Microsoft has announced the beta of Windows Home Server Power Pack 3, and this version contains a nice Windows Mobile related feature. 

We know one of the huge bug a bears Windows Mobile users have is video playback performance, and the solution is usually transcoding, which is usually onerous and time consuming.  WHS 3 will automatically copy TV recordings from Windows Media Centre and has a new feature where it will also automatically create a transcoded lower bit rate version in WMV format for your Windows Mobile phone or Zune.

The only issue I see is the low bit rate WMHS sees appropriate for Windows Mobile – only 320×240 at 500 kb/sec. Zune is more highly regarded and gets 640×480 at 1500 kb/sec.

Windows Home Server of course also include many great new features, which you can read about here.

Via Appscout.com

Kikizo: The mobile space is really interesting at the moment. I mean, iPhone is just a whole new thing right now. From a content distribution point of view, you guys already have something that’s "up there", if you like, in Xbox Live…

Kim: That’s right…

Kikizo: …but looking at the success of DS, the massive growth of PSP in Japan lately, and on a slightly different playing field things like iPhone, obviously you’ll be watching this space but do you think there’s room further down the line for it to fit with the Xbox brand?

Kim: Well, I do, and especially with respect to Live. We talked about Live Anywhere a few years ago. Live is the connective tissue. You’re starting to see that now – we integrate Netflix, we integrate Facebook, we integrate Twitter – because we understand that customers don’t want an island experience, they want to be connected to the rest of their lives. For us, it’s a matter of focusing on ‘when’, because if we chased after a mobile or handheld opportunity, we would not have the resources and ability to do things like instant-on 1080p HD, Facebook, Twitter, Project Natal. And so we’ve chosen to focus on the living room experience from a hardware standpoint, if you will, but we’re building a service in Live that will… will extend to other platforms. No question about it. So the question will be, how do we enter into that market – do we do our own device, do we create our own phone – that’s a question for the company itself – do we continue to go down the Windows Mobile path, which is that path that we’re on today, etcetera, etcetera. But believe me, we understand the importance of that device in people’s lives. And the more we make Live about valuable service and add more content, and add more ways to connect with your friends through it, we’re going to need to make sure that it’s on all the important platforms in people’s lives, including PC.

Its slightly reassuring to hear that the roadmap is still Windows Mobile, but it does not sound like Microsoft is too committed to gaming on the open platform.

Read the full interview here.

Read more here.

Read more here.

Jill Braff, Senior Vice President of Glu Mobile, commented “Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare 2 is one of the most anticipated entertainment properties of the year and the Glu team is excited to develop a mobile game for this blockbuster title for fans of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare franchise”.

The game will also to Android and Blackberry, but no iPhone announcement has been made yet.

No specific dates are included, but the rebate covers July 17 to November 12, so any time over the next 4 months is game.

via PhoneArena.com

The specs via pdadb.net are:

Size: 52×105.5×11.4mm, Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional , 32bit Qualcomm MSM7200A, 528MHz CPU, 288MiB RAM, 512MiB ROM, 3.1" 480×800 color transflective TFT LCD, mini-USB audio jack, GSM850, GSM900, GSM1800, GSM1900, UMTS2100, CSD, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA, microSD, microSDHC, TransFlash, SDIO, mini-USB port, Bluetooth, WLAN, GPS, A-GPS, QuickGPS, Geotagging, accelerometer, 3.1MP cam., sec. camera, 1010mAh removable battery

Below is the Smart Pack Flash-based UI in action:

Gigabyte Communications also plans to launch the smartphone in other markets in Asia and Europe, according to company president Cheng Yao-jen.

The company plans to launch two to three new handsets in the second half of 2009.  So far this does not include any Android-powered models, Cheng revealed.

A little known feature of the HTC Touch Pro 2 related to this is that it has different volume levels between the headphone jack and the external speaker which switch automatically when the headphones are plugged in, which is a pretty nice touch, and that volume can be adjusted even when the device is suspended, indicating HTC is finally getting that we want to use our business phones for entertainment also. Now if they had only implemented track skipping by press and hold of the volume keys, like on the Blackberry, we would be in digital music nirvana.

See the video below:

The question therefore arises whether Toshiba would be doing much better of they had waited 2 months to release the device the OS already in place.

Let us know your view in the comments below.

According to Samsung’s change log, the update brings:

Via WMExperts.com

Mobility Software Products, Inc. has announced the release of DataSource V1.0.0 for HTC Touch Pro, Verizon.

The software allows the use of structured data, collaborate with others in a near-real-time manner by Creating, Updating, Modifying, Sending and Receiving Microsoft SQL Server Compact Edition (SqlCE) databases through the Verizon Wireless Network. Eleven SqlCE data types, including Image, are supported.

The key differences between this application and older editions are:
- DataSource has been converted and qualified/tested to run on Windows Mobile V6.1
- DataSource User Interface has been adapted to automatically support HTC Touch Pro in Portrait and Landscape modes

Planned new features are:
- Support for entry of HTC’s GPS data into DataSource databases
- Support for entry of HTC’s Video data into DataSource databases

A fully updated HTC Touch Pro-specific User Guide and  Trial Version is available at the MSPI website.

Visit http://www.mobility-sp.biz for details.

Its a strange world where a 3.5mm headphone jack excites us, but when it comes to HTC smartphones unfortunately just that is the case.  Current HTC Touch Pro 2 owners are going to feel pretty gimped when these devices are released in the next few weeks, not only with dual CDMA/GSM but also with a proper, real 3.5mm headphone jack.

See the video from MobileSyrup below where showing the Telus version displaying the connector prominently.

Does this make you even more likely to pick up the device? let us know in the comments.

Via WMExperts.com

If you post to LiveJournal using PIE or the beta of Opera Mobile 9.7 on Windows Mobile they have just added a nice new feature.

When you do a post using the Post an Entry page, instead of entering text in the Location field of , you can just click Detect and your location will be automatically filled in. The information is based on on your IP address and includes your country, state (for the U.S. only), and city. If you install install the Google Gears client for Windows Mobile the software can detect your location down to the street address. So if, for instance, you take a cool photo of an abandoned place and want to post it in the community, you can click Detect and have the exact address of the abandoned place included in your entry.

Read more about the technology in action at LiveJournal here.

Via GomoNews.com

The Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard smartphone has a 2 megapixel camera, 3G/HSDPA, WIFI, GPS and 5 hour talk time.

If this device sounds right up your alley read more at o2 here.

Via Coolsmartphone.com

Thanks Lasse Pulkkinen for the tip.

HTC has released a Bluetooth security hotfix for HTC Touch Diamond/Touch Pro/Touch HD which “can enhance the security mechanisms of the Bluetooth service".

While HTC does not say specifically this will address the recently publicized hole in HTC’s Bluetooth driver the likelihood is that after 6 months of not doing anything at all they have finally been embarrassed into responded to the issue.

Download the hotfix BLA_S00279.exe to your device and run it. It will Soft Reset your device after installation.

Via Pocketnow.com

HTC has released a Bluetooth security hotfix for HTC Touch Diamond/Touch Pro/Touch HD which “can enhance the security mechanisms of the Bluetooth service".

While HTC does not say specifically this will address the recently publicized hole in HTC’s Bluetooth driver the likelihood is that after 6 months of not doing anything at all they have finally been embarrassed into responded to the issue.

Download the hotfix BLA_S00279.exe to your device and run it. It will Soft Reset your device after installation.

Via Pocketnow.com

Kinoma Play just gets more and more comprehensive, and is turning into a mini-OS all by itself.  Already integrated with a launcher and application store, the latest (free) update brings features like Yelp, a location-ware Yellow pages search, Google reader integration, and a Flight arrivals and Departure times applet.

As usual the application should prompt owners automatically to update.

If you don’t already own this amazing app, it can be purchased at our software store for $29.99 here.

Read more at Kinoma’s blog here.

The FCC has approved a new Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional smartphone from LG, the LG GW600. Unusually for the form factor, the device has a touch screen and features a suretype-style keyboard. With video share, its very likely the device is aimed for AT&T.

The smartphone features:

• Wi-Fi
• GPS
• Bluetooth
• Proximity sensor
• Light sensor
• 3MP camera
• MicroSD card support

Read more Unwiredview.com here.

See the video below

Visit theunwired.net for more.