"It's not news to say that we attracted some criticism for this on the X1 and we're not going to go there again with the X2. So, for the record, this is what X2 customers can expect in terms of software upgrades."

In an attempt to be upfront with consumers, Sony Ericsson has announced the software update schedule for the XPERIA X2. According to the company, March should bring a major update: Windows Mobile will be upped from 6.5.1 to 6.5.2, most applications will receive tweaks, and there will be added support for video telephony, an FM radio, and faster GPS fixes. Then sometime in May, it'll get the Windows Mobile 6.5.3 treatment. Of course, the value of all this is heavily dependent on the device making it into the hands of consumers in a timely fashion, which we're sorry to say, is not happening.

I can't understand a word of the dialogue, but the video speaks for itself - the Aspen looks like one nice device if you're the kind of person who likes the front-facing QWERTY messaging devices (and until the HD2 came my way, that was my #1 preferred device style). Oh, be prepared for some psychedelic white balance issues in the video...it's trippy!

"I was just going off about this on twitter and I felt it was worth posting about too. I downloaded the beta for FourSquare on Windows Mobile. However, the application requires .Net Compact Framework 3.5 on the device. At first, I figured that a new HTC HD2 running Windows Mobile 6.5 should already have the 2 year old version of the Compact Framework installed in the ROM. Guess what I found out - No .NetCF 3.5 on the device. While that's just short sighted and stupid on Microsoft's part, the solution is pretty simple. All I need to do is download the CAB from the web and I'm good to go. Sadly, it's just not that simple. You see, the .NetCF 3.5 installer is a 33MB desktop installer that contains the CAB files inside of it. So you can't simply download it to your device and install. Now I'm really wondering what the hell Microsoft is thinking. Have they lost sight of the end user in all this?"

Thoughts Emeritus Mike Temporale has a good point about the .NET Compact Framework that you may be wanting to install (in order to run other programs). I found out the same thing Mike did last summer when I wanted to install an app and had to hook my phone up to my computer, download the framework, and install it, all while having the CAB for the actual program sitting on my phone waiting. It used to be (e.g., 2003) that only expert geeks knew about CAB installations to their phones, of course that was also when every device shipped with a cradle and it was expected that the device would be docked a considerable amount of the time. Nowadays docking is mostly an annoyance, and the lack of a CAB for the .NET CF is annoying.

Of course come to think of it, I've never had a good time installing ANYTHING .NET... so why should the CF be an exception? <sigh>

"It is always good to have a big battery in a smartphone, so that you can work for longer without having to charge the phone. Larger batteries often mean a larger overall size, which isn't for everyone. However, sometimes the need outweighs the shape, aesthetics and weight of the product. So if this is the case for you and you own a HTC HD2, this extended 2300mAh battery will be ideal. An official extended battery for the HTC HD2, this 2300mAh battery comes complete with a replacement back cover, that has a kickstand (allowing you to stand the device up - perfect if watching a film)."

It adds significant bulk to the HD2, but it nearly doubles the battery power, so if you're using your HD2 as a portable entertainment system on a long flight, this would make a great solution. Leigh Geary from CoolSmartPhone has snapped a couple of real-life photos as well. I wouldn't use this often, but it would be great to have for the times I needed extra battery run time.

"Spinballs is an exciting puzzle game with brilliant graphics, rocking music and great sound effects that introduces an unique gameplay. Seven discs with six coloured balls on each of them make up the playground. Each disc can be rotated clockwise or counterclockwise. Try to connect balls of the same colors by rotating those discs but never forget that time is running!"

Looking for a way to pass some time? This graphically-intense game is one way to do it. I'm always happy when I see game designers put real effort into the user interface and graphics of their game - Spinballs looks great. The game is a mere $3.99 in our MobiHand affiliate store, so if you're interested, grab it before the sale ends!

"Verizon Wireless, provider of the nation's largest and most reliable 3G network, today announced the launch of VZ Navigator® 5.0, the newest version of its award-winning map, navigation and local search service, which helps users find their way around town. Powered by TeleCommunication Systems, Verizon Wireless' VZ Navigator is a GPS-enabled service that transforms a wireless smartphone or handset into an all-in-one powerful navigation and communication device, enabling customers to find useful information and discover new places and destinations."

$9.99 a month (or $2.99 a day) will give you access to, well, something Google is giving away for free. But those who don't have an android phone to switch into for navigation may appreciate big V's offering. It runs on Win Mo (hence this post) and also on blackberry. The attractive part may be the traffic updates that are provided by the network in response to what actual users are experiencing. So heavy commuters who are perpetually late (But have enough time to power up a GPS for a route they know by heart) may be interested.

I'd have thought that WM6.5.3 would have first turned up in some nice top range models featuring capacitive screens, before going down the line to more mass market handsets. Instead we have the SE Aspen and this Garmin-Asus effort - not much of a bang, huh? The M10 features a 600MHz Qualcomm processor, 3.5" WVGA resistive screen, 4GB onboard storage and a 5MP camera that appears to be fixed-focus (in this day and age?). For pics and more details, check the Google translation of Mobile01.com's review.

"Regardless of the desktop application that you play your digital music with, or how much storage capacity you have on your phone, Didiom Pro seamlessly scans your computer for audio files in the most popular formats, and maintains an encrypted channel between your computer and phone. What's more, when you add new audio files to your computer, Didiom Pro makes them available for wireless streaming and downloading to your phone in seconds."

Being able to access all my music and podcasts on my Windows phone is somewhat appealing, but I don't get grasp their business model - the app is sold on a 99 cent per month subscription, of $9.99 per year. If the desktop component of their app is installed on my system, transcoding the audio to 128 kbps, uploading the bits to my phone...why the subscription fee? There's typically a subscription fee for applications that involve a server-side component; some sort of Web-based storage or service. I've tried a few of these audio streaming programs in the past, and while they're fun to use, ultimately the battery drain from a constant data stream takes most of the fun out of them.

"With the power of mobile phones more and more people want to watch movies on them. The problem is, a lot of people don't know where to begin. There are a few different routes you can take to get a movie on your phone. The main two are to buy them from various vendors or you can create them. It is pretty easy to buy them and add them to your phone using Amazon Unbox so let me help you with this one first."

Those of you looking for some interesting videos to watch on your Windows Mobile Device may be interested in this piece detailing how to add Amazon Unbox videos to your SD card, to then play in your WinMo device!

With the announcement of the Sony Ericsson Aspen, Windows Mobile 6.5.3 gets its official unveiling - because it's a dotdot release, Microsoft isn't making any big announcements about it. It does bring a few important updates to the table, though the cynical among you (and some days I count myself among you) will no doubt say they're about two years too late. Regardless, 6.5.3 is more touch friendly than 6.5, and that's a good step forward. 6.5.3 adds official capacitive touchscreen support, which is fantastic - hopefully this means well see more capacitive touchscreen Windows phones in the future. I initially wasn't a believer in the superiority of capacitive over resistive when it came to touch input, but after using the HTC HD2, there's no going back. It's just that much better.

Also added is code to enable multi-touch, so we might see some developers start to take advantage of this - assuming there are enough multi-touch Windows phones out there to matter to developers. Actually, that brings up an interesting question: is multi-touch a hardware + software feature, or purely software? As in, do you need to have multi-touch screens in order to implement multi-touch? Someone smarter than me please answer that question.

They've added touch controls throughout the system - but when I look at the screen shot above, the buttons on the bottom look a bit...un-balanced. What do you think? It looks a bit tacked-on to me, which is pretty much exactly what it is. It's hard to incrementally change a UI element, and radically changing it can break application compatibility. A simplified out-of-box experience is also part of 6.5.3, though I didn't think that the current device setup was very difficult. A built-in magnifier also brings touch support to "legacy applications".

Things in the browser have gotten better as well - Internet Explorer Mobile 6 has decreased page load times, improved memory management, pan and flick gestures have been "smoothed out" somehow, and the zoom and rotation speed has been increased.

Figure 2: Looks like they've enhanced the status bar as well - those icons are much easier to tap on.

Figure 3: Want to move a program icon? Press and hold on it...

Figure 4: ...then drag it upward...

Figure 5: ...and let it go. Finally! Exactly what we should have had in 6.5.

Figure 6: Notice the left/right pivot function above. Easier to use!

The real travesty in all this is that the odds are pretty good that regardless of what device you own, the OEM you bought it from probably isn't going to release a 6.5.3 update. The more things change, the more they stay the same...