Asian Tiger

I had the opportunity to attend Microsoft’s MEDC 2006 recently where developers gather and drool over smartphones and software that reside in them. During this conference, we were exposed to the Windows Mobile 5 technology. I thought I’ll just share with you about the new Windows Mobile 5 (codename “Magneto” during development).

Here’s what’s new in Windows Mobile 5:

PowerPoint Inclusion
I am so glad that this missing piece of jigsaw puzzle is included together with Windows Mobile 5. Previously, only Word and Excel were included, making it difficult for users to view PowerPoint files without a third-party software.

Word and Excel Enhancements
Unlike in the previous version (Pocket PC 2003), Word now comes with the capability to add tables and graphics. Excel on the other hand has charting capabilities. For those who have used Pocket PC 2003, we all know how important these new functionalities are (great justification to upgrade your unit ).

Media Player
Windows Mobile 5 comes preinstalled with Windows Media Player 10. With this version, your smartphone can now play WMA, WMV, MP3 and AVI files.

Caller Identification
A great improvement over Windows Mobile 2003 is the ability of Windows Mobile 5 to have photo caller identification. Now, you don’t have to read the names of those calling you but rather look at the person’s photo. A quick glance will tell you if it is your wife calling or your mother-in-law.

Even though Windows Mobile 5 is recently made available to the market, Microsoft is already working on the next version (Windows Mobile 6) which they have codenamed “Crossbow”. Crossbow is rumoured to have improved battery life and greater processing powers.

Tags: MEDC 2006, Windows Mobile, Windows Mobile 5, Magneto

March of this year, I got myself a Samsung X200 mobile phone. I liked the phone for its simplicity and design aesthetics. However, there are 2 shortcomings that I observed.

Firstly, this nifty little mobile does not word wrap when composing or receiving SMS. That makes reading SMS difficult and troublesome. It is really a hassle to read SMSe if you are behind the wheel.

The second shortcoming is that of their preloaded ringtones. There are only limited selections of polyphonic tones available and mostly suited for the much younger generation’s taste. I hear that T-mobile ringtones which is available in the United States are awesome and there is a large collection of tones for download. I’ve not checked it out but I sure will immediately after this post. For me personally, I prefer those monotones that goes ring-ring…. ring-ring; a simple tone to tell me that there is an incoming call.

If you own the same mobile as mine, do yourself a favour and download free ringtones for your own mobile.

Tags: Samsung, X200, ringtones, shortcomings

Recently, my hand started to itch, looking for a new mobile toy to play with. My current Nokia is still serving me well but like all geeks and techies, we long for new toys . The cheapskate side of me started hunting for new mobile phones and the Samsung SGH-X150 caught my eyes.

I have always been a fan of clamshell phones. My very first clamshell was the Motorola Startec and that phone will always be my favourite. Back to the Samsung, I asked the golden-haired promoter the price and he answered “399 ringgit”. Wow! Such a chun phone for only RM400?

I decided to check it out and was told that this is a very basic phone will very little feature. Just enough to make/receive calls and SMS. Just nice for me (not very techie, right?). I wanted to hunt for another phone before buying and so I dropped by another mobile shop. Being a typical cheapskate, I asked the price of the same Samsung. The guy said “499 ringgit”!!! My jaw and my pants dropped when I heard that.

“Wah! How come so expensive one? That shop only sell 399, you sell 499?”, I exclaimed.
“This one is SGH-X200 model-lah…”, the sales guy explained.

With that new information, I decided to study the difference of the models before I make my decision to purchase. The differences and similarities are as below:

Oh! Did I mention that the design for both models are the same? You can’t tell the difference between the two from the outside. The only difference you can see is that there is a light indicator in the front of the X200. It will blink steadly (blue in colour) during standby and if there’s a call/message, it’ll blink frantically. How do I know that? I bought myself the X200