Server Change this weekend

Update** The server move is all finished up. Here's the new site : Smartphone Reviews Please update your booksmarks! Just wanted to give everyone a bit of heads-up. I'm moving Smartphone Reviews over to my own domain, on a Movable Type setup. The move will be this weekend, and I'll try to do it as quickly and smoothly as possible. If you guys notice any errors, bad links, or missing pictures, please please leave me a comment on the offending post, and I'll get it fixed ASAP. Thanks for reading guys, I do appreciate it. -LB Read more!

Bluetooth DUN Cripped on Treo 700w - at Treo Today

Thanks to Azizi over at Treo Today for this -Bluetooth DUN is crippled on the Treo 700w. After all the bad press Sprint got for doing this in the original revision of the Treo 650, you'd think Verizon would know better. Sprint did end up enabling Bluetooth DUN on the 650 with a later software patch. Let's hope Verizon does the same. Tags: Treo 700w palm windowsmobile smartphone bluetooth Read more!

Tekkeon myTalker ET700 review at OHGizmo!

Oh Gizmo! picked up this neat little gadget, the Tekkeon myTalker ET700. Imagine you're wandering blindly about, blasting whatever crap you listen to on your iPod, and your smartphone starts ringing. Instead of fumbling around to pause your iPod, yang your earbuds out, and dig out your smartphone, just press a button on the remote control, pause your music & pick up the call. The earbuds are magically turned into a bluetooth headset of sorts, with the mic right on the controls. Neato. Read more!

Bill Gates uses a Treo 700w - Interview at Engadget

Bill Gates using a Palm device? Well half Palm, half windows. Engadget interviews Billy & here's what he has to say about the Treo 700w - 'Well, recently I've been using this Treo 700w that I think is a great product, Palm has done a good job on that. We've got quite a variety in cell phones with Windows Mobile, more and more people backing that, but that's one I've been using recently.' Being a bazillionaire gives Bill his choice of any phone / pda /smartphone on the planet. The fact that he chooses to use the Treo 700w for the time being says something about it. I know, I know, it uses Windows,so it's a promotion thing. And heck, it may be. But i like to think that if I was a billionaire, I would use whatever phone I wanted, whether it had my company's logo on it or not. Tags: treo windowsmobile Read more!

Backup issues with WindowsMobile 5?

Smartphone Thoughts brought to light a potentially dangerous issue. There isn't currently any working backup software for Windowsmobile 5. I don't yet have a WM5 device to gauge how stable it is, but I am an absolute backup fanatic. My Treo 650 gets backed up daily, if not twice daily. Sometimes 3 times. Rolling backups are an absolute must for me - probably a little OCD in that area. Tags: windowsmobile software Read more!

Google Maps on the Treo 650 - at Smartphone Reviews

Ivan Mitrovic over at uLocate has found a way to get the excellent Google Maps on the Treo 650. It involves installing Java on your Treo, so it does take up a solid amount of RAM. He calls his creation "KMaps" , probably because GMaps would make Mr. Google unhappy ;). Like I said, you'll dowload Java for Palm before you can install KMaps. uLocate has a directions page - read it! It looks like KMaps is also available on the Blackberry, but I can't seem to find any more info on that. Anyone know if the Blackberry comes with Java installed? Tags: treo palm software Read more!

Smartphone Reviews : The Motorola Q Shows up at 2006 International CES

Geekzone got a quick look at the Motorola Q Windows Mobile Smartphone at 2006 International CES and said 'Enough said. Just look at these pictures - I wouldn't mind replacing my Telecom Apache for one of these new Motorola Q on CDMA...' Mobileburn has some more info on the Motorola Q Windows Mobile Smartphone. They write - 'I found the Q's QWERTY keyboard to be about as good as that in the current Treo line, its extra width and spacing suiting my hands a bit better overall. The Q's size and weight are right on target, and it slips oh so easily into a shirt or jacket pocket.' It seems more & more smartphones these days are coming out in the "blackberry" form factor. I would call it the Treo form factor, but I gotta admit, RIM had it first. It sounds like this one has some impressive specs, with the mini-SD slot & 1.3 MP camera. The ultra-thin design ( for a smartphone ) is interesting too. Tags: motorola windowsmobile Read more!

Smartphone Reviews : Pocket Tunes now supports Yahoo Music Engine

Thanks to Everything Treo for the tip. For those of you who aren't familiar with Pocket Tunes - you should be. In fact, it really belongs as item number 7 on my Top 6 Applications for your Palm - based Treo Smartphone. It blows away the default RealPlayer which is included on the Treo 650. The interface is much cleaner, plus you get the ability to use skins to further enhance it. Shoutcast support also adds to the package. With the latest update, online music services such as Yahoo Music Engine, Napster to Go, and Rhapsody to Go are all supported. So all the music you download from these services as part of your subscription, you can take with you on your Treo. Tags: treo palm software Read more!

Top 6 Applications for your Palm - based Treo Smartphone - At Smartphone Reviews

I've been using Treos for awhile - first the 600 , currently the 650. I have a bad habit of installing, and later uninstalling, a ton of software. See, I have the attention span of a doorknob - a doorknob doesn't even know who opened it last. But some programs have been constants on my Treo. Here's my list of the tried & true. Chatter Email - "The" killer app for the Treo. Never check your email again - Chatter will let you know when you've got something worth reading. Makes the Blackberry obselete. Documents to Go - Read, create, and edit your Office files right on your Treo. No need to convert either - Documents to Go recognizes native file formats. ZLauncher - Really cleans up the default Treo interface. Also makes the memory issue go away - move many of your apps to the SD card to free up RAM. 2Day -What the title says. A "today screen" for the Treo. Integrates your calender & today list quite nicely. This is the way it should've come from Palm. Blazer - I know, I know, Blazer comes with the Treo. And it's not perfect, and it crashes too much. But compared to all the other Treo browsers, Blazer renders more pages, more accurately, and more quickly. Ultrasoft Money - Keep track of your finances on your Treo. Syncs with Microsoft Money, and you can even choose which accounts to sync with the Treo, and which to keep only on your PC. Tags: treo palm software Read more!

Smartphone Reviews : Nokia N80 Preview at MobileBurn

MobileBurn has posted a short preview of the Nokia N80 smartphone and they say - 'The N80 sports a large, 352x416 pixel resolution screen with up to 262,000 colors, 40MB internal memory, miniSD expansion slot, 3 megapixel camera, and runs the recently re-branded S60 operating system.' All About Symbian reviews the Nokia N80 and writes - 'The N80 is a very powerful device which outclasses all of its competitors. In providing a well integrated, user friendly and feature rich convergence device which maintains the phone origins it comes from, the strengths of Symbian OS 9 and Series 60 3rd Edition are on show in the N80.' Mobile Tracker reports that the Nokia N80 smartphone received FCC approval, and the phone was wearing a Cingular logo at the time. Over at Engadget, you can check out Nokia's trio (not Treo!) of new Smartphones, including the N80. Ok so I'm not crazy about Symbian - but that's one fine loooking smartphone! With the powerful camera, what appears to be an excellent screen, and a mini-SD slot, this is a smartphone to keep our eyes on. I definately prefer PalmOS first, and WindowsMobile second, but I wouldn't ignore this smartphone simply because it runs Symbian. The Nokia N80 should be available late Q1 in 2006. Estimated MSRP at time of launch? $599 without a contract. Tags: Nokia WindowsMobile Cingular Read more!

Smartphone Reviews : Palm Treo 700w Review at Personal Technology

Personal Technology reviews the Palm Treo 700w - and it turns out they're not impressed. Here's a snippet - "But the resolution of the screen on the 700w, a vastly more important component, has changed for the worse. Although it is about the same physical size as the 650 screen, it has a resolution of only 240 by 240, 44% lower than the 320-by-320 resolution on the Treo 650 screen." It goes on to talk about how many simple tasks, including using the speakerphone, and sending emails, require more button presses. The Treo 650 was lauded for its ease of one-handed use. The Treo 700w seems to go backwards from this. On a positive note, it seems the EV-DO implementation is excellent - web pages load significantly faster on the Treo 700w than they did on the Treo 650. Other posts you may be interested in : Palm Treo 700w Review at Engadget Palm Treo 650 Review Tags: palm treo verizon windowsmobile Read more!

Smartphone Reviews : Samsung i830

Mobileburn has a preview of the Samsung i830. They write - "Dropping the i730's WiFi capabilities in favor of EV-DO wireless access, the Samsung i830 is a quad-band handset running the Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC 2nd edition (what a mouth full). It is unfortunate that Samsung has decided not to make the i830 a Windows Mobile 5 device, though with 64MB ROM/128MB RAM, an SD I/O slot, and dual speakers it covers most of the important features regardless. The Samsung i830 shares the same dimensions as the i730, as well as the nice 240x320 pixel resolution, 2.8" display and slide out keyboard." This is truly going to be a phone to watch. It should be Windows Mobile 5, but I don't think that will hinder it. The incredible form factor, coupled with EV-DO should make this phone a home run. If only Sprint would pick it up. ( HINT HINT - Sprint are you listening? ) Related smartphone reviews : Samsung i730 Tags: Samsung Read more!