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The Smartest Phone http://the-smartest-phone.com iPhone's smartphone monopoly hub Mon, 25 Jan 2010 23:06:40 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9 en hourly 1 Is This It For Microsoft and Windows Mobile? http://the-smartest-phone.com/is-this-it-for-microsoft-and-windows-mobile/ http://the-smartest-phone.com/is-this-it-for-microsoft-and-windows-mobile/#comments Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:00:57 +0000 admin http://the-smartest-phone.com/?p=221 At one time, Windows Mobile was one of the few good mobile operation systems that offered a feature rich and somewhat streamlined experience. Recently though, Windows Mobile popularity has fallen year-over-year with the introduction of BlackBerry, iPhone, Symbian and Android. It is now 3rd overall in market share taking 24% of enterprise users. With such a sudden fall from grace, something must have happened, and that isn’t totally Microsoft’s fault.

Taking a look back, Windows Mobile originally appeared as the Pocket PC 2000 operating system. This started the trend of every Windows Mobile device requiring a stylus to enter commands onscreen. While the user could use their finger to input data, this was not easily done, marking one of the key downfalls to Windows Mobile.

With as many as 8 versions to date, many features have remained constant to the platform. Office, Outlook, Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player, PPTP VPNs, Connection Sharing, multitasking, multiple file support, and the infamous Today Screen are all quintessential components to the Windows Mobile family.

On paper, Windows Mobile seems great. However, critics have had much to say about it’s poor performance. Windows is unable to recognize multi-touch screens and as such, limits hardware functionality. The interface of Windows Mobile shows many inconsistencies and requires the use of the stylus to operate a mobile device. A glaring issue is the disabling of high definition video on Windows Mobile devices when the Snapdragon processor, which powers many modern smartphones, is more than capable of doing so.

Not everything is Microsoft’s fault though. Many of the lag issues in Windows Mobile stem from hardware that couldn’t handle it in the past. Upgrading the device was also a short coming not on Microsoft’s side, but on the carrier side, so a few things can‘t be blamed on Microsoft, but a lot more can be.

Microsoft is banking on Windows Mobile 7 to help bring them out of their huge deficit. Realistically, the company is foundering and cellphone makers flock to Android as their platform of choice. The future looks grim, but fear not, a similar fate befell Palm, and their web OS help start their slow comeback. If history has taught us anything, its that the future is uncertain and nothing is set in stone.

]]> http://the-smartest-phone.com/is-this-it-for-microsoft-and-windows-mobile/feed/ 0 Windows Mobile 7: It Can’t Be Worse than Vista http://the-smartest-phone.com/windows-mobile-7-it-can%e2%80%99t-be-worse-than-vista/ http://the-smartest-phone.com/windows-mobile-7-it-can%e2%80%99t-be-worse-than-vista/#comments Sat, 23 Jan 2010 01:59:09 +0000 admin http://the-smartest-phone.com/?p=216 The next full version of Windows Mobile, once code-named “Photon”, will officially be dubbed Windows Mobile 7. While it is not the most original name for the OS, it at least stays consistent with its previous naming conventions. With little information being realized, what can we look forward to?

Like everyone else in the cell phone market, Microsoft will be competing with the iPhone. Thus Microsoft has been pushing its designers towards a more touch-based User Interface. Navigating through menus, documents, web pages and mail will all be done through touch motions. A flick of your finger will replace conventional scrolling. It is also rumored that Windows Mobile will be getting multi-touch support.

With multi-touch support, Windows Mobile 7 will likely include support for gestures. With the help of the camera, the OS will detect tilts, shakes and twists to allow the user to enter commands in the device running it. With that, the OS is rumored to detect when the device is in a pocket or other enclosure. This is possible since a similar feature is found on the iPhone. The use of accelerometers could also be used to achieve the same results.

Under the hood improvements are great, but there isn’t much point if it is not aesthetically pleasing as well. Microsoft apparently has this covered as well. While credible mock screenshots are hard to come by, what is known is that Windows Mobile 7 will have Silverlight 3 incorporated into the browser, Apps, and the User Interface. Why is that significant you might ask? The inclusion of Silverlight allows Microsoft to revamp their style giving the overall appearance of Windows Mobile a new feel. From what has been seen, this appears to be a mash up of Windows Live, ZuneHD & Windows 7, and hopefully that doesn’t change.

What can also be expected is incorporation into the cloud. Don’t worry, this is not a hostile take-over. It just means that Windows Mobile devices will be able to sync wirelessly with an array of cloud-based services. This will mainly be take form as MyPhone and Windows Mobile Marketplace. It is also rumored that MyPhone’s capacity will increase from 500MB to a whopping 2GB and migrate onto the Live Mesh platform.

With all the new changes coming about in the Windows Mobile world, it’s easy to get excited about it. An ever-changing release date, Microsoft’s numerous mobile platform teams, and devices incapable of running Windows Mobile are all roadblocks Microsoft will have to overcome to make this a success.

]]> http://the-smartest-phone.com/windows-mobile-7-it-can%e2%80%99t-be-worse-than-vista/feed/ 0 Top 5 Palm Smartphones of All Time http://the-smartest-phone.com/top-5-palm-smartphones-of-all-time/ http://the-smartest-phone.com/top-5-palm-smartphones-of-all-time/#comments Sat, 23 Jan 2010 01:54:50 +0000 admin http://the-smartest-phone.com/?p=213 Palm started out as a powerhouse in the handheld computing market. Then for one reason or another, Palm fell from their perch. Now, with the introduction of webOS, Palm is slowly making their comeback. It wasn’t all doom and gloom for Palm, they did put out some great handheld devices. Here is a list of the 5 best Smartphones put out by Palm in no particular order.


Palm Treo 600 – Running Palm OS 5.1, the Treo 600 offered improved battery life, a VGA camera, SDIO expansion slot, one-handed navigation and supported international cell phone towers.

Palm Treo Pro – The Palm Treo Pro offered a sleek design that combined a full QWERTY keyboard with a touchscreen. You could surf the web with Internet Explorer 6 and it came with a variety of connectivity option such as EV-DO and GPS.

Palm Treo 800w -In this version, Palm ran Windows Mobile 6.1 and added Wi-Fi and GPS as well as support for EV-DO. It also included a touchscreen, slim design and 2 Megapixel camera.

Palm Pre – The Palm Pre is thought to be the device that started Palm’s slow raise back into the Smartphone market and the first to run Palm’s webOS. The Pre offered multitasking, an unparalleled notification system, a multitouch screen and solid web browser. Palm managed to cram 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS into this package as well.

Palm Pixi – Pixi featured a nice, thin design and an improved QWERTY keyboard. An OS update brought Yahoo integration and enhanced messaging features. The only thing lacking from the Pixi was the inclusion of Wi-Fi, but something had to set it apart from the Pre.

]]> http://the-smartest-phone.com/top-5-palm-smartphones-of-all-time/feed/ 0 Top 5 Nokia Smartphones http://the-smartest-phone.com/top-5-nokia-smartphones/ http://the-smartest-phone.com/top-5-nokia-smartphones/#comments Sat, 23 Jan 2010 01:50:39 +0000 admin http://the-smartest-phone.com/?p=208 Believe it or not, Nokia’s history started in 1865, when mining engineer Fredrik Idestam established a groundwood pulp mill and manufactured paper. Over time, the company has evolved and expanded into the telecommunication and device manufacturer it is today. Over that time many great phones have come out of the woodwork, here are the 5 best and most recent.

Nokia N80 -The N80 featured a multimedia rich experience with two cameras, both a 3 Megapixel and a VGA camera on board, integrated music player, PIM functionality, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

Nokia 3250 - This brand of Nokia offered a gimmicky but cool twisting design that rotated 270 degrees. With that there was a 2 Megapixel camera, video recorder, music player and Bluetooth. Despite some design flaws, the 3250 sported a unique design and a solid multimedia experience.

Nokia 5700 Xpress Music – Simply put, this was the predecessor to 3250, cool twisting design and all.

Nokia N95 – Certainly one of Nokia’s more popular phones, and for good reason. It featured 8GB of internal memory coupled with a nice 2.8 inch display and 5 Megapixel camera. It also sported Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS and 3G support.

Nokia E71 – With a slim design, the E71 still fit in a full QWERTY keyboard. Running the Symbian OS, it was chalk full of features, supported by Wi-Fi,Bluetooth, GPS, 3G and a strong set of productivity tools.

]]> http://the-smartest-phone.com/top-5-nokia-smartphones/feed/ 0 Top 5 BlackBerry Smartphones of All Time http://the-smartest-phone.com/top-5-blackberry-smartphones-of-all-time/ http://the-smartest-phone.com/top-5-blackberry-smartphones-of-all-time/#comments Sat, 23 Jan 2010 01:46:48 +0000 admin http://the-smartest-phone.com/?p=205 In 25 years, Research In Motion (RIM), based out of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, has gained a net income of 1.892 billion US$ and become one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers with over 12,000 employed by the company as of 2009. In the 10 years RIM has manufactured the BlackBerry, over 50 million handsets have been sold world-wide. In this article we’ll take a look at the 5 best Smartphones RIM has put out recently, in chronological order.

BlackBerry 8820 -Released 09/19/2007. The 8820 was the first BlackBerry to offer integrated Wi-Fi. This small but essential addition took the BlackBerry beyond just a device for e-mail and phone calls.


BlackBerry Pearl 8130 – Released 11/23/2007. This version of the BlackBerry added built-in EV-DO, GPS and video-recording capabilities. It also made improvements on the Web browser and streaming media.


BlackBerry Curve 8330 - Released 05/09/2008. While the Curve lacked Wi-Fi, it did integrate GPS, Bluetooth 2.0 and EV-DO. The Curve 8330 was a great messaging device with the bonus of EV-DO.


BlackBerry Bold 9000 – Released 11/04/2008. Not only did the Bold look pretty, it had brains and muscle to boot. The screen was super sharp and offered great multimedia performance. It also brought HSDPA support, more productivity tools and an updated OS.


BlackBerry Tour 9630 – Released 07/12/2009. When the Tour was released, it was billed as the ultimate world phone. Along with that, the phone offered Bluetooth, GPS, a 3.2 Megapixel camera, high-resolution display and full QWERTY keyboard. With support for BlackBerry App World, the Tour proved to be more than just a one trick pony.

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