Windows Mobile 7 Actually Releasing Only In 2011?

Earlier this week, we had rubbished reports of Windows Mobile 7 not launching this year. The line of thinking had been that Microsoft had already confirmed the launch of the next edition of Windows Mobile next month at the Mobile World Congress.

Now, it appears that Win Mobile 7 might not actually release next month. But Microsoft is indeed launching the next edition of its mobile operating system – Windows Mobile 6.6.

The DigiTimes reports

“Microsoft reportedly plans to launch Windows Mobile 6.6 (codenamed Maldives) in February 2010 to strengthen its competitiveness against iPhone- and Android-based platforms, according to industry sources.

Sales of Windows Mobile 6.5 have been flat since the platform was launched in the fourth quarter of 2009, pushing Microsoft to bring forward Windows Mobile 6.6, which supports capacitive touchscreens, the sources noted.”

Support to capacitive touch screens could boost the  saleability of Windows Mobile to a great extent. What do you think?

[via DigiTimes]

Speed Up Internet On Blackberry By Setting Up Proxy Server

Browsing the internet on your Blackberry should soon get quicker. A recent patent filed by RIM at the US Patent and Trademark office seeks to speed up the internet on handsets by setting up a proxy server on the device.

Titled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ENHANCING NETWORK BROWSING SPEED BY SETTING A PROXY SERVER ON A HANDHELD DEVICE”, the patent describes the present method of accessing internet which makes browsing slow. The inventors write

“One reason is that the data is sent across the air uncompressed. This increases traffic and lowers browsing speed. Another reason is that the browser may have to make multiple requests before it is able to display a single document.[...]Requests and responses are sent back and forth wirelessly multiple times, slowing browsing speed and delaying webpage delivery.”

To sort this problem out, the inventors seek to create a proxy server on the handheld device that will compress and transcode the HTTP request before it sent through the wireless gateway. The inventors say this will speed up web page delivery.

“A system for enhancing network-browsing speed by setting a proxy server on a handheld device comprises a browser for sending a request for requesting a message from a website and receiving a response in response to the request, a proxy server for transcoding and compressing the request, and transcoding and decompressing the response including the requested message in response to the request, a wireless network communicably linked to the proxy server, Mobile Data Service (MDS) gateway for transcoding and decompressing the request, and transcoding and compressing the response including the requested message from the website.”

Here is a visual representation of the procedure

Apple Working On Proximity Based Advertising

An interesting patent filed by Apple at the US Patent and Trademark Office reveals a new technology that Apple has been working on that will enable users to be targeted by advertisers based on their proximity to their business.

The patent primarily talks about letting users add their contacts as icons on their Home Screen. This would enable users to quickly access the contact information of their closest pals.

“An icon can be created for a contact (e.g., an individual(s) or an entity) and presented on a user interface of a mobile device, such as a “home screen.” The icon can be used to retrieve and display contact information. The icon can also be used to invoke one or more applications that are personalized to the contact. The icon can be modified to display information related to the contact.”

But the inventors do not stop there. The patent further talks about integrating this technology to let businesses contact people based on their proximity. For example, users around a coffee shop may choose to receive contact information, address and current offers whenever they are near one of those shops.  The inventors elaborate on the technology with the help of an example

“In some implementations, a contact 610 can temporarily appear on a mobile device 100 when the mobile device 100 is within a determined proximity of a contact host. The contact host can be a server or device operated by an individual, entity or service capable of providing the icon and related application information. In the present example, the contact host is a server operated by a coffee house called “Rocket Java”. An alert can be presented on the mobile device 100 to indicate that a temporary contact or application is available to the mobile device 100. In one example, the alert can have two options: “dismiss” and “view contact.” After the contact has been viewed, other options can be presented, including options like “add to local contacts” or “save to the home screen.” The selection of these options by the user results in the contact being added to an address book application or the home screen, respectively.”

The inventors write that the contact can be established via any of the wired or wireless communications, including bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS,etc.

While this does sound interesting, the latter part to let advertisers contact you based on proximity does not actually sound plausible. For an instance, consider a scenario where a user approaching a mall is contacted by several dozens of retailers in the area. Does it sound like a nice deal to receive so many pop-up notifications in the blink of an eye?

Motorola Backflip To Be Priced At $324 Pre-Subsidized

The folks over at Phandroid website are citing anonymous sources as claiming that the Motorola Backflip, AT&T’s first Android handset shall be launching on March 7 at a pre-subsidized price of $324.

The Motorola Backflip was demoed at the CES and is called the “ultra-flexible, double jointed, ridiculously bendable version” of Motorola CLIQ by Phandroid. Here is a video demo of the device from the website

What do you think of the $324 price-tag? Is it a tad cheaper than you expected? And do you think this will affect its positioning? Let us know in the comments
[via Phandroid]

Coming Soon : Sirius XM App For Blackberry

Blackberry users will soon claim access to Sirius XM on their RIM device. A commenter on the OrbitCast website who claims to be in the know has said that the application for Blackberry will be released either this month or next and will be very much like the Sirius XM iPhone app.

As is obvious, users will require a paid account with Sirius and this will give the users access to 120 different channels. According to the source, the Sirius XM Blackberry app will support the following models

• Storm 1—Series 9530
• Storm 2—Series 9550
• Bold—Series 9000, 9700
• Tour—Series 9630
• Curve—Series 8900, 8520, 8530

Support for other models is expected to be available soon after.
[Orbitcast via Crunch Gear]

Sprint Partnering With Walmart To Build WiMax Network

Sprint is planning on introducing WiMax supported handsets later this year to its customers in USA. As a first step, it is speculated that the operator has inked a partnership with Walmart to erect WiMax towers on all of their retail stores.

According to AndroidGuys, the website that breaks this story, a prime reason behind this move is to do away with zoning permissions which shall otherwise be required to gain land for each of the towers all over the country.

We are still not sure if this news is confirmed, but if true, it can be some pretty smart thinking on part of Sprint. What do you think?

[via AndroidGuys]

Windows Mobile 7 Delayed Till 2011?

There are rumors and baseless rumors. Put this in the latter category. Folks at UberGizmo are pointing to a report on another website that claims that Windows Mobile 7 is all set to be delayed yet again and it wouldn’t launch until Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in 2011.

Why is this baseless? Because we have already had reports from Microsoft that Win Mobile 7 will debut next month at the Mobile World Congress. Earlier this month, ZDNet wrote

“After the no-show (and no mention) of Windows Mobile 7 at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week, Microsoft officials have begun touting theMobile World Congress (MWC) event in mid-February in Barcelona as the place that Windows Mobile 7 will finally be on public display in some way for the first time.”

[UberGizmo via BrightSideOfNews]

Is iPhone 4G Launching On July 4?

Geeksmack is speculating that the iPhone 4G is launching on or around July 4. While that is not a major surprise in itself, considering that Apple has always launched its iPhone during that period, a few other iPhone features told by its source is interesting. Here are some things that is rumored to be available on iPhone 4G

• Better battery : Up to 14-16 hours while on call or internet
• Zoom in/out on photo and video
• Accurate GPS : up to within 5 feet
• Improved antenna
• Lighter and thinner

The tipster also claims an introduction of a feature called “breadcrumbs”  that will help users to know the return route without the use of GPS.

[via GeekSmack]

RIM Brings GPS-Based Security Settings For Blackberry

How many of you religiously switch your mobile phones to ‘silence’ mode when you approach your office and take it off ‘silence’ after work? If a recently published patent is to be believed, RIM could be automatically doing it for you.

In the patent, the inventors distinctly talk about security settings; mainly setting shorter timer for mobile locking and requiring you to type longer passwords in less secure areas and slacking off in more secure areas.

“determining a security setting associated with the determined location, wherein the security setting is a home security setting when the mobile electronic device is within a predetermined proximity of a user’s home as determined by a predetermined home location, a work security setting when the mobile electronic device is within a predetermined proximity of a user’s work as determined by a predetermined work location, and an other location security setting when the mobile electronic device is not within a predetermined proximity of the home location or the work location; and automatically applying the determined security setting on the mobile electronic device.”

Though this patent is mainly about security features, it is however likely that this technology is also extended to other profile level functions like changing the ringtones. What do you think?

Palm To Introduce Location Sharing Among Users

Location sharing is one of the buzzwords of late and companies are realizing the opportunity in this field. One of the leading developers of smartphones, Palm could soon be launching their own location sharing feature among users.

In a patent published recently by the US Patent and Trademark Office, Palm has sought to introduce a feature that will push notifications to the users’ mobile phones whenever one of their friends too happen to be in the same location. In the patent, the inventors write

“A mobile computing device comprises a user input device, an output device, a memory configured to store data and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive user input from the user input device indicative of a request to associate the stored data with a second mobile computing device, to receive an indication that the second mobile computing device is proximate to the mobile computing device, and to provide a notification to the user via the output device based on the indication.“

This sounds very much like Google Latitude. What do you think of this new upcoming feature? Do you see interest in the device picking up because of this? Tell us in the comments.