I don’t sync so

So I’ve been using my Samsung i607 (BlackJack) for several days now and I’m pretty impressed! You see, I’m primarily a Symbian & Mac person so I’ll admit being a little worried about purchasing a Windows Mobile device, especially since the ones I’d tested in the past generally appeared to sacrifice basic phone functionality (poor RF, audio and UI performance) without being particularly compelling “multimedia computers” (as an aside I think Nokia’s terminology is dead on).

Samsung hardware is generally pretty decent, and the i607 is quite nice. But surprisingly, Microsoft’s software is also pretty decent, and is quite stable, too! However, there’s one nagging problem with Windows Mobile… It’s called ActiveSync. Call me crazy, but in this day and age, how can you make a smartphone without support for Bluetooth DUN & OBEX? I know Microsoft likes promoting ActiveSync, but why Bluetooth PAN? Why not also support the existing industry standards?

So I ended up purchasing Missing Sync. It’s not particularly intuitive, but after some trial and error, I managed to sync over USB and Bluetooth. I also succeeded in getting DUN (over USB) setup on my Mac, and Bluetooth PAN setup on my OQO (Windows XP). Then I got the phone SIM unlocked and application unlocked. With a bit of help, I also got SlingPlayer working and the annoying startup/shutdown audio disabled. The only fix left is finding a way to stop Java applications from constantly prompting for permission to access the network.

Give this device a better camera, WiFi, and Symbian and I’d have my ideal smartphone – like blending the E61, N73 and adding tri-band HSDPA. Nokia, are you listening? In the meantime, if you’re looking for a decent Windows Mobile device, the BlackJack is it… But in the end, my N80 is not ready to be retired yet.

Nokia N95 preview

Today I spotted this Nokia N95 preview. It’s a device I’m very excited about, and it’s shaping up to be a worthy successor to the Nokia N80, my current phone of choice.

Internal USB Bluetooth mod

Flashback!

Last year I wrote an article about adding an internal USB Bluetooth module to my Averatec AV1050 sub-notebook and Hack-a-day picked up the story…

Podcast: Web 2.0 is all about the big soft pretzels

Flashback!

I published my first podcast (8 min) about a year ago… Assaf, Zoe and I discussed (amongst other things) why Motorola phones suck and why the Web 2.0 is all about the big soft pretzels :) This was spontaneously recorded outside of Farley’s using my Sony Ericsson W800i.

Click here to subscribe to this podcast.

Unboxing the Samsung i607 (BlackJack)

Last week I replaced my LG CU500 with a Samsung i607 (BlackJack) for more HSDPA goodness! I’m a Symbian person, and this is my first phone running Windows Mobile…

Ironically, I used my Nokia N80 to take the pictures :)

Why the iPhone could change everything

I was recently reading about how the iPhone could be sold unlocked and I realized the iPhone could change everything!

By “everything”, I don’t just mean the slick design, user interface and software integration, although sometimes even the obvious is lost on some people. By “everything”, I mean the very way US customers buy a phone. They don’t appear to think twice about spending $300 on an iPod, yet they accept getting locked into a crappy 2-year contract by US carriers in exchange for a free (or cheap) – yet crippled – phone…

Of course here’s the real question: assuming it’s sold unlocked, will US customers think twice about spending $300 on an iPhone? I hope not.

Then Verizon and Sprint would be screwed, Cingular and T-Mobile would benefit, GSM would make serious inroads in the US at the expense of CDMA. It would promote competition amongst the US carriers, thus increasing contract flexibility and customer service quality.. In turn Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and Samsung would start selling more unlocked phones directly.

It’s a win/win situation.