Podcast.com, what I assume is a website dedicated to podcasts, has announced that they are now offering services specifically for corporations who are interested in publishing podcasts. So far, PriceWaterhouseCoopers has signed up and already has a sub-domain under Podcast.com’s eaves. The key selling point seems to be Podcast.com’s search engine technology. I tried it at PWC.Podcast.com and it didn’t do anything but reload the page when I searched for keywords like “annuity”, “portfolio”, and “Canada”. The homepage for PWC even has an item on banking in Canada. Maybe they’re still working on it.

written by Tyler Regas

To explain, PostPath is a Microsoft Exchange mail server replacement. In general, non-Microsoft software can’t support Microsoft functions like ActiveSync because they either need to license it for an exorbitant amount or reverse engineer it, and then Microsoft just changes it in an update. Now that Microsoft has had to release its technologies for free or a very reasonable rate, it looks like PostPath has picked up on that and jumped on ActiveSync. Where the iPhone comes in is the addition of real ActiveSync support for the mail client in the upcoming version 2.0 of the software. If PostPath’s ActiveSync implementation works, then we’re looking at the first all non-Microsoft mail server which supports all Microsoft technologies. Interesting.

written by Tyler Regas

Exaktime has come up with an ingenious solution for tracking not only worker’s time on the clock, but also their location, the PocketClock/GPS system. Note that this is software and not an actual device, but it works on Windows Mobile devices (check the extensive compatibility list before buying). Using a combination of time tracking software, GPS positioning functions, and its ability to send data to the companies TimeSummit software, a PocketClock/GPS-enabled device can tell where a worker is and how long they are there. This will either improve time tracking or cause all of your employees to get really, really paranoid. Big brother is now Pocket Brother.

written by Tyler Regas

Well, Palm is getting a tad desperate sounding. Instead of dropping the price of their very nice but also very old T|X mobile device, they’re offering a relatively useless Zire Z22 for free. I can see a number of issues with this. First, Palm apparently can’t see a way of reducing the T|X’s price. They could easily cause a small rash of excited sales if they did. Second, if someone is looking for a powerful PDA, they’re not interested in a free pocket calculator. Third, if they’re in the market now, they’re far more likely to seek out more recent devices, and that’s not a Palm T|X. Maybe they just need to clear some shelves for the next models. A guy can dream!

written by Tyler Regas

This is one of the reasons for the change from PDA Handyman to MoboDojo. PDAs which are not also phones have been in steep decline for the last few years. Surprisingly, Palm has retained its top spot, though only as a vendor. Palm OS marketshare was a mere 36.2% in 2006, but jumped to 42% in 2007. Palm has offered the same models for the last two years, as well. In order of marketshare, the rest of the top five are HP at 24.8%, Mio at 12.3%, Fujitsu-Siemens at 4.3%, and Dell at 3.5%. All other vendors make up the remaining 13%. [Source: IDC]

written by Tyler Regas

No, its not the latest Bruckheimer “Dramaction” film, its RIM’s US Blackberry services going off-line… again. Here’s CNN covering it. There’s really not a lot to say about this. Especially if you use a Blackberry.

written by Tyler Regas

If you’ve been convinced that no mobile browser would ever equal the quality of the web on your full-blown desktop OS, you may be disillusioned of that idea real soon. At DEMO 2008, a special event held ever year to promote the concepts and technologies the show promoters believe to be super hot, SkyFire announced its new mobile browser of the same name. The idea here is that SkyFire will offer exactly the same web on your mobile phone as you get on your desktop. Free. I have a few problems with that. First, how can anyone create a workable business model built around a free product which has no discernible source of revenue. Second, I can’t imagine how useful an unmodified web will benefit mobile users where small screens rule the roost.

The first round of private beta testing goes to Windows Mobile 5 and 6 devices which have full keyboards. They also state that Symbian devices will be supported soon. There’s a video presentation on YouTube and a complete explanation of the software at the site. Good luck, guys!

written by Tyler Regas

Zumobi, a startup operation who has developed a tiled interface supposed to improve information retrieval for Windows Mobile devices, has partnered with Microsoft. For Microsoft’s part, the Redmond giant will start including the Zumobi application in their operating system. For my part, I signed up for an account and installed the application on my Palm Treo 700wx, which runs Windows Mobile 5. I don’t know if its the Treo or the application, which is in beta at the moment, but I found it to be exceedingly slow. Oh, and its free.

written by Tyler Regas

Meizu, the big Chinese digital audio playah makah which has a propensity for copying Apple’s products, has entered into a patent process for their M8 “MiniOne” iPhone clone. If you simply ignore the fact that a) its not an iPhone, b) it runs Windows Mobile 6, and c) that it will never legally come to the States, the M8 looks pretty neat. It sports a smaller case than the iPhone, a 533MHz ARM11 CPU, 128MBs of RAM, 4/8/16GB of on-board storage, supports GSM/EDGE/WCDMA, has both a 3MP and .3MP camera (ala Nokia N95), and has a touchscreen with a resolution of 720×480. To see its size compared to the iPhone, check here. Note, however, that the dimensional specifications cannot be confirmed. Additionally, pricing and availability information are not available.

written by Tyler Regas