PPCzone.net

A 300 MHz Xscale processor has been added to the E330 which is the same size and design as the Toshiba e310. RAM has also been upgraded to 64mb. Price is Euro 599 including VAT.
—–

ViewSonic will join the growing number of handheld licensees of Microsoft’s Pocket PC 2002 operating system.

Microsoft will announce on Monday that Walnut, Calif.-based ViewSonic will become the 29th licensee of its handheld operating system. ViewSonic will offer a $299 device, the V35 Pocket PC, starting Nov. 1.

The 4.9-ounce device will come with a 300MHz Intel XScale PXA250 processor, 32MB of memory, a 3.5-inch transflective color screen and a Secure Digital expansion slot. The V35 will also come with Microsoft PowerPoint file viewer and digital imager viewer applications.

One of the major hurdles for Microsoft and manufacturers of Pocket PC 2002-based devices was the high price of the handhelds compared with those from rival Palm and its OS licensees. The devices had many high-end features supported by the OS, such as color screens, built-in audio players and voice recorders, which require more memory and a beefier processor.

Analysts have said that high prices have kept the Pocket PC-based handhelds from the biggest segment of the market: consumers. However, with the ViewSonic device–and other gear that will fall in the same price range and are due out by the end of the year–the Pocket PC OS has the potential to grow its share of the market.

When we got into software for handhelds we made a bet that component costs would come down, and while it was initially an obstacle, we’re now able to attack the low and midlevel price ranges,” said Ed Suwanjindar, a Microsoft spokesman.

A year ago, a similar device would have cost between $500 and $600, but according to ViewSonic general manager Tom Offutt, ViewSonic’s position as a display company helped to bring down the cost of the device.

“One of our major advantages is that this is a display-based product, and we’re a leading display company,” Offutt said.

ViewSonic will also offer a Tablet PC device using Microsoft’s operating system.

Source:News.com
—–

Nokia and Ericsson said Tuesday they’ve each separately reached milestones for cell phone equipment that uses wideband-CDMA, the cell phone standard expected to dominate its rivals by 2005.

Wideband-CDMA (w-CDMA) triples the calling capacity of any cell phone network. It also creates a wireless Web with download speeds that are seven times faster than dial-up Web services such as America Online. It’s expected to dominate the world stage because any wireless carrier, regardless of the type of cell phone network it has, can upgrade to w-CDMA, which is not the case for rival cell phone standards like GPRS (General Packet Radio Service).

On Thursday, Nokia intends to announce that w-CDMA cell phones it developed now meet the requirements set by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), a cell phone standards body. The 3GPP seal of approval is considered vital for any new generation of phone equipment.

Nokia plans to start selling the phones by the end of the year, likely to NTT DoCoMo customers, the company said. Prices and an exact release date were not available Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Ericsson said Tuesday that it had completed what it claims to be the first-ever telephone call that began on a w-CDMA network, then roamed onto a network based on GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), the world’s most popular phone standard.

Full Story @ zdnet
—–

I got the press release from Zayotech and the information is below!! I also have attached a link to a high-res image of the Zayo.

- What Makes it the Best Pocket PC? Razorâ„¢ Zayoâ„¢ is the fastest, smallest and lightest Pocket PC, with a 30 percent longer battery life than any other Pocket PC on the market — not to

mention video that doubles the frames per second (fps) of the closest competitor. Sporting Razor’s technological innovation, superb engineering and sleek design hallmarks, Zayo combines the popular brand’s cool cache with the muscle of Intel’s most powerful processor.

-It’s the Fastest

The Zayo is the only Pocket PC that fully maximizes the capacity of its 400 MHz Intel PXA-250 processor. Just check out Zayo’s media capabilities and its DVD-like video quality to see the difference.

- It’s the Smallest

Weighing in at under five ounces and sized to go (4.9 x 2.9 x .5 inches), this lightweight champ is the smallest in the Pocket PC market – making pocket calculators seem bulky.

- It’s Bright

Zayo’s bright LCD touch screen creates an explosion of 65,536 colors while

keeping power consumption at a trickle. That means clearer images, less eyestrain, and a smoother, longer-running handheld.

-It’s the Longest Lasting

Zayo’s standard rechargeable, lithium polymer battery provides up to 12 hours of use. With the addition of the optional battery bank, Zayo’s battery life can be extended to more than 20 hours of use.

- It has the Best Video

At 54 frames per second, Zayo video blows away the next-best Pocket PC’s

herky-jerky capabilities by 27 fps. At 54 fps, Zayo gives users TV-like video in real time, all the time.

- It’s the Most Versatile

Zayo’s Run Modes give users the ability to change the output of the CPU. Run Modes include:

Turbo Mode: Allows for optimal CPU performance, especially when running video or gaming. In this mode, CPU speed runs up to 400MHz.

Standard Mode: Best used when listening to MP3 audio and for applications that do not require CPU speed over 200 MHz.

Power Saving Mode: This sets the CPU at 100 MHz, extending battery life. This mode can be used with text-based applications like Word and Excel.

-Razor Zayo Specs

• 400 MHz Intel PXA-250 processor

• 32 MB Flash ROM, 64 MB SDRAM

• Ultra-low power, super-bright TFT touch screen display with 16-bit color

• USB cradle/battery charger

• Pen-and-touch interface

• LED charging status and system indicators

• Audio speaker doubles as a navigation key

• 4 hot keys: start, calendar, tasks and contacts

• DC input jack, stereo earphone jack, microphone and built-in voice recorder

• Digital audio player compatible

• Side Up/Down buttons

• High-tech aluminum alloy

• One-year limited warranty

High Res Image (315KB)

—–

The Gadgeteer has a nice review of the new Asus Zayo PocketPC. Go on over and take a look. I hope to get one of these devices in the near future so you can expect a review!!

Zayo Review @ the gadeteer!!
—–

Microsoft and AT&T Wireless on Wednesday will show off a new service that will let businesses use cell phones to track the location of workers on the road, such as taxi drivers or express couriers, and more efficiently route them to customers.

At the DEMOmobile 2002 conference in La Jolla, Calif., Microsoft will demonstrate new server software, tentatively called the Microsoft Enterprise Location Server, that connects Microsoft .Net software services with AT&T Wireless’ next-generation network.

It is the first product developed by the two technology giants since they formed an alliance in July. The partnership spans three areas: getting Microsoft software onto new devices, simplifying access to corporate information over wireless devices and enabling location-based services.

John Montgomery, a Microsoft product manager, said the technology will let a business find a worker on the road who is nearest to a particular customer. For example, he said, a copier service might use the technology to more quickly dispatch a repair person to a customer’s location. The business “knows where (repair people) are because the repair people have granted the corporate dispatcher privileges to locate their cell phones. The dispatcher calls the one closest to the customer and is able to give them directions to the customer” location….

Full Story @ zdnet

—–

Dale Coffing has already started a review over @ pocketpcpassion which you can view here

• $550 – $50 rebate

• 400MHz X-Scale

• Pocket PC 2002

• 3.5 inch reflective 16 bit screen with “Exclusive architecture speeds graphics”

• SD/MMC slot, optional CF sleeve (See image in the comments)

• FastIR, SlowIR. (Now, the iPAQ has always had FIR in the hardware but it was never implemented. Not sure if that was a driver or PPC 2K2 issue)

• 4.9″ L x 2.9″W x 0.5″D (By comparison, the Palm M515 is 4.5″ x 3.1″ x .5″, so this is a bit longer, tad narrower)

• 4.9 oz. (Identical to the M515)

• Li-Ion battery

Source:Pocketpcthoughts.com

—–

Microsoft is working with chip designer ARM to increase the number of chip manufacturers tuning their products for Windows CE .Net as the software giant tries to move deeper into handhelds and cell phones.

Motorola, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of cell phone chips, along with STMicroelectronics and NeoMagic, for instance, have pledged to develop processors tuned for Windows CE as a result of the cooperation between Microsoft and ARM. Texas Instruments, Intel, Samsung and Hynix already produce processors for Windows CE.

The strategy is intended to make it easier for consumer electronics manufacturers to use some version of Microsoft’s embedded operating system, said Scott Horn, director of marketing in the embedded platforms group at Microsoft.

Currently, semiconductor makers have to spend considerable time and effort on tuning their products for Windows CE. In fact, these companies pay fees to Microsoft, Horn said….

Full story @ Zdnet

—–

A new version of ActiveSync has been released. Features include:

• Smartphone 2002, OS version 3.0 support

• Improved remote synchronization experience

• Configure server synchronization settings from your PC

• ActiveSync pass-through connection

• Improved USB support

• More robust synchronization with Outlook

• Configure synchronization settings prior to first synchronization, including custom synchronization settings

Download here

Source:PockePcthoughts.com
—–

Sorry for the lack of updates!! I had a harddrive failure on my home PC so I spent the past few days getting everything setup again!!
—–