Random Rants & Raves

Live mesh is a great service that lets you sync devices or store it online from where you can access them from anywhere. It’s currently available as a tech preview and if you’re signed up you can sync multiple devices across.

Finally, the team has released Live Mesh for mobiles as well. Currently it support Windows Mobile 6.x. However you will not be able to access this from the usual places – that is, by either going to http://m.mesh.com or by logging into your Mesh Desktop and trying to add a device. You need to go to https://www.mesh.com/Web/MobileDownload.aspx and follow the onscreen instructions to download the installer (.CAB). You can then connect your WM device and install the software through ActiveSync/WMDC.

Tags: live mesh, windows mobile
Categories: Gadgets | Internet | Microsoft | Windows Live

Well, for the people living under a rock, the IPhone (v2.0/3G) is finally in India thanks to Airtel and VodaPhone. But is it really worth it? Let's take a look.

1. For a minimum price of almost Rs. 32,000, it is sure a very expensive phone. And there are many better options out there that can do everything that the iPhone can and better. Some examples are the iMate Ultimate 9502, HTC Touch Diamond and the top-end HTC Touch Pro.
2. You are vendor locked in to Airtel/Vodaphone. Which means that you cannot swap SIM cards when you please - for instance, you cannot swap out to a Matrix SIM card when traveling internationally.
3. The iPhone available with vendor lock-in in the US is about USD 200 - approximately Rs. 8,500. The current rate is 4 TIMES the US rate - even with taxes and stuff, this is ridiculous.
4. The worst part is that you are paying full price for stuff that you really cannot even use - no 3G in India, no swapping of SIM cards, etc.
5. A 2MP camera with no flash is soooo old school -  at that price a minimum of 3.2 MP and ideally at least a 5MP with flash should have been there - especially since the phone is being touted as a multimedia friendly one.
6. Phones like the Touch Diamond and the Touch Pro have all the features that the iPhone claims and much, much more. For instance, the Touch Pro is touch friendly (including multi-touch), a 3.2MP camera with flash, a full QWERTY keyboard, 1000s of 3rd party applications for all sorts of needs, Direct Push, no vendor lock-in and many more things.
7. All the problems with the original iPhone continue - no copy-paste, soft keyboard only, no 3rd party applications other than through the Apple Store, call clarity, etc.
8. New problems such as a horrible battery, bad reception quality, 3G and GPS drops have also been now coming frequently to light

All-in-all, if you really have/want to spend a whole bunch of money for a very well hyped phone, go for it - otherwise pick up a real phone like the TyTn II, Touch Diamond or Touch Pro

Tags: gadgets, iphone, rant, windows mobile
Categories: Gadgets | Rant

I went ahead and took the plunge that I've been planning to do for a while. I bought the HTC TyTn II Windows Mobile 6.0 PocketPC Phone.

Here's a quick look at the specs:

• Windows Mobile 6.0 Professional Edition
• Office Mobile (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• 3.5G Quad Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (Sad that 3.5 G is not available in India)
• 802.11g
• BlueTooth 2.0 with EDR
• A-GPS & GPS
• USB 2.0
• 400 MHz CPU
• 128 MB RAM, 256 MB ROM
• Touch Screen 2.8" QVGA
• Sliding and Tilt Keyboard
• 3.2MP Back camera + Front facing camera

It's a great piece of work and I've been exploring it since yesterday. Since it's not yet available in India, I ordered it online from Clove Technologies, UK and got it within 3 days (including a Saturday and Sunday). Had to pay custom duties on it but it was worth it. This is what a communications device should be - not like the wimpy iPhone! Windows Mobile Rox!

Tags: tytn ii, phone, windows mobile
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