Mobility Digest » 3G

Windows Mobile Interview: XDA TV Throwback Episode

Albert Bunn — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 01:40:57 +0000

Hey there, it’s Albert again. I haven’t posted an entry in a little bit because I’ve been pretty busy lately, but I thought I’d like to write again and shed some light on a spectacular YouTube video I watched around a week ago. For some of you that haven’t been there, one of the only other blogs beside Mobility Digest (that I know of anyway) that posts anything about Windows Mobile 6 anymore is XDA DEVELOPERS, and the other day I saw something on their YouTube channel that really caught my eye: They did sort of an interview between “Azrienoch” and “CajunFlavoredBob”. They talked a little bit about how “CajunFlavoredBob” got into Windows Mobile (and later their forum) and his past devices and his current HD2 and why he liked Windows Mobile and continues to use it to this very day. The almost eight minute video features interesting nuggets of information starting with where the name “XDA DEVELOPERS” came from – which led them into exposing to the world that British people have cell phones, and that one of those foreign carriers got one of HTC’s devices custom branded as the “XDA”. He shared about his first phone device, the HTC “Wallaby” and really nailed exactly what I thought about how the market has changed: We’re moving into higher end, yet more disposable devices. If I’m not mistaken, the launch cost of the Samsung i700 was in the $600 neighborhood, and you can get powerful smartphones today on contract for next to nothing which seems to be really hurting the industry to me. What this does is it screws up the value of everything – any mobile handheld now depreciates faster than video games pertaining to sports.

Anyway, “Bob” goes on to tell us about some more evolutionary HTC Windows Mobile handhelds which included the well known Blue Angel, the original HTC Touch, the Titan, Touch Pro, and the Touch Pro 2. He went into a little more detail on his Touch Pro 2 and held it up beside the Wizard to demonstrate how deep HTC’s “Sense/Manila” made it into the system before Microsoft screwed over the Windows Mobile userbase. From there, they moved on to talking about how (little) the messaging program changed over the years and how our messaging habits as a culture have evolved before he kind of got ready to wrap up the video.

Toward the end, he shared how he had tried Android on his HD2, but it just didn’t “feel” the same to him, and while he said he was learning, Windows Mobile is still his “Daily Driver”. After this part, they add in a random clip of their weird girl and she told her HD2 story (ironically, she basically just ranted about why she didn’t like it), and then “Cajun” comes back and talks a little bit more about holding onto his HD2 for the immediate future since he could still run the “modern” Android platform but also be able to use Windows Mobile which he (and still many of us) are comfortable with. To conclude they shared some “deep” thoughts about how since Windows Mobile 6 had no real successor, it will be tough for many of us to say “goodbye” and admit that the platform is kind of almost “dead”, although it will certainly live on here and on XDA Developers for a very very long time.

::AB

Ask the Readers: What is the best mobile WiFi HotSpot device & service?

Chris Leiter — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 23:57:29 +0000

I travel A LOT for my job, and I’ve been using AT&T for data on my iPad 2, but when it comes to my laptop or PSP, I’m left to trying to find a Panera Bread or pray for a hotel with decent internet access (which is extremely rare). With things like the Sony Playstation Vita coming out early next year, and a few other devices that I usually travel with requiring WiFi or dedicated 3G cellular data accounts, I’ve decided to look into a HotSpot device that can support them all and also consolidate the data plans. I was tethering on my iPhone 4 up until AT&T announced that they were performing a kind of Spanish Inquisition

to find those of us that felt that we should be able to use our data anyway we wished. And doing that with the iPhone 4 worked great, but just adding a tethering plan to my iPhone is out of the question as I use WAY over 5-10GB of data a month just on that one device (in March alone I used over 90GB….) and adding a tethering plan automatically removes my unlimited data plan.

So I leave it to you: What device/plan is the best bet for someone like me that is traveling all over the country on a regular basis and has anywhere from 3-5 devices that need WiFi. I would like 10GB/month at a bare minimum. 3G, 4G, 4G LTE? AT&T, Sprint, Verizon? You tell me.

Also, how much data do you use on average per month?

Artemis HD2 ROM Updated (HTC HD2) (version 64.0) (8/26)

Albert Bunn — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 01:25:25 +0000

For all our HD2 owners surfing the blog here, popular ROM author Sternas has released yet another update to his ever popular Artemis HD2 Custom ROM for HTC’s revolutionary HD2. Version 64.0 was more of a simpler performance upgrade with just a few modifications made “under the hood” for memory and performance, but still a good looking ROM packed full of useful goodies and preinstalled software, while not overdoing it. Sternas has a vast number of screenshots of the ROM that can only be described as a multitude so that you can get a pretty good idea of what Artemis HD2 looks like before you even put it on your device (I know I am personally a little “leary” sometims myself of ROM threads without screenshots). For those of you fortunate enough to still own what is arguably still the best mobile phone ever built, head on down to Sternas’s thread at XDA DEVELOPERS to learn more abut the Artemis HD2 ROM.

::AB

Smooth YouTube Downloader Updated (version 2.1)(8/31)

Albert Bunn — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 01:17:53 +0000

On August 31st, popular XDA DEVELOPERS member Zorc released version 2.1 of one of the community’s favorite Windows Mobile freeware tools, Smooth YouTube downloader. Since its inception, Smooth YouTube Downloader has helped the prolific community of Windows Mobile device holders around the world to download YouTube videos to their device’s more reliable onboard storage or media card without having to worry about data speeds, network coverage, or WEP keys. While ironically many companies are trying to move our “personal belongings” to overloaded “cloud servers” in the sky that require constant and reliable network access, having your files with you reduces the wait and saves precious battery life, not to mention the bandwidth that would’ve been otherwise wasted (which isn’t a good thing in this day and age with so many carriers charging massive costs for extremely small amounts of data). Smooth YouTube downloader comes with a nifty skin and allows you to pick the desired resolution for your download from QVGA size FLV files to WXGA size MP4s and everything inbetween. The program itself supports many common device resolutions too from QVGA to WVGA so that more Windows Mobile enthusiasts can enjoy the software, thanks to Zorc.

::AB

SciLor’s GrooveMobile Alpha 20 Released

Albert Bunn — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 02:13:15 +0000

Once again, renowned Windows Mobile Developer SciLor has another incredible Windows Mobile release with the introduction of a new version of his popular GrooveMobile (alpha 20, updated August 31st) software. For years, SciLor’s GrooveMobile has helped smartphone users to listen to most any song available on GrooveShark without having to pay for or download the track. While many developers have strayed from the formidable platform that Windows Mobile 6 offers, SciLor is still on the front line and continues to release updates to his GrooveMobile and GrooveDownloaderWM software as needed, in addition to a host of other useful utilities for Windows, Android, and plugins for the “Chrome” browser. GrooveMobile is perfect for those songs that you don’t like quite enough to download and put on your device, but sometimes get bored enough to listen to. It is also great for discovering new music as it has a tab that will show you the software’s hottest selections. When you’ve racked up a formidable playlist of music that you really like, you can grab a copy of SciLor’s GrooveDownloaderWM to download the music as an .MP3 file to your handheld that you can listen to anytime.

::AB

Elite Series ROM for HTC Diamond Updated

Albert Bunn — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 01:56:05 +0000

This past July, popular Diamond chef 2 Bunny made a long awaited update to his ever popular Elite ROM series. Updates had been coming rather slowly as the last release had been Spring Break of 2011 and Thanksgiving of 2010. This time, 2 Bunny has made some significant upgrades and fixes in this version of Elite to make it the most complete version ever. The ROM thread tells the story of the ROM’s humble beginnings when 2 Bunny simply could not find a ROM he could depend on and how after asking around a few threads, he found his way to the Diamond OMJ kitchen, and later a special modified version of the Calkulin kitchen that he found by chance on Mediafire. From there, he spent many painstaking hours monitoring countless registry changes in Kheb and fixing them with Agent Ransack. Unlike other chefs, 2 Bunny still talks in the thread and updates the ROM as needed, even after others have “quit” the Diamond ROM development scene. Even to this day, Elite remains a community favorite and is even touted by one PPCGeeker as, “better than Energy Rom”.

If you’re still on the CDMA HTC Diamond and want an excellent Light alternative to the stock ROM, 2 Bunny’s “Elite” may be for you. Head on over to the thread over at PPCGeeks.

::AB

New Version of CR192 DESIRE ROM Available for HD2 Owners (8/19–Version 6.5.3.1.4b)

Albert Bunn — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 16:35:22 +0000

: CRACING’s Latest HD2 ROM Offering: The CR192 Desire ROM

While some people have thought that the Windows Mobile scene is dead, the persistent members over at XDA Developers continue to prove them wrong once again with “CRACING”’s release of the next installment to the CR192 DESIRE ROM series for HTC’s Milestone HD2 handheld. The latest version hit WUpload and Megaupload on the 19th of this month proving that the Windows Mobile ROM community is far from dead. While CRACING seems to be relatively new to the scene, the ROM’s thread looks fantastic and was brilliantly illustrated by CRACING himself. Even though CR192 has not been available even two weeks yet, it has already been recognized by a member of the forum as “one of the best roms ever” despite its relatively short three pages of feedback in the thread. CR192 Desire is the successor to the massively successful Febuary release “Vibrant GTX” ROM (available in the CR192 thread as well). While some people prefer to run Android on their HD2s, the rest of the community has spoken, and the CR192 DESIRE ROM series is the clear choice for HD2 users who want to get the most out of their handheld.

::AB

GczII Geocaching Software Updated to version .2.35.76 (7/1)

Albert Bunn — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 16:20:05 +0000

New Version of NICQUE's popular freeware program, GCzII is released

NICQUE, the popular author of Windows Mobile freeware released a brand new version of GczII on July 1st (version “0.2.35.76”). GczII is a popular freeware Geocaching.com client, where you can search for geocaches by Zipcode, cache name, author’s name, trackables, and of course geographical distance from your current GPS location. For those of you not familiar, Geocaching is a sport which (after registering for a free account on their website) allows you access to the coordinates for thousands and thousands of geocaches worldwide. Each geocache is a container hidden somewhere in public which can be located with the coordinates provided for it on Geocaching.com, which can get you around 10-30 feet from the “cache” (from there, GPS is too imprecise and you must use your wits to find the spoils). When you get to the cache (these can be in parks, parking lots, off a hiking trail, etc.), you can sign the logbook and if the cache is physically large enough (the size of the cache varies wildly – usually a small plastic box though), exchange small trinkets. When you get home, you also sign the log on the site.

GczII saves the user the hassle of not only needing to have a separate GPS receiver, but you also do not have to print off countless cache pages or worry about typing the coordinates just perfectly into a secondary receiver. It is a “green” solution, and also much easier.

::AB

How are Android Devices selling from online retailers?

Doug Smith — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 17:56:37 +0000

I have been blogging for a long time and have made a lot of friends in the industry. Running Mobility Digest has allowed me to talk to people and get information to blog about and really stay at the heart of what’s going on. So as it turns out yesterday, I was talking to folks at Wirefly and was asking them some hard questions of which some of them they would comment, and some others they could not. First, did you know that Wirefly is the largest online only authorized retailer of phones? They have stiff competition, but not having the brick and mortar stores like Best Buy and Radio Shack to help push their online efforts, Wirefly has to do things the old fashion way, better. Yet Wirefly is not without their fair share of problems. You may or may not have noticed, but AT&T is no longer being sold at Wirefly. What’s up with that? Well, that is one of the things I could not get out of them. I suspect that it has to do with the prospect of eventually selling AT&T again in the future. What I do know is that changes made by AT&T caused a lot of online only retailers to quit selling AT&T devices. Myself, I have a love hate relationship with AT&T, but my home town is quite limited on carriers so AT&T is it.

So as I was speaking to Wirefly I asked them how sales were without the presence of the Death Star. They said that sales were good and that Android was covering the hole left by AT&T. AS a side note, Wirefly does not sell the iPhone either by their former exclusive distributor AT&T, or the second carrier with Apple’s iPhone, Verizon. So I asked Wirefly what was their top selling Android devices and I was a little surprised by the result.

When you look through the top ten selling Android devices on Wirefly.com, you will notice that Verizon does not represent the top 5 spots, and they don’t even have the number one spot locked up. Even more surprising was that with the top US carriers Wirefly does carry, the top positions are pretty well spread out. On top is Sprint with the HTC EVO 4G. I know that this device would do well, but not really on top. And so it seems that Sprint actually landed 3 top ten finishers along with T-Mobile, and Big Red Verizon claiming the other four.

The next surprise was the devices. I was expecting to see the latest and greatest prominently displayed from the top down but this was not the case. More often it is the free Android device with 2 year contract that is moving the most off Wirefly’s shelves. As a matter of fact, only three of the top ten will cost you any money, and of those, one is priced $19.99 (Sprint HTC EVO 4G), the second is $49.99 (T-Mobile myTouch 4G), and $129.99 (T-Mobile HTC Sensation 4G). All of the others were free under contract.

From a device standpoint, six out of the ten devices were running on 4G speed networks. Only one, the T-Mobile Sensation 4G was running a dual core 1.2 processor. You will not find the 3D Android devices on here either. So are online consumers taking advantage of more cost pointed Android devices and that is what is fueling Android’s tremendous growth. There is no doubt that Android offers something for just about everyone. Because I am a tech nut, I assume most people are like me and only carry the latest cutting edge technology. I think that is part of the reason Android has done so well, they remain on top for the baddest spec’d out device money can buy. Combine that with multiple solid spec devices across all carriers that are free and there is your recipe for taking over the mobile world, or at least attempting too.

Even though Android is not without their fair share of problems, they do have a solid Marketplace to sell apps and encourage development, as well as generate interest. We see Android continue to release updates at a furious pace. Gingerbread, or Android 2.3 is making the rounds on carrier updates and most devices are running Froyo, Android 2.2. Even the Android Tablets are getting attention with Honeycomb, Android 3.0 which made to optimized specially for tablets. And keeping up with Apple and their fall release of iOS 5 and Microsoft’s Windows Phone Mango, Google will be launching Ice Cream Sandwich Android version 2.4 (that’s what they call it, fo’ realz) to coincide with all of the other operating systems being released.

So check out the top ten Android devices from Wirefly and taking it with a grain of salt of course because of the missing AT&T lineup. I still thought this was post worthy and wanted to share some of the information I got from Wirefly.

The nation’s first 4G smartphone is the number one selling device at Wirefly. Sprint has done a great job marketing their 4G capable devices and going after the market with a solid device in the HTC EVO 4G. Running Android 2.2 Froyo, the EVO 4G comes with a 1GHz Snapdragon Processor (no dual core goodness), Rear 8MP Camera and A 1.3MP Front-facing Camera, 4.3″ Display, and a unique kickstand for easy media viewing on-the-go. The Sprint EVO 4G is a great device and there is no doubt why Sprint has been enjoying great success with their Android lineup of devices.

Currently the Sprint EVO 4G is $19.99 with 2 year contract.

Verizon’s Motorola Droid X takes a back seat in sales only to the EVO 4G and remains a very popular choice among consumers. Excellent build quality and marketing by Motorola and Verizon launched solid sales and success. With a huge 4.3 inch display, the Droid X touts about having a “Pocket-sized Home Theater”. Slightly behind on the battle of specs, the Droid X comes with a 1GHz processor, 8MP Camera With Dual Flash, high definition 720p video recording, running Android 2.2 Froyo on Verizon’s 3G network. Number two on the list is free with two year contract.

The latest myTouch for T-Mobile is now 4G! Running on Android 2.2 operating, the myTouch 4G comes with a Qualcomm MSM8255, 5.0MP Camera With Auto-focus and Flash Also Captures HD Video. The very popular myTouch has received a lot of marketing and some very humorous videos poking fun at AT&T’s iPhone. The marketing seems to have paid off for TMO, because the myTouch 4g is #3 on the top ten. Currently the myTouch 4G is $49.99 when you sign up and commit to a two year contract.

After grabbing the number one spot, Sprint is back with the HTC EVO Shift 4G featuring and EVO Style slide out keyboard. Keyboard lovers give up screen size and in this case the 4.3” inch screen in big brother EVO 4G is now reduced down to 3.6” inch capacitive only. Never fear, it is still running on Sprint’s 4G network while rocking out with Android Froyo 2.2. 5MP Autofocus Camera With 720p HD Camcorder, Talk and Browse The Web Simultaneously In 4G and WiFi Coverage Areas, and a Processor Speed-800MHz. The EVO Shift 4G is free with 2 year contract from Sprint.

Verizon hits the top ten for a second time with their HTC Droid Incredible 2. Following up from the original Droid Incredible, the second coming of the Droid Incredible comes with Android Froyo 2.2 with HTC Sense, 4″ Super LCD Display, 8MP Rear-facing Camera and A 1.3MP Front-facing, 720p HD video capture, and a now substandard 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8655 Snapdragon Processor.

The Droid Incredible is now priced for the very low price of free when you sign on the dotted line for a 2 year contract.

If it’s free, it’s for me, and if it’s 4G, it makes me really happy! Okay, no more rhymes. But what we have at the number 6 spot is the T-Mobile Samsung Exhibit 4G. Powered by Android 2.3 “Gingerbread”, the Exhibit sports a Lightning-fast 1GHz Hummingbird Processor, Dual Cameras w/3MP Rear Facing, and a tiny 3.5 inch screen. (seriously, it’s that small). But it’s free, and it’s 4G, but plan on signing over a 2 year contract baby! Okay, I’m done now.

T-Mobile’s HTC Sensation 4G is cutting edge and one badass Android device for all the fine Carly Foulkes loving subscribers at TMO. The HTC Sensation comes running Android Gingerbread, beautiful 4.3″ Super LCD qHD Touch Screen, 1.2GHz Dual Core Processor, 1080p HD Capture and Video Sharing Using The 8MP Camera, and speeding along on T-Mobiles 4G network. I still am a huge fan of HTC Sense and this is an excellent choice for T-Mobile subscribers to consider when upgrading or jumping into a new two year contract. Currently the T-Mobile HTC Sensation 4G is $129.99 w/Contract.

The Verizon Droid 2 from Motorola features a 3.7” screen with slide out keyboard. Packing a 5MP Camera With Dual LED Flash and DVD-D1 Video Capture, the Droid 2 speeds along with it’s 1.2GHz processor. Not a 4G device, so you will not get Verizon’s speedy 4G LTE network. The droid 2 is currently free with two year commitment. The Droid 2 is currently running Android Froyo 2.2.

The Kyocera Echo by Sprint features the first dual touch screen Android Smartphone that opens up a huge 4.7 inch display. 5 Megapixel Camera With LED Flash, Digital Zoom, and 720p HD Video Capture. The Echo come loaded with Froyo, Android 2.2 and is currently free with two year commitment.

Finishing off the top ten is the Verizon LG Cosmos Touch. Definitely nothing to write home about where the specs are concerned, but it does come in at the free mark.

“The LG Cosmos Touch for Verizon Wireless is a quick messaging phone for the serious texter. Slim, sleek, and feature-packed, this handset boasts a touch screen and slide-out QWERTY keyboard for unsurpassed messaging speed and convenience.” Cosmos Touch includes a 1.3mp camera, BT headset capability, direct uploading of images to Facebook, and a Favorites Key to connect with 11 contacts

In Search of The Data Bandit(s)

Jim Szymanski — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 18:38:27 +0000

With all the posts going around regarding data drain on WP7 devices I decided to do some simple testing on my device to see if any of the claims regarding Microsoft Feedback or Phone Update using excessive data were true. Needless to say, after eight days I am probably more confused now than I was when I started.

For starters, I am on a grandfathered AT&T Unlimited Data Plan, so data use is more a curiosity for me than anything. But I am interested in helping the poor souls with 200MB plans. I was never a really big data user (iPhoner’s should thank me for giving them my excess allotment) but in the first two months (first month adjusted for a full cycle) with my Surround I was averaging 1.7GB/month. After a failed data experiment with an AT&T MicroCell (data is actually worse than 3G) and discovering that battery drain on my WP7 device was minimal with WiFi turned on, I decided to go WiFi 24/7 a day or two after my month/cycle (26th) started. And aside from running errands and a couple times when I was away from the house for a good part of the day, WiFi has been available constantly. 3G in the house was averaging 1.3-1.7 Mbps while WiFi is typically 6.8-8.0 Mbps, so I rationalized that any extra battery usage from WiFi would be made up with quicker download speeds. And of course, there are some things you just can’t view or listen to over the spotty 3G connection.

The excess 3G data usage some are reporting is important to me because I equate data uploading/downloading to battery drain and with my meager 1300 mAh battery, I need every drop I can get. The chart below describes where I was on each day, starting on 1/11/11 through this morning. I started by turning Feedback off (Settings>Feedback) and then followed that up with turning the Phone Update/Cellular option off as well (Settings>Phone Update). By 1/14, I though I was on to something and was going to report a “breakthrough”, but I forgot to check my data usage the night of the 15th and when I checked the next morning I discovered that I had consumed 83MB of 3G data. WTF. Now, I was away from the house on the 15th, out of WiFi range, for several hours watching the Steelers/Ravens game. But the only thing unusual I did with my phone was use Bing/Wikipedia to check the size of an NFL Officials Crew (the answer is 7). Can’t imaging that amounted to 50MB+ of additional usage. On the 16th, while within WiFi range, I downloaded a new app, MiraTV and played around with it for about 45 minutes, looking for working TV feeds. I also listened to some streaming Zune music and download 9 songs to my device. I was really surprised the next morning when I discovered that I had consumed 197MB of 3G data. After playing with MiraTV a bit yesterday, checking feeds that were closed the night before, and doing all the normal tinkering I do with my device all day, this morning I was perplexed to see that only 3MB of data had been added to my 3G total.

I know that when your WP7 device is on charge (AC or USB), WiFi stays on constant and when off charge, WiFi will go to sleep after 45 seconds of screen off (yes, I also tested this). So there are times where 3G will take over to push/sync email, push Live Tile updates, etc., but most of the heavy lifting is done when the screen is turned on and WiFi “is” connected. Additionally, my phone is on charge every night for at least 7 hours, plus it’s usually plugged into a portable backup battery charger for my late day power boost 1-2 hours each day, and/or connected to my PC syncing Zune. So almost half the day, I am WiFi on “constant” and “on demand” the rest of the day. Now, there have been times that my BrightHouse cable connection will simply turn off, usually not more than 5 minutes, and then restart on it’s own. But that’s rare and I would have a hard time pinning that to either of the data usage boosts described above.

So what is using 3G data, sometimes at alarmingly high rates. Third party apps can’t run in the background, but maybe some are not optimized to use WiFi when available. Not sure how that works. It could be the Microsoft built-in services, but I somehow find it difficult to believe that this is equating to MB’s worth of data. Maybe a few KB’s, but MB’s? Or, could it be the OEM or Cellular provider doing things that we don’t know about. Not sure how much access they have to my device. It’s been reported that AT&T records their data usage in lumps, which could explain the jumps above, but it still does not explain how I consumed that much 3G data, with WiFi constantly turned on and within range about 80-90% of every day on average. The only way to truly test all of this is with a fresh, app free device, with a Windows Live ID setup and basically nothing else. But who would want to walk around with that for a week or two. Not me. Using today’s average, I may hit around 1.1GB for the month which is a lot more than I expected, running WiFi all the time. Now that we are into the third month of WP7, how has your experience been? Are those on the 200MB plans still keeping the data numbers down? Anything unusual to report?