My iPaq might be two and a half years old, but it's got a thumboard and WiFi. While that might not count for much, it's enough to let me rock on with three mobile web apps that have allowed me to stick with Old Faithful instead of springing for a new device.

What are they? Gmail, Google Reader, and Ping.Fm Mobile.

The three things I really want to be able to do with my handheld are check and send email, read my RSS feeds, and update my status on sites like Twitter, Plurk, etc. I am, however, terrible at remembering to keep my iPaq docked and charged, and I'm not good at saving my favorite mobile app installers when I reformat my base PC.

All of which means that I need three simple apps that will run well on a freshly booted, totally naked Pocket PC 2003 install with clunky old Pocket Internet Explorer.

These three have never let me down. They're all formatted nicely for my vertical QVGA screen and stripped of any annoying elements that mess with rendering. What's more, I can follow Brad's advice and have all three open in tabs at the same time.

Gmail is great with a thumboard, and way better than texting from my cell. Reader does an excellent job of reformatting all my feeds so that they're easily readable. Using Ping.Fm means I don't have to worry about whether or not sites like Plurk, Rejaw, or Pownce will function on the iPaq. One simple form updates them all for me. Rad.

These three must haves - along with the basic PIM and media functions that Pocket PC 2003 came with - are enough to keep me productive, even with a handheld that's woefully out of date by today's standards.

Microsoft has pushed out an update to their browser-based local search and mapping site.

Enhancements include:

• 1-click directions for all businesses and street addresses in U.S. This is sweet; you can see directions to the particular location depending on where you are coming from: north, south, east or west. You also have the option to specify a starting location.
• Additional details for U.S. businesses, including neighborhood, business category, cuisine (restaurants) and hours of operation.
• Photos and reviews for U.S. businesses. The photos are nice; you can check out whether the place is a dive. Are the lights burnt out on the neon sign outside? Chances are the food is suffering as well. The reviews are also extremely helpful.
• Improved movie show times Instant Answers (they now show critics rating; one thumb or two?)
• Added interactivity to all maps (clicking on maps now zooms in/out to predefined levels, or advanced to the next waypoint for routing maps)
• Traffic & map Instant Answers
• Mobile search for the China market. Scopes offered are local (no maps, but coming soon), web, images, news and Spaces.

All in all, it's a very feature rich update, and it should make life in the fast lane a little easier to navigate.

Point your mobile browser to http://m.live.com/ for the experience. Don't forget, Windows Mobile Live Search also includes weather, web search, stock quotes, and more.

[Via SolSie.com]

Rumors has it that the Google branded gPhone is on its way. Now when exactly is a different story.

Our brothers at Engadget report that sources at the DigiTimes have said that Google will definitely be launching a handset. The mobile OS is rumored to be Linux-based. The only issue is that hardware specs, production facility, and operating partners are still getting worked out.

As for the handset design, Google is supposedly leaning towards a 3G device instead of a full EDGE compatible cellphone, this all leading to a first quarter 2008 release.

We suppose we will wait for the initial gPhone announcement before deciding on whether to drop some coin on Google's device or the iPhone.

With over 1 billion page views from phones using the Opera Mini Web browser, could the Norwegian browser developer be targeting the iPhone next?

Opera was originally built in 1994 to battle against the heavy hitter that Netscape was. Then everything changed as the mobile landscape grew and Opera began focusing on viewing proper HTML documents on handheld devices. Opera Mini basically connects to an Opera server via a cell connection compresses and reformats content distributing it back to the Mini client displaying content that is closer to what can be seen on desktop computers.

With the release of the iPhone and the Safari browser pulling in the "real" web, many mobile web users are starting to demand this type of content on all devices. This gives Opera Mini a great advantage in the lower end cell phone market. Because lower end devices do not have a browser that displays the web like Opera already installed, they are less likely to use the mobile web. Forget spending $300 for a mobile device, if providers jump on Opera Mini there could be an even stronger demand for Opera Mini web browsing solutions on all lower priced phones.

[via informationweek]

And the rumors keep rolling in on Google's phone development. This magical device that will be host to Google's powerful services like Gmail and Search while on the go. This time a person inside HTC has confirmed the development of the device.

The rumors specify that the Gphone will be shipping from Taiwan, and is scheduled to launch Q1 of 2008. The team at Google has been going over the current 20 HTC models on the market and finalizing its handset design. Gphone will have a specially built version of Google Maps, just as the iPhone does, with built in GPS compatibility. Previous reports stated that the device would not have GPS, and that it would support both 3G and EDGE platforms. Gmail and Calendar will be present, with Google Talk becoming part of the phone in a VoIP mode. As for the operating system on the Gphone, the insider said it would use Windows Mobile 6, however some think that a Linux OS would be more realistic. As for price, there have been buzzing's that the device would stay in the range of only $100. Will it be unlocked? We will have to wait and see, but chances of that are fairly slim.

New and improved, and ready to download today! Get ready to get your mobile application on because Yahoo just launched a new version of Go that brings users faster speeds, calendar and address books, better email, and more powerful maps.

Yahoo Go 2.0 has reduced data loading times which is not only good on your time, but also great on your data plan if you aren't on the unlimited. Some new tools to help in your day to day time management include the calendar and address book options. The address book even has 1 click to call functionality. As far as email is concerned, common attachments can now be viewed, including images, word, excel and pdf's. When you're on the go, mobile maps are a great feature. Yahoo had tied in GPS integration for select devices, which is going to be a great tool not only for local users, but for people who travel frequently.

We took a look at what Yahoo offered with Go Mobile when it first came out, and it still looks like Yahoo holds the top spot for universal mobile applications. We have also had the chance to use a version of Yahoo Go 2.0 just before they added all these goodies in, and it were extremely impressed with what it brought to the table. Look out for a full review on the new Yahoo Go 2.0 coming shortly.

Looks like our hopes for the development of the highly anticipated, and much rumored Google Phone have been stomped out. Richard Kimber, a managing director of sales and operations in Google's South-East Asia office, says that Google will not be entering the crowded handset market, but Google is obviously investing in the software side of things through partnerships with existing handset makers.

Software is key to Google, and equipment manufacturing is far from Google's business plan, as Vint Cerf had relayed earlier this month. As our friends over at Engadget point out, neither Vint or Richard have come out and flat out denied a mobile device is in the works, so who knows what the future can hold.

With this news out, I suppose everything will be ok, the world will go on, and Apple will have to look elsewhere for a worthy battle against the iPhone.

The much anticipated and highly rumored Google mobile phone has been confirmed. Google's Chief Executive in Spain and Portugal has let slip that an "iPhone competitor" is in the works. The Google Exec downplayed the Google phone project, saying that its one of 18 current R&D projects in the works.

The "gPhone" may not be what you expected however, word has it the embryonic device might not be an iPhone killer after all. Google may be targeting developing countries with this device, so in order to cut costs GPS, touch screens, etc. might be out. Think "One Laptop per child" in mobile phone form.

[via Endadget]

Microsoft wants to find you, you little lost puppy, and it's not by posting flyers on telephone poles. They want to help find you when you're lost with pictures that you take and send from your camera phone and, they've been out and about Seattle taking pictures of every foreseeable location to enable this new search technology.

Microsoft showed off some 40 new technologies at the Microsoft Research TechFest last week, and one project team has been gathering millions of street level pictures in Seattle. The team has been testing out and building their map search technology that has the potential to change the mobile map searching world forever. As devices become more and more sophisticated, technologies are making the dream of searching on maps via mobile devices more of a reality.

The mobile map searching application is currently being tested out at Microsoft in its early stages, but will take a long time for the team to snap shots and create a database of all major areas in the U.S. in order to make it a viable application. When this is complete the map search technology is going to make for one application that we're not going to want to leave home without.

In a grand movement to take over the mobile search application space, Yahoo! recently launched Yahoo! Go 2.0 Beta. This slick new mobile application download allows users with a Yahoo account to quickly and conveniently connect to email, news, and photos. Yahoo! has pushed other all in one mobile applications to the side with this solution. Google's Gmail mobile is great to work with because of the minimal elements, but I was shocked at the ease of use and intuitive features the Go 2.0 beta has. The 597kb download took a few lengthy minutes to install on my Blackberry (might have been shorter, but I have to admit, I was getting a little impatient with the progress bar), and was set up in no time. Keep in mind that there are only certain phones that the Yahoo! Go 2.0 will support, with the full service provider and phone model list on the Go 2.0 website. Also, data charges will also apply for this service, and there really is no way to see how much data your are chewing through, but given the extreme use of imagery you can bet it's quite a bit. When the application was launched, it gave me what Yahoo has coined, a menu "carousel", filled with a widgetized menu system on the right, and the content displaying on the left side. (This might be different depending on your phone model. Some phones have the menu displayed along the bottom.)

When you choose a section from the carousel, the content area populates with your chosen data, targeted towards the location you have specified in your Yahoo! account when you signed up back in the day. The widgetized carousel list consists of One Search to search for anything online, including images and movie showtimes. You can view maps, city guides, traffic details and local happenings with Local and Maps. Yahoo emails can be pulled in with an easy to use and synced Yahoo! email inbox with all of your regular CC, BCC, Reply to all functions. Personal news feeds can be created to get the news you want when it happens. Sporting teams with sports headlines and tickers can be tracked. There is also a finance watchlist, market summaries, and financial news feeds straight from Yahoo's highly rated financial data service. You can get your Celebrity and entertainment gossip instantly. Weather can be checked out complete with pretty weather condition icons and forecast outlooks. Again, this is synced with your city profile so the weather for your area will show up instantly. As for images, Yahoo has integrated your Flickr account into the mix, making it easier to thumb through and show off your pictures while on the go. You can also search and connect with other photos in the Flickr database.

This is a nice big step by the Yahoo! team to boost up user interaction with their products in the mobile environment. Will Google and MSN bite back? If they do, they have some work ahead of them. Yahoo! really seems to have risen to the top with this clean and easy to use mobile application.

Can't seem to get Google Video on your phone or mobile device? There's nothing like being able to search for a video, download it and watch it when you are bored. But what happens when you are on the road, and just have your phone? Well, as long as your mobile device has a XHTML browser, some nice storage space, a relatively fast connection, and an application that plays AVI or MP4 formats, you are in total luck. Srobbin mobile video search plugs into Google Video search and serves them up upon your request. Now remember, you should have a data plan, since many of the videos are about 5MB, and your bill might get kind of yucky. To surf for videos, simply visit srobbin.com/mobilevideo from your mobile device and search! Simple! No more boredom! Just a giant bill if you don't have a data plan.

Opera software released a new version of its mobile browser, Opera Mini, on Tuesday for use on Palm and RIM handhelds. This new version has "the Google" search engine as default. Since launching earlier this year, Opera Mini has received much fanfare and thanks from mobile users for bringing a fast and much better mobile browser to the marketplace. This new version enhances on image rendering and speed performance by condensing web pages, and decreasing the data size that is transferred. Not only is Opera free to download and use, but they have a contest running right now where Operaheads can win a free Palm Treo or Blackberry for coming up with a sales pitch to explain why Opera Mini would improve your on-the-go lifestyle. The deadline for the contest is November 30th.

On Monday Microsoft launched Digital Advertising Solutions, a new ad network that ties all of Microsoft's networks together and pushes ads across Windows Live, Xbox, Office, Live Search, smart phones, and handheld computers. Microsoft realizes that people are spending more and more time with all of their devices connected online, and is stepping up to Google and Yahoo to try to gain a larger market share. So in this heavy move to inundate Microsoft network users with ads, how do you feel about the influx of advertising in the digital space? Taking it to smart phones and Xbox gaming systems seems a little too far for me.

Earlier today, NewsGator announced a new addition to its suite of RSS aggregator software. NewsGator Go! is designed for portable devices running Windows Mobile. The software features full synchronization with NewsGator Online and all of the NewsGator desktop clients, and caches its data locally so you don't have to be connected to the internet when you browse your feeds. You can also use the "My Clippings" feature to archive content for access - via any NewsGator app, of course - at a later time.

NewsGator Go! costs $29.95 and is available for purchase via the NewsGator web site.

(Thanks, Tom!)

Sandisk launched a TV recording device called the V-Mate. This new tool enables users to download and record up to three hours of video on SD, MicroSDHC, MiniSDHC, MMC, and Memory Stick Duo and Memory Stick Pro Duo flash cards. The device measures 5.1x2.6x0.8 inches, and changes up the analog to digital by compressing video with MPEG 4, simply by connecting to the audio/video input on a TV. This is certainly the easiest way to trap TV signals, and transfer to computers for storage, editing, or playback.

This is certainly the easiest way to trap TV signals, digitize home videos, and transfer to computers for storage, editing, or playback. Recording for the V-Mate can be done through Cable, Satellite, DVD, VCR, PVR, and Camcorders. The V-Mate also has the functionality to let you schedule recordings based on channels, dates, and stop and start times. Play back on the V-Mate is the best. Since its on a flash cards, users have the ability to check out the shows on mobile phones, handheld devices, PDA's, PC's and of course through the V-Mate connected to any TV.