Tickets for Over the Air going quickly

Free - sign up now

Its all go, over half the tickets are gone. But you can see why… With sponsors like Nokia, Google, Yahoo!, sun microsystems, Vodafone betavine, Adobe and dotmobi. supported by the BBC and arranged by Mobile Monday and a great speaker line up. You'd better get in there quickly as this is going to sell out soon.

If your coming from far, there's now advice for staying in a cheap hotel at laterooms.co.uk. so will i see you all on 4th april for some mobile hacking…

Technorati Tags: ,

Comments [Comments]
Trackbacks [0]

Signup now for Over the Air

Over the Air banner

You can now sign-up for Over the Air, the 48 hour development event happening in Imperial College with MobileMonday and supported by the BBC. There are other sponsors to be announced very soon…

The last few months have been pretty crazy in the mobile world. The iPhone has caught many peoples imagination running. Its sold ok in the uk but not that well. However its certainly shaken up the mobile makers and operators. But the one to watch has to be Android which seems to be the most wanted device of 2008 (next to the pacemaker). It promises so much and seems to be so perfect to people like myself who have been cursing there windows mobile phones. The devices are powerful but the software and operating system although not bad, just felt under powered. So something like Android would be amazing. But it gets even better in the form of truly open handsets such as the Openmoko

On top of these two changes to the mobile world, the UK mobile operators have all announced and launched all you can eat data plans which people can actually afford. These changes plus HSDPA/HSUPA (3.5g) dongles along side almost ubiquitous wireless across most cities. Finally means you can be online all the time and not at a stupid jaw dropping price.

Its not hard to see why I think having a hackday style event made a lot of sense. All these things are now within the reach of developers and almost designers. Its not just mobile too, its also wireless devices. At Hackday, the Nabaztags counted for 3 of the hacks. I'm sure there will be more and people may even experiement with the Chumby and other weird and wonderful devices.

Comments [Comments]
Trackbacks [0]

Point home – a new ui for windows mobile phones

Point Home in action

I installed Point Ui's Home tonight because it was one of those things I've been meaning to do. Anyway, after 2 seconds I was amazed. The user interface design is slick and smooth without being too in your face. They have taken interaction, icons and patterns from the tango project and put them to good use. Everything just works so well, that its hard to explain without a video, And I would shoot one if it wasn't so late. I only wish it was a little more stable and there were controls to change the colours. The blue is a little too blue for my personal tastes. More detail about point home below…

Home's intuitive controls and highly responsive user interface makes using your device a breeze. Here are a few of the key features Home has to offer:

  • Control your device via touch or your thumb with the directional control
  • Smart Lists Navigation ™ with bookmarks allows you to easily locate an item in even the largest lists
  • Choose the slide navigation that suits you
  • One touch access to calls, email, text messages and music
  • Easily see who and when calls were received, made and missed
  • Using the Applet Ribbon ™ you can easily access the time, tasks, appointments, calendar and up to date weather forecasts and current temperatures
  • Easily manage your sound, wireless, battery and device settings
  • Easy create new emails, text messages, multimedia messages, tasks, appointments, documents and spreadsheets
  • Load and switch between running applications effortlessly

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Comments [Comments]
Trackbacks [0]

Traveling in style, wifi and power what more do you need?

Free Wifi on National Express trains

Free Wireless and a plug per seat, National Express trains get a double thumbs up from myself. GNER use to have power in every seat but charged 9.99 for a days worth of Wireless access. National Express took over and dropped the price to zero, awesome. Only problem is that it would seem some ports are blocked and the speed shared across the whole train is close to 1meg at the wireless edge and about 256k of real usage.

Technorati Tags: , , , ,

Comments [Comments]
Trackbacks [0]

The Smartphone…

The Smartphone segment

So over the Christmas period I've been at my parents house and they read the Mirror. I was flicking through the Sunday Mirror's pull out magazine called life and came across six pages of anime about new technology from the Far East. Its a reasonable piece and the illustrations are done by Anime artist Kanako Damerum.

One of the pages talked about the smartphone and showed off the Sharp W-Zero3. Which can scan business cards, includes a 3inch VGA touchscreen and Qwerty keypad. Wifi, 256meg of on board storage and MicroSD expansion. I was a little puzzled, my current phone does all that (I discovered Worldcard Mobile only yesterday). Yes I'm not rocking with a VGA screen (I had planned to get the glofish x850 which does have a vga screen) and the HTC Kaiser is 19mm instead of 17mm but its not far off.

So what I never quite got around to before was the fact that Smartphones are still quite novel in a lot of circles. I pulled out my Kaiser in the pub with some friend during a night out and they were like “what the heck is that? is that a computer or something?” I wasn't do it for effect but I did have it with the keyboard and tilt on (i was answering a couple of texts). I guess add the bluetooth headset blinking in my shirt pocket and they thought I'd gone all futuristic or something. But whats fun about the Windows mobile phones is that HTC make them pretty cheap. So you can get a windows mobile phone for the same price as a LG, Nokia or Motorola. So its not about the phone prices.

Maybe people don't like the complexity of the phone? But I would say the Windows Smartphone platform is no more complex that any other phone. Maybe its the style? Could be on something there, but Ted Baker now have an edition of the HTC Touch, LG Prada anyone and what about the most loved gadget of 2007? The Apple iPhone?

2008 is going to be the year of the Smartphone for sure. There is very little reason not to get one and I'm sure the phone shops will be pushing them harder that ever.

Technorati Tags: , , , , , ,

Comments [Comments]
Trackbacks [0]

I bricked my windows mobile phone

Mobile data?

Mobile laptop data has always been a pain, in my mind it started when the phone companies started making those PCMCIA adapters where you could stick in a GSM/GPRS card. Before that you use to have to dialup via the infrared port or a serial cable. The GSM/GPRS cards would allow you to put in a sim card into the PC card and dialup on your laptop from anywhere. Then Vodafone came out with a 3G data card, others followed suit adding Wireless and even HSDPA (3.5g) to the mix.

But there was a few problems. Each card came with some propitery software, the card themselves were expensive and the data plans attached only suitable for business users. In America on the otherhand all you could get all you can eat data plans based on that weird standard called EVDO for a reasonable rate. Because of this Laptop makers started adding EVDO and other Mobile data options, which made the PC cards a little less important. But the huge break through (in the UK) came when Tmobile (to there credit) dropped there data plan to a all you can eat model. Vodafone and Orange followed soon afterwards. 3 the mobile operator in the UK started offering a cheap usb dongle to there users of mobile data. 10 pounds buys you the dongle and the data for a month. Well I thought this was a good idea and I know a few people are tempted with the offer but I think I found better.

Ok enough history – I bricked my new phone, no not actually killed it so it no long works but more like bricked it so it operates as a wireless modem. I was doing this over bluetooth at the start but for some reason while using the windows mobile internet sharing option the phone wants to be in bluetooth discovery mode too. This quickly kills the battery, so I started plugging it in over USB. Because the phone also charges over USB too, it might as well be like the USB dongle. My Data plan currently is 5 pounds for weekend and evening unlimited data (unlimited meaning 1gig fair use data a month). Orange offer for another 3 pounds a all day everyday option but limited to 30meg a month. This doesn't work for me, as I'm usually around a wireless or wired connection during the daytime. Anyway the point is that mobile laptop data is become cheap and easy. If I can get a windows mobile phone to talk to a linux laptop, then anyone running windows or mac must be able to get theres up and running in minutes. But like before the data rates are better that ever. HSDPA (3.5g) is also pretty impressive, I was getting 400k down and 200k up in a starbucks in central Bristol. I expect in London I might get even more. This makes it a serious contender to the rip off wireless hotspots you find in some hotels and cafes up and down the country. Now if only the mobile operators would sort out international roaming data charges!

Ah I forgot to mention one thing.The bricked nature also comes from WMstorage, which basiclly turns your phone into a mass storage device or usb memory stick. Because I can't use activesync on linux this has been perfect for dragging files back and forth. However its never been reliable till now. So my phone sits there as a mini flashdrive and bluetooth modem but can still receive calls and texts if needed. Next step really is to pass some of that functionality on to my laptop instead.

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Comments [Comments]
Trackbacks [0]

Windows Mobile Plaxo client now does full sync

Plaxo and Windows mobile

So after a long time beta, Plaxo has finally released a version of mobile plaxo which syncs not only contact information but calendars and tasks. You have to be Premium user which requires a yearly fee but to be honest, its not that expensive for a backup and sync solution, also its new features like pulse are interesting. Now if I can just make the change to Evolution over using Thunderbird/Lightning all would be well.

Comments [Comments]
Trackbacks [0]

No Gphone, so I upgraded to the HTC TyTN II

HTC Kaiser

So after Google confirmed that the Gphone is not an actual phone but a open operating system for the next generation of mobile phones.

I decided to use my long awaited Orange upgrade. This time I went for pretty much the same phone as I already own but with better specs and a physical keyboard. I love my Orange SPV M700 but I started to find the internal memory a little small (64meg) the TyTN II has 160meg which is very roomy but not quite the 256meg which is starting to appear. Also now I have the 5 pound for unlimited (1gig) evening and weekend data, I'm finding myself using im, rss, email a lot more that before. A onscreen keyboard is only so good and my bluetooth keyboard sits in my bag alongside my laptop. So the other day when I was waiting to pick up my friend Claire from the Airport in Berlin, her flight was delayed by 2hours. I could have wrote a blog entry but found it slightly painful on my stylus and onscreen keyboard. If I had my bag with me, I could have used my bluetooth keyboard but to tell the truth if I had my bag with me, I would have had my laptop too.

I was going to do some unboxing video but these guys have already done such a good job. I also did some reading into HSDPA also known as 3.5G. It seems capable of up to 4meg a second transfer, wow! Theres a instant downside, however. Orange stuck there nasty today screen as default on the device and I don't seem to be able to get the full TouchFLO interface. The device is also feels almost twice as heavy as my M700 and wheres the VGA display? I would have waited for the GloFiish devices but there was no way I could afford to buy off contact.

So anyway I look forward to the next 12 months with my new non-iphone or Gphone. I also look forward to much better written software for the Windows mobile 6 platform as it seems to have APIs into everything now including GPS, HSDPA, etc.

Comments [Comments]
Trackbacks [0]

Jaiku bought by Google

Google and Jaiku logos in love

So this came out of the blue, but I noticed it today when looking through my RSSOwl. So the obvious question is what happened to Twitter? Well lets be honest, Jaiku fits into Googles plans better that twitter at the moment. Atom support alone makes it perfect for Google *smile*. Will Jaiku move to the UK? Where the rest of the Google Mobile activity seems to happen? Now that would be amazing, Jyri alone is certainly the kind of person you want to share a coffee with and discuss the future deep into the night. What exactly is google doing with activity streams and mobile presence in the future? Well many people have theories, but I'm edging for the lifestreams or social overlay angles.

Its so odd because Jaiku kept coming up in the Future of Webapps conference as a successful european startup along the lines of last.fm. And whats even stranger, that BarCampLondon3 will be at Google's Headquarters in London next month. Maybe some of the guys from Jaiku might have moved over by then. More about BarCampLondon3 soon.

Comments [Comments]
Trackbacks [0]