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Microsoft sez Windows Mobile 6 file sync fix coming for Vista
Thanks to a festering mix of bugs and reduced functionality, it frequently doesn't pay to be on the bleeding edge (unless you're like us, that is, in which case your willingness to be on the forefront of tech frequently outclasses your common sense). Such is the case for the lucky... well, not so lucky few that are rocking both a Vista-equipped PC and a Windows Mobile 6 Standard handset (like an upgraded T-Mobile Dash, for example). As we know, Vista throws ActiveSync to the wayside in favor of Windows Mobile Device Center, which is all well and good -- we don't really care what it's called, as long as we can sync our device -- and therein lies the problem. It seems WMDC loses the ability to sync files between Standard handsets and their partnered PCs, something ActiveSync gladly handles. Microsoft advises customers to continue using ActiveSync for the time being as a workaround, but fortunately, a real, honest-to-goodness fix for WMDC is promised by mid-June.[Via the::unwired]
HTC Kaiser gets unboxed
Best Pocket PC Professional phone ever? The Boy Genius seems to think that's a description befitting the Kaiser, having taken inventory of his very own -- and given the spec sheet, we tend to agree. Windows Mobile 6, a 3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, WiFi, and 128MB of onboard RAM (yes, RAM, not ROM) are a solid start, and when you add in GPS and triband HSDPA, we're left a little speechless as to what HTC could possibly add to make everyone happy. A VGA display, perhaps, though the pure trickness of the flip-up hinge at least partially makes up for that minor indiscretion. It seems the only bad news about the Kaiser is the release; rumor has it we won't see a commercial shipment until October, which is like forever and a day from now according to our calendars.
O2's Xda orbit and trion get Windows Mobile 6
Windows Mobile 6 fever: catch it! That's slowly but surely getting easier to do on carriers around the globe -- including, surprisingly, one of our own -- and O2's the latest to add a bit of upgrade cheer to its lineup with support for the Xda orbit and trion. Known to HTC as the Artemis and Hermes respectively, both devices are well-suited for the splendors that Windows Mobile 6 Professional has to offer; in fact, AT&T's variant, the 8525, is scheduled to get its own facelift in the next few months. In the meantime, though, might we recommend staring longingly at the official upgrades across the Atlantic?[Via the::unwired]Read - Xda orbitRead - Xda trion
Evidence grows for imminent T-Mobile Wing launch
We're not sure if it's the newfound presence of the Wing on T-Mobile's support site or the ever-growing throng of individuals reporting that customer service agents and in-store reps are touting May 22 as the launch date, but something tells us that tomorrow's starting to look pretty good for getting some Windows Mobile 6 Professional love. Seeing how T-Mobile is without a Pocket PC phone option right now, the Wing's arrival isn't just welcome -- it's necessary -- and as 2.5G Pocket PCs go, the Wing's a doozy. The slim case and soft-touch finish alone are enough to make Wizard owners shed a tear, but the real prize is likely Windows Mobile 6 Professional and a revised, spring-loaded keyboard with a more traditional numeric layout. Get your pocketbooks ready, ladies and gentlemen.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
More shots of the HTC Elf
Again, we really can't stress enough how appropriate the name "Elf" is here. HTC's latest QWERTY-less Windows Mobile 6 Professional device seems as though it could've dropped right off a spaceship, looking distinctly un-HTC -- and that could be a good or a bad thing, depending on who you ask. Click on for views from every conceivable angle, including some alongside the Artemis, one of our favorite HTC devices of recent memory.
E-TEN Glofiish X500 and M700 get Windows Mobile 6 updates
Hot on the heels of T-Mobile's Windows Mobile 6 upgrade for the Dash, E-TEN is rolling out the first Windows Mobile 6 Professional updates for its handsets. As of a few days ago, if you happen to have an X500 kicking around with that oh-so-long-in-the-tooth Windows Mobile 5 on it, head on over to E-TEN's site to freshen it up. It seems that M700 owners will have to keep that download finger waiting for another week as the Microsoft certification process seems to be stopping that ship from sailing. The update process is pretty straightforward, register your handset, E-TEN will send you an "action key" which coupled with your IMEI will let you get at the goodies. Good luck on those updates, and if you have a happy or nightmarish story about your upgrade, let us know. Hit the read link to head on over to E-TEN's site for all the details.[Via the::unwired]
T-Mobile Wing gets unboxed
MyMobile911 has somehow managed to acquire a "production package" of T-Mobile's upcoming Windows Mobile 6-equipped Wing, and perhaps the most interesting news here is that it is, in fact, called the "Wing." Previous reports had suggested that execs weren't happy with the name, but hey, they could call it "Poo" for all we care -- the fact that retail packaging is in the wild suggests that a release could very well be imminent. The box's contents turn out to be pretty standard fare: a charger, stereo headset, cables, software, and a handful of manuals, though one gem is the audio/charging dongle that appears to let you juice the battery and rock out at the same time. With the MDA axed from the lineup, T-Mobile's Pocket PC-less shelves are looking a wee bit bare; Wing, you can't possible get here soon enough.[Thanks, Wally S.]
HP crushes dreams, offers no WM6 upgrades
The former Windows Mobile heavyweight champ (sorry, HP, but we're pretty sure that title belongs to some friends of yours now) has made the unfortunate -- though not altogether unexpected -- announcement this week that it will not be providing Windows Mobile 6 upgrades to its existing line of Windows Mobile 5-based devices. That list includes the rx4000, rx5000, rw6800, and hw6900 series -- among others -- leaving even buyers of the company's more recent models in the lurch. If it's any consolation, the models won't be offered with Windows Mobile 6 preinstalled either (because let's face it, it'd just be downright insulting to be teased with an upgrade you can't have) though all future models out of the company will mercifully be rocking Redmond's latest and greatest.[Via the::unwired]
Dopod's C720W curiously left out of WM6 upgrade plans
We applaud Dopod's effort (or should we say HTC's effort?) in keeping its devices updated with all that warm, buttery Windows Mobile 6 goodness, but one rather notable handset has strangely been left out in the cold: the C720W, Dopod's flavor of the HTC Excalibur. We know there aren't any technical limitations to making it happen on account of T-Mobile's valiant effort to get the upgrade out for its Dash, so this all smells a little funny. One nefarious theory is that Dopod is looking to nudge folks into dropping their Excaliburs in favor of a shiny new C730 (the Cavalier, in HTC parlance). Whatever the reason -- come on, Dopod, do the right thing here.[Thanks, James]
HTC P3450 "Elf" in the wild
HTC's 2007 plan is starting to play itself out, and the latest device to make a cameo is this here lovely looking (but only so-so spec'd) "Elf" in HTC-branded P3450 guise. Guts include a rather anemic OMAP850 putting along at 201MHz, 128MB of ROM, 64MB of RAM, microSD expansion, a 2 megapixel cam, Bluetooth 2.0, and quadband GSM plus UMTS (though it's not clear whether there are any American 3G bands kicking around in there). The big draw here -- besides the presence of Windows Mobile 6, of course -- seems to be a shell that clocks in at a rather svelte 14 millimeters. If this all pans out, expect an official introduction in the next couple months.[Via Slashphone]
E-TEN's glofiish X500+ gets official
First, the good news: the glofiish X500+ takes the original X500's thin formula and packs in a glorious VGA display. Now, the bad: 3G data is still nowhere to be found. We suppose we'll have to wait for the upcoming X800 to sup the sweet nectar of HSDPA from an E-TEN device, but in the meantime, it seems the X500+ is a worthy upgrade its predecessor thanks to a stylish new black casing, Windows Mobile 6 Professional, and, of course, the aforementioned 640 x 480 touchscreen. No word on pricing or availability just yet, but we can probably guess "a lot" and "not here."[Via the::unwired]
Dopod announces HTC Vox and Cavalier as C500, C730
HTC's Asian outpost Dopod has officially announced two of its corporate parent's more hotly-anticipated models today -- the Vox and the Cavalier -- in the form of the C500 and C730, respectively. The C500, which has already seen retail duty in Europe as the Orange SPV E650, is arguably the more unique of the two with a spring-loaded QWERTY slide to accompany a full numeric keypad up front; sadly, 3G data is left entirely out of the equation. The C730 is the HSDPA follow-on to the Excalibur with a 2 megapixel cam and a rather comely (in our humblest of opinions) black shell. Thankfully, both come loaded with Windows Mobile 6 Standard. Look for the C500 this month for about $490, while C730 fans will have to wait until next month and shell out another hundred at $590.Read - Dopod C500Read - Dopod C730
Gigabyte g-Smart i300 to get Windows Mobile 6
Not to suggest many among our readership have one of these suckers, but for the few (and proud) who do, rejoice. The g-Smart i300 is now slated to get an upgrade from Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC Phone Edition to Windows Mobile 6 Professional, though the translated press release doesn't seem to offer details on exactly how or when the upgrade will go down. Forgetting for a moment the sickly GPRS data speeds, the i300 offers up decent specs with a 520MHz PXA270 core, Bluetooth 2.0, WiFi, GPS, and a full 256MB of internal Flash with miniSD expansion. Look for the Windows Mobile 6-enabled version of the i300 to launch first in Taiwan with a follow-on launch in Turkey, of all places.[Via the::unwired]
Hands-on with T-Mobile's WM6-ified Dash
Kudos to T-Mobile for rushing (in relative terms) Windows Mobile 6 to its Dash, an honorable move that makes it the first carrier to launch a Windows Mobile 6 device in the US. We've had a chance to run through the re-upped device today, and, well, what can we say: it's a faithful implementation of Windows Mobile 6 Standard. As we've said before, Windows Mobile 6 is an extraordinarily incremental upgrade; the new operating system alone probably doesn't warrant rushing out tomorrow and picking up a shiny new Dash, but for existing owners, we can't think of a better way to close out the week. Click on for the glorious visuals.%Gallery-2944%
T-Mobile Dash gets Windows Mobile 6 upgrade
Exactly as planned, all you Dash users can head on over to T-Mobile's Windows Mobile upgrade site tomorrow (Friday, the 4th, to be extra verbose), and snag the free Windows Mobile 6 upgrade. Be warned, though, you'd better make sure to get a decent backup app because the upgrade will, as usual, hard reset all the data on your device.
Windows Mobile 6 update for T-Mobile Dash leaked
Frankly we're a bit surprised it's taken as long as it has for the T-Mobile Dash Windows Mobile 6 upgrade to get leaked. Nothing much to see here if you're at all familiar with WM6 "Standard" (what we common folk are still calling Smartphone), but if you're not willing to brick-risk it, apparently the official update will hit the streets this Friday, the 4th.[Via Gadgets On The Go and Jamerican]
Xda terra becomes first WM6 Pro device to ship
Just over a month ago, O2 Germany came clean and announced the future availability of the Xda terra, and now the carrier will forever hold the crown of being the first major provider to offer up and ship a Windows Mobile 6 Professional handset. Sure enough, O2's Germany webstore proudly displays the dashing mobile, lists the specs that you've already memorized, and mentions that it now includes a two-megapixel camera to boot. Of course, being first in line always comes at a premium, and from what we can gather through the (admittedly sketchy) translation, the lowest price point you'll be reaching is €279.99 ($382) bundled with a contract. Additionally, O2 lists the handset sans agreement for a stiff €519.99 ($710), but it looks like those will only be available from retail locations -- decisions, decisions.[Via Unwired]
Windows Mobile "dumbphone" -- sans Microsoft
We're hardly amazed anymore when a cheesy handset knock-off shows up somewhere in the world -- although there are cool fakes sometime. Amazingly crafty and deft at spelling incompetence at the same time, this ripoff of the entire Windows Mobile software / handset thing got us chuckling wildly. The "Microsoft Window" handset (yes, no "s") has a 3 inch QVGA screen, stereo speakers and is a very decent 17mm thick. Those are respectable stats, but the word "touchscreen" in half upper-case and half lower-case right above the d-pad kinda destroyed this facsimile's street cred to the trained eye. Since this "Window" handset has a 2 megapixel cam and opening / closing screens ripped directly from Windows XP, we're still left dumbfounded on which actual homebrew mobile OS possesses this thing.[Via gearfuse]
RIM developing BlackBerry virtualization software
In an aggressive move aimed at wooing the millions of smartphone users who would be interested in owning a BlackBerry -- just not all the time -- RIM will be releasing an innovative piece of software that allows its OS to run inside Windows Mobile 6. To many cellphone addicts this news is the equivalent of Parallels opening up Windows on Apple machines, as Pocket PC phones will not simply be skinned or loaded with BlackBerry Connect, but rather endowed with the full capabilities of a standalone BlackBerry -- including the ability to run third party programs. While so far the virtualization software -- slated for drop this fall, possibly free with subscription -- will only work on Crossbow, it's possible that the company could decide to support other platforms in the future, such as the Palm OS or its Linux-based successor, though no promises have been made. Bottom line is that this looks to be good news all around: RIM gets more unsuspecting users hooked on the Crackberry mentality, consumers can now have the best of both worlds when it comes to hardware / software combos, and even old Microsoft may come out on top, with the new members of the WinMo ecosystem potentially outweighing the flight from Exchange servers.
E-TEN set to release X500+?
Remember the Glofiish X500? Well we do too, but just barely; E-TEN may be hustling an upgrade out the door in the coming weeks in the form of the X500+ (yeah, they added a extra character). The plus brings a few changes to the device most notable of which is the resolution bump from QVGA to VGA – higher res is always okay with us -- and Windows Mobile 6, and a conspicuous lack of 3G. While we get that E-TEN doesn't want to step on its higher end devices by adding WCDMA, we don't have to like it.[Thanks, Gti]