05:41 PM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Picard (my new hero) has just released a closed-source plugin for Betaplayer which utilizes the new Intel 2700G Video decoder of Dell's Axim X50v.

To use it, you must first install BetaPlayer 0.093g; then install the Intel 2700G plugin.

Once the new player and the plugin are installed, you should have two new video options. Use 'Intel 2700G Decoder' to accelerate mpeg1 and mpeg4 decoding. With this decoder, I had a benchmark of over 200% (compared to 130% without using the plugin). What makes the plugin so great is that Axim X50v users can now lower CPU speed to save valuable battery power.

[via Aximsite]

04:10 PM by Laurens in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

PalmSource unveils Xplore M28 Smartphone

A new slider-style Palm OS powered PDA smartphone from PalmSource was unveiled today, the Xplore M28 smartphone has joined the GSPDA family of devices, it comes built with a VGA camera and digital zoom, Mp3 and MPEG4 support, 64MB RAM, 32MB SDRAM and explandable SD/MMC slot.

Still runs OS5, though. Also, it seems to be for the Asian market only.

02:11 PM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Apparantly AvantGo is trying hard to capture back some of the users who made the switch from AvantGo to other offline-browser alternatives. If you have an AvantGo account, you can now participate in a new beta program for the upcoming AvantGo 2005.

AvantGo 2005 includes a redesign of the user interface, improved on-device channel management and selection (you can now search, browse, and add AvantGo channels from your device), on-device Help & Alert sections, and enhanced connected/wireless features (you can now select which channels you wish to sync).

The beta software is available for Palm OS 5, Pocket PC, and Symbian OS UIQ and Symbian OS Series 60.

01:50 PM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | News

In India's news magazine Express Computer you can find an interesting overview of how electronic paper could become a usable digital alternative to real paper in the long run.

The author Sushma Naik argues that "electronic paper has a better chance of succeeding [than e-books] as it mimics the conventional medium of paper but with a significant advantage." The advantage of e-paper over paper is that it can be re-used thousands of times. Imagine this scenario:

The use of electronic ink and two-way wireless communication could lead to the creation of electronic books that renew themselves with new selections when readers are finished with the current book or newspaper; indeed, newspapers might be able to update themselves with the latest news while being read.

12:05 PM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Winston Chiu was able to have an exclusive interview with SnapperMail creator Will Lau. SnapperMail is the currently best mail solution available for the PalmOS platform.

The interview reveals that the next version of SnapperMail will include background comms and push capable email (similar to Blackberry's email pager). Another interesting news is that the SnapperMail team is working on a project codenamed "Triplex", a portable cross-platform mail engine that marks the expansion of SnapperMail onto other platforms (Symbian UIQ, PocketPC, MS Smartphones and a few more).

[Via PalmAddicts]

10:30 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

I am holding a new x50v in my hands and all I can say so far: it is a totally NEW experience! I am not sure about the Pros and Contras, since I haven't had much of a chance to play with it yet.

Rest assured I will post more about my new journey into the PPC realm in a couple of days!

10:24 AM by Alexander Turcic in More E-Book Readers | Fictionwise eBookwise

Brad has one of the first hands-on reviews of the rebranded eBookwise 1150 hardware e-book reader. Nice job, Brad!

From his MR forum comment:

At first I was kind of disappointed with the low res, half VGA screen, but that quickly changed when I started to read. My reading speed went way up because of the larger screen. I could sort of scan ahead. Also even though it is lower res, I find the 1150's serif font easier to read than the default sans-serif font on my PDA.

I've always maintained that the relatively small screen size of today's PDAs is one of their biggest drawbacks - at least when it comes to reading e-books. The eBookwise's huge paperback screen size outshines conventional PDA screens. The low price ($99) plus the big screen make the eBookwise an interesting alternative to PDAs if you are looking for a dedicated e-book device.

05:44 PM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Week in Review

In case you've missed any MobileRead news from this week, here is our usual roundup:

Book Links
iPod eBook Creator

Book Reader Hardware
Report: 2005 - turning point in e-book reader technology

Emerging Technologies
Interesting Handango Decision
Movies on Your PhotoPod
RIM: Connectivity is a "must" for PDAs nowadays
Sharp Zaurus SL-C3000 mini-reviewed

General Chat
E-Books increase Global Warming, researchers say (satire)
Mobile browsers only use a small sliver of information
Tim O'Reilly Interview

General Palm Discussion
PalmOne, a devastating blow to palmSource
palmOne doesn't accept that it's lagging on the technology curve
P r i n t i s D e a d
Problems with the Treo 650s and T5s

General PPC Discussion
3D Air Combat Game Pack (Pocket PC Edition)
Intel explains why QVGA slow on Axim x50v
Linksys WCF54G - 54 Mbps WiFi card for PPC
New version of ubook available (0.9a)
PDAMill's Arvale: Journey of Illusion released

HandStory
Namo HandStory Suite V3.1 released

Non-Fiction
On intelligence, by Jeff Hawkins

Plucker
Sunrise author explains why Palm OS is unfeasable