According to O2 Asia's redesigned website, O2 is introducing the xda II into the Asian Pacific market in November. O2 Asia already sold the xda before in different countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and others.
Maybe that's not real big news - real big news for sure is, that O2 Asia seems to be ready now to introduce their first Microsoft Smartphone (after they've canceled the previous announced version in summer this year).

ReenSoft has just updated its Pocket Internet Explorer plugin called PIEPlus. Now at version 1.1, it includes support for Windows Mobile 2003 Pocket PCs. PIEPlus is another alternative in improving Pocket Internet Explorer's performance. What makes PIEPlus unique is that it has what ReenSoft calls the Pocket Web Optimizer. It adjusts content to fit the PIE screen and minimizes the need for horizontal scrolling of the screen. While it does this with a lot of web pages, some pages may retain the horizontal scroll bar even though with PWO activated. Another feature is the ability to open multiple web pages within Pocket Internet Explorer.

While Microsoft is entering the cellphone market with its Windows Mobile Smartphone series, Nokia seems to enter the wireless PDA market now as well with something different then the previous known Communicator series:

At the annual Nokia Mobile Internet Conference in Nice, France and the "Destination Nokia 100% Pure Mobility" event held in Brisbane, Australia, Nokia yesterday announced its first media category device, the Nokia 7700, which provides users with a mobile Internet and personal media experience.

According to this T-Mobile US page, the GSM carrier, who was the first US operator which introduced a Phone Edition to the American market, is going to release a free upgrade CD-ROM for today's T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition customers:

T-Mobile is pleased to announce the upcoming launch of the Pocket PC 2003 Phone Edition upgrade. The upgrade includes many new features, and it's FREE for all existing T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition customers ($30 value).

Smartphone Thoughts is currently reporting from Microsoft’s Professional Developers Conference in the US and in the overview "Developing for Windows Mobile", James Pratt touched very briefly on something which will completely rule the Windows Mobile world: Microsoft will support new display capabilities for next generation Windows Mobile devices!

Pocket PCs will support VGA (640x480) resolutions in both landscape and portrait while Smartphones will enhanced to QVGA (320x240) in portrait:

Several Smartphone sites have reported about the Smartphone 2003 upgrade availability for the Everlink Wireless Smartphone 2002 which was sold my Microsoft as Developer Kit.

Everlink has published the ROM update for their Red-E Smartphone on its FTP server.

Unfortunately - it seems - that this is not a trivial install since you need to use a storage card and dig out the instructions from an earlier ROM version which is also still on their FTP server.

For the third year, the US based Pocket PC Magazine was giving away it's Pocket PC (and for first time this year Smartphone) "Best Software Awards" and as the two years before - also this year I was part of "Board of Experts" and voted in some categories for the best Pocket PC and Smartphone software.

Last week the winners were announced and now you can find the complete list of nominates, finalists and winners here:

HP has just updated their Mobile Printing software and it includes several nice features. The nice thing about the HP Mobile Printing software is that it allows you to print not only Pocket Word, TXT, or email, but it adds support for other file formats as well.

This software now includes job queueing capability, native Pocket Excel (.pxl) printing support as well as Microsoft Excel (.xls) printing support within HPMP for PPC. It now includes Microsoft Server ActiveSync support and the ability to change amount of information logged through logging levels...

Normally when we hear the word wireless, we think Wi-Fi, well what I've been thinking of these past several weeks is more of Wi-Fi and WAN, basically the version available here in Asia and Europe which would be GSM/GPRS. If you've noticed my sudden absence, it is not that I've fallen into an endless pit nor did the earth swallow me alive, I've been quite busy with work, actually several jobs that I have found myself in. :-)

While I've been quite busy with my photography, I've been kept updated by my Pocket PC with the latest happenings and news in the mobile computing world...

Being a MVP has always one advantage - Microsoft is listening you and Microsoft sees us MVPs as a kind of filter and additional funnel between them and their customers!

So now it's time for you and your chance to tell Microsoft what you think about the missing (recently denied) MSN Messenger functionality on your Microsoft Smartphone 2002 (from Orange SPB to SPV E100, Smart Amazing Phone, Qtek 7070, i-Mate Smartphone to Motorola MPx200). Doesn't matter which Smartphone you use - Microsoft will listen your pain!

Simple tell them what's your carrier (best with phone/ROM), why you feel pain, the worst story (like losing billions on the stock market because you wasn't able to trade your stocks), etc. etc!

Use the thread in the Forum here to tell them your story and why you want get back an original Microsoft Messenger ASAP (from ROM update to separate installation file) instead of using any 3rd party applications!

So, the Motorola MPx200 is finally released in the US and Motorola is also offering a wide range of accessories for it now - directly from their own online shop.

There you get stuff like Customizable Headset, Dual Retractable Hands-Free Headset, Over-the-Ear Headset as well as SD cards from 32 to 128 MB.

This makes me a little bit wonder at all. T-Mobile Germany has announced its old T-Mobile MDA (released with Pocket PC Phone Edition 2002 one year ago and the same device as the O2 xda) in a Windows Mobile 2003 version now.

According to T-Mobile's online shop it's not available yet but soon:

Join Microsoft staff and partners as they demonstrate the exciting future of mobile technology today with Windows Mobile software for Smartphone, Pocket PC Phone Edition, and Pocket PC. Participate in discussions and handson demonstrations of cutting-edge devices.

Don't miss this opportunity to:

...because I won a Microsoft Xbox today :oops: and have to do something better now then posting any news here as you might can imagine... :-D :lol:
No, honestly - today Microsoft Germany held an event for community leaders here in Germany which isn't comparable to the Microsoft MVP program but similar anyway and I was invited.

Hmmm... 8O Now I'm a little bit irritated and surprised if it is me or the visitor who mailed me a comment below some minutes ago and I wonder who is wrong here...

Normally I don't push comments like these into public but this time I will do it because I want to hear your opinion but first the E-Mail (without the name and E-Mail address for sure):

As mmO2 has announced today it's planning to release the xda II in Europe first of November this year.
According to mmO2 the release price, which is planned for the O2 courtiers Germany and UK (no word about Ireland) is £349 with a 12 months contract in UK and 499 Euro with a 24 months contract in Germany. Without a contract the xda II should costs 799 Euro (from O2 Germany).

After we have seen in part 1 of the review how the O2 xda II (aka HTC Himalaya/Andes, aka i-Mate Phone Edition) looks like and compares to the previous O2 xda Pocket PC Phone Edition, this part of the review is about the features and specialties of the O2 xda II.
It's not a generic Windows Mobile 2003 Pocket PC or Phone Edition (see the Microsoft website for the overall features) overview but dedicated to the xda II features itself.

After we have seen in part 1 of the review how the O2 xda II (aka HTC Himalaya/Andes, aka i-Mate Phone Edition) looks like and compares to the previous O2 xda Pocket PC Phone Edition, this part of the review is about the features and specialties of the O2 xda II.
It's not a generic Windows Mobile 2003 Pocket PC or Phone Edition (see the Microsoft website for the overall features) overview but dedicated to the xda II features itself.

While we and others already reported about the availability of the Motorola MPx200 Smartphone yesterday - today is the day the phone was officially released.
Following our announcement with Motorola and AT&T Wireless in September - today, Microsoft, along with AT&T Wireless and Motorola announced the first US retail availability of the Windows Mobile-based Motorola MPx200 Smartphone.

1UP, an online magazine about gaming, is reporting about the first sales figures of Nokia's N-Gage "Gameboy"-cell phone:

Less than 5,000 units of Nokia N-Gage hardware were sold in the United States in the system's first week of release, according to independent research firm Arcadia Research. That figure takes into account all retail locations that sold the N-Gage, including both videogame specialty retailers and cellular phone retailers.

Actually this news is already one year old now but like X-Mas it comes back every year again. ;-) V2R's Skin2Choose is a software that allows all Pocket PC Phone Edition users to change the phone interface of the phone dialer.
With its version 2 you can also change the Today Theme.

With the Skin2Choose browser you are able to browse through all of your dialer skins and choose a new skin for your phone. With the free trial version you can preview all 7 skins but only select the standard skin and the "Pink" skin only. However, the full version also includes 2 Halloween skins! :-)

If you are a happy MAC user, this update PocketMac update is really important for you since PocketMac is the only working solution so far to syncronize your Pocket PC with your Apple Macintosh:

Information Appliance Associates announces the new release of PocketMac, the original Mac-to-Pocket-PC sync solution.

"We've really pulled out the stops on this release," said Terence Goggin, CTO of Information Appliance Associates. "We've added Bluetooth support - now users can sync over Bluetooth, USB, and Airport.
We also now have the ability to sync email. What's more, our customers can now install most Pocket PC software & themes directly from their Macs, regardless of whether the developers have provided the CAB files."

Amazon.com has the Motorola MPx200 in stock now and ready for shipping within 2 - 3 days!
It's sold with an AT&T Wireless service plan only but the price isn't a bad one after the special offer: $149.99 8O

The Motorola Smartphone is a clamshell Smartphone running Windows for Smartphones 2002; for more details see David's review on PPCW.Net.

One of the best and most important software (for me) is now released in version 3.0 and therefore Windows Mobile 2003 compatible and also includes tons of new features: Southway Corporation's MultiIE 3.0:

To coincide with the Pocket PC Summit 2003, Southway Corporation is proud to announce the release of MultiIE 3.0.

MultiIE is the multi award winning enhancement for Pocket Internet Explorer. Pioneering PocketIE enhancements such as multiple windows, full screen mode and hardware button mapping, MultiIE version 3.0 brings Pocket PC users the next generation in mobile web surfing enhancements.

MultiIE version 3.0 offers more than 20 new innovative features, including:

Today, the i-Mate Phone Edition was released on Gitex in Dubai and is now available there in the Arabic version for around US$ 842.00.

The i-Mate Phone Edition is the same device as the O2 xda II and features the same technical specifications.

Inventop, a pioneer in the emerging Bluetooth networking space, recently announced the compatibility of ProximityMail with Anycom Bluetooth CompactFlash Card.

ProximityMail turns Bluetooth-enabled PDAs into a powerful community-messaging device. ProximityMail is a collaborative communications application for Bluetooth PDAs that enhances the way localized communities of people network, communicate, and collaborate. ProximityMail facilitates community building, professional networking, and relationship building wherever groups of people are gathered for tradeshows, conferences, ballgames, coffee places, etc. Users can create and subscribe to groups, broadcast or send private messages and thereby more easily initiate contacts with other members of the community.

Korean LG Electronics recently revealed their new wireless Pocket PC at ITU Telecom World 2003. The device is announced to includes a built-in 1.1 megapixel camera and uses a slider design to accommodate a traditional numeric keypad.

Beside this the features are more or less Pocket PC characteristic with a 400Mhz XScale CPU and 192MB of storage (which seems to mean 128MB RAM and 64MB ROM).
It also includes a memory card slot and has IrDA and USB ports. It uses a pretty small 2.8 inch 262,000 color TFT LCD (an xda uses a 3.5 inch screen and an iPAQ H5000 uses even 3.8 inch screens).

This program allows you to use your Pocket PC and GPS receiver in situations where you have no map with you. You can track your moving and save the path for future use. The program draws your moving on some simulated map, rescaled continuously. Also it includes a  virtual compass, current speed, distance to a target point and more.

After Carlo had some hours with an O2 xda II, I had it now for two weeks - thanks to O2 Germany - where I've tested it intensive enough now and it's time for the long promised review. Because the xda II includes so many facets, I've decided to split it into the parts.
Let me begin with part 1 - which will covers the hardware. Part 2 will covers the features and additional software while part 3 will covers the O2 Active User Interface.

Are you also looking for a good HTML editor for your Pocket PC? Maybe ISquared Software's PocketHTML.Net fulfils the promises.

PocketHTML.Net is an HTML editor for Pocket PCs and required .Net (already installed on Windows Mobile 2003 Pocket PCs). PHN is designed to make HTML editing easy, with features like QuickTags to put your most frequently used tags just a tap away, and an integrated HTML viewer for page previewing. It's ideal for website editing, creating lists, creating richly-formatted documents, and more.

My fellow MVP Chris De Herrera pointed me to that article from CNN called "Threat of mobile virus attack real" which is about viruses on mobile devices and I got additional thoughts when I read it.
Basically the risk of viruses for mobile devices is real - it's the same as for all devices running any kind of open Operating Systems. You can develop viruses for Windows, Linux or Apple Desktops as well as you can do it for Windows CE, Palm or Symbian based mobile devices - sure. It's always a question of market penetration of the OS.

Because of the feature limitation of mobile devices it might be not that risky today to surf the web or open E-Mails on that cell phones but any kind of application you install on your device might contains a harmful code which is at least a virus.

According to Pocket PC Thoughts, Mazingo discontinues its offline browsing alternative for Windows CE and Palm devices:

"Mazingo would like to thank everyone who has been involved with developing and using the Mazingo service. Regrettably, the service can no longer be offered due to the cost of content versus the revenue derived."

Unfortunately I got a "wrong" delivery of PPCW.Net i-Mate Smartphones which means it doesn't include the European power plug (the one with the two round pins) but the UK one only (the one with three pins) which isn't a a big deal since you can use an adapter (please also see this article here: "TRAVELING: Using Your Pocket PC in other Countries") or you could even use a O2 xda/T-Mobile Phone Edition charger.
However, it also doesn't contains the sync cradle but a USB sync cable only. :-(

Ouch, that hurts... Not only that no Microsoft Smartphone has Bluetooth onboard today (except the to be released Orange SPV E200) also printing from Smartphones isn't planned so far.

Now Nokia and HP co-developed a solution for Nokia's Symbian based 7650 and 3650 cellphones:

Last weekend I was away from home (as you might have seen on the missing updates on PPCW.Net) because my brother had Birthday and for some other personal reasons. Because it was planned as a short trip only, I took the xda II and my PPCW.Net i-Mate with me only but no Notebook.

Agile Messenger is an Instant Messenger for your mobile telephone. Agile Messenger supports the four most popular instant messaging services: ICQ, AOL, Yahoo! and MSN.

Not only is Agile Messenger the most user friendly and reliable instant messenger available for your mobile phone, it is also completely free.
Thanks to Agile Messenger you can be truly mobile and never be out of contact with your business contacts or friends again.

I'm proud to announce that from today PPCW.Net's Pocket PC and Smartphone software shops are up and running. Together with PocketGear.com LLC, PPCW.Net offers now the full range of Windows CE software for their visitors.
PPCW.Net is using PocketGear.com's expertise here to server the visitors the latest and greatest free- and shareware titles as well as mostly all available full versions for Pocket PCs, Pocket PC 2002, Pocket PC 2003 and Smartphone.

Microsoft has recently released it ActiveSync in version 3.7.1 which is the latest synchronization software for Windows Mobile-based Pocket PCs and Smartphones.

ActiveSync 3.7.1 contains fixes making synchronization more trouble free than ever before and includes all the significant improvements brought to you in ActiveSync 3.5, 3.6, and 3.7: it is easy to install and use while offering the best levels of reliability. If you had not already installed ActiveSync 3.5, ActiveSync 3.7.1 will also bring you up to date with compatibility to Microsoft Office XP and Windows XP.

Unlike simple call logging applications, Phone Dashboard is the first application designed to intelligently classify your calls based on your actual mobile phone plan, generate useful statistics, and make them available with a convenient Today Screen interface so all important information is one or two taps away. This product is invaluable for casual users and professional users who need to separate personal and business calls - you'll soon see why Phone Dashboard has been called the "killer app" for Pocket PC Phone Edition devices.

After an extensive beta testing period by dozens of users all over the world, Phone Dashboard is now generally available to all users of Pocket PC Phone Edition devices.

Option is going to release two new wireless Globetrotter PC cards: one which will include GSM, GPS and Wi-Fi in one card, the other will be a GSM, GPRS, UMTS dual mode PC card.

1. GLOBETROTTER COMBO Card (Universal Tri-band W-LAN/GPRS/GSM PC-radio card).
Using W-LAN the GlobeTrotter COMBO card reaches speeds up to 11Mbps. This makes it the ideal solution for high performance wireless functionality for laptops, notebooks and handheld PDA's.

My fellow MVP and MoDaCo webmaster Paul had the chance to play with the Orange SPV E200 during Microsoft's möbius conference and here what's his first impressions:

It's VERY nice, apparently has the same processor as the e100:

SHAPE Services has recently announced in the PPCW.Net Forum that they are looking for Beta testers for the Microsoft Smartphone platform as they are going to port their IM+ to this platform now:

IM+ is a complete Instant Messaging solution for your PC or Mobile device.

IM+ supports MSN , ICQ, AOL, Yahoo! and Jabber messaging systems. With IM+ you can communicate using encrypted messages, directly from your PC as well as from your mobile device, in real-time, cost-saving, within a group conference and many other features.

According to this press release - published on msmbiles.com - today the long awaited and rumored "Oragne SPV E200" aka HTC Voyager is to be announced:

Geneva, Switzerland - Friday October 10th 2003. Orange and Microsoft today unveiled the latest phone in the Orange signature range - the SPV E200 - featuring familiar Windows mobile software and designed to give customers one touch access to key services, exclusive Orange services and making full use of the Orange intelligent network. The announcement comes as Orange and Microsoft release new data on Smartphone usage.

With an integrated digital camera and Bluetooth capabilities, the SPV E200 is one of the worlds most advanced mobile phones, packed with features to make Orange customers more efficient at work and offering more fun and entertainment for play. The SPV E200, with Windows Mobile 2003 software for Smartphones, allows customers to send and receive emails on the move using Pocket Outlook, access the internet using Pocket Internet Explorer, send photo messages, download MP3's and even film and store special moments with the integrated still and video camera.

Seems Carlo is currently a little bit busy (or better I know he is) because this news from the Philippines is something he should post here... ;-)

Smart Communications recently released a new ROM for its HTC Tanager which provides the following benefits:

Seems the release date of the Motorola MPX200 Smartphone (see PPCW.Net's review here)comes closer.
Orange UK already lists it on their website - so far without a price or a definitive date:

Finally the HTC Himalaya PPCPE 2003 better known as O2 xda II or T-Mobile MDA II received the FCC approval. This is required to sell an electronic device in the US and furthermore it's an important step to get i released there.
Devices without approval can not be sold nor imported into the US.

As you've  might have seen, PPCW.Net looks slightly different from what you have seen yesterday. No, you don't need new glasses, it's simply because it was re-launched in version 2003 today which I'm going to call "PPCW.Net 2003"! :-)

But PPCW.Net 2003 isn't a different design only but also includes lots of new features and enhancements and - maybe most important - a new, faster server!

And others laughed about me when I told them "my dream" is to host PPCW.Net on a Pocket PC... ;-) Check out what Spb Software House is doing:

As a part of our continuing research at Spb Software House, we have assembled and tested a computing cluster based on Pocket PC devices. Twelve Pocket PC devices have been joined in a cluster to perform distributed calculations - the devices share the load of a complex calculation. The concept was to compare the performance of several Pocket PC devices linked into a cluster with the performance of a typical Pentium II-class desktop computer.

And the mysterious manufacture was: Sierra Wireless!

Sierra Wireless announced today the Voq line of professional phones and value-added software for business users. New Voq-branded professional phones will be based on Microsoft Windows Mobile software for Smartphones and will feature both a familiar phone keypad and unique flip-open QWERTY thumbpad. The Voq product line also includes other hardware and software innovations for easy information navigation and retrieval, compelling text entry, and email that is automatically updated. The first Voq model will support global markets by operating over the GSM and GPRS wireless networks and is planned for commercial availability in the first half of 2004.

Hmmm weird... Maybe my previous thoughts about LG as a new Smartphone vendor wasn't that wrong at all?
Yahoo Singapore is reporting that LG Electronics is entering the Smartphone market with a Windows CE OS but according to the article it's not clear if it will be a Pocket PC Phone Edition, a Smartphone or something propriety as it is talking about "Microsoft's operating system for handheld computers":

Microsoft has updated the .NET Messenger Service by requiring that only updated clients access the Service, which will help ensure that our customers have the latest security and privacy protections. Customers who have not installed an updated client by October 15, 2003 will no longer be able to access the .NET Messenger Service.

Updates for Windows Mobile-based Pocket PCs and Pocket PC Phone Editions (2002 and 2003) are now available through Microsoft. Download and install these updates prior to October 15 to prevent any service interruptions.

Two days ago I wrote here about the mysterious new Smartphone competitor which is to be announced tomorrow and I've rumored about LG which was completely wrong! :oops: Sorry guys... ;-)

I got an anonymous E-Mail with some interesting information and it isn't neither an Asian nor a European company but a US American one :!: which is going to introduce its first Windows Mobile Smartphone tomorrow. The first one who guess it right here will win a Microsoft Mobile2Market voucher. :-)

Some hints:

PPCW.Net Editors Choice is just a subjective view of the PPCW.Net editors but the hard- and software is used by the them daily.
The idea of Editors Choice is to give you an overview about great and useful products for your Pocket PC and Smartphone platform.
Editors Choice is published quarterly and includes the top products in the following categories:

• Hardware
• Accessories
• Pocket PC (Phone Edition) Software
• Smartphone Software
• Overall Product of the Quarter

You've might seen some serious problems tonight with the PPCW.Net server. This was simply because a high server load (again) and therefore I've decided to move to a temporary server for a limited time.
Because of that you are redirected from "ppcw.net" to an IP address. This IP is temporary only so please don't bookmark it but continue to use ppcw.net instead of it to directly access PPCW.Net.
Anyway, this server is powerful enough - I hope - to handle all the requests and you shouldn't get any timeouts or broken SQL connections anymore.

Dave W. Beauvais felt that the default "Start Page" page on Pocket PCs is pretty lame (something most of us think I believe). You can go to the built-in AvantGo client and to three or four other pre-defined locations, and that's about it. Having an assortment of locations quickly available without having to use the Favorites dialog is important to him, so he set out to create a new Start Page for his Pocket PC that was both attractive and functional.

Pocket Internet Explorer Start Page v3.01 was born!

When I was playing with the xda II on weekend I've tested more or less every functionality and application.

One of them was for sure MSN Messenger and it's interesting to see that you get an automatic MSN Messenger message on Pocket PCs now:

One of the often asked question about the O2 xda II is if its Bluetooth also supports the headset profile which lets you use a Bluetooth wirefree headset to make your voice calls and it supports it!

On Saturday, on the Munich User Group meeting we've tested it and here you see how it will looks like:

Motorola are the first major phone manufacturer to release a Microsoft Smartphone 2002 based phone; making the MPx200 a much anticipated entry to the Smartphone sector.

The MPx200 is aimed at "Prosumers" those of us with a keen interest in new technologies and want to use our devices for both business and personal use. I fall very firmly into this group and in addition this is the first true Smartphone that I have used - I suspect that many of the buyers of the MPx200 will be the same.

Motorola are renowned for great hardware design and excellent phone performance so this expertise combined with the MS Smartphone OS makes for a potentially great Smartphone - have Motorola pulled it off? Read on to find out...

According to an article at InfoWave a new competitor is ready to announce a new Windows Mobile based Smartphone next Wednesday.
So far no words was given about who this anonymous company could be, the only hint is that is has a long time experience in the wireless market. While there are a lot of rumors and discussions on several web sites I want to add my personal rumor also, based on facts I've researched.
So the anonymous company is:

Resco Explorer 2003 for the Pocket PC has been updated to version 4.30. New features include sending files via Bluetooth when using a Bluetooth equipped iPAQ and sending files in the OBEX protocol instead of the standard IR protocol of Pocket PCs. This means that...

On October 1st, the new Microsoft MVPs was nominated or renewed. While I'm a MVP since 2002 (before I was just a contributing author for Microsoft's PocketPC.com site and member of the Microsoft Mobility Community Council) and renewed for 2004 again, I'm so happy to finally see Carlo on the list as well!!! :-D Congratulations Carlo!

PocketX Software Inc., a leading developer of Smartphone and Pocket PC solutions announced the release and immediate availability of Photo Contacts Pocket PC Edition.

Photo Contacts Pocket PC Edition is another application that lets Pocket PC and Pocket PC Phone users intelligently add photographs to their contacts.

Hello once again and this time from Cebu City in the Philippines. One more thing about being mobile is the total freedom it brings the user of any Windows Mobile device. The subject at hand is the iPAQ h2210 Pocket PC. Thanks to a friend who lent me the Prolink W-Fi card for testing, I was able to connect to the Internet easily and thus post this article.

As I have mentioned earlier, I am still out of town moving from island to island in the Philippines. Yes, you read that right. While we may be billeted in a hotel in Tagbilaran City, we still had the opportunity to visit several islands today. One of them quite unique as it is a historical landmark and at the same time te recipient of a really wonderful technology.

This might be a more interesting news for my German speaking visitors but hey - as an author you are always proud about what you've published so I write it here in English that everybody can understand it. ;-)

Today my 3rd Pocket PC related Book called "Das große Buch Pocket PC 2003" (The great Pocket PC 2003 book) was released and available  from now for EUR 19,95 only from Amazon.de or DataBecker.de as well as from other online book shops and physical shops like Hugendubel.

As you might notice, It's me this time who isn't around at PPCW.Net. Well, not totally though. I'm still here although I'm not in front of my desktop PC. I think that is what being mobile is all about. At the moment I'm somewhere down south of the Philippines. Around the vicinity where the Visayas meets Mindanao. I'll be here until Saturay working. And if you are wondering what work I'm doing here, it's photography.

Thanks to O2 Germany, tomorrow I will receive a xda II for a couple of days to show it on the Munich Pocket PC User Group meeting on Saturday (if this isn't a good reason to join it too? ;-)) but I would like to take the chance also to answer your question from tomorrow.
Therefore I've created a thread for it on the PPCW.Net Forum where you can start to post your questions now and I will try my best to answer it there.

This was often asked but I haven't included it so far because of some lacks of my CMS but now I found a workaround. From today you can also add your comments and thoughts to PPCW.Net stories with your wireless devices such as a Pocket PC or Smartphone. :-) I'm trying hard to provide you a 1:1 copy of PPCW.Net's desktop version on your mobile devices and therefore this was a must have in my opinion too.

GPRS data is only slowly becoming what GSM voice became fast in the early 90s, a must have decision for consumers. I only know a handful people who clearly bought this or that phone because it included GPRS and Bluetooth or an E-Mail client or even a HTML browser. No, today most phones are still sold by brands and price but less because of new features.

An exception might be camera phones but even here the sent MMS compared to sold camera phones is a different story.

However I think most carriers are developing the mobile data market still wrong. We live in an Internet driven world and data access might be the most important today; doesn't matter which ways (bearers) you use to access these data like SMS, MMS, WAP or GPRS; the need is there but in most cases neither the infrastructure nor the proper tariffs are in place.