Apr 03 HP iPAQ hx2000/hx4700 Series Bluetooth Stereo Headphones Driver Update
Found in:iPAQ, Pocket PC,

HP has just released an update for iPAQ hx2000/hx4700 Series running Windows Mobile 2003 which enables the Pause and Next/Previous Track buttons to work properly with Microsoft Media Player 10. It's recommended to download and install the update if you are using a BT headset.

The update requires:
* Microsoft ActiveSync 3.7 (or later) is required.
* One of the listed iPAQ handheld models with ROM version 1.01 installed.

HOW TO USE:
1. Download the SoftPaq .EXE file to a directory on your hard drive.
2. Establish an Activesync connection between the handheld and host PC.
3. Execute the downloaded file. When the installation is complete, the handheld performs a soft reset.

Supported Models:
HP iPAQ hx2700 Pocket PC Series
HP iPAQ hx2400 Pocket PC Series
HP iPAQ hx4700 Pocket PC Series
HP iPAQ hx2100 Pocket PC Series

more info and download here
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Jul 06 .NET CF 2.0 SP1 comes with support for install to Storage Card
Found in:Mobile News, Pocket PC, Smartphone,

Microsoft have shipped .net Compact Framework 2.0 SP1 with install to Storage Card support!. This is great cause of the memory requirement of .net CF 2.0 placed upon an already limited resource (Smartphones for example) has always been off putting. Because of that most of the developers are still developing in .net CF 1.0.

NET Compact Framework 2.0 Service Pack 1 details:

Added Features:

* Added support for WindowsCE 4.2 in both the CAB installation and a Platform Builder Update (For more information on the Platform Builder Update, see Windows CE Download Center.)
* Added the option to install the global assemblycache to the storage card.
* Allow DataGrid cell drawing to be overridden
* Added support for headless Windows CE 5.0 devices by adding a Headless catalog item in Platform Builder. (For more information on the Platform Builder Update, see Windows CE Download Center.)
* Added System SR files to the Windows CE 5.0 Platform Builder catalog item. (For more information on the Platform Builder Update, see Windows CE Download Center)
* Enabled device debugging using mdbg.
* Included LogViewer tools to monitor network traffic.
* Included the .NET Compact Framework Remote Performance Monitor. (For more information, see Steven Pratschner’s BLOG.)
* Added the Serializable attribute.

Fixed Issues:

* Changing VT_BYREF Variants in managed code could lead to a memory leak.
* Inappropriate caching of current UI culture even after CultureInfo.ClearCachedData is called.
* For the HttpWebRequest method, an uncatchable ObjectDisposedException could occur when exiting an application with asynchronous requests.
* Visual Studio hangs on setting a Breakpoint in a function with an infinite loop when it is called from the Immediate Window.
* Breakpoints do not work if the cached, managed dlls in the bcl directory differ from the ones on the device.
* Environment.GetFolderPath returns an InvalidOperationException.
* An access violation occurs when accessing .theControls or .Controls.Count property of a control once it has begun the disposing process.
* The WebBrowser.DocumentCompleted event is fired in a loop when the DocumentText property contains an image inside of a table.
* Files should be extracted to the main storage as a workaround to avoid hardware issues on some storage cards.
* For the HttpWebRequest method, an ArgumentOutOfRangeException occurs when accessing some https:// URLs.
* Timer breaks after GetTickCount wraps around (49.7 days).
* Error occurs when loading the .NET Compact Framework version 2.0 on a device using an ActiveSync push.
* Memory leaks occur when using Com marshaling.
* Installer should check for ActiveSync version and disable deployment if version is older than ActiveSync 4.0 build 4343.
* For the SerialPort class, an IOException is thrown when opening a serial port on the IPAQ 4150.
* A call to HttpWebRequest over SSL with a payload greater than 32 KB hangs on the client when SendChunked returns false.
* For the SerialPort class,an uncatchable exception occurs when Bluetooth is turned off.
* A finalizer for the FileStream class will cause the application to crash if a previous IO operation failed.
* Installation of the .NET Compact Framework fails on low memory devices.
* PInvoke return types of UIntPtr throw a NotSupportedException.
* The Debug.WriteLine method in the .NET Compact framework version 2.0 is not working.
* For the SerialPort class, virtual serial ports are not reported by the SerialPort.GetPortNames method.
* When using COM Interop, a VARIANT_BOOL type is passed incorrectly on ARMV4I.
* The .NET Compact Framework incorrectly performs version comparison when loading assemblies.
* ARMV4I runtime should be removed from ARMV4 Pocket PC CAB to reduce the size of the CAB.
* Corrections needed for Http Abort semantics.
* The DateTime.Now method throws an ArgumentOutOfRangeException.
* Crash caused by using CurrentTimeZone.GetDaylightTime and CurrentTimeZone.GetStandardTime in certain rare stress conditions.

So have a more pleasant development guys

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Mar 13 20% off your next order at PocketGear
Found in:Pocket PC, Software, Mobile News,

The leading Pocket PC software reseller PocketGear.com has announced their spring madness sale a 20% off coupon code for a limited time ! We suggest you to hurry up and check their top Windows Mobile applications. To take advantage of this promotion just enter this coupon code "MARCH20" at the software order page. Click here to browse PocketGear's ppc software.
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Mar 27 3D Color Cube lets you play famous Rubik Cube game
Found in:Games, Pocket PC, Palm,

3D Color Cube is nice pocket pc logic game in which you can play world famous Rubik's cube game. You can play classic game to solve the mixed cube and puzzle game to solve a normal cube into one of the color patterns.

This color cube solving game is very good method to improve your 3D geometry logic skills.

3D Color Cube for ppc Features:

* Classic mode to solve the cube
* Puzzle mode to solve the pattern
* Nice 3D look
* Use stylus to rotate cube
* Over 30 original puzzle patterns to solve
* Integrated help with desription of method of cube solving
* Quick Load/Save option
* Auto save on exit

This game is available in full and trial versions which you can download from here.

3D Color Cube has also a Palm OS version which you can access here.

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Mar 29 3D Sudoku for Pocket PC with really amazing gameplay
Found in:Games, Pocket PC,

Probably you have played Sudoku game in any of its versions before. How about playing Sudoku in 3 dimensions mode ? 3D Sudoku for PPC 1.1 is just this, a sudoku game for your Pocket PC that comes in 3-D version.

3D Sudoku for PPC 1.1 is your ultimate challenge - master the space, unleash your wit and conquer all dimensions. Rules and goals haven't changed, but solving 4 x 4 x 4 board in another dimension makes it even more enjoyable then before.

You just need to remember that a 4x4x4 cube is subdivided into 2x2 squares and a 1x4 column. There is exactly 1 solution to each given puzzle. Your task is to fill all the cells in the cube using numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 in a way that each column and each 2x2 square in any direction contains each of the numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4 exactly once.

3D Sudoku for PocketPC 1.1 Features:

* 2D and 3D view of the puzzle
* Animated transformation from 3D to 2D puzzle and back
* Possible values hint
* Board checking
* Save game / Load game
* large set of puzzles (over 300)
* 2 board styles

Full and Trial version are available for download here.

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May 05 A Look at What is New With Free Voice Over IP Providers
Found in:Tips, Software, Pocket PC, Linux,

What you should know before signing up with a voice over IP provider. The information provided in this article is geared toward people who operate a Linux operating system and are interested in converting their Pocket PC into a free Voice Over IP Phone. At the end of this article you will see a comparison chart, which will show the following:

* What operating system/platform do you need? Will you be running a Linux, Macintosh, Pocket PC or Windows Microsoft operating system?
* What is the pricing structure?
* Will you be able to make calls from your computer to a real landline phone?
* The ability to use videoconferencing or not
* Where can you buy it?
* How is the sound quality?

I trolled the Internet for something new, interesting, unusual and perhaps something you’ve never heard about in the Voice Over IP or digital telephone markets. Before going further, I would like to define the following important industry terms:

* What is Voice Over IP?
* What does the term server-side mean?
* What does the term client-side mean?

In a recent article, Peter Wolchak of Backbone Business Technology Lifestyle, interviewed Mario Belanger, president of Avaya Canada to get his perspective on the Voice Over IP market. Mario Belanger said, "Over the next five years, we expect the Canadian telecom market will shift offering fully converged IP telephoning solutions. Globally, there are approximately 400 million business lines and only about 18 million to 20 million are IP based business phone lines, which works out to 5% of the market. We're seeing a dramatic growth in IP telephony we think it will continue over the next five years. Our goal over the next five years is for Avaya's communications solutions to become designed into the offerings from the Canadian service providers. For example, customers will be able to call their service providers in Avaya solutions designed to fit their needs. This is likely not going to happen within five years, but is a longer-term goal." Mario Belanger also shared that the new features such as: meet me conferencing and unified messaging will put Voice Over IP in a competitive advantage over traditional long-distance services.

What is voice over IP?

Simply put, Voice Over IP is the ability to make a telephone call from your computer. The call on the Internet that you make from your computer, Pocket PC, tablet PC or laptop is turned into a voice signal, which is patched into your callers’ regional telephone network. Voice Over IP, digital telephony or Internet telephony is a technology that brings both Internet and the phone together. Internet telephony is an exchange of voice data over a network. Your local telephone company has a dedicated network to transmit voice data. However, with Internet telephony, the voice data streams over a general network, which in this case is the Internet.

Here is what you need to make calls on your computer or Pocket PC:

Plug your landline phone into a broadband Internet router
* Plug the broadband router to your electrical outlet for power
* Connect a cable from your Internet ADSL or cable modem to the broadband router/Voice Over IP phone adapter unit
* Connect a cable from the voice over IP broadband router / phone adapter to a router or hub switch
* Connect your desktop computer, Pocket PC or laptop to a router / hub switch

If you do not understand this information, please click on this link:http://www.broadvoice.com/support_install_SPA2100-bv.html where you'll be directed to a diagram, that visually explains what you need to do to make calls on your computer or Pocket PC.

As a business user, it's important to take into account that there are problems in using this inexpensive technology to make long-distance calls from your computer. Please keep these in mind:

* When making an outgoing long-distance call, you may or may not connect. Voice Over IP is still in its infancy in development.
* If you're using a 56K modem as your Internet connection speed, your voice will have a delay in the connection. You can remedy that by subscribing to a broadband cable Internet service provider.
* Before calling your local telephone company to disconnect your landline, the Voice Over IP technology has a lot of catching up to do.
* What if you need to make an emergency call and call 911? You're not guaranteed 100% that you Voice Over IP call will go through. In my previous article Voice Over IP Comparison, which you'll find by clicking on this link: http://www.symbianone.com/content/view/2123/31/ I discussed how there are full-service Voice Over IP providers, that will allow you to make 911 calls. Both Vonage and Net2phone have this service.
* Another problem with digital telephony is that there is not an E.164 standard like the ones set up to assign cell phone or landline phone numbers.

Eavesdropping On An Internet Telephone Call

Since Voice Over IP is still a developing technology, it's really easy for even a high school student to hack into your system to spy on your Internet telephony conversation. Encryption is not available on Voice Over IP. I wouldn't advise you to throw your Mickey Mouse telephone away just yet!

What Does the Term Server-Side Mean?

The server-side in the Voice Over IP equation would be the Internet telephony service provider. You need to sign up with a Voice Over IP provider if you want to make Internet telephone calls. There are full-service telecommunication firms such as : SIP phone, SIP Broker, Vonage, lingo, AOL, Total Talk, Verizon Comcast, Shaw cable, and Baby Tel, which are Voice Over IP service providers. These providers offer web-based Voice Over IP service for a monthly subscription fee. Some digital telephony providers are free such as: Skype and X-lite Counterpart Solutions Inc. Watch how Skype lets you make Voice Over IP calls to a conventional landline. In this case, you'll only be able to make PC to PC calls. Forget about ordering pizza or Chinese food on a Friday night if you are Skype user.

Pocket PC Voice Over IP - A Surprising Feature

Pocket PC owners, you'll be glad to know there is a company called Counter Path Solutions Inc. who will sell you a single user license for your Pocket PC for only $29.95 USD. It's called a Pocket PC 2.2 Sip SOFT Phone. Best of all, you can make videoconferencing calls if you upgrade to the next level. When you save money by using your Pocket PC to make free long distance calls, it’s like crispy, salty beer nuts - it's addictive! Once you start, you can't stop. To find out how you can use your Pocket PC as an Internet phone, please click on this link: http://www.xten.com/index.php?menu=Products&smenu=PPC. Best of all, you don't even need a headset to make or receive calls using the Pocket PC 2.2 Sip SOFT Phone application.

What Does the Term Client-Side Mean?

There are generally three types of standards or protocols in a typical Voice Over IP solution.

• 1) H.323
• 2) SIP or Session Initiation Protocol
• 3) There are also third-party proprietary protocols used by: Skype, SCCP, CISCO.

What's the difference between the session initiation protocol and the rest of the different standards? SIP stores the VoIP customer's IP address in their own package. This can be a problem when your Linux, Macintosh or Microsoft Windows operating system is behind a firewall.

Both Gnome Meeting and Microsoft NetMeeting use the H.323 protocol. Apple's iChat, SIP phone and Microsoft Messanger use the Session Initiation Protocol(SIP).

Hardware for you - The Client

If you want to have the highest possible sound quality, consider these two options:

1) Purchase a TALKPro USB 100 parrot translator from VXI Corporation for only $129.00 USD. You can call them toll free at (800)742-8588. Their Corporate website is: vxicorp.com. Hours of operation are from 8AM to 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Some of the features I really enjoy on this Macintosh certified headset include: volume dial control, the mute on and off button, the quick disconnect switch, Echo reduction, noise canceling technology ensuring higher speech recognition accuracy. Once you start using the VXI talk Pro headset, you'll never consider any other brand name. If you are also a Macintosh user, you'll be glad to know that these headsets are compatible with Macintosh laptops and computers. If you would like to read a recent press release on the talk Pro USB 100, please click on this link:http://www.vxicorp.com/about/Press/2006/2006-04-04.asp. In addition to the noise canceling technology, you'll also appreciate the very high call quality coming through on your TALKPro USB 100 parrot headset. This product comes with a two-year unconditional warranty.

2) In addition to considering your network architecture, look at how much available bandwidth you can access. I tested a Voice Over IP call using a slow dial-up 506K modem. The call was not even, there were dead gaps where I couldn't hear anything from the other caller. The static and connection was really poor and inconsistent. I tested another call using my Talk Pro USB 100 headset from VXI. This time using a high-speed broadband cable connection provided by Shaw cable, the call had clarity, there were no echo sounds, and I could hear the person very clearly through out the duration of the call. I was really impressed. I run a Linux operating system and installed Gnome Meeting on my computer and have found this to the best option.

If you want a use your Pocket PC as a Voice Over IP phone, your best bet is a Pocket PC 2.2 SIP phone from www.xten.net. Here is a comparison chart of four applications, which I tested. Comparison Chart.

	Gnome Meeting	Kphone	Skype	X-Lite
Licence	Open Source / GPL	Open Source / GPL	Proprietary free ware	Proprietary free ware
Operating System	Linux	Linux	Linux, MS windows, Mac	Pocket PC, Linux, MS windows, Mac
Make Calls from your computer to a real phone	Yes	No	No	No. But Pro-version. Possible
3 way calling	Yes	no	no	No. only in Pro-version
Sound quality	Very good, consistent	Good enough for me since I use Broadband connection	Good, sometimes choppy & flaky	The sound was good in both directions, sometimes on a subsequent call, there was static in the speech
Requires Headphones to work	yes	Yes	Yes	No
Protocol	H.323, SIP	SIP	Has their own proprietary Protocol	SIP
Where to buy it?	Gnome Meeting	Kphone Website	Skype Website	Buy it from the Xten Website

You are not bound by a fixed location. Like the old adage, have phone will travel; only now it's the broadband router and phone adapter that travels with you. Simply pack the adapter in your suitcase and at your new destination just plug it into a broadband connection. Say hi to your friends and neighbors back home just by using one of the Voice Over IP providers recommended above. Source: The Linux Journal issue 145.

Source: Rene Tse.

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Dec 03 A701 Pocket PC phone coming to Europe first quarter of 2006
Found in:Devices, Mio, Pocket PC,

British online tabloid The Register was 2 times wrong about this phone: firstly they wrote Mio will next week preview the A701, its first GPS-enabled Windows Mobile-based smart phone and it has not (!) happened. Now they write, that The A701 is scheduled to ship mid-December but our sources directly (!) at Mio Technology (division of Mitac) have denied it, saying that it will be released in first quarter of next year.

Clearly all the claims of The Register about exclusivity are false because actually we also published information about A701 Pocket PC phone - that we received directly from Mitac. Furthermore claims about release date are also apparently false if even Mitac staff is denying them. We have impression that all these exclusivity claims are fabricated by The Register - just to pretend that they have exclusive information and to attract visitors.

One is for sure: they were wrong first time and now Mitac staff says that they are also wrong. If A701 indeed will not be available commercially "mid-December" 2005 then we all will have final confirmation of how unreliable source of information The Register really is. Since The Register was in past bashing Microsoft's efforts in mobile phone industry, now one can see that all these writings were not quite correct.

Some highlights about A701 Pocket PC phone:

* it will have slightly different specifications than A700 (Chinese version that is already on sale in Asia) but these differences are not yet officially announced or known
* built-in GPS
* built-in Bluetooth (but no Wi-Fi)
* GSM/GPRS support (but no EDGE or UMTS)
* fast processor: 520 MHz

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Jul 03 Absolutist releases ButterFlight and Bubble Snooker PPC games
Found in:Games, Pocket PC,

Mobile software developers Absolutist has just released version 1.22 of Bubble Snooker and their latest game ButterFlight.

Updated Bubble Snooker is a game that combines the best features of Bubble Shooter, Pool, and Arcanoid. Your task is to remove the balls from the pool-table by shooting at them with the balls of definite color and combining together 3 or more balls of the same color. If the shot was unsuccessful, additional balls appear on the hexagonal net following the rules of John Conway's Game of Life. The balls that do not have neighboring balls (single balls) are removed from the table. When all the balls are removed you go to the next level.


The winning strategy is to play from the cusions not letting the balls fill in the whole table. Try to remove at least one color from the very first shots. Do your best to make the winning combination (2 or more balls of a definite colors together) for all colors be available at all times. Good luck!


ButterFlight is fresh updated Butterflies game for puzzle lovers. Your task is to collect as many butterflies as you can. You can click and rotate, trying to bring the butterflies of the same colour together. They will fly away, freeing the place for new butterflies. White butterfly matches the butterfly of any color. Different game modes will suit everyone. You can play Pairs, Twins, Quads and Trios game modes. In Pairs and Twins you can interchange 2 neighboring butterflies, you should collect a straight line of three or more similar butterflies, to make them fly. In Quads and Trios you can rotate groups of four and three butterflies respectively.


In the registered game you will have: nice and handy gameplay different game-modes four skill levels with increasing difficulty, something for everyone free technical support by e-mail.

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Nov 06 Access advanced configurations for Windows Mobile
Found in:Pocket PC, Software, Freeware, Windows Mobile, WM6,

Ever wanted to tweak your Pocket PC completely ? Well it's now possible with the Advanced Configuration Tools by schaps member of the XDA-Developers forums. The application has been recently updated to version 1.1 and now it features:


- Appearance tweaks
- Performance tweaks
- Phone tweaks
- Connections tweaks
- Bluetooth & A2DP tweaks
- Internet Explorer customization
- Comm Manager customization
- ClearType tuning
- SoftKeys changing
- Keyboard layout changing
- File associations editing
- Misc. tweaks
- Useful shortcuts for hardware & software keys


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Nov 27 Acer n300 Review
Found in:Devices, Pocket PC, Reviews,

Designed for essential productivity, the Acer n300 features a high-brightness 3.7" VGA-quality display, the latest Microsoft® Windows Mobile™ Version 5.0 Software, a powerful processor and convenient wireless connectivity, for fast, versatile mobile computing.
The much-loved VGA baby of the Pocket PC world, the Acer n300, is now live on the Acer web site. An official specs sheet indicates that the device has a Samsung S3C2440 300MHz/400MHz processor, 64MB RAM, 64MB/128MB Flash ROM, a 3.7" VGA (480 x 640) TFT-LCD, an SDIO/SD/MMC slot, USB-Host/Client 1.1, Bluetooth 1.2, 802.11b Wi-Fi (on the high-end model), and Windows Mobile 5.0. No word yet on a release date or price, but it's signs like this that indicate the device will probably be on sale anytime soon.

A high-brightness 3.7" TFT LCD with 480 x 640 VGA resolution presents better clarity in sunlight, and increased screen real estate for greater productivity Microsoft® Windows Mobile™ Version 5.0 Software for Pocket PC Premium Edition delivers advanced multimedia and productivity features Landscape mode enables you to enjoy widescreen movies, or effectively work with spreadsheets and presentations An SD/MMC (SDIO support) slot and USB client/host allow you to conveniently expand functionality

Wireless LAN 802.11b and Bluetooth® 1.2 let you connect to networks or Bluetooth® devices with ease Data is saved to flash memory to safeguard your data against power loss Enduring battery life ensures that the Acer n300 is ready when you need it

Acer's new handheld design sports a slimmer, more contoured look, emanating a professional sophistication and style A plethora of pre-loaded applications make the n300 the perfect tool for every job: ‧Outlook® Mobile ‧Word™ , PowerPoint™ and Excel™ Mobile Acer's International Travelers Warranty (ITW) gives you peace of mind through worldwide technical support

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