Smartphones and Cell Phones

Google Buzz goes mobile, except for BlackBerry and webOS

Matthew Miller — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:52:57 +0000

I am not very interested in any service that can't be taken with me on my mobile phone so after seeing Sam's coverage of Google Buzz I immediately started searching for how I could use it on my smartphones. There are actually a couple of ways to interact with Buzz on your smartphones and the easiest way (for iPhone and Android owners currently) is to simply point your mobile browser to buzz.google.com. You can read about the mobile web app features on the Google Buzz for mobile site and see a table at the bottom that shows iPhone and Android have the best support with limited support (Buzz layer on Google Maps for mobile) on Nokia S60 and Windows Mobile. Unfortunately, there is no support for Buzz on RIM BlackBerry devices at this time.

iPhone Quickoffice update 3.0 adds Google Docs, Dropbox, and Box.net

Matthew Miller — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:05:44 +0000

I just turned on my iPhone to check for updated applications after reading that Navigon was updated with some very cool new features and discovered that Quickoffice Connect Mobile Suite version 3.0 (iTunes link) just became available today. This new version of Quickoffice has come a long ways since my earlier review and now lets you access documents through Google Docs, Box.net, Dropbox, and MobileMe accounts while also providing general product enhancements. Without file system access it has always been a challenge for developers of these types of apps to help you access your documents and this looks like a great way to provide that support.

AT&T Navigator 1.5i update adds speed limit alerts, shake-to-go, to iPhone

Matthew Miller — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:21:56 +0000

Last June I wrote a review of AT&T Navigator for the iPhone and thought it was a very good solution for GPS navigation. I popped my SIM card in my iPhone 3GS last night and saw there was an update to version 1.5i that I read about on the TeleNav blog was just released a couple of days ago. You can find the latest version on the iTunes App Store (iTunes link) where you will also find TeleNav has a pricing option for $69.99 for a year instead of the $9.99/month option. The monthly option is convenient if you only need the navigation option for a couple months a year, but like I mentioned in my Android post the year option is the best deal.

Get one year of TeleNav GPS Navigator for Android for the price of 7 months

Matthew Miller — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:06:56 +0000

It was just about a year ago that I posted my review of TeleNav GPS Navigator for the Google Android platform. At that time you could purchase it for $9.99 per month and I have heard numerous people say they did not want a monthly subscription fee for GPS navigation and mapping even though there were some premium features available and always updated maps. While speaking with a TeleNav rep last night, I learned that TeleNav GPS Navigator is available in the Android Market for $69.99 for a one year subscription. This is a HUGE savings over the previous $9.99/month fee and gives people an option without recurring payments.

More Windows Mobile 7 rumors; will it really not support multi-tasking?

Matthew Miller — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 00:20:22 +0000

Mobile World Congress is kicking off on 15 February and with the start date getting closer and closer the rumors of announcements is starting to kick into high gear. Rachel wrote last week that it looks like Windows Mobile 7 may be shown off and announced at MWC. Microsoft still hasn't issued any public announcement that there is such a thing as Windows Mobile/Phone 7, but Steve Ballmer, other Microsoft officials, and partner representatives have all said it will be coming at the end of 2010 so there is no doubt it is real and being worked on. There have been lots of rumors floating around about what the OS contains and this latest post over on PPCGeeks has a long list of possible features and I have to say that some are a bit disturbing to me.

MobileTechRoundup show #165, Nexus One, Pre Plus, and Overdrive

Matthew Miller — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:40:08 +0000

Kevin and I both have Google Nexus One devices so were were quite happy to kick off MobileTechRoundup show #196 talking about our firmware update that brought multi-touch pinch and zoom to the Gallery and web browser. James and I also have the Palm Pre Plus (James has the Pixi Plus too) and we are not as excited about them as we thought we would be. James has been testing speeds compared to the MiFi and is seeing a huge difference between the two. I just went and picked up my own Sprint Overdrive today after taking an eval unit for a test drive. Firefox Mobile also arrived as a full version release and Kevin and I have been checking it out and offered some thoughts on our experiences.

Slacker Radio 1.0 for webOS and Canadian subscribers

Matthew Miller — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:23:50 +0000

I have a rather small personal music collection and rely on streaming music applications on my devices to enjoy the latest tunes. I started out using Pandora most of the time, then moved onto Last.fm, but have now found a new client that I actually enjoy more. Slacker Personal Radio is a very cool service that has (or will soon have) functionality on iPhone/iPod touch, BlackBerry and Android devices not seen in other streaming clients and that is offline caching ability so you can load up music onto your storage card and enjoy music when you do not have a wireless connection (such as when on an airplane). I also find that Slacker offers me a very nice selection of music without repeating songs as often as I see on Pandora, primarily due to their catalog that is nearly four times what others have.

Google Nexus One story in five short films

Matthew Miller — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:56:19 +0000

I was envious of Sprint customers back when I reviewed the HTC Hero and jumped on the opportunity to pick up the best Google Nexus One as soon as it was announced. The recent firmware update fixed the only issues I have seen on the device (3G/EDGE connectivity and browser/gallery multi-touch) and I am really enjoying the whole Nexus One experience. Google has a Nexus One YouTube channel and is posting a five-part short film series on the making of the Nexus One that will be complete on the 8th of February.

World's most popular smartphone OS, Symbian, is now 100% open and free

Matthew Miller — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 03:56:49 +0000

There has been a rather cryptic countdown on Twitter from the Symbian Foundation and now we learn that the countdown was designed to alert folks that Symbian is now fully open source and 100% free. This happened four months ahead of schedule and we should soon start to see Symbian-powered devices from different manufacturers. This new Symbian is different than the previous Symbian you are familiar with in S60. While Nokia is still a major contributor to Symbian, the Symbian Foundation stated that the goal by 2011 is to have Nokia contributing no more than 50% of the development work.

Hands on with the myTouch 3G Fender Limited Edition

Matthew Miller — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:49:29 +0000

The Fender Limited Edition T-Mobile myTouch 3G adds a woodgrain effect, music-inspired apps and Slowhand's approval to the HTC-made Android handset. I went hands on to see if the Fender Edition could be cranked to 11.