I’ve switched, goodbye from the Shadow hello to the Tilt.

I’m incredibly satisfied and plan to use it happily until the Shadow 2 is released then I will re-evaluate my phone choice. So until further notice I won’t be updating any software I’ve written for the Shadow, but I will be zipping it all up and uploading it as well.

Best of luck Shadow users; until T-Mobile fixes the Shadow I’m outta here:

• Better battery
• Better scroll wheel integration
• Faster processor
• Fewer lock ups
• Don’t not Font
• Fewer phone issues (multiple returns for defective units)
• More user control over phone (keypad LED & home screen contents)

May not seem like much but it’s enough for me to look elsewhere for the time being.

Thanks for everything.

‘Cool’ Demos of Windows Mobile 6.1

Posted by Jon Westfall 

Here’s my first go round with Video Poker for the Shadow. You use the top 5 keys to select which cards to hold/draw. No points are scored since this game is to practice your skills so you can win big at the casino.

VideoPokerInstall.zip

Download the new version below!

MatchGame.zip

My wife and I are heading out for a vacation that will bring us in contact with some Video Poker machines. As it turns out it’s expensive to buy Video Poker software for Windows Mobile. So what does an individual do with 4 hours of free time? Write a program themselves.

I’m going to post it later on this week when I have a few minutes to finish adding in the strategy part but for now it is fully functional but is lacking all the different strategies for playing Jacks or Better video poker. I hope to complete the Jacks or Better strategy and add in the ability to train playing Double Bonus poker as well.

Enjoy the screenshots and look for an update very soon.

I wrote a quick game for the Shadow that you will be able to download. The game is a matching game, you get a brief glimpse of the screen and must match tiles to complete the board. The game will get progressively harder as more tiles are added and tiles remain face down once they have been matched. Enjoy the game and play to your hearts content.

The game is played using the 20-key pad the T-Mobile Shadow uses for text input. You press the key that corresponds to the location of the tile displayed. You select one tile, attempt to match it to another - if they do match you continue on immediately, if they do not match then you wait a second for the tiles to flip over and try again. It’s a game you’ve played before and probably grew up on - Memory.

Consider it a very early release but a release none the less.

MatchGame.cab 

Looks like Microsoft is reducing options and increasing capabilities as Danger has formally agreed to be purchased by Microsoft. What larks for me, since I’ve recently fallen in love with Windows Mobile and have always had a long standing relationship with Danger’s Hiptop. I’m excited to see where this goes since the Hiptop and Windows Mobile devices give consumers similar experiences but from two completely different directions. The Hiptop is serviced by a closed platform and makes it’s money from its network service where Microsoft generates revenue from licensing its operating system. It’s a nice dream to think of the Neo interface in play on a Danger device - since they are both similar in styling both utilizing a direction-pad and a scroll wheel.

One can dream…

Sony is releasing a new cell phone that looks like a beautiful combination of Hiptop and Windows Mobile. The phone has a sliding keyboard and an angled screen with a high resolution touchscreen. The Sony Xperia X1 will be available sometime mid 2008. It looks like the Sony Mylo was just the opening salvo in Sony’s attempt at world domination.

From Sony’s press release:

Read more about it at Gizmodo.

Tags: Hiptop, WindowsMobile

Yes, you too can now update your T-Mobile Shadow with system improvements, various media, and ring tones. I’m looking for all the differences between the old and new system and am pleased with what I’ve seen so far. A few updates to the Connection menu, the ability to edit your personal dictionary from the * menu, Live Search integrated into the Neo interface, Manage Memory now titled more appropriately Improve Performance, and Audio Postcards added to the Neo interface as a form of messaging.

The update seems to focus on upgrades for people who are non-traditional Windows Mobile users. The  T-Mobile Shadow is not marketed to power users and it seems the update is geared to ease the use of the number of overwhelming options in Windows Mobile.

I haven’t been able to program a single thing lately, with work changing up tremendously lately I’ll have even less time than before. With the reduction in time I’m going to release my few programs over the next few days and update them later on when things quiet down. Enjoy the first one available only for play on the T-Mobile Shadow under the name “Patterns”.

Download the ZIP file and extract to your computer, then install to your device. The program will appear under the Start Menu. Let me know what you think, it is unfinished and needs some polish but it is playable and it is free.

Of course if you enjoy it I would appreciate single dollar donations to my PayPal address at dumbstart@gmail.com. So you’re free to play and donate a dollar if you enjoy it and feel good knowing that YOU are encouraging updates and more programs down the line, for a just a dollar it’s an amazing deal.

a list view on the start menu. Simple as can be, install the program and select which options you want to enable. Once you have selected your options choose Restart Phone from the menu to show the changes. Simple enough isn’t it? If anyone has any other registry hacks contact me and I’ll add them in to make it even more simple to make changes to your Shadow.

Thanks to InsideMicrosoft we now have a well-written well-informed article exposing the features in development for the next version of Windows Mobile.

Windows Mobile 7 will use touch gestures, similar to how the iPhone does. You will be able to flick through lists, pan, swipe sideway, draw on the screen. A lot of emphasis has been put on making navigation easier and doing away with scrollbars, including a new scroll handle that allows for multiple ways of finding items extremely fast.

Windows Mobile 7 will use motion gestures, something the iPhone does not. It will not use an intricate and complicated series of gyroscopes and accelerometers.

The article is very informative and was well worth reading. In addition to the new interface features they are adding in it also shows Zune connectivity - possibly allowing one to purchase a song from the Zune store wirelessly - similar to what the iPhone offers today.

Not due till 2009 so don’t get your hopes up.

The next version of the Apple Newton is a device that will be found in the far future on store shelves, but that won’t stop people from speculating today. At Computerworld they have a (rather generic) Photoshop of what the next Apple Newton may appear as. The device is shown as an iPhone turned sideways with buttons on both sides and a desktop similar to the latest version of Mac OS X.
 
The rumors surrounding the new Apple Newton insist that the screen will be a 5.2″ touch screen (diagonal). The Newton 110 had a 4.52″ diagonal screen - the same size as the iPhone - while the 2X00 series had an approx. 5.9″ diagonal screen. So if Apple will utilize a screen it will feature a slightly smaller and enlongated surface. This makes sense when you consider the rumor that Apple is going forward with an on-screen keyboard in lieu of a hard keyboard, an upgrade from the original which had a limited on-screen keyboard, which should make little difference if the the new Newton utilizes a pen-driven interface. The joy I had from using the Newton came from the straight forward interface developed to be stylus driven; handwriting recognition, one handed menu operation without the need to move back and forth between multiple hands, the ability to be flexible in how items are selected - tapping items, erasing mistakes, dragging and dropping. The problem with having an on-screen keyboard will limit your ability to interact when you are required to switch between a two handed text input method - the keyboard - and one handed selection process.

Of course this device is a long way out and things will change. I would be interested in what changes they would make to the Newton and very interested in picking on up - but - I’ve never been a fan of the iPhone - my biggest, and maybe only, complaint is my inability to type quickly using it’s on screen keyboard. So now I have to wait to see if I can lose that thumb weight that is holding me back from being able to type and also to save my money, if the Newton has a second stigma attached to it - the first being poor hand writing recognition - that would be cost. I remember how long I had to wait until I could afford one and hope that isn’t what holds me back from what could possibly be a great piece of technology that will hopefully have some new features beyond my ability to speculate.

[original item from Computerworld.com]

“How do you take the screen shots of your software running on the Shadow?”

The answer is an amazing piece of software developed by SOTI.net, Pocket Controller Pro. Pocket Controller Pro allows you to connect and interact with your Windows Mobile device by USB. The software on your computer displays what is on your Shadow and allows you to make changes using your keyboard and mouse.

The program allows you to browse the file system of your device, make changes to the registry, take screen shots and videos of your phone in action, and learn quite a bit about what your device is doing when it’s just sitting still.

The program has proven itself invaluable in my quest to write software and it’s on sale. You can purchase it at SOTI.net which is offering a 20% discount on their software when you enter the code “B379CB22″ during checkout. I enjoy the software but I believe that it’s not for everyone, take advantage of a non-crippled trial version of their software and see what you think.

You can read an excellent review of the T-Mobile Shadow at MobileBurn.com. They go into great detail and have some nice things to say about the phone. Recommended reading if you are on the fence as to what your next T-Mobile cell phone should be.