Got Skype? Version 2.5 was upgraded yesterday

I'll be darned if I can find a change log, but apparently those sneaky Skype folks put out an upgrade yesterday for the Windows client. I was rebuilding a Tablet PC today and of course went to install the free P2P voice client; sure enough there's version 2.5.0.154 that became available yesterday. Maybe it has 154 mo' better features over version 2.5?

The quick and easy install still lets you make calls to any Skype user on a PC or mobile device for free, plus there's the SMS, Voicemail and even inexpensive calls to any regular phone number too. It's what Matt, James and I use to speak to each other during our mobile technology podcast, so how bad can it be? ;) Give it a try and Skype me or leave a voicemail. I'm "KevinCTofel" in Skype...I know, I know: how original.

Windows Live Search for Mobile: the U.S. on your phone?

Time for more freeware and once again, it's courtesy of Microsoft. Have they been sniffing the packaging glue from Vista or is it me? If you have a Windows Mobile or J2ME-supported phone, you can install Windows Live Search for Mobile. I just did and while it duplicates some other third party services I already had, I think it's a keeper.

First off, it's as if Microsoft put their Virtual Earth on your phone. Essentially they did, but not all at once: when you search for a map with Windows Live Search for Mobile, the application pulls in the data it needs via your phone. If it weren't for that little bit of tech, you'd swear they crammed the world in your handset.

YouTube via Verizon: $15. YouTube via Orb: free

I've been a Verizon Wireless customer for at least five years, but I still don't get the VCast service. Literally. I have a hard time paying $15 a month for limited content, when I can use the Broadband Access service I'm already paying $45 monthly for nearly unlimited content. Earlier this week, Verizon tried to sweeten the VCast deal by announcing a deal with YouTube. That deal isn't sweet enough for my $15 each month, especially when MobileRead mentions that you can view YouTube remotely with Orb for free.

Bob Russell over at MobileRead got the following info directly from the Orb folks: "you can do a lot with YouTube through Orb, like browse the YouTube RSS feeds, play specific YouTube videos you've added to your personal Orb index with a browser plugin, and search metatags of the library of videos from YouTube, DailyMotion and Google video. More video sources are, of course, likely to be added later."

Granted, Orb is currently a one-way service when paired with YouTube: you can't upload videos from a mobile phone to YouTube like you can with the V-Cast deal. Fifteen bucks to upload from my phone? I'll just save the movie for later; there's bound to be some post-production work to do anyway. If you're interested in the Orb feature that turns your home PC into a broadcasting tool, check out the MyCasting functionality at Orb.

LIVEdigitally: 15 computing experience enhancements for Microsoft

Jeremy has a humdinger of a post with his 15 suggestions to Microsoft. Jeremy raises a good point: why do we have to wait for Vista to even hope to get certain simple upgrades? Ranging from simple productivity boosters to general common sense ideas, JT's list is worth the read. Here's a few to whet your whistle:

• Internet Explorer should auto-correct domains - I know I've done my share of surfing to a .com when it's a .org or I spelled "com" incorrectly
• Duplicate contact resolution in Outlook - as a mobile warrior that uses some form of Outlook on no less than four devices, this would be a blessing!
• Minimization of reminders and alerts not allowed - oh JT, we need to get you on the GTD bandwagon! ;)

Have a look at the full list and tell us what you think is missing or better yet: what software have you used in place of Microsoft's that doesn't exhibit these behaviors?

Cingular get the Pearl for the holidays

I just received word that Cingular is now offering the Blackberry Pearl.  The Pearl is definitely a hot Blackberry and in my opinion the first one that truly looks like a phone.  Remember, I said that's my opinion so don't shoot the messenger.  Cingular is including some special services for the Pearl:

• Cingular Push to Talk service- allows users to stay connected with individual colleagues or friends, or set up groups for broader communication
• TeleNav Maps™, a free application pro
  viding access to non-GPS static maps and step-by-step written driving directions
• GPS turn-by-turn voice and on-screen driving directions on the BlackBerry Pearl with TeleNav GPS Navigator™ (Bluetooth GPS Receiver accessory required)

You can see the full press release here and check out the Pearl on the Cingular web site.

Ask Sam: you could win a Samsung Q1 UMPC

Samsung has put the holiday marketing in to high gear with this marketing site specific to the Samsung Q1 UMPC. The approach is appealing: you can question "Sam", played by a huge, fluffy dog wearing a Q1 around his neck. Sam will then tell you about the Samsung Q1 UMPC based on your question, provide specs, etc...all in all, a fun interactive approach including some funny videos. The shot above is from one where an airplane traveler struggles to use his bulky notebook in the cramped seats and has to pass up on the free coffee. Sam shows him what he's missing by not using an ultra-mobile PC.

If a cute canine doesn't do it for you, Samsung ups the ante by giving away two Q1 UMPCs each week for the next three weeks! I also noticed that Samsung is throwing in their USB keyboard with a travel case when you order a Q1. Special thanks to Chris for the heads up!

New Toshiba Dynabook keeps going and going...

Mobile computing users in Japan just reduced their Duracell budget: Toshiba updated the Dynabook notebook line and one model is rated for 13.5 hours of battery life! The Dynabook S30 is the judicious juicer thanks to the 4200 RPM drive and miser-like Intel Core Solo U1300 CPU running at 1.06 GHz. You'll only get 30 GB of storage and 512 MB of RAM for $2,300, but battery life is a premium these days. The 1.39 Kg Dynabook S30 offers a 12.1-inch WXGA LCD for hours of viewing pleasure in 1280 x 800 resolution, runs Windows XP and is Vista Capable. Additional ports and features include 802.11a/b/g, Gigabit Ethernet, three USB ports, a PC Card slot and integrated fingerprint reader.

I'm still not sure the lightweight, fully featured notebook is worth over two-g's, but I might change my tune if I knew I could run around the town for 13.5 hours on a single charge. Last I checked, Dynamism carried the Dynabook line if you want to test that battery claim.

Speech recognition on the Fujitsu P1610

I'm getting more and more impressed with the Fujitsu P1610 each day.  Tonight I took the opportunity to play around with the speech recognition using just the one external microphone on the device.  Actually, I guess it's an internal microphone that I'm talking about. Fujitsu has incorporated some advanced array microphone technology into the P1610, even though it only has one microphone.  This technology is pretty cool and seems to enable a single microphone to perform much more like a dual array microphone.  I decided to give speech recognition using the Tablet PC recognition engine a try tonight and so far I am pleased with the results. 

The first thing that I did was to complete the basic voice training exercise that comes standard with the Tablet PC.  I would normally recommend that a user complete all of the training exercises up front to get the best accuracy possible but because I was short on time I decided to try using just the one training session.  I must admit that I wasn't expecting too much on the accuracy front, but the result has been quite surprising to me as it's been a lot more accurate than I thought it would be.

The first thing I did was to tune the microphone using the included IntelliSonic software application.  This program was included by Fujitsu to take best advantage of the single integrated microphone on the P1610.  I set the array to be a narrow focus area directly in front of the microphone to better enable the speech recognition to work.  This entire post was generated using the speech recognition and it only took about five minutes to create in total.  I had to do a fair bit of correction but only very simple corrections as a few of the more specialized words were not recognized correctly.  This was not surprising to me because words like P1610 are not normal words in the English language. To give you an idea of the accuracy the following paragraph will be posted unedited, just like it was recognized by the computer. 

In so far I'm really enjoying using the Fujitsu P1610 Tablet PC.  This small slate form is working out very well for me on a daily basis, and I find it provides the maximum utility with the minimal amount of BULK and WEIGHT to carry on a daily basis.  the words appearing in all caps are words that I had to spell for the recognizer to get correct. It is really nice that you can spell words in the middle of sentences to have them peer correctly.

I am looking forward to trying Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 using this integrated microphone. I believe it will do a very good job with much less training.  Next up I am going to try the system command control features and I'll report what I find using those in a future post.    

Verbatim CD-Rs go gold, er vinyl

They say everything comes full circle. Take these Vinyl CD-R discs from Verbatim: we've moved away from vinyl albums in favor of 8-tracks (well, they don't really count, do they?), to cassette tapes, to Compact Discs to digital MP3 files. Here we are back again in the land of vinyl!

These 700 MB CD-Rs don't have any other special qualities other than the premium price: a 10-pack goes for around $12, i.e: more than an album purchase from an on-line music store. I know the purists will tell me: "but you can hear all the data the way it was meant to be heard"....right. Gee what's next for retro-tech: the Beatles on iTunes? ;)

Soyo FreeStyler HS11: wireless headset for music and phone

I wish every digital audio player would come with integrated wireless capabilities; those earbuds on the iPod and Zune are nice, but the cord always gets tangled. Even better yet, if I had a wireless headset for my music, how about adding a microphone so I could use it for my Bluetooth phone as well? Looks like SOYO did just that with their FreeStyler HS11. No worries if you don't have integrated Bluetooth in your phone or MP3 player, SOYO even includes an adapter that adds wireless freedom to your device!

Mobility Site has a full review of the $179.99 offering and gave the HS11 a pretty positive overview. $180 is bit more than I'd like to pay for this type of gear, but it does solve that tangled cord problem. The HS 11 supports both the A2DP and AVCRP Bluetooth profiles: other than new Scrabble acronyms, this means the HS 11 provides high-quality stereo sound and can be used as a Bluetooth remote control for supported devices. Check out the full review to see how the HS 11 works in real-world scenarios; either that or keep waiting for Bluetooth support in your iPod!