RSS on your SPV

Fancy having the latest news one click away on your smartphone? Tech Digest recently saw a demo of software from Teleca that enables Microsoft smartphones (Orange's SPV, Motorola MPx200 etc) to access news feeds via RSS (Really Simple Syndication).

Sure there is already software that enables users to read RRS feeds on mobiles. However the Teleca system breaks new ground in the way it presents the RSS feed as a kind of news ticker.

Users simply choose their news provider whether it be the BBC, CNN, or (cough, cough) Tech Digest) and then the latest headlines, which can appear on the home screen, are updated each time they go online.

To find out more users click on the headline and they are taken straight to the site.

At the same demo we witnessed Microsoft's impressive Voice Command for its Pocket PC PDA.

Bang Olufsen and Samsung's stylish phone

Bang Olufsen have released a stylish cell phone, powered by Samsung, costing a whopping $1,275. The cell phone is called Serene and it is promoted more like a companion rather than an expensive phone. The makers of chic, high range stereos, televisions and cordless phones, Bang Olufsen, have lend a lot of their sophistication and finesse to this new phone and in collaboration with cell phone veterans Samsung have developed a truly different cell phone. Rumors have been abuzz for a while about Apple releasing its first cell phone but nothing has been so far. So what one gets instead is Serene which has many iPODish qualities and features completely different from a conventional cell phone. .

Mini Windows clamshell comes to UK

A clamshell phone not dissimilar in size to the Motorola Mpx200 the Mio 8390 runs Microsoft Smartphone 2003 operating system to deliver applications such as Outlook, Pocket Explorer and Windows Media player. The phone, which is fairly light at 125g, sports a 256k colour main screen with a second LCD display on its fascia.

Other key facilities include 16 MB SDRAM, 32 MB ROM an MMC/SD card slot, Java, voice dialing and a Intel PXA262 200MHz CPU.

Similar to the Motorola MPx200 it doesn't feature Bluetooth; however unlike that handset it does at least boast a VGA camera. Motorola's next Windows Mobile handset, the MPx220 which will debut in the autumn features both Bluetooth and a 1.3 mega pixel camera.

There's no details yet on the Mio's price or which network is taking it.

Wi-Fi cards for MS phones

Wi-Fi is set to be this year's must-have feature for your mobile phone with upcoming models like Nokia's 9500 Communicator and Motorola's MPx all able to access the web at high speeds via wireless networks.

But what if you already own a smartphone you have no intention of parting with?

SD/IO Cards from both Sandisk and Socket are apparently compatible with O2's Microsoft based XDA II, although users report difficulties setting them up.

We hear rumours too that Socket is readying an SD/IO Wi-Fi card that will work with Microsoft's Windows Mobile phones like the Orange SPV and Motorola MPx200.

It is apparently in later stages of testing and is likely to be launched in the summer.

Arguably the most useful thing about having a Wi-Fi card on a mobile is not for the speed of downloads of e-mail or web pages, but for knowing you can always get a decent connection rather than having to rely on occasionally flakey GPRS systems.

Motorola MPx220 finally confirmed

Along with the launch of the V3 RAZR, Motorola also finally confirmed the release of the MPx220, the company's upgraded smartphone.

The MPx220 looks likely to be an improvement on the MPx200, the company's previous Windows Mobile clamshell. The MPx220 has added the features lacking in its predecessor, namely: a 1.23 megapixel camera and Bluetooth capabilities. There's also a miniSD card slot and 10MB of available memory. It will be available at the end of Q3 which in our book means October.

Judging by this news release, it also sounds like the MPx220 is going to have RIM's Blackberry capabilities as well. Having push emails is likely to make it a far more tempting prospect. Having said that, most of the handset manufacturers seem to be jumping on the Blackberry bandwagon at the moment (the latest rumblings are coming from the Siemens corner), so it might not be such a unique selling point after all.