BostonPocketPC

Well the buzz has hit the interweb whether it be good or bad about the series of Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld commercials with the first one airing last night. People are talking about it and as those in advertising say if people are talking about it they did their job. The first one seemed to be along the lines of the other humorous segment videos/vignets that were shown at several Microsoft conferences in the past.

Microsoft has a few more than just that video on their newly launched Windows site. Microsoft actually has several other videos that tell more of a story, that I think work much better and really get the word out about their products. Hopefully we will see them not only online but also on your HD television during the new fall prime time lineup. :)

They have a series of videos linking their technologies of Windows, Windows Mobile (which had a slight revamp) and Windows Live performing several tasks. These are really well done and are much better than the 15 second commercials that air on the Windows Vista Media Center when watching streaming video from the Internet Video section. They are very similar to the Digital Lifestyle video that was on the Internet, but never reached television that show the integration and usage scenarios of several Microsoft products and services.

I really like this one called Sharing your Photos, but it clocks in at 1:22. There are several more here.

Work from Anywhere is good too, more of those here. I think some of us have actually experienced this. :)

Entertainment to go isn’t bad either with a few more here.

And lets not forget Gaming for Everyone with more here.

Microsoft looks to have a pretty good ad campaign brewing. It is much better than what has been done in the past especially what wasn’t done after the Vista launch, but they may want to lead viewers to at least check out the rest of these videos beyond the online experience and if they wanted to spread the word they should at least allow people to share links to the videos. ;) Or maybe this is what Microsoft is hoping for increased site traffic with people checking out the rest of these videos online. I guess we will have to wait and see…

All you AT&T Tilt and Samsung Blickjack II owners - AT&T has finally released ROM upgrades to Windows Mobile 6.1 for your devices. The Tilt upgrade can be found on the HTC web site, while the Blackjack II upgrade can be found at the Samsung web site (be sure to download the correct installer - there is one for Windows XP and another for Vista).

An important note here - these ROMs lock your connection settings to the AT&T network. If you currently have an unlocked Tilt or Blackjack II, you will not be able to set up your device for another provider (like T-Mobile). At least, not without a bit of work. Our good friend and fellow Mobile Devices MVP Mike Temporale has put together an overview of what you need to do to unlock the settings for the Blackjack II over at his MobileJaw web site. This does involve some registry editing on the device, so as always use caution. While the location of the registry keys may be somewhat different on the Tilt, the general locations within the registry should be the same. If anyone out there tries this out with the Tilt, be sure to let us know!

Happy ROM flashing!

UPDATE: While the Blackjack II ROM does have locked connection settings, it appears as though the AT&T Tilt ROM from HTC does not. Feel free to avoid the potential pitfalls of registry editing

Palm just officially announced the Palm Treo Pro. The Treo Pro has been on the internet already as the 3G counterpart to the Palm Treo 800. The Treo Pro includes a headset jack, Wi-Fi and GPS capabilities geared for one handed use that meets the needs of businesses and end users alike. Palm also raised the screen to be flush, so unlike the bezel of older Treos the new Treo Pro won’t catch the debris in the edges of the bezel from your pockets as well as streamlining its looks.

The Treo Pro, will be made available from Vodafone and O2 in Europe and from Telstra in Australia, also an unlocked version will be available in in the United States, Europe and Asia Pacific.The Treo Pro will be available in September in Europe through Vodafone (from free to EUR 399 with contract) and O2 (pricing is available from O2 direct sales and online business stores), and in Australia through Telstra (from free with contract). It will be available in the United States in the fall through the Palm online store (http://www.palm.com/store) as well as select Internet, retail and enterprise resellers for a suggested retail price of $549. The U.S. version is unlocked and unsubsidized, giving end users the flexibility to simply insert their existing active SIM card and immediately start using their Treo Pro without a new contract. :)

QUICK FACTS

· Palm shortcuts for the things you do most
· Touchscreen and full keyboard
· Microsoft® Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional Edition
· Outlook® email with Microsoft® Direct Push Technology
and HTML support1,2
· High-speed data with UMTS/HSDPA3
· High-capacity, removable battery
· Instant-on Wi-Fi button1
· GPS for navigation, turn-by-turn directions, and local search1
· Microsoft® Office Outlook® Mobile for Contacts, Calendar,
and Tasks
· Edit native Microsoft® Word and Excel® documents4
· Open and view PowerPoint,® PDF, and ZIP files
· Use Internet Explorer® Mobile to search the web fast1
· Functions as a high-speed modem for your laptop5
· Personal email including Hotmail, Yahoo!, and Gmail1
· Chat-style view for SMS and MMS6
· Windows Media® Player Mobile for audio and video
· 2.0 megapixel camera with video capture

Here is a link to the official press release.

Here is a link to a video on the Palm Blog.

Palm Treo Pro Specifications:

Brochures	Treo Pro by Palm
Platform	Microsoft® Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional Edition
Processor	Qualcomm® MSM7201 400MHz
Display	320x320 transflective color TFT flush touchscreen
Radio	HSDPA/UMTS/EDGE/GPRS/GSM radio Tri-band UMTS – 850MHz, 1900MHz, 2100MHz Quad-band GSM – 850MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz, 1900MHz
WiFi	802.11b/g with WPA, WPA2, and 801.1x authentication
GPS	Built-in GPS
Bluetooth® Wireless	Version: 2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate
Memory	256MB (100MB user available), 128MB RAM
Camera	2.0 megapixels with up to 8x digital zoom and video capture
Battery	1500mAh lithium-ion; Up to 5.0 hours talk time and up to 250 hours standby
Expansion	microSDHC cards (up to 32GB supported)
Connector	MicroUSB™ 2.0 for synchronization and charging
Audio	3.5mm stereo headset jack
Dimensions	Length: 4.49", Width: 2.36", Depth: 0.53", Weight: 4.69 oz
Color	Obsidian
System Requirements	Windows® XP, Windows Vista™
Software on device	ActiveSync®; Adobe Reader LE; Bluetooth®; Bubble Breaker; Calculator; Calendar; Communications Manager; Contacts; File Explorer; Get WorldMate; GoogleMaps;Internet Explorer® Mobile; Messaging; Microsoft® Office Mobile including Excel® Mobile, OneNote Mobile, PowerPoint® Mobile, and Word Mobile; My Treo; Notes; Pics & Videos; QuickGPS; Quick Tour; SIM Manager; Solitaire; Sprite Backup; Streaming Media; Tasks; Telenav; Voice Command; Windows Live™; Windows Live™ Messenger; Windows Media® Player Mobile

If you are musician or podcaster you may have noticed that there has been an accelerated trend toward pocket-sized stereo recorders, which started out as a niche market for musicians, audio professionals, broadcast journalists, sound-effects collectors has grown to the consumer market mainly podcasters. The folks at SamsonTechnologies have seen this and came out with an affordable pocket recorder called the Zoom H2 Handy Recorder.

The Zoom H2 comes with four microphone capsules offering 4-channels for 360° recording in addition to stereo recording, which is found on other pocket recorders and is capable of recording 16 and 24 bit WAV files at sampling rates up to 96kHz and MP3 files at bit rates up to 320Kbps, which stored on an SD card.

What's in the Box

A 512MB SD card is included in the box and slides into the bottom of the unit.

Also included in the box are two AA batteries that are stored in the back of the unit, an AC adapter (9VDC 300mA and mini-USB to USB cable all of which can be used to power the H2.

A set of earbud headphones for monitoring as well as a standard 3.5mm to 2 RCA adpater cable that could be used for line out, line in or external microphone in via the jacks on the side of the microphone.

You also get a windscreen that slides over the 4 microphone capsules and rigid metal grill.

A desktop stand, which isn't really needed unless you are one to pull on any attached cables or have cables that are heavy enough to tip the H2 over.  Or plan on recording several  instruments in a room or recording space.

The bottom of the H2 has some pretty good rubber feet and it can easily be used with out the stand. If you click on the picture you will see that the above desktop stand and microphone stand adapter below uses a standard coupling hole found on cameras so it could even be mounted to a camera tripod.

Standard microphone clip adapter that screws into the bottom for using with standard microphone stands or it can be held in the hand as an interview microphone. This option is really nice for the home recording artist that wants to focus on recording vocals or instruments.

And last but not least a black drawstring bag for carrying everything and/or protecting the H2 in your travels.

Using the H2:

The H2 is lightweight (4oz) and fairly easy to operate with one hand. The LCD display is backlit with a green LED that turns on when a button is pressed or a switch is slide and times out after 15 seconds by default(you can configure the timeout time in the menu settings).

The display shows the L & R input levels, elapsed and remaining time, file type, folder, battery level and state of playback/recording.

A dedicated Menu button displays a fairly well organized menu that is navigated by using the Fast Forward and rewind buttons to move up and down the menu structure and the Record button to make your selection from options including:

• Lo Cut - which attenuates low frequencies and is good for removing wind noise or pop noise for vocal recordings.
• Rec Mode - is the recording mode and format as well as sampling frequency
• AGC/Comp - Automatic Gain Control (for general recording and speech) as well as Compressor (boosts lows and attenuates highs) and Limiter(attenuates set frequencies to prevent distortion)  microphone support for General, Vocal, Drums, as well as a Limiter for General Concert, or Studio settings.
• File - access to the files used for playback and additional options as seen in the pictures below for renaming the file, encoding in MP3, Normalizing, Dividing, Mark list and deleting.

 

• Folder- where the files are recorded
• Monitor- on/off
• Plug-in -on/off
• Pre REc - on/off
• Auto recording-which can be set to on/off or at certain start and stop dB levels that you set.
• Mono Mix
• L/R position
• Metronome
• Tuner
• Play Mode
• AB Repeat
• Light - 15 seconds, 30 seconds, on, off
• Contrast of the screen from 1-8, default is 5
• Battery - Alkaline or NiMH
• SD Card - remaining space in percentage, MB, and minutes of recording or to format it
• USB- as storage or as USB audio microphone with adjustments to the Frequency(44.1kHz or 48kHz) and connect.
• Date and Time settings
• 3D PAN – when using surround sound you can adjust the center of the sound field

  

Some of the cool features is that that the Zoom H2 as seen in the menu options is that it has a metronome and tuner built right in, which is great for musicians traveling light. The tuner is pretty good in that it allows you to calibrate to a certain frequency, Chromatic tuning , Guitar, Bass, Open A, Open D,Open E, Open G, DADGAD.

   

The H2 has no dedicated record level knob or buttons and the input level is adjusted by selecting one of the three different Microphone Gains from the gain switch located on the right side between Low, Medium and High.

For playback Volume controls are located on the left along with a headphone jack to monitor out as well as listen to playback of your recordings. Also on the left hand side is the power switch for turning the unit on and off as well as the DC power connector to the included transformer.

What is kind of confusing when using the H2 is that when you press the record button you aren't really recording, but are in record standby, which allows you to adjust the recording levels by pressing the Fast Forward (+ Rec Level) and Rewind (-Rec Level) buttons. Pressing the Record button a second time begins the recording. Using this in a live setting between multiple interviews I found this confusing and actually missed recording some of my interviews thinking that the blinking Play/Record button and dancing levels indicated that I was recording, when in reality I wasn't and was just checking the levels. A solid Play/Record light indicated proper recording and it a few times to get used to that.

To stop the recording you just press the Record button a third time and it will automatically create another recording file the next time you record. You can adjust a pre-record buffer to via the menu to about 1 or 2 seconds depending on your sampling rate, which will allow you enough time to capture something you might have missed when pressing the record button a second time to start recording.

Pressing the Play/Pause button while recording allows you to leave markers/bookmarks so you could quickly fast forward to during playback or in your editing/synch process if you are using the microphone in conjunction with a video camera.

Microphone Pattern Selection

 

The front L and R cardioid microphones are fixed at a 90 degree relative angle , while the rear L and right cardioid microphones are at 120 degrees apart. When all 4 microphones are on for 4-channeling you get full 360 degree recording.

Choosing the mode you are using is very easy just press the MIC Pattern keys at the top of the microphone.

Front 90 degrees is for sources within a 90 degree angle of the front recorded in stereo.

Surround 2CH records the sound from the front side and rear side of the unit in 2 channels.

Surround 4 CH records the sound from the front side and rear side of the unit in 4 channels, which are saved as a pair of stereo WAV files in a dedicated folder for four-channel mode. So when playing back you can mix the front and rear signals appropriately and allows for the creation of 5.1 channel audio with an appropriate surround sound encoder.

Rear 120 degrees records sound located with a 120 degrees on the rear side of the H2.

Once activated you will also notice the MIC Active indicator on the front and back illuminate. If the sound level is too high causing distortion, the indicator light will flash. To set your input sensitivity you can adjust the  gain with a switch on the right side from H – for sources ata distance or have low volumes, M – good for accoustic guitar or other low volume instruments and L – for recording a band performance or other loud sound source.

H2 Computer Use

The H2 can be used with your computer via the USB port. As soon as you plug in the H2 whether the unit is on or off, you will be prompted by the H2 how you want to use the H2 as either a USB storage device or audio device. Depending on you choice the appropriate drivers will be installed.

H2 can be used as an external SD card reader (if your computer doesn’t have one) which allows easy copying of your recordings directly to your computer for further editing or archiving.

 

The H2 can also be used as an audio interface for Windows and MacOS based systems. The input signal to the H2 can be recorded directly on the computer at a sampling frequency of 44.1kHz or 48kHz and the output signal of the computer is available on the H2 via the PHONES/LINE OUT jack. So the H2 makes for a great podcast recorder or Skype microphone to use with your computer.

Conclusion:

The H2 Handy Recorder is a compelling affordable pocket microphone allowing for many versatile functions as a studio microphone, for interviews, podcasts, recording lectures, computer microphone, etc. The Zoom H2 retails for $199 and can be found bundled with larger memory cards,4 High Capacity AA Nimh Rechargeable Batteries,battery charger, screen protectors,etc at the same price of $199 at places like Amazon.com

On the heels of friend Chris Leckness' post at MobilitySite regarding recent iPhone issues (Chris, BTW, references another great article by Matt Miller on the same subject), I thought I might chime in with some observations made through all of the recent events.

What has transpired with regards to the iPhone, and MobileMe over the past weeks has, in my opinion, been very uncharacteristic for Apple as an organization. Let's face it - like it or not, Apple may understand the concept of "user experience" better than any software or hardware vendor in history. I regularly reference Apple as the standard-bearer for insuring that any given user experience is complete, well-defined and thoroughly tested before public consumption. It is this mindset that plays a large part in Apple's brand loyalty. The iPhone 2.0/MobileMe issues seem to fly directly in the face of these very principles.

I sincerely believe many of the issues related to the iPhone were avoidable if not for another aspect of Apple corporate culture; unbridled secrecy. Most are familiar with Apple's zealous approach to "keeping things under wraps" until product launch. Few are ever given access to Apple development in its earlier stages, and are sworn to eternal secrecy if they are. While this approach works well in scenarios where the number and diversity of testers are not critical to true validation of the product, it can be the "kiss of death" in scenarios where diversity and number of testers makes all the difference in the world. Keeping that in mind, let's look at some of the issues and how a limited testing group can be a major factor -

• Cellular signal strength/quality issues. While we all often laugh at the Verizon "Can you hear me now?" guy, there is an important principle here. Anyone who works in or around the cellular industry or is tied to a mobile phone while traveling extensively can tell you - what works in one area doesn't necessarily work in another area. The more geographically diverse a testing base, the better the gauging of a cellular radio stack. And no, you can't cover every square foot of North America, Europe and all of the places which have access to the iPhone, but a large testing group is statistically going to be better than a small one. Remember also that with varying geography comes varying carriers and varying cellular networks. Again - the more diversity, the better.
  
  Some recent finger-pointing in all of this is now blaming the radio chipset as the culprit. Even if so, more extensive testing results in more reported issues which results in identifying the culprit - before product launch. Whatever or whomever the final cause is regarding this issue, the bottom line is that a primary user experience with a cellular phone - using the cellular radio - has been far from desirable for many users.
  
• Third-Party application issues. there have been any number of issues reported with the running of third-party applications on the new iPhone. As Chris L. pointed out, many quickly blame the developers. If "bad code" is truly to blame, then so be it. However, with all of the restrictions placed by Apple in relation to third-party developers and the AppStore, a testing/certification process should catch the most flagrant issues. I cannot help but believe that Apple was either unprepared for a large number of applications being submitted or simply did not test the applications as thoroughly as they should have (if at all). What strikes me as most surprising in all of this is the fact that Apple gave a strong impression that a primary reason for the AppStore approval process was to ensure quality control was in place. That being said, a larger testing base may once again have facilitated any QA process.
  
• MobileMe. Honestly, I believe many of the issues here exemplify how any company can struggle when leaving their "comfort zone". While iTunes shows that Apple can managed large-scale connectivity and distribution models over the Internet, synchronization of thousands (if not millions) of computing devices is a far different beast (remember - MobileMe is not an iPhone or even Apple-exclusive technology). MobileMe likely should never have been launched until after the iPhone was launched, and then only in controlled testing modes to ensure reliability and scalability.

There have been other issues surrounding the iPhone floating around the Internet, but I think I'll stop here. The point that I am trying to make is that Apple appears to me to have drifted from what has always made it such a vastly popular company -

User experience took a back seat to a product launch date.

As someone who has worked with and for companies that take this approach to doing business on a regular basis, brand loyalty will only last as long as a new or cheaper competitor doesn't arrive on the scene. In Apple's case, recent events are an exception, not the rule. Moving forward, Apple can (and likely will) return to its tried and true ways. If not, "unApple-like" practices will really test the patience of what is arguably the most loyal customer base in technology history. In addition, people and companies new to Apple (iPhone and the enterprise, for example) are definitely being given an initially unfavorable impression of Apple. To these folks, there is no "unApple-like" thought process; there is only a "bad product launch" thought. Gaining trust with this market is probably going to be even rougher than first thought.

I believe that Apple will correct many of the issues around the iPhone and MobileMe. History proves they are responsive. What will be interesting to see, however, is whether or not Apple is willing to accept the fact that venturing into new businesses and technologies may require a change in corporate culture. In the case of the iPhone, third-party applications and MobileMe, that change may require steeping away from the isolated and limited world of product testing and moving towards more open and expansive testing programs. This would definitely be the most "unApple-like" thing that Apple could do, but likely would allow them to be most "Apple-like" in terms of customer satisfaction.

Yes, Virginia - there will be a meeting of the Boston/New England Windows Mobile User/Developer group this month

Our next meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 20th 2008 starting at 6:30 PM at the Microsoft offices in Waltham, MA (201 Jones Road, 6th Floor).

This month's meeting will have a developer "flavor", with two topics for discussion:

• "Windows Mobile Device Configuration: A Developer's Perspective"
  While many people are aware of device management and configuration solutions available for Windows Mobile, developers are often surprised to discover that they have the ability to configure devices using the .NET Compact Framework from their own applications. In this presentation, we will look at some of the options available to allow your application to configure such features as WiFi, Bluetooth and more.
• "Sync Me Up! Sync Services for ADO.NET and Sync Framework for Devices"
  As most developers will tell you, the process of developing a data synchronization framework for an application can be an extremely complex process. Microsoft is address this issue through the Microsoft Sync Framework. Two components within this framework include functionality for ADO.NET synchronization and a more generalized synchronization core functionality. If you are responsible for developing Windows Mobile application that moves data from device to server and back, than this presentation should be considered a "must-see".

As always, we will have lots of great items up for grabs in our end-of-meeting raffle.

Hope to see you there!

Celio Corp. just recently made the REDFLY Mobile Companion available to consumers outside of the business sector and now just chopped another $100 off the price of the unit to make it more appealing to consumers. When we had the review unit and talked to a few folks at Celio at CES and before we did the review this is what they had in mind all along. As with any product when the demand for units increased they could reduce the price due to increase in production volume and pass the savings on to consumers hence increasing sales.

To get your hands on the Celio REDFLY before they are backlogged again head here. They are still listed as eval/demo units.

Edit: Amazon also has them here. :)

Josh Einstein of Einstein Technologies is now offering the popular TEO 3.0 for free to download, which used to be a 15-day trial. I have been a huge fan of Tablet Enhancements for Outlook since it first came out and was part of several betas and have watched it grown over the years.

If you are not familiar with TEO it is an add-in for Microsoft Outlook 2003 or 2007 that augments Outlook into a fully pen-enabled app. You can use it on your Tablet PC or UMPC running Windows XP Tablet PC Edition SP2 or Windows Vista. You will need the Microsoft .NET Framework Version 2.0 or higher to run it.

If you use your Tablet PC as much as I do, entering in appointments is easily done in ink and I actually prefer to using TEO over the standard Outlook method of entering appointments into my calendar its also a great for note taking especially during conference calls with Journal. Here are a few features:

Enter appointments, contacts, tasks, and journal entries in your handwriting or use Microsoft's incredible handwriting recognition to convert it to text.

Handwritten items synchronize (as text) to your PDA just like any Outlook item.

Use the Outlook Journal to organize your daily activity and categorize your notes with almost infinite flexibility using Outlook's built in sorting and grouping features.

With Microsoft MapPoint, you can embed live maps and directions into contacts and appointments.

New rich note taking allows mixed ink, text, images, and more.

Built in audio recording lets you record conversations, meetings, conference calls and more. Recording and playback embedded right in the Outlook item.

Paste text and images from other applications and web pages. A hyperlink is automatically added for clipped web content

CardScan® scanned business cards and contact pictures now supported.

Also check out these reviews and walkthroughs done by the folks at GottaBeMobile:

TEO 3.0 Exclusive Preview InkShow

TEO 3.0 Research Assistant InkShow

ActiveWords & TEO SoftShow

Tablet Enhancements for Outlook 3.0 Inkshow

To get your free copy of TEO 3.0 head here to learn more about TEO head here.:)

If you are SlingBox owner you will be happy to know that the folks at SlingMedia have a new offering for your in the form of the SlingPlayer for Windows 2.0 PUBLIC BETA. We got to see a sneak peak of the beta when we were at CES 2008 and now you have the chance to get part of it as a beta. Here are the features that was requested by the community to make a better viewing experience:

Live Video Buffer—Control Live TV
The new Live Video Buffer with DVR-like control, allows you to easily pause, rewind or fast-forward, up to 60 minutes of video on your PC, right from the SlingPlayer. (Not yet available for Mac)

The Guide—See What's On
The SlingPlayer Guide, is just like your programming Guide at home but is built right into the SlingPlayer for Windows 2.0 PUBLIC BETA software. So you can easily find what's on without having to use your TV's programming Guide or the remote control. (Not yet available for Mac)

SlingRemote
SlingRemote™ looks and acts exactly like your real remote control at home, giving you full control over your viewing experience. From changing channels to setting a DVR to record, you can do it using buttons right on your computer screen.

Multiple Viewing Modes & Sizes
With different viewing modes, the SlingPlayer software allows you to work, surf the web and enjoy your TV, all at the same time.

When installing the new version of SlingPlayer for Windows 2.0 you will also need to upgrade the software on your SlingBox(es). This can take a while. You will then need to enter in your Zip code and cable/satellite service provider so you can receive the correct EPG information.

The buffering for pausing and replaying are just simply awesome. I really like the actual time indicator of on the time slider of the recording and not just a minute ticker like most other PVRs. Also the addition of the EPG (Electronic Program Guide is great as well.)

Be sure to read the requirements and known issues before installing to make sure you want to participate.