While I really like my Shadow I needed to do some testing of a landscape app, and get a feel for 3G performance (I' was used to it in Australia but have yet to experience it here in the US) so I now have a wine red Samsung BlackJack II (aka i617) with an AT&T pre-paid SIM in.

First let me get a little rant at AT&T out of the way. I don’t mind pre-paid SIMs. I use them a lot when traveling. The initial purchase and setup was really slick and painless. But the fact I can’t get data on the cheaper plans is annoying as I have to sign up to a monthly renewal and more annoying in order to upgrade from the penny a Kb to unlimited data I can only reset it for the second month. If I didn’t want to try out their 3G service I’d have paid the unlock fee instead and stuck my T-Mobile SIM in.

Anyway, back to the phone.

First impressions are really great. It feels solid and robust, speakers are good, the screen is clear, camera – though only 2MP – is adequate. After the Shadow the full keyboard will take some getting used to. I prefer it to the Dash/Excalibur though.

I like the fact the BJII includes GPS (though you do need to jump through some hoops to enable it for apps other than the built-in ones), and of course the speed of the 3G data (I’ll like it a lot more when the unlimited kicks in). I really don’t understand why the decided to not include WiFi of any sort in this device though – in the office I get very poor signal coverage so WiFi is a must… so this phone becomes a paperweight.

So what were the first things I installed? TinyTwitter, Windows Live Search and (once I’d sorted out the GPS) Navizon.

The early experience has really been improved by the MyBlackjack2 and MoDoCo BJII forums – you should really pay them a visit if you’ve got one of these devices (or plan to)

Oh, and apparently there is a MicroSD WiFi card that would solve my connectivity complaint… but despite early announcements I can’t find anyone who actually admits to stocking it!

As I don’t plan to switch to AT&T just yet my Shadow will be the day to day phone, but the BJ II will be getting a good workout in the weeks to come… The other thing that would negate this being a day to day phone is the non-standard charge/data connection. Mini-USB works really well on the Shadow and not having one on the Blackjack II is a real negative for me.

I still think my new Shadow is a pretty good phone. Needs GPS and better (much better) battery life to be perfect (and some workflow tweaks to the OS), but that’s another story.

One thing I’ve noticed about the non touch device though is that it’s a bit harder to manage stuff than on the old Wizard… and now I think back that was sometimes a little painful – tracking down photos or SMSs or editing a bunch of phone numbers.

Luckily I don’t have that problem any more. With Dashwire I now don’t have to think about it. No wires, just a simple app installed on my phone synchronizes everything – SMSs, photos, videos, contacts, call log, voicemail, ring tones, speed dials and even Pocket IE favorites – to a web interface.

From there I can edit, synchronize back to the phone and choose what to share in a public gallery.

If your client is up and running on the phone you can even use the web interface to compose and SMS message and have it sent from your phone.

The convenience of Dashwire is one thing, but having a backup of all your phones content is a pretty fantastic facility. If you’re ever faced with a hard reset of your phone (say to upgrade the firmware) or you manage to lose or break your handset having an up-to-date backup is going to easy the pain.

For the backup plan I’d love to see them able to retrieve details like it IMEI and serial number, and if they know your operator make reporting a stolen device painless (or at least guide you through the process) – but just having the information to hand would be a real bonus.

Looking forward to seeing how Dashwire evolves, and what their business model looks like

Windows Zero Configuration is a real boon to the world of WiFi connectivity. I let WinXP and Vista take care of connecting to the right router and managing all that "stuff" for me and I've never given it a thought.

However, I've started using a different VoIP solution at home and for various reasons it's not plugged into a wired machine but living off a WiFi connected box (if I can work out the audio driver issues on the server it's going back to there, but I might end up having to wire the machine it's on at the moment)

So... what's the problem?

It was a tricky one to find... Every minute or so on a call I'd get a moment of total silence. I couldn't hear anyone, and no-one could hear me. Weird huh? That's what I thought.

So I started investigating. Lots of diligent diagnostics and pleas to the internet search gods and eventually I got a pointer in the right direction.... every 60 seconds Windows ZeroConf checks the health of the connection... sadly that has an impact on the communications to the router:

Reply from 192.168.10.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.10.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.10.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.10.1: bytes=32 time=944ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.10.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.10.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.10.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64

So what's the answer?

Well... in WinXP you need to kill the ZeroConf service (hit "Start", then "run" and type "Services.msc" and hit enter. Search for "Windows Zero Configuration...." and hit the "stop service" button) - or if you have a driver/management program for your WiFi card use that instead.

In Vista it's a little tricker

• Open a command prompt using run as administrator.
• Make sure the WLAN service must be running first. If it isn't type net start wlansvc.
• Type in netsh wlan set autoconfig enabled=no interface="name of your wireless network here" (with the quotes)
• If you need to see the name of your wireless network first, type in netsh wlan show settings

or (and if you have a group policy set that won't let you run that command) you can try this WLANOptimizer utility.

However there is a downside of turning off ZeroConf.... in my case when the machine that's running as the VoIP host loses the WiFi connection for any reason you have to restart the service, let it reestablish the connection and then shut it down again!

Hopefully, as this impacts both VoIP users and gamers (who need good ping times) we'll see a hotfix for Vista or someone will write a cool utility that softphones can trigger when in a call to stop ZeroConf doing it's check (perhaps extend the refresh interval to an hour from start of call or only if the connection drops or some other rule)

Oh, the VoIP solution I'm using is MagicJack. It's early days yet, but the quality blows Skype out of the water. If you're thinking about getting one check out the unofficial forum for some really good advice.

As a T-Mobile customer I wasn't impressed to read this morning that Starbucks was going to swap over to AT&T as their WiFi Hotspot provider.

One of the reasons for me choosing T-Mo over, say, Verizon or AT&T was the relative ubiquity of their hotspots thanks to the Starbucks deal, but now apart from one borders store and a hotspot in one terminal at SeaTac I can't think where I last encountered a T-Mo Hotspot in the US (and they're pretty few and far between in the UK as well).

I like their GPRS/Edge data service. It works well enough and has great coverage (I've not been without a signal anywhere I've traveled in the US) but it looks like their plans are currently all you can eat internet (over the air data and WiFi) or very limited WAP... and I resent paying for a service that pretty soon I might not be able to use.

Why might? Because the small print in the Starbucks release indicates that T-Mobile customers will continue to be able to use the hotspots after the transition.

The deal actually looks pretty good for Starbucks customers

I did drop T-Mobiles customer support a mail to see if they've anything to say by way of clarification.... hopefully it'll be good news. Meantime I'll be pricing up AT&T data services just in case...

It's quite often a question I ask myself when lost and confused in a city far from home (and actually I ask myself the question when I'm just popping down the shops sometimes!)

Luckily I recently discovered Navizon which lets me pair a GPS device with my phone and show me where I am on a map (yes, I know I can do the same with Windows Live Search for Mobile but ... there's more to the story). Navizon give users who report GPS data back to them points (and points mean cold hard cash via PayPal). The reason Navizon give the rewards is that their positioning service doesn't just work with a GPS equipped device. If you only have phone (and ideally WiFi) capabilities it can use information about the local cells and visible WiFi networks coupled with the afore-mentioned GPS data to make a pretty good guess as to where you are.

One of the cool things is that the Navizon API is available for other companies to make their software location aware so hopefully we'll see some good things coming soon. In the meantime users can also access data (including the optional "tracker" functionality) to keep an eye out for buddies or alert friends and family when they enter a certain place or use the XML feed to locate yourself on a map.

I decided to have a play with the XML feed and Live Maps to see what I could do...

BTW if you sign up to Navizon don't forget my referal code - 5E585D5B5A :)

A few weeks ago I detailed my dream-phone to replace my (then) current Wizard. I ended up getting a Shadow which in many ways is a really good handset but today I read the announcement about Sony Ericssons first foray into the Windows Mobile space and .... I'd like one please ;)

At the moment the best detail is on their press release but it certainly looks like a great start for them in this space - and I imagine with their experience in great smart and music phones - the P9xx and K series - the extra tweaks they'll have added to the platform will make this pretty sweet. I'm just hoping that it comes with a decent browser (and an upgrade path to the next WM releases)

Some highlights are

As usual I wrote this only to discover SteveCla has beaten me to the punch. There's a downside to living GMT-8 I guess... gotta get up really early to scoop the Brits!

In many countries old school telcos are under fire from new competitors. For instance AT&T in the US is fighting threats from VOIP services provided by both large scale (almost as monolithic) providers such as Comcast but also the likes of Skype, Vonage and MagicJack. Although there are some issues (what happens when there's no power, 911 calls and quality) providers such as Skype offer as wide a range of services for a fraction of the cost (I've spent less in a year on my Skype account than even Comcast wanted per month for a landline)

Even the cash cow for many Telcos - Mobile - is under threat. Unlimited data plans and fairly ubiquitous hotspots in Starbucks, Borders, McDonalds or FON coupled with mobile versions of Skype and other VOIP clients has the potential to threaten voice revenues (and of course embedded messenger solutions eat into Texting revenues).

Although I still can't quite get over the US habit of charging me to receive a mobile call (as well as charging the caller) I'm not too disappointed with the quality or cost of the service - though T-Mobile really does need a 3G data network soon as GPRS/EDGE isn't that spectacular (coming from Australia I really miss my Three 3G data plan).

The thing that kills me with mobile though is roaming and international calling. Back in the last century before planet wide partnerships and telco empires (eg Vodafone/Verizon or T-Mobile in the US, UK, Germany etc) you could see reasons for the telcos to charge like a wounded bull but in these days of cheap and ubiquitous alternatives making the experience of roaming painfully expensive (and difficult) is just stupid.

I'm traveling in the UK at the moment with a T-Mobile phone. It's taken me a week to get a SIM unlock code (ironically for 10 quid I could have walked into one of a dozen shops and had my phone unlocked in minutes) so I was left with the option of either using their roaming rates or finding an alternative. Although the phone claimed to recognize and log me in to T-Mobile Hotspots I wasn't even able to use my "unlimited" data plan here. I ended up borrowing an unlocked phone and a pre-paid SIM with data at one pound a day (not from T-Mobile so they lost out there - just because I was annoyed with them!) and I used Skype for most calls.

The day that a telco realizes the value of not being seen to gouge a customer who wants to show loyalty and use their service in countries where their logo is commonplace... I'll switch. Especially if they can come up with a solution that allows me fairly seamless communications without needing to resort to Skype or similar to get a better deal eg a local number that people can enter my US number as an extension and get redirected so neither they nor I get penalized for making calls in country and international calls are shipped over their backbone so I don't get penalized for phoning home.

Looking at what these companies claim the cost of acquiring a customer is trying to recover that from my in a week when I'm overseas is silly. After this trip I have lost any loyalty towards T-Mobile and when my contract expires (or is economically viable to break) I've no real reason to remain a customer.... an unintended consequence of short sightedness.

It only feels like minutes ago I was writing that I was looking for a new phone. Then today my Wizard started turning itself off every 10 minutes. Opened it up and noticed the battery was a little warped and probably about to turn into a lump of toxic goo - not sometime I wanted in my pocket, or on a plane with me tomorrow.

So, on the way home I popped into my local T-Mobile store and (thanks mostly to FrankArrs glowing recommendation) picked up a shiny new sage Shadow.

It's very strange not having a touch screen after all these years, and not only is there no "full" keyboard the letters are not arranged as on a normal phone but spaced out over the 20 keys ... so I'm having to re-learn the old T9 style tapping out of emails as well.

That said, it took maybe 20 mins once I got home to get the phone set up, connecting to the WiFi at home, syncing with Exchange, GMail and my Live account.

I then turned to the AllShadow site for some background reading which pointed me at the modaco forums for some more hard core tweaks. TinyTwitter was the first app loaded (expect to see some funny tweets from me until I get used to the keyboard). The best bit was having a conversation with one of the folks responsible for the Neo interface - every day I'm reminded just how many smart people I'm lucky enough to work with.

The coming days are going to be a learning experience. Like any new toy I don't expect to be proficient straight away, but I think this is going to be something I become very happy with in a week.

Going back to my wish list the camera is lower spec that I'd like, there's no GPS and music means I'll need to buy a Micro-SD card and an adapter if I want a 3.5mm jack for headphones... but bang for the buck it's one sweet little phone...

Of course, much as I like the interface I'll have to try PointUI out on it now ;)

It's been a long time since my first mobile phone - a venerable old Motorola MicroTAC but it really set the tone for many features that I consider to be valuable in a communications tool today.

Of course compared to today's phones there are many features I'm glad we've moved on from, though when it comes down to it the basic functionality is pretty hard to innovate much beyond while the form factor remains close to what the world thinks of as a phone.

Since then I've had many phones - StarTAC, Nokia 6110, 6310, 7650, 3650 and a trusty 8210, Sony Ericsson T610, Motorola A1000, Sony Ericsson P910, LG U8120 and LG U890 (I worked on TV shows that were sponsored by phone networks... it helped provide a never-ending supply of phones and paid for calls!). Then I got my iMate K-Jam (AKA HTC Wizard / T-Mobile MDA) and for a long time it's been good.

The trusty Windows Mobile device has seen me through a bunch of projects, kept me in touch (phone, email, IM and now Twitter) and since joining Microsoft it's been used to dogfood upgrades and patches to help work out the kinks before you get them. With PointUI it now even looks as cool as the new HTC TouchFlo devices (at, at least on the home screen, gives the iPhone a run for it's money!)

Time however hasn't been kind to the Wizard. The battery doesn't last 24 hours, the screen gets confused if it should be in landscape or portrait (the micro-switch doesn't always switch!) and it's generally starting to show its age.

It's time for a new phone.

But when I look around the market I find that my expectations are maybe a little hard to satisfy. Even if I'm willing to compromise on a couple of things on my wish-list there's still no one phone that leaps out and says "buy me!"

So, what does that wish list look like - and can you help me find the ideal new companion?

• Windows Mobile. A combination of loyalty to my employer, but more so I can be sure of connecting to our Exchange server with all the various security protocols in place.
• A real keypad. One of the disappointments with the Wizard is trying to dial quickly. A physical keypad means you don't have to wade through an on-screen menu with no tactile feedback just to make a call. I'd like a full keyboard as well but as long as it's got T9 or smart auto-complete I can live with it.
• A decent camera. I don't need 10MP with 25x zoom... but I do need 2MP or better, ideally with a lens cover (or some way of cleaning it) and if possible a flash. Responsive camera s/w would be a real bonus as well
• WiFi, 802.11b and g. There are some great phones out there (eg Samsung i620 or HTC Touch Dual) that are crippled because there is no WiFi.
• GPS. Not essential (if I only have to drop one thing it would be this) but I love being able to locate myself using Windows Live Search or track where I've been.
• Good battery life. Let me go 48 hours without desperately needing a charge. I want to be able to do email, check twitter etc without hearing the beep-beep-beep of a dead battery. And that includes being able to turn off the radios and play solitaire and listen to music on a flight from Seattle to Heathrow, and still have enough juice to call my brother when I land.
• On the subject of music... if I can converge my iPod and my phone in the same way I converged my PDA and Phone with the Wizard I'll be very happy That of course means I want a standard headphone jack (3.5mm) as well as good stereo bluetooth support.
• Ideally the screen and input functionality will be good enough to write quick notes to myself, dash off emails and respond to comments on my blog.
• Which leads me to web browsing. Compared to Safari on an iPhone or Opera on other mobile devices PocketIE really needs a workover. Apart from the circa 2000 UI on Windows Mobile Professional devices (SmartPhones are a little better) web browsing is the more compromised experience on these devices.
• Ideally upgradable. Windows Mobile 6 is okay, but I know I'll want Windows Mobile 6.1 or 6.5 or 7 or whatever comes next...

Annoyingly one of the best devices for most of these, apart from the critical email access question, is the Nokia N95 8GB. Most of the Windows Mobile devices don't quite get there at the moment, thought the HTC S730 is pretty darn close. If the Touch Dual or i620 had WiFi they'd be very strong contenders (I love the idea of the smaller slider, or even a clamshell, form factor) but with the other things I'd have to give up they don't quite make the cut.

I guess my Wizard will last a couple more weeks... in the meantime I'd love some suggestions what should replace it. Michael thinks the Samsung SCH-i760 is pretty cool and Frank can't make up his mind between a Treo, Tytn-II or Shadow ... no wonder I'm confused ;)

Despite the DoNotCall registry we still get some weird random calls at home and on the cell. Sometime they are obviously phishing but sometimes they were just plain weird (including a series of reverse charge calls claiming to be from an inmate in Richmond Jail who had important information for me!)

While it doesn't help stop these calls I've had fun using a couple of services to look up the random numbers to see who else they've been bothering. In some cases the scam becomes clear... in other cases I'm left none the wiser.

If you want to do your own sleuthing check out WhoCalled.Us, 800Notes or NumberZoom. All very US centric... anyone know similar services in Australia or the UK (or other countries)?