18 posts tagged “smartphone”

Again, Roger McNamee is on interview and a brilliant candidate to explain Palm's mission statement. I love to see him talking on the channels and also his ability to talk about things in plain english.

He is also losing a word about Palm's vision of the smartphone market, Palm's major competitors RIM and Apple and mentions the upcoming Palm Pixi.

You have spend hundereds of bucks in order to have the best smartphone on the planet and now you always need to fear dropping it to ground and breaking the device for ever?!

Don't fear any longer, because there is a serious impact protection system being developped by a british company called Tech21 which will blow away all your concerns from now on...

First indications over at Engadget say that European based electronic giant Philips plans to jump on the Android bandwagon. Of course, images leaked from China again, where all companies make use of cheap assambling lines.

In late 2009 they should introduce the so-callled V808, which is said to feature a 3.2-inch HVGA display, will supposedly come with a 3.2 megapixel camera - most likely capable of video recording.

The smartphone could be grouped under Philips Xenium line.

Engadget is reporting that Dell finally is in the process of launching a smartphone by the end of this year.
After struggling a lot with Northern American as well as European carriers, Dell wants to hit market by any means - this time in China.

After a successfull market start in China, Dell plans to try it again in Europe and America. Let's see whether or not this works out for Dell...

The phone is said to be a competitive device to Lenovo's OPhone (Android), but running on Windows Mobile. Rumors also say, that Dell does not only have Windows Mobile phones in the pipelines, but also Android powered ones as well. The reason of rejection by the carriers was due to no real differentiation to other smartphones.

Durch ein Versehen ist Toshiba’s Jahresplanung für 2009/2010 an die Öffentlichkeit gelangt. Hierbei werden pikante Details offengelegt, so z.B., daß es zu dem derzeit schnellsten und flachsten Windows Mobile Smartphone TG01, welches erst kürzlich zum Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona (Februar 2009) vorgestellt wurde, weitere Nachfolger TG02 und TG03 bereits zum Jahresende in sehr kurz aufeinander folgenden Zeitschlitzen geben wird.

 
Die sog. Roadmap ist bei einem US-Netzbetreiber an die Öffentlichkeit gelangt und wird normaler Weise unter Verschluss gehalten.

Toshiba’s Gerät war aufgrund seiner Spezifikation einer der Hingucker auf dem MWC 2009. So verfügt es über die höchste für Mobiltelefone verfügbare Prozessortaktung von 1 GHz, ist flacher als das iPhone und hat den hochauflösensten Bildschirm, der je in einem Smartphone verbaut wurde. Des Weiteren verfügt es über WLAN und BT und beinhaltet 2G (GSM, EDGE) und 3G (UMTS).

The situation couldn't be more difficult for users with two SIM cards. Some cellular phone providers (network operators or carriers) offer cheap rates on voice calls others are cheap on data plans. Typical scenarios include a  business SIM card and a private one as well as one for long distance/intercontinental calls and the other for national calls, etc. There are many scenarios on this but all have one thing in common:

I for one, have a business Vodafone SIM card and a cheap SIMYO 1 GB data option for as low as 10 EUR/month.
At present, 1GB for mobile phone users seems to be a flat rate and even when connected to a notebook or netbook this seems to be more than sufficient. Latest carrier statistics say, that even heavy iPhone usage produces approx. 450 MB by average, but this is predicted to change significantly until 2013, as Cisco has recently pointed out in one of their research papers.

The ideal solution for me is to run most of the times on the SIMYO SIM card and switch to the business phone for outgoing business calls. One might ask about incomming business calls via Vodafone while registered with SIMYO. The solution is as clever as easy. I have configured a call diversion on the Vodafone SIM as long as I am not registered with the network. This means the phone switched off or is out of range of the Vodafone network. Thus, I am reachable directly under Vodafone once I registered with the network and reachable via a call diversion once I am registered with the SIMYO network. Costs for a call diversion are considerably lower by using the 1 GB data tariff with SIMYO. Thus, it's plausible to give a piece of plastic a try and save a lot of money surfing the net all inclusive for a fixed price.

A so-called twin SIM adaptor is the solution, which means nothing more than to place the two desired SIM cards into a holder which lead into another SIM card shape for the smartphone's SIM interface. A typical twin SIM card adaptor has some flat cables connecting the single SIM to the other two SIMs. A logic on the adaptor then switches between the SIM cards. Because of the digital cellular network's architecture (GSM or UMTS) it is not possible to be registered with both identities at the same time (this would require two transmitters, which go into too much detail to explain).

There are analogue and digital twin SIM adaptors. The main difference is, that the new digital ones integrate seamlessly into the smartphone's menu structure (e.g. Symbian, Windows Mobile, etc.) and thus allow for hot switching to the other provider's network. The old analogue one does not feature a menu entry and always require switching the smartphone off and on again in order to switch the network. The advantage of the analogue adaptors is that they definitely will work properly with any mobile phone regardless of how old it is, which operating system it runs and whether or not it is 2G or 3G (GSM, EDGE or UMTS).

The device of choice for this experiment is a Treo 680. Accordingly, I decided to go for the analogue rather than for a digital one, mainly because I did some research in advance and heard that this adaptor in particular would function without any problems.

Once decided that I would go for an analogue twin SIM adaptor, I ordered online. After a couple of days I received a regular envelope with the SIM adaptor inside. One should note that the SIM adaptors are more or less universal and not for a particular phone. In addition, the smartphone never had been designed to give enough room to place another piece of plastic somewhere, so one should make sure in advance that 3 millimeters can be spared out somehow. Thus, a twin SIM adaptor might not fit perfectly but will work.

Installation of the two SIM cards is easy and mostly done without reading the installation instructions, as shown in the image above. Installation of the adaptor is a bit tricky - because of the fact that the Treo's battery fits pretty well. There is not enough space between battery and cap to close it as easily as without the adaptor. Patience is a good trait here and some practical skills during installation are recommended as well.
I decided to place the twin SIM adaptor below the battery and the thus. The flat band cable is slightly bended as a result, but that seems not to be a problem. The biggest challenge is the reinstallation of the Treo's back, because now it will fit very snugly.

As one can see in the picture, the battery keeps staying at an angle and does not fall into its desired place again on its own. Thus, firm pressure is needed in order to reattach the Treo's back plate and to not destroy any of the plasitc parts.

I am happy with the result. Once the back plate is closed again, the Treo looks normal with one exception: I recognized a slight gap of 1 mm between the SD card cap and the right side mechanics. This points to some internal pressure between battery and bottom, of course, due to the twin SIM adaptor.
Apart from that the Treo is still the same :)

After inserting the battery and reattaching the Treo's back, the device powered up and registered with SIMYO properly. Thus the physical connection of the card adaptor was good. Switching the network required me to power off and on again. I pressed the red phone button for two seconds to disconnect, and then again in order to switch to Vodafone. After 1 minute I was booked into the Vodafone network and happy about the ease of having the freedom of choice between two networks I need to use and I would like to use.

It also should be noted, that I could reproduce network registration times with SIMYO of about 30 seconds whereas it took 60 seconds to register with the Vodafone network.

Now, I am surfing the net with SIMYO and receive calls on my SIMYO SIM card as well as calls from my Vodafone card, which are forwarded to the SIMYO card. Thus, I am reachable under two different numbers at the same time. This is great because I don't have to tell my business partners the private cell phone number and confuse them of how to reach me. In case I need to call somebody via my business number, I switch off and on again, and after 1 minute I am ready to go...

The adaptor retails about 20 EUR and can be ordered online at 2-phone-in-one.com. They even feature triple SIM adaptors, but that's a different story... :)

In a following blog entry I will detail on how to automatically switch between networks by certain events and why this should be useful.

Wer seine GPS-Strecke zu Analysezwecken aufzeichnen möchte, benötigt ein Gerät, welches die aktuellen GPS-Positionsdaten in bestimmten Intervallen aufzeichnet. Hierzu gibt es spezielle Outdoor-Handgeräte, mit GPS ausgerüstete Smartphones oder reine GPS-Datenlogger.

 
 
Nur die Handgeräte sind meistens stoß- und spritzwassergeschützt, da sie speziell fuer den Outdoor-Betrieb konzipiert sind. Die Akkulaufzeit solcher Geräte ist auf eine lange Lebensdauer ausgelegt, der Betrieb einfach und intuitiv möglich. Empfehlenswert ist hier z.B. Magellan Triton 2000, welcher sich durch ein Farb-Display, Kompass, Digitalkamera, Sprachaufzeichnung und SD-Speicherkartenerweiterungsslot auszeichnet. Die Möglichkeiten sind vielfaeltig und erlauben dem Reisenden nicht nur die Tour zu planen, den Weg per Kompass zu finden sondern z.B. auch gleich Tour-Fotos zu schiessen und diese direkt mit Geoinformationen (Bild mit GPS-Position verknüpfen) zu versehen, sog. Geotaggen.
Die so gekennzeichneten Bilder können dann in Bilderdiensten, wie z.B. Locr, direkt mit Landkarten verknüpft und anderen Fotografen zur Ansicht gestellt werden. So sind beispielweise auch Bebilderugen zu Sehenswürdigkeiten per Internet möglich.
 
 

 
 

Der Vorteil bei den Smartphones liegt darin, dass sie fast jeder ohnehin besitzt, und sie zur GPS-Aufzeichnung (teilweise auch ohne spezielle SW, bzw. mit Bordmitteln) genutzt werden können. Hier spielt allerdings die limiterite Batterielaufzeit eine Rolle, welche sich bei GPS-Betrieb signifikant reduziert. Smartphones mit GPS sind eher für die Navigation im Auto mit KFZ-Bordspannung oder eine kurze Standortsuche im Stadtbereich ausgelegt.

 
 
GPS-Datenlogger, wie z.B. der Wintec WBT-201 Bluetooth GPS Empfänger, haben im Vergleich dazu eine sehr lange Akkulaufzeit, die mehrere Tage durchhalten kann. Diese Datenlogger haben den alleinigen Zweck, die GPS-Position aufzuzeichen, nicht jedoch anzuzeigen. Dieses kann mittels einer Bluetooth-Verbindung auf einem Smartphone oder PDA dargestellt oder am PC auch ausgelesen und ausgewertet werden.

Je nach Einsatzzweck empfiehlt sich also das Ein oder Andere Gerät.
Für längere Reisen, Wanderungen, Pilgertouren, etc., welche sich über Tage erstrecken könen, ist ein Outdoor-Handgerät mit Kompass, Strecken-Anzeige und autarker Planung eine ideale Wahl. Wer die Strecke für Analysezwecke in einem Postprozess aufzeichen, jedoch nicht ständig anzeigen möchte, für den empfiehlt sich ein reiner GPS-Datenlogger, welcher jedoch mit Zusatzhardware per BT die Strecke in Echtzeit darstellen könnte. Für kurzfristige Ausflüge und den alltäglichen Einsatz sind Smartphones mit GPS eine exzellente Wahl, da man sie ohnehin dabei hat und z.B. mittels Google Maps Mobile jederzeit verfügbar sind.

Wie heute das Handelsblatt in einer aktuellen Nachricht berichtet, sind Smartphones der Firma HTC mit dem Android Betriebssystem in einen Patentkonflikt verwickelt.

IP-Com aus Pullach bei München beansprucht bestimmte Patente an den Mobiltelefonen von HTC. Der Rechteverwerter ist schon durch Patentstreitigkeiten mit Nokia Ende Januar 2009 auffällig geworden, wie die Süddeutsche Zeitung berichtete, und behauptet Anfang 2007 von der Robert Bosch GmbH Patente erworben zu haben, welche sie nun bei diversen Firmen vertreten wird. Nokia wiess die Forderungen von IP-Com zurück und bezeichnete einige der Patente als ungültig und die finanziellen Forderungen von IP-Com als überzogen.

In letzter Konsequenz könnte das bedeuten das HTC Telefone mit Android Betriebssystem vom Markt genommen werden müssen, falls sich HTC weigert diesen Ansprüchen nachzukommen.

It seems as though HTC has been busy.  Two phones released just yesterday, the Diamond2 and the Touch Pro2.  Now, they’ve made magic.

At the GSMA 2009 show in Barcelona, HTC pulled a new rabbit out of their hat.  Well, you might recognize the HTC Android phone as the G2, but the new pulled-out-of-a-hat-with-doves name for this is the Magic.  The HTC Magic is exclusive to Vodafone in Europe right now, and there isn’t too much information leaking from the magician’s hat about it just yet.

What we do know about it is that it will feature HSPA, HSDPA/WCDMA (900/2100MHz), WiFi, and have GPS connectivity.  There is also going to be a 3.2 mega-pixel camera (no flash), and what will make many happy—Cupcake will also be there.  The Magic has a 3.2 inch HVGA touch screen along with a trackball navigator.  However, kind of odd, it doesn’t have a slide out-QWERTY keyboard like the T-Mobile G1.  With it, you’ll also have several email options (of course Gmail is one of them), as well as POP3 and IMAP accounts.  Customers will be able to access the Android Market and download apps and games for their smartphone.

The Magic will appear in two colors: the UK, Spain and France market will be seeing it in white, Germany gets it in black, and Italy has a choice of either color.  No set word on pricing just yet.  HTC is just saying that the Magic is available “exclusive to Vodafone customers initially in UK, Spain, Germany and France (SFR) and non-exclusively in Italy” with more countries to follow later.  I guess that means we U.S. folks have to wait a tad.  We’ll keep you updated with more information as it comes in.

We all are awaiting the brand new operating system PalmOS II (Nova) to be announced at CES at Thursday January 8th.

This is, how Palm plan the implementation of their new portfolio of smartphones and netbooks.