...and reading listening between the lines.

3, the magic number?

Excuse the pun but I think Ewan at SMStextnews has done a stirling job covering 3's pre-pre-Xmas preview (all handsets and devices are out a good while before Santa has made final judgement '08 stylie)  If anyone wants the run down on what's coming up, I recommend going there.  I didn't Qik anything or take photos (I was going to ask nicely but forgot!)

Usually I'm useless at the smaller things, the minor details, that kinda thing but having a good read through of the press pack and remembering (another thing I'm not all that good at!) what was said yesterday I can think of a bunch of things that I don't think I've seen reported anywhere else or, if they are, I can add a bit more info to:

• In the Autumn, 3 will start transcoding websites for all handsets - making them look like they normally look on a PC.  How will this work exactly?  I'm not quite sure - there's a variety of different ways this can be achieved.  Many of us are doing something similar at the moment... using the excellent Opera Mini.
  
• Mobile push-email will be on all 3's handsets in future - It'll simultaneously work with numerous email accounts, won't be a huge battery drain (due to some amazing trickery, well I was impressed!) and is unlimited on any internet package (they start at £2.50 p/m)
• Email attachments will be downloadable, won't come out of the user's internet allowance - I presume there'll be some fair-use thing in the small print, otherwise I'll be having mp3 mixes emailed to myself!
  
• 3 really like their Nokia E71 - I can't stress that enough.  They're happy to have RIM on board with their BlackBerry Bold and everything, but they're smitten with their exclusive white paint-job E71.  It's kinda weird as my love is for the Bold, not the E71.
• Bold, 3 in one device?*  Yes, the BlackBerry Bold has all the usual fruitiness plus some 3 on top.  It won't, however, clean and condition your smalls.  The one on display was a vanilla Bold, the 3-ified version isn't ready yet.  The Bold will be, if I understand correctly, a unique effort for 3 due to the way RIM's devices work (most stuff going in and out of a Blackberry is via RIM's servers**)
• Upcoming USB modems will not be Linux-friendly - I got the impression that 3 understand the ever-increasing importance of Linux sub-notebooks (note the Mini-Note) but that Huawei don't.  Whatever the case may be it's a huge oversight in my opinion as the smaller and cheaper the laptop, the more important cheap mobile internet is ...and laptops are cheaper without Windows!
• Nice new UI for dongles on Windows - Connection, account and usage all there in dashboard-stylie, nice and clear and now looking fit for the 21st Century
  
• HSDPA router on display - they've not decided whether to go with it or not.  The one I saw doesn't actually have 3G built-in, it accepts a USB dongle instead.  It's also mains powered, so no WiFi hotspot on the go.
  
• The new Skypephone is noticeably heavier than it's predecessor and... my own view is that it doesn't look or feel as good.  The screen is bigger and better, I liked the menus and they did a good job with Facebook but... those keys and the shiny back.  Horrible.  That's more personal taste than fact, of course.  The keys however, might pose a problem for anyone that likes Skype chatting or texting lots.  Only available in black.  White not gonna happen, people didn't like the original in white.  They weren't 100% certain but they believed it would be usable in the US (as a normal phone, the Skype part will, like the original, only work in countries where 3 have sister networks.)
• There was talk of pink devices in the future - I don't know any female that likes pink consumer electronics, I don't know any blokes that like (or will admit to liking) 'em either.  And the Skypephone wasn't well received in white.  What are 3 considering bringing out in pink?  Damned if I can remember (this is what happens when I don't do Brain Training everyday!)
• They're happy to get Samsung on board at last! - Not touched on this yet so throwing it at the end.
  

Thanks to the folk at 3 and Sam at 3mobilebuzz for the invite.  They treat bloggers, both big and small, the same as they treat the mainstream journos.  Which is nice.

*I tried but failed to come up with a Bold 3-in-1 pun that would make sense, that was the best I could do!
**I won't pretend to be an expert on BlackBerrys.  Hell, I've only just learnt that the second 'B' in the name is capitalised and that the plural of BlackBerry isn't BlackBerries - it's BlackBerrys.

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'fring everywhere

fring is now available for Linux and on presumably every mobile that runs J2ME.  So, that should include the 3 Skypephone and quite possibly the (Linux flavoured) Eee PC.

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Woolie Bargain

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My sister is currently in Hong Kong.  She's been there a couple of days now on business.  A little earlier it dawned on me that I could've loaned her a 3 Skypephone (or should that be a 3Skypephone?  After all this time I still don't know!)

With one of those she would've avoided paying for calls to us in England altogether and we could've done the same.  She'd still have had to pay to call her friends and colleagues but those would've cost the same as when in the UK using '3 Like Home'.

To be honest I'm not sure she'd have gone for it anyway.  Why?  Well, amongst other things, she's got an iPhone, a Blackberry, a DS Lite, a camera (had... it was stolen!) and a laptop!.  She really wouldn't have wanted to add another item to the mix no matter how small!

Instead, she's settled for the good old 'three-rings-and-hang-up' trick instead when phoning home.  This involves her ringing our parents house and, you guessed it... let it ring three times from the hotel phone and then hang up!  Then whoever is home rings her back.  Cheap landline international calling plan makes this possible.  It's crude but it works.  I still prefer the Skype method myself.

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Looks like a lot of activity today over at the ALL NEW 3mobilebuzz.  It's not just the 3Skypephone any more.  So, what are they now focusing on?  Read the title!! Geez...

Yes, they're taking a look at 3's mobile broadband offering and handing out USB "3.5G" dongles left, right and center*!  Where's my one chaps?  Oh wait, I no longer have a laptop!  D'oh!  Having said that my nephew is going into hospital on Monday and he not only has a laptop, he's going to a hospital that has a very sensible policy regarding wireless devices (they allow them to be used!)  So, what do you say guys?  Want to cure a ten-year-old (and his uncle) of boredom?  He's a blogger too!

Failing that we'll be using a Skypephone for tethered access at slightly less than 3.5G

*sorry, couldn't resist, there's more North Americans reading this blog than Brits at the moment!

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Not the catchiest of titles, I know!  But anyway...

There's now a free rival to Nokia's also free, Sports Tracker.  It's Wayfinder's er, Wayfinder Active!  It works on more phones than Sports Tracker which is the underlying reason for this here post.  Yes, that's right, it work's on the 3 Skypephone!

As I'm posting this on an N800, I'm gonna keep it short and sweet.  I'll post an indepth look (well slightly indepth!) when I get a chance on my PC.  There's a couple of pics in the gallery, if you want to peruse them in the meantime.

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Plenty more screengrabs of my fav apps in action and with a brief description/overview including:

Another look at the drum machine program Hydrogen
Miro - a great way to get quality video on the go
Mixxx - beatmixing mp3s on a pair of virtual turntables
What PDFs look like using Rough Guide's PDF version of New York City Directions
GIMP image editor
Super Nintendo on an Eee using ZSNES.  Super Mario All Stars on the go!
Super Monkey Ball a-like Neverball
Zattoo - a strange bunch of streaming TV channels

Oh, and I'm gonna try making a (very) short stop motion animation on my Eee using a Skypephone, Lego and the aptly named Stopmotion app.  I've just got to find something that'll work as a tripod!

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Lots of tech gifts were bought/chosen by me this year for friends and family and most were hits rather than misses.  I myself am typing this on my favourite present, the Eee PC.  It's been difficult to drag me away from it!  I got mine a few weeks before the big day as originally it was a present for myself... ;o)

Biggest hits: Eee PC, Guitar Hero 3 (Wii), Skypephones, Homersapien and Roboquad.

My niece received an Eee PC and loves hers as much as I love mine.  Hers has barely been out of her sight since Tuesday.

My eldest nephew can't get enough of Guitar Hero on the Wii.  He has three siblings and they have one Wii between them so even UN peacekeepers would have their work cut out for them!

My two youngest nephews were rather pleased with their robots.  My favourite is the Homersapien as unlike Roboquad, you can pick up stuff and throw it.  Silly fun and a fraction of the retail price (don't you just love it when retailers have unadvertised clear outs that people spot and post about online!)

Then there's the Skypephones.  We bought a pair for a young couple who are, for all intents and purposes, family.  Wasn't sure what they'd make of them but it was clear they liked them the moment they unwrapped them!  And they've actually been using them.  Unfortunately the Skype service was a bit flaky Christmas Day.  Couldn't set up a Skype account for one of them, but they managed it later that evening.

Word of advice, don't ever buy any big Lego or K'nex set if there's any chance that you'll be the muppet putting the thing together.  Words can't describe the feelings I went through building the K'nex rollercoaster/ferris wheel.  I did most of it with few problems but then came the rollercoaster bit - that's the bit that truly made me loopy (if you excuse the pun).  Suffice to say the 'coaster is still sitting there unfinished days after I nearly completed it.

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Hooked up one of this year's most wanted computing devices (the Eee PC) to one of this year's most talked about phones (okay, after the iPhone and the N95!) - the Skypephone.  Match made in heaven?  Not quite...

I'm completely new to Linux and have the computing skills of a 90 year old.  The laptop is meant to be easy to use.  So, that should be a match made in heaven too.  Again, not quite...

I wasn't expecting miracles as there is no Linux software supplied with the Skypephone, but after successfully connecting my Nokia in 'mass storage mode' to the Eee PC I wasn't expecting failure.  Failure is what I got and with it a message about not having permission to access the device.  The laptop I'm typing this on isn't concerned about permission and neither is the HDMI DVD player that allowed me to watch pictures taken with the phone on a HDTV.

It looks like I've got plenty to learn about the Eee PC in the weeks ahead!

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