At Techshare, London, on Thursday, the 17th,  Caroline Ragot, Code Factory’s Marketing Director presented a paper entitled Touch Screen Mobile Phones, A New Challenge for Accessibility. Code Factory chose Techshare 2009 to showcase, for the first time ever, Mobile Speak Touch, Mobile Speak’s revolutionary new touch interface.

Click on the following link to listen to the presentation: Mobile Speak New Touch Interface – Techshare London 2009

Hope you will like it.

Caroline

Hello Everyone,

I hope you enjoy this 58 minute Podcast in which I interview Jim King, David Poelman, and Courtney Tater; three beta testers of Code Factory’s latest GPS software application for mobile devices, Mobile Geo.

Code Factory is the developer of Mobile Speak, the world’s leading screen reading, screen magnification, and Braille interface program for mobile devices.  It provides accessibility to blind and low vision users of wireless products such as cell phones and pocket PCs.

Click Here to listen to Welcome To Mobile Geo.

Mark

Hello Everyone,

This is the second in a series of handy Tips & Tricks I will be posting for those using Symbian-based mobile phones.

I hope you find it useful.

Mark 

TIP 2:  Tick Tock, Tick Tock

Here is a way to quickly set an alarm on your Symbian phone.

1.
From the Standby Screen, press the Menu key.

2.
Select Organizer.

3.
Select Clock to launch the Clock application.

4.
Tap the phone’s Right arrow key until the Alarm tab is displayed.  

5.
Instead of tapping the Left Soft key to display the Options menu and using the navigation keys to begin the setup process, simply tap any number key to launch the Quick Alarm setup with focus already set on the hour field.

Enjoy.

Hello Everyone,

This is the first in a series of handy Tips & Tricks I will be posting for those using Symbian-based mobile phones. 

I hope you find it useful.

Mark 

TIP 1:  Calling All Symbian Calendars

Did you know that the Star/Asterisk (*) key on a Symbian series 9 phone will allow you to quickly change views in the phone’s Calendar application?

1.
From the Standby Screen, press the Menu key.

2.
Select Organizer.

3.
Select Calendar.

4.
Tap the phone’s Star key (*) to quickly switch between the available calendar views including months, weeks, days, etc.

NOTE:
Press the Pound/Number Sign (#) to immediately be returned to the current day/date.

Hello Everyone,

INTRODUCTION
Recently, I received several emails requesting that I make a recommendation for an accessible medication prescription reminder application that can be used on a mobile device.

While there are both commercial and free medication prescription reminder applications available for use on a mobile device, I cannot recommend them at this time for several reasons not the least of which being that they are not comfortably accessible with screen reading software, like Mobile Speak, for the blind and low vision.

Not to worry my friends for as is often the case, Google provides a free, easy-to-use, and reliable tool that will remind you when to take your medicine. 

Yep!  That’s right!  The secret is knowing  how to setup a Google Calendar.  With the Google Calendar, you can have multiple daily reminders sent to your computer or mobile device via email or text message; and the best part, it’s free! 

Please note that SMS data charges will apply so be sure to have an unlimited SMS data plan in place before using a Google Calendar as a medical prescription reminder.

SETTING IT UP

NOTE 1:
The following steps are intended to be used as a general guide for setting up your prescription reminders.  Therefore, not every single step in the process will be listed.

NOTE 2:
In order to be given the option of SMS notifications, you must first configure your Google account for use with a mobile device. (Described below.)

NOTE 3:
I strongly recommend that you setup your Google Calendar on a desktop or notebook computer; for best results, make sure the computer’s screen resolution is set to no less than 1024 by 768 pixels. 

1.
From your Desktop or Notebook computer, go to:
http://calendar.google.com 

2.
Either create or login to your Google Calendar account. 

NOTE 4:
If you have a non-calendar Google account, you may use the same username and password to login to the Google Calendar.

NOTE 5:
At the login screen, Google Calendar requests an email address and password.  Do not be confused.  Simply enter your Google username and password to login to the Calendar.

NOTE 6:
The first time you login to your Google Calendar account, a default calendar with the same name as your user login I.D. will have already been created.  I strongly suggest that you create a second calendar named Medication that will be used for prescription reminders.  To do this, simply Click the Create link and complete the New Calendar form; when you’re done, Click the Create Calendar button.  Now, under the My Calendar heading, you will see two calendars; one with your username login I.D. and the second named Medication. 

3.
Select the Medication calendar.

4.
Select the Mobile Setup tab and enter the requested information.  In order to complete the mobile device setup process, you must Click the Send Verification Code button.  

NOTE 7.
Before Clicking the Send Verification Code button, make sure your mobile device is powered on and has a cell signal. 

5.
After Clicking the Send Verification Code button, check your mobile device for a new SMS message containing the verification code.  Enter this code into the verification edit field, on the Mobile Setup form, and Click the Finish Setup button. 

6.
To close this screen, Click the Save button. 

NOTE 8:
I suggest that you explore the other tabs in this area and fill-in information that you deem necessary.

CREATING A GOOGLE CALENDAR PRESCRIPTION REMINDER

1.
Select the Medication Calendar.  A customizable calendar view will be displayed. 

2.
Click the Create Event link.  A new event form will appear.  Fill-in the requested information being sure to select the SMS item from the notification method list box.

3.
Click Save to save this new event/prescription reminder.

That’s all there is to it.  (Smile) 

Enjoy,

Mark

Hello Everyone, 

I invite you to, like me, start tripping
with TripIt. 

TripIt is a personal travel assistant that automatically organizes all your travel plans. TripIt is free and makes it easy to (1) quickly organize all your travel plans — flights, hotels, cars, trains, cruises and more; (2) automatically get itineraries with all your plans, weather, maps, restaurants and more; (3) easily access your itineraries via paper, email, personal calendar or mobile device; and (4) share your trips and see where you overlap with friends and colleagues.

With TripIt you have ALL your travel plans in one place, so it’s easy to use your favorite mobile device to look up a flight number, check a hotel address, get driving directions or access any information from your TripIt itinerary.

TRIPIT MOBILE
TripIt Mobile is a slimmed-down interface that’s designed specifically for mobile phones.  TripIt Mobile works with Apple iPhone, Palm Treo, RIM Blackberry, or any mobile device with a web browser.

TripIt Mobile also displays Closeness Matches and Activity Alerts so it’s easy to stay on top of what’s going on in your TripIt network.

TRIPIT TO ME
TripIt To Me is a feature that lets you get your trip information from anywhere you have access to email, including laptops and mobile devices.

FROM THE TRIPIT TEAM

What is TripIt?

With today’s myriad of travel sites, even the most experienced traveler has their hands full managing all the details of a typical trip. Booking airline tickets, hotels, rental cars and restaurants leaves you with lots of separate pieces of paper. Throw in maps, directions, things to do, and weather and the chaos multiplies.

TripIt turns chaos into order by making it easy for anyone to:

Organize trip details into one master online itinerary — even if arrangements are booked at multiple travel sites

Automatically include maps, directions and weather in their master itinerary

Have the option to book restaurants, theatre tickets, activities and more right from within the online itinerary

Safely access travel plans online, share them, check-in for flights, or print an itinerary

Why did we create TripIt?

We are frustrated travelers who have worked in both travel and technology for a long time. We know firsthand that using the Internet to make travel plans and organizing the details is difficult and time consuming. And, the problem is getting worse as more people choose to make their own travel plans and as online travel options continue to proliferate.

As good Silicon Valley residents, we also believe that technology should make life easier, not harder. In October, 2006 we founded TripIt and have made it our mission is to simplify the Internet travel experience. We won’t bore you with the “gee whiz” technical details of how we do this, but we hope you’ll love the results.

TripIt is based in San Francisco, CA.

From your standard computer go to:
http://tripit.com

Or from your mobile device, go to:

http://m.tripit.com

Enjoy,

Mark

Hello Everyone, 

Did you know that you can now register Internet domain names directly from your mobile device?

, my dear friends, you can!

BUY DOMAINS FROM YOUR MOBILE PHONE

Posted: 22 Sep 2008 07:39 AM CDT

Ever have an idea for a website when you are out and about, but forget about it by the time you get to your computer?

Now you can check the availability of domains and even buy them from GoDaddy’s mobile website.

NOTE:
Generally, it is not a good idea to have your site hosted at the same place from which it was registered because if you ever decide to change hosting providers or transfer the domain to another provider, the registering agency can make it very difficult to do so if they are so inclined.

To get started, from your mobile device, go to Go Daddy’s mobile site at:
http://www.godaddymobile.com

Enjoy,

Mark

Hello Everyone,

This is for those using Windows Mobile 6.1 wireless devices.

As you know, WM 6.1 now displays SMS (text messages) in what is referred to as threaded or conversation view.  This makes a text message conversation appear similar to that of an instant message complete with a text message history.

NOTE 1:
Please be aware that the following information applies to the Standard Edition of Windows Mobile 6.1 ( for Smart Phones) as opposed to WM6.1 Professional (Pocket PCs) because as a general rule, WM6.1 Pro has a bit more functionality; hence Pocket PC users may find the information in this article either redundant or unnecessary.

NOTE 2:
At the time of this writing, Windows Mobile 6.1 Smart Phone users do not have a direct option  to disable SMS conversation/threaded mode.  Currently, Smart Phone users may either download third-party applications that will disable this mode or they may modify the Windows Mobile 6.1 Registry (for advanced users, only).

NOW, BACK TO OUR SHOW:

When inside the SMS message list, Windows Mobile 6.1 Smart Phone users will soon discover that while the same familiar options continue to be displayed on the Shortcut menu (Right Soft Key) such as New, Reply, and Forward, unlike in the previous version of WM, several of these items  are unavailable. 

One of the most notable of these seemingly unavailable functions is the Move option.  That is, should you wish to move a text message from the SMS Inbox to another folder, you cannot do so as launching the Shortcut menu will merely display the word “Move” without giving you the ability to select it.  I know, I know, it’s hard to believe but it is absolutely true. 

Currently, the only acceptable reliable way to move text messages from the Inbox to another folder is to:

1.
Select the Message (or messages).

2.
Tap the Left Soft Key to delete the message.  You will receive a confirmation prompt. 

3.
Tap the Left Soft Key to confirm that you wish to move the message into the Deleted Items folder.  The message will disappear from the Inbox.

4.
Tap the Right Soft Key to launch the Shortcut menu.

5.
Select Folders.  A list of the SMS folders will be displayed. 

6.
Use the phone’s navigation keys to select the Deleted Items folder and tap the Enter key to open it.  You will now see your currently deleted SMS message.

7.
While the message is selected, tap the Right Soft Key to launch the Shortcut menu.  You will discover that the Move function is now available.

NOTE 3:
To quickly empty the Deleted Items folder, from within any SMS folder, tap the launch the Shortcut menu, select Tools, and choose Delete Messages.  You will receive a confirmation prompt.  Tap the Left Soft Key to confirm your selection.

NOTE 4:
Currently, Windows Mobile 6.1 Smart Phones users must use third-party applications in order to create user defined SMS folders. 

Click Here to read about my SMS folder management application recommendation.  Even though the recommendation was written with Windows Mobile 6.0 in mind, the third-party application, discussed in this article, continues to perform flawlessly in Windows Mobile 6.1.

NOTE 5:
The above steps are necessary only when moving SMS messages from the Inbox to any other SMS folder.  However, the Move function does work correctly when moving a message from any non-Inbox folder to another non-Inbox folder.

Enjoy,

Mark

“So Mark, what is the difference between Symbian and Windows Mobile phones?”

Hello Everyone,

Regardless of how many times I am asked the above question, I cannot find a succinct and satisfactory answer.  Does such an answer even exist?  I do not know but I can tell you that the following article brilliantly written by CNET’s Rick Broida (May 2, 2008), entitled CNET’s Quick Guide to Handheld Operating Systems, makes me oh so aware of the difference they, the operating systems that is, make in my life. (Smile)

Enjoy,

Mark

 
CNET’s Quick Guide to Handheld Operating Systems
By Rick Broida (May 2, 2008)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Palm:  Ease of use and solid PIM apps have always been a hallmark of the Palm OS. See what else it has to offer.

Windows Mobile:  Windows Mobile 6 offers more than just a stripped-down version of Microsoft’s Office suite. Multimedia, anyone?

BlackBerry:  Find out why BlackBerrys have earned the CrackBerry nickname and what the future holds for these devices.

Symbian:  Though not as well known as the other OSs, Symbian brings solid productivity tools and versatility to the table.

Which OS is right for you?  Now that you have an overview of each OS, find out which one is best for you and check out some of our top product picks.

When shopping for a new PDA or smartphone, you probably weigh your decision on factors such as the size of the device, its features, and its price. These are important considerations, to be sure, but more importantly what about the operating system, the core software that runs these devices? Most users know the differences between Windows and Macintosh, but what about Palm and BlackBerry? Symbian and Windows Mobile? How do these handheld platforms compare, and should you use them as the basis of your buying decision?

After weeks of poking, prodding, and tapping on screens, we found the answers. We put the BlackBerry 4.3, Palm 5.4, Symbian 9.2, and Windows Mobile 6 operating systems through the wringer, checking their strengths and weakness in areas such as e-mail, multimedia, Microsoft Office compatibility, and ease of use. We looked at the number (and quality) of third-party applications, which can make the devices more like pocket computers than pocket organizers. And we delved into the core applications themselves to see which operating system does the best job managing your contacts, calendars, and other critical info. Read on to see how they compare.

PALM

Palm OS 6, code-named Cobalt, has been dead in the water since 2003 with not a single manufacturer, including Palm releasing a device with the updated operating system. All of Palm’s latest models run a variant of Palm OS 5 (version 5.4 in most cases), which is now more than three years old. Fortunately, however, what was good then is good now. Save for a few multimedia shortcomings, the Palm operating system is still solid.
Ease of use

Simplicity has always been a hallmark of the Palm operating system. Although version 5.4 packs in more features than ever, it’s arguably just as easy to operate as the first version. To run a program, tap its icon. To enter data, write onscreen using the character recognition software or tap-type on the virtual keyboard. Everything about the operating system seems logical, intuitive, and uncomplicated.

We particularly admire the way the Palm operating system manages applications. You never have to exit a program the way you do on a PC, you just switch to a different one. And unlike some operating systems (yes, we’re looking at you, Windows Mobile), Palm’s never gets bogged down by multiple memory-hogging applications running simultaneously.

Core applications
Already solid when they debuted back in 1996, the Palm operating system’s core applications have only improved over the years. For instance, you can now attach a photo to a contact, which is a particularly wonderful feature for camera-equipped models like the Palm Treo 650. The Tasks applet has added new buttons for quick sorting by date and category, and it lets you assign alarms to your tasks. In short, Palm’s core applications continue to combine power and simplicity, and we still rank them tops among PDAs.

The Palm Centro highlights some of the hallmarks o the Palm operating system, including ease of use and solid PIM applications.Desktop compatibility

Palm PDAs offer two desktop-synchronization options, Outlook and Palm Desktop. The latter is a fairly robust information manager that has the advantage of being much more novice-friendly than Outlook. It also supplies the tools you need to copy photos and videos to your device; install new programs; and set up your e-mail.

Office compatibility
Though not an inherent part of the Palm operating system, DataViz Documents To Go comes standard on nearly every Palm handheld (the sole exception being the $99 Palm Z22), so we’d be remiss if we didn’t consider it. The program automatically syncs Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents between your Palm and PC while keeping them in their native formats (meaning you can also instantly view documents received as e-mail attachments with no conversion required). You can edit Word documents and Excel spreadsheets and compose new ones, though PowerPoint files are read-only. The software also supports PDFs.

E-mail
Palm’s VersaMail program has the enviable ability to fetch e-mail over a variety of connections: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or even desktop synchronization, which relies on your PC’s Internet connection for mail commerce. The applet itself is solid, supporting multiple POP3 and IMAP accounts, embedded images, and virtual private network (VPN) connections.

Multimedia
Although most Palm handhelds offer high-resolution screens and digital-audio capabilities, the Palm operating system isn’t the multimedia juggernaut it could be. For instance, you need third-party software (NormSoft’s Pocket Tunes Deluxe) to play DRM-protected songs, the kind you get from online music and subscription services. Palm bundles Pocket Tunes with most of its handhelds and smartphones, but with the exception of the latest Palm Centro devices, you’ll have to upgrade to the Deluxe version for DRM support.

As for movies, Palm’s Media applet can play them, but only MPEG-1 clips converted by Palm Desktop. For anything else, you’ll need third-party software. In fact, to watch a DVD, you’ll need two programs, a desktop converter and a handheld viewer. And if you want to play TV shows you can do so with the Palm client of SlingPlayer Mobile, provided you have a Slingbox at home.

Third-party applications
In terms of sheer volume, the Palm operating system continues to have an edge when it comes to third-party software. Users can draw from more than 20,000 applications to extend the functionality of their handhelds, a number–though steadily changing–still unmatched by the Windows Mobile platform. This isn’t to say that software available for the Palm platform is better, only that there’s more of it. And more software means more potential functionality.

WINDOWS MOBILE

Originally regarded as little more than Microsoft’s answer to Palm, the Windows Mobile (formerly Pocket PC) operating system has come into its own. In February 2007, Microsoft released Windows Mobile 6 and brought a collection of noteworthy improvements, including added functionality to the Calendar and Contacts applications and an e-mail search function. Recently, Windows Mobile 6.1 was announced and with it comes more enhancements to make the devices easier to use.

Ease of use
Windows Mobile is the better contact manager, offering a lot more data fields than the Palm operating system and an easier method of searching large lists. Tapping address-book-like tabs brings you to names starting with those letters. Even if you have 1,000 contacts, you can usually find the one you’re looking for with just two or three taps. Plus, there’s a feature called Smartdial where you input a couple of letters to pull up associated contact. It’s worth noting that all Windows Mobile devices let you record voice memos–a core function of the operating system–but only some Palm models do. The Calendar function on Pocket PCs is on par with Palm’s application, but we’ll just say the latter offers a superior to-do list, if only because it organizes everything more logically.

That said, one of the biggest complaints about Windows Mobile devices is the number of steps it takes to perform a simple task, such as exiting a program. Microsoft added a number of shortcuts with Windows Mobile 6 and 6.1, but there’s still plenty of room for improvement.

Core applications
Over the years, Microsoft has made few changes to the Calendar, Contacts, Notes, and Tasks applets, but Windows Mobile 6 added some nice enhancements to Calendar and Contacts. Though minor, call history is now sorted to the appropriate contact page so you can easily see when you received and made calls to that specific person, the time of the call, the duration, and so forth. The new operating system also now provides a quick Send Text Message shortcut, and 6.1 brings threaded text messaging.

For Outlook users, the Calendar app is also more user-friendly, as the upgrade adds a new Calendar Ribbon at the top of the screen and provides a better view of your schedule at a glance. The calendar functions are even more robust if you are using Exchange Server 2007. With that integration, you can forward and reply to meeting requests and see who is attending a meeting.

Desktop compatibility
The Windows Mobile operating system syncs with Microsoft Outlook and only Microsoft Outlook (though a third-party program called The Missing Sync allows for synchronization with Macintosh systems). The recently updated ActiveSync utility makes this a seamless, nearly instantaneous affair, though Microsoft inexplicably removed a few desirable features, like the option to sync via Wi-Fi.

Office compatibility
With Windows Mobile 5, Microsoft finally added native file support to its Word and Excel applets. Translation: It’s no longer necessary to convert desktop documents to the Mobile format, a process that stripped most of the formatting. And we were happy to finally see the addition of a PowerPoint viewer. Now, with Windows Mobile 6, all devices running the Standard Edition (formerly Smartphone Edition) now have the full Microsoft Office Mobile Suite. Whereas Windows Mobile 5 smart phones typically came installed with the Picsel Viewer Suite for opening and viewing Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents, Windows Mobile 6 brings the real deal so you can not only see said files but also edit them, though the editing capabilities are pretty light.

It still shocks us, however, that Microsoft offers no convenient way to synchronize Word and Excel documents with their desktop counterparts unless you relocate everything to a special folder.

E-mail
E-mail got a big boost in Windows Mobile 5 with the support of direct push technology for real-time e-mail delivery, and all Windows Mobile 6 devices will ship with this functionality out of the box. The latest operating system also brings nine new one-click shortcuts, and you get more of the true Outlook experience as your Inbox view shows messages that are flagged, marked as high importance, and so forth. An e-mail search function similar to the previously mentioned Smartdial feature lets you easily find messages with a couple of clicks.

Finally, there is continued support for POP3 and IMAP accounts, but now you can view e-mails in their original HTML format, regardless of account type. If there happens to be a hyperlink within a message, you can select to go to that page or if a phone number is listed, you can dial out directly from that message as well.

Windows Mobile devices are known for their multimedia prowess; here, we show you how to watch TV on your Windows Mobile handheld.

Multimedia
No other platform can touch Windows Mobile when it comes to multimedia. Right out of the box, it supports DRM-protected music (meaning you can play songs purchased or downloaded from various online services) and TV and movie recordings from Media Center PCs and TiVo boxes. Most recently, Sling Media launched SlingPlayer Mobile for the Windows Mobile operating system, letting you watch TV on your handheld.

Third-party applications
If there’s a function you want your Windows Mobile PDA to perform, chances are good there’s a program that can do it. Sites such as CNET Download.com and Handango are home to thousands of third-party applications and some of the best games you’ll find on any PDA platform. Among the more celebrated Windows Mobile titles are Age of Empires, Quake Mobile, and Myst for Pocket PC.

BLACKBERRY

Though things looked a bit shaky for a while, BlackBerry manufacturer, Research In Motion, finally settled its longstanding dispute with NTP Inc. and recently shipped new versions of its Enterprise Server software and, more importantly, its software development kits (SDKs). If we learned anything from the company’s legal mess, was how much people rely on these devices to stay in touch.

Ease of use
The darling of corporate America (and many areas of government) wouldn’t be so universally adored if it was complicated. Although an interface driven entirely by a thumbwheel might seem awkward and slow, users invariably find it easy to learn and quick to operate. Admittedly, the lack of a stylus and a touch screen–staples of other PDAs–slows down certain operations (like hitting a link on a Web page), but the beloved built-in keyboard accelerates others, such as composing e-mail. Ultimately, the BlackBerry interface may not be the most efficient, but it’s certainly one of the easiest to use.

Core applications
The BlackBerry operating system does a better job managing your contacts than managing your calendar. The Address Book applet offers all the amenities you’d expect, plus contact grouping and unsurpassed integration with the phone and messaging applications. To send someone an e-mail, for instance, you simply highlight the person’s name, press the click wheel, and then select “E-mail Joe Smith.” There’s no need to open the contact’s record and navigate extra menus.

The calendar on BlackBerrys is a bit unwieldy by comparison, perhaps due to the awkward process for navigating between different days and views. The Week view is particularly cumbersome, requiring serious “wheeling” to move the cursor from one day to the next. The Calendar applet itself is sufficiently capable, but it suffers under the weight of the wheel-based interface.

RIM also supplies the obligatory memo pad and to-do list, along with an alarm clock, a calculator, a photo viewer, and a password manager–all functional but rudimentary applets.

Desktop compatibility
Like a traditional PDA, a BlackBerry can synchronize with your PC, swapping data with Outlook or Lotus Notes; the bundled Intellisync utility makes this possible. Of course, the BlackBerry operating system also provides robust wireless synchronization, meaning new appointments, contacts, memos, and tasks can be “pushed” from your office to your handheld (and back again), just like e-mail. That gives BlackBerrys a fairly major advantage over PDAs that rely on more-traditional synchronization methods.

Office compatibility
Although the BlackBerry operating system supports the big three Office applications–Word, Excel, and PowerPoint–it limits you to viewing documents. You can’t compose new ones or do any editing, which is surprising given the presence of a perfectly good thumb keyboard. As for PDFs, the operating system can open them as well, but it strips most graphics and formatting in the process, leaving you with little more than text.

They don’t call them CrackBerrys for nothing. The RIM BlackBerry Curve showcases the great e-mail capabilities of these devices.

E-mail
Ever wonder about the origin of the “CrackBerry” nickname? In a word: e-mail. It’s what the devices were born to do, so it should come as no surprise that they excel at it. Ironically, it’s not the e-mail applet itself that’s so addictive (though it deserves kudos for its streamlined efficiency), but rather the “push” method of e-mail delivery. Instead of having to be retrieved manually, new messages just appear like magic on the device. Although Palm and Microsoft have engineered similar systems for their smartphones, BlackBerry remains the undisputed e-mail champ.

Multimedia
Fully cognizant of the BlackBerry’s reputation as a serious business tool, RIM has limited multimedia features on its devices in the past, but that’s all changing now. Starting with the first RIM BlackBerry Pearl, all current devices include built-in media players for playing music and videos, and with the exception of the most business-oriented models, all have integrated cameras, the latest featuring video recording capabilities. While the capabilities of the media player and camera are slightly limited, BlackBerry is certainly making strides on the multimedia front.

Third-party applications
Software developers haven’t shown BlackBerrys the same love that users have. We found only a few hundred third-party applications, a drop in the bucket compared with the thousands available for the Palm, Symbian, and Windows Mobile platforms. The essentials are there–a password manager, a Sudoku game, the popular RepliGo document viewer, and so on–and RIM promises plenty more. But for now, the software pickings remain somewhat slim when compared to the other operating systems.

SYMBIAN

The Symbian operating system appears primarily on cell phones and smart phones, and offers a broad array of personal information management (PIM) features, including contact and calendar management and a robust library of third-party applications. Yet because the operating system is usually tailored to individual hardware (in other words, it can look and act differently depending on the phone that’s running it), there are only so many conclusions we can draw.

Ease of use
As we just mentioned, your experience with the Symbian operating system will depend on the phone. For example, on the keyboard-equipped Nokia 9300, we found the Symbian operating system fairly easy to navigate, though it certainly wasn’t as intuitive as, say, the Palm or Windows Mobile systems. On the candy bar-style Nokia 6682 phone, the interface struck us as downright confusing, and data entry was as painfully slow as you’d expect. Overall, we’d say Symbian has the steepest learning curve of all handheld operating systems, but just how steep depends on the hardware.

The Nokia N95 runs Symbian OS and is packed with powerful multimedia and productivity features to suit the needs of the most demanding user.

Office compatibility
The Symbian operating system incorporates full support for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents, though again the ability to create and edit these documents or just view them depends on your hardware.

E-mail
When it comes to messaging, Symbian is as versatile as any other platform, it not more so. Out of the box, it supports the usual POP3, IMAP4, and Webmail accounts. If you want something a little more robust, you can choose from several push e-mail solutions, including BlackBerry Connect and Visto. The operating system also supports Lotus Notes and Microsoft Exchange for maximum compatibility in the corporate world.

Multimedia
The Symbian operating system is pretty adept at multimedia, with integrated support for audio and video playback and recording, though not all those capabilities are realized on the devices themselves. The Nokia 9300, for instance, comes with both an MP3 player and the mobile version of RealPlayer, which enables playback of RealAudio, RealVideo, and MP3 files. But it cannot capture audio or video.

Third-party applications
A recent check of software site Handango revealed more than 5,500 third-party applications for the Symbian operating system–not quite up to Palm and Windows Mobile levels, but far more than you’ll find on other smart phone operating systems. That’s another big point in Symbian’s favor, especially if you’re weighing it against other phones.

WHICH HANDHELD OPERATING SYSTEM IS RIGHT FOR YOU?

Now you have a general overview of what each operating system has to offer, but you still may be asking yourself, which is right for me? This will largely depend on what types of functionality are important to you. Palm and Windows Mobile handhelds offer mass appeal to general consumers and business users alike with their mix of productivity and entertainment features. For years, these two handheld operating systems have competed fiercely to woo handheld buyers, but now, they’re almost evenly matched in terms of the core applications: an address book, a calendar, a to-do list, and memos. Palm still holds the advantage in PC synchronization as it works with both Mac- and Windows-based computers right out of the box, and the operating system benefits from a large library of third-party applications; however, Windows Mobile is by far the champ of multimedia capabilities.

For e-mail fanatics, the BlackBerrys’ combination of push technology and integrated QWERTY keyboards is hard to beat, and though they’ve generally been more business-centric devices, RIM has made a push to reach more customers with consumer-friendly models and has successfully done so with the RIM BlackBerry Pearl and Curve series. Still, the entertainment features lag a bit behind the rest as does the Web browsing experience. Finally, Symbian might not be the most recognized OS among the group, it offers corporate users powerful productivity and security tools, and the versatility of the OS opens itself up to more general audiences. The only setback has been the limited number of Symbian-based smart phones available in the United States.

Click Here to go to the original article.

September 9, 2008 11:49 PM PDT

Nokia offers Microsoft e-mail on smartphones

Posted by Marguerite Reardon

SAN FRANCISCO–Nokia took aim at smartphone rival Research in Motion Tuesday with plans to expand the number of devices that will automatically be capable of accessing Microsoft corporate e-mail.

On the eve of the CTIA I.T. & Entertainment tradeshow here, Nokia announced it will embed Microsoft Exchange Activesync on all Nokia phones that use the S60 Symbian operating system. As a result, 43 different models of Nokia phones will have easy access to Microsoft corporate email. Nokia will also add the Microsoft Exchange support to all new N-Series and E-Series phones that hit the market in the future.

Until this announcement Nokia offered Microsoft email support as a download for only a handful of devices. But the feature wasn’t well publicized, and it was somewhat difficult to download.

Now Microsoft’s ActivSync software will be automatically available for 80 million of Nokia’s already shipped devices, and it will be available as a standard feature on all new Nokia N-Series and E-Series phones. Having the software embedded on the phone or as an automatic software update makes setting up corporate email access on a Nokia phone so easy that most people can do it themselves without the help of their IT department, said Bill Plummer, vice president of sales and go-to-market for Nokia Americas.

The enhancement is a big deal, especially in the U.S., where Nokia has not made significant traction in the smartphone market. Instead, Research in Motion has dominated the smartphone category in the U.S. with its BlackBerry devices.

The integrated Microsoft email support will now make Nokia a more appealing choice for corporate users. But winning over corporate customers may still be difficult. Nokia rivals such as Palm and Motorola , already have ActiveSync available on their smartphones, and BlackBerry continues to beat these companies. Apple has also introduced Microsoft ActiveSync for its iPhone users.

What’s more, most of Nokia’s phones that will offer the embedded e-mail software are not sold through carriers in the U.S., which means they aren’t subsidized. And with price tags in the range of $450 to $950, Nokia smartphones could be out of reach of some U.S. consumers, especially when all four of the major U.S. carriers offer subsidized BlackBerry’s for around $100.