Windows Mobile Louisville

Resco has released version 1.20 of Resco Bubbles.  This is a game which requires a G-sensor, btw…

Resco Bubbles is an action puzzle game where the idea is to clear the grid of bubbles in order to advance to the next level. You are given a sequence of bubbles, which should be quickly and efficiently popped. Numerous explosive, speed-up, slow-down and damage bubbles keep the game play exciting and challenging.

Features:

• Samsung Omnia is now supported
• 50 challenging levels
• G-sensor support
• Various surfaces
• Calibration
• Best score
• Realistic ball-bounce feeling

Resco Bubbles is $9.95 - get it here.

VITO Technology has released online project & task management utility Task2Gather. Task2Gather saves tasks in the web cloud for users to access them any time they need. Task2Gather key features are intuitive user-friendly interface, hierarchic organization, and easy task sharing.

Task2Gather is very flexible. It serves equally well both for organizing and supervising work flow in mid-size companies and also for managing personal to-do or shopping lists. The hierarchic structure allows users to divide any project or task into unlimited number of sub-tasks. 

It can be a simple project “Shopping” with a list of grocery items. Or it can be a multi-level project “Website maintenance” with sub tasks like “SEO optimization”, “Links exchange” with even further unlimited division of sub-tasks into smaller sub-tasks.

Task2Gather is for working together. Once user has created a project, he can invite other participants and assign them responsible for certain tasks. All it takes is typing an email address and clicking “Invite” button. In a couple of minutes their friends, colleagues, or partners will become the part of the project, even if they didn’t use Task2Gather before. The registration in Task2Gather takes less than a minute.

Task2Gather provides an easy way to communicate for project participants through comments. Everybody in a team stays updated on the latest changes as there appear notifications for unread comments. Apart from comments there are also displayed all history changes for every task and project.

Task2Gather is mobile. Task2Gather supports such useful for task management features as assigning deadlines, colors, progress (in hours) to tasks, synchronization with Outlook tasks. All this is available for Task2Gather users on the go. 

Task2Gather for Windows Mobile is available here for $4.99.

I’m sure glad WM device owners (and developers) don’t have to deal with this!

Just like the Apple with its iPhone, Google is looking to keep its Android phone programs under tight reins
The news that Apple’s iPhone had a kill switch built in that could destroy users apps that they had bought and paid for was at first met with incredulity.  When users discovered that the rumors were indeed true, they reacted with shock and anger.  Now Google has a similar situation brewing after it was revealed that its G1 phone which features its Android OS has a similar kill switch.

The tidbit was gleaned from the user contract terms of Google’s Android Market, which it uses to sell software, similar to Apple’s App Store.  The terms stated that Google can remotely kill your programs, describing, “Google may discover a product that violates the developer distribution agreement … in such an instance, Google retains the right to remotely remove those applications from your device at its sole discretion.”

While the G1 phone from T-Mobile does not go on sale till October 22, many have been lent to reporters, so detailed information is becoming available.  While some may be angry at Google’s decision, others are saying Google is treating the issue in more of a sensitive manner than Apple.  Google is acknowledging the kill switch for Android at the time of release.  Apple, critics point out, only acknowledged that a kill switch existed when a developer discovered it and loudly pronounced its existence to the internet community.

Also Google says that it will try to refund users for any deleted Apps.  While this sounds common sense, iPhone users have yet to discover if they will get anything back if Apple deletes their Apps.  Google, on the other hand, says it will make “reasonable efforts to recover the purchase price of the product … from the original developer on your behalf.”  It will recover as much as it can from the developer and if it cannot offer a full refund it will redistribute whatever it collects to give a partial refund.

The kill switch also makes more sense as Android is decidedly more dangerous when it comes to applications.  It does not pre-screen its applications like Apple — anything can be sold on its market.  This raises the possibility of malicious applications.  Google has given no indication that it will delete or prevent the release of applications that overlap its products, something Apple has actively done.

Google is also kind enough to provide users with a 24-hour satisfaction guarantee, where unsatisfied users can return their application in this timeframe for a full refund.  Android Market users also get access to an unlimited number of downloads for their purchased programs, helpful in the case of phone loss or failure.

Injecting a bit of humor, Google also added that “no robots were harmed in the making of this product” and that further, “None of the products are intended for use in the operation of nuclear facilities, life support systems, emergency communications, aircraft navigation or communication systems, air traffic control systems or any other such activities in which case the failure of the products could lead to death, personal injury, or severe physical or environmental damage.”

Source: DailyTech

For those of you who might have had the chance to play around with Microsoft Deepfish, the project has been tanked.

Who knows, we might see elements of it in Windows Mobile 8?!  In, perhaps, 2012?!  <grin>

Adobe Photoshop.com Mobile is now available for select Windows Mobile devices.  Currently, The Samsung Blackjack I and II, Motorola Q9h and Q9m, Palm Treo 700w/wx and Treo 750w are the only ones listed, but they say more are coming soon.

• Upload and store photos online as soon as you take them (get 2GB of storage free)
• View your online photos and albums from your phone
• Share them wherever you are

All you need is a supported Windows Mobile phone and a Photoshop.com membership.

Sprite Mobile Inc has released Sprite Backup 6.5, the latest version of its Windows Mobile backup application - used by over ten million device owners worldwide.

“We’re really excited to release the version we’ve been working so hard on for the last few months” said Sean Connolly, Sprite Software’s Managing Director.  “As Windows Mobile devices become ever more powerful, the requirement for a backup application that flawlessly secures and restores consumers’ mobile data is a must. We feel that with this release, that application will continue to be Sprite Backup”, Connolly added.

NEW in Sprite Backup 6.5

• Brand New User Interface- Brings you closer to key functions and improves workflows.
• Improved Sprite Explorer - Browse your Backup file and extract data – export Contacts as vCards to restore to any device or save them in Outlook or to another mobile phone operating system.
• Powerful Backup PC Manager - Control your backup operations/options from your PC.
• Redeveloped Upgrade Mode - We now guarantee to move your Contacts, Tasks and Appointments, SMS and Email,
• My Documents and Internet Favourites across to a new Windows Mobile device.
• New 1-step Backup - Trigger a manual backup instantly with this feature!
• Performance Improvements - General speed, stability and performance fixes and revisions.

Spb Softwarehouse has release Spb Online for end users. Originally, the application was going to be marketed to mobile phone carriers only (for inclusion in various devices), but Spb decided to make it available for the general public as well.

Spb Online is a mobile TV, radio, news, weather, online games and on-device catalog combined in one application with breakthrough usability optimized for smartphones.

Check out this video courtesy of Spb Softwarehouse:

You can check out more details here. Spb Online retails for $29.95

Today Skyfire announced that they’re opening up registration of their free browser to all. In addition, they’re announcing the .8 version of their revolutionary product for Windows Mobile. The new version of Skyfire adds even more speed and ease to browsing the Internet from a mobile device.

The Skyfire browser was the first mobile browser to support full web PC browsing, including rich media contentand supporting Ajax, Flash, Quicktime, Windows Media, and others. “We don’t like to think of ourselves as a mobile Internet browser,” said Skyfire CEO and Co-Founder NitinBhandari. “Skyfire is a full feature Internet browser on the mobile device.” “Leaving private beta is a huge step for us,” continued Bhandari, “We have accomplished our goals of the private beta – launch, listen, improve. Demand for Skyfire has been extremely strong and we are excited to bring this more evolved product to more devices and users.”

Previously, people who wanted to enjoy the exact PC web experience on their handsets had to sign-up on awaiting list for Skyfire. With today’s announcement, the latest version of the Windows Mobile Skyfire browser is available to anyone.

The 0.8 iteration of Skyfire for Windows Mobile includes marked improvements. “Our users love media rich sites like MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, and ESPN on Skyfire ” said CMO AdamSexton, “and based on their input we added the most requested features and improved our user experience. Users can now find content more quickly with Super Bar, and can now easily share that content with anyone in their address book. ”

Super Bar - Super Bar makes it easier to find what you’re looking for, by combining URL and search entry in one bar. It also features auto complete, so you can find what you’re looking for by only typing a few letters.

Share Content - Skyfire now lets you easily share your favorite web content with others. You can send any web page via text message to anyone in your address book or beyond. In addition to known bug fixes and general performance gains, the 0.8 version of Skyfire for Windows Mobile also adds the following functionality:

• Better video quality
• Ability to make Skyfire the default browser
• Faster launch and auto-reconnect
• Improved zooming
• Ability to download content
• In-line text entry

Get Skyfire here.

DataViz announced the availability of its flagship mobile office suite, Documents To Go®  Premium Edition 3.0 for devices running Microsoft® Windows Mobile 6.x Professional and 5.0 for Pocket PC Phone Edition.  Already available for Windows Mobile Standard, BlackBerry, Symbian and Palm OS, Documents To Go will now allow users of Windows Mobile Pocket PC devices to view, edit and create Microsoft Word, Excel® and PowerPoint® files (Windows: Office 97 – 2007, Mac: Office 98-2008) as well as view PDF files on their devices and in their native formats.

DataViz has also enhanced the PDF viewer included with their mobile office suite with this release of Documents To Go for Pocket PC.  The improvements provide a clear and crisp viewing experience of all Adobe ® PDF file elements (rendering stays true to desktop file) and makes dramatic speed improvements when opening files so users can be more productive.

Other features include support for password protected Word and Excel files, InTact™ Technology for retaining 100% file formatting when editing files on the device, the ability to view, edit and create Excel charts and decompress, zip and send e-mail attachments.  Documents To Go is available for a wide variety of Windows Mobile Pocket PC devices such as the AT&T Tilt, Palm Treo 750 and Palm Treo 800w to name a few. An optimized version to support high resolution screen devices such the HTC Touch Pro and HTC Touch Diamond will be available in the next several weeks.

“We are pleased to see DataViz bring its highly regarded mobile Office suite, Documents To Go, to the Windows Mobile Pocket PC platform,” said David Schoenbach, Vice President – Business Development, MobiHand, Inc. “As a leading distributor of mobile smartphone content, our customers can now enjoy the benefits of this powerful wireless office solution, enhancing their productivity and work quality when out of the office.”

“We are excited to expand our product line to include Windows Mobile Pocket PC devices,” said Danny Tu, Product Manager, DataViz, Inc. “Our latest release is an answer to our many customer requests to develop for this platform.”

Pricing & Availability
Pricing starts at $29.99 USD per license with volume licenses available for five or more users.  You can get it here.

PhatWare Corporation has announced the release of the CalliGrapher 8.7.  The award-winning handwriting recognition software has been optimized for better performance on the latest Windows Mobile devices and features a reduced memory footprint.

Named the best software for handwriting recognition for Microsoft Windows Mobile-based Pocket PCs by industry experts for six consecutive years, CalliGrapher converts your handwriting into digital text and sends the recognized text to the target application. Employing advanced fuzzy logic and neural net techniques, CalliGrapher recognizes all handwriting styles: cursive, print, and mixed.

To address the customer’s needs in a fast-growing market of phone-enabled Pocket PC devices, the new version of CalliGrapher has been optimized for better performance on latest Windows Mobile devices and includes improved handwriting recognition engine. The new version also addresses several compatibility issues reported since the previous CalliGrapher release.

“PhatWare is constantly listening to its users’ feedback and staying up-to-date with the latest advancements in hardware devices,” said Stan Miasnikov, president of PhatWare. “We are thrilled to keep improving CalliGrapher to benefit the handheld community.”
CalliGrapher 8.7 supports devices running on any Windows Mobile based device equipped with a touch screen. During the Back to School offer though September 15, 2008 CalliGrapher 8.7 can be purchased from the PhatWare Web site with $15 discount for only $24.95. It is also offered free with a purchase of PhatWare’s PhatPad or PhatNotes applications as a part of the same offer. For more information about CalliGrapher or other PhatWare products, visit www.phatware.com/calligrapher.