Best of Smartphone Experts, 10 Jan 2010

Posted on Monday, Jan 11, 2010 by Dieter Bohn
 
Filed Under: News; Tags: ces10

WMExperts Podcast Episode 85 - CES Edition

Posted on Saturday, Jan 9, 2010 by Phil Nickinson
 
Filed Under: Podcast, Featured; Tags: ces10, podcast

Wmexpertspodcast

Phil recaps the Windows Mobile news from CES in Las Vegas (hint: there's not that much). Plus, we interview HTC's Eric Lin from the show floor. Listen in!

 

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That's Windows Mobile 6.5.x on the TG01

Posted on Saturday, Jan 9, 2010 by Phil Nickinson
 

Toshiba TG01 with Windows Mobile 6.5.x

OK, let's not all lose our stuff there, but that indeed is Windows Mobile 6.5.x (or 6.5.3, if you prefer) running on Toshiba TG01 at CES this year. You know, the same TG01 that's been out for some time now. You can spot the upgraded OS by the round buttons at the bottom, and that the Windows Flag start menu has shifted south as well.

Toshiba TG01 with Windows Mobile 6.5.xAnd the TG01 still isn't a slouch when it comes to hardware. It was the first WinMo phone to sport the 1GHz Snapdragon processor, its 4.1-inch (nearly as big as the HD2) touchscreen, while capacitive, is very good. And so long as it's not running that weird neon UI we saw on top of it initially, it's very snappy.

So we know the following: An updated version of Windows Mobile 6.5 is on the way for the TG01. This isn't some hacked ROM. (And for those of you counting at  home, it's Build Windows Mobile 6.5 Build 23091.5.3.0. By comparison, the cooked ROM I'm running (find it here) is Build 28001.5.5.0. That's a whole different branch, and don't read too much into it. But suffice to say this isn't likely isn't the bleeding edge of Windows Mobile that we're seeing here. We've been running this on cooked ROMs for some time now.

That said, we learn the following: Windows mobile 6.5.3 indeed is coming to devices, and the TG01 likely will be one of the first. As for the rest? Start your guessing.

 

i-mate 810 phone goes for a swim

Posted on Friday, Jan 8, 2010 by Phil Nickinson
 
Filed Under: News; Tags: i-mate, ces10

iMate 810

Maybe it was exhaustion, maybe it was the open bar, but we we found an i-mate 810 taking a swim last night at the Showstoppers event at CES. The 810, as we're sure you all remember, is a "military-grade" device, able to take just about anything you can throw at it. We tried to drown this guy last night, and sure enough Windows Mobile 6.1 kept ticking underwater. Pics after the break.

 

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Another hands-on with the Samsung Mondi

Posted on Friday, Jan 8, 2010 by Phil Nickinson
 
Filed Under: News; Tags: swd-m100, samsung, mondi, mid, ces10

Samsung Mondi

This thing look familiar? It's the Samsung Mondi MID (aka the SWD-M100), exactly how we saw it last year at CTIA. Only now there's actually 4G service for that WiMAX radio to take advantage of. More redundant pics after the break.

 

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Hands-on with the Euro Samsung Omnia Pro

Posted on Friday, Jan 8, 2010 by Phil Nickinson
 
Filed Under: News; Tags: samsung, Omnia II, ces10

Samsung Booth at CES

Swung by the Samsung booth at CES (follow all of our coverage here). Once you're able to navigate the dizzying maze of television screens -- and we're talking hundreds here -- you can finally find some Windows phones. Tucked in the back and a little to the left.

And it was there that we found the European version of the Omnia II, the Omnia Pro, with its Touchwiz interface. While it's hardly fair to judge the quickness of any phone after it's been handled at the likes of CES, the Omnia II seemed a bit sluggish considering it has an 800MHz processor. And I'm still not crazy about the user interface, though it does look gorgeous on that 3.7-inch AMOLED touchscreen. Anyhoo, find pics of the Omnia II at CES after the break.

 

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Visiting Microsoft at CES

Posted on Thursday, Jan 7, 2010 by Phil Nickinson
 

Microsoft at CES 

Unsurprisingly, there wasn't much at Microsoft's CES booth that we hadn't seen before. The HTC HD2 and yesterday's official announcement that it will be available "this spring" on T-Mobile was on the tip of everyone's tongues. But other than that, there were no new Windows phones announced.

We did take a spin with Ford Sync, which is Microsoft's system that will pair just about any device -- Bluetooth or otherwise -- with a new Ford or Mercury vehicle. Voice commands are the key to the whole thing, so you keep your hands on the wheel.

The Zune guys were more than happy to hear that we're hoping to see Zune software integrated into Windows Mobile in the next year or so. But we could get neither them nor the Windows phone folks to spill the beans as to what might or might not be coming in Windows Mobile 7.

Awkward moment of the morning: Our pal Rene Ritchie from The iPhone Blog hits up the Bing team to ask about the Bing iPhone app. And they'd never heard of it.

Photos of the exploits after the break.

 

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Round Robin Podcast Extra - The CES edition

Posted on Thursday, Jan 7, 2010 by Phil Nickinson
 
Filed Under: News, Rumors; Tags: sperr10, Round Robin, podcast, ces10

Since the entire SPE team was here at CES in Las Vegas, it made perfect sense to take some time away from ogling gadgets and chatting up our friends in the blogosphere to record a podcast. We talk up what we've seen so far, including the Nexus One and Motorola Backflip; we also chatted a bit about what we're hoping to see at Palm's event today.

As you might have guessed, the show was recorded and hosted by our pal Mickey Papillon of TCPJ. Give it a listen!

 

 

Steve Ballmer CES keynote liveblog, 9:30 p.m. EST

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 6, 2010 by Phil Nickinson
 

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer gives the keynote address to the CES crowd tonight in Las Vegas. Dieter and Phil are on the ground, liveblogging the speech. Join us after the break!

 

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LG Spills the Beans – Windows Mobile 7 in 2010?

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 6, 2010 by Tim Ferrill
 
Filed Under: News; Tags: wm7, steve ballmer, robbie bach, microsoft, LG, ces10

LG Logo

According to Engadget, LG stated at CES press event that Windows Mobile 7 will be on devices this year. Obviously this still isn’t an official announcement from Microsoft, but LG is one of their bigger partners for Windows Phones. Might we hear something official from Steve Ballmer at his CES Keynote tonight? Rumor has it that Robbie Bach, Microsoft’s President of Entertainment & Devices Division, will be joining Steve on stage.

Tune in at 9:30pm Eastern, 6:30pm Pacific for our liveblog from the event.

 

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