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Getting Crossbow on your current WM5 device
Where there's a will, there's a way and these hackers prove it day in and day out. Wouldn't you like to have the latest Crossbow OS instead of waiting around till launch? Well, you won't get the whole OS, but trickin out your current Windows Mobile 5.0 phone to look like the soon-to-be-released doesn't sound too bad either. The latest hack has everything from the welcome screen down to the phone pad to look like Crossbow. As always, be cautious installing the update the let us know how the process goes.
Samsung's Ultra Messaging i600 gets official: "world's thinnest" 3G QWERTY Smartphone
Samsung just went and officially took the wraps off the i600 we already caught struttin' around Europe a few months ago. The WinMo 5.0 Smartphone picked up the Sammy "Ultra" branding as well as the angular QWERTY found on the i607 BlackJack and preferred by dancing German Sprockets. However, unlike the Blackjack, the i600 packs in 802.11b/g WiFi and a second VGA cam up front. Fully packed, we're looking at GSM/EDGE UMTS/HSDPA, MS Push email, RSS reader, speakerphone, Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR and A2DP stereo audio support, and 64MB RAM / 128MB ROM on-board memory with microSD expansion. More importantly, it's quad-band GSM contrary to earlier reports and measures in at a qualified, "world's thinnest" 11.8-mm (0.46-inches) / 99-grams (3.5-ounces) which is slimmer than Cingular's lesser Blackjack yet weighs the same. Super. Now the rub: although FCC approved, the Ultra Messaging i600 is only announced for Asia Pacific and Europe thus far -- sometime in Q1, 2007.[Via AVING]
HTC Excalibur / O2 Xda Cosmo reviewed
If the Boy Genius' soiled-trow, hands-on of the HTC Excalibur had you gasping for more, then peep the full review of the O2 Xda Cosmo just posted at the::unwired. Their unit from O2 Germany came ready to go with Windows Mobile 5.0 and AKU3 which, besides some low-level tweaks, brought a new Internet Sharing application in replacement of HTCs Wireless Modem app. The reviewer who admittedly comes from a more traditional GSM phone background (read: no real experience with a QWERTY/Z Smartphones or BlackBerrys) found the keyboard confusing for "regular phone stuff" like entering a phone number or searching for contacts -- apparently preferring T9-style input instead. Still, he was stoked by this quad-band GSM phones WiFi, GPRS, and EDGE data connectivity options and "satisfied" by performance under normal usage or while watching live, Slingboxed TV. However, the reviewer then goes on to worry unnecessarily about the OMAP 850 processor getting overloaded if say, using it for GPS, watching live TV, and listening to audio over Bluetooth all at the same time. Hell, why not agonize over the risk posed by it getting lodged in your skull when used near certain supermodels? Geesh. Bottom line: if you're looking for a WinMo device with keyboard and "all the latest and greatest technologies" (well, almost all) then the Cosmo is a "great device."
Samsung's SGH-i600: an HSDPA and WiFi Smartphone at last
Sure, you like the Motorola Q but hate the fact that it's missing WiFi. And the lack of 3G on the HTC Excalibur is also a deal breaker. Well, look no further for your QWERTY fix brother, 'cause our favorite maker of boxy black devices is showing off their SGH-i600 Smartphone at IFA in Berlin. This tri-band GSM 900/1800/1900 baby brings it all: HSDPA, EDGE, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth, a 1.3 megapixel cam with another up front for video calls, a 2.3-inch, 65k color, 320 x 240 TFT display, Microsoft's Push Mail, and 128MB ROM / 64MB RAM with MicroSD expansion all powered by Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone on a TI OMAP 1710 processor. The phone looks small enough for single-handed operation, can pull double-duty as an HSDPA modem and can even be switched into USB mass storage mode for easy drag-n-drop data transfer off your PC. And yeah, it's FCC approved so the estimated Q4 2006 release date is certainly do-able. Now sop-up the drool and click-on for more pics.[Thanks, Martin]
Sharp's W-ZERO3[es] / WS007SH: WinMo 5 Pocket PC hotness, redefined
While we loved the specs on Sharp's W-ZERO3 / WS003SH, let's just say that its plastic, chub of a case was seriously short on swank. Now check the W-ZERO3 [es] / WS007SH hotness which our brethren at Engadget Japan got the jump on this AM. Developed under that same partnership with Sharp, Willcom, and Microsoft, the new WS007SH variant keeps the Pocket PC flavor of Windows Mobile 5.0 and 416MHz Intel PXA 270 proc but brings a second, standard phone keypad to the mini, sliding QWERTY. They even managed to squeeze that same VGA resolution into a smaller, 2.8-inch screen while keeping the best of the rest: 128MB flash (60MB allocated to the user) and 64MB of SDRAM, miniSD expansion, USB, and 1.3 megapixel cam. All this and she still manages to slim-down from 70 x 130 x 26-millimeters and 220-grams to 56 x 135 x 21-millimeters and 175-grams. Ok, no WiFi or Bluetooth yet folks, but these, like a Japanese OneSeg expansion pack for digital TV on the go are currently under development and will certainly increase the bulk. Available only in Japan starting July 27th for ¥29,800/¥36,800 (or about $260/$321) with/without a one-year contract. Many more pics, including the OneSeg TV expansion after the break. [Via Engadget Japan]
MobiTV now available for Windows Mobile 5.0
We heard it was coming and sho'nuff, MobiTV just announced the immediate availability of their MobiTV service for Windows Mobile powered phones and devices. When run on WinMo 5.0 Smartphones, the $10/month service supports full-screen viewing, an EPG, and hot TeeVee streaming over WiFi or high-speed 3G-ish nets. And while the press release is just ambiguous enough to make it sound like any WinMo 5.0 Smartphone or PocketPC will work with the service, a bit of digging finds only the Treo 700w, Sprint PPC-6700, Cingular 2125 and 8125, and Motorola Q listed as "supported devices." So you've got to ask yourself a question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?
UTStarcom releases XV6700 MSFP update
As the Windows Mobile 5.0 AKU2 / MSFP updates get slowly pushed through the woodworks, we must not forget those users especially inclined toward mobile email -- those with Apaches and Wizards, say we. And now that Cingular and Sprint have updates for their respective HTC devices, isn't it about time Verizon did the same? Well, they didn't, but the good news is UTStarcom went over their heads (something you don't often hear about with the V) and released the Message Security and Feature Pack for the XV6700 on their own site. Somehow we doubt this will unlock the phone's crippled WiFi, but stranger still about this scenario is that, UTStarcom's webmaster is apparently very into comics: their metadata holds superman as the site description, batman as the keyword, and batman begins as the subject. Well aight then, we get it, UT Starcom marches to the beat of a different drummer indeed.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Motorola Q to launch exclusively with Verizon Wireless
Well hello Moto... Q. Verizon just went live with their Motorola Q teaser site and while they don't get heavy on the specs, produce a price or even a launch date, we now know that the Q will be a Verizon Wireless exclusive -- for a few weeks or months anyway, before Sprint ever gets their mits on this skinny EV-DO packin' WinMo 5.0 SmartPhone. And while you're checking out the VZW site, go ahead and sign up for launch notification so we can fumble about with the snooze button for a few extra ticks next week when the Q is expected to launch.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
