[General Topics] Menneisyys:
I plan to publish the further installments of my Multimedia-related Bible series (of which I've already published several chapters of) only after 02/21 - that is, after the impending release of CorePlayer 1.2 (only the Windows Mobile version, unfortunately - that is, the Symbian / Palm versions will only be released later. See for example THIS for more info on the release date of the Symbian version). Version 1.2 promises a lot of great goodies: UPnP support, RTSP support etc. I’ve chosen not to publish the final Bible before the release so that it doesn’t get outdated in the very near future.

I’ve, in the meantime, purchased a BlackBerry 8800. This also means I’ll start working on the long-promised Push Mail Bible really soon, paying special attention to accessing BlackBerry servers from Windows Mobile and explaining the difference between BlackBerry and Microsoft Exchange, the advantages and disadvantages of both approach with a lot of never-before-published, real-life tricks and benchmark results.

Also, in my future Bibles, I’ll also elaborate on the differences between the BlackBerry (BB ) OS and Windows Mobile – as I’ve done with Symbian S60 in the last few weeks. This will be especially useful for both new WM users coming from BB and both WM software developers and Microsoft itself – just like with my WM vs. Symbian S60 comparisons.

Note that, in order NOT to completely mess up my all-in-one Bibles with the constant references to, currently, three mobile operating systems, I’ll use different text colors when referring to non-Windows Mobile operating systems. That is, if you have only had Windows Mobile devices and don’t want to know how a particular feature differs from, say, Symbian or BB, you will easily know what sentences / paragraphs / charts / columns in charts you can safely skip.

Note that, in the future, I also plan to add

- Apple iPhone – as soon as third-party apps (like CorePlayer, which is being ported to iPhone and already has a working (!), already MPEG4 Part 2 (DivX) video playback-capable prototype – see THIS, THIS and THIS for, for example, YouTube demo videos) become common on it and/or

- Android if and when it gets more support and/or

- (at least) Nokia’s Linux implementation when and if they release the rumored successor to their current, flagship Internet Tablet N810, which MAY contain a built-in phone unit. This, incidentally, will also allow for discussing Linux running on the, unfortunately, discontinued Sharp Zaurus line, of which I have the SL-C860 – a truly excellent, clamshell, VGA device with unparalleled screen quality. Yes, I’ve long been promising articles on Zaurii; now, with the advent of Nokia’s Linux platform on their Internet Tablets, I may indeed start paying attention / devoting articles / comparisons to the old, but still popular Zaurus platform along with the new Nokias.

With references to so many mobile operating systems, the new, colorized text will be a life-saver for people only interested in one (or some) of the covered OS’es. And, a gold-mine for multi-platform geeks & gadget freaks like me :)

There has long been a new and, on the protocol level, vastly improved, 6.x version of I’m InTouch, one of the best remote desktop and, particularly, PIM info / mail access tool for Windows Mobile. I’ve already made the tests & comparison to the previous version reviewed in the Remote Desktop Access Bible; as soon as the developers review / comment on the draft of my article, I publish it.

Bitbank Software have released the brand new, 4.0 version of their, for long-time Windows Mobile users, known VirtualCE PDA controller. I post a detailed review & comparison to SOTI’s highly recommended Pocket Controller and My Mobiler as soon as I get feedback from the Bitbank folks on my preliminary comparison & feature chart I’ve sent them. Speaking of My Mobiler, it has received a very decent upgrade – much more bugfree and has a lot of nice features – since I’ve reviewed it and, now, is pretty much recommended if you don’t mind the somewhat lower speed, particularly with VGA devices.

If you speak Finnish and follow one of the best, multiplatform Finnish mobility-related blogs (that of Tero Lehto), you may have already heard of Strategy Analytics Inc.’s 5-Star Safari Leads Mobile Browsing Experience. The results of the study have resulted in a heated discussion (and a lot of flames) in the Finnish blogosphere. I’ll also publish an article on this issue as soon as the author, Paul Brown, answers my last two mails asking for more thorough information on how the tests have been conducted, why Opera Mini was completely neglected and whether the testers were aware of the keyboard shortcuts of Opera Mobile. The latter is key to using Opera Mobile as effectively as possible – no wonder I’ve always, in all my Opera Mobile-related articles, strongly emphasized to learn its default button shortcuts – or redefine / reassign them if you’d like so. (The same stands for Opera Mini, by the way. If you do learn the button shortcuts, it’ll become the fastest-to-operate browser.)

I, along with the linked-to Finnish blog, feel Internet Explorer Mobile (IEM) certainly doesn’t deserve the excellent (second) place, which is far better than that of both Opera Mobile and Nokia’s Web (Browser) in S60v3 FP1. The latter two browsers are without doubt FAR superior, in most respects, to IEM – if you learn to master their controls and shortcuts, that is. It’s the latter that I certainly lack from the users’ report in the Strategy Analytics Inc. report / summary. That is, it seems they didn't really try to learn to master all these shortcuts; instead, they used the menu system to access, for example, the favorites, go back to the previous page or enter a URL. In these respects, IEM is indeed easier to use (requires less screen taps / button presses) than both Opera Mobile and Nokia Web. However, if you do master the, on the Internet (for example, in my MS Smartphone Web Browsing Bible - see the related chart HERE, covering IEM and the two Operas on devices with a built-in dialpad), well-explained button shortcuts, the situation will be radically reversed and Opera Mobile / Nokia Web both become easier & faster-to-use than IEM. (The same stands for the non-reviewed/compared Opera Mini, of course.)

I also find that the lack of Opera Mini – currently, probably the most popular Web Browser even on Windows Mobile; see for example the latest voting results HERE, which also emphasize this – makes this report conveying pretty much questionable results. Finally, I also miss Netfront and, to a lesser degree, Thunderhawk and Picsel on Windows Mobile (and, the latter, on Palm OS as well). While, personally, I don’t particularly prefer these browsers (Opera Mini is far faster and more usable, particularly on a device with a dedicated dialpad – that is, a Blackberry, a Symbian phone, a MS Smartphone or one of the very few Pocket PC’s – for example, the Asus P525 and the LG KC1 – with a dialpad on the front), they still have a lot of fans.