Weekly Windows Mobile Roundup On August 2nd 2008

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The Quest For Kaiser Video Drivers Step Up Another Notch

The team at HTCClassAction are working really fast. Just a couple of days ago (almost 2 weeks for those counting), they announced a new driver for the Kaiser but it had some problems. Well, they’ve now come up with a new ROM version to fix those problems and while it’s not complete, it sure looks like they will not be far from it:

Again, here is a new set of drivers. This new package changes some things again, to hopefully make it compatible with more ROMs. The first package we released didn’t work on the officials, the second didn’t work on a bunch of cooked, we hope this one will work on both.

What has also changed is full-screen compatibility. A hack was applied that fakes full-screen mode using windowed mode, this now allows GLBenchmark to run. Theoretically it should also allow full-screen D3D apps, but this has not been tested yet (we’re sure someone in the discussion topic will do this). Note that not all GLBenchmark tests seem to run completely, but this is also the case on the Diamond. Scores are close between the Kaiser using these drivers and the Diamond, with about a 20% difference that could be due to the Diamond having a faster CPU than the Kaiser. We’re still working on getting true full-screen mode operational, so there may still be some quirks with this faked mode.

When the Kaiser was introduced, it was touted to be THE WM device to own but the graphics issue has always been its kryptonite. Hopefully this will change when the drivers get completed. For those interested in the drivers, head over here to get them.

Microsoft Launches Windows Mobile App Store

It looks like Microsoft is not sitting back on this one as they’ve launched their own version of an application store for the Windows Mobile platform to counter that of Apple’s for the iPhone. Here’s a look at it:

Granted it’s nothing like the one Apple has and I have not seen an application that you can install on your Windows Mobile device to browse from but it definitely is a step in the right direction. Hopefully Microsoft does not sit on this too long and that the final product at least meets our expectations. (via (MoDaCo)

Are You Ready For The TouchExperience?

When I hear about news like this, I always wonder why Microsoft could not have thought if it sooner. TouchExperience is an interface replacement (think Winterface) which packs some really interesting features.

For example, instead of scrolling through lists, you could use the tilt sensor (if you own a Diamond or Raphael) to do the scrolling by tilting the phone laterally. How cool is that?

But the cool doesn’t stop there: It’s got a Macro program that carries out certain tasks based on a specific input (time, location using aGPS, specific words in a message, etc). For example, it could remind you to buy bread when you’re near the bakery, silence your phone when at work, enable flight mode during night hours, turn on WiFi and change screen brightness when at home, etc. WOW!!!

Heading over to the developer’s site does not give you much info about getting a hold of the software but there’s a beta wait-list at XDA Developers if you are interested.

Diamond Gets FCC Approval For UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA

Sure there’s a hack out there that allows you to activate the 4th band on the GSM to make your Diamond a quadband phone but there are none that makes it a triband UMTS device. I doubt there would be any in the future as well but those in the North American markets need not fret.

The FCC has just approved a variant of the Diamond and it supports the 3G platform (UMTS/HUDPS/HSUPA) on the 850MHz and 1900MHz. For those wondering, there was not mention of the the 1700MHz support which T-Mobile’s 3G network is expected to use so one wonders now if it will come to magenta team.

Expect these to hit the market in a couple of weeks considering how some of the carriers out there already have released dates for it. Once we get news of which carriers it’ll hit and when, we’ll be sure to keep you posted.

We Now Have Mobile Web Standards

With more and more users accessing the web from their small screens, I am surprised it took the W3C this long to actually come up with a standard. Better late than never right and thankfully we now have one.

So what does this mean for us you ask? The new standards look to not only create enjoyable mobile browsing experiences but also to insure that folks with disabilities can benefit from the mobile web. Head over here for the full press release.

Treo 800w Gets Voice Dialing

Not sure why this did not come with the device when it was first launched, seeing how long Sprint and Palm took to get it to market but for users in need of voice dialing, their days of lamenting are now over. To get this feature on your beloved Treo 800w, just head over here to download and follow the instructions. When’s the GSM version coming out Palm?

All The News We Saw Fit To Print

• My Next Device: The Asus M536?
• Herocraft Teaches You Geography with Travel Genius…Coming Soon.
• VITO Provides Solar Eclipse Coverage With AstroNavigator II
• Vito Releases Task2Gather Web Application. Windows Mobile and iPhone Apps to Follow Soon
• Opera Updates 9.5 Beta 1
• Experience Mobility!
• 50 free music tracks of your choice!

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