June 2007

Iliumsoft, makers of great Windows Mobile/Palm software are celebrating their 10th year anniversary. Unike last year, when software discounts were made available for a day, this time it is a week long affair. Today, you can get the $30 worth eWallet Pro for just $10. Over the next few days, there are plans to offer other programs also at incredible prices.

In case you have not heard about IliumSoft, they make some great software for Windows Mobile devices. NewsBreak is one of the best RSS readers out there. ListPro is a great list making software. I got introduced to ListPro when I started following GTD. Some free templates are available for avid GTDers. Don't miss these offers, if you are planning to pickup any of these programs.

Update: Currently, Dockware Pro is available free for first 500 customers! So Rush to iliumsoft.com. 

Update 07 June: Newsbreak at an inredible $5 today! 

PS: I am in no way connected with Iliumsoft. Just a happy user of their software.

Yet another unique feature of Windows Vista is the Vista sideshow. SideShow helps Vista drive small, auxiliary displays which can be used to show useful information like Emails, weather updates, contact information etc., without opening the laptop or booting a computer. SideShow is different from the traditional secondary display - which is enabled through an external monitor - in that it does not display information from your existing screen, but supplements it by providing additional information. ASUS and LG demonstrated a laptop equipped with a small LCD display on top of the device. The one shown above is the LG Z1 laptop with Sideshow.

There are many gadgets with SideShow capability which are being made available now. A very interesting device is the Vista Media Center remote from Philips. The remote has a small LCD screen which displays media information like artist, album info etc., from the Vista media center pc to which it is paired. Since this is an RF remote, the user need not be in the line of sight of the media center, but can be anywhere in the house and can still chose what song to play using the tiny display.

A remarkable feature of Vista SideShow is the ability to display widgets (gadgets) created for the Sidebar. SideShow capable devices are classified into many types. A basic sideshow device may display a couple of lines of text while an enhanced one can display pictures and video. Once Vista becomes mainstream, we can expect a gamut of SideShow compatible devices in the market. The bag shown above is a very interesting 'device' - It is a regular handbag with a Vista sideshow display! The data on the screen gets updated through bluetooth from the laptop. The bag is manufactured by a company called Eleksen.

Related: Know your Vista: Readyboost and how to hack it.

Related: Know your Vista: Windows Mobile Device Center 

For those dreaming of picking up an "unlocked" iPhone from Ebay, there is even more bad news. If the rumours are true, you can't open the SIM card tray in the iPhone. It is locked beneath the case, just like the battery in your iPod. Dud.

First, they locked up the software by blocking third party developed applications. Now they are locking up the hardware too so that you cannot use this phone in some other GSM network. Potential iPhone buyers should note that, unless you can afford to pay the extremely high international roaming fee, you should always have a cheap GSM phone at hand, if you are a globe trotter.

I am not sure whether Apple will continue with the same strategy when it releases this phone in Europe and Asia. Probably, that will be the first time a mobile phone will be sold in Europe without a removable SIM slot.

Hmmm. Now I am looking eagerly towards June 5th than June 29th.

Drupal is the CMS that is used for this website. One of the goals when I launched this site was to keep the site lean and mean with very little graphics and no flashy colors. I also use very limited set of modules apart from what Drupal came with. The following is the list, in no specific order. It is almost impossible to run a website without these plugins.

1. Google Analytics. This plugin makes it pretty easy to integrate Google Analytics into your Drupal site. Who would want to live without Google Analytics?
2. Views module. I generate the "Recent Posts" list on the left sidebar with this module. Took me sometime to figure it out. If you want the code, drop me a mail. I can export it for you.
3. Taxonomy Menu. I use this to generate the list of currently used tags for my navigation bar. Probably I could have done it with the views module itself, but then, I am not an expert (yet) with Drupal.
4. TinyMCE. Rich HTML editor. Makes it easy to integrate the TinyMCE editor with the CMS. Probably the best HTML editor out there.
5. Akismet. Wordpress guys' killer spam buster. Almost no spams enter my comment lists after I included this module.

As you can see, I use very less number of modules apart from the default ones which ship with Drupal. I will keep this list updated as and when I add new modules.

<shameless-self-promotion>

My other blog, My Two Cents, which I no longer update, just hit a milestone. Somebody looking to beautify his linux workstation became the 100,000 person to reach my blog.

</shameless-self-promotion>

Sony Ericsson P1 is the successor to two smartphones which existed before: The M600i and P990i. Carrying a P990i was like carrying a large concrete brick. In a world where ultra-thin Smartphones like the Motorola Q and Samsung BlackJack are ubiquitous, the P990i definitely looked out of place. Naturally, there were very few takers for this phone.

 The M600i had its own problems. There was no Wi-Fi and no HSDPA, which meant that high speed data transfer was not possible. Add an awkward keyboard and you know that you have a phone doomed for failure. And it did bomb in the market.

At this juncture, Sony Ericsson is the only leading mobile phone vendor without a killer business phone. Nokia has a bouquet of offerings with the hugely popular E-series phones, Motorola has the slim Windows Mobile Q series phones and Samsung has the 'i' series of phones, again based on Windows Mobile. Sony Ericsson's upcoming P1 may change all that. P1 comes in the candy bar form factor of the M600i, but adds Wi-Fi, a 3.2 Megapixel camera and a Walkman player. All this along with Push Email and Document editors! The phone looks trendy and professional.

I like the combination of auto-focus camera and a walkman-like player. Note that the camera is not Cybershot branded, so it may not give you the image quality of K790i or the K800i. The Xenon flash is also missing, but the auto-focus and 3.2 MP more than make up for the lost features. The media player comes with mega bass, so defintely it can replace your current Walkman phone. The only negative of this phone is the lack of HSDPA.

All-in-all, a clear winner on paper. We have to wait to see how it fares in the market when it is released sometime this quarter.

Palm has announced Foleo, an ultra mobile laptop-like device intended to be your Smartphone’s companion. A Smartphone companion is an interesting concept, which nobody has explored before. Sure, there are devices like the Nokia N800 which attempt to replace your laptop for activities like lightweight browsing and emailing, but they are never marketed as a mobile phone companion.

So, is there a market for these devices? Can’t we achieve the same with a low priced laptop? Or is the $600 asking price for this pseudo-laptop justified? Let us explore.

Who needs these devices?

I know a couple of guys who use Blackberries all the time. They are constantly on the move – composing and replying to emails. They do the same when they sit at their PCs. Other then emailing, they also create and edit spreadsheets and documents. MS Office and the internet browser is all they need. An ultraportable device with document editing capabilities is more than sufficient for many of them. They didn’t buy such a device because there isn’t one in the market. There are ultra-portable laptops, but they are very expensive. Foleo enters a market which is hitherto un-explored. I am sure Palm would have done their market research before taking such a high risk. The device has enough features to make it an attractive alternative to a heavier laptop while you are travelling.

Why not use a laptop?

First of all, the Foleo device does not aspire to replace your computer. With a 256MB onboard RAM and a couple of extension slots, the Foleo does not have the horsepower to completely replace your laptop (the processor information is not yet known). If your work involves more than typing emails and documents – like using your company specific custom software, for example – then Foleo is not the device for you. On the other hand, if you are constantly on the go and only use your laptop for emailing and composing word documents or editing spreadsheets, you can give the Foleo some serious thoughts.

Is it worth the $500?

Nokia N800 Internet Tablet PC is a WVGA device running a Linux operating system with an OMAP 320MHz processor and a touch screen. The target market is similar. Email, browsing and VoIP calls on the go, without a laptop. It works very well and is worth the $400 asking price. The Foleo has a much larger screen and a nice keyboard. It also runs Linux and the SDK is going to be open. Within months, you will see all sorts of software ported to the Foleo platform. While the initial reaction of most people who read about this device is “its going to be a dud”, I beg to differ. The N800 is a moderate success and Nokia is continuously working on improving the device. The Foleo goes one step ahead and targets the business users who look for a lightweight travel companion. It is priced as much as a VGA Windows Mobile PDA. The Linux software and its portability will take this device farther than most people think.

Interestingly, the mere existence of Foleo shows that we have come a full circle. First, there were desktop computers. They were bulky and non-portable. You used to send emails with them. Problem was, you could only send emails when you were at your desk. That gave the need for portables. Laptops made mobile emailing a bit easier. But then, you carried a 5 pound machine everywhere - just to check your emails and reply to them. Then came Smartphones and Blackberries. Smartphones can send and receive emails and also helped you create and edit MS office documents on the move. Suddenly, you can leave your laptop at home! Then again, Smartphones had their own problems – they had low resolution screens which made it difficult to view and edit office documents. So man invents the Foleo, a laptop-like computer which is a companion to your smartphone!

Also, gone are the days the PDA was a companion to your PC. Now you need a companion to your PDA!