ArchiveJune, 2008

And we are back for part 2 of the battle royale between mobile browsers. I’m still awaiting word back from HTC about my new Touch Pro but I’ll let that slide…for now.

Access NetFront 3.5 (Technical Preview)

From the guys who made Palm’s proprietary OS comes this simple but elegant solution. The first screen shot is the default view when a web page is loaded. The second screen shot is what happens when you double tap the screen. A full view of the web page is placed in front of the viewing area, allowing you to use your fingers to slide the viewing box (the red outline) to the content you want to see. Double tapping a second time on that box zooms you into that content area.

Pros:
• Easy to use because of similarities to Pocket I.E.
• Fast and smooth finger scrolling.
• Simple interface for power users who don’t need a lot of bells and whistles.
• A small page map appears as you scroll, so you always know where you are on the page.
• Tabbed browsing.

Read more…

First, before I start this entry: If anyone from HTC is reading this, I’d like a Touch Pro please. It’s a great way to get brownie points with one of the top Windows Mobile geeks here at Wirefly. Thank you.

Now down to business. Ever since the 800 pound smartphone made by Apple hit the market with the force of a mega-ton bomb, mobile internet browsing hasn’t been the same. With its finger friendliness, ease of use and revolutionary zoom, Apple’s Mobile Safari is one of the first modern mobile browsers that can claim to deliver the full internet. The problem is, if you have a Windows Mobile device, Blackberry, Palm OS device or Symbian (Nokia) device, you’ll never get to use Mobile Safari, for obvious reasons. That’s where the following heroes step in (for some) to save you from your WAP-enabled prison with finger friendly solutions. Let’s take a look at the most well known browsers and how they all render my second favorite site (behind this blog of course!).

Pocket Internet Explorer (aka Pocket IE or PIE)

This is the default browser you get with Windows Mobile (5, 6 and 6.1) and the control variable I’m using for the sake of this (and my subsequent) post. It’s not very finger friendly nor does it give a great full browsing experience, but it gets the job done for quick browsing. Microsoft was developing a promising browser codenamed “Deepfish” but the last update I’ve seen was April of last year.

Pros:
• Easy to use on the go.
• Pocket IE 6.1 has a zoom out and zoom in function.
• Useful for quickly reading WAP enabled websites

Read more…

I recently wrote about a “new category” of wireless plans generally classified asunlimited plans. In an effort to solidify their position in the new category, and to address one of the key shortcomings of most unlimited plans for all carriers, T-Mobile has just lauched an unlimited plan for families – called FamilyTime Unlimited.

Unlike the previous unlimited plans for T-Mobile and other carriers, where you could add additional unlimited lines for the same price of $99.99, the new FamilyTime Unlimited plans from T-Mobile start at $149.98 for two lines, and each additional line is only $49.99. This represents a serious savings if you’re looking for unlimited service for, say, three or four phones. Additionally, like the initial plan, this version includes unlimited calling and unlimited messaging (text, pics, etc). You can get up to five lines this way, all with unlimited calling and messaging.

The market is big for family/shared plans, and the minutes are big. It will be interesting to see how the other carriers react. Sprint had already been cautiously leaning this way, with their Unlimited Family plan each additional line is $5 less – e.g. $99.99 for the first line, $94.99 for the second, $89.99 for the third, etc.

For two and three line accounts, this T-Mobile plan is going to be really popular. One thing also seems for sure, the “unlimited” category will be around for a while, and it just got better at T-Mobile.

Stay tuned to Wirefly, the only online destination you need to visit for the latest on wireless products and services, offering the absolute best values as they emerge, with no gimmicks.