John at myITforum.com

At least it looks like it’s been updated, and you can even track the hurricane.

http://bevhoward.com/storm/ppcrad.htm

Use the link above on your PDA and add it to your favorites.  Track weather wherever you are.

This is my latest device I’m testing.  I’ve been quite impressed with it.  Too bad there are no carrier subsidies.  You can find the phone for as low as $450, but that’s still a lot of change.  It’s a little wide, but quite honestly the keyboard is what does it.  Almost everything you use on a daily basis can be accessed from the front or sides of the phone (yes, there is a scroll wheel on top right corner).  The only thing I’m a little disappointed with is the volume when alerts go off.  Wonder what it is.  The QWERTY keypad on the front is right up there with the Moto Q and Q9, but this one adds the scroll wheel and touchscreen.  Very nice.

Integrated wireless

Integrated Quad band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and Tri Band UMTS/HSDPA at up to 3.6/7.2 Mbps; Integrated WiFi - 802.11 b/g with WPA2 security; Integrated Bluetooth v2.0 with EDR; Integrated multi-mode GPS navigation with Google Maps

Processor

Marvell PXA270 Processor, 416 MHz

Operating system

Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional; Mobile Microsoft programs included: Office Mobile, Office Outlook Mobile, Internet Explorer Mobile

Display

2.46-inch transmissive TFT 65,000 color 320 x 240 pixel touch panel display with LED backlight

Built-in camera

3 Megapixel, autofocus, 4X digital zoom, codec supports .jpg image file format, Image resolution support: 88x72, QCIF (176x144), CIF (352x288), 160x120, QVGA (320x240), 400x300, VGA (640x480), SVGA (800x600), XGA (1024x768), 1280x960, SXGA (1280x1024), UXGA (1600x1200), QXGA (2048x1536), Video resolution: 176x144 (QCIF)

Memory

128 MB SDRAM main memory for running applications, 256 MB flash ROM

Weight

154g (5.4 oz)

Battery

1940 mAh Lithium Ion rechargeable, user changeable battery

Expansion

USB 2.0 client for sync/data/charge, Micro SD card slot

Audio

Integrated microphone, receiver, speaker and mini-USB wired stereo headset

Included accessories

Standard battery, AC Adapter, USB synchronization cable, stylus, wired stereo headphones, Getting Started guide, HP iPAQ Companion CD

Dimensions

114 x 64 x 15 mm (4. 5" x 2.5" x 0.6")

Photo of course from Engadget.  I sure hope not.  It looks like the right side of the phone will get in the way of typing.  Who designed that?

That’s what Danny Dumas over at Wired thinks. “…The touchscreen, on the other hand, was far from blissful. Laggy and unresponsive, we found ourselves double and sometimes triple tapping — even with the stylus.”

WIRED Trim, light and pocketable. Shortcuts prove beyond useful. Decent 2-MP pics. MicroUSB! Battery lasts almost two full days. 3.5-mm headphone jack. PPT/Excel/Word and PDF-reading, of course. Google Maps AND TeleNav GPS, which offers turn-by-turn directions plus target searches; e.g. gas stations by price. Ships unlocked.

TIRED Menu scrolling is about as fluid as a piece of dolomite. Slippery “obsidian” plastic casing retains more fingerprints than the NSA. Noticeable screen glare. Curved design comprised by bottomside USB/headphone jack that should be recessed more. Bluetooth not included in image send options. Only way to access microSD? Remove battery cover.

And it ain’t the Treo Pro…so says Brian Chen over at Wired.

Looks like I’ll be waiting for a new device from HTC.  Who can really afford an unlocked phone direct from the manufacturer?  $500-$600?  Hmm…

Coming soon…

Fox News is reporting Jerry Seinfeld just signed up for a $300M campaign.

I’ve been following the press stories of all of the reported 3G issues.  I can honestly say that I’ve not experienced the issues myself with my test phone.  However, apparently some are fed up.

An owner of Apple's iPhone 3G has filed a lawsuit, claiming the company misrepresented the speed of 3G wireless networks. Birmingham, Ala. resident Jessica Alena Smith wants Apple to repair or replace all troublesome handsets.

In a 10-page claim filed in the U.S. District Court for Northern Alabama, Smith alleged Apple mislead customers with advertising suggesting the new iPhone was 'twice as fast for half the price.'"

Earlier this week, Apple said a recent software update was indeed meant to answer days of criticism about problems experienced with the iPhone 3G jumping from 3G to slower EDGE networks without warning.

Hmm…”claiming the company misrepresented the speed of 3G…”.  How exactly does that happen?  Twice as fast for half the price…got it.

Delta Airlines is installing Wi-Fi on all its domestic flights. It will be available on more than 330 Delta aircraft in 2009, the most expansive inflight broadband offering of any U.S. air carrier.

Aircell will install the company’s Mobile Broadband Network, Gogo, to enable Wi-Fi enabled devices, such as laptops, smartphones and PDAs, to access the Internet, corporate VPNs, corporate and personal e-mail accounts, as well as SMS texting and instant messaging services.

Gogo will be available to customers for a flat fee of $9.95 on flights of three hours or less, and $12.95 on flights of more than three hours.

Aircell uses an exclusive FCC frequency license to provide a cellular data channel to airplanes. It currently uses CDMA EVDO Rev A to deliver an effective data rate of more than 12 Mbps peak to Gogo-equipped aircraft. By the end of 2009, Aircell says further advances in existing technologies will enable Aircell to deliver a raw data rate of up to 22.7 Mbps to aircraft.

Planning on attending CTIA Wireless in September?  Early bird pricing ends today.

As an attendee, you'll explore over 300 exhibits plus international and special technology pavilions showcasing ground-breaking innovations and creative solutions.

There is an interactive guide to CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment 2008.

No matter which registration pass you choose, you'll gain access to the following partner seminars: "A Generation Unplugged," " Bluetooth SIG: Low Energy," "How Mobility Can Transform Your Enterprise," " M2M: Walled Garden or Open Range?," and "Mobile Jam Session."

You’re also invited to attend keynote sessions where you'll learn the meaning and impact of "open" networks, guidance on bringing mobility (and profitability) to your enterprise, and in-depth youth market analysis on "what teens really want."

I love when Google Reader does this:

No explanation for what happened, it eventually goes away, but it just sits there for a few seconds while it pulls an oops.

According to the China Post:

HTC Corp., Taiwan's biggest mobile phone vendor, climbed in Taipei trading after forecasting sales growth will accelerate and saying its handset that runs on a Google Inc. operating system is attracting increased interest.

HTC climbed 3.1 percent to close at NT$501 and was the most active stock by value on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The TAIEX index fell 0.3 percent.

Third-quarter revenue may climb 30 percent, helped by the release of HTC's Diamond that competes with Apple Inc.'s iPhone, Chief Financial Officer Cheng ***-ming said in a conference call Thursday.

Wireless operators are showing more interest in a handset equipped with Google's Android operating system that HTC will release in the fourth quarter, he said.

"If HTC can successfully deliver this product on time with good quality, this will offer another growth catalyst for HTC over the next few years," Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. analyst Alex Yang wrote in a report yesterday, referring to the Android phone. He maintained his "overweight" rating on the stock.

HTC, based in Taoyuan, Taiwan, reported Thursday that second-quarter profit rose 48 percent and revenue increased 29 percent. The company released its Diamond phone in Asia in June and will begin selling the handset through Sprint Nextel Corp. in August.

According to Digitimes:

High Tech Computer (HTC) will begin to ship its first Android-based handsets to ODM clients in the fourth quarter of this year as scheduled, according to company CFO ***-ming Cheng.

HTC revenues are expected to grow 10% sequentially and 30% on year in the third quarter, buoyed by the planned launch of CDMA, GSM and sliding form-factor HTC Touch Diamond handsets, Cheng indicated.

HTC has shipped Touch Diamond handsets to 50 telecom operators in more than 30 countries so far, Cheng noted.

However, Cheng said that HTC's gross margin will be reduced by one percentage point in the third quarter as compared to the second quarter due to the rising ratio of ODM handsets.

Market sources in Taiwan indicated that HTC is expected to start shipping Xperia X1 handsets to Sony Ericsson in the third quarter, pushing up the ratio of ODM handsets.

The ratio of ODM handsets will continue to rise marginally in the fourth quarter of 2008 but it is unlikely to surpass 10% through the whole year of 2009, Cheng noted.

And all I can say is……THANK GOD!  I don’t think any of us really wants to listen to folks cell phone calls while traveling on a plane right?

A U.S. House of Representatives committee advanced a bill to prohibit passengers from making mobile phone calls during flights.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee passed Thursday the Halting Airplane Noise to Give Us Peace (Hang Up) Act, which would ban voice communication during scheduled flights. The Hang Up Act now moves to the full House of Representatives.

The Federal Aviation Administration already bans cell phone calls during flights, and the Hang Up Act would make that ban permanent. The ban would have certain exemptions for members of the flight crew as well as law enforcement officers.

Additionally, passengers would still be able to access in-flight Wi-Fi, as well as send text messages and e-mails as those services become available.

"With airline customer satisfaction at an all-time low, this is not the time to consider making airplane travel even more torturous," Rep. Peter DeFazio, who introduced the legislation, said in a statement. "Polls show the public overwhelmingly doesn't want to be subjected to people talking on their cell phones on increasingly overpacked airplanes."

A poll sponsored by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA found that 63% of respondents were against the use of cell phones during flights, and some flight attendants say in-flight calls can pose a safety risk.

As the lone dissenting voice, Rep. John Mica, said there are many things that can be annoying on a flight, but that doesn't mean they should be banned.

"You are trying to legislate courtesy, folks, and that just doesn't work," Mica said during the hearing.

If the bill passed, it may cause some confusion for international travelers, as the European Union is already creating a framework that will allow passengers to make calls, send text messages, and use e-mail on their mobile phones.

Yahoo

So why isn’t this getting much press?  The Apple cult media sure played up all the iPhone sales right?  Why isn’t Palm getting the same recognition for selling 2 million Centro’s? 

Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq:PALM) today said it has sold its two-millionth Centro smartphone, confirming the $99 product's growing momentum with traditional mobile phone users who want to move up to a phone that offers more functionality.(1) Palm is now offering Centro in more than 25 countries in North America, South America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

Recent data released by AdMob, the largest advertising network on the mobile web, further echoes the momentum of Palm's smallest, lightest and most affordable smartphone. According to the company's Mobile Metrics report (www.admob.com/s/solutions/metrics), Palm Centro leapt onto the list of mobile phones worldwide in May as the No. 8 device, and moved up in June to No. 7. AdMob cites the growth of inexpensive phones, such as Palm Centro, as a primary driver in mobile Internet usage.

"Consumers are ready to do more on their mobile phone, and Centro has struck a chord around the world," said Brodie Keast, senior vice president of marketing for Palm, Inc. "Centro has everything a person needs to stay connected with everyone who is important to them -- and at a price point and size that make smartphones more attractive to a much wider audience."

Palm also showed strong growth among smartphone manufacturers, ranking No. 2 in the United States in mobile advertising reach, and No. 3 worldwide. The AdMob report, which analyzes worldwide data to gauge mobile Internet use among devices able to receive mobile ads, also noted that 24.3 percent of worldwide ad requests in June were from smartphones, up from 22.4 percent in May. As more consumers leave their traditional mobile phones behind in favor of moving up to phones with greater functionality, mobile web usage is expected to increase.

Now available from almost 20 carriers worldwide, including the three largest carriers in the United States, Centro has reached more young adults and women, as well as a broader range of household income, than any prior Palm smartphone. It offers customers an affordable, simple and fun option for staying connected and doing more with their mobile phones.

Centro's full QWERTY keyboard and color touch screen make it easy to quickly type text messages, respond to emails, start instant message conversations, browse the web and more. It offers all of the great organizer functionality for which Palm is renowned, such as a detailed and integrated contacts list and a simple and handy calendar for juggling business meetings and get-togethers with friends. Centro lets users "sideload" songs and manage music, audio books and videos easily(2), as well as shoot pictures or videos with the built-in digital camera.

More information about Palm Centro is available at www.palm.com/centro.

infoSync World has posted the hottest smartphones and cell phones coming in August.  On the list this month?

RIM BlackBerry Bold 9000 (AT&T)

When: August 2008 Worth: $300 Carrier: AT&T

Samsung Omnia i900

When: August 2008 Worth: $600 - $700

HTC Touch Pro

When: August 2008

Velocity Mobile 103

When: August 2008 Worth: $500

http://velocitymobile.com/

Looks like only one is listed with a US carrier, but I know some will be carried by other US carriers.  Stay tuned.