Everyone is psyched up about Android, but Google is still sitting on their new OS for the next few months.
Its no secret that HTC is behind some of the first handsets to run Android, so that got people thinking- will Android be available on current HTC handsets when it is released?
And if not, how hard would it be to port over, assuming HTC uses similar architecture in their manufacturing?
Well the phone hax0rs extraordinare over at XDA-Developers and PPC Geeks didn’t want to wait to find out. Apparently they have been working on ways to port leaked versions of the OS and all its open source linux-based goodness over to current HTC devices!
Now, its not a full port, and still relies on the Windows Mobile OS underneath for device drivers and what not, however after loading itself into RAM, the Android OS takes over the GUI and presents the user with an early look of things to come.
The problem with this, however, is that you need enough RAM after Windows Mobile boots to load the Android OS into and run. On the new devices with 128+mb of RAM, (such as the HTC Tilt, Vogue, and Diamond) there is plenty of memory to go around, however on many current devices including the Sprint Mogul (Titan), the 64Mb limit is far too tight.
People have managed to get it to boot, but portions of the OS, such as data connections, didn’t work.
That is, until now.
PPCGeeks forum member “l33tlinuxh4×0r” with the help of “dzo” have managed to get it to boot and be functional despite the limited 64mb of RAM.
“Android boots, The touch screen works. You can make phone calls. You can browse the internet.
This will NOT mess up your phone. It runs from ram and there are no permanent changes.”
Windows Mobile, while it may have plenty of shortcomings, is still one of the most popular mobile operating systems in use today.
However, there are many factors that may change that soon- Symbian is going open source, the iPhone is becoming “unlocked”, and Android’s release is imminent… So, what will happen to Windows Mobile in the near future? Will it dissapear completely from the mobile OS lineup, or will they simply be content with dropping to the 4th or 5th most popular OS? Or, will they adapt to the brave new world and emerge on top?
Fabrizio Capobianco, CEO and creator of Funambol (a multi-platform open source sync solution) recently wrote about this on his blog:
“In particular, I do not see a chance for Microsoft to be relevant in mobile OSS. Now that Symbian is gone open source, we have three open source operating systems (Symbian, Android and LIMO derivatives) that are going to dominate the market. On top of it, you have the iPhone. That’s 90% of the market easily in a few years. Windows Mobile will be left with less than 10%. Even if WM becomes free (they have to make that move and it will be so painful for them), I do not think they will win market share. Their motto will be “think different” :-))
Unless they do the unthinkable: make Windows Mobile open source. That would be an incredible move, one that I think they cannot do with Ballmer at the helm.”
I’m not so sure I agree with 100% of that. You see, OpenMoko and Linux Mobile have been around a while, and have largely been considered failures when it comes to market adoption.
Why?
I think it is because simply being open source is not enough. You need to have a large enough community backing an open source project for it to be successful, and sadly OpenMoko and LiMo don’t have that (…yet).
Windows Mobile, meanwhile, has a very large pre-existing development community (one that I consider myself a part of on occasion), which is why they will continue to sell handsets even if the new open platforms are more powerful theoretically.
The only mobile OS that I think is really going to give WinMo a run for its money is Google’s Android. Google is popular enough that any project they put their name on has an instant following (as I mentioned recently). Its very possible that Android will show the world we’re ready for an open mobile OS.
Now, what’s going to happen to MS?
Well, I don’t think its so crazy that MS will start adopting more open-source models, they’ve already started doing that with some of their projects. A decade ago, no one would have believed that there would be a page on Microsoft.com about their open source projects, but clearly they are recognizing that this is a necessary move to stay competitive. Microsoft has done crazier things in its past.*
But will Windows Mobile go open source?
Only time will tell. I think Fabrizio’s prediction is further away than he implies, but then again the mobile market changes so quickly anything is possible.
A rant by Mordy Gilden.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably used Google Maps on your desktop browser for something at least once in your life. Google Maps is arguably the most popular mapping and directions plotting service there is, effectively stealing that crown from MapQuest ages ago.
So, its no surprise that the most popular server-based mapping and routing application on mobile phones is Google Maps Mobile (GMM). GMM offers a few features that don’t exist on the desktop based version, including support for GPS location if your phone has it, or localized search based on tower-triangulation (if your phone does not have or give you access to a GPS chip). It will even locate the addresses of contacts from your phonebook on some handsets.
Now, Google has announced voice recognition technology, based on the same technology as GOOG-411. Currently being tested on certain Blackberry handsets, the concept here is that your phone will record the voice clip, send it to Google’s servers who will decipher it, and send back the relevant information to your handset. Pretty nifty stuff, in fact nifty enough that many bloggers including Engadget, MobileCrunch, Boy Genius Report, and many others have rushed in to share this ground-breaking information with the rest of the Mobile World.
In fact, to quote the BGR:
“For the most recent feature addition, Google has decided to implement a bit of voice recognition. Sweet!”
Now, here’s where I’m confused. Did everyone miss Microsoft’s announcement to do this almost a year ago with Windows Live Search?
Windows Live has been offering this service for many of its compatible handsets, which include a wide range of devices including Blackberrys.
I currently use it on my Windows Mobile device so much that I now consider the feature to be indispensable (especially when on the road).
So, this begs the question: How come nobody talks about this stuff until Google does it?!
I see this as a great move on GMM’s part, and I share the enthusiasm as the aforementioned bloggers. However, my feelings towards it are not “Sweet!”, but rather “Finally! What took you guys so long?“. You don’t normally see Microsoft beating Google to the punch at these sort of things.
I have to admit, Google Maps seems to have fallen behind on features- Windows Live offers real time turn-by-turn routing on GPS enabled devices which GMM still does not do, not to mention some cute features like finding the cheapest gas, movie times and more based on your current location. Google still doesn’t do all of that.
Basically, Google Maps broke new grounds and set standards for desktop map utilities, but as far as mobile apps go, Windows Live far exceeds them in features and usability… once again, not something you’d expect from Microsoft. But there it is.
I am at least consoled by the fact that many of the loyal Engadget readers commented that they’ve already been doing this with Windows Live over the past year. Still, it makes me wonder how many people are only interested in a concept if Google is behind it… let’s see how well Android plays out against Linux Mobile.
Or, how to drag and drop files to your Windows Mobile phone without wires!
Every now and then, an application will catch my eye that is so unique and useful that I just have to write about it. Unlike some other apps I’ve spoken about in this blog, MochaFTP is not new software. In fact, I’m always surprised when people haven’t heard about it since it dates back to at least the days of Windows Mobile 2003, and perhaps even the Pocket PC days of yore.
But aren’t there already plenty of FTP clients on Windows Mobile?
This little program will create an FTP server out of your handset that will allow any computer with an internet connection to send and receive to.
The interface is very simple. Run the application, and it will display a status screen with your current IP address, data meters, and details of the current activity. (See screenshot to the right)
By default, anonymous login is enabled. You can set permissions and additional Usernames/Passwords by poking around in the File menu. Once you’ve given yourself a Username and Password for Read/Write access, go over to any computer and enter the IP address of your handset into any FTP client, or even Windows Explorer if you don’t have an FTP client that you prefer (remember, the syntax is ftp://username:password@yourIPaddress if using explorer).
(The Pic above may have been squeezed to fit into the layout space. On a Windows PC, you can right click and select “view image” to see the original) You can then browse your entire directory structure remotely, and drag/drop files as you please.
So is this similar to USB Mass Storage device applications such as Card Export or Wm5torage?
Actually, it has quite a few advantages over the USB Mass Storage apps. For starters, those apps usually only give you the Storage Card, whereas this gives you the entire directory structure, internal memory, Extended Rom, etc. Also, obviously you don’t need to physically attach a cable to connect to a PC since its all over the air using your data connection. It will, however, be somewhat slower than using USB, and this will become more noticeable if transferring large files on slow data networks and/or if your device supports USB 2.0. However, for smaller files such as pics and documents, this is a fantastic solution.
Is it Expensive? Actually, its free. It used to be commercial software, but the author has declared it freeware, and provides the registration code on his website.
I just came from a live demo of the new Windows Mobile 6 demonstration here at the Microsoft booth at 3GSM and I have to say that I was pretty impressed. Except for the Vista themed icons, the new OS does not look much different than its 5.0 predecessor. Microsoft was not out for a bells and whistles WOW! with this upgrade. Rather, 6.0 is about making the tiny improvements needed make the user experience better… and if you are a business exchange user, as I am, that they have done.
6.0 vastly improves and increases mobile productivity by integrating more than ever with other Microsoft products like Windows Live which brings a rich Search, Spaces, Mail and IM experience to your phone. The O.S has an improved contact list that shows all types of contacts whether its mobile number or just email or IM. Clicking onto a contact now also shows “last communication” information that essentially shows you when you last communicated with this person and by which medium that communication was done. Further inspection will generate a small time-line history of past communications.
Forwarding contact information from phone to phone is nothing new but in instances when we mix business with pleasure this can get a little uncomfortable. Take my boss Rodger for example. I have both his work number, personal number, work email and personal email in the contact list on my phone. I have the same stuff for myself. If I wanted to beam or send his or my own contact info over to someone else phone I would have to send all that info over as well and thats not fair to Rodger or me :-). Microsoft improved this element by allowing you to pick individual elements of contact info to send to people. Not a big huge deal but enough to show the Microsoft is really beginning to pay attention to details and, in turn, the end business user.
Like 5.0, the new O.S allows you to look up business contacts on your servers exchange server (really nice for companies with 500 people but unlike its predecessor Windows Mobile 6.0 also allows you to search the server, i.e past emails, for documents you may have to recall while on the go. So say, a month after a deal closes someone emails you regarding the contract… you know one of those “I cant find the email you cc’ed me on” pleads for help. But you are at a conference, say like 3GSM, manning the booth for the company with no access to wifi. Usually, you would just have to respond to the person that you will get to it when you are back at your computer and can “get on the internet.”. With Windows 6.0 its less of a hassle. No problem. Simply enter the name of the document you looking for in a search box built into the OS and search your server for it. Wen you find it you can simply attach it to your reply email and send away.
Windows Mobile 6.0 is also the first mobile email client to fully support HTML (so they claim). It now also supports editable word, excel and powerpoint documents and has added a built in search, history and favorites mechanism into the windows mobile explorer browser.
On the date planning side 6.0 has a new color coded timeline that sits on top of your calendar that makes it easier to quickly glance to see if that 2-3pm time slot is taken and is vibrantly color coded to show the importance of meeting that may be taking up that time. When in full calendar mode 6.0 now shows the full event details at a space bellow the calendar for easier reading.
Probably one of the most important features, at least for me, is the improvements (or addition, rather) made on exchange invites to meeting etc etc… WIndows Mobile 6.0 now allows you to send meeting invites from your phone as well as edit already existing ones and adding people to the list.
But even more important than that, and a feature that I think is very quirky and clever, Windows 6.0 also allows you to set your “out of office reply” from your mobile… something I always forget to do and even forgot to do it for 3GSM (sorry to anyone who has been trying to contact me).
Also talked about was how Vista will interact with Windows Mobile 6.0 and other mobile devices. Active Sync is going to be replaced with a Windows Mobile Vista “Device Center” which, from the looks of it and from playing around with it, is aimed at making the sync process between your phone and your PC much easier. As a Mac user this has never been a problem for me but from helping sync up peoples phones to their PC has proven in the past I can tell how this new clean looking and ergo-dynamic “Device Center” will be a breath of fresh air for Windows users.
All in all Microsoft’s announcement of Windows Mobile 6.0 is, on face, not that big of a deal. There is no bog dramatic change. The words “social networking,” “blogging” “mobile tv” and “video” never came up. But what these tiny changes mean is that Microsoft is really beginning to listen to the end user and what their day to day needs and desires are make their mobile workday an easier flowing experience. And while these changes are mostly made with the business man or woman in mind there is no reason why the same applications cannot be made, with a little more ingenuity, for the average Windows Mobile user.
A Microsoft representative told me that he expects devices with Windows Mobile 6 to begin appearing in as little time as a month and that upgrades via your carrier will be made available around the same time. If, however, you have an unlocked device such as I do you are a little out of luck. You will just have to have that special Microsoft connection to get your phone re-flashed.
Hello! And Welcome To the 41nd Carnival of the Mobilists brought to you by MOpocket and Khosla Ventures who awards $250 to the author of the best post each month. This weeks Carnival also has a special dedication in honor of my parents Stuart and Paula Oberman (pictured above) who celebrated their 32nd Anniversary last Friday August 18th. My mother is looking for a new cell phone and is open to suggestions :-). I love you Mom and Dad, thanks for everything and I hope we celebrate another 32 anniversaries and more!
There are a lot of great contributions to this weeks carnival but before we get to them their is some Carnival and Mobilist business that we have to take care of. REMEMBER, IF YOU FIND YOUR BLOG MENTIONED HERE IT IS ONLY COMMON COURTESY TO LINK BACK. If you don’t my parents may be very disappointed in you ;-).
MY JEWISH MOTHER SAYS VOTE NOW!
My mother told me to remind you that If you have not already done so please go over to the Carnival website and vote for July’s best post. This is an essential part of the now well sponsored Carnival by Khosla Ventures and such great stuff should not go to waste, my mother says. Its always good to listen to your Jewish mother If you vote maybe she will cook you her famous brownies… yummmmm.
DAD SAYS LETS PARTY IN LA.
Always the party social networking man (he is the CEO of a major insurance brokerage firm) my father feels obliged to tell you about the 2nd CTIA Gathering Of The Mobilists and urges those interested to RSVP and attend. “My son and other influential mobilists will be there,” he says, “it would be insane not to try and make it. The event will be held at Cicada Restaurant on Tuesday September 12, 2006 and invitations are limited. For more information visit the information source for the event at Rudy’s M-Trends.
And by the way, if anyone out their is looking for insurance and or an insurance broker you should contact me as me and my brother can take special care of you. We have some amazing policies for technology companies and firms, even web freelancers. The company is a very well known and highly respected insurance brokerage.
And now, as my parents dance to their wedding song… I present to you this weeks Carnival of the Mobilists:
We Begin With Carnival Newcomers Or At Least Blogs That Are New To Me
Sprint’s $3bn 4G Gamble
Kevin Evan’s in Kevin’s Mobile Industry Commentary, a blog I just discovered because of the Carnival, talks about Sprint’s move to WiMax and, to be frank, tells it like it really is. [Read]
Access’s Latest Press Releases
Tam Hanna has a Palm specific blog titled TamsPalm: The Palm OS Blog in which he deconstructs Access’ latest press release about the growing momentum of Access’ Linux OS Platform for Palm. [Read]
Now Lets Talk About Mobile Influences On Our Lives And The Way We Live Them
Can Mobile Devices Help You Get Things Done?
Mat Miller over at ZDNet in his Mobile Gadgeteer Blog has a great article about the everyday life and mobile devices which discusses the ways in which we organize our lives and get things done via our mobiles. [Read]
Mobile Phones, Social Coordination, Urban Environments
Howard Rheingold from Smartmobs has an interesting little ditty on “hyper-cordination” and the way mobile technology is influencing our societal ergonomic discourses (especially regarding the philosophy of waiting). [Read]
Connecting Cultures Through Music
From the Mobilist daddy himself, Rudy De Waele of M-Trends.org sends in an article he wrote for Vodafones Reciever Magazine in which Rudy talks beautifully and eloquently about the ways in which mobile technology makes music into a social networking phenomena the likes of which we have never seen. While Rudy’s article is meant to be about music specifically it has some real buried treasures deep inside its discourse that can be used to discuss the greater impacts that mobile technology will have on our smartmobby like existence. [Read]
Lets Get Technical For A Moment Here
I am Now Cingular 3Gified! Or Am I?
My own submission to the Carnival in which I talk about my run in with Cingular’s (an America’s) UMTS and HSDPA standards, its technical difference with its European counterpart and why that means I can;t really use it yet. [Read]
People Over Process And IT In Mobile Workforces
Rod McLaren’s blog over at Mobbu has a really interesting article that I was intimidated by at first but then found actually really enjoyable and interesting. So don’t get the “IT” jargon get to you ever wanted to know if a synchronous/asynchronous data model between mobile device and a server mean that users can get horribly out of sync, leading to catastrophic real-world failures to public service infrastructures that need it the most you need not worry says McLaren. [Read]
The Mobile Service Architecture Specification
C. Enrique Ortiz in his same-named titled Mobility Weblog points to an article he wrote in the Sun’s Mobility Development Center which, he says, introduces JSR 248 and next generation platform for Java ME devices. See how the pieces of the new platform fit together. I link to his blog, the rest is up to you. [Read]
Mobile Technology and Politics, A Favorite Topic Of Mine
Women Voter Registration Goes SMS Mobile
From the Personal Democracy technology and politics blogosphere we have a post about the ways in which a Women’s voter registration organization is using the ubiquitous nature of mobile technology and SMS to increase voter registration drives amongst women. [Read]
BBC Wap Use Flourishing In Africa
From the mobile technology and political activism blog MobileActive Ken Banks from Kiwanja.net writes about how Africa (and in particular Nigeria) is dominating international mobile phone access to the BBC website and how this is a great example of what the economics of broadband versus mobile phones means in developing countries. [Read]
Why Not Learn Something On You Mobile Every Once In A While
Judy Breck, my literal NYC neighbor (she lives like one block from me) writes a reaction to a New York Times Article about kids going back to school with laptops and cell phones in her blog Golden Swamp. Her concern is with yet the not so easily converged uses of these technologies for children and discusses how the convergences between the two can be better improved. Judy, we still have to get coffee sometime, ping me. [Read]
Although, Lets Not Forget The Importance Of Mobile Marketing
Google Coupons - But Where’s the Mobile Element?
Russell Buckley over at MOBHappy sends in his thoughts on Google’s lack of mobile thinking vis-a-vis creating the ability for local business to coupons against their products and services via Google Maps allowing users to simply print them and then then redeem them as usual. Join the debate [Read]
Yelp Mobile
Dennis the WAP expert from WapReview applies his expertise to analyzing and critiquing Yelp’s Mobile site. For those of you that don’t know, Yelp.com is a site featuring user generated reviews of businesses, services and attractions mainly in major US cities. [Read]
What Can Your PC Do For Your Mobile
Nokia PC Suite Wishlist
Listen up Nokia! The Mobile Diva herself, Darla Mack in her newly decorated Darla Mack blog talks about the often underestimated power and beauty of Nokia PC Suite and talks about a few features she would like to see in future versions with the with the newer S60 devices and all the cool new features installed. I would just like to add that I wish they made one for Mac. [Read]
How to Share Your 3G Connection
Martin Sauter of Martin’s Mobile Technology Page (aka Mobile Society) takes a break from his summer holiday to talk about what I basically would tart to think about as Fon for mobile data. Simply put, Martin describes how to share your 3G connection using the Internet connection sharing functionality of Windows XP. Anyone try it on a Mac? [Read]
???????????????????
?
Dear Mr Leonid Iakovlev. You submitted the link http://wblog.livejournal.com/15992.html#cutid1 which does not link to a post or an article. So I do not know what you want me to do but the Carnival rules are rules. So I will just mention that you sent this in in case an error was made.
THE POST OF THE WEEK
As part of Khosla Ventures‘ sponsorship to the Carnival they pay-out 250 dollars to the best post of the month the contestants of which are decided by the various sites hosting a Carnival during that month. It is therefore my responsibility to vote for a post or article that I believe merits this type of attention and award. It is therefore, on those grounds that I award Rudy De Waele’s Connecting Cultures Through Music article the honorary Stu and Paula Oberman post of the week award and therefore submit the article into the voting pool for Augusts mobile technology post of the month. Congratulations Rudy! As an extra bonus my mother has agreed to cook you a batch of her famous brownies, yummm.
In Conclusion…
Well, thats it for this Carnival. I hope you had as much fun reading it as I have had writing it. And if this was your first visit to MOpocket then welcome and I hope to see your referral links here again soon Stop and stay a while, read some old or new articles and enjoy.
Next weeks Carnival of the Mobilists will be hosted by MobileActive. Full a full list of upcoming Carnivals visit the Carnival websites schedule page.
For a full list of past Carnival of the Mobilists visit here.
Marriott International today announced that it has begun testing mobile wireless check-in for wireless devices. The test is, of course, only being held at the Redmond (Wash.) Marriot Town Center to a select group of travelers. Marriott is working toward implementing a mobile wireless check-in process that is convenient and easy for guests to use. During testing, guests with Microsoft Windows Mobile-powered Smartphones running the PocketPC Platform and can simply download and install Marriott’s seamless mobility software from Arrive.
The system will allow travels to check into the hotel while on route from the airport as well as change room types receive welcome information and reconfirm their room rates. When they arrive at the hotel, guests retrieve their room keys from a conveniently located automated key dispenser in the lobby.
Everyone is psyched up about Android, but Google is still sitting on their new OS for the next few months.
If you vote maybe she will cook you her famous brownies… yummmmm.
