Windows Live Mobile Search 2 Released

A new, updated version of Windows Mobile Live Search, Microsoft's answer to Google Mobile Maps, has just been released.

Version 2 of Mobile Live Search is said have improved navigation, caching, movie listings, restaurants, GPS and traffic reporting.

Microsoft has even added web-based Live Search option that allows you to look up businesses, get maps, news, weather, stock quotes. It looks pretty good.

I personally like Live Search better than Google Mobile Maps but Google has intergration with contacts. I just wish Microsoft would add that feature and I'd never look at Google maps again.

BTW, Live Search requires a connection to the internet to download maps, give you direction and business lookups. It works with both WiFi and cellular data (GPRS, EDGE, EVDO, etc).

Have a look here: Linkage

New PSP "Lite"!

Sony has finally made it official and announced the new, revised design of their PSP handheld during their E3 Press Conference. The redesign was unveiled by Kaz Hirai with the help of Chewbacca, the Wookiee of Star Wars fame. LOL!

Both Engadget and Joystiq live blogged the event which was held in Santa Monica, CA.

The new PSP looks to be moving in the right direction. Here are the enhancements:

• 33% lighter
• 19% slimmer
• improved battery life
• video output
• same screen as the current version
• still supports UMDs

It will be offered in several colors: Classic Piano Black, Ice Silver, Felicia Blue, Lavender Purple, Rose Pink and White with a photo of Darth Vader on the front (Battlefront Edition).


It is also said that the new PSP will have the ability to cache UMD info onto the memory stick in order to provide for faster loading of games.

Here's a link to a Youtube Video of the Slim PSP in action.

Though I am very happy to see Sony still supporting their great handheld, the upgrade isn't as large a leap as I had hoped. Hardware-wise wish they had included a second analog stick, an internal HDD, a second set of shoulder buttons (I know, I'm pushing it), an internal mic and an internal camera.

Software-wise, I would have loved for them to have fixed the web browser and provided better management of browser cache. I'd also like to see native support for Skype for VoIP calling and other popular Instant Messenger programs like AIM, MSN and Yahoo.

Hopefully, Sony will get it right and include those things in the next revision of the PSP. But for now, this looks like all we'll get for some time to come.

The new, slimmer, PSP is due to hit shelves in September '07 with a price tag of $199.

Google Eats Grand Central

I received an email from Grand Central a few days ago alerting me to the fact that they were bought by the Juggernaut of all online Juggernauts: Google. Here are some excerpts from the email:

We're now part of Google!

We wanted to let you know that GrandCentral has been acquired by Google! We're particularly excited about this because it ensures that not only will we have the resources to continue to bring you even more innovative communications features down the road, but that we will be able to continue to offer you the service, with many features for free, for a long time to come.

Now that Google is running the show, they have locked down the beta. The only way you can get in is now by invite-only. Current users can only invite five people. (Glad I got in on the "ground floor" and don't have to deal with asking around for invites.)

Our priority now is to ensure that you, our current beta users, continue to have a great user experience. While we scale the service, we are moving to an invitation-only model for new users. If you're a registered user today, you can invite five of your friends to join. In addition, GrandCentral will continue to remain entirely free as we work with Google to add capacity, work out any kinks, fix bugs, and add a ton more great features. We hope you continue using the service and send us feedback about anything we can do to improve it.

Though I am pleased to see a large, well-known internet company back Grand Central I am concerned about the direction the service will now take. I'm sure Google will start charging for features and stripping the free service of all the "free". Heck, they've already shut down the ability to upload your own ringtones and now force you to buy ringtones from them... Ouch.

I have my fingers crossed and am hoping that Google doesn't screw up this otherwise great service.

T-Mobile Hotspots@Home Giveaway & Event!

At 8 AM T-Mobile with the help of Z100 radio station, hosted a great giveaway. I was lucky enough to be one of the 100 people to show up in a bathrobe to win $1,500 in equipment and services.

It was a very cool event. The T-Mobile and Z100 staff were very nice and welcoming. Even the two camera crews were nice. Heck, even the T-Mobile guy on that decked out pink Segway was cool. It was an all-around positive and fun experience.

NOTE: I snapped some shots with my shaky camera phone, so please take that into account and be kind when veiwing the pictures. Thanks!

T-Mobile handed us a pre-activated SIM card with a completely new number so know I have two T-Mobile numbers. I'm going to try to port my existing T-Mobile number to the new line so that I don't have to pay for extra service I no longer need.

I'll also post my impressions of the UMA phone and the service once I've had more time with both.

Hi!

This is my very first blog. I had considered putting up a blog years ago but thought it would be too time consuming or just too difficult to manage until I started poking around and decided to revisit the idea.

This blog will chronicle life, times and technology as seen through the eyes of a gadget-lover prowling the streets on New York City. Feel free to RSS this blog or drop by as often as you’d like.

Happy reading!

I Won Some Goodies!

I am happy to report that I won a small contest and will be getting 2 small gadget goodies: BodyGuardz Protective Skin for iPaq hw6900 & a Mobi Products 4-in-1 Compact Card Reader. Finally! I was beginning to think that my my luck was going to stay sour.





I’ll post a review of the items when I get them and have a chance to play with them for a bit.

Safari = Buggy Browser

I had been previously using Camino but wanted to try Safari (v2.0.4) because of it’s RSS feature-- which Camino lacked. The first thing I noticed was that Safari lacked a built-in ad-blocker where as Camino has one natively. There is also no way to import my bookmarks from Camino into Safari. (Come on Apple.)

I’ve found Safari to be a tad bit slower at loading pages compared to Camino. It also hogs more resources than Camino-- but I can overlook that since Safari has built-in RSS which can take up more resources naturally.

What I’ve found browsing with Safari is that it will sometimes randomly crash and shut itself down when viewing a normal, non-graphic heavy page for apparently no reason! I’ve never once had Camino crash viewing the SAME exact web pages yet an official Apple product has more problems than a 3rd party freeware product?!?

Wow, Apple... You need to fix Safari. The latest offering of Safari 2.0.4 is still far too unstable for primetime.