A year ago I thought it might be a good idea to blog about mobile tech on a personal blog and summarize in Windows DevCenter once a week instead of monopolizing this blog. So, here’s the 52nd weekly summary. Although my main interest and focus is tech related to Windows Mobile (smartphones, etc.), I’m actually interested in all kind of mobile technology and sometimes talk about things like the Nintendo DS (which now has a browser option), the Apple iPod (which might get a browser on Sept. 5th if you believe some of the rumors), and even notebook PCs (I’m still waiting for the promised but never delivered $500 UMPC). I’ve got a second PC sitting next to me churning away trying to deploy a VMware Pocket ACE instance. It is my first try and I didn’t realize that it would take so long. The 10GB required space for this portable virtualized environment is too big to fit on the largest USB flash drive I have (4GB). But it does fit on an old 40GB drive I stuck into a $26 USB drive enclosure purchased just for this little project. Is Pocket ACE a mobile technology? I’m starting to think it qualifies.
I’m thinking about starting a monthly or bi-weekly live talkcast on TalkShoe. If you are working on a mobile technology related project, drop me a note at editor(AT-SIGN)mobileviews.com. Perhaps we can arrange to chat on TalkShoe or some other live audio site and invite others to join in the discussion.
OctroTalk Instant Messenger for Windows Mobile Works with Google Talk
If you would like to IM with friends using Google Talk from a Windows Mobile Pocket PC or Smartphone, you might want to take a look at…
OctroTalk
It is currently in beta-release and free for testing (the current release expires in October if I recall correctly). I tested on a TyTn Pocket PC Phone Edition running Windows Mobile 6. It worked fine IMing to Google Talk. Since Google Talk is based on the protocol developed for Jabber, it should work fine with Jabber as well as its transport gateway.
Move Over Palm Foleo, Hello Asustek Eee PC
Despite the mostly negative reaction to the Palm Foleo announcement a while back, I was excited about the possibility of regaining the features I used to have when I used Windows CE Handheld PCs. But, Palm seems to be having problems getting the Foleo out the door (wasn’t it supposed to be available this week???). So, my new object of interest is the Asustek Eee PC. You can see a photo of it in CNet’s Crave area. The Eee’s specs look good: Under 2 pounds, 7 inch LCD display, runs Windows XP (XP is the new Windows 93SE, a stable OS that may never disappear :-) or Linux, and priced between $200 and $370 in the US. Compare that to the $600 list (ok $599) for the Foleo.
So, I’m no longer planning to get a Foleo (if it actually ever appears). My new ultraportable target device is the Asustek Eee PC (unless it is delayed and something better is announced :-).
Code Wallet vs. eWallet CNET Review
I rarely mention product reviews on other sites. But, it’s so unusual to see a head-to-head comparison review on a mainstream tech site (CNET’s The Daily Download) that I figured I mention it just because of that. One other aspect of the article is that it compares an app that I’ve been using for around a decade now, Ilium Software’s eWallet.
Code Wallet and eWallet duke it out for your phone
And, don’t forget the other major info encryption app that was not mentioned in the comparison article: Spb Wallet.
Finding Free Windows Mobile Software in the Windows Marketplace
I think I’ve mentioned this before, but here is a bit more detail about looking for free Windows Mobile software available in the Microsoft Windows Marketplace site. Here are two sample links…
Free Pocket PC Software in Windows Marketplace
Free Smartphone Sofware in Windows Marketplace
If you take a look at the way the URLs for each one is constructed, you can figure out how to search for other free software using different keywords. Just replace the search string after the text= part of the URL string. I don’t include a link to search for the words Windows Mobile. But you can figure that out by looking at the URL in your browser’s address bar.
