HTC Touch Diamond/Pro coming from Sprint, Verizon
Rumors are about that Verizon and Sprint will be offering the HTC Touch Diamond and HTC Touch Pro. Plus, there’s a great video on YouTube of the amazing Touch Pro interface. This week we’ll also note a few reviews of the new HP iPAQ 910 and leaked information about the Treo 850.

PREVIEW & CHART: The Multiplatform Podcasting / Podcatching Bible

Get Answers via ChaCha; Live Search Mobile Update; Downloading Software
I’m surprised I haven’t yet mentioned ChaCha, a free, human-powered service that lets you ask any question and sends you an answer via text message. Also, this week we’ll note an update of Windows Live for Windows Mobile and discuss various opportunities for downloading software, including freeware, directly to your device.

New Airscanner Web Site and Blog...20 Percent Off Back-to-School Sale!!
"...we have decided to temporarily offer you our individual software products at a reduced amount of 20% off retail. Don't miss this opportunity to secure your device at a discount!"

The Definitive Multiplatform Multimedia Metatag & Library Tutorial & Bible
Compared to the capabilities of desktop multimedia players (see for example the excellent WMP vs Winamp vs iTunes vs MediaMonkey for more info on their capabilities), the mobile ones certainly lack when it comes to fetching, searching for, editing, storing and, in several cases, even accessing / displaying different kinds (album art and/or other images; textual genre / composer / title etc. info; lyrics etc.) of information in audio files.

Relaunch of Smartphonemag.com; Samsung Omnia; Google Maps
We’ve recently redesigned our web site, and I’m impressed. It must be among the best Windows Mobile/Smartphone sites on the Internet. This week we’ll also note a video review of the Samsung and other device news, as well as a new version of Google Maps for Windows Mobile.

The Week In Games: Nicky Boom
Nicky Boom is a port of a famous Amiga platform game. It's one of those games that makes me wish I had an Amiga back in the day. (I still remember that trip I made to Warren Radio in Peoria, IL back in the 80s and they just happened to have an Amiga on display. It almost seemed like a magical experience. Where have all the good times gone?)

The Multiplatform Lyrics Bible
Along with tags and cover arts, lyrics are also highly sought-for and widely used metadata, particularly with non-English folks who would like to know the lyrics of the songs they listen to.

VITO Releases New Online Task Service--Task2Gather!
"July 30, 2008 – VITO Technology is proud to present Task2Gather - a brand-new free service for online task management. Task2Gather is one place for all your tasks and projects: family, social, business, and private. Task2Gather lets you put your tasks online and invite family members, colleagues, or clients to participate and achieve common goals."


Fitaly 5 SIP Review...
I've reviewed a number of new software input methods this year for Windows Mobile touchscreen devices. They have all generally used the standard qwerty layout that would be found on a hardware keyboard. Fitaly throws you for a loop because it uses a non-querty layout, and incidently the name is derived from the arrangement of letters on the keyboard (just like querty). The fitaly layout was designed in the nineties for pencomputers, when Jean Ichbiah thought that writing with a stylus required a different type of keyboard.

Everyone needs an eWallet
I used to be a devoted FlexWallet user until it was subsumed by Ilium Software’s eWallet. I was always too lazy to try to convert to another wallet application. But, eWallet made it seamless, and I’ve never looked back because eWallet is by far the superior product.

What's Online
The PDA used to be a standalone device, but beginning a few years ago, manufacturers began marrying them with the mobile phone to create a new converged device—the smartphone. The idea was to create an all-in-one device that would let you make phone calls, organize your life, and connect to the Internet for e-mail, instant messaging, and Web browsing. Connection speeds and Internet browsing were slow at first, but the roll out of high-speed data networks has made browsing from a smartphone a more compelling experience.

Tips From The SmartphoneMag.com Forums
Accessing a laptop through a Windows Mobile device
Hi guys. Just wondering if anyone can tell me what software would allow me to use my iPAQ as a screen for my laptop. My goal is to have the laptop under a seat in the car and use the iPAQ as the screen to control the laptop. Can anyone help?
tgmartin

Containing Wildfires and Preserving Homes

Free Vista SP1 Support (until March 18, 2009)
Did you know that you can get free technical support on Windows Vista SP1 until 18 March 2009?
Free, unlimited installation and compatibility support is now available for all worldwide customers using Windows Vista SP1, until March 18, 2009. Telephone support is available worldwide.

At last: resume support for Windows Media Player!!
The built-in Windows Media Player has always suffered from a major flaw: it didn’t support resuming the song from the last position after restarting the player. XDA-Devs forum member Wolfman-XP (the same guy that has also developed AVRCP support for GSPlayer) has fixed this: he has released a plug-in that remembers the last position where you press(ed) the Pause button.

Audio player CPU (and, therefore, power) usage benchmark update!
Following is an update to my previous article on the CPU usage of the audio player applications. Please consult the old article on how the data should be interpreted.

PDAmill Releases Funky Freebie from Jaybot!
"It's been awhile since we released our last new title, but for a very good reason. Our latest title, Jaybot's Catchy Cadence is an amazing game, and it's now ready to play!"

Resco File Explorer 2008
Over the years, I have extolled the virtues of Resco File Explorer in its many iterations. Somehow I neglected to mention the recent release of the 2008 version.



Photo from ZDNet