(By Helio Diamant) Let's continue with the series of articles of the use of my favorite Windows Mobile Pocket PC applications on the Windows Mobile Smartphone. Today I will write about Ilium Software's NewsBreak, another application by Ilium that made my life so easy on the Pocket PC, and now made me happier when I saw it exists for the Smartphone as well.
NewsBreak is an RSS feed reader. For the users that are not acquainted with RSS, here is a short explanation: many websites offer the ability to syndicate the content of the site as an RSS feed. RSS is a standard XML format (actually there are some 3 different RSS standards).

Long time ago - in the last century - "The Net is the Computer" has become the corporate motto of Sun Microsystems and as much as the .COM hype faded away, also this motto isn't used by Sun anymore. Nevertheless, it seems that the (Inter)Net isn't the next computer now but the mobile phone in your pocket.
First one was Nokia who gave their N-series devices the surname "Multimedia Computer". Now it's Microsoft which wants to make your mobile phone a cheap computer. No, the mobile phone (maybe your next Windows Mobile Standard or Professional smartphone) isn't competing with the 100 Dollar Notebook initiative but Microsoft wants to make mobile phones even smarter; that's at least what Microsoft has in his mind when they talk about the "Fone+" initiative.

You might know, that I'm not too happy that Microsoft removed the Bluetooth dial-up networking (DUN) functionality from Windows Mobile 5.0 and Windows Mobile 6 but replaced it with Internet (Connection) Sharing instead. However, there is one benefit - I have to admit - which makes Internet Sharing better: it works seamlessly with GPRS counters like Spb's GPRS Monitor.
In the past with using the DUN functionality, a connection was established from the Notebook. This means, the connection was created on the Notebook by dialing *99# and configuring the APN on the Notebook as well. Then, the connection was initiated from the Notebook and the Windows Mobile smartphone was just a dumb modem which received all the commands from the Notebook.

(By Helio Diamant) Today, we will take a look on the first software that got my interest when I bought my first Pocket PC and actually it's the first software I have ever reviewed for PocketPCFreak.com - MetrO. This software was interesting to me not only because of the problem it solved and its usability qualities, but as well due to the interesting development model that permitted it to stay completely free over the years.
At the world of transportation and navigation, the most important word is "update". If software is not updated, it is dead. This is the point where Metro shines. The developers P. Bernard & F. Van Caenegem have gathered supporters from all around the world who send to them the updates on the transportation lines and schedules. Today MetrO covers more than 300 cities and after five years since I've first reviewed it, it is still updated every month with new cities and updates to existing ones. With all that, what would be the chance that they would issue a Windows Mobile Smartphone version?

(By Helio Diamant) When I first published my review of the Samsung BlackJack, and told about my last visit to the US, I hinted that I was planning to write a series of articles on my favorite Pocket PC software running on a Smartphone.
As a veteran Pocket PC user, I have found, during the last five years, the touch screen-based user interface to be a very important part of my user experience, and for years never even considered moving to a Smartphone without a touch screen. The change began when I began noticing that most of my time with the i-mate JASJAR (HTC Universal), I am using the keyboard and not the screen. Then I decided it was the time to check how it goes with a Smartphone.