Loving the Android Browser
I used to get links to twitpic on my old T-Mobile Dash. When I tried viewing the pics, nothing would show. Having a browser on the G1 that is able to view standard web pages rocks. I’m able to see more about the people I follow on Twitter.
Mobile post sent by shaine using Utterli. Replies. mp3
UPDATE
Running T-Mobile @Home through my cable internet service has been good thus far. The quality of the connection is good, without any jitters or other artifacts that come with VOIP services. I’ve been using the service for most of my phone calls rather than my mobile. I may be able to reduce my monthly rate plan further. With T-Mobile @Home, I am saving $20/month by adding the monthly cost and subtracting the savings from a higher rate plan. If I save more mobile minutes, I may be able to reduce my plan further and save more money.
There are other factors that figure into this. T-Mobile treats your @Home service as a mobile phone, so calls to other T-Mobile phones fall under the unlimited mobile-to-mobile feature. We also have a family plan with MyFaves, which means more minutes saved on the most frequently called numbers.
Another trick up my sleeve is that I have my Grand Central number forward to both my mobile and @Home phones. When calls come in, both phones ring and I use the unlimited @Home line to take those calls.
Finally, when calling those numbers that keep me on hold forever, you can bet I’ll use my @Home service. For only $10/month, T-Mobile @Home more than makes up its cost in savings. Even the most basic landline costs more than that with none of the features.
I ran across a video of a T-Mobile ad on Swiss Miss today. It’s cool that they got so many dancers out to pull off this stunt. But what I want to point out is how T-Mobile has the right idea of combining a live event, mobile phones, and the Internet.
Think about how it is now a given that if something cool is happening, people just whip out their cameraphones and start taking pictures or video. Invariably, this sort of thing ends up on Youtube or some other video sharing site. With this live event, people will always remember what T-Mobile did, they’ll have video of it, and will share it with their family and friends. With the popularity of multimedia phones, any event can be recorded and shared across the world. People naturally want to share their experiences. This is advertising people WANT to share.
Watch the HD version if you see the option.
I am laying the groundwork for the purchase of a G1 phone. I know, and have complained, that it looks too much like a prototype. I also don’t like the whole moving part business. It’s just begging to get broken. However, given that it is the only smart 3G phone in the T-Mobile lineup, I have to pick it. It won’t be all that bad. It has some features that make it a bit of an upgrade from my current handset. Some of these features involve how I maintain my online presence.
I have moved off my hosted Microsoft Exchange account and rerouted email to my Gmail account. Although the G1 is said to handle “push” email, I figure it will natively interact with my Gmail account. This is good enough. I have managed to keep my Gmail account under 20 percent of the storage for a long time. I don’t think this will change. In fact, I’ll probably be able to delete more junk now.
Calendar
One of the problems I’ve had with my Outlook calendar is that I need Outlook to view it. It’s also not exactly easy to share with people who are not Outlook users. I have noticed, however, that Google Calendar can exchange appointments with Outlook. My Google Calendar has been neglected for ages because I could not justify having Outlook and Google Calendar open on the same desktop. The only other option for Google Calendar was on my mobile phone; the mobile version is too simple. The G1 will change things because the calendar will run natively on the phone and update my online calendar.
To-Do Lists
Google’s To-Do list is not great yet. More than that, it’s not available on the mobile site. Fortunately, you can have your calendar list To-Do items through other services like Remember the Milk and Vitalist. I don’t think the G1 can access the to-do list outside the website.
Contact Management
I strongly considered getting a Blackberry phone due to my large contact list, which keeps growing. This is the main reason why I can’t go back to a simple handset, they can’t handle more than a few hundred contacts. The G1’s contact integration with Google will help simplify my experience; I have yet to find the limit on how many contacts Gmail can hold. In addition, no more manual syncing. The instant syncing reminds me of my experience with the T-Mobile Sidekick, in which photos, contacts, email, and other handset data was automatically synced. I believe the G1 will be the same, except for the photos.
Content Creation
I do not think that the G1 will have a significant difference in my ability to create content except for two instances. In the realm of mobile pictures, the quality of the images will improve a bit. The G1 has a higher resolution camera than my current phone and auto-focus. With respect to video, I will miss out on that until somebody comes out with a video app for the G1. My only option would be to use a separate camera and then swap memory cards. I have not determined how my blogging will be affected. Depending on how good the web-browsing experience is on the G1, I may be able to write posts on the go a bit easier, or not.
Cloud Footprint
Having a mobile handset running Windows Mobile or the Blackberry OS, you benefit from having a variety of applications to run. You can download a Twitter app, something for IM, something for Jott, something for Remember the Milk, for Plurk, and a variety of other things that live “in the cloud”. This extensibility is great. However, it gives you a huge footprint. You have to create and log into so many websites to take advantage of the convenience that these services offer. I expect the G1 to reduce that footprint for me since most of the most useful applications are built-in and have a web interface with the same login. For those services that don’t have a G1 app, I expect that I will be able to use the handset’s browser instead of waiting to get home. For most people a smartphone as a minimized version of their computer. For me, I live on my smartphone and view a computer as a souped up way to interact with the world.
A smartphone should make it easier for you to do whatever the heck it is you do. Most importantly, it should free you from the desk. It is even better when it makes maintaining the backend of your personal information system (PIS?) a breeze.
My quest to find a replacement for my T-Mobile Dash has taken an unexpected turn; I have decided that the T-Mobile G1 may be the one I choose. I was previously looking at Blackberry models with preference over the Windows Mobile devices. After looking at the G1 in person and playing with it a little, I was not impressed. The design is just, bleh. It just doesn’t scream “sexy”; it’s more like it cries out “prototype”. HTC put a lot more style in my Dash than in the G1. Despite that, let me tell you why the G1 made a comeback and will be my next handset.
There is nothing wrong with the Blackberry. All the models are awesome. Everybody who has used one swears on their reliability and sheer awesomeness. Many of my friends who use mobile social media apps have found them for their Blackberry phone. Obviously, the push email and document viewing capability are great for business use. On top of that, some of the Blackberry models can use WiFi connections for phone service, thereby saving my mobile minutes. The Blackberry cameras also have more than the meager 1.2 megapixel cameras on the Windows Mobile phones. Blackberry had everything going for it until it came down to 3G.
In our market, 3G is still not available; but, it will be here next Spring. I do not want to have to upgrade my phone for another 2 years if possible. Therefore, 3G, though not yet available, is an important feature for a handset to have. None of the Blackberry models have it. So, I had to start over from scratch. Of the devices that are 3G capable, most of them are simple handsets, not smartphone types. Only the G1 and the new Samsung Behold interested me. After playing with both, I didn’t find either particularly captivating. The touch-screen thing is cool; but I want my phone to do something besides being cool.
I walked out of the store disappointed. Still, I decided to do some research on the G1, which should be more extensible, being made on an open platform. I figure some apps should be available in time. What has really sold me on the G1 are the 3G connection, the camera, and the GPS. When the 3G kicks in down here, I’ll enjoy the speed, no doubt. What sold me on the camera is that it has auto-focus. That is an awesome feature. It will allow me to use Qipit. It will also improve my experience with Evernote, which can read text in a picture when clear. I recently purchased a GPS for work and have loved the ability to get around without getting lost. Having GPS on my phone can only increase the fun. Some of the apps that use the GPS and camera actually helped a little.
When it comes to software, cloud computing will probably make up for any lack of business apps. The web browser lets you access full web pages. The integration with Google services can also help mitigate some of the lack of business focus. I think the G1 does support push email. This will be handy.
In the end, it’s coming down to hardware features that are steering me towards the G1. It’s shocking that I’m coming back to a device that I had discounted. Still, I’m not going to buy one right away. My current phone still works and does a decent job. So, I’ll hang in there a while longer before upgrading. Maybe another cool phone will come out; maybe not. The G1 will be in my sights when I do make the decision to upgrade.
There are any number of clients available for download that allow you to keep up with Twitter through iPhones, Windows Mobile phones, or even Blackberries. When it comes to the T-Mobile Sidekick, however, you only have the web and text message options. The web option is a bit time consuming while the phone refreshes the web page. Text messaging does not give you all the messages meant for you. Luckily, there is another option for T-Mobile Sidekick users, TTYtter.
There are a couple of assumptions with this solution.
First, you’ll need to download the terminal client available on your Sidekick for $10. Simply go to the application catalog and download the client that is in the productivity folder. This will give you SSH and Telnet ability. The software effectively lets you log in to your server shell account somewhere on the Internet, which should have TTytter installed.
If you don’t have a shell account, you can get one at Freeshells.org. There are free accounts, but it is better if you pay the extra money to become a full member. Follow the instructions on how to connect to your shell account. You will need to be a paid member before you can download the source code to your account easily. Pay the money and wait to be verified.
Once you are verified, you can use Lynx (just type lynx to bring up the text-based browser) to download a copy of TTYtter. Once you get the source code, you can press P to save the page to file. Just name it ttytter to make your life easier. Enter chmod +x ttytter to make it executable. Then simply type ttytter -user=yourtwittername:yourpassword. Your most recent Twitter messages should come up and refresh automatically. You’re all set.
I realize that this solution borders on the user being geeky enough to have and use a linux shell account, yet not so geeky that the Sidekick is seen as a toy. If productivity is your goal, then this is probably not the solution for you. You’re better off with the smartphones. If communication and fun is your aim, then the T-Mobile Sidekick with a terminal emulator on Twitter is up your alley. The built in chat clients, email, unlimited text messaging, and now TTYter will keep you connected with all your peeps.
A couple weeks ago, more or less, I upgraded my T-Mobile Dash battery. I had passed the 1-year mark in December. These batteries are supposed to not have memory issues, so I wasn’t having any problems with the battery itself. When I got the phone, the battery would last me a good day and a half. That was before Twitter. Once I hooked up with Twitter and started following people and started being followed, I found that my battery was not doing as well. Up until recently, I have been using Twitter through SMS. My family has a shared unlimited plan for text messages, so why not?
The big test of the new battery came during the first weekend of SXSW. That period is a Twitter frenzy amongst the geekerati. Even so, my phone was able to keep up with the higher than usual volume of messages. I wasn’t able to keep up. I deleted many unread messages. Even with that, my new battery went down one bar the entire day. Late in the evening, the battery went down to two bars. Besides the text messaging, I also made a few phone calls.
I am very pleased with the performance of the super extended battery on my phone. I had considered buying the extended battery as the price was reasonable. It brought the phone from around 900 mAh to about 1,500 mAh. Instead, I splurged on the super extended battery which has 2,400 mAh. I still keep the old battery around “just in case”; but I have yet to wear down the new battery in a single day.
If your T-Mobile Dash or HTC Excalibur battery life is less than you need, I recommend making the upgrade. Face it, you forget to leave your phone charging some nights, right? Like me, it usually happens the night before a busy day when you need your phone to have a full charge or when you can’t stop to charge a full couple of hours. The super extended battery will save your bacon.
I know this is a bit late to be writing about the T-Mobile Dash. In a few days, I’ll have had my phone for one year. This means that it is old technology. I only recently discovered the Voice Command feature on the phone and have been all over it ever since. It caught my interest one day when I was wearing my bluetooth headset and a voice started telling me that I had a message from somebody and read the subject to me. It freaked me out. I didn’t know it could do that. So, I poked around and learned that I could set it to read all my messages rather than just the urgent ones. While I’m driving, I occasionally take a peek at my Twitter messages. Having the phone read text messages to me as they come in saves me from that task, which theoretically makes things safer for me.
Looking around the web, I discovered that I could also issue commands to my phone to get it to do things like tell me the time, tell it to go to flight mode, find out my next appointment, and other tasks. So, the problem was that it required me to pick up my phone and press the Home button to activate the voice command. Once you do that, it’s pointless to issue a voice command as I can do the rest myself. I found a blog entry that corrects a bug on the Dash through a hack on the phone’s registry. Now, all I have to do is tap my bluetooth headset, issue a command, and listen to the response. I just made the registry edit today, so I have not had a chance to test it out.
The only thing I wish I could do is listen to my music via the bluetooth headset. If this worked, I’d buy the AAA battery powered headset to enjoy the 8 hour talk time.
UPDATE
I went and purchased the Motorola S9 headset, which lets you listen to music on your Dash using bluetooth. Apparently, there are two settings for the headset. When you have it as phone headset, you only hear through one ear. Notifications are one-eared as well. For the music connection, you get full stereo from both ears.
If you pair your headset with another device for either setting, then you have to re-pair it to your phone. Simply go to the Communication Manager, select Settings, select option 2 Bluetooth, option 1 Bluetooth, highlight your S9, then select “Set as Hands-free” or “Set as Wireless Stereo” depending on which got turned off.
I own a T-Mobile Dash and have struggled with paying $29.99/mo for their Total Internet plan, which includes unlimited use of HotSpots. I really enjoy the ability to roam and have access to the Internet through my phone. There are locations where I could take advantage of the HotSpots, so it’s theoretically a bargain. The problem is that I hardly visit Starbucks and Kinkos Fedex.
I called in to cancel my mobile Internet again, thinking this was definitely it, when I was informed that T-Mobile has lowered the price of the feature to $19.99/month. I was skeptical and asked if anything was stripped out of the new rate. Evidently, it’s the same plan, but costs less. The catch is, however, you have to request the lower rate. New customers automatically get the new rate, but existing subscribers will continue to pay $29.99/mo.
After lowering my Internet cost, I reconsidered and left it running on my account. My issue was not the utility, it was cost. With the lower cost, I feel more comfortable leaving it on. It’s a good thing too. Our cable internet is down again, so I have had to resort to connecting to the web via my mobile phone’s internet plan. If you are paying $29.99 for unlimited internet on your T-Mobile Dash, you should call in and request the $19.99 rate.
I took the bait and upgraded my T-Mobile Dash to Windows Mobile 6. I wrote a bit about the upgrade this weekend. Prior to the upgrade, I had a love-hate relationship with my phone.
What I Love About the T-Mobile Dash
You will notice that, for the most part, these are all hardware features. I was originally going to get a Blackberry, but the pricing was insane.
What I hated on Windows Mobile 5
What I Hate About Windows Mobile 6
What I like about Windows Mobile 6
The Upshot
Microsoft did a good job fixing some of the annoying things in Windows Mobile 5. These seem to be items that could be categorized as software issues. I am pleased they cleaned those up.
I’m still annoyed that a flirt with Windows Messenger and Windows Live in both versions left me with a messaging account I dont want on my phone. It’s like getting herpes. I can’t get rid of it.
I don’t understand why I can’t set a max size for the cache in the browser rather than let it grow until it uses up all available memory. Why force me to empty the cache? On top of that, now there is a memory leak somewhere.
I really like the look and feel of the new Windows Mobile. I appreciate that some of the annoyances were taken care of in this version. I wish that some of the serious issues had been addressed. I’ll keep using the T-Mobile Dash because it meets my needs. I would be hard pressed to find something better without making the huge leap to the iPhone, which doesn’t run on T-Mobile.
Windows Mobile Tips
Turning off XT9
Let me share how to turn off the predictive text on your Dash. When you are in a text entry screen or field, press alt+space to open the menu. This will give you four options.
Choosing ABC will turn off the predictive Text. In case you are wondering about the language option, only English is available.
Deleting Text Messages
I’m writing this because it’s not obvious how to delete text messages from the HTC Dash. Yes, you can delete them one by one. But how to delete them all is not intuitive. On WM5, you have separate inboxes for SMS and MMS. On WM6, both SMS and MMS are combined. Once you choose the SMS/MMS inbox, select Menu > Folders > Menu > Clear Text Messages. This will work for any folder you highlight.
You should know that for some reason, your phone does not wipe your inbox clean instantly. WM5 and WM6 both batch process the deletions. However long it would take you to delete the messages one by one is approximately how long it will take your phone to delete them. It will seem like your phone is frozen or acting up. This is normal while it is processing the deletion. If you have a few thousand messages, hope that nobody calls you because the phone won’t switch screens fast enough to answer the call. If you hard restart, you will see that some of the older messages are deleted. Your Dash will pick up where it left off after you go through the menus. I find that it is best to periodically empty my inbox to avoid having a few thousand SMS messages stockpiled (I go through about 5,000 per month thanks to Twitter).
UPDATE: Let your phone read text messages to you.
I discovered something new and totally cool yesterday. You can have your phone read your text messages to you when you have your bluetooth headset on. This is handy when you are driving and want to keep up with Twitter or some other SMS conversations. Here is how you activate it.
START > Voice Command > Scroll down to Announcement Routing and select Bluetooth Only or Bluetooth if available.
Then scroll down to Announce Messaging and select ‘Yes’
Click Done, and you are set.
Whenever a text message comes in, your phone will read it to you.
You can set Voice Command as a speed dial item to activate it. You can then press and hold the Home button, which is also the record button, to activate voice commands. If you have not activated Voice Command, then the voice recorder will kick in. After you press and hold the Home button, the phone will beep and show a little microphone on the top right. You can then speak your command. Here is the tutorial.
UPDATE
I just want to make note that I have successfully used the Dash to share my internet connection with my laptop via the USB connection. It does require you to have the ActiveSync installed. Strangely, Windows Vista knows how to connect to the web using your phone without installing ActiveSync. I’ve also shared internet through my phone using Bluetooth on a Macbook. Either way, you can go indefinitely as the laptop will charge your phone by USB connection. The Mac can’t do anything other than charge the phone by USB. The only interaction is via Bluetooth.
Also, I bought the Motorola S9 bluetooth headset to listen to music. It totally opens up your entertainment options as you can simultaneously charge your phone AND listen to music or podcasts. I am so happy with this product, even with its strange behavior.
As for Mobile Office, I created blank files and put them on my memory card so that I can open them and Save As whatever file. I don’t know why they don’t give you the option to start a new file from the menus.
Shaine 