Digital Lifestyles Reference Guide

Aug 27, 2004

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Smartphones are gradually gaining a large following in the world of cell phones. If you don't have one, before too much longer you most certainly will. My personal prediction is that the Smartphone will finally emerge as the all-in-one life management device sometime before 2010. Smartphones are different from traditional PDA phones in that they don't burden your pocket with huge form factors, touch screens and stylus interaction. Simply put, a Smartphone is an information retrieval device where a PDA phone offers both input and retrieval functions. This is not to say you can't input information into a Smartphone (T9 to your heart's content if it pleases you), merely Smartphone form factors excel at accessing information and often encumber the input process.

To make the most of your Smartphone, you need to invest in whatever memory card is required for your particular device. The onboard memory is barely enough for the operating system and minimal storage of photos and videos (if you have video capability in your phone). A memory card extends this to downloading audio and video to your phone, watching videos from your home PC and generally making use of that data plan the sales guy talked you into buying.

In the factory configuration, a Windows Mobile Smartphone is a convenient way to read email, check your calendar, track to-do lists and store detailed contact information. By adding a few useful applications, your Smartphone becomes a central hub for entertainment, information and personal data. Smartphone is the wallet for your digital lifestyle. With this in mind, here are several applications no Windows Mobile Smartphone owner should be without.

ShopEdge for Amazon.com
Price: $0.00

One of the promises of mobile Web applications is the opportunity to keep the consumer better informed about options. One way to accomplish this is with an application like ShopEdge, which offers quick access to the Amazon product database for price comparisons between the store you are shopping in and the Amazon price list. Instead of buying at the price in front of you, with ShopEdge, you verify that the online price isn't drastically cheaper making a more informed purchase decision. One of the other neat things about this app is the ability to scan wishlists of friends and family, allowing you to pick something they actually want for their birthday instead of making a wild guess. 1 Click ordering is supported, so there's no waiting until you return home to place the order. Local movie listings and restaurant guide are also included.

Orb
Price: $0.00

Orb delivers what might best be described as me-2-me file sharing. From anywhere you have access to a Smartphone Internet connection, Orb puts you in contact with the media library on a home PC. Play songs from your music collection, watch movies you're your video library and watch live TV transcoded to fit the Smartphone screen resolution from any PC running Windows XP Media Center Edition. Take pictures with the camera on your Smartphone and send them back to the home machine using the Orb interface. Think of orb as the solution to deliver your media anywhere.

SmartFeed
Price: $0.00

Podcasting continues to increase in popularity and one of the ways to keep up with your favorite podcasts is to download them to the memory card in your Smartphone. SmartFeed is the subscription mechanism for keeping up to date on the latest podcast offerings, providing quick access to your subscriptions and making it convenient to browse through available podcasts for something new. No additional portable media player to tote around in your pocket, just download direct to your Smartphone and enjoy.

AudiblePlayer for Smartphone
Price: $0.00

An Audible account is required to take advantage of this application, but Samsung i600, iMate3 and Audiovox SMT 5600 users all have access to their Audible book list through their phones as an alternative to lugging around an additional portable device. The service works as expected, allowing you to listen to audio books via headphones connected to your mobile phone. Bookmarking, fast forward, rewind and the other standard Audible playback features are supported. Like many of the recommendations here, to fit the audio books on your phone you need the appropriate memory card for your device.

Microsoft Pocket Streets
Price: $24.95

Knowing how to get to your destination is always useful. The latest version of Pocket Streets supports the Smartphone platform making it easier to get from point A to point B. Pocket Streets requires a desktop installation to do the map navigation and then transfers the relevant mappings to the Smartphone for on-the-go access. Like the desktop version of Streets and Trips or online services like Map Quest, Pocket Streets provides driving directions and route maps to keep you on course.

TrafficEdge
Price: Free during beta period

Traffic is one of the unavoidable disadvantages of being a commuter. No one likes being stuck in traffic, but sometimes you won't know there's a jam ahead until it's too late. With TrafficEdge, you regain some control over your exposure to heavy traffic with Webcam updates delivered directly to your Smartphone. Many of the worst traffic zones in the US are already included in the service, including: Seattle Metropolitan Area; Boston, MA; Los Angeles, CA; Houston, TX; New Orleans, LA; Portland, OR; Toronto, Ontario; Twin Cities, MN. By configuring the city your phone is automatically updated with the latest traffic info from the local DOT. As a companion to Pocket Streets, TrafficEdge is unparalleled.

Pocket Stars
Price: $14.95

Find out what's going on in the night sky wherever you are in the world. Lunar phases, star positions, planetary alignments, as well as rising and setting of celestial bodies. Application data is provided by Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the listing of 9110 brightest stars in the Bright Star Catalog. Configurable horizon lines make tracking down the location of stars in the sky overhead easier than shuffling through a book in the dark. Navigation is elegant using any of the Windows Mobile Smartphones.

Napster To Go
Price: $14.95/month

Smartphone makers are astute enough to realize they've got a platform capable of being more than just an Outlook conduit. Partnering with Napster To Go means providing anytime, anywhere access to music by any artist. For $14.95 per month, a Napster To Go subscription entitles you to listen to any of the songs in the Napster catalog. No need to worry about remembering to dump your favorite songs from your desktop to a portable music player, if you're listening mood changes during the day, login and grab something different from the service. This is also a great way to sample every new major label album released each Tuesday instead of needing to seek out copies elsewhere.

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