daily updated archive of Featured PodLists! Experience it all with a wide variety of color themes and one of the most amazing and gorgeous media players ever, with changeable skins in a range of styles."

I'll be honest, I'm not entirely sure I've wrapped my brain around exactly what this program does - biomimetic search and discovery? It seems like a search engine that focuses on music, podcasts, video, and other forms of media content. Well, for this weekend only (so the offer ends today), the program is free rather than $9.95 USD. What the heck - grab it now and figure it out later. ;-) The software will work on any device running Windows Mobile 6 or higher, whether that's Windows Mobile Professional or Windows Mobile Standard (I suspect Classic is supported as well).

While the rest of the regular iPhones have yet to get Flash support, those that have been given the iPhone 2.2 jailbreak treatment can already get the taste what life is with Flash. This is courtesy of the iMobileCinema app which isn?t quite perfect just yet but is probably as close as it gets to accessing flash-based features in website through Safari. If you?ve already jailbroken your iPhone, just add d.mobilecinema.com to your sources in Cydia and install iMobileCinema. Maybe this little app will lure people back to their jailbreaking ways. What do you guys think?

[source, spaziocellulalre via gizmodo]

Here?s another iPhone app that adds VoIP functionality not only to the iPhone, but also to the 2G iPod Touch. The TruPhone is a free app you can download through the App Store which will gives you the ability make free calls to other TruPhone and Google Talk users through the internet. What makes this VoIP app different from Fring is that it also allows you to make calls to landline as well as regular mobile phones (with a corresponding fee of course). For you to make a call using the iPod Touch, you need to be connected via WiFi network and have a headset attached to it so you can actually hear and talk to the person you?re calling. Downloading and installing the app is the easy part. Finding a compatible headset for the iPod Touch is a completely different story.

Anyway, if you?ve been looking for a free app that truly gives you the versatility of a genuine VoIP application similar to Skype, then TruPhone app might just be the one you?ve been waiting for all this time. Likewise, there are versions for Nokia and BlackBerry phones available already so you can get your friends hooked on TruPhone as well. LG, Motorola, Samsung, HTC, and Sony Ericsson iterations of the app are coming soon.

[via cellphones etc]

"Spb Software releases Spb Wireless Monitor 3.0 - a powerful software solution that offers full control over all types of smartphone data connections by monitoring them in accordance with configurable tariffs and data plans, and providing per application data traffic reports. First brought to market in 2002, Spb Wireless Monitor, formerly known as Spb GPRS Monitor, accounts for the lack of a built-in data tracking tool in Windows Mobile devices. A four-time prize winner in the Smartphone and Pocket PC magazine’s Best Software Awards, shipped in over a dozen devices by ASUS, HTC, O2, Samsung, and T-Mobile, the Spb Wireless Monitor has over 3,000,000 loyal customers worldwide. The new name of version 3.0 comes with massive enhancements in features and abilities. With the growing popularity of mobile Internet and captivating online services - crossing the data plan limits and receiving painful phone bills is common, especially with the high cost of roaming. Spb Wireless Monitor 3.0 prevents unwanted mobile service charges and gives subscribers control over their mobile data spending, by measuring data traffic, calculating the network charges, warning of costly data usage, and reporting which application exactly generates what kind of data traffic. The new Wireless Monitor supports both touch and non-touch screen devices, it can manage CDMA, GPRS, 3G, and even Wi-Fi and USB connections. Spb Wireless Monitor can provide per application traffic and cost reports, allowing users to single out guilty applications, responsible for high data charges. The new version has a modern, multilingual user interface and can manage several connections simultaneously."

Spb GPRS Monitor is dead. But, all is not lost, as the new Spb Wireless Monitor 3.0 is now available for all flavours of Windows Mobile. Head over to our affiliate software store (Pocket PC - Professional, Smartphone - Standard) for free trial versions and/or full versions for $19.95. Upgrades from Spb GPRS Monitor 2.0 are $9.95.

It looks like Apple is indeed pushing through with the release of iPhone firmware 2.2 and if the latest rumor is to be believed, we?ll see it go live on November 21st. Aside from the Google Maps Street View and new layout of Safari, you?ll also be able to turn off text auto-correction, download podcasts from the App Store, and use the headphone jack as a Line-in port when you upgrade to firmware 2.2. We?re not sure if this is the complete list of new features in the latest firmware for the iPhone, but unless Apple has done something to make it more jailbreak-proof (which I suppose is nearly impossible), then we?re almost certain that an iPhone 2.2 jailbreak won?t be far behind when it?s released on November 21.

[iphone hellas via gizmodo]

Microsoft has patched the bug in Windows Mobile 6.1 where the email database could become corrupt and you are unable to send emails via POP3 or IMAP4 through an SMTP server. Outlook/Exchange emails, as well as SMS/MMS messages were unaffected. We discussed this here recently.

"This behavior is associated with a feature that is introduced in Windows Mobile 6.1. The feature allows for mobile operators to specify an alternate SMTP server name that is used if e-mail messages cannot be sent by using the user-specified SMTP server name. If the mobile operator does not specify an alternate SMTP server name and if the Windows Mobile 6.1-based device does not connect, the e-mail account is corrupted and cannot send e-mail messages."

There is a 105KB CAB file to copy to your device and install from there or a 652KB MSI file to install while docked to your PC. I haven't tried to download directly from that page on my WM6.1 device yet. I don't understand why the MS site says this is supported on WM 6.0 as well as 6.1. My understanding is this bug is the result of a new feature in 6.1. It does affect both the Smartphone and Pocket PC variants, so if you have WM 6.1 and use POP3 or IMAP4 email, you should install this patch, and keep it handy. I suspect it would be lost if you hard reset your device for whatever reason.

Microsoft has patched the bug in Windows Mobile 6.1 where the email database could become corrupt and you are unable to send emails via POP3 or IMAP4 through an SMTP server. Outlook/Exchange emails, as well as SMS/MMS messages were unaffected. We discussed this here recently.

"This behavior is associated with a feature that is introduced in Windows Mobile 6.1. The feature allows for mobile operators to specify an alternate SMTP server name that is used if e-mail messages cannot be sent by using the user-specified SMTP server name. If the mobile operator does not specify an alternate SMTP server name and if the Windows Mobile 6.1-based device does not connect, the e-mail account is corrupted and cannot send e-mail messages."

There is a 105KB CAB file to copy to your device and install from there or a 652KB MSI file to install while docked to your PC. I haven't tried to download directly from that page on my WM6.1 device yet. I don't understand why the MS site says this is supported on WM 6.0 as well as 6.1. My understanding is this bug is the result of a new feature in 6.1. It does affect both the Smartphone and Pocket PC variants, so if you have WM 6.1 and use POP3 or IMAP4 email, you should install this patch, and keep it handy. I suspect it would be lost if you hard reset your device for whatever reason.

"Skype wirelessly anywhere in a cost-effective way! IM+ for Skype enables voice and text communication with other Skype and MySpace users and provides cost-effective calling to landlines and mobiles. The application is completely mobile. No desktop with Skype is necessary. All you need is a mobile device with Internet connection and SkypeOut credits to make/receive calls. Full contant book support. IM+ for Skype works worldwide in any 3G/GSM/CDMA network, even with low data transfer rate as it needs quite a few data traffic."

If you are a user of Skype and Myspace's instant messaging solution, then you might want to check out IM+ for Skype. This application will allow you to make Skype out calls over your carrier's data network so as long as you have SkypeOut credits, calling your friends in different countries won't be as expensive as it would be if you used your actual calling plan. You can pick up a free trail of IM+ for Skype here and if you like it, you can purchase this application for $19.95 from our affiliate store.

TMPGEnc MovieStyle ($39.95 USD) is video encoding software created for device-specific encoding. It has a slick, user-friendly interface that's quite easy to use - once you get it working. TMPGEnc MovieStyle, like its more expensive big brother TMPGEnc 4.0 Xpress, has an extremely irritating online activation security scheme. I won't repeat myself here - you can read about my dislike of this sort of software protection in my other TMPGEnc review - but I find myself especially irritated because I installed this software to test it while I was a passenger in a car driving back home after visiting some friends in the countryside, and I wasn't able to use the software because I didn't have Internet access. I thought maybe on this cheaper, consumer-focused video encoding product, they'd have a more relaxed approach. There's not even a graceful limited trial mode for the software when it can't be activated - it simply won't load until the license is activated online. These sort of heavy-handed, "treat your customers like thieves" tactics are frustrating to see. But let's get on with the review, shall we?

Once I returned to the land of Internet access, I was able to start up the software - only to be greeted by a warning that, without Quicktime installed, the software can't import Quicktime files. With the superb VLC Media Player installed, I don't usually need to install Quicktime. It's unfortunate that TMPGEnc couldn't work around this issue. After clicking on the curiously named "Inherit" button to bypass the Quicktime warning, the application finally launched. The user interface is slick - the opening screen matches the screen shot above. First, you select the device you want to prepare the file for: PSP, iPod/iPhone, Zune, Sony Mylo, Nintendo DS, PDA, Apple TV, Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, and a DivX option. For each device there's a Standard Quality option, High Quality option, and an Audio Output option. When you click on the quality option a file select window pops up, and you can select the video file you want to transcode. Files supported include DivX, AVI, MPEG, DVR-MS, WMV, MOD, ASF, and a few others. The Web site listed MPEG4/h.264 support, so I was confused why I didn't see it listed. Playing a hunch, I installed Quicktime, and not only did MOV file support show up, but so did MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, and AMC. So it seems that in order to get any support for MPEG4 files, in any form, you need Quicktime installed. Bummer.

There's a DVD import function as well - once you manually select the VIDEO_TS folder on a DVD (that has been decrypted with AnyDVD, naturally) you get the option to select one or more titles on the DVD, including selecting subtitles and the language track. There's an option to copy it to the hard drive for faster transcoding, and options for quality (Standard, Long Play, High Quality, Audio Only). My test rip of a 22 minute TV show was flawless - I had selected the Zune High Quality option, and the resulting 320 x 240, 1344 kbps WMV file looked great and had perfect audio sync. I performed a similar test with a DVR-MS file I'd recorded off TV, and it worked equally well. I did notice that there's no format selection for the hardware types though; for instance, the Zune is locked into encoding only to WMV. I'd have liked to be given the choice to encode to h.264.

Once the encoding started, MovieStyle showed its pedigree: when encoding using the high-quality Zune setting, it used around 90% of the Intel dual-core CPU on my laptop. There are numerous nice finishing touches throughout the program - for instance, if you right-click on the big Standard Quality, High Quality, or Audio Output buttons, you can pull up the settings summary is for that setting. You can also re-assign the buttons, so if you'd like one to be Long Play and one to be High Quality, you can change it to match what you want. Other enhancements for customization and speed include turning on Quick Encode, which gives you the ability to right-click on any video file you have in any folder, and kick off a transcoding setting with a couple of clicks. You can tweak the right-click function to only display certain devices, which helps streamline the process. It also has the ability to monitor a "drop folder", meaning you could point it at your Recorded TV folder and whenever a show is finished recording, MediaStyle would transcode it so it's ready to sync to your Zune or Windows Mobile smartphone. There's also a 24 fps Cinema mode conversion, speed shifting (making a video file slower or faster), and a dubiously useful "Karaoke mode" which as far as I can tell simply removes the audio from the video.

TMPGEnc MovieStyle is a surprisingly powerful program for the price, and given its flexibility and features, I highly recommend it as a tool for video transcoding. While CloneDVD Mobile is more streamlined and easier to use when it comes to DVD ripping, it can't convert local files. I've used a lot of video encoding/transcoding applications over the past few years, and many of them are junk. TMPGEnc MovieStyle is a truly superb program that is virtually flawless - it earns my highest recommendation.

Jason Dunn owns and operates Thoughts Media Inc., a company dedicated to creating the best in online communities. He enjoys photography, mobile devices, blogging, digital media content creation/editing, and pretty much all technology. He lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with his lovely wife, and his sometimes obedient dog. He likes transcoding videos.

"DataViz®, Inc., leading provider of Office compatibility solutions in its 25th year in business, today (Aug 25, 2007) announced the availability of its flagship mobile office suite Documents To Go® Premium Edition 3.0 for devices running Microsoft® Windows Mobile 6.x Professional and 5.0 for Pocket PC Phone Edition. Already available for Windows Mobile Standard, BlackBerry, Symbian and Palm OS, Documents To Go, will now allow users of Windows Mobile Pocket PC devices to view, edit and create Microsoft Word, Excel® and PowerPoint® files (Windows: Office 97 - 2007, Mac: Office 98-2008) as well as view PDF files on their devices and in their native formats."

As noted, the non-touch-screen devices already had this available, and now it is available for the Pocket PC/Pro crowd. If you think the included versions of Excel, Word and PowerPoint aren't powerful enough for you, you should give the DataVis product a shot. There is a free trial, and you can buy it for $29.99 at the Pocket PC Thoughts Affiliate store. It requires Windows Mobile 5 or higher and runs on just about every screen resolution out there.

"Life as a Windows Mobile developer is rather difficult, and in an effort to expand the ways that developers can offer their products to end users, I have been exploring the viability of a bundle offering. If you are a Mac user in particular, you will likely be familiar with the concept of bundles. In a nutshell, for a purchase price of around $49.99, you receive a selection of top applications at a massive discount. The Bundle.One project has been a considerable amount of time in planning and discussion but I am now at a stage where I need to solicit feedback from your guys to help test the viability of the bundle! Of course, the developers are offering their applications to the bundle at a considerable discount, so the success of the bundle is based on volumes of sales."

Would you be interested in buying software in a bundle like this? Visit the Modaco site to get more details on exactly what Bundle.One would include, then vote Yea or Nay in their poll

"The popular Windows Mobile weather software Elecont Weather is updated. New version is getting weather data from the proven and reliable weather source -- WSI Corp. (www.intellicast.com) Elecont Weather provides the most accurate weather data -- 10 day worldwide weather forecast, current conditions and hour-by-hour forecast. It is the most complete weather solution on the market. Weather data is displayed directly on Home/Today screen with animated icon sets. Elecont Weather has several display modes and cand display weather forecast even only in one line -- it is very useful on small screens. Elecont Weather is easy and powerful."

Having the weather displayed on your homescreen is cool and so is having a 10 forecast. But what really is great about this program is how often it's updated. For less than $10 (until September 14th) you are purchasing a weather program that the guys at Elecont take very seriously and are constantly trying to improve on. I wish more software vendors were like this. You can always check out the trial demo on their site.

"GPSed is a location-based service for trip tracking from Windows Mobile Smartphones. In real time tracks are traced on Google maps and stored in an online archive. With a simple geotagging feature it is possible to pin photos to a map precisely at a place they where taken. Map GPS tracks from your mobile and keep them in a personal archive."

I was browsing around our affiliate software store and I ran across GPSed. What GPSed does is let you record your trips to anywhere on the planet on your Smartphone. It does this by utilizing Google Maps, to trace the route you took, and stores the information in an database online. Sounds neat, huh? Well the good news doesn't stop because you can pick up GPSed from our affiliate store for the super low price of free. Yep, that’s right; you can download this app without even breaking out the old credit card. I'll keep an eye out for other interesting free applications that we have in our stores. Unfortunately my Blackjack does not have GPS built in so I can't play with it. If anyone uses this application, please let us know how you like it.

A built-in language translator is something I've always thought would be a useful add-on to Windows Mobile. I mean what better way to "integrate" and unify your user base than to provide a simple, effective ability to translate mobile content into multiple languages on the fly? It would tear down a significant barrier to global information sharing for sure.

read more

"Today at ITU Telecom Asia, Spb Software, the world's leading maker of Windows Mobile software, releases Spb Online to mobile network operators. Spb Online is a set of premium online services for 3G networks that stimulates subscriber uptake of mobile entertainment. Spb Online makes the following services easily accessible from handsets: Mobile TV, Online Radio, News, Weather, Online Games, On-device Catalog. Spb Online radically changes the on-device user experience, functioning as a clear single entry point to advanced online services from mobiles, and allows mobile network operators capture multiple benefits from 3G networks: Increased ARPU, Branding through fully customized content and UI, Improved subscriber loyalty through quality mobile experience. Spb Online, with its breakthrough patent pending TV technology and unparalleled on-device usability, is a solution that tackles the issue of weak user interest in multimedia services, fuels subscriber content discovery, and unlocks the potential of 3G."

Spb has just announced the availability of Spb Online for Windows Mobile Standard and Professional. But, before you rush off to the Spb Software House web site hoping to download it - while salivating uncontrollably, of course - you should know that it's only available for mobile carriers at this stage. End-users will get a shot later this year.

Jump the break for more screenshots.

"There are files from all kinds of sources that we want to store and manage. Files are created by our digital cameras, e-mail, cell phones, portable media players, camcorders, PDAs, and laptops. Increasingly, computer users are using different folders, drives, and even different computers (such as a laptop and a desktop) to store, manage, retrieve and view files. Yet managing hundreds or thousands of files is still largely a manual operation. In some cases it is necessary to regularly get copies of files from another location to add to primary location; in other cases there is a need to keep two storage locations exactly in sync. Some users manage files manually, dragging and dropping from one place to another and keeping track of whether the locations are synchronized in their heads. Other users may use two or more applications to provide this functionality. Now there is an easier way. SyncToy, a free PowerToy for Microsoft Windows, is an easy to use, highly customizable program that helps users to do the heavy lifting involved with the copying, moving, and synchronization of different directories. Most common operations can be performed with just a few clicks of the mouse, and additional customization is available without additional complexity. SyncToy can manage multiple sets of folders at the same time; it can combine files from two folders in one case, and mimic renames and deletes in another case. Unlike other applications, SyncToy actually keeps track of renames to files and will make sure those changes get carried over to the synchronized folder."

I installed this yesterday and I really like it. It has finally let me set up backups the way they should be done and should be much speedier. I've actually set it up to do three separate synchs of my user data (which totals 82 GB). The first synch goes to a second hard drive installed in my PC. I set a Windows task to automatically perform this synch ever time I boot up. A second synch occurs weekly to network storage. Finally I set up an on-demand synch with a USB drive to let me quickly update my off-site backups. Now that they are all set up, synching the changes will be MUCH quicker than the full backups I was previously doing. Plus, having a fully automated synch will protect me from my own laziness!

"Designed exclusively for the Windows Mobile Smartphone devices, ExpenseIt has an easy to use interface to allow the traveler to record expenses as they are incurred. Information such as a description, category, amount, city, payment method, attendees, notes, etc. can be entered for each expense item. A trip summary screen will display all trips in the main database with a total balance and user-defined status. "

I received word from Thomas from CohoSoft - a Pocket PC developer that has recently branched into the Smartphone world - to let us know about the release of their new smartphone software lineup. My favorite application out of the bunch is ExpenseIt, a program designed to help you track business expenses. The reason this is my favorite application is because of a really cool feature that I have not seen in any of the other expense tracking applications I have played with. This programs has the unique ability to export your completed expenses into either a CVS or HTML formatted file and email that file to whoever you're hiding from because you forgot to get your expense report in on time… again. If you’re like me and you have a thousand things going on at once this application might help in keeping you organized. You can purchase ExpenseIt directly through CohoSoft's website for $16.95.

"Kinoma Play ($29.99) is the new media player we've been hinting at in our series of media player reviews this past week. It's essentially a super-charged media player that aims to make media you find on the internet as easy to find, play, and interact with as the media stored locally on your memory card. Those of you familiar with Kinoma Player EX on the Palm OS are going to be pleased to hear that all the functionality of the PalmOS's player is here and then some."

I've seen a lot of software come and go on the Windows Mobile platform, but watching this video and reading about Kinoma leaves me with the impression that this is one of the most impressive media players I've ever seen. The functionality, and the blending of local and online content, is extremely impressive. From an audio playback standpoint, it's a shame so many device makers use miniUSB or 2.5mm headphone jacks - I hate having to use adaptors. Check out Kinoma's Web site for a trial download.

One thing that Kinoma doesn't seem to have a good grasp on though is getting the software onto the devices. Kinoma Play isn't available in any of our software stores at MobiHand or Handango, and when I downloaded the software directly from their Web site it was only a CAB file - normally I wouldn't mind a CAB file, but when I tried to install it I received an error on my Blackjack II: "Installation was unsuccessful. The program or setting cannot be installed because it does not have sufficient system permissions." I've installed two other programs via CAB files today, so I'm not sure why Kinoma Play won't install. Hopefully you'll have better luck than I did!

For the next 11 hours or so, ListPro by Ilium Software is 51% off. Most of you know what ListPro is, but may not have taken the leap yet to buy it. For those of you that don't, think of it as sitting somewhere between your Outlook Tasks and a rich flat-file database. A ListPro list can be nothing more than a simple checklist of items or can be as elaborate as having dates, columns that automatically perform calculations based on data in other columns and even trigger alarms if desired.



If you've tried it but never taken the plunge, now is the time at only $9.95. If you have never tried it, you can download a trial version at Ilium Software's site, but don't spend too much time playing with it. At midnight EST (I think), it reverts back to its normal price

ListPro runs on Windows XP, Vista, Windows Mobile Pro/Classic (Pocket PC), and Windows Mobile Standard (Smartphone) and will sync list files via ActiveSync or Windows Mobile Device Center between your PC and mobile device, assuming you have purchased the correct clients.

The iPhone is shaping up to be one complete mobile device for the modern corporate digital warrior of today. Aside from the much welcomed Enterpise features bundled in the 3G iPhone, access to Lotus iNotes is also expected become available on the iPhone this year.

Planned for delivery in 2008 as IBM Lotus iNotes? software, Lotus Notes data will combine with the flexibility and connectivity of the Apple iPhone. To be built on the time tested IBM Lotus Domino Web Access infrastructure, users will be able to quickly access email, calendars, and contacts through the rich Apple iPhone user experience.

With so many features and free apps becoming available on the iPhone, one may begin to wonder; is jailbreaking or unlocking still a necessity these days?

[[H] Enthusiast via PC World; screenschot via IBM]

• Graphical phone experience featuring user avatar, status updates, and media gallery
• Mobile access to photos & videos located on your Dashwire web account – even if the actual media files aren’t on your phone
• Photo uploads from your computer to your Dashwire web account, which then automatically appear on your phone
• Media editing, blogging, and sharing with friends – on the go as you’re capturing your experiences
• Direct status updates to Facebook & Twitter
• Privacy controls & media publishing"