- Spb Software House Releases Spb Insight - a Full-Text Pocket PC News Reader
- Skweezer Selected by Ask.com for New Ask Mobile Search
- Skweezer Selected by Bloglines to Improve Mobile Experience
- PlanMaker 2006 for Pocket PCs enters public beta test phase
- Spb Software House releases Spb Finance 2.6 with Microsoft Money 2007 synchronization support.
- SoftMaker Office 2006 for Windows released
- New website for PDA Developers
- Spb Software House Releases Spb Diary 2.0
- Demand for Mobile Access to Social Networking Sites Growing
- Skweezer Nominated for Smartphone & Pocket PC Magazine's Best Software Awards
Spb Software House Announces Extended Theme Generator Monday, July 12 2004
Spb Software House has released Extended Theme Generator - the first free tool for creating landscape and VGA compatible Pocket PC themes. With Spb Extended Theme Generator, an add-on for Microsoft Theme Generator, you can edit the "extended" portions of Pocket PC themes, as well as create landscape and VGA compatible themes.
Extended themes were introduced by Spb Software House two months ago together with the release of Spb Pocket Plus 2.0. Being a Pocket PC theme, an extended theme changes everything standard themes change (background, system colors, etc). However, it additionally changes the design of Spb Pocket Plus indicators, taskbar battery indicator, and Close button task manager. Since the release of Spb Pocket Plus 2.0, more than 50 professional extended themes have been created by Pocket PC designers. These themes can be downloaded from Spb website and Pocket PC theme related website:
Spb Extended Themes
http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/pocketplus/themes.html
Extended VGA Themes at PDAGold
http://www.pdagold.com/themes/list.asp?tp=5
Extended VGA Themes at Pocket PC Themes http://www.pocketpcthemes.com/vga.asp
Extended Themes at Pocket Themes
http://www.pocketthemes.com/download.php?op=viewsdownload&sid=94
Extended Themes at Pocket PC Themes
http://www.pocketpcthemes.com/extended.asp
Juni's Extended Themes
http://www.kolumbus.fi/anders.ruohio/wa.html
Adding support for the latest Windows Mobile platform is a part of Spb Software House's product development strategy. A few days ago Spb announced Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition support for all main Spb products and now releases a free tool to help designers create Pocket PC themes compatible with the latest Pocket PC devices.
Spb Extended Theme Generator can be downloaded for free from Spb website:
http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/extthemegen
*** Sample Theme Screenshots ***
http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/about/pressreleases/2004/jul12.html
Source: Spb Software House
palmOne Serves Mac Enthusiasts with New Resource Center on palmOne.com Wednesday, July 7 2004
palmOne, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLMO) today introduced a resource center for Mac enthusiasts who want to get the most out of their palmOne(TM) handhelds and smartphones. New web pages at www.palmone.com/us/macintosh help the Mac community take its digital lifestyle on the go with tips on wireless connectivity, an array of photo album opportunities, and other informative features.
The Mac resource center, featuring "Web Resources" and "Support Resources" sections on its home page, also offers specific help under the categories "Photo Albums & iPhoto," "Syncing w/ iSync," "Go Wireless" and "Software."
"We count thousands and thousands of Mac enthusiasts among our valued customers," said Page Murray, vice president of marketing for palmOne, Inc. "We created this new Mac resource center to build on the idea of the Mac as a digital hub and the palmOne handheld as your portable digital life."
The latest mobile professional and entry-level devices from palmOne, the Zire(TM) 72 and Zire 31 handhelds, are featured on the new web pages. With color screens, photo capabilities and ease of use, these devices are highly compatible with favorite Mac applications, such as iPhoto, iCal, Address Book and iSync.
Mac Resources
-- Photo Albums & iPhoto -- shows users how to take photo albums on the road and add photos taken from a Zire 72 handheld or Treo(TM) 600 smartphone to albums on their desktops.
-- Syncing w/ iSync -- shows users how to enjoy seamless synchronization between popular Mac personal information management applications and palmOne handhelds.
-- Go Wireless -- shows users how to pair a Mac Bluetooth(R) technology-enabled desktop with palmOne Bluetooth technology-enabled handhelds. It also walks users through a quick Wi-Fi setup to use a Tungsten(TM) C handheld with Airport, Airport Extreme, or Airport Express wireless base station.
-- Software -- features overviews of the most popular productivity applications -- Documents To Go(R), Adobe Reader for Palm OS(R), and FileMaker Mobile -- and links to additional Mac-friendly applications.
Source: palmOne Inc. News
palmOne Works with PowerByHand to Launch Online eBook Store Wednesday, July 7 2004
PowerByHand, the premier provider of mobile content and solutions, and palmOne, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLMO) today launched the palmOne eBook store (http://ebooks.palmone.com), with content provided by PowerByHand’s eReader.com, the world’s largest and most popular electronic bookstore.
palmOne currently provides its customers with access to PowerByHand’s award-winning eReader (formerly Palm Reader™) in the box with most palmOne(TM) devices. Visitors to the new eBook store can choose from more than 13,000 popular eBook titles in more than 40 categories, including bestsellers and new releases, such as “The Da Vinci Code” by Dan Brown, a publication of Doubleday and a division of Random House; “My Life” by Bill Clinton, published by the Knopf division of Random House; and Stephen King’s “Song of Susannah: The Dark Tower VI,” published by Simon & Schuster.
The popularity of eBooks is growing at a rapid pace. The Open eBook Forum (OeBF) recently reported that eBooks are the fastest-growing segment of the publishing industry. The OeBF also reported that the number of eBooks sold increased by about 130,000 from the first quarter of 2003, from 288,440 to 421,955 eBooks sold, representing an increase of 46 percent.
“We are committed to providing our customers with a rich content selection for their palmOne devices, including access to the widest selection of eBooks available,” said John Hartnett, palmOne’s vice president of eCommerce, Sales Development and Accessories business. “PowerByHand’s eReader.com is the leader in the eBook industry, and choosing their catalog for our store gives palmOne customers the ability to enhance their device experience and enjoy the mobility and flexibility that electronic reading provides.”
“We are thrilled that palmOne, the world’s premier manufacturer of Palm OS(R) devices, has turned to us to provide its online eBook store,” said Larry Wallace, vice president of business development, OS and Licensees at PowerByHand. “By working together, we can introduce palmOne customers to new possibilities for their devices through the rich experience of eReading.”
Source: palmOne Inc. News
Nokia and STMicroelectronics Introduce New Camera-Module Standard For Mobile Devices Thursday, July 1 2004
Nokia (NYSE: NOK) and STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM) today announced that they are releasing a comprehensive specification for camera modules, aimed at standardizing this increasingly important component in mobile devices.
The specification, dubbed Standard Mobile Imaging Architecture, or SMIA, will cover all aspects of the modules, including their electrical, mechanical, and functional interfaces, and also address other key areas such as characterization, optical performance, and reliability. The SMIA specification is offered for free to the mobile imaging industry and is available at www.smia-forum.org.
The mobile-phone camera-module industry has developed rapidly in terms of technology, with dramatic increases in image quality and higher resolution. SMIA is a standardization effort to fulfill the emerging new requirements and enable mobile handset vendors to work with multiple suppliers. SMIA's target is to address the task of specifying functional and optical behavior of camera modules and therefore truly enable cost-efficient multiple sourcing of the module at the phone level.
"The camera phone market will increase rapidly with cameras entering into key product segments of mobile devices. Nokia recently estimated that the camera phone market would exceed 200 million units this year. SMIA's target is to streamline and accelerate the camera module development, ultimately contributing to creation of the state-of art imaging mobile devices, independent of vendors," said Janne Haavisto, Director, Camera Entity, Nokia Technology Platforms.
"ST and Nokia have worked on this specification for more than two years and both companies are contributing significant intellectual property into SMIA," said Marc Vasseur, General Manager of ST's Imaging Division. "ST has been immensely successful in this market due to best-in-class pixel performance, sensor and module development capabilities, and full ownership of the manufacturing flow. Now, the standardization of interfaces and system partitioning, via SMIA, will enable us to address significantly more opportunities in the mobile phone industry."
The demand for higher image resolution to mega pixel and beyond has prompted the need for increasing bandwidth on the interface, while keeping the pin count low and EMI consistent with mobile phone design constraints. In addition, significant cost reductions are made possible by optimizing the architecture of the camera phone as a whole, as opposed to viewing the camera as a peripheral subsystem. SMIA proposes a framework for defining the related metrics.
SMIA specifies imaging sub-element partitioning that will enable independent technology evolution and optimal design development. Based on a partitioned architecture approach, the optics and sensor will be implemented on the SMIA camera module and imaging processing will be executed, for example, by the mobile phone's main application processor engine.
From electrical interface to optical performance:
SMIA has six chapters that cover all key aspects of a camera module:
- The electrical interface specifies the physical layer (voltage levels, pin-count, timing), data rate (up to 650Mb/sec), EMI (electro-magnetic interference) performance, and output image format.
- The functional specification specifies frame and field formats, register maps for set-up and control and has three profiles that helps easy video usability with high resolution sensors
- The mechanical interface proposes a family of set of modules that provide mechanical outlines specifically designed for volume manufacturing.
- The characterization chapter provides for optical-performance metrics and sensor noise standards.
- The reliability chapter includes environmental-test and drop-test standards
- Finally, a software model is also provided in the SMIA specification, including reference device drivers and software architecture.
Royalty-free license
While Nokia and ST hold key patents and other intellectual property in the SMIA specification, both companies have decided to open these up to any third party and will not assert those rights against anyone implementing a fully compliant SMIA module. No fee, nor royalty, will be levied. A simple license form can be found on www.smia-forum.org.
Availability and other information
The full set of specification documents will be released on July 1st on the SMIA web site www.smia-forum.org, along with additional information.
Source: Nokia Press Office
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