PocketMusic - a must have free music player for Windows Mobile

This application is by no means new, but its new to me. If you ever listen to MP3s on your Windows Mobile and you don't already have a 3rd party player - get PocketMinds PocketMusic.

It looks great, its intuitive to use, and its quality exceeds many commercial applications - and did I mention it was free?

http://www.pocketmind.com/pocketmusic.htm



Also worth noting, it supports Winamp 2.x skins free available online (although I haven't tried this feature yet).

Panoramic Software releases Ultimate Sudoku for Windows Mobile

First - why another Sudoku game?

Two reasons: its more than just Sudoku, it also includes full implementations of Killer Sudoku (or Samunamupure) and Kakuro, making Panoramic Ultimate Sudoku 3 games in one.

Second, Panoramic felt there wasn't a Sudoku game available for Windows Mobile that took full advantage of the platforms features. This game includes 10 skins, customizable backgrounds, a and responsive, finger friendly interface. Overall its an excellent gaming experience.

And its only $2.99 US

Check it out here: http://www.panoramicsoft.com/mobilegames/sudoku/Sudoku.php

moTweets for Windows Mobile now supports Lists

Panoramic Software Inc is about to release version 1.5.0 of moTweets, its popular twitter client for Windows Mobile 5.0 and newer devices (including 6.5).

Along with a handful of improvements and fixes, performance has also been improved. However, this version contains two major improvements:

Support for Lists - although they can't be created from your device you can easily select and view lists

Translations - moTweets is now able to translate posts into your currently selected language. Language detection is automatic so you don't need to know what you're translating from.

Also worth noting, moTweets now supports Korean and Italian languages. And by popular demand, yFrog support has been added for posting and viewing images.

Get it from Panoramic's website or the Windows Mobile marketplace. If you already have an ealier version of moTweets installed it will prompt you to upgrade next time you launch moTweets.

http://www.panoramicsoft.com/

FreeISOBurner.com

As I've mentioned before, as a software developer I'm always happy to pay for good software, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate finding good free tools.

My Dell Laptop didn't come with any 3rd party CD burning software and I wanted to burn an ISO image ... a quick google search brought me to http://www.freeisoburner.com/.

I downloaded the app, checked it for viruses and started it up. It was simple, didn't install unnecessary files to my computer, and successfully burned my Slax CD image.

5 stars for doing exactly what I needed and nothing more. If you're looking for a free application to burn ISO files - Free ISO burner is perfect.

Panoramic Software releases Video Poker for Windows Mobile

I'm a little slow on this as it was released last week but Panoramic Software Inc has released Video Poker for Windows Mobile 5.0 and new touch screen devices.

Why is this interesting? Besides being a visually impressive application with excellent sound effects, Panoramic Video Poker is more than just game. It includes six Video Poker variants, multi-hand play, and casino accurate payout tables which makes it an ideal tool for testing out Video Poker play strategies. It also includes highly accurate statistics tracking for each game mode allowing for deeper analysis of your playing style. Its also a lot fun.

You can get it here:

http://www.panoramicsoft.com/mobilegames/videopoker/VideoPoker.php

or find it on the Microsoft Windows Mobile Marketplace

Panoramic Software releases FreeCell for Windows Mobile Professional & Standard

Panoramic Software Inc has released FreeCell for Windows Mobile Touch devices (5.0 and newer).

Its an excellent implementation with great graphics, touch friendly drag-able cards and over 2,000,000 games.

And just in case you're on the fence - it only costs $1.99

Get it here: http://www.panoramicsoft.com/mobilegames/freecell/Freecell.php

Panoramic Software releases titles on the Marketplace for Windows Mobile

Panoramic Software Inc has released most of its Windows Mobile library on the Marketplace for Windows Mobile. This means you'll have quick access to Panoramic products when you buy a new Windows Mobile 6.5 device.

And for those of you that are resourceful and already have a Windows Mobile 6.x device - you can probably find a version of the Marketplace to download to your existing phone (it works well on the Palm Treo Pro and HTC Touch Diamond .... so I've heard ... ).

Troubleshooting an unreliable smartphone phone

As a software developer who uses his personal phone for testing and debugging software I've had plenty of practice crashing and locking up my phone.

Instability is usually fixed by removing the offending program and doing a soft reset (or a hard reset if I've really messed things up).

More recently I've had problems with my Palm Treo Pro - it would frequently lock up, sometimes 2-3 times a day. I'll save the long story but I wasn't able to find a cause for the problems and eventually concluded I had physically damaged the phone.

Two nights ago my phone locked up and when I rebooted it refused to read my 8gig memory card. After a bit of troubleshooting I discovered the card itself was bad - and its now completely unreadable. I swapped in a new one and my phone behaving perfectly.

Boring story? Yes ... but I've never had a memory card go south on me and I certainly never thought it would cause my phone to crash. Hopefully this saves someone some frustration.

Cheers

Windows 7 Move Window Tip

I've been running Windows 7 for several weeks now and I love it. However there has been an adjustment period as several features and functions have been changed.

One thing I rely on quite a bit is moving windows by right clicking on them in the task bar. The "Move Window" option no longer shows up in Windows 7.

However you can get the old style context menu by holding down shift while right clicking on the task bar.

If you use multiple monitors and/or remote desktop you'll likely find this useful.

Cheers

Calc Pro and moTweets updates released today

Panoramic Software's Calc Pro has been updated to version 2.8.1

This release fixes the recently used currencies bug
Improves the display of values when shown as degrees/minutes/seconds

It also adds 10 payment schedule options for calculating mortgages and adds support for Binary Coded Decimal values (available from the Base Conversion Calculator screen).


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



As well, Panoramic moTweets has been updated to version 1.2.0:

This version contains a number of minor bug fixes and should correct any connection issues.

It also adds several major features:
Ability to view trends
Ability to view conversions
Color coding of Posts to help you easily identify conversions and your own posts
Ability to view pictures from TwitPic without loading a web browser
Dutch translations added

And don't forget, moTweets can be downloaded free of charge, get it here:
http://www.panoramicsoft.com/mobileapps/motweets/moTweets.php

Panoramic Software wins awards for Hexegems and Contacts Genius

Handster has given Best Software of 2009 awards to Panoramic Hexegems and Panoramic Contacts Genius.

Hexegems won in the Arcade category and Contacts Genius won in the Communications category. These awards are quite an honour as there are some excellent arcade titles for Windows Mobile. As well, there have been several new communications applications released this year which can make it difficult to stand out. Contacts Genius was designed to be the best Contact Management application for Windows Mobile and it would seem that Handster would suggest the Panoramic Software Inc has met that goal.

To view the awards you can visit Handster here:

http://handster.com/awards_2009_windows_mobile.php

And for more information on either title please visit:

http://www.panoramicsoft.com/

Its also worth noting the iSS Polyminoes won in the Arcade category in 2008.

http://www.implicitsoftware.com/mobile_polyminoes.html

Panoramic Software releases Blackjack for the iPhone

Panoramic Software Inc releases its first product for the iPhone market: Blackjack.


The iPhone version has all of the great features that made the Windows Mobile version popular but it gets all new graphics and controls to take full advantage of the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Check it out here:
http://www.panoramicsoft.com/iphone/blackjack/Blackjack.php

Panoramic Software Releases moTweets - a great Twitter client for Windows Mobile

Panoramic Software Inc has released moTweets for Windows Mobile phones.

If you use Twitter and own a Windows phone this is the application to use - and the best part - its free! moTweets is add supported, meaning you will get non-invasive advertisements when viewing twitter posts. However, you also have the option of purchasing moTweets for a nominal fee. The paid version doesn't display any advertisements.

Some key features include: TinyURL integration, TwitPic integration, ability to post and preview your current location, support for multiple twitter accounts, and much much more.

Head over to Panoramic's website to try it out - you'll be glad you did:

http://www.panoramicsoft.com/mobileapps/motweets/moTweets.php

Pioneer AVIC automotive in-dash GPS

AVIC F700BT

I recently purchased a Pioneer AVIC F700BT double din in-dash car stereo with GPS. Which is exciting for me but probably not that interesting to you.

What is interesting is that shortly after installation I did some searching to see if anyone has done any hacks or mods to this particular unit. It turns out that all of the F & X series Pioneer GPS units are running Windows CE 5.0 under the hood. And what's even more interesting, there are freely available tools out there that allow you to easily boot directly into the CE environment.
As these devices have 2gig of internal storage, ARM processors and 256meg or RAM, this is pretty ideal platform to experiment with if you have dreams of making custom car computer software. The F700 comes with a CD drive and the F90 & F900 both come with DVD drives and MSN Direct hardware.

If nothing else you could easily create an SD card that boots into the CE environment and provides a web browser. With a quick tether to your cell phone you'd have Internet access on your in dash car computer.

As I experiment with my new CE toy I'll post updates. In the meantime head over to http://www.avic411.com/ if you want to learn more about hacking Pioneer GPS devices.


First Impressions

I'll also share my initial thoughts on using the F700BT and how it compares to my old Eclipse 3424.

First off, the F700 has a fan so instantly it has background noise, although its not noticeable in my Acura once the car is running. If you have a really high-end car you might notice it, but then you'd probably also already have GPS from the factory.

The sound quality is good but I had to re-tune my system as the Eclipse has 4V pre-outs vs the F700's 2 Volt. I also seem to be getting background hiss on AM radio, but its minor.

The interface is good but you'll definitely want to upgrade to the 3.0 version of the software as it greatly improves performance. Once you learn the layout you can get to everything quickly, although its still not quite as easy to use as a dedicated audio player. That being said its more intuitive than my old Eclipse.

Its performed great loadings CDs and MP3s from CDs, SD cards and USB sticks and the GPS works really well. It also pairs almost instantly with my Palm Tro Pro via Bluetooth and transferring contacts to the deck was easy.

Overall I'm very happy with the purchase for the money and with the ability to access the CE environment I'm thrilled.


Worth noting:

It doesn't come with a remote control and the F700 does not have an IR port so you won't be able to add one. (I never used mine in the past anyways).

You'll need to purchase an additional cable to use your iPod and you might as well buy it before you have the deck installed as it plugs into the back.

Panoramic Phone Genius updated to 1.8.6

Panoramic Phone Genius has had a number of updates in the past few weeks and with every version its getting better.

Version 1.8.6 should be released later today, if you haven't updated Phone Genius for a while you'll want the new version.

Panoramic has been working hard to improve the software from top to bottom, there have been many recent changes that improve speed and reduce memory usage. If you've had any problems in the past you owe it to yourself to get the latest version.

And the big news, as of 1.8.5, it now fully supports regional calling codes for Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. More countries coming soon.

Grab it here:
http://www.panoramicsoft.com/mobileapps/phonegenius/PhoneGenius.php

Save Office 2007 documents as PDFs

Ok this isn't even close to being new but its new to me ... I recently discovered that you can download a free add in for Office 2007 that allows you to save documents as PDFs - a great feature and it might just save you the cost of Adobe Acrobat.

Grab it here:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=4D951911-3E7E-4AE6-B059-A2E79ED87041&displaylang=en

10 Things you should know to develop Windows Mobile 6.5 applications

1. The 6.5 Developer Tool Kits has been released: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=20686a1d-97a8-4f80-bc6a-ae010e085a6e
(don't forget to install the WM 6 SDK(s) first)

2. You need to include gesture.h, GesturePhysicsEngine.h & WindowsAutoGesture.h to handle gestures in your apps and games (touch screen devices only)

3. Gesture samples projects get installed with the 6.5 Dev Tool Kits - C:\Program Files\Windows Mobile 6 SDK\Windows Mobile 6.5 Developer Tool Kit\Samples\PocketPC\CPP\win32 by default

4. WM 6.5 Supports Widgets - since its already explained here I won't re-write it:
http://blogs.msdn.com/windowsmobile/archive/2009/06/04/getting-started-with-widgets-on-windows-mobile-6-5.aspx

5. New Start Menu icons are 45x45 pixel PNGs (90x90 for hi res and 60x60 for 128dpi). 32 bit images and transparencies are supported.

6. PNG "icons" can be placed anywhere as long as you have the appropriate registry key: "HKLM\Security\Shell\StartInfo\Start\MyCoolApp.lnk" In that key create a string value named "Icon" that points to your png (ie \Windows\MyCoolApp.png). You'll need to be clever about supporting multiple resolutions during installation.

7. The only professional square emulator provided is a 128dpi 320x320 resolution. So hopefully no more 240x240 touch screen devices.

8. The new Today Screen is just a plugin so it can be turned off if you're trying to make today screen plugs (although this might upset your customers).

9. Windows Mobile 6.5 is still built on CE 5 so you can use the WM 5 SDKs to develop if you don't need the new features. (and honestly you can still use the 2002 & 2003 SDKs if you want but its a hassle if you need to debug on newer devices).

10. If you're feeling brave and don't mind bending the law you might be able to upgrade your current WM phone to 6.5 by searching on http://www.xdadevelopers.com/ (at your own risk)


** Update **
There was a mention of 36x36 and 64x64 png icons needed for 96dpi devices and some of the other sizes will be used on multiple devices. I'll post further details as I find them.

Redfly Mobile Viewer Beta

RedFly by Celio Corp has recently released a 60 day trial of their Mobile Viewer software. This essentially gives you the same functionality as their RedFly Mobile Companion without the custom hardware.

In a nutshell, the Mobile Viewer application connects to your Windows Mobile device, turns off your device's screen and shows the screen content on your PC. Now the interesting part: you're not limited to your devices screen size, you can choose from four resolutions (800x480, 800x600, 1024x600, & 1024x768).

The website warns that display resolutions may be limited by the amount of memory available on your phone. I tested the software with a Palm Treo Pro and it worked very well.

Installation:

To get up and running you'll need to download and install the desktop component. You'll also need to download their "firmware" and the "driver" that go on your device. Its not exactly clear what the firmware is needed for but it may be emulating their Mobile Companion hardware.

Installation is straight forward and once everything is installed you can easily connect your device by syncing to your desktop PC and pressing the "Connect" button on the PC software.

Performance:

Is "ok", its much like using a remote desktop connection over the Internet. Its good enough to work on but animations and videos are best avoided. My Palm Treo Pro was also much more responsive when using the lower resolutions.

Compatibility:

Now because there are no Windows Mobile devices yet available with screens larger than 800x 480, some of your favorite applications may not work. The good news is, most, if not all of the default applications work quite well including Pocket Word, Pocket Excel, and the File Explorer. Your millage will vary with 3rd party apps.

I am happy to report that the software I tested from Panoramic Software Inc and Implicit Software Solutions Inc all worked very well. There was a minor menu issue with Calc Pro and the background doesn't scale for Panoramic Blackjack but everything was stable and usable.

Final Thoughts:

I love the technology but I personally don't have a big need for this software. I think it would be ideal for road warriors that do a lot of emailing on their mobile devices. However its free to try and I'd recommend experienced users give it a try. Final warning though - it is beta software so you'll be installing at your own risk. There is always a chance something will go wrong so you're best off backing up everything on your device before installing the Mobile Viewer.

http://www.celiocorp.com/viewer

Panoramic Launch Pad updated to 1.2.0

Panoramic has been almost flooded with feature requests for this new product and some of them have made it into the new version of Launch Pad.

Version 1.2.0 has a few new key features:

• proper keyboard support on the Programs and Settings view
• keyboard support when adding Programs or Settings to the Favorites view
• "Bounce" effect added to all of the scrolling menus (just for fun)
• minor memory optimizations

Go to http://www.panoramicsoft.com/ for more information and to get the latest version

Panoramic Phone Genius and Contacts Genius updated to v 1.6.0

Both of these titles from Panoramic Software have been updated to version 1.6.0

Several minor bug fixes were made to Contacts Genius (which is included in Phone Genius). The big fix is the ability to display contacts without names that only have a business name defined.

A "Bounce" effect has also been added to the scrolling menus and lists.

Go to www.panoramicsoft.com for more information

Calc Pro updated to 2.7.6

Yes, yet another update to Panoramic Calc Pro. There have been quite a few updates recently, and that is mostly due to user feedback.

A small bug was spotted when entering constants in RPN mode, it would add the previous value to stack twice - that has now been fixed.

Two new conversions have been added to the Torque Unit converter "km cm" and "g cm".

And a bug has been fixed that corrects some currency symbols not showing up in the Currency Converter on traditional Chinese devices.


This new version probably doesn't contain anything for the average user but if you're like me you want to have the latest version installed anyways - so head over to www.panoramicsoft.com

Trivial Pursuit Digital Choice

I've been playing Trivial Pursuit off and on for a few years now and I finally got tired of trying to answer questions that were all at least 10 years old. I went to the store and the only new version of game I could find was "Trivial Pursuit Digital Choice". And I'll be honest, had there been the normal version I still probably would have bought the one with the electronic gizmo.

The game comes with a full size board, and all of the usual player pieces, the only difference is the electronic device that you use in place of the trivia cards (which you can see sitting above the PSP 1001).



The device comes with 12 sets of 50 questions that cover the basic Trivial Pursuit categories. You can also go to their website and download other question packs - which are well organized and spread across a huge range of interests/categories.

The bad:

• the device is cheaply made
• is not intuitive to use - it'll take some time before you're comfortable with it
• its cumbersome to set up custom games
• the back light turns off very quickly

The good:

• it holds 2000 questions across multiple categories
• its very easy to add new questions from the website
• battery life is excellent
• it tells you when you've used up all of the questions in a category
• allows for quick games where the question packs are randomly selected

I personally still prefer playing with the standard cards - there's just something strange about passing around the bulky, plastic device. And its far easier to flip over a card than press several buttons to get to a question.

Overall though I'd still recommend it simply for the huge selection and variety of questions.

http://www.hasbro.com/trivialpursuit/

Panoramic Launch Pad and Calc Pro updates released today

Calc Pro has been updated to 2.7.5 - this is a very minor update. It corrects the display bug when entering 0s after a decimal (they weren't showing up in previous versions). Please note, this bug only affected the display and not the accuracy of Calc Pro.

The bigger news is the update to Launch Pad. Panoramic had a great response to the release of Launch Pad as well as a flood of user suggestions. This version addresses some of those:

• Launch Pad minimizes when shown if you tap the Start Menu Icon
• Launch Pad minimizes when shown if Launch Pad is mapped to a hardware button
• Favorites have been improved when switching between landscape and portrait
• Loading time has been improved on first use
• Added option to remove section headings on the Settings list
• Minor optimizations to use less space and memory

Grab them both from http://www.panoramicsoft.com

Panoramic Launch Pad updated to 1.1.2

Another minor update to Panoramic Launch Pad

This version contains several bug fixes:

• Programs list properly updates when applications are installed or removed
• Improved behavior when un-installing Launch Pad

As well, several new "Favorites" labels have been added to compliment the ability to add files and folders to the Favorites screen.

Go to www.panoramicsoft.com for more information

Panoramic Phone Genius updated to 1.5.1 and gets a new low price

Panoramic Phone Genius has been updated to version 1.5.1 and this is the version to get. Almost all aspects of the software have been reviewed and tweaked and as a result, the new version is even more responsive and very stable.

But the big news is the 20% price drop. As well, Panoramic Contacts Genius and Area Code Genius are both going on sale.

Head to www.panoramicsoft.com for more information.

Panoramic Calc Pro 2.7.4 released

Calc Pro has received yet another update. Most of the updates came from user requests - thank you again to everyone that has taken the time to e-mail.

Changes/Updates in 2.7.4:

One big change in this version for R.P.N. users. Calc Pro will now change all appropriate calculators to R.P.N. labelling for buttons (ie "Enter" instead of "="). It will also replace the left and right brackets with stack manipulation buttons.

• added the ability to update the currencies from the file menu



• added Reaumur to temperature conversions



• fixed "Quiet" sound setting for the worksheets



• fixed text spacing on wide screen devices (specifically "Reset" in the worksheets)



• fixed the Menu selector for the Scientific calculator when in RPN mode



• increased the size of the Menu text for 320x320 (128 dpi) devices



• increased the size of the button text in the converters for square screen devices



• other minor layout adjustments

For updates, purchasing, or further information, please visit http://www.windowsmobilecalculator.com/

Panoramic Software releases 3 new Calculators

Realizing that not everyone needs the "Swiss army knife" like feature set of Calc Pro, Panoramic has released three lower priced calculator applications.

Panoramic Converter Pro contains the same powerful unit and currency conversions of Calc Pro for about 1/3 of the cost of Calc Pro.

http://www.panoramicsoft.com/mobileapps/converterpro/ConverterPro.php

Panoramic Scientific Calc contains the Scientific, Graphing, Base Conversion and Constants calculators from Calc Pro for about 1/2 of the price.

http://www.panoramicsoft.com/mobileapps/scicalc/SciCalc.php

And finally, Panoramic Financial Calc contains the Financial and Statistics calculators, again at about 1/2 of the cost.

http://www.panoramicsoft.com/mobileapps/financialcalc/FinancialCalc.php

All of the products in the Panoramic calculator family share a common code base, meaning the any updates or fixes will be applied to all five calculator products.

Also worth noting, if you buy the three newly released calculators individually, Panoramic will allow you to upgrade to Calc Pro free of charge. Simply request the upgrade at http://www.panoramicsoft.com/

Which is also an excellent place to find additional information or to purchase any of the Panoramic calculators.

Panoramic Software releases Launch Pad for Windows Mobile Professional & Standard

Panoramic Launch Pad started its life as a companion application for Panoramic Phone Manager. It was eventually decided that although it matched nicely with the look and feel, it didn't really fit with what we wanted to acheive with Phone Manager. So it was used interally for a while until we realized it was a really useful utility all on its own.

So it was polished up, giving a catchy title and Launch Pad 1.0.0 was released. Shortly afterwards, it became apparent that it could be improved, and Launch Pad 1.1.1 was released earlier today.

Description:

"Panoramic LaunchPad allows you the freedom to easily access your Windows Mobile applications, settings, files and folders with your finger tips. Flip between two customizable favorite screens for quick access to your most frequently used items. An easy to use touch kinetic scroll menu allows you to find the Program or device Setting you are looking for in seconds. "





Improvements in 1.1.1:

Ability to add files or folders to the favorites
Ability to change the titles of the two favorites sections
Improved labels on the favorites
Cleaner uninstallation
Better support for 320x320 devices
A few other minor tweaks

You can grab the latest version here:
http://www.panoramicsoft.com/mobileapps/launchpad/LaunchPad.php

I am a Windows Mobile Specialist

I came across a certification that Microsoft gives out called a "Windows Mobile Specialist".

It sounded like the type of certification I should have so I looked into it further. The entire course it available online and can be completed in a couple of hours. If you know the material before hand it can be done in less (during your lunch break for example).

It does require you to know Windows Mobile fairly well but its not difficult. The course is really aimed at retailers to ensure they know the products but any good mobile junkie might as well get the certification. If nothing else it gives you a small amount of credibility when giving advice on your blog ;)

Start here:

http://www.windowsmobiletraining.com/

Update* I'm now also a "Windows Mobile Small Business Retail Specialist". Perhaps I switch retail.

Calc Pro 2.7.2 & 2.7.3 Released

We have new releases of Panoramic Calc Pro. 2.7.3 was releases immediately after 2.7.2 and fixes a bug with Calc Pro's application icon. Its not an essential update but you'll probably want it for ascetic reasons.

2.7.2 contains some major updates, however these new features and updates probably won't be used by most of our users (my self included).

Better handling of inputting and calculating values in Degrees/Minutes/Seconds. As you can see in the screenshot, Calc Pro will now properly format and handle values in DMS. Numbers can easily be converted between decimal and degrees from the Scientific calculator.

Multi line display for the R.P.N. calculator mode. As you can see in the screenshot we now show two lines of the stack instead of one. For owners of wide screen devices - you'll see 3 lines of the stack when your calculator is in portrait mode.

Better viewing of the RPN stack. You can tap on the low right area of the display to show the values currently in the stack. Its now displayed in a finger friendly list instead of simple message window.

Added Base3, 4, 5, & 12 support the Base Conversions calculator. This is mostly of academic interest but it doesn't take away from any of the other features so we felt it was a worthy addition.

Added the ability to save images of the graph from the graph screen (2.7.1). Also added the ability to chose the name and location of the bitmap to be saved.

Increased the spacing on the menus for wide screen devices in portrait mode to make them easier to use with your fingers.

And as usual we've continued to make minor improvements in the calculator logic and with the button layouts.


Grab the latest version here:
http://www.windowsmobilecalculator.com/

Panoramic Calc Pro updated to v2.7.0

Panoramic Calc Pro 2.7.0 has now been released. It contains a number of minor tweaks and adjustments. If you own a square screen Windows Mobile phone you'll likely notice the improved button spacing.

The new version also includes several additions to the Unit Converter which now includes an "Acceleration" section. Anyone that's needed to converter feet per second squared to meters per second squared in a physics class will appreciate the addition.

This version also includes a new skin which you can see in the screenshots.

As usual you can get it from http://www.windowsmobilecalculator.com/

We're already working on version 2.7.1. Expect some RPN display improvements as well as layout upgrades for "wide" devices in portrait mode such as the Sony Xperia, the Samsung Omnia and the HTC Touch HD.

iSS Software updates: CalcSuite, Essentials, & SciCalc

Implicit Software Solutions Inc has made several updates to several of its Windows Mobile products.

iSS SciCalc has been updated to version 3.0.4 and contains a number of minor bug fixes. As a result, Calc Suite has been updated to 5.0.1 and includes the new version of iSS SciCalc.

iSS Essentials also gets the new version of SciCalc but also receives updates to iSS Notepad & iSS Explorer Pro.

For more information please visit http://www.implicitsoftware.com/

To purchase, visit http://www.implicitsoftware.com/ or http://www.wireless-apps.net/

Panoramic Software on Twitter

Panoramic Software Inc is now using Twitter to make it easier to keep track of Panoramic related news and product releases.

This is a great way to ensure you always know when updates are made to any of our products.

Follow Panoramic here:
https://twitter.com/PanoramicSoft

Panoramic BlackJack Review at TreoCentral.com

Jennifer Chappel, a reviewer and Palm enthusiast at http://www.treocentral.com/ has taken the time to review Panoramic BlackJack 1.0.1.

You can read the review here:
http://treocentral.com/content/Stories/2514-1.htm

The review is very favorable which of course puts smiles on our faces but my favorite quote from the review is:

"I've learned a lot about playing Blackjack playing Panoramic BlackJack" which was a major focus when creating this game.

Head over to http://www.wireless-gaming.com/ or http://www.panoramicsoft.com/ to get your own copy.

Panoramic BlackJack is available for all Windows Mobile 5.0 and newer devices and supports all screen sizes. The latest version is 1.0.5 at the time of writing this post.

Panoramic Calc Pro gets some graphing improvements

I was helping a friend with a few grade 12 math problems and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to put the graphing abilities of Calc Pro to use.

I'm happy to report that it worked great but I also realized there was some room for improvement for both entering graph equations and navigating the graph display.

With that in mind we made the following improvements to Calc Pro in version 2.6.8

• onscreen zoom buttons for the graph (see screenshot)
• reduced minimum bounding box when in zoom mode - ie - you can drag out a smaller rectangle it will still zoom
• smarter equation entry - the text size automatically reduces and the equations will now scroll to the right if the equation won't fit in the display.

As usual - grab the latest version from www.windowsmobilecalculator.com

And you can always upgrade your paid version by installing the latest trial overtop.

Treo Pro done right

I just thought I'd show everyone how I have my Treo setup just in case anyone is looking for ideas, suggestions or recommendations.

I'll start at the top and work my way down:

iSS Battery Meter: that's the rainbow colored bar at the top. It takes up almost no system resources and never gets in the way: battery monitoring made easy.

Panoramic Phone Genius: this configurable today screen plugin works really well. Starting from the top left the icons are:

• phone profile (to control ringing on incoming calls)
• e-mail
• missed calls
• SMS
• voicemail
• today screen settings
• communication settings
• favorite contacts (Panoramic Contacts Genius)
• Panoramic Launcher (beta - not yet released)
• camera
• Panoramic Calc Pro
• clock & alarm settings

Next is Calendar+. This is an open source project I found a few years ago that I've updated to properly support 128 DPI devices. Let me know if you'd like a copy of this version. It's a great plugin that behaves like the default calendar plugin but allows you to show multiple appointments. Its also very configurable it terms of layout and appearance.

And finally, Fizz Traveller. This layout is a custom one I created to properly fit 4 days of weather on the 320x320 screen. Again, I'll be happy to provide it upon request.

Not seen:

I have iSS Task Switcher running and avaliable by tap & hold on the top right-hand corner of the screen. Also launchable by pressing shift-ok.

I also have iSS Explorer Pro set up as a quick launch by pressing shift and the windows button.

All of the retail applications are available at http://www.wireless-apps.net/

And I highly recommend the Palm Treo Pro - this is the best Windows Mobile touch-screen device I've ever owned.

Panoramic Calc Pro updated to 2.6.6 for Windows Mobile Pro/Classic

Panoramic Software has just released Calc Pro 2.6.5 and hot on its heals is version 2.6.6.

No there wasn't a problem with 2.6.5, we just continued to make improvements.

So first - version 2.6.5 brings the follow changes & fixes:

• now displays "retail", "trial" or "expired" in the about screen
• added a softer 'tap' sound in the options (user requested feature)
• forces 'normal' number formatting on worksheets as SCI & ENG formatting could cause issues
• improved memory and performance on scrollable menus/lists
• some minor interface alignment improvements
• fixed the reset button on some of the worksheets - they should all be 100% now
• updated the installer to allow upgrading by installing the latest trial version over a retail version. You'll need to install the retail version of 2.6.5 for this to work
• Fixed the worksheet bug where changing cells using the stylus could result in bad values (this should solve any confusion with the worksheets)
• BIG improvement to the Date & Time Calculator - it should handle dates beyond the year 7000 now and handle intervals up to 999,999 days

Now for version 2.6.6:

• fixed the graphing bug on equations with leading '-'
• the installer will no longer ask you twice about keeping your user settings when upgrading
• improved the random function (you'll never notice it but its more 'random')
• improved displaying equations using "Expression mode" for entries wider than the screen
• improved accuracy of Unit Converter results (actually just shows more significant figures - internally its the same)
• fixed Unit Converter and Currency Converter behavior on numbers requiring exponents. Values should never be cut off now
• NEW FEATURE - added an equation buffer to the "Expression calc" mode. It will now store up to20 equations/answers and allow you to scroll through them using up and down on your directional pad. Stylus support coming soon

Buy it now at http://www.windowsmobilecalculator.com/ or download the latest version from your software vendor. If you're not able to get the latest version please contact support through at Panoramic's website and we'll be happy to send it to you free of charge: http://www.panoramicsoft.com/

Panoramic Phone Genius updated to 1.3.0

Panoramic Software is constantly improving Phone Genius.

Some of the latest features include:

• adding custom pictures to contacts from your phone
• taking pictures of contacts using the built in camera
• easily adding ring tones from the contact details screen
• expanded contact details including birthdays and addresses

And we've got some new, exciting features coming soon.

You can get the latest version of Panoramic Phone Genius for your Windows Mobile Professional Phone here:

http://www.panoramicsoft.com/mobileapps/phonegenius/PhoneGenius.php

Panoramic Software releases Phone Genius for Windows Mobile

Another release from Panoramic Software Inc.

Phone Genius is now available for Windows Mobile Professional (5, 6, 6.1 & 6.5).

Simply put - Phone Genius is designed to make your Windows Mobile device a better phone.

It has a lot of depth and a lot of features so I'm just going to list off my favorites:

• automatic area code look up for incoming and outgoing calls so you know their location and local time
• smart profiles that will prevent your phone from ringing during busy appointments or specific times of day
• smart rules that will allow priority contacts to always reach you
• block lists! block unwanted numbers, contacts or area codes (no more 1-800 calls)
• great looking interface for finger friendly browsing of contacts, sms, missed calls, etc
• favorites screen that shows pictures of your favorite contacts (and again, finger pressable)

This application has been in development for over a year and we're quite proud of the finished product. We're also happy to say that in our testing it beats the competition both in performance and features.

Grab it here:

http://www.panoramicsoft.com/mobileapps/phonegenius/PhoneGenius.php

How to add a second email address to your gmail account

Here's a handy tip I discovered - you can associate non-Gmail email addresses with your google account. What this means is, you'll be able to accept invitations to google services like google sites and google docs to non-Gmail email addresses.

Simply go here and add as many addresses as you like:
https://www.google.com/accounts/AddNonGmailAlternate

You can also send emails from Gmail that appear to originate from these addresses - simply check the Gmail settings for further information.

w h m and other letters beside your phone numbers

Ever wondered what those letters mean beside the phone numbers in your phone history of your windows mobile device? Some of them are obvious but here's the complete list for Windows Mobile 6.x compatible contacts. There are 12 total:

w - work
wfx - work fax
m - mobile
h - home
pgr - pager
car - car
hfx - home fax
co - company telephone
w2 - work2
h2 - home2
rdo - radio
ast - assistant

iSS Video Poker and GamePack 1 updates

iSS Video Poker has been updated to version 3.5.3 with a recent bug fix to the scoring calculations.

This also means iSS GamePack 1 gets updated to 4.4.2

You can grab the Windows Mobile Professional/Classic version here:
http://wireless-gaming.com/desc.php?d=d1&id=62768

And the Windows Mobile Standard version here:
http://wireless-gaming.com/desc.php?d=d2&id=120653

For more information, please visit:
http://www.implicitsoftware.com/mobile_videopoker.html

SMS time stamp bug on Windows Mobile

When I got my new Palm Treo Pro I thought the phone was just about perfect - except for one little issue - the SMS time stamp was always out by several hours.

I finally got around to doing a little research and discovered this bug isn't unique to the Treo Pro, but may many of the new windows mobile phones on the market. The good news is, there is a very easy fix.

Grab your favorite registry editing program (mine is of course iSS Registry Editor) and add the following DWORD

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\OEM\PhoneSetting\TrustTimeZoneField

set the value to 0 and perform a soft reset.

This will not fix the time stamps on messages you've already received but all future SMS messages should display the correct time.

If its still not working double check the location, spelling, case of the registry key and of course make sure your regional setting and clock are set right.

Panoramic Calc Pro Lite for Windows Mobile

Panoramic Software has released Calc Pro Lite.

Calc Pro Lite is based on the same great technology as the original Calc Pro however it only includes the standard calculator and a simplified currency converter (European currencies only).

However it still contains most of the options and all 4 of the original Calc Pro skins. Its a great way to get a better looking and more functional calculator for your Windows Mobile phone - and it costs less than $3.00.

Grab it here:

http://www.panoramicsoft.com/mobileapps/calcpro/Calcprolite.php

And of course don't forget to take a look at the original Calc Pro if you need more power and features:

http://www.panoramicsoft.com/mobileapps/calcpro/Calcpro.php

An updated version of the full Calc Pro should be released some time in March.

iSS Minesweeper updated for Windows Mobile

I was playing iSS Minesweeper the other day and although I enjoy the game I couldn't help thinking it could be better. I wanted better use of the screen, more levels, and I wanted to see my best time while I played. I then realized that I have access to the source code - so I pulled it up the next day and made the changes I wanted. It may be selfish but I think they make it a better game.

The new version - 1.5 - should be released later this week. You can purchase it here: http://www.implicitsoftware.com/mobile_minesweeper.html

The changes include:

3 new skill levels

• Learn to Play (I wanted a level easy enough for my young relatives)
• Easy (board size and skill between Beginner and Intermediate)
• Advanced (board size and skill between Intermediate and Expert)

Game board improvements - I reduced the boarders around the game field as much as possible which in effect increases the size of the game board, images and numbers.

Best Time is now displayed during the game.

If you want the updated version right away please just send us an email.

And don't forget, iSS Minesweeper is also included in iSS Essentials and iSS GamePack 2 available from http://www.wireless-apps.net/ & http://www.wireless-gaming.com/ respectively.

Panoramic Calc Pro updated to 2.6.0

Panoramic Software Inc is just about to release the latest version of Calc Pro as they prepare it for Microsoft's Mobile2Market certification.

The new version contains a number of fixes and improvements:

• Fixed bug when toggling between normal and advanced memory buttons


• Improved the logic for saving settings


• Minor optimizations for speed and memory


• Added option for fast graphing (reduced accuracy)


• Added option to graph points only (only shows calculated co-ordinates)


• Added option to toggle between Beginning and End of Term payments for the TVM worksheet


• Calc Pro now replaces the default Calculator - handy if using applications like Mobile Shell
  

And the big change in 2.6.0 is the new finger friendly options screen.

You can grab the latest version here:
http://www.windowsmobilecalculator.com/

Also worthy of mention is the new F.A.Q. for Calc Pro - take a look here: http://www.windowsmobilecalculator.com/faq.php

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 WiFi Hero released for Windows Mobile Pro/Classic

Panoramic Software has quietly released v1 of WiFi Hero.

This tool was created to solve the problem of lost WiFi settings on Windows Mobile 6 & 6.1.

Microsoft implemented a "feature - not a bug" that will erase settings for WiFi access points if the connection fails. What this means is - if attempt to access a WiFi network that requires a pre-shared key and it ever fails for any reason (and anyone that uses WiFi knows it does happen from time to time), a Windows Mobile 6 or newer device will detect the failure and decide that the current settings must me to blame. It will then promptly erase settings for that WiFi access point along with the preshared key. This becomes a huge hassle for users - and an even bigger hassle for IT departments.

WiFi Hero will back up all settings upon first use and will prompt the user for passwords of access points that require network keys (don't worry - you'll only be asked once).

After that - simply load WiFi Hero whenever your settings are erased and you'll be able to restore them in one click.

Corporate versions are also available that remove the need for user intervention and allow for network keys to be pre-installed and encrypted for additional security. Contact Panoramic Software for more information: www.panoramicsoft.com

And you can buy it here for $1.99:
http://www.panoramicsoft.com/mobileapps/wifihero/WiFiHero.php

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.