Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

Windows Mobile 5 didn’t come out that long ago, but it’s already getting kind of stale.  What gets smartphone fanboys more excited than screenshots of the next-gen operating system?  According to GpsPassion, they’ve got some official, unofficial screenshots of the next Windows Mobile version, codename “Crossbow.” What’s new with “Crossbow” you’re probably wondering - well to be honest, we don’t exactly know yet.  For one, screenshots (and common sense) indicate they’re integrating Windows Live and Windows Update features in.  It also looks like the GUI is just a fresh new skin laying on top of the same old OS we’ve come to love...and hate.  If you’re ready for WM Crossbow and its minty freshness, let me hear you say yay-ahhh.

Read [GpsPassion]

It seems that we haven’t heard anything about Yahoo! Go since back at CES when Yahoo’s CEO Terry Semel introduced it.  It sounded like a good idea at the time, but since they’ve been sitting on it for so long, the hype seems to have settled.  In an attempt to revive it which it’s still kicking, they have announced the service is now compatible with Windows Mobile versions 2003 SE and 5.0 (formerly supported Symbian OS only).

The service allows you to access your Yahoo! accounts on your mobile device - including Yahoo! Search, Mail, Photos, Address Book and Calendar, Yahoo! News, Sports, Finance, and any other service you can think of from their gigantic portfolio.  Additionally, Yahoo! has partnered with companies like Motorola, Nokia and RIM to have the software pre-loaded on their devices.  Moto has already confirmed their plans to “pre-load and prominently feature Yahoo! Go for Mobile on optimized handsets worldwide starting in the first half of 2007.” Head over to the Go site to find out more.

Via [CrunchGear]
Read [Yahoo! Go]

Having a good attention to detail can sometimes be amusing.  I was in Circuit City today and was checking out the Verizon phones (since they don’t have Sprint for me) and noticed a poster right by the entrance with a rather large mistake… so I snapped a picture on my phone.  The device pictured above is, as most of us know, the Palm Treo 700p.  Apparently the person that made the poster didn’t realize that there’s a difference between the 700p (PalmOS) and 700w (Windows Mobile 5.0).

Product: UTStarcom XV6700 for Verizon Wireless
Price: $299.99 with 2 year contract, after mail-in rebate
Rating: Good 7.08/10.0
Pros: Spacious QWERTY keypad, integrated Wi-Fi, can be used as a Laptop wireless modem
Cons: Large device, poor touch-screen sensitivity, limited battery life, poor talk quality
Overall:The XV6700 is extremely comfortable for typing long emails or editing documents on the Windows Mobile 5.0 platform but we would like to be able to receive calls while in hotspots as well as get more time from the battery.

Design - 7.75 - The UTStarcom XV6700 brings EVDO download speeds and connectivity to Verizon Wireless users. It is encased in black plastic coming in at 5.2 by 2.3 by 1.0 inches and 6.5 ounces, larger and heavier than most other all-in-one models, but it also packs more punch. The XV6700’s face has a large 2.8-inch (diagonal) screen with a 320x240 resolution, taking up most of the front. The unit had the basic controls on the front with two soft keys, Start and OK buttons, Talk and End keys, and a five-way navigation joystick. The ‘ooo-aahhh’ feature of the XV6700 comes when you slide out the back to reveal a full QWERTY keypad with plenty of space and backlit keys. Additionally the screen switches from a vertical to horizontal layout. There’s an infrared port, a voice-record button, an Internet Explorer launch key, and a volume rocker on the left side, and a camera key is on the right (which we often hit by accident during conversations). The back has the camera lens, flash, self-portrait mirror, and a macromode switch. Finally, a Mini SD slot and a power button are on top and the mini USB port, a reset hole, and a 2.5mm headphone jack are on bottom. Verizon packages the XV6700 with a protective case, a wired headset, a desktop cradle, a USB cable, and an extra stylus.

Features - 7 - In a room the screen looked great, but was hard to read in sunlight (outdoors or in your car). We also found the touch screen to have a mind of its own when determining where our stylus pointed-often selecting an option one higher or lower. Like the Treo 700w Windows Mobile 5.0 provides convenient access to Microsoft Outlook, POP3 and IMAP accounts, and Exchange accounts. There is also a speakerphone, smart dial, vibrate mode, polyphonic ring tone support. The software includes the Mobile Office suite (Word Mobile, Excel Mobile, and PowerPoint Mobile), a download agent, Zip for Pocket PC (very handy), Windows Media Player 10 Mobile, and BrickBreaker and Solitaire for those off-work times.

The Experience - 6.5 - The phone has integrated Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and EV-DO but you can’t have Wi-Fi and the cell phone on at the same time nor can you use the EV-DO as a modem for your laptop, making Wi-Fi almost useless--unless you are not looking for a phone. There are ways out there to hack the system to changes these settings, but we’ll save that for a How To Tuesday. The QWERTY keyboard was great; one of the best integrated mobile keypads that we have used, but it directly affects the large form-factor. Overall, picture quality was good, and it is very nice using the full screen as your viewfinder. The talk quality was below average. People we called often complained that they heard a loud echo and knew we were on a cellphone-comments we haven’t heard in a long time. Moreover, when on speakerphone I had as hard of a time understanding what they were saying. Pairing a Plantronics 320 Bluetooth headset was a cinch and improved call quality a bit. Finally, the batter life seemed to be closer to 3 and a half hours, compared to the stated 5 hours.