PocketShield is an intelligent screen locker. It completely locks the screen and hardware keys when phone wakes up and is inside your pocket or case, and unlocks it automatically as soon as you take it off.

What’s New:-

• Automatic unlock with proximity sensor. Behavior: if device wakes up and is close to an object (3cm close at most), device remains locked, screen turns off, auto powers off after X seconds if not unlocked. Else it will unlock. *
• Added extra unlock check for both light and proximity unlock: * if device is upside down it will not unlock even if light present or device is cleared from objects. The tip: Store phone head down for extra confidence.

Give it a try today. I would say it’s one of the best screen locker out there for Windows Mobile.

MSRP: $14.99; Get it here!

photo courtesy of Sony Ericsson Product Blog

Talk about trying to sneak one in under the radar! Sony Ericcson is announcing a new device, the Aspen, today in the UK. According to the Sony Ericsson Product Blog,”This phone is targeting a business user or the consumer who is really into messaging. With both touch screen and QWERTY keyboard it really ticks all the boxes for fast messaging. It will run on Windows mobile 6.5.3 which delivers a really finger friendly touch experience.” The Aspen is the first phone that I am aware of that is using Windows Mobile 6.5.3, which “will deliver incremental improvement between major releases.” These improvements include:

• Ease of Use
  • Capacitive touchscreen support
  • Platform to enable multi-touch
  • Touch controls throughout system (no need for stylus)
  • Consistent Navigation
  • Horizontal scroll bar replaces tabs (think settings>system>about screen)
  • Magnifier brings touch support to legacy applications
  • Simplified out-of-box experience with fewer steps
  • Drag and drop icons on Start Screen
• Browser Performance
  • Page load time decreased
  • Memory management improved>
  • Pan & flick gestures smoothed
  • Zoom & rotation speed increased
• Quality and Customer Satisfaction
  • Updated runtime tools (.NET CF 3.5, SQL CE 3.1)
  • Arabic read/write document support
  • Watson (error reporting) improvements and bug fixes

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Last week Wayne and I had the opportunity to sit in on an NDA workshop discussing the new and updated features of Windows Mobile 6.5. Wayne got hung up and couldn’t attend (pesky day job getting in the way, again!), but I was able to sit in an hear a bit about 6.5 and Marketplace, Microsoft’s new software store for Windows Phones.

Those of you who read our GearChat back in February will recognize many of the new 6.5 screens, and yes – the Zune-like interface is still present.

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According to DigiTimes, more than 30 smartphones running on Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5 from a total of over 15 handset vendors are to be launched before the end of 2009, says Benjamin Tan, senior director, GCR Mobile Team Unit at Microsoft China.

Handset vendors which have expressed their support for Microsoft’s new mobile OS include HTC (High Tech Computer), Acer, Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics (LGE), Sony Ericsson, Toshiba, and Hewlett-Packard (HP), according to market sources in Taiwan.

So, is Windows Mobile dead? With more than 30 WinMo 6.5 devices in 3 months, which average to about 10 WinMo 6.5 devices per month, I would say it is still alive and kicking.

[via DigiTimes]

[Ed note: This review is being simultaneously posted on Gear Diary and Just Another Mobile Monday.]

Quite often HTC will release several versions of a single model, and depending upon whether you buy an unlocked or carrier subsidized version, you might end up with very different features. Such is the case with their new QWERTY Windows Mobile Smartphone, the Snap. I was sent their unlocked European version, and Doug received the US Specific Sprint branded device; my comments will appear in black, and Doug’s will be in blue italics.

The Unlocked HTC Snap (European Version)

The first thing that impressed me about the Snap was its sleek design; it’s the heir apparent to the popular HTC Dash, but it manages to pack even more Smartphone goodness into an even more compact package. The Snap is roughly the size of an iPhone 3Gs, measuring approximately 4.6″ tall x 2.4″ wide x 0.5″ thick, and weighing just over 4 ounces.

Since almost everyone knows the rough dimensions of the iPhone, I’ve included photos of the Snap with an iPhone 3G S in the gallery for comparison.

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One of the more frustrating things about owning a Windows Mobile Standard device, particularly the ones which are tied to a certain carrier, are the sometimes you’ll find that there are these inane application locks in place. You usually won’t even know about the lock until you try to install a program that you think will make your life easier or your device usage more satisfying. When you try the installation, it is error city and the application will fail every time. I ran into this with the Pantech Matrix Pro that Julie and I reviewed this spring:

Is the Matrix Pro perfect? Of course not. It comes loaded with AT&T bloatware (Cellular Video, AT&T Music, MEdia Net, MEdia Mall [no, those aren't typos], AT&T GPS, AT&T Navigator, Shop Music, etc.), and while you can obviously add WM programs to the phone, for some it is as locked down as Fort Knox. For instance, if you don’t want AT&T’s preloaded programs, you can’t delete them. But even worse: Twitter addicts will have to update though the web – the excellent WM application PocketTwit can’t be installed without hacking. Another program I couldn’t install was Google Mobile Apps, though I was able to easily install Google Maps…go figure. Google Mobile Apps and PockeTwit both return an error stating that the applications can’t be installed because they “lack sufficient system permissions.” Gah! FAIL.

Microsoft MVP Mike Temporale has been promising that he was going to write a good two part series on understanding and then removing the application lock that sometimes gets placed on Windows Mobile Standard devices, and last week he delivered. Mike is actually the friend who showed me the removal procedure when I first needed it for another device ages ago, so it only makes sense that instead of regurgitating his instructions to you, I send you straight to the source.  Happy hacking!


Understanding Application Lock on Windows Mobile Standard Devices

Removing Application Lock on Windows Mobile Standard Devices

Web site Phonearena.com has a copy of a new rebate form that seems to show the HTC Touch Pro2, Snap and BlackBerry Tour as becoming eligible for US Cellular rebates as of today July 17. Seems logical that sometime between now and the rebate’s expiration date (November 12) that we’ll see this trio appear on that carrier. Or then again maybe they’ll just extend the rebate expiration. We’ll watch and wait – until then you can read the full story below.

Phone Arena

Mobility Minded has posted a very detailed review on the  HTC Snap.   It looks like the successor to the Excalibur/Dash packs quite a punch with Windows Mobile 6.1 and a blazing Qualcomm MSM 7225 processor, running at 528 MHz.  Also noteworthy is the 1500 mAh battery, which should give you up to 2 days of use without needing to charge up the Snap. Continue Reading

[This is a joint review between Doug Goldring of JAMM and Judie Lipsett of Gear Diary; it will appear simultaneously on both sites. Doug's comments are in black, and Judie's are blue italics]

The last time I used a non-touch screen version of Windows Mobile was the Motorola Q.  It ran Windows Mobile 5, and I quickly learned that the interface was nothing short of terrible.  That phone lasted about a week before I declared the phone completely unusable and gave it away to a friend.  That was then.  This is now: Windows Mobile 6.1.  And a lot has changed.

I’ve been using the operating system formerly known as Smartphone for years, starting with the HTC  Tornado (I-Mate SP5m) in 2005. That was followed by the Motorola Q, the HTC STR TRK, the  HTC 710 (Vox), the Samsung Blackjack, the Motorola Q9, the Samsung SGH-i620 , the Samsung Blackjack II, the Treo 500v, the  HTC S740 – AKA Rose, and more recently the Pantech Matrix Pro.

I have never felt that even the earliest Smartphone interface was terrible, in fact I generally found Smartphone to be a rock solid OS when compared to Pocket PC, as it required far fewer restarts. Over the years I have enjoyed watching the Smartphone (now called Standard) platform mature. With that said, I think that your bad experience with Smartphone was due to the Motorola Q being such a dog.

So, right off the bat, you can see that Judie and I are coming at this from completely different perspectives.  Anyway, I decided the time had come to give a non-touch screen device another try.  And what better device to check out than the HTC S740?

I agree that for anyone unsure of whether a non-touch Windows Mobile phone would work for them, the S740 is a great place to start.

Let’s take a look.

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Update: The winner of the AT&T Pantech Matrix Pro is breley. We appreciate everyone who entered, and we would like to remind you that there are many more opportunities to win coming up on Gear Diary!

Here’s your chance to win an AT&T Pantech Matrix Pro. We are purposely making it easy, so let’s see those entries!

To enter, you need to do the following BEFORE MIDNIGHT CST on May 08…

*Join Twitter

*Sign in

*Follow user GearDiarySite

*Tweet the text inside these brackets:
[I'm entered to win a Pantech Matrix Pro from @GearDiarySite! http://tinyurl.com/d6hq6p]

*Leave a comment to this post with a direct link to your tweet.

This giveaway is only available to entrants in the United States; writers for Gear Diary are ineligible for Gear Diary’s portion of the contest.

We will then select the winner at random from the comments, announcing the winner on the May 09.

This isn’t your only chance to win, but time is getting short – six more sites are after us, then the contests are OVER!

Tools for Thought (15-Apr 19-Apr)
ChipChick (16-Apr 20-Apr)
VivirLatino (17-Apr 21-Apr)
slashgear.com (18-Apr 22-Apr)
www.modaco.com (19-Apr 23-Apr)
Gadgetell (20-Apr 24-Apr)
GeeksRoom (21-Apr 25-Apr)
OSNN (22-Apr 26-Apr)
Techmamas (23-Apr 27-Apr)
Clintonfitch (24-Apr 28-Apr)
Justanothermobilemonday (25-Apr 29-Apr)
Geek.com (26-Apr 30-Apr)
MediaBlab (27-Apr 01-May)
Smartphonethoughts (28-Apr 02-May)
Mobilityminded (29-Apr 03-May)
The Gadgeteer (30-Apr 04-May)
Geekzone (01-May 05-May)
Techie Diva (02-May 06-May)
Bostonpocketpc (03-May 07-May)
GearDiary (04-May 08-May)
MobilitySite (05-May 09-May)
AbsoluteWindows (06-May 10-May)
Mobilejaw (07-May 11-May)
Experiencemobility (08-May 12-May)
HackCollege (09-May 13-May)
Gear Live (10-May 14-May)

Starting today, Gear Diary and 25 other websites are participating in a massive Matrix Pro smartphone giveaway. Each site will run their own competition with their own rules. You can enter as many of the giveaways at as many of the individual sites as you would like.

Up for grabs is a brand new AT&T Pantech Matrix Pro smartphone and a $100 gift card that can be used towards your account or to purchase accessories from AT&T.

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This morning at CTIA, HTC announced the all new Windows Standard Phone, the HTC Snap (US version is the S522). This is the true successor to the very popular HTC Dash and sports some impressive specifications, a sleek new look and a pretty darn cool story behind it.

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I was perusing USBFever.com for some G1 accessories, and I came across this dongle that can work with my G1 or any HTC phone.  This adapter lets you use your regular or HTC headphones while charging your phone from the Mini-B USB charger.

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Julie and I have been using the AT&T Pantech Matrix Pro for a while, and it is time to share our experiences with this Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard Edition smartphone. This review will be appearing on Gear Diary and The Gadgeteer; before reading further, you might want to start with my First Impressions of the AT&T Pantech Matrix Pro.

My comments are in black, Julie’s are in blue italics.

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The new Pantech Matrix Pro is a chunky and solidly built little smartphone, offered exclusively by AT&T. Measuring 4.17″ tall x 2.0″ wide x 0.85″ thick and weighing 5.34 ounces, it might be easy to dismiss this little beast as too thick and too heavy. But just like a story with a surprise twist at the end, there is more to this quad-band Windows Mobile Standard 6.1 device than first assumed.

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