Microsoft announced Live Search for Windows Mobile today in Spain at a 3GSM conference. It’s like the recently discussed Google Maps for Windows Mobile, but way better. Expect a full review soon, including Bluetooth wireless GPS tests (turn by turn navigation). Install it from your phone for Free at http://wls.live.com/
Archive for February, 2007
Moto Q GSM and Q q9 Announced
February 12th, 2007
Last week Microsoft announced Windows Mobile 6 details and this week Motorola announced details of two new devices. The Moto Q GSM is due out later this year and is simply a quad-band GSM and EDGE version of the current Q phone, and for some odd reason (timing?) they are keeping the current Windows Mobile 5 OS on the phone, instead of the latest WM6.
The biggest news is the newly announced Moto Q q9 phone. The Q9 features the Opera browser, anti-virus protection, an updated 2 megapixel camera (upgrade from the crappy 1.3 megapixel), 30fps video capture, improved 320×240 QVGA display, improved support for more audio formats, VPN support, voice recognition, A2DP stereo Bluetooth support, Quad-Band (GPRS/EDGE) functionality like the Moto Q GSM, USB 2.0 support, and the new Windows Mobile 6 OS. New High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) technology allows for faster downloads, up to 3.6MB/sec (AT&T is the only carrier which supports HSDPA currently). The phone is also 11.8mm thick, which is 0.3mm thicker than the current 11.5 mm Q phone.
The Q9 will be available Q2 2007, probably around the time the new Apple iPhone is released. I love the Q, but I think Motorola is going to have to make some bigger changes to compete with the iPhone, most notably a larger display and improved web browsing experience. While the Q9 promises an Opera browser, there are no details as to whether or not this is just the current Opera Mobile software that you can put on your current Q phone, or something different. Since web browsing accounts for the majority of my time on my Q phone these days, I’m watching closely to see how this feature improves.
Windows Mobile 6 Announced
February 9th, 2007
Windows Mobile 6 has been announced by Microsoft, however it is unclear as to whether or not the Q will be able to upgrade to it (and if so, when). Geek.com has a first impressions article so go check it out!
Highlights:
- HTML-formatted e-mails from POP, IMAP, and Exchange Server 2007
- Full integration with Windows Live (Search, Mail, Space, Messenger), including a Windows Mobile-based client
- Automatic synchronization of Outlook calendars and contacts through Exchange Server due to the inclusion of Direct Push on all Windows Mobile 6 devices
- New Microsoft Office Mobile, which allows users to view and even edit documents on the device while retaining formatting, including tables and images
- 30% improvement in speed for Internet Explorer Mobile
- Faster and easier set up of the device
- Easy syncing of pictures, music, etc., from Windows Vista-powered PCs to the device
- Enhanced Calendar functionality, including “Calendar ribbon,” which gives users a more understandable at a glance view, and the ability to see who is attending a meeting and even forward or reply to a meeting from the device itself
- Additional Call History and Contacts integration allows you to instantly see the contact’s information when dialing and get to the information you need quicker
- Improved security, including remote management and wiping of a device and protected/encrypted content
How To Disable The Motorola Q Camera Sound
February 5th, 2007
The camera shutter sound effect that is played every time you take a photo with your Q phone is obnoxiously loud. In my search to disable this sound effect, I found two methods. The first involved changing the sound file itself, but there is an easier way. You have to edit the registry to change this value, so if you do not yet have software installed on your Q to do this, go get the PHM Registry Editor (it’s free).
Just go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\Pictures\Camera\OEM in your registry editor and switch your view so you can view the Values (if your default view doesn’t already show you values). Locate the ShutterSoundVolume key and edit its values. Change the default value (32768) to 0. 
There’s no need to reset your phone, unless you already have the Camera app loaded (in which case you can Kill its process and restart it). I would imagine you could change the registry value to somewhere between 0 and 32768 to simply lower the volume, however my goal was to remove the sound entirely.
Now if I could just figure out how to get Ilium Software’s Screen Capture software to do the same (that’s what I used to grab the screen shot you see here).
How fun taking pictures without having the whole world know about it!
Review of Skype Mobile on the Motorola Q
February 2nd, 2007
I decided to blog about Skype Mobile on the Motorola Q after reading a few topics online from people wondering how to get the Skype Mobile application on their Q and wondering how well it really works.
The first problem you will most likely encounter is that the Skype website does not list Motorola as an option on its brands list of mobile devices. In fact, it’s almost impossible to find the .cab file to download so here are two ways to do this.
Google Maps Now Available For Windows Mobile (Motorola Q, Palm Treo 700w, etc.)
February 2nd, 2007
Google Maps is now available for the Windows Mobile platform. I just installed it on my Motorola Q and it is incredible!
Just point your mobile browser to http://www.google.com/gmm/winm and it will download a .cab file. Install it and go! It’s awesome… and includes satellite imagery, street maps, zoom in/out features (hit I to zoom In, O to zoom Out), search and direction features. It’s super fast too!
This is a must-have app, and it’s free thanks to Google. Go check it out! Here’s a screen shot I just made on my phone after searching for “space needle” and nothing else specific. It came right up, and all I had to do was to zoom in a few times.
