“Regarding general appearance, it will be a matter of taste as to how much the new LOOX will catch you. There are certainly more attractive devices on the market, but for most users it is more important what the device can do, rather than what it looks like. Not everybody has to like round shapes and curves, do they? 🙂 If we proceed with a classic check-up of the device’s body, we have to logically start with the front side with main display. Midway above the main display is the on/off button and on both sides, left and right, there is one elongated LED diode for displaying various states and notices. Under the display there is again a fully symmetrical cross controller (however it is not a joystick, but a four-way D-pad) with a separate centre section functioning as an independent confirmation button. On both sides we find a couple of programmable buttons preset for opening the Calendar and Contacts functions on the left side and E2C (application for control of wireless modules) and return button for the Dnes screen on the right side. The function of these buttons can easily be changed (for example to the function for classic WM5 soft-keys), moreover each button recognises long and short pressing, so it is possible to assign up to 8 different functions to these four buttons. Also the option to lock the keys while the device is off is pleasing, thereby avoiding any annoying surprises when the device turns itself on by mistake in your pocket. Furthermore, the D-Pad buttons are blue-lighted, therefore it is possible to work with the device in absolute darkness.” Read the review of this great pda here:
Slimline Qtek 8500 business phone revealed
“Boasting Windows Mobile 5.0, a 1.3 Megapixel camera, high-resolution display and microSD expansion, Qtek’s clamshell 8500 is the slimmest business phone yet – and no heavyweight either at 99 g.Standing in stark contrast to Windows Mobile business phones of yore, the new Qtek 8500 clamshell measures a mere 16 mm thick despite offering a range of advanced features which include quad-band GSM with EDGE, a 2.2-inch internal high-resolution display and a 1.2-inch external counterpart. Also known as the HTC STRTrk, the handset incorporates Bluetooth and a 1.3 Megapixel into its feature set, along with microSD memory expansion and USB connectivity with charging support.Running Windows Mobile 5.0, the 8500 comes equipped with Pocket Windows Media Player 10 and dedicated music control buttons, harbouring 64 MB of RAM and 64 MB of ROM. A suite of viewers for common document formats is also included, as is Microsoft’s Messaging and Security Feature Pack (MSFP) for push e-mail functionality towards Microsoft Exchange 2003 servers with SP2. ” via infosyncworld.com
HDTV: A quick look at the GigaBeat S30!
“Here’s a much anticipated device by Toshiba, the S30, the first player of that brand that runs on Windows Portable Media Center. This is not a detailed review because we litteraly just had the device in our hands, but we do want to show you some pictures and a small HD video.First of all, let’s say that Windows Media for an MP3 player like this S30 is a good thing. the menus are very clear, switching from pictures, videos, TV shows to MP3’s is a really simple task, and Apple should really get one of these to see how Microsoft managed to make this less of an ordeal as on the iPOD. The cross-shaped pad is a real joy to use, especially when compared to the horrible iPOD or CowOn 6 wheel (I really hate those controls, but that’s just my opinion). You can connect this MP3 player to your PC in the same way as an iRIVER or CowOn, and it mounts as a HDD to give you immediate access to all of its contents (videos, pictures, MP3 files, …).So after playing with the S30 for 5 minutes, I was really impressed both on a design level as on an OS level. Here’s some advice for those of you that are doubting: get this one and dump that iPOD… granted, the Apple looks great too, but it’s just too restricted… which is kind of strange to say: an Apple product is more restrictive than a Microsoft product! The S30 and S60 are available on GeekStuff4U.com” Check this great video at akihabaranews.com