October 2006 - Posts
The
Ontario Securities Commission has ordered officers and insiders of BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd., including co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis, to stop trading in the company's stock after it missed financial reporting deadlines.
"RIM did not file the second-quarter disclosure documents by the prescribed deadline under Ontario securities law, namely Oct. 17, 2006," and has not filed them since, the commission said in an order dated Oct. 24.
"It would be prejudicial to the public interest to allow the respondents to trade in the securities of RIM until such time as all disclosure required by Ontario securities law has been made by RIM," the commission said.
RIM insiders cannot trade its stock until two full business days after the OSC receives up-to-date filings.
RIM disclosed Friday that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has asked it to voluntarily provide documents and information related to its stock-option grants and practices.
Palm has released a ROM update for Treo 650’s on the Verizon Wireless network.
Performance enhancements:
- Enhanced memory handling for opening larger web pages
- Optimized Bluetooth performance and added support for additional headsets and carkits
- Adds Dial Preferences screen to Phone Application
- Enhancement to Date/Time preference panel to address daylight savings time and network time issues
- Replaces Wireless Sync application with Wireless Sync over-the-air provisioning client
- Adds support for certain cradle-based accessories, including speaker docks
- Integrates the Treo 650 E911 Updater to improve the ability of emergency response personnel to locate users who dial 911 from the Treo 650 smartphone
Motorola Inc. cell phone chief Ron Garriques promised investors in May that the company's new Q smartphone would follow the same trajectory as its smash hit Razr cell phone, selling 750,000 units in the first 90 days and 5 million in the first nine months.
But early returns suggest that his forecast was optimistic, and that Motorola missed a chance to connect with the fast-growing smartphone market before rivals piled in with a slew of new offerings. Motorola sold 150,000 Qs in the second quarter, amid complaints about its high price, clunky software and tendency to freeze up.
"I went through three of them and had problems with each. I would go to make a call, and it would say 'dialing' and stay there forever," says Tracy King, a lease manager at a Ford dealership in Detroit. A Motorola spokesman calls the complaints "isolated" and says, "We're getting good feedback on the Q." But Sam Barhoumeh, manager of Presidential Wireless in Chicago, which sells a variety of smartphones, says customers returned about 10% of the Qs his store sold in the first month, a return rate he considers high. "It left a bad taste in people's mouths," Mr. Barhoumeh says.
Full Story here.
Microsoft Corp. said Friday that it would move forward with a movie adaptation based on its popular video game "Halo" after financial backers Universal Pictures and 20th Century Fox backed out of the project.
The studios quietly cut their ties to "Halo" this month because of costs associated with the movie, which had a preliminary budget of $145 million, said sources involved in the project who declined to be named. Tensions heightened after the studios failed to persuade the filmmakers, including executive producer Peter Jackson, director of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, to renegotiate their contracts.
The Redmond, Wash.-based software giant had also refused to take a pay cut demanded by the studios. In the summer of 2005, when the studios signed on to the project amid great fanfare, they agreed to pay Microsoft $5 million upfront for the rights as well as 7.5% of revenue they received from theaters.
The deal guaranteed Microsoft and other key talent payment before either studio made a penny on the movie, scheduled for a summer 2008 release.
One source reported a power struggle between Fox and Universal over control of the movie. Both studios declined to comment.
Full story here.
DataViz® announced Documents To Go® 9 for the Palm OS® platform. Documents To Go is a mobile office suite which allows users to create, view and edit Microsoft® Word, Excel and PowerPoint files as well as view Adobe® PDF files on a mobile device. Version 9 has many new enhancements with the most significant being the addition of InTact Technology™ which ensures that ALL file formatting is kept “intact” when editing and e-mailing office files on a handheld or smartphone. Other new features include: An integrated file explorer, a new user interface, updates to Word To Go, Sheet To Go and Slideshow To Go. Customers who have a previous version or who received the Professional Edition on their Palm® branded device can upgrade for $29.99.
It should go without saying but…this functionality is built in to Windows Mobile Pocket PC phones.
I have a couple of users with a Sprint Treo 700wx that were complaining text messaging wasn’t working. So, off I went to Google and I found that 700wx users are starting to complain that SMS text messaging to non-Sprint users are not getting through. Incoming SMS text messages appear to be working fine, outgoing messages aren’t. At least its not just my users.
According to Treo Central,
“I called Sprint to investigate and they confirmed that the problem cropped up last week. As might be expected, they blamed it on the phone itself. That seemed odd to me, as it had always worked before. In any case, I bit the bullet and did a hard reset. No dice, still didn't work.
A call to Palm's tech support yielded similar results. They're aware of the issue and apparently working feverishly to get it fixed. It's still unclear as of now what exactly the problem is. People have been getting different answers from different representatives of both Sprint and Palm, which is often the case with a new bug - issues as diverse as Sprint network updates to 700wx firmware flaws have been cited.
The fix, apparently, is most likely to come in the form of a software update at Palm's site. It's also theoretically possible that Sprint could update some settings over the air, though both reps that I spoke with were doubtful that would be the case.”
Full thread discussion here.
PocketDict is a Freeware English dictionary with for Pocket PC. With fast look-up and comprehensive definitions, this is a must have for all Pocket PC users. The provided dictionary is based on OPTED, a public domain version of Webster's 1913 Unabridged English dictionary.
With over 180 thousand entries, you'll never be let down. PocketDict can be expanded with its multiple dictionary support. Any number of PocketDict dictionaries can be loaded and switched from the menu. Additionally, UTF8-encoded dictionary support added in v1.1 allows you to use dictionaries with international character sets. Features include root-based and multi-thread searching, making it easier and faster to find words. Support for Cleartype, custom font size, allow you to customize your display, and a dictionary locator will search your Pocket PC for in a matter of seconds. Currently PocketDict only supports the ARM processor on the Pocket PC platform.
Microsoft has offered two free OmegaOne apps,
1–Calc Lite and
Invaders, for your Windows Mobile PocketPC or Smartphone.
Smartphone and Pocket PC Magazine announce the 2006 software award winners. Check out the full list by category here.
Complete List in 2007 Buyers' Guide
A complete list of Winners and Finalists plus judges' comments on their favorites can be found in the 2007 Buyer's Guide. The Buyers Guide is send to subscribers and available on Newsstands from October 18 through November.
I’ve been using Spb software on my Pocket PC for awhile. They’ve just released Spb Insight. “Spb Insight is a new Pocket PC News Reader which provides full-text articles with pictures for handy and fast offline reading.”
You can read more about it here. There's a trial version, and they're asking $19.95 for the full version. I use a free version, not certain I'm willing to pay that much, but we'll see what the next few days of usage are like.
Features:
- Full-text website news using "optimized" channels
- Full RSS/Atom support (RSS 0.9x, 1.0, 2.0; Atom 0.3, 1.0)
- Offline reading with pictures
- Easy to use interface
- Simultaneous updating and reading
- One hand navigation
- Article thumbnails
- No desktop component needed
I blogged earlier about the Treo 700 used to capture the plane crash footage. Further details revealed by Reuters indicates it was a Windows Mobile Treo 700.
CometVision runs on a Palm Treo 700-series PDA via the Windows Mobile operating system. The technology is able to transmit video over non-3G networks, using much less bandwidth than would normally be needed, Comet CEO Howard Becker said.
Reuters is reporting that during the press conference Thursday, Palm CEO Ed Colligan said "The company is not for sale." "We have not been out pursuing (a deal). Our strategy is to execute against our plan." Chief Executive Ed Colligan said speculation that Palm might be a takeover target had likely swelled because the company's stock price, well-known brand and solid cash position have created a perception that it is a "good value."
Miss DevCon? Want to catch up on what’s going on with mobile and embedded? Microsoft has released the Microsoft Mobile & Embedded DevCon 2006 DVD materials.
MEDC is the leading event for developers, engineers, and business managers. Here are presentations from the event about the latest Windows Embedded and Windows Mobile® platforms.
• Application Development:
These sessions focus on developing mobile applications in Visual Studio 2005 for Windows Mobile 5.0 (including MSFP) using both managed and native code. Sessions are geared to help you build Windows Mobile applications better, running on more devices, with greater stability and longer battery life. Other topics include memory and code management, and speed to market.
• Developing Windows Embedded Devices
This track is tailored for Windows Embedded developers. It is the most comprehensive training available on the latest versions of Windows CE, Windows XP Embedded, and Windows Embedded for Point of Service. Breakout sessions include: reliability, real time, source access, security, and time to market for existing users of the Windows Embedded platform.
• Managing & Deploying Devices
This is for IT Professionals who manage support and security IT operations for Mobile devices and their associated infrastructure. Sessions cover topics for Application Deployment, Configuration, device and software catalogs, Security and Customization. Technologies showcased are Windows Mobile, Windows Embedded, Windows Embedded for Point of Service, Exchange Server, Windows Server and Clients, Office, Systems Management Server, Tablet PCs, and Mobile Technologies.
According to Reuters, Scott Wilder, a cameraman for the FoxNews network, had been about 20 blocks away on another assignment when the crash occurred. Wilder ran uptown and reported live from the scene using a hand-held Palm Treo smartphone that uses the existing mobile network to transmit video to the Fox News control room. From there, Fox News sent it out live on TV to supplement other video being shot by local traffic helicopters.
Is Ashley right? I’ve read several “rave” reviews of the 750v, but Ashley Norris of the Guardian doesn’t agree.
“For a big fan of Palm's elegant operating system, it feels odd to handle a device sporting the Palm logo that runs the Windows Mobile operating system. Yet with the 750v, Palm has kept much of the design and styling of its Treo series of PDAs and substituted its own OS for a Windows one (a sad but inevitable move) and in theory should have a winner on its hands. Alas the 750v, available for the time being exclusively from Vodafone, falls a little short of the mark. Sure, it boasts the Treo trademarks of very usable QWERTY keyboard and an intuitive stylus-based interface. It also has 3G compatibility, which enables its web browser to grab pages quickly, and sports an easy-to-use home screen. There are a variety of push email solutions available for the device too. But it loses points for the absence of Wi-Fi (an inexplicable omission), a chunky design that's a world away from the slim lines of the BlackBerry Pearl, and a rather poor quality 1.3 megapixel camera. Overall the 750v is a reasonable handset, but you would have thought that the trio (Palm, Microsoft, and Vodafone) would capable of something more exciting than this.”
In scanning this, a couple of things should tip you off why the review went south. One, note the parenthetical thought “a sad but inevitable move” regarding Palm’s decision to put Windows Mobile on the Treo. Two, the comparison to the Blackberry Pearl? Three, the next parenthetical thought “an inexplicable omission”. My own comments to this one? Palm has NEVER put wi-fi in its Treo series, including the Palm OS, so why is that an inexplicable omission? Do all Palm Treo series phones have “inexplicable omissions”? Which Blackberry has wi-fi? Are those inexplicable omissions as well? Chunky design? I may have missed other reviews but its been awhile since I’ve seen anyone accuse Palm Treo’s of having a “chunky design”. A slim-lined version and a removed antenna? I think those are very welcome changes among Treo fans. Poor quality 1.3 megapixel camera? Compared to what?
For much better reviews, read VNUNet.com’s review, or Jason Langridge's review. “In summary, the Treo 750v is one of the best Windows Smartphones we have ever used. Operation is easy and its construction is superb.”
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