SmartPhones

Even those of us not lucky enough to put our lives on hold to travel to Beijing or sit glued to our TVs can still keep up with all the latest goings-on at this year's Olympics with their smartphones.

Thanks to Google (of course) anyone with an internet-enabled smartphone can visit Google's summergames page for mobile devices and get all the updated information they could possibly want on almost 40 Olympic events. Among the information listed there is the full schedule of each event and the winners (once known). Best of all, the mobile site is available in more than 60 countries and in 36 languages.

Video coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics is also available for people on a BlackBerry or a Palm OS or Windows Mobile device, through MobiTV.

Alternatively, sports fans can also hook themselves up with a SlingMedia Slingbox and redirect any program coming through their television to their smartphone device - including NBC's coverage of the Olympics.
The Slingbox, however, is the only option with an extra up front cost (for both the box and the mobile software), and is available on Windows Mobile, Symbian S60, and Palm OS devices.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: 2008 Olympics, 2008 Summer Olympics, Blackberry, Google, MobiTV, NBC, Olympics, Palm, Palm OS, Slingbox, SlingMedia, Symbian S60, Windows Mobile

It's called the Nokia E71 and it's just made technology history (or at least the record books) as the thinnest QWERTY-keyboard smartphone in the world. The latest in the Nokia E-Series of handsets for business, the E71 is the replacement for the Nokia E61.

The E71 is HSDPA network capable and features a built-in GPS and both the Nokia email software and Microsoft Exchange. It also offers two home screens you can switch between at will - one for home and one for the office. And the digital camera (with flash) is a whopping 3.2 megapixels.

By designing a casing that's thin and compact, Nokia aims to appeal to those business users who take their handheld with them everywhere and are constantly holding it, using it, and interacting with it. The fact that the E71 boasts a durable hard metal casing is another appeal to businesspeople always on-the-go.

So while the RIM BlackBerry is busy battling the Apple iPhone, the Nokia E71 seems to be sneaking in from behind for some of the BlackBerry's business.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: 3.2 megapixels, apple, Blackberry, business smartphone, digital camera, E61, E71, GPS, hsdpa, iphone, Nokia, RIM

It was last November that Google announced their entry into the smartphone OS battle (alongside Symbian, RIM BlackBerry OS, Microsoft Windows Mobile, and of course the inimitable iPhone) but we have yet to see the first Google Android smartphone on the market. Well that is soon about to change.

A British chip maker named ARM has released a prototype of its unbranded handset running the Google Android operating system, equipped with:

• email (provided by Gmail)
• text messaging
• multimedia apps
• internet browser (with Google as the default home page)
• Google Calendar functionality
• GoogleMaps software

Meanwhile, Google's own engineering director has unveiled an Android smartphone prototype as well, this the Google branded GPhone. While Google won't be manufacturing the GPhones itself, it aims to design the basic handset in such a way that manufacturers of all capacities can still deliver a quality, Google-worthy product. The first of these looks to pack the equivalent power of the iPhone into a smaller, tighter package (and that includes the screen size).

The first Google Android smartphones are expected to hit markets later in the year.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: Android, ARM, BB OS, Blackberry, British, Gmail, Google, GoogleCalendar, GoogleMaps, iphone, Microsoft, RIM, Symbian, text messaging, Windows Mobile

No doubt in an effort to compete with the likes of AT&T and its unlimited data plan for web access, Verizon Wireless released today, April 14, 2008, a new unlimited web data plan of its own.

Called "Verizon Wireless E-Mail and Web for Smartphone", the plan includes an array of attractive features:

• Unlimited data allowance for internet browsing and email access
• Support for up to 10 email accounts (including Yahoo!, AOL, and Windows Live)
• Familiar branded email interfaces

And all directly from your smartphone.

The plan may look familiar to BlackBerry users on the Verizon network, as it's already been available for them. But now users of other Verizon smartphone can enjoy the convenience as well, starting with:

• Verizon Wireless SMT5800
• Verizon Wireless XV6800
• MOTO Q9m

In line with the service's top competitor's rate, Verizon Wireless will be offering unlimited web and email access for smartphones for $29.99 per month (on top of any existing voice plan)

I wonder if this means Verizon will be changing its slogan to: "Can you read me now?"

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: AT&T, Blackberry, e-mail, email, MOTO Q9m, SMT5800, unlimited data plan, verizon, Verizon Wireless, Verizon Wireless E-Mail and Web for Smartphone, web access, XV6800

That's right, there's a new smartphone coming to market - two actually - and they're not from Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, Palm, RIM, nor any of the familiar old diehards - not even Apple. No, this one is from Velocity Mobile.

Who? That's what I said.  

Formed by Invantec and some folks from Microsoft, this new dialer in the great, big smartphone conference call in the wireless skies is set to give its forerunners a run for their money. With the new Velocity 111 (which looks a lot like a BlackBerry) and Velocity 103 (which looks a lot like an iPhone), Velocity plans to improve on what's been working so well for its competitors and getting rid of all that doesn't meet up. It will have more icons and interfaces familiar to Windows PC-users and promises to be the most customizable smartphone yet.  

As might be expected, both devices will be running Windows Mobile 6.1.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: apple, Blackberry, customizable, Invantec, iphone, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia, Palm, PC, Research in Motion, RIM, Samsung, Velocity Mobile, Windows, Windows Mobile 6.1

Research in Motion (RIM) has now released a new software package for the BlackBerry for use in small and medium sized businesses. BlackBerry Professional Software, as it’s called, is primed to be a big hit, available for instant download by IT Managers with Administrator capabilities for email servers of companies using either Microsoft Exchange or IBM Lotus Domino.

BlackBerry Professional Software comes bundled with a huge number of features and functionalities, far too numerous to list here, but with some of the most exciting utilities and capabilities including:

• selecting which company smartphones have browser access and restricting which sites can and cannot be viewed
• limiting long-distance calling to only approved numbers
• defining automated backup schedules

BlackBerry Professional Software has been put together so as to be simple to install and manage, with all sorts of step-by-step wizards at your disposal, as well as advanced security features (like end-to-end AES or triple DES encryption) and IT policies and commands (for imposing lockdown, wiping data, and defining and enforcing security protocols such as for using Bluetooth and voice calling).

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: AES, Blackberry, BlackBerry Professional Software, Bluetooth, DES, encryption, IBM, IBM Lotus Domino, IT, IT Manager, Microsoft, Microsoft Exchange, Research in Motion, RIM, security, voice calling

Recently this blog reported on results of a study that showed the RIM Blackberry OS to be the "best" smartphone OS among industry analysts. However, according to an informal survey conducted by internet technology review stalwart CNet, the preferred smartphone operating system among consumers (or at least, CNet readers) is Windows Mobile.

Smartphones running Windows Mobile include the Samsung Blackjack, the Motorola Q (the top two tier-1 smartphones), as well as many manufactured by HTC, including the widely-popular HTC Tilt.

Based on pure market share alone, the study of 130 users showed Windows Mobile at 42.3%, RIM Blackberry at 19.2%, Apple OS X at 17.7%, and Symbian and Palm OS at 10%. Those are the stats for operating systems. As for smartphone manufacturers, RIM and HTC both took the lead, tying with a 19.2% market share each, Apple following close behind with 17.7%, Motorola at third with 11.5%, Palm at 10%, and all the rest (Nokia, Samsung, etc.) taking the remaining 22.3%.

Interestingly enough, the praise for Windows Mobile was balanced out (read: marred or tainted), however, by half of the respondents reporting complaints of the very same OS. Finally, a whopping 66% of CNet readers responding the survey said they would be likely to consider purchasing an Apple iPhone as their next smartphone, three times more than those who said they'd opt for the second place contender, the Blackberry.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: apple, Blackberry, CNET, HTC, HTC Tilt, iphone, Microsoft, Motorola, Motorola Q, Nokia, Palm, RIM, Samsung, Symbian, Windows Mobile

The world leader in travel resources - AAA - is now accessible via the Blackberry, specifically the 8830 and the 8130. AAA Mobile, downloadable through the Blackberry's GPS app and powered by Networks in Motion, now makes the world's favorite handy devices even handier, adding the following of its services to its menu:

• TourBook Guide Travel Information
• Navigation
• Member Roadside Assistance

This makes the RIM Blackberry the first smartphone device compatible with AAA's award-winning local search and navigation applications. Even Blackberry users who aren't AAA members can still subscribe to AAA Mobile and get access to:

• audio/visual directions to any U.S. destination
• the locations of AAA-approved POIs (points of interest)
• the locations of Diamond Rated restaurants and hotels
• a searchable listing of more than 100,000 destinations that offer member savings to those who present their AAA or AAA Mobile card
• detailed maps of all of the above
• bookmarking features

The service also streamlines the process of using AAA roadside assistance by transmitting one's location via their GPS to the nearest AAA-approved responder.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: AAA, AAA Mobile, Blackberry, Diamond Rated, directions, GPS, hotels, maps, POI, restuarants, RIM, TourBook Guide, Travel Information

A recent survey by Handango shows that smartphone users use their smartphones for far more than making and receiving calls and emails. It seems more and more people are using their smartphones more and more for entertainment purposes than in the previous two years when the devices were primarily used for professional and business purposes. Entertainment has just recently eked above business use 17% to 16% and looks only to be climbing higher from here.

Analysts attribute this shift to a shift in the predominant market for smartphones, that being from techies and executives to everyday consumers. The reining leader in the world of smartphones - still RIM, despite the big splash made recently by the Apple iPhone - reports that the 10 best-selling applications for their revered Blackberry includes:

• Ringtones and ringtone libraries
• Games (like Sudoku and Texas Hold'em)
• Instant messengers
• Travel assistants

And the Blackberry isn't alone in this. One of the main activities used on Windows Mobile Standard devices is the viewing of streaming media.

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: apple, Blackberry, entertainment, games, Handango, IM, instant messenger, iphone, RIM, ringtones, Sudoku, Texas Hold'em, travel assistant, Windows Mobile Standard

Demographics is big business in any industry and nowhere is that more apparent these days than in the smartphone market. The number of studies on what a person's choice of smartphone says about the person themselves is staggering.

A Verizon Wireless communications analyst released a report on what the type, style, preferred features, and common uses of smartphones says about the user, stating for example that a flip phone user likes being in control whereas a candy bar phone user likes to keep things simple.

Forbes, meanwhile, published a huge article on the personal significance of color choice in smartphones, noting that the most popular color for smartphones is blue, that red smartphones indicate outgoing, dramatic, and spontaneous personalities, whereas virtually nobody wants a yellow smartphone, though gold is another story altogether, suggesting a penchant for wealth, luxury, and prestige.

A story on MSNBC, meanwhile, looks at the correlation between brands of smartphone and personality types, noting for example that Blackberry users like staying in touch at all times, while Palm users enjoy multitasking, whereas iPhone users are avid multi-media hounds.

Pretty soon, it seems, a simple personality test will become the preferred method for shopping for one's next ideal smartphone. Ah progress!

written by SmartPhoneWizard \\ tags: Blackberry, Forbes, iphone, MSNBC, Palm, Palm Treo, verizon, Verizon Wireless