One of the highest-rated GPS Navigation systems has a new version available. Arne over at the::unwired has the scoop!
Link to the::unwired – NAVIGATION: TomTom launched TomTom Navigator 6
Looking for a good review of the Moto Q?
Check out Smartphone & Pocket PC Magazine’s review that was posted to their website yesterday. The Q is one heck of a phone if you happen to be on the Verizon network, though a GSM version should show up for Cingular and T-Mobile by the end of the year.
There has also recently been an updated firmware release that includes the AKU2 “push” email features that Microsoft released last year.
Check it out!
Link to The Motorola Q Smartphone :: Oct/Nov 2006
I’m talking of course about having your mobile data connection drop on you while your using it. My family has recently moved to a new townhouse, and I’ve been using my mobile data service with T-Mobile to get online.
The hard part of course is that service can be spotty at times. Our new place is right near the local T-Mobile towers, and our area gets excellent EDGE coverage in addition to regular GSM voice.
It seems that at 2am this morning, the service is down and I’m having to write posts offline to upload later. I’m unable to sleep and have read a little bit of news that I’ve been unable to keep up with while we worked on moving this past week.
Anywho, I’m going to try more mobile posting the next week or so and get some much-needed work done online while our cable connection is getting installed.
Hmm, even after rebooting my MDA, it still won’t pick up signal, must be a tower-reboot or some darn thing like that. Oh well.
We’ve been using the latest beta of Windows Live Writer for the past week or so with good results. One of the best features of Live Writer, is the ability to compose posts offline and post when connected. While the ability to have all our work stored and available on the Internet, sometimes there is great need to be able to write & edit while away from any connectivity (like right now).
The features of Live Writer are quite impressive. A full WYSIWYG editor with great support for images and links, properties and trackbacks can be edited offline as well as the full post. The image editing abilities are impressive as Live Writer will upload images directly to your blog or via FTP (your choice). You can also adjust the image size, and a few simple tweaks you can apply to your images, such as a drop shadow and photo border.
One of the nicest features that I use is the spell checker – this feature alone is worth using tools like Live Writer! Today, I’ve written this post sitting in the car over lunch listening to the radio and enjoying what is turning out to be a fantastic summer day. And that is one other feature that offline editors offer – the ability to not require a connection to write.
So check out Live Writer and other solutions like w.bloggar, or others.
Should help while traveling by reducing weight and the number of cables needed while on the road.
Read more about it at jkOnTheRun!
Check out the new “Blog It” feature in Hubdog’s latest client for Windows Mobile devices. Read their press release below:
MONTREAL, QC., August 22th, 2006 – A completely new way to share what you discover on your mobile device has just been released.
Thanks to Hubdog’s new “Blog it†feature, you can now post to Blogger blogs from Windows Mobile devices. Find interesting News
or Podcasts from your Hubdog channels and post them back to your blog within 2 clicks !
This easy blogging & clipping tool brings new possibilities to the traditional, deskbound blogging experience. Here are some
cool examples of new innovative ways to use your blogs and your Windows Mobile device:
1. Share what you discover
Every day, my colleague Yuri reads its favorite news and entertainment feeds with Hubdog on its mobile device; clicking on the “blog it†button
every time he stumbles upon an interesting item to post on its blog.
The results: Yuri publishes a stunning blog; well, I personally think so! Why? Because we evolve in the same business and have so many common interests;
this is why I find his blog so compelling and extremely interesting.
Yuri also uses his blog as a personal bookmark tool. During meetings for instance, he often refers to his blog posts to point out new suppliers and competitor offers.
Consistently, Yuri uses his blog and Hubdog to record every interesting article he discovers throughout the day.
This feature is an effective new way to share and track news and information anywhere, anytime.
I encourage everybody to use this feature to update and enrich their blogs, whether you need to share relevant business information,
hot topics, viral media, fresh news or entertainment with friends and colleagues.
2. Create fresh entertainment channels
Since Hubdog provides video, image, radio, podcast and mp3 playback support; you can aggregate entertainment channels by simply using your “blog it†button
to clip & post media items to a dedicated entertainment blog created for this purpose.
Users can then press the Play button associated with the Hubdog mobile version of this blog; this will start the channel playlist,
letting you enjoy a non-stop friendly-suggested media experience.
Share with us more innovative ways to use Hubdog’s “Blog it†feature at feedback@hubdog.com
or by visiting this forum: http://www.hubdog.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=371#371
Hubdog “Blog-it†Features
- Posts items online or offline.
- Support for the most popular blog site on the web; only Blogger is supported at this time. More blog services to be announced soon.
- Add images and enclosures to your posts.
- Minimal upload bandwidth; text, images and enclosures from a post are not uploaded from the phone, hubdog server manages this process.
- Send posts while on the road. Be the first to break the news no matter where you are.
While it currently only supports Blogger, support for additional platforms such as WordPress, TypePad, and Live Spaces should be added to expand the capabilities of the software. We’ll be trying it out and will report back.
While Slingbox is a great product & service, it is also a bit costly in my opinion. There is an excellent no-cost service called Orb that performs the same service. Orb lets you select resources on your home network like video, audio, and pictures, and share them over the Internet using their free service.
The one caveat that I must point out (ok, admit to) is that to provide the same streaming of your cable channels, you will need to purchase a TV tuner card or USB device. The Orb software integrates with several models, but that is one thing that is built into the Slingbox. Otherwise the service ends up being the same, and about $100-$200 for a TV tuner (your choice on features), and no monthly service is better in my book than $250 for the slingbox and a monthly service fee.
Also, Orb is accessible by just about any device, be it laptop, desktop, PDA, Phone, etc… and can stream in MP3, WMA, WMV, Real, and QuickTime – you simply need to have the appropriate player installed and you can stream these different formats with ease.
Highly recommended.
Link to jkOnTheRun: Buy a Slingbox, get Slingbox Mobile for free!
While investigating motorcycle options, I’ve been finding how cool some communication options have gotten. There are several integrated solutions that allow communication not only between bikes using CB, FRS and intercom to a passenger, but tie into several other systems.
For example, I’ve found a system that allows you to add your GPS Navigation System, Cell phone (directly cabled or by Bluetooth), CB, AM/FM/CD/MP3 Stereo, XM Radio, Weather Radio, and Traffic information. All routed through your helmet headset with different methods for bringing music volume down when a call comes in, or your GPS is telling you what turn to take, etc…
Amazing, I’ve been looking for some comm systems for snowmobiling, but these take the cake.
There are also the uber-cool (to me) throat mikes, similar to what fighter pilots in WWII used to communicate while securing the skies over Europe and the South Pacific.
Well it seems that Belkin has made it to market with a Skype WiFi based phone!
Check out the detailed review over at Gizmodo. Should be interesting (for sure), but I still have reservations at a single-tasking device that only works on WiFi hotspots. It seems to me that a 3G Smartphone that can run Skype (or another VoIP client) would be a better choice! Guess that comes from being a Pocket PC bigot (at least I admit it) 
.
Link to Exclusive Belkin WiFi Skype Phone Review – First Anywhere! – Gizmodo
So I’ve decided that I may want to investigate some alternatives to my current mode of transportation to work. Currently I drive either our Ford Explorer or Ranger to work and with a 60mi. round trip, I think I’ll be expending a bit more in fuel costs than I want.
So I’m going to start looking at a transport mode that I used to love using. No, its not public transportation – though that would solve some of my concerns.
Its a motorcycle. Many years ago, I used to ride quite a bit (we won’t talk about how long ago that was), and so I’m thinking this may be an opportunity to get back into riding.
Since the kids are much older now, I’m able to start looking at other solutions (and toys) than in the past. Though I won’t be buying this fall yet, my cousin and I have already made an expedition or two to some dealers – he’s helping me get a plan together, and to select the right bike. He races bikes, and we’ve ridden together since we were shy of 10 or so. Should be fun!