Tuxtops

Ready to bring VoIP into your business? Getting pressure to implement it but trying to avoid it? Here's InformationWeek's five-point take on the state of the technology.

We get up close and personal with the hottest camera phone on the block; Sony Ericsson's K800i boasts 3 Megapixels, an Xenon flash and even a burst mode. Does it get any better than this?

"A few months ago I wrote an editorial and several blog posts about convergence on gadgets and how Apple might have to move to the phone market for the next-gen of its iPods. So, where is that market is going? Hi-Mobile.net was very kind to send us over the Sony Ericsson W810i Walkman phone for the purposes of this review. We take a look at the W810i's voice, data and multimedia capabilities." Read the rest of the review here.

"Nokia's Tablet OS 2006 update was released July 1st. I've been waiting for the final release since upgrading to the beta release. As with all other upgrades to the Nokia 770's software, you have to replace the executable image that's on the 770. This is everything; the operating system, applications, and default data. In the process any installed applications or downloaded data are wiped." Read more here.

"Today we have an interview with Eskil Sivertsen from Opera and it is one of the most informative we have ever published. My thanks to Eskil for taking the time to answer my questions" writes Clie.co.uk.

Following a beta release on June 9, Nokia has released a highly anticipated Linux operating system update for the 770 Internet Tablet. The "Tablet OS 2006" update is now available for download by 770 owners on Nokia's website.

The Windows Mobile 5.0 HTC Trinity actually doesn't look too much different than HTC's Hermes, with the main addition of GPS and some reworked face buttons. There's 64MB of RAM, 128MB of ROM, a 2.8-inch QVGA display, Bluetooth, WiFi, EDGE, HSDPA and a microSD slot. Just like the Hermes there are VGA and 2.0 megapixel cameras, and the phone is similarly slim at 0.7-inches thick.

InfoSyncWorld ran Sony Ericsson's hotly-anticipated, thumbboard-equipped and multi-talented M600i business phone through the review gauntlet.

Geeks.com was very generous to sent us the GPT-600 (also marketed as GPT-800 in some countries) for a review. The GPT-600 is a Bluetooth-based wireless GPS receiver that allows you to use up to 20 satellites at once in order to retrieve positioning data.

The device is manufactured by GoPass in Taiwan and it's using the acclaimed SIRF Star III chipset. It is very small in size and very easy to hold in your hand if required. Within the box it came with we also found a USB charging cable, a 3.7V Li-ion battery pack, a car cigarette adapter, an A/C adapter, a Windows software CD and a 3-page installation guide showing how to use the GPS receiver with PocketPC 2003's Windcomm/Broadcomm Bluetooth stack. There are no instructions on how to use it with Windows Mobile 5 (check here instead) or with Symbian, but it should be pretty straightforward.

After you fully charge your GPT-600 for the first time (it only took 1.5 hours here), you can press-and-hold its only button to turn it on. When the GPT-600 is not paired with any device yet, then it goes automatically into pairing mode. We successfully paired it with our QTek 9100 PocketPC phone and gave it COM 7 as its outgoing port in the device. After this was established, it was easy to connect to the device with all 4 GPS-enabled applications we tried ("Mobile Virtual Earth" being the most impressive). We also tried Symbian with the java-based mgmaps which also recognized the Bluetooth GPS receiver.

The device has the following features:

- 20 channel all-in-view tracking

- Very high sensitivity: -159 dBm

- Built-in WAAS/ EGNOS demodulator

- Extremely fast TTFF (time to first fix)

- Superior sensitivity for urban canyon & foliage environment

- With LED indictors for GPS, Battery and Bluetooth status

- Built-in low noise high sensitivity active patch antenna

- Dimensions: 41mm (W) * 69mm (L) * 22mm (H)

- Weight: Less than 55 grams (with battery)

While the manufacturer claims support for 20 satellites at once, in our tests the GPT-600 "saw" 11 satellites at once, and used up to 4. Of course, this might not be the norm as it depends a lot in the area you are using the device, but I would expect good satellite reception above the Bay Area. Overall though, the device performed adequately and it was very accurate in its position. But it wasn't very accurate on its altitude numbers. The applications we tried it with reported altitudes between 25 and 60 meters from the sea level, while we live at just 4 meters of the sea level. Other than that, we have no complaints from the device.

One great feature it comes with is its external port for an active MMCX antenna. This allows you to hook the GPT-600 with a $10 antenna on top of your car for best accuracy. We also found the battery life adequate at around 5 hours of continuous usage.

We firmly believe that the GPT-600 is the most affordable and capable Bluetooth GPS receiver in the market today at the $70 price range. If you travel a lot and you need GPS support on your PDA, laptop or phone, this is the product to get!

Overall rating: 8.5/10

Linux has one, last, chance to become the No1 OS in a particular consumer-oriented market (not counting servers): the mobile phone market. The open nature and yes, the hype around Linux has made lots of mobile-oriented companies to consider using Linux for their next-generation cellphones. But there is a major problem on the way to success, a problem which is created not by Linux itself, but by the greed and close-mindness of these same companies that endorse Linux.