A handful of new Windows Mobile phones worth noticing

Over the past few months there have been a lot of new Windows Mobile phones, of course devices like the HTC Diamond, Palm Treo Pro and Samsung Omnias are getting lots of attention.

But there are several less prominent phones worthy of a second look:

The Asus P565 looks to compete with the HTC Touch except it comes with a VGA screen:

http://www.asus.com/news_show.aspx?id=13428

The HP IPAQ Data Messenger looks boring a first glance but it hides a full feature set and a full qwerty keyboard

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/en/ho/WF06a/215348-215348-64929-3352590-3352590-3806501.html

Another cool device is the O2 Xda Zest - also similar is design to the HTC Touch

http://www.trustedreviews.com/mobile-devices/review/2008/11/26/O2-Xda-Zest-Smartphone/p1

Also its interesting to see there are a still a lot of companies creating Windows Mobile Standard phones - with touch being all the rage these phones get very little media attention but keep your eyes open:

HTC s740

HTC Shadow 2

Samsung i7110

Motorola Q11 & Napoleon

Panoramic Calc Pro 2.5 released for all Windows Mobile phones

Panoramic Software has just released Calc Pro 2.5.0. The big news with this release is support for Windows Mobile Standard devices. Its now 100% compatible with all Windows Mobile 5.0, 6.0 & 6.1 devices.

That's not the only big change in 2.5

The interface has been improved top to bottom improving appearance, speed and button layouts. Also the Paperless Tape feature has been improved for performance and stability.

For the technical people the Base Converter calculator has been pumped up with two more operators: NAND & XNOR.

The Graph screen has been improved and includes a new feature to center the view on data sets when performing regression - very useful.

The Statistics Calculator has been upgraded to now include a highly accurate Exponential Regression Worksheet. And both Linear Regression and Exponential Regression worksheets can now open and save CSV (comma separated value) files that are compatible with Excel and Pocket Excel.

As well there have been numerous fixes and improvements in all aspects of the product - you'll definitely want to download the latest version if you've purchased a previous version.

Grab it here: http://www.windowsmobilecalculator.com/

Windows Mobile 6.1.4 Emulator images available

This one slipped by me in late November. Microsoft has released updated Emulator Images for Windows Mobile 6.1.

It looks like the big change is the inclusion of the Internet Explorer Mobile 6 which is based off of the desktop Internet Explorer's HTML engine. This would be more exciting if I could install it on my real device but its a great opportunity to test out the new mobile browser.

I'm also hoping this release fixes the DPI bug on the WVGA Windows Mobile Professional emulator.

Grab them here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=1A7A6B52-F89E-4354-84CE-5D19C204498A&displaylang=en

** Update **

So I'm happy to report that the WVGA emulator works. Aswell, the new Pocket Internet Explorer is fantastic! It even supports flash with no addtional downloads. Performance was slow on the emulator so I'd still be very interested to try it on a real device.

A BIG step in the right direction.

Implicit Software Solutions Inc updates GamePack1, Logic Squares and Blackjack

Implicit Software Solutions Inc has updated:

iSS GamePack1 to version 4.4.0

iSS Blackjack to version 3.6.0

and iSS Logic Squares to version 4.0.0

iSS Blackjack contains a number of bug fixes and game logic improvement. iSS Logic Squares receives the most attention with a complete re-write. Version 4.0.0 is now compatible will all new Windows Mobile devices including my Palm Treo Pro. It also now includes 5 game modes, more game styles, and more difficult puzzles.

iSS GamePack1 has been updated to include new versions of both Blackjack and Logic Squares.

For more information visit:

http://www.implicitsoftware.com/

To purchase go to:

http://www.wireless-gaming.com/

Panoramic BlackJack YouTube Video

A great way to check out Panoramic BlackJack for Windows Mobile Classic, Standard, & Professional.

Have a look at the video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8S5AyN3FBo

For more information on BlackJack, go here:
http://www.panoramicsoft.com/mobilegames/blackjack/Blackjack.php

Panoramic Hexegems for Windows Mobile Stanard Released

Hot on the heals of BlackJack - Panoramic software has updated Panoramic Hexegems to version 1.0.1. This version fixes a handful of minor bugs but more importantly - it marks the release of Hexegems for Windows Mobile Standard.

For more information or to purchase Hexegems, go here:

http://www.panoramicsoft.com/mobilegames/hexegems/HexeGems.php

Panoramic BlackJack released for Windows Mobile

The first title from Panoramic that is compatible with both Windows Mobile Professional/Classic devices and Windows Mobile Standard phones.

Its a really great BlackJack game - we aimed to make it the best looking BlackJack game on the market as well as packing in the most features.

It supports the usual split, double, insurance and surrender options, but it also includes card counting. This of course isn't something you should do in gambling establishments but its a great way to get the edge on your buddies in a casual game.

Panoramic also goes one step further and includes a "Learn to Play" mode. After extensive research (and lots of BlackJack playing) we created an optimized strategy of play and the learn to play mode will suggest the best move based on the current player and dealer hand. Its a really great way to improve your BlackJack game. Combine it with a simple card counting routine and you can easily beat the house.

More info can be found here:

http://www.panoramicsoft.com/mobilegames/blackjack/Blackjack.php

And you can purchase BlackJack for Windows Mobile Professional or Classic here:

http://www.wireless-gaming.com/desc.php?d=d1&id=242992

And for Windows Mobile Standard (Smartphone) here:

http://www.wireless-gaming.com/desc.php?d=d2&id=243489

Emulating the Palm 800w and the Toshiba g900 (and other new Windows Mobile 6 devices)

After receiving a support e-mail enquiry about software running on a Palm 800w I realized I needed a way to test our software on a 320x320 resolution screen.

After some quick research I realized that the Windows Mobile Proefessional SDK already came with the appropriate emulator - its listed as "Windows Mobile 6 Professional Square QVGA".

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=06111a3a-a651-4745-88ef-3d48091a390b&displaylang=en

But Also discovered Microsoft has released Windows Mobile 6.1 emulator images which adds
320x320, 240x400 & 240x440 resolution images for Windows Mobile Standard (which are all 131 DPI) and 480x800 and 240x400 images for Windows Mobile Professional. This should give you adequate emulators to test software for every currently available WM device on the market.
The 480x800 is the same resolution as the Toshiba G900 and the soon to be released Xperia X1.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=3D6F581E-C093-4B15-AB0C-A2CE5BFFDB47&displaylang=en

Pocket PC to Windows Mobile

A quick guide to understanding new Windows Mobile Devices - taken from

http://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/answer;_ylt=ApkZyyC_FOaoOLCzJbE_yWmzFQx.;_ylv=3

"Pocket PC" is now called "Windows Mobile Classic" for touch screen devices without a phone built in (such as the iPAQ 111) and "Windows Mobile Professional" if its a touch screen with a phone (HTC Touch, Xperia, Palm 750)

If its a Windows phone without a touchscreen its called "Windows Mobile Standard" - previously known as Windows Mobile Smartphone (Samsung Blackjack, MotoQ)

Now - for compatibility - software created for Pocket PCs usally works on newer Windows Mobile touch screen devices "Professional/Standard". Especially if it was created for Pocket PC 2003 SE (which introduced VGA, square, and landscape screens).

However - if you buy a Windows Mobile phone with a high-resolution screen (VGA / XVGA), a square screen or one that primarily works in landscape orientation (the screen is wider than it is tall) the software may not work.

Its a little tougher with non-touch screen devices. The original Windows Mobile Smartphone has a low resolution screen - 172x220 so most old software only supports this resolution. New Windows Mobile Standard phones are almost always 320x240 or 240x320 so I would make sure that Windows Mobile Standard compatibility is specifically mentioned before purchasing any software.

Cheers!