Unlike all the previous versions of SPB Mobile Shell available exclusively for Windows Mobile smartphones with touchscreens, version 5.0 is to be released for Android, Windows Mobile and Symbian. Thanks to the new portable SPB UI Engine, SPB Mobile Shell is planned to be spread to more mobile platforms.

Major updates to the new version include a new 3D engine and an improved social networking integration. The former means support for new types of eye candy effects such as 3D Media Player, 3D Photo Viewer, 3D Weather, dynamic 3D widgets and more, while the latter involves message, contacts, photo and status sync with popular services, namely Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

One important innovation in SPB Mobile Shell 5.0 is the Natural Interaction Engine which includes support for G-sensor and multitouch, a dedicated Feedback Engine providing realistic visual and haptic responses, and a Physics Engine responsible for the real-world behavior of all objects.

Can’t wait to see it!

But Skyfire’s registration process for the browser gets a big fat “F” in my book.

Ever since I first tried Skyfire a few years ago, I have had horrible experiences with trying to stay registered.  Perhaps that is due to the frequent change of devices I have had, but still, I should be able to correct the problem without much trouble.  I have even registered with various email addresses in the past, and when trying to reset the password for any of them, it just does not work.

I attempted to log in with my Gmail account, and it said I had the incorrect password (which I had recorded in my Spb Wallet).  From the browser, I chose “Reset My Password” and received the usual reset email:

I then was taken to Skyfire browser and entered in a new password:

And here we go again - “Your account is currently unavailable”.

In an attempt to get to the bottom of this, I went to their forum, and get the following message:

Important: Only Skyfire users can post to these forums. To start using Skyfire, go to the Get Skyfire page. Establish a Skyfire account from the Skyfire Start Page. Use the username and password to sign in to the forums.

So, I can’t get to the forum to ask a question about my account because I need access to my account to access the forum! Incredible!  And emails to support have gone unanswered, which in a way, I can totally understand, because email can be overwhelming.  
UPDATE: I received a response, acknowledging there is an issue: “The ops team is currently looking into some problems such as you describe: users are unable to properly reset their passwords and access their accounts.”

That’s a start.  Thing is, I’ve experienced this very thing with Skyfire for years.  They need to resolve this issue which apparently keeps rearing it’s ugly head…

Hopefully this will be resolved soon - heck, Slacker hasn’t even acknowledged that the app (which is supposed to be the real McCoy from Slacker) is available on their site! They might be waiting for next week to officially announce it at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, particularly since it’s anticipated to be a HUGE event for Windows phone announcements!

Scan the Microsoft Tag to automatically download the CAB file.  Hopefully it will be working soon!

There is an app for the iPhone and Android (available by going to Buzz.Google.com) and soon, for Windows phones, Symbian and Blackberry devices.  In the meanwhile, Google Maps for Windows phones has been updated to version 4.0 and now contains a Buzz layer.  

When you Buzz from your desktop PC, you have the option of choosing if the update will be available to the public or just to select people in your contacts.  It appears that is not an option if you Buzz via Google Maps.  I’ll bet the app on the iPhone and Android has a lot more such capabilities, including the ability to post images.

In the few minutes I have been playing with the Buzz layer, it quickly became obvious that I could see Buzzes of all sorts around the city!  Check it out - this is just a random guy Buzzing out in the East End!

Here is the detail of his Buzz:

This has literally just come out of the gate, so expect to see and hear a lot more about this latest Google release!

Some of the ROM developers are using UC, which stands for User Customization.  All of the cellular providers use that tool built into the system to install their customizing software, so why can’t you?  What it does is automatically install some of the applications onto the device when it’s been hard reset.  I have used it in the past, but it had some limitations.  I had to write scripts to copy files where I wanted them put and it wasn’t easy.   I then checked out Sashimi.

(more…)

• At the Mobile World Congress event on February 15th, 2010, Windows Phone 7 will be unveilved, although at this time plans are only to unveil the user interface of the new platform.  Specific indepth functionality of the device will most likely not be shown.
• The User Interface is based upon codename “METRO”.   It will be very similar to the Zune HD User Interface with a complete revamp of the “Start” screen.   The UI is “Very Clean”, “Soulful” and “Alive”.
• Unfortunately there will be no Flash support at the get go as there was not enough time to implement these features.
• Windows Phone 7 will only support application installation through service based delivery. (i.e Marketplace). Application installation via storage card will not be possible.
• No Multi-Task support. Applications will “Pause” when in the background, however will support notifications via push notifications.
• Marketplace will now support “try before you buy” as well as an API
• No NETCF backwards compatibility. This means the original rumor of no backward compatibility for applications holds to be true. That being said, there are high hopes of porting the NetCF to the newer platform easily.
• Microsoft is confident that devices will be ready by September 2010
• Full Zune Integration
• Windows Mobile Device Center will no longer be used.  Zune software to take over syncing via PC.
• OEM Interfaces will not be allowed to run on the device.  Say goodbye to Sense UI / SPB Mobile Shell / Point UI / Infinity, etc, etc (Editors note: for those of us who heard Gordon Bennett speak at one of our meetings last fall, we already knew that!)
• Full XBOX Gaming Integration (Gamer tag, achievements, friends, avatars, merchandising, etc)
• Full support for social networking

There is a plethora of details to go through, although listed above are the biggest impact points of Windows Phone 7.This is a lot of information to consume in one shot and there could very well be the possibility of it being once again another rumor, although one thing stands true. This is the most detailed promising information we’ve seen to date in a while. We will continue to update you as we find out more information.

Changes they’ve made in the 2010 version have been influenced mainly by their last big project, Resco Photo Manager. They’ve enriched Explorer with a bunch of ways to upload images to places like Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, Picasa & Photobucket.   They’ve also added a thumbnail view mode, so you can easily find the exact image you’re looking for (the thumbnail loading is faster if you install both Explorer and Photo Manager).  There is also an enhanced list of supported image formats.

List of Main New Features in Explorer 2010:

• Image Upload to Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, Picasa & Photobucket
  The program is now able to upload image files to the most popular social networks (Facebook, Picasa, Twitter) including the biggest web image databases – Flickr.com & Photobucket. The upload is quick and easy.
• Thumbnails View Mode
  The new view mode displays preview of images.   Saves time while searching for images files in large or numerous folders.
• Interaction with Resco Photo Manager
  The new Explorer can utilize tools and strengths of Resco Photo Manager.  If you have both of these programs installed on device, you will sense that the thumbnail loading is faster as well as the fact that it supports all the photo manager image types.
• Customizable Today Plug-in
  Today plug-in got a new shape and becomes totally customizable.  Determine components of the plug-in yourself! Add or remove phone tools, applications or documents.  The eventual size of the plug-in, therefore, depends only on your choices. The plug-in includes a Task Manager.

Get it here