One Year with the Samsung i730

I celebrated one year using my Samsung i730 this last month. That is a new milestone for me and a Windows Mobile device. Rarely have I kept using a particular SP or PPC for more than six months as my primary device. I have owned several MPX200s, Audiovox 5600 (still have two), I-mate PDA2K, I-Mate SP5, Motorola Q (lasted two days), Voq (A11 and still own an A10) and most recently bought my wife a Qtek 8500 (Great SP).But I have to ask myself why have I not bought some other newer model PPC or SP to replace this one year old Samsung i730. My main reasons for keeping it are:It is an EVDO capable PPC. I can tether faster than GPRS, I have fast internet surfing and communication.It has a thumb-pad.The size is more appealing to me than the bulky PDA2K I was using.Verizon has updated the operating to WM5.The phone has a nice build and a very good screen.

A Sharp Selection of RAZRs

Without doubt, we live in a RAZR world. Indeed Motorola's iconic design dominates the world's most popular line of cell phones, and has sent its competitors running to respond. Knowing that it's got a good thing going, Motorola has spawned a slew of RAZRs in different colors, across different networks, with different features, and even given birth to the first true next-generation RAZR, the KRZR.

The rainbow of RAZRs seem to hit the spot with the average, voice-only cell phone user. They're brilliant in terms of materials and enclosure design. But they aren't exactly pushing the envelope when it comes to power. By and large, the RAZRs and KRZR you can get in the US are like Aston Martins with the engine of a 1992 Honda Accord. Considering Cingular's latest V3i has late-2004 software with an early-2005 copy of iTunes laid over it, we can be forgiven for thinking Motorola's software team has been coasting.

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.