Mobility Digest » Tilt

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

HTC Tilt 2 out of stock at AT&T

Doug Smith — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 17:15:29 +0000

I was just strolling through the AT&T website and noticed that the HTC Tilt 2 was still being offered but was out of stock. I know this is not really news worthy, but it was AT&T’s last high end Windows Mobile phone after they made the horrible decision to skip the HD2 and let T-Mobile get it. I actually bought the Tilt 2 on release day, reviewed it, and then never used it again in favor of getting an Australian version of the HD2 that I could run on AT&T and still use 3G. T-Mobile’s version of the HD2, when finally unlocked, could run on the AT&t network, but not use 3G.

The Tilt 2, which ran HTC’s Sense UI and was the saving grace for Windows Mobile at the consumer level also sported a very nice slide out keyboard, which in some situations I do miss. On screen keyboards even on smaller screen devices have really evolved and even fat fingered guys like me can achieve a level of proficiency with them. With it’s chrome bezel, the Tilt 2 was a very sexy device and while thick because of the slide out keyboard, still fit in your hand nicely and worked well with one handed operation.

Even though many you may be wondering why this is even news worthy and is being posted, it is the original Tilt, that kicked off our community and started us on our journey to what is now Mobility Digest. Many of our readers are still around from our Tilt Site and Tilt Mobility days and it would be great to hear from you. If you were a Tilt owner, or Tilt Mobility reader, drop a comment and wave goodbye to Windows Mobile one last time, and let us know what device you are sporting these days. Let’s rock out this comment thread!

Lastly, there are lot of writers that have come and gone from our community, some I keep in contact with, some disappeared off the face of the Earth. Many thanks to them, especially Tyler Earman, Mobile Matt Chapman, Herg, Vince Koser, Ryan Kummerle, Phil Pietrowski, Chris Motch, and Steve Davis, who were good friends and colleagues. And thanks to all our current writers and readers. Please help keep us going. Send us news and tips, or just money. We ain’t picky which. LOL

Mobility Digest Review: Seidio Multi-Function Battery Charger

Jim Szymanski — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:04:46 +0000

Having an extra battery handy for our power hungry devices (sorry iPhone fanboys) is always a welcome option. But not having a simple way to charge it creates a real hassle. Charging one battery in your phone and then switching out and charging the second is no fun, especially because you need to remain tethered for hours and hours. And the charged spare battery loses juice while it sits around waiting to be used. Stand alone chargers are OK but as soon as you replace your device, your investment becomes obsolete. Wish there was a charger that would work with my current device battery as well as future batteries. Well, my wish has been granted.

The Seidio Multi-Function Battery Charger changes everything. Instead of a dedicated charger for a specific battery, this "why didn’t I think if that" device is comprised of two components; a base and a battery charging plate which is designed for each specific size/shape battery (pretty much everything is 5V today). Currently plates are available for; TouchPro2/Tilt2, Droid Incredible/Evo, Droid2, Eris/Hero, Nexus One, Touch Diamond, TouchPro/Fuze, Tilt, etc. More plates are added as new devices hit the market. Simply pop out one plate and pop in the other and you are ready to start charging. This feature alone would make the charger worth its $29.95 price tag (for base and one plate or $12.95 for a plate alone) but there is more, plenty more.

The Multi-Function Charger lives up to its name as you can use the flip-out, two prong AC plug or connect (with an optional standard USB cable) to any USB port. There is a switch on the side of the charger that allows you change power sources. Additionally, you can plug the charger into an AC outlet (I presume with/without a spare battery) and use the supplied USB to Mini USB (or micro USB) cable to charge both your spare battery and device at the same time. Ingenious. That means this spare battery charger can serve double-duty as an all inclusive travel charger. BTW, the charger handled both my standard and extended capacity battery without issue, as I am sure it would with any extended battery as they all have the same footprint/pin configuration (per device design).

There is a single LED on the front of the unit that turns RED when you insert a discharged/partially discharged battery and changes to GREEN when fully charged. I would not consider this a quick charger, as it might have taken a bit longer to charge my spare battery. But that can be explained with the specs: Input 100-240V, 0.2A – Output: to USB Port: 5V, 1A Max (same as a standard device charger) – Output: to Battery Port: 4.2V, 500mA Max (for a slower trickle charge). Input to USB Port: 5V, 500mA (when charging spare battery via USB). The charger measures: 3.875 x 2.50 x 1.06 and weighs in at about 3.0 oz. (base & plate).

Glad to have found an accessory that won’t become obsolete (like the spare batteries) as soon as I grow tired of my current device. Definitely a keeper. You can find the Multi-Function Charger along with spare/alternate charging plates at Seidio’s site, http://www.seidioonline.com/ or at other online retailers.

MyMobiler Skins For HTC HD2, TP2, and More…

Doug Smith — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 23:51:12 +0000

Let’s face it, everyone is always looking for a good deal. If you are a Windows Mobile device owner, then you are most likely making it your mission in life to find the absolute best freeware possible to replace the very nice, but high priced third party developed software needed to enhance our device. Perfect case in point is Soti’s Pocket Controller software. It is just simply the best, no questions asked. But for the seasoned Windows Mobile Expert that knows how to use Google search and cruise the XDA-Developers forums, then arguably the best freeware solution to Soti is MyMobiler. The software is a little slower, not as feature rich, and never included a cool device skin for capturing screen shots and using the hardware buttons. But now thanks to XDA-Developers you can now skin some of the more popular HTC Devices like the HTC HD2, HTC TP2, HTC Diamond and Touch Pro. Check out some screen shots below:

The HTC HD2 Thread can found here: [Skin] HTC HD2 MyMoblier Skin

The HTC Touch Pro 2 Thread can be found here: [THE] Make a Rhodium/HTCTouchPro2 MyMobiler Skin

The HTC Diamond/Touch Pro can be found here: [THE] Diamond/TouchPro MyMobiler Skin (1/2/09)

MyMobiler can be found here: MyMobiler v1.23 (06/15/2008) – FREEWARE

Doing some digging it looked like there was some other skins available too so if your favorite device was not mentioned, do some digging and odds are good you may come up with a skin for your device. As a side note, you will want to READ the whole thread to each of the links posted. For the instructions on how to install the skins, or CLICK HERE.

(read)

The Callpod Fueltank UNO Now Available At Best Buy

Doug Smith — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:04:58 +0000

Everyone has had their Cell Phone, Smart Phone, iPhone, PSP, Bluetooth Headset, Blackberry Die on them When You Need it Most. When you are in the middle of getting directions or hearing important gossip. The Fueltank Uno is a portable Solution that fixes that problem fast and efficiently. Callpod’s Fueltank Uno, is a small rechargeable battery allows users to charge your lifeless device 3-5 times off of one Fueltank Uno Charge.

Ideal uses:

· Car – around the block or long road trips
· Plane – Long flights
· Business meetings – Need access to your email, files, contacts
· For Kids and Students- College on down to elementary school – No excuses why they didn’t call for being late or changing plans, Or for TRUE EMERGENCIES.
· Husband/Wife/Girlfriend or Boyfriend’s cell phone always dies? Get them a Fueltank!
· Hiking/ Biking/ Fishing/ At Work / At the Store / Out to Dinner / At the Field / In your Pocket Book / Back Pack / Laptop Bag etc.

The Fueltank™ Uno can charge one small electronic device without the use of an outlet. It contains a rechargeable lithium ion battery. The Fueltank Uno has more than 4 times the capacity of a standard mobile phone. The Fueltank Uno uses device-specific adapters covering more than 3,000 different devices from all major manufacturers including Apple, RIM/Blackberry, Motorola, Samsung, LG, Sony, Jawbone, Plantronics, Nokia and many others. The device adapters work with all of Callpod’s power products to fit the user’s exact needs. Proprietary voltage regulator technology senses the amount of power required to charge a variety of devices and the power ports containing protection circuits for your devices.

Fueltank Uno costs $39.95 at Best Buy.

For more information, you can check out Callpod’s website: http://www.callpod.com/products/fueltank_uno

AT&T Fortress To Be Released Soon As The Tilt 2?

Doug Smith — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 22:06:33 +0000

Well any news is good news when you are dealing with AT&T. With announcements from just about every US Carrier that they will be supporting the HTC Touch Pro II, the biggest US Carrier AT&T has been hush hush presumably riding the wave of the iPhone 3Gs that was recently released. Our own network of spies have been reporting back that all of the AT&T Stores have pulled the Fuze from the store displays creating some optimism that information on the Fortress would soon be emerging. Well, we were right, but this information is only interesting in that the name of the AT&T version of the Touch Pro II formerly thought to be the “Fortress” may have been a code name and that the “Tilt” brand would return. So today BGR’s highly skilled combat Ninja’s acquired an AT&T Document that the Tilt 2 is in the Pre Launch sheets.

So while I have been struggling to figure out a name for the next niche website to support the HTC Touch Pro II, it appears I might be in luck and a little “recycling” could be in order! Tilt Mobility is still getting our regular readers coming to it daily, and the Tilt/TyTN II is still a very current and functional device with loads of Custom ROMS and Development being done yet with it. So here is a question I hope I can get some of our readers input on, and that is, how would you like to see us go forward and with what website? For those of you that are new to our websites, we currently service the AT&T Tilt and HTC TyTN II on Tilt Mobility, and the AT&T Fuze and HTC Touch Pro on Fuze Mobility. Everyone knows that devices usually last about a year before they are updated to a newer and better device. And since we opened up Forums to support our community, I obviously could not change the domain name of the forums on a yearly basis. So I decided to create a parent website that would be the backbone of everything we do and rename our Forums as well. So I called this new website Mobility Digest and then called the Forums the Mobility Digest Forums. Articles on Mobility Digest range from just about anything Mobility, but mainly center on our passion for Windows Mobile Devices. So that brings everyone up to speed and to my question to our readers. What website would you like to see the HTC Touch Pro II supported on? I shell every use this occasion to create a poll! (We all love polls right?) Having said this, I also registered another domain name and have half heartedly been working on completing it. HTC Mobility was a thought I had that would allow us to stay focused on the Touch Pro II, but also allow our writers to branch out and get other, but still similar devices like the Touch Diamond II, and the HTC Touch HD. So please have a look at the poll and please feel free to drop a comment and let us know what you think. If you have a comment that you don’t want to publish, feel free to email me at doug@mobilitydigest.com. I’m happy to hear from our readers and find out how we can improve our websites. Thanks again to all our readers and we are really looking forward to the future of Windows Mobile Devices and a community that supports them!

[poll id="2"]

OEM HTC Headsfree with MP3 Remote Controller Adapter Reviewed

Kristofer Brozio — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:42:23 +0000

I love getting little accessories for my phone that add functionality, and the one I’ve got for review today does just that, it adds a lot of functionality actually to your HTC phone. I’ve got an AT&T Tilt or HTC TyTn II that I use for many things besides making phone calls. A long time ago it replaced my MP3 player, I use my Tilt instead of carrying a separate music device most times that I want to carry a bare minimum of stuff with me, and it works very well. One thing though is that when you need to either get official HTC headphones with the USB jack or get an adapter, then that usually only gives you the sound of the music and not much else, i.e. no control over the music and you can’t answer calls either.

Today for review I’ve got the OEM HTC Headsfree with MP3 Remote Controller Adapter, yeah it’s a mouthful but it does a lot of stuff for you. It’s not only a USB adapter to 3.5mm jack that can control your music but it also allows you to take calls though your headphones. It features an inline remote with several functions, it’s got a built-in clip as well to keep it handy, and a nice long cord, but the best part is that it’s inexpensive coming in at $14.99 shipped to your door anywhere in the world. So read on to check it out..

This came from USBFever.com for review, they graciously provided it to me so I can share it with our readers..

Here’s the specs:

OEM HTC Headsfree with MP3 Remote Controller Adapter

Product Code#:UFAF001186

Price: US$12.99
-$2.99 Shipping anywhere in the world

Features:
- Iine-In hands free
- Wired Remote Control with all the MAJOR BUTTONS FOR MUSIC PLAYBACK AND CALLS
- No need for extra power
- Stereo
- Lightweight
- Clip to collar, shirt…
- Optimal Length: 82cm (or 2 feet 8 inches), not too long, not too short

Functions:
- Spring loaded Clip allows you to clip at your most convenient places.
- Answer / End calls
- Volume Up / Down
- Microphone
- Next / Backward
- short cut key to Stop / Pause / Play Music

Color:
- Black

Package Contents:
- OEM HTC Headsfree with MP3 Remote Controller Adapter x 1

Packaging:
- Polybag

It’s compatible with most every HTC Phone, but the list is huge, so please visit HERE to see the complete list.

Ok, no special packaging, just a bag, cuts down on costs and waste..

Inside the bag is the adapter of course:

The product is basically a small in-line controller and a USB to 3.5mm adapter in one. It does include a clip so you can clip it to your shirt or wherever.

On the side is a tiny hole, that’s the microphone, yes you can talk on the phone with this, and you calls are in stereo… not sure if I want to hear some people in stereo though….

On the end or top is the 3.5mm jack:

The front face is the controls for forward, back, volume, play/pause, answer call and hang up. Forward and back along with volume are labeled. In the center is a small raised dot that looks like a ball, that’s the play/pause button, on the sides of the dot are two symbols that look like brackets [ ] those are for answering and ending calls.

As I said I’ve got a Tilt, so that what I used this product with to listen to some music through the HTC Audio Manager:

The cord is nice and long, but not too long, adding the headphones makes it very long, but it’s more than long enough to reach the collar of your shirt while your phone is on your hip, that way you have easy access to the controls and the microphone is near your mouth for taking calls.

I used the adapter with my Atrio M5 earbuds so of course everything sounded excellent, the quality of the sound you’ll get depends on the headphones you use, and the Atrio M5s are some of the best on the market… anyway, for me the sound was perfectly fine.

The adapter worked perfectly for me with no problems, the buttons responded instantly with no lag.

I also found that when not on a call you can use the answer call button to take you to the phone dialer to make a call and the end call button will take you back to your home screen but leave the music playing.

The microphone seemed fine during calls, I had no complaints from the people I talked to while using it. It does need to be fairly close to your mouth for good call quality, but that’s expected.

For what it is the OEM HTC Headsfree with MP3 Remote Controller Adapter is a great little product and you can’t beat the price.

Pros:

+Multi-functional

+Works perfectly

+Inexpensive

+Handy and useful

Cons:

-None

HTC to include 3.5mm headphone jacks on almost all ‘post Hero’ devices?

Chris Leiter — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 12:34:04 +0000

According to MobileCrunch.com, HTC is planning on including a 3.5mm headphone jack on nearly all of their future handsets being released after the new, Android powered, HTC Hero. MC.com contacted HTC for confirmation and got the following response:

“The vast majority of devices we launch after Hero will have a 3.5mm jack. Devices that we have already announced but that still come out after Hero will not necessarily be a part of this change.”

Does this mean that all Windows Mobile phones as well as Android phones will have the jack? Only time will tell! I’m more interested in knowing if the 3.5mm jack will support VIDEO as well, leaving the USB port open for more interesting things like.. VGA output, or dare I say … HDMI?

Solio Hybrid 1000 – Hybrid Solar Charger

Kristofer Brozio — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:40:09 +0000

With our phones and other gadgets there always seems to be a lack of power, we always need and want more. We go and spend money on extra batteries, or even larger capacity batteries, but batteries sometimes aren’t always the answer to the problem. The main problem of course is that manufacturers need to supply us with batteries that will last at least through one day, with Pocket PCs or Smartphones, this isn’t always the case, we’re lucky to get through a day without charging our phones, and it’s something that will just deal with for whatever reason. We use our phones during the day then plug them in at night, it’s become routine for us. To get more power to our phones we opt for buying additional devices like car chargers, and even possibly a second wall charger so we have one at the office or wherever other place as well. If you’re an outdoor type person, someone who might go camping, or just get away from the cities for times, you’ll still want to stay in touch of course, you never know what can happen, and our phones have GPS in them which can be very helpful on weekend treks. When you’re out in the wild though, there are no power outlets, it’s just you and nature, depending on how long your’ going to be going away, you might need to pack a few extra batteries, or check out the product I’ve got for review today.

Up on the old test bench today I’ve got the Solio Hybrid 1000 Solar Charger, it’s a lightweight and very portable solar charging solution for your phone or other gadgets. The hybrid part comes in where it can be charged via the sun or a standard USB port on your computer. So read on to learn more…

First we’ll start with the specs:

Solio Hybrid 1000
– Never be caught without a charge!
Price: $79.95 (direct from Solio)
**(Buy.com has it for $59.99)

Your Solio includes:
-Adapter tip system cable (attached)
-USB Charging Cable (plug into your computer’s USB port or your iPod’s USB Power Adapter)
-USB Port Replicator tip (powers iPods and the original iPhone*)
-Mini-USB tip (powers Motorola, Blackberry, Garmin, iriver)
-Nokia tip
-Instruction manual

*For the iPhone 3G and iTouch 2G you will need their dedicated adaptor.

When on the go power for your gadgets is key, plug into the Solio® Hybrid 1000. This hybrid boasts a powerful solar panel and battery in an incredibly compact and slender case, conveniently geared with a built-in rugged carabiner and cable. The Hybrid 1000 is simple to use. Just clip on, plug in, and charge up!

Universal Charger
– Power virtually all your electronic devices. Works out of the box with most common mobile phones, MP3 players, and GPS units – simply change the adaptor tip.

Stores Power
- Charge your devices anytime, day or night. Internal rechargeable battery stores power for up to one year. (A full Solio H1000 will charge a typical mobile phone once or give 10 hours of MP3 music – just 1 hour of sunshine = 15 minutes talk time or 40 minutes of MP3 music).*

Hybrid Charger
- Charge anywhere on Earth. Plug into the Sun and charge Solio through its solar panel, it’s free and green! Or use the included tip to charge from the USB port of any computer.

Technical Specifications:
Rechargeable battery 3.7V 1000mAh (Lithium Ion).
Rated output 1.5 to 5 watts.
DC input charge range: 5-6 volts at 400mA.

Solar panel output 0.6 watts.
Dimensions 198 x 68 x 18mm.

*Performance times may vary slightly depending on type of device and intensity of sunlight.

The box for the Solio Hybrid 1000 is bright and lists specs and features of course.

Inside we find the user manual, USB power cable and three tips. One for Nokia, one standard female USB and one Mini-USB like most phones use for power.

The Solio Hybrid 1000 is small and lightweight, on the front is where you’ll find the solar panels, on the back is the start button, and the charging port. There’s a built in carabineer style clip on the Solio Hybrid 100 that can come in handy, let’s say you’re hiking, just clip in on you backpack and it will collect the sun and be ready when you need it. The majority of the product is plastic as expected, but it feels very well made, rugged and solid.

On the side of the charger you’ll find the female charging tip, it locked into place and is attached to a cable that wraps around the unit itself for storage.

Changing tips is easy, just pop it in and you’re ready to go. The tips are keyed so you can’t put them in wrong, they only fit in one way, and they fit very securely.

I used the Solio Hybrid 1000 to charge my Tilt, and had no problems with it, it worked perfectly fine. Charge time is a bit longer than using a standard wall adapter but that’s to be expected. The Solio will also act as direct power, which is nice, it works just like a regular charger does.

There are two LEDs on the front of the Solio unit, one red and one green. Red means it’s charging and green means it’s charged. That’s not all though, the green LED can also tell you the status of the charge that’s in the Solio, 1 blink is 20%, 2 blinks is 40%, and up to 5 blinks for 100% charge. While charging something the LED will stay lit solid green.

The Solio Hybrid 1000 is very easy to use, there’s nothing to it really, just charge it, pick a tip and charge your device, very easy.

One thing that kind of bugs me about this device is that it says it shouldn’t get wet, or exposed to rain. This is specifically an outdoor type device really, so if you’re hiking and it starts to rain, you’ve got to stop and put the Solio away somewhere, that doesn’t make much sense to me.

Charging the Solio takes a while, charging it via your USB port takes about 8 hours or so, charging it with full, direct sun takes 10-12 hours and one a cloudy day it can take up to 48 hours to charge. That’s up to 100% charge though, you can use it whenever and it will provide power to your device. What I would do is charge it before I left the for where I was going, that way it would be ready to go, and then I can just charge it again with the sun if need be.

The scenario with hiking is just one of the possibilities of uses for the Solio Hybrid 1000, you can use it for most anything, even in your day to day life, take it with you to the park, work or wherever.

For what it is it’s a nice product, though I wouldn’t but it directly from Solio as they sell it for $79.95 and I found it on Buy.com for $59.99, $60 is a more reasonable price for it.

I personally like the Solio Hybrid 1000, it’s a nice all in one portable charger.

Pros:

+Portable

+Well made

+Lightweight

+Works with more than just phones

+Power for any occasion

Cons:

-Not waterproof

-Long charge time via the sun

-Price possibly

How to: Dowload YouTube videos to your WinMo phone

Gil Bouhnick — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:10:33 +0000

This one will definitely be of use for many of you;

How many times did you watch a nice video in youtube that you wished you could download and view while offline?

None???

Liars.

You just said none because you wanted to ruin my point.

Anyways, Most of the common people I know wished they could have a way to download their favorite videos to their device.

GetyTV will do it for you! For free! GetyTV enables downloading of videos to your windows mobile phone.

Sure the UI looks a bit crapy, but the point of this application is not being fancy. And remember, it’s a freeware, and I believe it might become one of the essentials windows mobile tools.

(I just love Windows Mobile for all the cool free tools it brings… no $1.99 required here, people are still developing for the sake of the community).

Download GetyTV