SYWARE Integrates Camera Usage Into Visual CE

SYWARE today announced that Visual CE, the award-winning rapid application development software for database and forms development on Microsoft Windows Mobile Pocket PCs, has added direct support for HP Pocket PCs built-in cameras. When applications built with Visual CE are run on HP Pocket PCs with built-in cameras, end users can take pictures and either save them directly into a database running on their device or save them as external files linked to the database record. They can move the pictures to their desktop database using the Visual CE synchronizer and print them out with a portable printer.To capture images from HP Pocket PCs from within a Visual CE-built application users simply click an image control and the control becomes a viewfinder. Point the camera, click the control again, and the image is stored directly into the Visual CE database. They can then use Visual CE's synchronization capability to send the image to a desktop or server via an ActiveSync connection or wirelessly, and they can print the image immediately using a portable printer.Visual CE is available in Personal and Professional editions, and as part of SYWARE's Mobile360 bundles. It can be purchased through SYWARE's online store at http://www.syware.com. Visual CE Personal (US$129) is licensed for single device applications. Visual CE Professional (US$399) includes a royalty-free license to distribute created applications. (Windows mobile, News)

Dire Predictions from HP

An executive for HP's Asia/Pacific branch said in a recent interview that the "pen based" computing market will be completely dead in four years, and that the company is moving to emphasize phone-based handhelds restricting their existing iPaqs to "entry level" and SMB markets.

Now we have been reading survey after survery showing record handheld sales and we have to wonder, what is going on here? Will the market be dead in four years? I don't think so. Has HP missed the boat on some of their recent offerings? Perhaps. It will be interesting to see what comes out of Corvalis, Oregon in the next quarter....stay tuned. (Windows mobile)

Opera Browser for Pocket PC Beta 2 Released

The second release in Opera's free public beta program has been posted on www.opera.com. It includes the same impressive small screen rendering as the first beta and the Opera team has added the most requested feature from beta 1: tabbed browsing. There are also plenty of bug fixes included. Opera for Pocket PC is available for free download for Windows Mobile 2003 and Windows Mobile 5 devices. For a complete list of features, fixes and to get your free download visit Opera's site. You can also leave your comments and suggestions for the Opera team in their forum. Opera for Pocket PC Beta 2 will expire on June 1. (Windows mobile)

Spb Software House Releases Pocket Plus Version 3.1

Spb Software House has released a new update for Spb Pocket Plus. Version 3.1 performs better than the previous version and uses less memory. Now the user has the freedom to choose which particular features of Spb Pocket Plus he or she wants to have installed to the device. And the most exciting new feature of Spb Pocket Plus 3.1 is the improved appearance of the Today plug-in icons, giving the device today screen a beautiful new design.Spb Pocket Plus is a powerful Windows Mobile shell enhancement. It improves built in applications such as File Explorer and Pocket Internet Explorer, handles your running applications and hardware buttons, etc. It adds its own extended themes, provides a Today plug-in with tabs and does much, much more.

New Spb Pocket Plus 3.1 Features:- Component uninstall for features that are not in use- Increased performance and stability- New icons. The new release comes with specially designed icons for well-known Spb Pocket Plus' own features, as well as for standard Pocket PC applications, other Spb's applications, and for a number of third-party programs.- Support for semi-transparent icons for the Today plug-in.- Spb Pocket Plus 3.1 was redesigned to make sure battery life is not affected- Backlight support for new devicesSpb Pocket Plus costs $24.95 at. All owners of Spb Pocket Plus 3.0 can upgrade for free of charge. See www.spbsoftwarehouse.com for details. (Windows mobile)

NoviiRemote Now Compatible With Palm Z22 and Treo 700w

NoviiMedia has announced that NoviiRemote Deluxe for Palm and NoviiRemote Deluxe for PPC are now compatible with the Palm Z22 and Treo 700w. This new technology allows the PDA user to get control over their home entertainment system by means of NoviiRemote applications.With Novii's remote control software on a Palm Z22 and Treo 700w, the customer can now have a powerful and versatile, high-end universal remote control. NoviiRemote Deluxe for Palm and PPC features unlimited user-defined options, allowing the consumer to design his or her own remote control and operate all of his home entertainment equipment with a few taps of the stylus. NoviiRemote Deluxe also features macros so you can prepare all your devices for viewing a DVD or TV with the touch of a single button. To learn more about NoviiRemote Deluxe and its features, visit http://www.novii.tv/ (Palm, Windows mobile, News)

Review - Sprite Backup 5

Every Windows Mobile discussion board has a thread that lists the software you'd want with you if you were stuck on a desert island. Chances are on that list somewhere is going to be Sprite Backup. Anyone who's ever attempted to use the backup functionality built into ActiveSync will instantly realize why this software is so important.

Sprite Software recently released version 5 of their popular backup application for Pocket PCs. It makes backups almost effortless and consistent. After checking this software out, I wish there was a solution for my desktop computers that is as simple and powerful as Sprite Backup. (Windows mobile, Reviews)

Handango Releases 2005 Mobile Software Sales Stats

Popular mobile software retailer Hangango has released their 2005 “yardstick�. It includes sales measurements for all major mobile platforms including PalmOS, Windows Mobile (Smartphone and Pocket PC) Symbian and BlackBerry. Stats include best selling applications for each platform, graphs of prices and software categories, and some overall sales statistics.

For 2005, the average mobile application price was $20.03. And over 11,000 new mobile applications were added to Handango during the year. To see what the top selling apps were for your favorite platform, see the 2005 Handango Yardstick.  (Palm, Windows mobile, News)

T-Mobile MDA and SDA Now Available

US wireless carrier T-Mobile is selling two new Windows Mobile powered devices on its Website and from its retail locations. The SDA hit shelves last week and the MDA became available yesterday. The SDA is a candy bar format Smartphone that retails for $249 after rebates. The MDA is based on the HTC Wizard. It runs Windows Mobile 5 for Pocket PC and has a starting price of $349 after rebates. Both phones include Bluetooth, a mini SD slot and a 1.3 megapixel camera.

See the T-Mobile MDA product page and the T-Mobile SDA product page for further details on these devices. (Windows mobile, News)

SBSH Mobile Software Launches iLauncher Version 2.3

SBSH Mobile Software today announced version 2.3 of it iLauncher software. New features include New Menu Replacement, Captions Support, D-Pad Navigation and other improvements. Here is some further elaboration on key features in the new version:

Captions Support - Optionally include captions below shortcuts, activate captions only for certain tabs (designed especially to support document tabs type), control captions display style and lots of additional caption configurations.Complete D-Pad Navigation - New D-Pad support added allowing to fully control and navigate between iLauncher shortcuts and tabs using the D-Pad alone.New Menu Replacement - Add shortcut icons to the "New" context menu options on your Today screen, including an optional shortcut icon that will pop-up the actual "New" context menu. While this feature will work on all OS versions, it was designed especially to meet with Windows Mobile 5 OS users needs after the removal of the New context menu from the Today screen with the Windows Mobile 5 OS. Look and Feel Customization - New color and font settings were added with the new version. Allowing the user to fully customize iLauncher's display.iLauncher 2.3 is available now for $9.95 USD and is available from the SBSH software store. (Windows mobile, News)

Astraware Announces Windows Mobile 5 Compatible Updates for 9 Game Titles

Astraware is pleased to announce that a further selection of our classic games have now been updated to be compatible with Windows Mobile 5.0.Sixteen games including Bejeweled, Tradewinds and Zuma, were made available for Windows Mobile 5.0 last Autumn, and now a further 9 games have been updated. These classic titles are those most requested for update by Astraware customers:Alchemy for Windows Mobile for Pocket PC and SmartphoneAtomica for Windows Mobile for Pocket PC and SmartphoneChroma Games for Windows Mobile for Pocket PCBookworm for Windows Mobile for Pocket PCMummy Maze for Windows Mobile for Pocket PC and SmartphoneSeven Seas for Windows Mobile for Pocket PC and SmartphoneTip Top for Windows Mobile for Pocket PC and SmartphoneFruit Frolic for Windows Mobile for Pocket PC and SmartphoneMars Needs Cows for Windows Mobile for Pocket PC and SmartphoneAs with all Astraware titles, registered owners of these games can get the updated version for free. See the full range of Windows Mobile 5.0 compatible titles at http://www.astraware.com/wm5.We're also pleased to announce that Astraware's version of the popular PopCap PC game, Chuzzle, is now available for Windows Mobile for Smartphone. The game was released for Palm OS and Windows Mobile for Pocket PC in December, but breeding the special tiny Chuzzles required for Windows Mobile for Smartphone has taken a little longer to perfect.Chuzzle features 4 highly addictive game modes, a bonus unlockable Bechuzzled game and special trophies to mark your Chuzzle achievements. To get your copy visit http://www.astraware.com/all/chuzzle (Windows mobile, News)