Pocketables

W100 MID phone runs Windows Mobile 6.1

Since ARM-based Windows Mobile devices being called MIDs is a trend that clearly isn't going anywhere, I'll just go with it and introduce you to this 5.6" x 2.9" x 0.66" slate-style MID phone running WM 6.1on its 4.3" WVGA display.

It's called the W100 and is most likely the successor of what eventually became known as the Zhongyi S101, that Linux unit with the portable dock attachment. I heard something unconfirmed about a second-gen device a couple of days ago, so I recognized the company logo (the company, by the way, has never been officially named as Zhongyi) when my newshound presented the W100 to me yesterday and am going to assume that it's where those next-gen model rumors came from. It makes sense, really, as the W100 "one ups" the S101 with a slightly modified design and a small boost in some of its specs.

The new unit still makes use of the Marvell PXA310 processor, but this time it's clocked at 806MHz instead of 624MHz. It also has 128MB RAM, 256MB ROM, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, tri-band GSM, 2600mAh battery, 3.2-megapixel rear camera, standard 3.5mm headphone jack, and miniUSB port. What it doesn't have, however, are 3G (GPRS/EDGE only) and the S101's 4GB SSD and dock attachment. Well, okay, so maybe the W100 is just the interim successor.

Thanks, Rah-Rah!

Dell celebrates its 25th anniversary: A look back

Unless you're a technology historian, you may not have realized that Dell celebrated its 25th anniversary this past weekend. No big marketing push or sitewide sale was launched to mark the historic occasion. The May 3rd date came and went with little fanfare. Dell may not want to publicly recognize this milestone but we will use this occasion to take a quick walk down memory lane and reminisce about Dell's contribution to the world of handheld devices.

Wistron MID loaded with Windows Mobile 6.5

ARM announced earlier this week that Wistron would be showing off a "sleek 5" advanced Internet experience device" at MWC, and here it is . . . running Windows Mobile just like the Samsung SWD-M100 MID spotted a few days ago.

Unlike some of the other products at the ARM booth, this thin device didn't have an accompanying sign to identify its specs, but Engadget's photos and ARM's previous announcement provide enough details to piece together a half-decent estimation.

Samsung SWD-M100 WiMAX MID runs Windows Mobile

A press release issued by Samsung yesterday included a casual mention of a MID:

The latest and the most diverse Mobile WiMAX line-ups include mobile WiMAX Ubicell Notebook, Mobile Internet Device (MID) and Smartphone, so as to target a diversity of consumer demands.

A Samsung MID has long been rumored to be in the works, so a simple statement like that would've been enough for many to begin speculating about what else besides WiMAX the handheld device would have. Fortunately, the team at Ubergizmo saved us from all the googling, feeding the rumor mill, and searching the FCC site to unearth more details by snapping a great set of hands-on photos of what has been identified at MWC as the Samsung SWD-M100 (specs below), a Windows Mobile 6.1 connected slider device with a 4.3-inch touchscreen and Opera browser.

I got in touch with Samsung's PR people this morning to find out more and was told that they couldn't talk about US availability of the "SWD-M100 WiMAX PC Card" (PC card?) right now. I'd ask for ideas on what you think that might mean, but since doing so would only cause exactly the kind of speculation we just avoided, I'll sit tight until the PR folks are able to speak more freely.

App Store for Windows Mobile on the Xperia X1

PocketGear unveiled its new App Store for Windows Mobile yesterday and let's just say that Microsoft's upcoming Skymarket will basically have no competition if it's announced at MWC next week. It's not that PocketGear's App Store is inherently bad . . . it's just a bit misleading and not very good, especially now that most people hear the words "app store" and immediately think of Apple.

Even though Apple wasn't the first to allow users to purchase and download applications directly from their mobile devices, they were the first to really bring it to the masses. The frequency of tantrums thrown by iPhone and iPod touch users when an application costs more than $5 makes that pretty clear. Windows Mobile users, by contrast, have been paying $20 to $30 for similar (and in some cases the same) applications for years; a $10 app was usually considered a bargain!

But now that mainstream consumers believe that most applications are worth about $3 and have grown accustomed to the way Apple's App Store looks, works, and feels, a service bearing the same name, even if for a different platform, has to contend with a lot of expectations. And PocketGear's App Store for Windows Mobile, which supports more than 950 WinMo phones (including the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1), falls short. Take a quick tour of the new store on the X1 below.

Outdoor photos from the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1

I spent most of today at Six Flags Magic Mountain for the first day of my MID Moves tour. In between using the OQO Model 2+ and taking pictures with my Xperia X1's 3.2-megapixel camera for some light mobile blogging, I used the X1 to take a few scenic shots of the theme park. Since I've already shown you how the phone's camera performs for shooting products under CES indoor-lighting conditions, I thought it would be worthwhile to show you what it can do under natural light, outdoors on a Monday in California.

Thoughts on mobile blogging with the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1

Of the 71 posts I wrote while covering CES 2009, 39 of them were done live from the showroom using my Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 smartphone.

I took a photo using the X1's 3.2-megapixel camera (in VGA resolution to keep the file size down), emailed it to a custom Flickr address with a subject line and a sentence or two, and hit "Send" for all three elements (photo, title, body) to publish automatically on this site. Each post created with this method was identified as a "moblog" by an email signature. I chose Flickr as my mobile blogging tool because the result (see example) looked most like my normal posts.

Now that CES is over and I won't be mobile blogging again until MID Moves kicks off next week, I'd like to share my thoughts about using the Xperia X1 for on-the-go blogging.

15 tips for new Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 users

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 smartphone works pretty well right out of the box, but since Windows Mobile works better when tweaked and the X1 isn't perfect in its factory condition, I've put together a list of 15 tips to help users get the most out of their devices as quickly and easily as possible.

Whether it's a software/utility recommendation, a little trick, or a simple tweak that doesn't require a registry editor, all of the following tips are sure to enhance and improve the Xperia X1's user experience.

Unboxing the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1

Since words cannot express my current state of gadget bliss and some devices need no introduction, please find a quiet place to sit back and take in the beauty that is known as the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1.

HTC turns another iPhone into an iPod touch

I don't know what it is about HTC-built smartphones, but they keep commanding me to cripple my iPhones by giving their SIMs to another device, thus becoming WiFi-only glorified iPod touches. First it was the AT&T Tilt (HTC TyTN II), which drew me away from the first-gen iPhone last December.

And now it's the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 (made by HTC), almost exactly one year later, officially taking over the position my iPhone 3G has held since July.

HTC is literally my iPhone killer.

Stay tuned for a completely self-indulgent X1 unboxing. [Update: Here we go!]