Paul: PDA Information

Sun, 12 Dec 2004 21:13:59 GMT

CharlieO tells how you can get a Scoblephone, er, Audiovox SMT 5600, for better than free from Amazon.

Sun, 22 Aug 2004 02:56:00 GMT

CoolSmartPhone.com has a review of the new Orange SPV C500 SmartPhone, which is one of those that I'm considering for purchase. "My first impressions of this handset are good."

Thu, 19 Aug 2004 22:44:48 GMT

SmartPhone and PocketPC comparison list.

I'm starting to get interested again in buying a new SmartPhone, so was happy to see Chris De Herrera put up a SmartPhone and PocketPC phone comparison list.

[Scobleizer: Microsoft Geek Blogger]

Sat, 01 May 2004 01:52:15 GMT

Report: Microsoft catches up to Palm in PDA OS market. Most PDA (personal digital assistant) users were introduced to the device through the Palm OS, but Microsoft Corp.'s Windows CE .Net operating system family has pulled into a virtual tie with the pioneering PDA OS (operating system), according to first-quarter market share information from Gartner Inc. [InfoWorld: Top News]

Tue, 30 Dec 2003 01:59:57 GMT

Reading news on a PDA. Something I need to download when I return to the office

mobileRSS is a "Web-based client for reading and managing RSS feeds." [Scripting News]

Tue, 09 Dec 2003 01:05:25 GMT

Tablet PC 2004 Update Rocks My World.

(Note: this post was written in an airplane yesterday on my Tablet PC): When Dana Epp visited me recently, he got on my case because I didn't use my Tablet for weblogging. Why not? Because the handwriting recognition was not very good. Now, let me explain. First of all, this is the first blog post that I've made completely with the use of a pen. For this, I am using a pre-release version of the "Lonestar" update for the Tablet PC (which will officially be called Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2004).

First, Peter has the best report on Lonestar.

So, why haven't I used the Tablet PC for text entry before? Because my handwriting sucks and the first version of the Tablet PC has trouble with it. Now, to be fair to the Tablet PC, the fact that it recognizes anything at all is a major accomplishment. But, even if your handwriting is recognized 95% of the time, it's frustrating to use and slow. I keyboard at about 100 words per minute with nearly 100% accuracy (and without needing to look at my hands or think about the act of inputing). Using a pen on today's Tablet PC is a long way from that.

With Lonestar my inking frustrations are gone.

Lonestar is a free update to the Tablet PC. I installed it in minutes on Friday. On top of my existing Tablet PC operating system. I can even uninstall it. Why didn't I install it before? I didn't want to mess up my machine. If that's you, get over your fear. This is a HUGE upgrade for the Tablet PC. I can't repeat that enough. It made this blog post possible.

Here's my experiences: handwriting recognition is now about 99.9%, even with my bad handwriting. That alone makes writing much more enjoyable (and fast). But, when a mistake does happen, then you really see the innovations that have been made. First, the "TIP" (Tablet Input Panel), which is where you enter your text, is completely new and redesigned. The first thing I noticed is that the ink is smoother and more responsive. That makes writing more like the experience on paper.

The second thing I noticed is that my writing was being recognized on the fly. As I write little tags appear underneath my writing with the Tablet PC's best guess.

Then I noticed that there were some mistakes (hey, my handwriting is bad!) "Holy crap," I said when I discovered that I could click on the words and Lonestar gives you a bunch of choices. For instance, when I wrote "crap" it translated that to "crop." So, I click on "crap" and it gives me a bunch of best guesses to change it to. In my experience so far this works on nine out of 10 mistakes.

So what about the times where it doesn't give you a good suggestion? Well, you can either delete your try and try it again or you can choose the closest and then correct it character-by-character.

Some mistakes even get through into Word. Even here the TIP is much better. Just highlight the mistake and re-ink what you want instead. This is totally going to change the editing process. Now I can write on the couch.

There are tons of other enhancements too. For instance, the TIP can be set to float next to your cursor.

Anyway, just wanted to say this is a HUGE increase in Tablet PC functionality. It's amazing how much better they've made the experience of using a Tablet PC.

What does this mean for Microsoft? Well, I think we should change our motto to "making it possible to compute anywhere at anytime." This release dramatically puts Microsoft out front in the computing race. No other platform has the ability to recognize my handwriting as well as the Tablet PC now can.

Oh, tomorrow I'll start my ink blog. Watch for it.

[The Scobleizer Weblog]

Wed, 01 Oct 2003 00:46:22 GMT

An interesting way to use tablets...

Over the weekend a new version of ShareKMC became available. Several of us at Microsoft are using this to make our Tablet PCs become a second screen for our desktop computers. Very cool. [The Scobleizer Weblog]

Wed, 27 Aug 2003 00:39:24 GMT

Managing Blackberrys and Other PDAs. In a tale that reminds us that IT organizations still haven't come to grips with the management of PDAs and other palm-sized computers, this Wired magazine article reports that the Blackberry of a former Morgan Stanley VP, chuck full of all sorts of corporate information, was recently purchased on eBay for $16. The VP had left the company several months earlier and the IT department failed to wipe it clean. Naturally, they want to make it his fault. Quoting from the article: [Windley's Enterprise Computing Weblog]

Wed, 25 Jun 2003 01:11:51 GMT

Chris De Herrera: "Windows CE 2003 for the Enterprise."

[The Scobleizer Weblog]

Wed, 25 Jun 2003 00:48:36 GMT

Dell, AT&T tout wireless Net access. Dell Computer customers who purchase access to Ma Bell's cellular networks won't have to search for a hot spot. Instead, they can log on anywhere AT&T provides coverage. [CNET News.com - Personal Technology]

Sun, 18 May 2003 16:44:07 GMT

lotto ad. I'm alsways a sucker for a funny commercial [via rob] [Adam Curry: Adam Curry's Weblog]

Sun, 11 May 2003 16:55:31 GMT

Location based WiFi buddy list. IM for WiFi.

Trepia provides a new smartmobbing tool: access a location-based list of other nearby WiFi users. It's not available for Mac yet: please contact Trepia to ask them to accelerate Mac development.

(Via Emergent Report)

[Smart Mobs]

How it works

On the surface, Trepia looks similar to a buddy list. While programs like ICQ and AIM will show you a static list of friends, Trepia shows you a list of people who are currently in your area -- people who you most likely didn't know before! You can check out their profile and picture and strike up a conversation, knowing that if you actually want to meet them, they are never more than a few minutes away.

How does it work behind the scenes? If two people are within range of the same Wi-Fi access point, they must be close to each other. Building on this idea, Trepia tracks the movement of people through access points, and then notifies you of other users who are in your area. Trepia is not limited by Wi-Fi's range because it even works when two people are not on the same access point, but the access points themselves are close to each other.

Without Trepia, Wi-Fi users in a common area are completely unaware of each other. Click here to see how Trepia changes the situation.

[Marc's Voice]

Fri, 18 Apr 2003 00:33:55 GMT

Sybase to launch beta of Pocket PowerBuilder. Apps can be built for Win CE [InfoWorld: Top News]

Thu, 10 Apr 2003 22:47:07 GMT

My friends are wondering about all the noise from Microsoft's CE team lately. Yesterday a research firm said that within a few years Windows CE will outsell Windows. Well, this sounds like a little "playing with the statistics." Yeah, there might be more UNITS sold, but is a cell phone as important as one desktop running XP? I'd argue that one desktop sold is more important than 20 cell phones.

[The Scobleizer Weblog]

Tue, 01 Apr 2003 02:02:07 GMT

Pumatech gobbles up Motorola unit. Software maker Pumatech acquires Motorola subsidiary Starfish in a deal that "rounds out" its list of customers and patents for synchronization products. [CNET News.com - Personal Technology]

Sun, 09 Feb 2003 15:43:16 GMT

Sweet Weblog. Although Brian Sweeting works at Novell, he also writes about e-government [David Fletcher's Government and Technology Weblog]

Sun, 19 Jan 2003 15:49:14 GMT

Here is a nice place to look for PDA cases. The site is a flash site and rolling over the menues quickly shows the opions. Cool cases and cool website! http://www.casesonline.com/configurator.php

Tue, 14 Jan 2003 23:38:14 GMT

CES Best of Show [PDABuzz.com]

Pocket PCs, Blogs, and Wireless Access

Sat, 30 Nov 2002 01:40:21 GMT

Got a note from Vince looking for info about PDA's, RadioUsesland, and Wireless access. It suprized me since it was my first contact via my blog! :)

I spent some time crafting up an email to him, then realized that if I just sent him the email, he and I would have the data which is the opposite of what blogs are for. Blogs are to share information
So.... I reformatted my email into this post...

Vince, Thanks for checking in to my ramblings. I am still learning about RadioUserland and PDA's I have a PDA from the "office" where I work (State of Mich). I was a tester for them on PDA's. We were set to deploy a wireless network when we were reorganized. What a bummer, we had the PDA's and purchased the hardware, Cisco I think, We were only a few weeks from deploying it to our building.
However, the reorg has stopped it while things are "being reviewed". Now I am concerned we will not be able to move forward now. Priorties have changed and it may be hard to secure sponsorship to continue. Plus "statewide secuirty" cops have heard of our proposed deployment. To them, wireless is a BIG risk so further wireless deployment is at risk. And that doesn't even mention the budget cuts just ahead. At any rate.. for now I am on hold with wireless, PDA's, and Blogging.

Thas said, I am sorry don't have much news for you but I do have one oddball thing I heard from one of our tech geeks in the office. When you get your home setup, get one with TWO antenas. He said they are much better but couldn't explain it in a way that I understood it. I decided to use his advice by just looking for 2 antenas!

OK... after crafting this vent, I took a look at your weblog. Given what I read, I can point you to sites where I KNOW they use a PDA and Radio Userland to blog wirelessly. Try Phil Windley. He is the State of Utahs CIO and I have followed his wireless blogging of several conferences. Here is a link where he discusses some of the issues. (you may need to scroll down)
http://www.windley.com/categories/networkingAndWifi/

There are tons of new PDA's on the market now. Be sure to shop carefully.
For the latest info on PDA's try http://pocketpcpassion.com/
Here is this AM's Post for it!!!!!!>>>>>

Nov 29

Check out the lines at this morning! The best deal in town for an iPAQ H3835 Pocket PC is at BestBuy for only $249 after rebate this morning. They opened up at 6am this morning and I was out there with about a thousand of my "closest" friends huddling in the cold waiting for the doors to open. By the time I got in the store there were three people already in line getting setup with their new iPAQ. They all will be coming to next months User Group meeting for a new users training session. I ended up going directly over to CompUSA and Circuit City next for their 7am opening and was met with their lines. I had some fun showing off the Pocket PC while I was in the stores answering some questions and doing some demos. If you are looking for a T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition you most definitely want to get by the CompUSA. T-Mobile is giving away a 20" color TV along with the rebate price of $399 of a new in-store activation of the device.

>>>>>>>

Damn! I was at Best Buy and Comp USA before noon this AM looking for a hard drive and never took a look at the PDA's.

Take a look at this for more on wireless sharing.
http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/articles.php?id=4847

Ever heard of Warchalking??? A very cool concept indeed!

Warchalking is the practice of marking a series of symbols on sidewalks and walls to indicate nearby wireless access. That way, other computer users can pop open their laptops and connect to the Internet wirelessly. It was inspired by the practice of hobos during the Great Depression to use chalk marks to indicate which homes were friendly. More at http://www.warchalking.org/

Finally, Here is a site for some education. And, it is in your hometown so any help will be a local call http://airshare.org/index.cfm

Good luck.

Wed, 13 Nov 2002 00:03:56 GMT

This is the type of thing we were on track to implement in Civil Service before the DIT transition. IF we had had only a month or so more, it would have been installed. Now it is back on the "planning boards" even though the equipment is purcahsed and on site.

WiFi in the Workplace. This article in Fortune magazine highlights WiFi installations at Novell and talks about the value of WiFi at work. There are claims of productivity increases in the article, although its not a study. Wireless networking (whether by WiFi or a wide area solution) certainly makes sense for people who spend a large portion of their day away from their desk. Its a lifesaver for me somedays since I can use time away from my desk, in between meetings, to check email, get messages to my assistant, etc. Before, I'd get home at 7pm, eat dinner and spend several hours going through the days email. Now, my email is usually done during the day. [Windley's Enterprise Computing Weblog]

Sun, 20 Oct 2002 18:24:03 GMT

Battle for the heart of the handset. A war is being waged for room inside your mobile phone. [BBC News | TECHNOLOGY]

Fri, 04 Oct 2002 23:45:13 GMT

What's So Good About Pocket PC?. Microsoft, true to form, is making a run at the handheld operating system market from all sides. Partnerships with hardware manufacturers are important, but making inroads with application developers may be even more critical in helping the behemoth repeat what it was able to accomplish on the desktop. [osOpinion] [The Scobleizer Weblog]

Sat, 10 Aug 2002 05:19:33 GMT

Wi-Fi Changes Meeting Dynamics. More signs that journalists read blogs: "Wi-Fi Changes Meeting Dynamics," says this piece on 80211-planet.com. [Robert Scoble: Scobleizer Weblog]

Sat, 10 Aug 2002 04:14:51 GMT

MSNBC Embraces Blogs. "MSNBC.com, consistently ranked among the top news destinations on the Web, is about to invest a chunk of important virtual real estate into the blog concept. MSNBC.com has killed its discussion boards, with their 18 million posts per month, and instead plans to establish by the end of August what it will call "Weblog Central," a portal of regularly updated lists of blogs from throughout the Web, arranged by subject. It will include links to MSNBC.com's own blogs as well." [The Shifted Librarian]

The quote is half way down the page and is interesting. For much of what I see we are HOPING to install discussion boards. Now it looks like they are on there way out.

Sat, 10 Aug 2002 03:55:36 GMT

Here is a site I HIGHLY recommend for PDAs You can depend on the site being up to date and reputable. It's run by a person who is truly possessed by the love for his PDA!!!