HTC S620

The number of handsets running Windows Mobile is now over the ton and with the announcement at 3GSM that companies like LG will offer WM handsets running Mobile 6, it’s really tough for a someone with a gadget habit to not be tempted by the latest device.  So with the Palm Treo 750v lend to someone else the HTC S620 has stepped into the breach and fills it quite nicely. 

Thinner than a size zero model but infinitely more useful the S620 looks like a PDA but runs Smartphone OS so doesn’t have a touchscreen, navigation is via the multifunction switch on the front or via the neat ‘Joggr’ bar on the right hand side.  As with all WM5 devices it supports Direct Push email, viewing of Office documents, Instant Messaging and browsing the web.  I was worried the small QWERTY keypad would be too small for my stubby digits and whilst not at spaced as those on the Treo they work really well and because they have a positive ‘click’ to them even dialing telephone numbers isn’t as fiddly as it appears at first glance.

Like the Samsung i600 the HTC S620 is a cross over device that sits between what would have been considered a PDA and a ‘smart’ phone, this segment for Windows Mobile has become more blurred of late so with Mobile 6 the distinction will be simplified between those devices with a touch screen and those without.

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Windows Mobile 6

A few of you might know that I work in the part of MS Towers that looks after Windows Mobile and on Monday the latest version of the OS for handhelds was announced at 3GSM in Barcelona.  For the past few months I’ve been asked a handful of times a day “What’s new in Mobile 6?”, “When will the new devices with WM6 be available?” and of course “Whats new for developers?” and at last I can answer all of these and some others too.

My fellow Windows Mobile aficionado Jason Langridge covers the new features, with pictures, in some detail on his blog but some of the highlights include Message Smartfiltering, HTML support, Storage Card Encryption, Enforcement and Wipe, lots of Calendering enhancements making it feel as Outlook as possible, lots of cool Windows Live support, improvements to Mobile Office to take advantage of smaller screens and a ton of great UI enhancements.   For developers there’s an updated SDK which you can install straight into Visual Studio, a new emulator and a lengthy list changes to make application development, testing and deployment even easier.  There is a great doc on MSDN which covers all of this.

As for devices you can expect to see them begin to find their way in retail stores or from operators when the weather begins to get better.  That’s the early summer if you missed it!

Board Games = Porn

Well according to Orange it does.  I was on the train the other day and I thought to pass the time I’d do a bit of web surfing, so I break out the Windows Mobile fire up IE and type in http://www.boardgamegeek.com/, but rather than perusing one of my fav web sites I came across something called ‘Orange Safeguard’ which blocks any adult themed content including gambling services, violent gaming, unmoderated chat and sexually explicit material.  Now I understand why they might do this after all you don’t want your ten year old to max out your credit card on 888.com or be downloading Paris Hilton’s  lastest ‘oops who left the camcorder on’ personal moments, but how on earth does a web site about board games end up of the Orange blocked list?  Even sillier is the fact Safeguard gives you the option to ‘Request a Review’ presumably so they can flag the content as safe if indeed it is, but no…

 “Your request has been actioned and the content is confirmed as only suitable for customers over the age of 18.” 

Maybe Orange Safeguard stopped them from checking.

iPhone yes, Apple no

As previously mentioned the web is awash with rumours and heresay about Apple producing a mobile phone but it looks as if the name iPhone will not be the brand.  Cisco has apparently owned the name since 2000 and will using it on an range of upcoming web based phones via their networking brand Linksys.  Whilst Apple in the past has got in the odd bun fight over names, Apple Studios was one, it’s unlikey that any lawyer would consider the iPhone brand worth the hassle.

So what could it be?  iMobile?  MacPhone? ApplePhone? MacMobile?