Okay, not really – I’ve just always wanted to make that reference.
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If you haven’t heard of Grooveshark yet, you really should check it out- Unlike other streaming music services such as Pandora and Slacker Radio, Grooveshark will let you pick any songs you like in their extremely extensive database, and create your own playlists. Since there is no restriction on playback, its like having a limitless library of MP3’s at your disposal!

The advantages of a mobile version are obviously appealing. Imagine being able to play any song you want, any time you feel like it, wherever you are, and without worrying about the limits of your storage space… as long as you have a data connection, that is.

Enter Grooveshark Mobile, the official application for Android, WebOS and Blackberry phones. Grooveshark, however, was denied access to Apple’s App store, so there will be no official iPhone version (unless you wish to Jailbreak, in which case they DO supply an at-your-own-risk version to show Apple what you think of their policies). Also glaringly absent is Microsoft’s platform, Windows Mobile.

Not to fear, all you WinMo fans out there. The development community has stepped up to the challenge and created their own Grooveshark applications to fill the need. The best of the bunch is undoubtedly Nanogroove, which has playlist support and album art.

The best bit of NanoGroove? Its free! Well, sort of- they offer 5 minutes of use each time you run it if you don’t register. Registration costs a one time fee of $5, and after that you are free to use it as much as you want. A worthwhile investment for unlimited music, if you ask me.

But wait, isn’t GrooveShark also free?

Yes, technically, however they reserve their latest-and-greatest features for VIPs only, which costs $3 a month for membership to. All the mobile apps are VIP access only, which means your unlimited music is going to cost a monthly subscription. Three bucks a month isn’t anything major, however compared to nanogroove’s $5 one time fee to register, it seems like Windows Mobile users come out on top this time!

Anyone remember those “leaked” Windows Mobile 7 screenshots that were floating around the internet over a year ago?

After the big WP7 announcement at Mobile World Congress, I think it was pretty clear that they were, indeed, fake. However, something didn’t quite add up… If they’ve been working on WP7 for so long, why was it so unfinished at the event?

The answer, according to former Microsoft MVP Brandon Miniman, as well as some knowledgeable users at xda-developers, is that WP7’s user interface, known as codename “Metro” is only about 18 months old.

That’s right, there was originally a successor to Windows Mobile 5 and 6 (codenames Magneto and Crossbow, respectively) that was scrapped at some point in 2008-09, and they started over with codename “Metro“, which just so happens to be the same internal name for the Zune HD UI.

After reading the fascinating article from Brandon on Pocket Now, it all starts to make a disturbing amount of sense. As I said before, Microsoft HAD to start over because they recognized that even if they finally perfected Windows Mobile in its current shell, no one would take notice because the OS is so tainted in the popular view. The only way to break free of the stigma of “buggy Windows on clunky phones” is to start over with something fresh and trendy.

According to this article and another by Miniman back in 2008 that apparently lost him his MVP status from MS, Photon development could date back as early as 2004.

That explains the screenshots, the conflicting rumors, and even the leaked YouTube promo video about WM7 (see below) which all look nothing like what we’ve seen at MWC.

Honestly, Photon looks like it could have been pretty amazing. Windows Mobile has its share of missed marks and shortcomings, and Photon really looks like it would have addressed them all. All the legacy applications, plugins, multitasking and all could have been retained while bringing the look of the OS into the current generation. WM fans could have had their cake and ate it too!
But, with all of their efforts being pumped into the Zune-Phone that is WP7, it doesn’t look like it will ever see the light of day. Microsoft did what it had to, but this is awfully depressing. They were so close…

There is hope, however- MS has made mention of a WM “Classic” or “starter edition” based on 6.5 for legacy application support and business-class users. Perhaps Photon could be taken out, dusted off, and make an appearance for loyal fans of the Pocket PC platform? Only time will tell.
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Many owners of the recent HTC Touch HD2 bought their new handhelds with the expectation of a future upgrade to Windows Phone 7 when available.

However, users on blogs and forums cried out in unison today as their hopes were abruptly shattered by a statement from Natasha Kwan, General Manager for Microsoft’s Mobile Communications Business in the Asia-Pacific region: The HD2 will not be getting an upgrade.

But the reason is pretty obvious to this blogger… Microsoft has made it clear that Windows Phone 7 is taking drastic measures to cut back on the fragmentation and inconsistent user experience that current devices suffer from (too many different UIs and hardware configurations can make support, innovation and deployment extremely difficult).
In order to do this, Microsoft has had to tighten the control they have over the UI and be more specific about hardware requirements (which they admitted was difficult to discuss with OEMs).

One of the requirements shown off at the MWC event was the button layout- All devices need to have 3 very specific buttons on the layout: A Windows key, a back button, and a search key.

According the APCmag, the statement issued by Kwan was that the HD2 “doesn’t qualify because it doesn’t have the three buttons”, one of which needs to be a dedicated search key with the HD2 lacks.

Technically, since I’m not aware of any current phones have a dedicated search key, it was pretty obvious to me that there would be no official upgrades for current devices, including the HD2. However, many bloggers have been passing around rumors that the HD2 would, in fact be receiving an upgrade (some sources indicated the rumor started from HTC, however I have not yet found a reliable source of this information).

What surprises me, however, is that many bloggers are now spreading the rumor that the reason is because of the 5 button layout that the HD2 has, instead of sticking to the 3 mandated by Microsoft.

I assure you, that is not the reason. Look at the statement quoted on APC’s website. I don’t believe for a moment that a device would be disqualified for having EXTRA buttons. Microsoft simply dictated the minimum, and from Kwan’s statement, its pretty obvious that the culprit here is the lack of a search button. Nothing at all to do with having more keys than the minimum.

Glad we could get that sorted out.

       An Editorial

Over the last few weeks, its become quite apparent that Microsoft plans to announce their long awaited update to Windows Mobile at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week.

Windows Mobile 7 has been speculated to be a well-overdue drastic overhaul to Microsoft’s aging legacy operating system, bringing it up to speed with the current lineup of user-friendly phone interfaces.
Now, I have to admit, I personally have owned and used many portable computing platforms over the last ten years, but I always find myself coming back to Windows Mobile. Not because I have a thing for Microsoft, or because it’s the most stylish or polished (it surely is not!), but rather because I have always found it the most versatile and useful; with over 10 years of apps developed for it (take THAT App store!) and a true multitasking OS that allows for a desktop-style workflow, its hard to find a more capable mobile platform.

The biggest problem with Windows Mobile, however, has always been that it is NOT consumer friendly. Too much of a computer in your pocket, and not simple enough as a phone. Consumers often found it unnecessarily complicated to learn and use, and jumped at the simpler platforms that actually offered less features (You know who you are!).
While Windows Mobile has found a home in geek circles and some business use, it has been sorely losing the battle in the average consumer market.
Microsoft promised to fix all of that with WM7, finally bridging the portable desktop concept with next generation user-friendliness.
Well, if the “leaked” details from PPCGeeks and MobileTechWorld are to be believed, I think Microsoft has got it ALL WRONG.

The source of said “leaks” are still unverified, but some of it seems to agree with previous rumors, including that the OS will be based on the Zune HD interface. That’s not a bad thing, since the new Zune has been met with a considerable amount of praise. The suggestion of a “Zune Phone” has been kicked around more than once. However, as I continued reading, I found some of the information downright surprising… and not the GOOD kind of surprising. Take for example (copied from the news post at ppcgeeks):

So, wait a minute here, Microsoft- are you expecting me to believe that you are cutting off the huge library of previously existing applications, forcing all future developed applications to go through your official application store, and cutting out support for multitasking and custom interfaces? Basically, cut out all the things that make your platform worth dealing with, for what? For a sleeker and simpler user experience??

Does this sort of device sound familiar to anyone? Listen, Microsoft, if I wanted an iPhone, I’d just buy an iPhone! The reason I don’t use one as my daily phone NOW is because of the imposed limitations cited above!
Sure, this model may work for Apple, but didn’t anyone explain to them that they can’t beat Apple at their own game? I sincerely hope the leaked information is not accurate… It does not make sense to ruin the very few things that make Windows Mobile worth using.

I suppose we’ll find out in a week’s time, but my current HTC Touch Pro 2 with WM6.5 may very well be the last Windows phone I will own.
Hellloooo Android….

UPDATE: While I still can’t verify any of this with an official statement, someone with close ties to internal MS developers has said the leaked information is fairly accurate. MWC can’t come soon enough…

Sony Ericsson has announced the Aspen, the first Windows mobile 6.5.3 device to hit shelves.
(Editor’s Note: This is the first official press release using the title 6.5.3 on anything. Microsoft still hasn’t made any announcement of an OS by this name, and multiple rumors about WM7 being announced at MWC this month make the branding title even curiouser. Would love to hear an official statement by MS on this already…)

Without a hands-on all I can say is the specs look good, and the inclusion of SPB Mobile Shell sounds like a good move, a direct counter to HTC’s now ubiquitous Sense or Samsungs less-than lauded TouchWiz.

If we can get our hands on a copy, we’ll have a review for you.

HTC has already promised that the hot new Touch HD2, the first Windows Mobile handset to use a capacitive screen and sport a 1Ghz Snapdragon CPU, will be coming to US carriers soon. Which carrier and when seems to be a carefully guarded secret, however.

Well, rumor junkies rejoice… This is all unconfirmed, however according to a post over at Brighthand, a leaked ROM has shown modules with the title TMOUS, which is traditionally short for T-Mobile USA.

They also claim that there is a rumored released around March. Let’s hope that like the Rhodium (Touch Pro 2) series, it eventually makes it onto all US carriers.

Bing Mobile, originally Windows Live Search, was one of those super-useful yet often overlooked Microsoft applications.

The concept originally was to deliver location-based searches to your handset, such as gas stations or movie times closest to your current position. If your mobile phone has GPS, it can automatically update itself to your current location and even give turn by turn directions to the destination of choice.

While sharing a lot of common features with the more popular Google Maps, the big distinction between them to many end-users was that Google Maps was prohibited from offering real-time driving directions due to licensing issues with map providers.
LiveSearch/Bing offered to follow your GPS position, and actually route you in real time, alerting you before turns, just like a stand alone GPS unit, only for free. Back in 2007, it even starting offering a “Speak” command, in which it would do a little voice recognition to determine your destination. This effectively made it more hands-free and therefore safer and easier to use while driving than a traditional GPS unit.

Yet, despite all this, when Google finally made its announcement to start offering turn-by-turn directions in their free mapping application for Android, everyone heralded it as an industry first… Even the voice recognition part of it was proclaimed to be an innovation, despite MS doing this years earlier.

However, as is sadly the par with classic Microsoft products, sometimes functionality comes at the cost of form. The interface for Bing was sub-par compared to the easy and simple Google Maps, with many people never being fully aware that GPS routing was an option (you have to first plot a destination, then click show Map, then click a softkey and tap “follow me using GPS”. This should really start automatically or at least remember the settings from last time).

So is MS to do? Redesign Bing!
So, that is exactly what they did. Microsoft redesigned the entire interface to be more appealing and straight forward, and I dare to say they did a bang-up job. The problem is… they removed the most useful features of the application, including the GPS turn-by-turn routing!

Not only that, but the new application doesn’t seem to remember previous searches. That means unless you go out of your way to save a location as a “favorite”, you have to enter (or “speak”) a destination every time.

Some users over at PPCGeeks.com have mentioned that perhaps this new version is a technical demo / beta, and that more features are expected to come soon.
I sincerely hope this is the case, because the last thing Microsoft needs is to become a “form over function” oriented company like certain “other” companies out there…

The Open WebKit Rendering engine is what drives some of the most popular new browsers on the desktop market today. The Mobile market seem to be embracing it as a standard as well, which is why Apple, Nokia, Palm and Google all chose to include WebKit-based browsers in their latest platforms as the default (and sometimes ONLY) option.

Microsoft, meanwhile, is still pushing mobile browsers based on their older Internet Explorer engine, and it doesn’t look like they are ready to adopt any other “standards” anytime soon. But thankfully, there are plenty of alternative mobile browsers available (Opera, SkyFire, MiniMo, Picsel, Thunderhawk, etc), so one would think it only a matter of time before a solid WebKit based one is developed and released.

That’s why I was very excited a couple of years ago to hear about a new startup called Torch Mobile, who claimed to be finally bringing WebKit to Windows Mobile with their new Iris browser.

Iris browser was a solid little app with tons of potential… that sadly never left beta. That’s because back in August of this past year, they were bought up by RIM, and effectively ceased all Windows Mobile development and removed all links and hosting of the beta. The good news is that Blackberries might finally get a decent browser on upcoming devices. The bad news is that the Windows Mobile community is back to square one without a browser based on the same webkit standards as almost every other Smartphone.

Hot on the heels of Torch Mobile’s acquisition, a Korean software outfit called Company 100, is stepping in to fill that gap. Their product, Dorothy browser is currently accepting requests for a beta webkit browser.
I had a moment to sign up for the beta and try it out today… I must say, the rendering is very fast and seems quite good. It still lacks some of the high end features that Opera has, such as kinetic scrolling and flash support, but its extremely promising for a beta.

There’s also rumors in the pipeline for a WM version of the new Dolphin browser which just made a splash on the Moto Droid for utilizing multi-touch support for pinch gestures.
If you’re on Windows Mobile and have been waiting for WebKit, the time is coming…

I get a lot of statistics thrown in my face by various marketing groups trying to make a point one way or another. As an endless critic, I can’t help but question every number or “fact” presented to me without any background data.

Last time around, I mentioned why the carrier reviews from Consumer Reports seemed fatally flawed. Today, I stumbled upon something new that I find almost as questionable. The iPhone blog posted a pie chart from AdMob, which apparently displays the percentage of web traffic coming from various mobile devices.

According to the chart (click the image to view full size), the iPhone makes up a very healthy 55% of all web requests from mobile devices here in the United States.
Android follows with 20%, RIM Blackberries with 12%, and moving down to the bottom of the list are WebOS at 5% and Windows Mobile accounting for a measly 4%.

I am not surprised one bit that Apple’s iPhone is in the lead. It is clearly the most popular consumer oriented smartphone in the country. What DOES surprise me is the Android numbers, especially compared to Windows Mobile and WebOS.
In fact, speaking of WebOS and WM, the very notion that Palm’s new system has a higher percentage of traffic than Windows Mobile indicates that something is awry with these “facts”.

These statistics represent WebOS at a time when it is on a single branded device, the Palm Pre on Sprint. Sprint, meanwhile, is lagging behind in third place with national carriers as far as subscribers. Windows Mobile, meanwhile, may not be as media spotlight friendly as the other mobile OSs, however we’re dealing with an OS that exists on every one of the 4 major carriers, and in multiple handset styles by multiple manufacturers.

So, yes, it would seem strange to me that WebOS, as great as it may be, is reportedly being used for more web traffic than Windows Mobile. That got me thinking… how is this test being performed? What are the details behind these numbers? What sites are being monitored and what determines the the data?

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