The value of the site is significantly extended for iPhone users through their mobile applications:

EveryTrail
With this geotracking application, you can record your movements, take geotagged photos and immediately upload it all to EveryTrail, the leading online community for travel storytelling.

Trails
Trails allows you to record and to save your tracks to EveryTrail. In addition you can import any track from EveryTrail easily and view the route on the map directly on your iPhone.

The Bike Computer
The EveryTrail Bike Computer has a large screen that gives you key stats while riding your bike, and best of all, you can upload your ride directly from your phone to EveryTrail.

 Happy Trails!

Does your playlist of favorite podcasts run longer than you have time to dedicate listening to them? If you can get past the chipmunk voices, try increasing the play back speed. You can reduce the play length by up to 20% before it gets too obnoxious.

If you are using a Windows Mobile Device you will not be able to do this with the mobile version of Windows Media player. Try using a media player such as TCPMP (The Core Pocket Media Player).

On the continual look out for great new mobile apps to put on your Windows Mobile device? Here are a few recent apps that I have tried that you might like:

• TCPMP (The Core Pocket Media Player) – If you want a better media player that supports a broad range of audio and video files try this out. This player is free and can be downloaded here: http://picard.exceed.hu/tcpmp/test/
• Opera Mobile – Finally a decent web browser for your windows mobile device. So far I have been very impressed with its usability and page rendering even if it is still justa beta. Some features include full-screen zoomed browsing,  pan and zoom functionality, tabs, faster than Internet Explorer Mobile, AJAX support and a true web experience. You can download it here:  http://www.opera.com/products/mobile/download/
• Total Commander - Have you ever been frustrated with the limited ability of the windows file explorer? Here is a free program that lets you choose between single window or 2-window modes. It is an excellent file browser, with a ton of extra features, including an FTP client, registry editor, and the ability to save and view .zip files. Get it here: http://www.ghisler.com/ce.htm

If you are looking for more great recommendations for Windows Mobile apps try these:

http://www.downloadsquad.com/2006/11/21/5-windows-mobile-freeware-programs-im-thankful-for/

http://lifehacker.com/5041023/the-best-free-apps-for-your-windows-mobile-device

If you have a favorite Windows Mobile application let me know about it by adding a comment.

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Writing 70-271 and VCP-310 becomes easier for a 640-802 student if he has achieved credits like 70-290 and 70-270 already.

I previously wrote a post about deciding whether to upgrade from Windows Mobile 5 to Windows Mobile 6. It has now been a couple months that I have been exclusively running Windows Mobile 6 and here are a few follow-up thoughts…

Battery Life

In my previous article one of the 2 critical decision points was battery life. Several sources have insisted a significantly reduced battery life after upgrading to Windows Mobile 6. While admittedly there may be a slight reduction, the impact, however, has not been significant enough to consider it a major issue. I have found that a by just adjusting the synchronization schedule, reducing it to only the hours of use, has greatly extended the battery.

HSPDA

The second critical decision point was the higher data transfer rates available through the use of HSPDA in Windows Mobile 6. This has been considered the primary advantage for most Palm Treo users upgrading to WM6. Once again, this has not turned out to be a critical point. The speed increase may be slightly noticeable, but not as dramatic as expected.

Other Perks

So after additional use I have found other features that I really like in Windows Mobile 6. At the top of the list is improved ability to share your Internet access with your laptop/PC. The Internet Sharing program allows you to quick and easily share your 3G connection to a Personal Area Network (PAN). While also being able to do this with WM5, I find this new program to make it much easier.

Remote Desktop for Mobile Devices – I recall in previous Windows CE/Mobile versions having the ability to open a remote desktop connection, but in WM5 I did not natively have this option. I was happy to see it come back in WM6.

Storage Card Management – With Windows Mobile 5 I had a lot of problems with my Mini SD card extended memory being recognized by the Operating System. After certain operations it would no longer be visible. I have especially had problems with the media catalog getting corrupted and causing several problems on the extended memory card. Since upgrading to WM6 I have not had any of these problems.

If you are using Windows Mobile 6 on your device let me know what you think of it.

Fring: Fring is an easy way to connect to all your social networking services. It supports Skype, MSN Messenger, ICQ, Google Talk, SIP, Twitter, AIM, and Yahoo, all over WiFi or your data plan.
Most phones, most operating systems

This looks like a great application for those wanting to chat on their mobile or to make cheap phone calls through SkypeOut or other SIP services. It is easy to setup and is especially great for those with integrated Wi-Fi, allowing you to use your mobile phone without a SIM card!

I was, however, disappointed that you can’t make free Skype calls to your Skype contacts, apparently you can only make SkypOut calls. It is also limited as a Twitter application as it only allows you to send updates and not view those of others.

HelloTxt – HelloTxt is an aggregate of microblogging services through which the user can insert their messages on all main microblogging services in a simply and simultaneous way.

Useful service to post updates from your mobile device directly to a series of common social network platforms. One post can be sent to Twitter, Facebook, Bebo and many others. The other nice feature about HelloTxt is that it allows you to see other updates from within the same application.

Have other useful Windows Mobile applications? Let me know about them!

I have been wonder when or if a phone would be released that would allow you to insert multiple active SIMs. Up until now I have seen phone add-ons that allow you to insert multiple SIMs, but to change the active SIM you have to turn off the phone each time.

Surely there has been pressure from mobile providers against this type of phone as the mobile provider would like you to be locked into using them exclusively. Any type of technology that helps facilitate anything to the contrary surely is not welcomed.

It will be interesting to see the options available through the phone’s firmware, but potential possibilities are exciting. To name a few:

• Manual mobile provider selection for outbound calls
• Even better .. automatic mobile provider selection based on call rate to the destination number!
• Receive phone calls at either number, busy signal notification for non-active SIM during a conversation on the active SIM.
• Conference call functionality to join phone calls from both SIMs

I expect this to be very successful and that other mobile manufactures will soon be releasing similar options.

The Good

To try and keep on a positive note, let’s start with the new features and benefits of WM6.

• HSDPA
  The biggest advantage for WM6 on the Palm Treo, as mentioned, is the increased data transfer rate. Although already a UMTS phone, the HSDPA protocol was not include with Palms release for WM5. The increased speed is noticeable, however not as significant as expected.
• Mobile Office Application Improvements
  The mobile office suite included in WM6 has made some significant improvements.  
  • Outlook: Nice new features for those with Exchange 2007 (I especially like that there is the out of office assistant), view HTML email, nice new calendar views
  • Word, Excel and PowerPoint: view and edit documents with original formatting, including tables, images, and text.
• Windows Live Services
  For those of you using Windows Live services (oh come on, there has to be somebody out there) apparently a new rich set of services are available. Maybe this will be a good reason to finally check out Windows Live!?
• Lots of New Shortcuts
  Press and hold the H key to view them
• Prettier Graphical Interface
  Moving from WM5 to WM6 is like going from XP to Vista (obviously without Windows Aero)  
  • Here I almost wrote improved graphical interface, however I don’t see any value being added in the new interface, it is just prettier
  • Theme is similar to Vista with the reflective glass look on toolbars and Vista icons
  • Windows Media Player has a new black skin
• Easily accessible in-call features
  Buttons have been added to the in-call message box to activate/deactivate speaker phone and to mute/unmute microphone. Previously available on WM5, but under the menu button option list
• Contacts with Context
  Call history is now placed where it belongs, in each individual contact card.

The Bad

• Battery Life
  Battery life was never great with WM5, but it gets much worse with WM6. I would like the option to give up the graphical effects for the improved battery performance.
• Multimedia Support
  Same Windows Media Player version (10.3) – I was really hoping Microsoft would make some much needed improvements in the mobile media player. So far all I see is a change in the skin. Changes I was hoping to find:  
  • Resolve catalog issues – When using expanded memory of several gigabits full of content the catalog management system runs into multiple issues, potentially causing serious problems on your expanded memory (I have stopped using it entirely on manually open files or albums)
  • MP4 video support – Most video podcasts on the publish in mp4 format which isn’t not supported by the mobile Windows Media player, creating a strong limitation for Windows Mobile to enable a competitor for the ipod.
  • Ability to navigate the catalog using buttons rather than touch screen
• Application Compatibility
  Many mobile applications for WM5 still are not available for WM6. This is a big drawback for me as I get a lot of my value in the Smartphone from 3rd party applications.
• Closing Applications
  Maybe I am the only one that thinks this, but I hate that when you hit the X in the top right corner to close an application that is actually just “minimizes” the application. Fortunately there is the Magic Button application that resolves this issue, but I was really hoping Microsoft would fix this directly in the OS.

The Verdict

The new features of WM6 definitely don’t blow me away, which is disappointing. I will continue to try out the new OS for a couple weeks before I actually decide if I want to keep it. At this point my decision revolves around battery life and data transfer rate. Do I want shorter battery life, but with high transfer speeds (WM6) or longer battery life with decent data transfer (WM5).

Let me know your thoughts about upgrading to WM6 along with any valuable features that I failed to mention.
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The exams of 220-601 and 70-291 are complex for a 646-204 student, whether he has done 70-649 and 70-620 or not, as deemed by 642-901 professionals.

To my surprise and relief, I have discovered that I am not so unique after all in this respect. I came across a CNN article entitled “Phatom Vibration shake ‘crackberry’ addicts, wherein they discuss this not so uncommon feeling.

…what a relief, now I can go back to feeling a little more normal. Let me know if you too suffer from Phantom Vibrations.

So to start-off, I use a Palm Treo 750v running Windows Mobile 5.0, and despite the many negative comments that I often hear in the tech world about the Windows Mobile platform, I am actually a strong advocate for it! Especially when used in the corporate environment with MS Exchange mail server. Despite this, the features I will discuss are not specific to the Windows Mobile platform and are common to all smartphones.

Entertainment

The day begins as my phone’s alarm clock struggles to get me out of bed, it often takes all four alarms prior to bringing me to complete consciousness. As I head off by foot to the Pinerolo train station I use my phone listen to a few of my favorite mp3s or a new audio book that help quicken my step. Every morning I have a one hour commute to Torino, during which time my smartphone helps me put smart use to my time and makes the trip more enjoyable. Besides allowing me to keep a large library of eBooks and other reading material always at hand, I also use the phone as a productivity tool.

Staying Up-To-Date

The key to being able to get the full benefits out of your smartphone is to also have with it a data service plan. Fortunately here in Italy we have an extend implementation of 3G cellular service and thanks to Vodafone’s data plan I enjoy mobile connectivity just about everywhere (besides when skiing in the Alps where I have to compromise with a GPRS connection will riding up the ski lift). With this connection I can now synchronize with my mail server to get my work email and calendar events or open a web browser to check my gmail and Google Calendar. I then review my list of activities which I track using a wonderful GTD tool: tracks.tra.in, which I keep synchronizing to my phone using the NewsCopier mobile rss feed reeder (thanks to John Jonas for this tip). As I think of other tasks or memos for the day I can post them to my GTD list tool by either sending an SMS or email to my tracks.tra.in account (the message syntax allows you to also directly assign the task to a context or project).

Getting Around

Now that I am up-to-date with the day’s activities I can do some quick project research browsing the web, including finding the store hours and phone number for a shop to wax my snowboard using a Google local search. Since I am not from Torino I often find it handy to have a map or in my case Google Maps. Using the new Google Maps 2.0 I can locate myself on the map even without connecting my GPS antenna. This is especially useful when traveling by foot, however when driving I connect the GPS antenna to the phone and TomTom navigator gets me where I am going.

Being Productive

Finally I can then use my smartphone as a productivity tool allowing me to work on files, respond to emails and follow my favorite podcasts and take notes while listening (mobile OneNote allows you to take notes on your phone and have them synchronized to your PC). Activating the WordPress feature to post by email makes it easy to write and post blog articles from your phone. Finally, if you are a real road warrior you can use the phone has a broadband modem for your laptop (be aware that some data plans may bill separately when using the phone as a modem. You don’t want to get stuck with an $85,000 phone bill as this Canadian man did).

So how do you use your smartphone?