The number one complaint I hear from new adopters of the latest God Phones is the problem they have with dropped calls. Battery life issues can often be fixed with firmware updates, but when you’re out of range, you’re out of luck.

In an attempt to help address this problem, the folks at ARC Wireless Solutions have released the latest version of the Freedom Blade wireless signal booster for PDAs, cell phones and laptop wireless access cards.

More info after the jump.

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eWEEK seem to have gotten a bit confused by what constitutes a Smartphone, because one of these phones does not belong.

Apple’s recently announced iPhone has been widely criticized for being a closed platform, not open to 3rd party developers, which rules it out as being a Smartphone in the true sense. While not a very comprehensive list, up till the last phone the gallery shows quite well the development of the Smartphone from an add-on card for a PDA to today with integrated 3G, push email and more.

I want to take this opportunity to tell you all what I am thankful for this year…

1. I am thankful for my family and close friends, that they put up with my odd hours and compulsive computering without too many complaints. I am thankful that they are all generally very understanding and forgiving of the fact that I spend nearly every waking moment doing something gadget related – even when I am sick or supposedly on vacation. I am thankful that they usually understand that the only way for me to relax is if I am in front of a screen – whether it be PDA or computer. Yep, I am a geek.

2. I am thankful for the contributors to this site, the ones who have written articles, commentaries and reviews. You all make it possible to keep Gear Diary well rounded – and not just from the viewpoint of one person. Thanks to you all, I can take a breather every now and then. I truly appreciate you!

3. I am thankful for the people that email or comment telling me that they appreciate this site and the work that we are doing. Your support means more to me than you will ever know.

4. I am thankful for the people that come to this site but that never email or comment; those that enjoy our posts and come back again and again looking for “new stuff”. We’ll do our best to keep you entertained, informed, and coming back for more!

5. I am thankful for the friends I have, those I’ve met in person and those I’ve met only through email, that encouraged me with emotional and technical support when I decided to start my own site. Each one of you is awesome…and you know who you are!!

6. I am thankful for the vendors and companies that have shown support for this site, either by sponsoring it directly or by providing contest give-aways. I would like to take a moment to recognize Michael from RoadWired, Federico from Vaja, Johan from Neuros Audio and Mike from Ultimate Ears. I would also like to thank David from Netline (which manages our Free Trade Publications section) and Steve from Mobihand (which manages our software and accessory store). You guys are wonderful, and I appreciate you!

7. I am thankful for the other mobility site owners and writers that send me links when they have posted something they want to share with Gear Diary readers. It is not always possible for me to comb each and every site everyday for the latest news – even those on my favorite’s list! I appreciate that you all email me to share your breaking stories.

8. I am thankful for the other mobility site owners and writers that post links back to reviews and blurbs that we have posted here. Nothing makes us more proud than to see one of our posts mentioned on another site. We appreciate the link love, and hope to return the favor when we can.

2006 has brought me much to be thankful for. Thank you for sharing it with me, and thank you for your continued support.

I hope your Thanksgiving Day is wonderful and you get to spend it with the people you love!

Over the last year I have grown incredibly spoiled when I travel because I no longer need to pack a tangle of “spaghetti”; instead, I bring along a set of Gomadic Charging Cables. The same single cable charges my PDA, mobile phone and digital music player. It can charge Sarah’s phone and Sarah’s digital music player, too; all it takes is the proper tip for each particular device.

For those unfamiliar with Gomadic, I’ll state the premise in a nutshell: They sell cables with plugs on their ends which will accept their specially made tips; these tips fit many of today’s popular consumer mobile devices. Gomadic’s “Tip Exchange Technology” means that the same cable can be used for years – and as devices are added to the user’s collection, new tips can be purchased to swap out with the old.

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The HTC Universal is the device-of-a-thousand-names: i-mate JasJar, O2 XDA Exec, QTek 9000, SPV M5000, and HAL 9000 for all I know. It’s a hefty (10.2 oz/290 g), big (5.2″ x 3.1″ x 0.93″), hi-res (640×480 VGA), versatile (3G/GRPS, wifi, bluetooth, 1.3 Mp camera, Window Mobile 5), expensive ($1000 retail–go to eBay!) SmartPhone/PDA/convergent device with a clamshell design that hides a decent-sized keyboard and an interesting open, spin, and fold screen that converts it from a sort of micro-laptop form factor to that of a regular PDA.

Judie has already reviewed the Universal at The Gadgeteer, but poor Judie got the i-Mate version, which apparently has one of the world’s most boring unboxing experiences.  

I scored an O2 Exec on eBay, and whatever else these O2 folks do–and I’ve heard some bad stories from folks in the UK, alas–they sure made one cool package for this device.

First, understand that I’ve had the device for a couple of months now, so this is not a “fresh” unboxing, but rather a “recreated” unboxing. But that caveat aside, I think you will enjoy it.

Here’s the box as it comes shipped–a blue rectangular solid:

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As the owner of a Tapwave Zodiac, I’m pretty far behind the curve (or way ahead, depending on how you look at it) with regard to PDA/handheld/UMPC/convergent device development. I love these gadgets, mind you, but the last time I went to buy one I found such a dearth of Palm OS devices (you can have a LifeDrive, or a Treo, or, um, a different Treo, or, um . . .) that I got depressed and kind of gave up.

So anyway, I didn’t hear about the whole Origami thing until someone on Tapland mentioned it in passing, as it were. (Us Zodiac folks are always on the lookout for handheld devices with decent graphics, you see.) That, combined with a need to get my wife a new cell phone, sent me out looking at the market for convergent devices, SmartPhones, UMPCs, and the like.

As everyone reading this blog probably knows–hey, I said I was behind the curve–there’s an awful lot of overlap in these devices. There are smartphones with 4″, full VGA screens that run Windows Mobile 5; there are PDAs that have Bluetooth and WiFi built-in, but don’t have cell phone capability; there are UMPCs that (it seems to me) might as well be really expensive PDAs with slide-out keyboards. Or even without slide-out keyboards. And on and on.

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There are two ways to do video conversion from your DVD to a file for viewing on your PDA:  direct from the DVD, or by ripping the DVD first and then converting the ripped file.  I have found that the best bet is to rip the DVD first.  This has two advantages:  it saves wear and tear on your DVD drive, and it allows you to reconvert your video if you find it necessary.

I have also found it a good idea to choose a few representative minutes of your DVD and rip and convert those.  This takes a bit of extra time, but it can save you (literally) hours of trouble by allowing you to tweak your conversion settings with a short 100-300 MB file, instead of the 3.5-5 GB file of a full film.  For my Zodiac, I have my settings down pretty well, so these days I usually don’t have to convert a clip for testing purposes, but for the Universal, I’m still at the clip conversion/testing stage.

For ripping DVDs, I use a free utility called DVD Shrink.  DVD Shrink lets you edit what you are ripping, so that you clip out the credits if you like, or choose your 3-5 minutes of test clip.  The interface is a little wonky and takes a few tries to get used to, but after you’ve done it a few times it’s really pretty simple.  Other folks like to use DVD Decrypt, but I personally don’t like it.  I find the interface too clunky, and you can’t do any editing, which is a deal-breaker for me.  Both DVD Decrypt and DVD Shrink get around the various copy protection software that are built into most DVDs.  The only DVD that I have been unable to rip so far using Shrink is “Sin City;” I have no idea why.

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I like the idea of RFID technology – being able to quickly pass an embedded item near a reader for immediate access or payment, but there are certain uses that make me nervous – like having an RFID embedded in my passport or other ID that contains most if not all of my personal documentation. These documents can then be easily read by anyone with the proper equipment.

I recently received information about a new product that will block RFID readers from being able to scan the new embedded passports and other documents.

Okay, so this picture doesn’t make the product look fashionable at all, but the function is truly what matters here.

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I mentioned in my Loading the Hermes post that I have been using a beta version of Spb Insight RSS Reader. Today I just got notification that the release version is available. Check out the screen shots here.

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Many of you by now will recognize the name HTC as the abbreviation for the Taiwanese based company High Tech Computer. They are the world’s largest manufacturer of Pocket PC and Smartphone OS based PDAs, and as such they are responsible for many of the more recognizable devices which are rebranded by companies including Hewlett Packard, i-mate, Audiovox, and Dopod – to name a few.

The device we’ll be looking at today is known by several names including the O2 XDA Trion, the MDA Vario II, Orange SPV M3100, and the Dopod 838Pro. This review will specifically cover the HTC Hermes branded as the Dopod 838Pro; while some of its included software may differ from other branded versions, the general hardware specifications should be about the same.

Similar to the HTC Apache / Sprint PPC-6700 which I reviewed last year, the Hermes features a compact touch-screen PDA form factor with a left-sliding keyboard which only appears when needed. The Hermes is intended to function not only as the user’s mobile phone, but also as a fully functional PDA, an email and text messaging center, and a compact means to wirelessly surf the internet.

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One of the treats we received at Mobius Thailand this year was a Vaja case for the HTC Hermes / Dopod 838Pro.

You would have thought it was Christmas!

John Starkweather had no sooner announced that Vaja had made custom cases for our new Windows Mobile 5 Phones, when the room erupted with “oooooooohs” and our eyes grew wide; there was a good reason for this.

Vaja has been around since 2000, and in that time they have managed to revolutionize the case making industry. No longer the new guys on the block, they are now the leather craft company that every other case-maker aspires to be. From the beginning they have created form-fitting, well made cases constructed of aromatic Argentinean leather which complemented the PDAs carried inside. But before long their innovative designers chose to not only create the highest quality cases, they also began to offer custom designs that allowed their patrons to personalize the case-making process in a way never done before. Whether the case is from their Classic line or the slightly edgier iVolution line, Vaja items all have a few thing in common – they are impeccably made, they look beautiful, and they all smell yummy!

So today we’ll take a look at the HTC Horizonal Pouch, which is made to fit Pocket PC Phones – with or without a sliding keyboard – that measure no larger than 4.45″ tall x 2.3″ wide x 0.5″ thick. This pouch is very similar to the Vaja HT41 Pouch which I previously reviewed.

The case itself measures 4.53″ long x 2.6″ wide x 1.35″ thick. It is composed of black aniline leather with a deep red aniline accent stripe. The subtle Vaja logo is the only branding evident anywhere on the pouch.

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Here’s a little known fact about me – I don’t only like gadgets, I also like cars…a lot. I’m not going to give the full list of every car, SUV or truck that I have ever owned – sufficed to say that it would be lengthy and on some levels it would explain my propensity for having a lead foot. In any case, I will say that one of my recent favorites was the 2002 Mini Cooper S – which we later traded for a Corvette Z06, but that is another story.

The Mini was like a little go cart – utterly tight and fun to drive; I would have loved to have taken it to a track and seen what it could do, but I never took the opportunity.

That’s why when my new friend G-A told me that he goes to the track once a week to test drive cars for his site Nihon Car, I had to take a look.

Side note: G -A also happens to a fellow Mobian and is the mastermind behind Akihabara News and GeekStuff4U.

G-A recently purchased a very pricey high definition digital movie camera for the harrowing rides that he takes when testing the latest Japanese cars, and the Mitsubishi Colt Ralliart Version-R is his latest subject. He doesn’t just drive the cars around the track – he romps on them while talking about it! Ooooh, I want his job!

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One just arrived on my doorstep and is charging now. New toys are fun – upcoming reviews are even more so.

*****

Would you like to get an HTC Hermes / i-mate JasJam for free (with an $80AU/month service plan)? Jenneth shows how Australians can. She also mentioned that the JasJam will sell for $1299 Australian – $200AU less than the Dopod evidently sells for…ouch!

It would appear that the JasJar is no longer the most expensive WM5 PDA Phone.

It’s so easy to get caught up in the “bigger is better” trap, and nowhere does this trend become more evident than when taking a look at what passes for some people’s gear bags. I’ll be the first to say that it is easy to understand this phenomenon, because as geeks one of our inherent traits is that we never want to be caught without the right tool. But if it’s just going to be a day spent at the zoo with the kids or hiking along a nature trail, is it really necessary to bring along everything but the kitchen sink? Of course not. So when traveling lightly, it stands to reason that a smaller bag should be in order.

Today I am going to take a look at a bag that has been available for several years, but it is definitely one that deserves a second look and perhaps a new legion of fans. The RoadWired Pod is a diminutive bag that manages to pack a serious load. Even though it only measures approximately 7″ tall x 7″ wide x 5″ deep, this bag features over 20 pockets and compartments, some of which are quite specialized. Today, we are going to discover them all…and talk about the different things that can be loaded into this little guy.

Let’s start with the basics…

The Pod is available in several colors including solid black, navy, yellow, red, and olive; all bags have black accents. While at Mobius, I was given the red version which just so happens to perfectly match my luggage. Nice going to whomever made the color selection!

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**This contest closed on October 20th, 2006 - Kismet was the lucky winner!** 

I should have the review for the HTC Hermes / Dopod 838Pro ready on October 20th, if all goes according to plan.

Even if I decide that it is “all that and a bag of chips”, I have decided that it would make a very nice first give-away for Gear Diary. It comes with the original box, all the original packaging goodies, and a custom Mobius edition Vaja pouch – which I’ll also need to review, come to think of it.  

Pretty slick, huh?!

Provided that you don’t have an objection to winning a very gently “pre-owned” Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC Phone, you are very welcome to take a chance to win. If you live outside of the United States you are still welcome to enter…and I’ll even pay for shipping. It may be the slowest method possible depending on where you live, but I don’t want to exclude anyone.

So how do you enter? Simple…just register right here. If you’ve already registered, then you are already entered. I am not going to make you jump through any crazy hoops or have you write a post about why you should win over the next guy. I’m simply giving away the PDA Phone and case to one lucky reader.

Added later: Poo! I was just told by a friend with a law degree that I might get in trouble if this little contest was construed as a game of chance…so just to be safe – if you would like to win the pair, post a short comment telling me “hi”. That will be your entry!

So sign up, leave me a message, and shortly after I post my reviews I will decide upon a winner.

Also added later: So there is no confusion…if you have never posted here before, don’t fret if your first post doesn’t immediately appear. I have to approve all first postings to guard against spam. Yes, I am already receiving it! So check back later and you should see your post, okay? Okay!

Added MUCH later: If you are in the US, this phone will work on either Cingular or T-mobile. It’s quad-band, so it should work well anywhere with GSM/GPRS coverage; it will not work with Sprint or Verizon, as they are CDMA based.

Added Much MUCH later: If this is won by someone living outside the US, you will be responsible for all customs, fees, duties or other taxes.