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Internet Explorer 6 Mobile browser is close to release, with the Windows Mobile Team Blog announcing the availability of emulator images of Windows Mobile 6.1.4 containing the updated browser. Even though Microsoft is finalizing IE 8 for PCs, it’s only up to version IE 6 for its mobile platform, though Iʺ’s javascript engine is backported to Iʸ Mobile.

Check out the features in Pocket Internet Explorer 6 Mobile (PIE6):

• Improved fidelity (support for full fidelity desktop rendering)
• Layout fixes to accommodate a mobile screen (text wrap)
• Enhanced Script and AJAX support (Jscript v5.7 from Internet Explorer 8)
• Improved multimedia experience (Adobe Flash Lite 3.1 for Adobe Flash content)
• Deeper integration with search
• Enhanced cursor navigation model
• Touch and gesture support - pan support
• Multiple zoom levels
• Easy switching between mobile / desktop versions of sites by specifying UA strings.

The question is, is this too little, too late? Several browsers have surpassed Pocket Internet Explorer to become the mobile browser of choice, including Opera Mini, which just released Opera Mini 4.2 yesterday, but also Opera Mobile 9.5, and Skyfire, which handles video streaming Flash sites such Youtube. And let’s not forget the forthcoming mobile Fennec browser by Mozilla. Still, the touch and gesture support in PIE6 is a welcome addition and no doubt in response to the popularity of the Apple iPhone web browser.

You can download the emulator images from Microsoft here. If you’re really good, you can pull out the emulator code, convert it to a .cab and install the browser on your Windows Mobile.

Tags: browser, Fennec, ie6 mobile, internet, Internet Explorer 6 Mobile, Opera Mini 4.2, PIE6, Skyfire, windows mobile

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Copyright VoIP & Gadgets Blog

Original post by nafiz

Opera Mini 4.2 beta just launched today. Opera Mini is one of my favorite mobile phone Internet browsers. It’s a tough call between Opera Mini and Skyfire. Skyfire supports Flash and video, so it’s better at multimedia, however, I find Opera Mini better suited to regular web pages with just graphics and text. Opera Mini is much faster at loading web pages and scrolling than Skyfire. Still, I use both on my Windows Mobile.

That said, today Opera Mini is trying to add video streaming support. Ironically, yesterday I was trying to figure out how to copy/paste my Orb TV streaming links from Opera Mini 4.1 to Pocket IE so I could stream live TV. I prefer browsing via Opera Mini, but I have to use Pocket IE to stream video/audio. I could use the popular MortScript to add copy/paste functionality, but unfortunately, it only allows pasting into Opera Mini and not from Opera Mini. In any event, in 4.2 when you are browsing video content, such as Youtube, Opera Mini will launch your regular Windows mobile browser (Pocket IE) with a prompt that says “Open URL? Yes / No” with a link similar to this - http://serveѸ.operamini.com/hⲊ-14/5oxerx…/2/196. I figured out that this is like Opera Mini’s version of tinyURL to point directly to the Youtube video. If you click ‘Yes’, it then launches Pocket Internet Explorer with a single URL on the web page “Start Stream”. When I clicked this link it then said “Running a system command on this item might be unsafe. Do you wish to continue? Yes / No” with on option to save my preference for the future. (Pocket IE’s fault not Opera Mini).  My default media player launched and then I got “An unknown error 0X8007274D has occurred.” I looked at the URL it was trying to open and it looked similar to this:
rtsp://prug.rtsp-youtube.I.google.com/CkcLENy73wIaPgn43DiE8… (bunch more letters and numbers)

I’m guessing Windows Media Player couldn’t handle the long string. It probably has a character limit.

Even if it did work, it’s a bit of kludge, though I’m glad they’re finally working on video support. I toggle to Skyfire when I need video. Opera said, “We are working to make video content available on more phones through Opera Mini. If you have a new Sony Ericsson or Nokia phone, the chance is high that you can take Opera Mini for a spin on m.youtube.com”. So I guess Ericsson and Nokia users might have better luck than me.

Some other benefits of Opera Mini 4.2 over 4.1:
- Opera Mini 4.2 can use their newly established server park in the U.S. for faster performance.

- Sync your notes. The handy Notes functionality from the Opera Desktop Web browser just got more portable through Opera Link. All of your notes are available in Opera Mini directly from the Bookmarks menu.

- Personalize Opera Mini by choosing a new colorful skin. They reintroduced the popular skinning feature from Opera Mini 3.

Overall, I like the new version, especially the speed bump. No need for my Opera Mini browser to connect to Opera’s servers in Norway and then back across the Atlantic. Still, I wish they allowed me to copy/paste links for cases when I need to use my alternate browser.

more info here.

Tags: browser, mobile phone, Opera, Opera Mini 4.2, Skyfire

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Copyright VoIP & Gadgets Blog

Original post by nafiz

Filed under: Cellphones

RIM′s BlackBerry Bold wasn’t technically supposed to have launched already — that’s the magic in being all vague about a release date, we guess — but we can safely say we’re absolutely relieved to finally have something out in the open here. Even if it’s not carved in stone, per se. An internal AT&T e-mail discovered today notes that the “latest ETA” for the release of the Bold is October 27th (with a price TBD), though we’d feel a lot better about that if it said “definitive release date.” At any rate, we’ll find out in just ten days. Ten. Days.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Thought I’d share this interesting report from Accenture about mobile phone app utilization that claims higher-end applications remain vastly under-used by U.S. consumers. Funny, I think Apple iPhone users might disagree. The report found that 88 percent of U.S. consumers said they never use their mobile phones or other mobile devices to watch videos. That is high, but expected since most mobile phones can′t even play videos. My main phone, a Windows Mobile 6.1 smart phone doesn′t even natively support Youtube Flash videos using Pocket Internet Explorer. I did install Skyfire though, which adds pretty respectable video performance. I was able to watch Youtube videos on my Windows Mobile with pretty decent video quality, but of course I’m not the ‘typical′ mobile phone user.

The report adds that 84 percent said they never use their mobile phones or mobile devices to send email. Say what? Email is only 4 pts better than video? I would have expected email penetration to be much better, especially with all the Blackberry phones. People want email access on their phone more than any other app, but maybe that’s just my opinion. Further, the report says 79 percent said they never employ them to play games on the go. So more people played games on their phone than sent email? You’ve got to be kidding me. How is that possible? I suppose many phones come with cheezy built-in games, which might skew the results.

Anyway, read the report for yourself…

Continue reading No ♥ for High-end Mobile Apps…

Tags: accenture, Apple, consumers, iphone, mobile applications, mobile apps, mobile phone, skyfire, U.S.

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Copyright VoIP &amp Gadgets Blog

Original post by nafiz

Thought I’d share this interesting report from Accenture about mobile phone app utilization that claims higher-end applications remain vastly under-used by U.S. consumers. Funny, I think Apple iPhone users might disagree. The report found that 88 percent of U.S. consumers said they never use their mobile phones or other mobile devices to watch videos. That is high, but expected since most mobile phones can’t even play videos. My main phone, a Windows Mobile 6.1 smart phone doesn’t even natively support Youtube Flash videos using Pocket Internet Explorer. I did install Skyfire though, which adds pretty respectable video performance. I was able to watch Youtube videos on my Windows Mobile with pretty decent video quality, but of course I’m not the ‘typical’ mobile phone user.

The report adds that 84 percent said they never use their mobile phones or mobile devices to send email. Say what? Email is only 4 pts better than video? I would have expected email penetration to be much better, especially with all the Blackberry phones. People want email access on their phone more than any other app, but maybe that’s just my opinion. Further, the report says 79 percent said they never employ them to play games on the go. So more people played games on their phone than sent email? You′ve got to be kidding me. How is that possible? I suppose many phones come with cheezy built-in games, which might skew the results.

Anyway, read the report for yourself…

Continue reading No ♥ for High-end Mobile Apps…

Tags: accenture, Apple, consumers, iphone, mobile applications, mobile apps, mobile phone, skyfire, U.S.

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Copyright VoIP & Gadgets Blog

Original post by nafiz

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Goodie! The long, excruciating wait for more information on Cowon’s exceptionally sleek O2 PMP is finally over, and two of the more important tidbits you could ever want to know have been revealed. The PMP, which supports a gaggle of file types including MP3, OGG FLAC, AAC, WMA, DivX, MPEˊ and WMV (just to fire off a few), will arrive with a 4.3-inch touchscreen, SDHC card slot, 8GB / 16GB / 32GB of internal capacity, an internal speaker, TV output (up to 720p), 10-band custom equalizer, 18-hours of battery life for audio playback (8-hours for video), optional T-DMB TV tuner / e-dictionary functionality and your choice of pink, black or white motifs. The real news? An October 13th ship date in South Korea along with prices ranging from ₩294,000 ($224) for the stripped-down 8GB edition to ₩399,000 ($305) for the 32GB edition with a DMB tuner. Yanks, sadly, will have to wait.

[Via iAudiophile, thanks Ang]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: CES, HDTV, Home Entertainment

The HD digital distribution club just got a little bigger, as lossless audio distributor MusicGiants is launching its VideoGiants service with 250 movies from Paramount, and additional content from HDNet. Available in 1080p or 1080i WMV format, users can purchase the movies in 10-packs for $159 delivered via Seagate hard drives or, in a few months, one at a time via direct download to a home media server. After that, it can be viewed via the media PC or Media Extender (including Xbox 360). MusicGiants has been selling HD audio tracks to high end home theater owners via its network of dealers and installers for about two years, with plans to make this type of service available to the mass market soon. Still think the future of HD content is on shiny discs?

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Original post by Richard Lawler

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Just when you thought Chinese PMPs couldn’t get uglier or more useless, along comes a fresh target of scorn: the Shenzhen Sinykon Technology M120. Hey, we know that the colorful buttons are tempting, but just imagine the cruel stares and muffled laughs you’ll be the victim of when you whip this thing out in public. Sure, it’s got a 65,000 color 1.8-inch screen, an FM radio, e-book reader, voice recorder, and can handle your WMV, ASF, AMV, MPX, MPEG, MOV, AVI, MP1, MP2, MP3, WMA, and WAV files — as well as some other, less important image formats — but seriously, that thing is ugly. “They” claim that the player is XP, OS X, and Linux compatible, “we” suggest you proceed with caution. Extreme caution.

[Via PMPToday]

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Original post by Joshua Topolsky

Filed under: Cellphones

So the Samsung A747 for AT&T is finally here, ‘cept it’s not the A747. Instead, the slim clamshell has been appropriately christened the “SLM.” Think of the SLM as a juiced version of the also very thin A717, carrying over the 2 megapixel cam and attractive brushed metal exterior while adding a much larger 96 x 96 external display and support for Napster Mobile — a first for AT&T. Get the SLM beginning November 23 for $150 after a $50 rebate on a two-year contract.

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Original post by Chris Ziegler