HTC Tweet Points To Windows Mobile 7 Changes

HTC Russia let slip that the HD2 will be the only current phone to receive a Windows Mobile 7 upgrade, all other current phones (and presumably some that haven't been released yet) will miss out.

I believe that the reason for this is that WM7 is going to require a capacitive screen and will do away with the stylus and handwriting recognition which make up Windows Mobile 6's competitive edge at the moment.

I've got to say that if this does turn out to be the case then Microsoft will have made a big mistake. Windows Mobile phones aren't just about consuming content in the same way as the iPhone for example. I would prefer Windows Mobile to support both options - touch and tap so to speak, allowing users to choose the solution that suits them best. However given the rapid rise of the iPhone and the similar trajectory being followed by Android it wouldn't be surprising if Microsoft have decided to follow the herd...

Is The US A Police State?

I was going to add a 'becoming' in there, but actually I'm beginning to think that its either there or close to... This is just the latest piece of evidence to that effect. In summary two bloggers published information which was neither classified nor of restricted distribution about the new airport check-in security procedures being implemented in the wake of the 'underpant bomber' incident.

Useful information for travellers to have so that they can understand the likely delays and inconveniences that will impact on their journey from check-in to boarding at the airport. Its information that has been distributed to over 10,000 people around the world, including places where sympathy for the US isn't perhaps as high as it could be.

Having committed no crime I'm sure it was something of a shock for the bloggers concerned to receive a visit from the TSA (the US equivalent of the British Transport Police crossed with MI5), receive subpoenas and have their computer equipment seized, as well as having various threats made about the impact of not co-operating in their future freedom and classification within the US.

Its unfortunate that in a country with freedom of speech and freedom of information embedded in its statute this sort of thing can happen. Of course in the UK we don't have the former and barely have the latter and are therefore much further down the road to being a country being run for the benefit of the Government classes, protected by the police state.

I wonder how much further we have to go before we really are embedded in an Orwellian nightmare?

F1: Schumacher Arrival To Signal Clear Departure

One side-effect of Schumacher's return to F1 is likely to be the departure of Jock Clear from the Mercedes team. There's a history between them stretching back to Clear's tenure as Race Engineer at Williams in 1995. I really can't see any way that the two could work together or would even want to...

F1: Now Ralf Wants Back In

Litte Schumi has been having a tough time of it in Touring Cars since leaving F1, so I'm not entirely sure what makes anyone think that he's going to set the world alight by returning to F1 next year. That apparently is what Ralf is hoping for - and apparently Toro Rosso too as the former Minardi team have allegedly been in discussions with the perennial under-achiever about replacing Jaime Algsuari in the team for 2010.

Another driver with a famous name and no obvious talent, Jacques Villeneuve, has been doing his level best to force his way into the US F1 team by virtue of his North American saleability.

Lord save us from these two makeweights being given another year rather than the opportunity being passed to one of the young hotshoes crying out for an opportunity to show their talent...

Android Is Good But Windows Mobile Is Probably Better (Part Two)

There's another area where WM manages to outdo Android: it has a stylus.

Nov I know that the accepted wisdom is that the use of a stylus is not a benefit, but bear with me here - because looked at in the cold light of day the use of a stylus makes a lot of sense.

Smartphones live or die by their ability to handle data input. You will hear many people complain about soft keyboards. Probably just as many moan about hardware keyboard configurations and of course there are those who think that data entry is all but impossible on something that can fit in your pocket.

Yet Microsoft have been shipping phones with the King and Queen of data entry solutions for years: Transcriber. Here is a handwriting recognition system that works. Its fast too. In fact its entirely possible to scribble out a blog entry of this size in a matter of minutes, something that would be an exercise in frustration on even the best soft keyboard and not a pleasurable experience on a Smartphone sized keyboard.

Now some will complain that too many of the interface elements of Windows Mobile require a stylus. There's some truth to this, but really these interactions were designed to be completed using hardware buttons, a legacy of Microsoft's (sensible) move to converge touch and non-touch platforms. In the post-iPhone era the rush to touch has meant manufacturers have compromised this powerful feature of WM by targetting their devices at touch only interaction. Pick a WM device with a d-pad, OK and Start buttons and this problem need not concern you overly.

Other benefits of having a stylus are the ability to take freehand notes, draw pictures. maps. etc. and use tools like the rather brilliant Evernote in the way that their makers intended.

And best of all, Windows Mobile is about as finger-friendly as Android if you choose to use it that way. Sounds like the best of both worlds to me...

Android's Good, But Windows Mobile Is Probably Better (Part One)

Yes you did read that right, I've lived with Android for nearly two months now and, whilst I can see areas where if has pushed ahead, I think that Windows Mobile remains a better choice for some users.

The areas where Google has moved the game on are in the use of widgets - home screen gadgets which allow direct access to applications, settings and information. There are plenty of these which work really well, but I do see them as a resource drain that impacts on device performance. Windows Mobile users who have populated their home screen with too many Today Screen plugins have seen the same problem in the past. Plugins for the today Screen will allow much of Android's widget functionality to be replicated without the same elegance as Google's creation.

Of course, as I've pointed out many times in the past, the WM Today Screen has many advantages of its own - its far and away the best way of presenting agenda, task and messaging information to the user. It offers (through the Start Menu) easy multitasking and access to applications; quick launch facilities and of course its hugely extendable. And considering the length of time Windows Mobile has been around there's probably a Today Screen plugin available for even the more obscure requirements.

Android has made a big splash in the market, but if you are considering a new smartphone I'd recommend comparing it to the equivalent Windows Mobile device. You may come away pleasantly surprised.

Motorola DEXT Hits PAYG

Orange now have the 'social' Android handset - Motorola's DEXT with MotoBLUR - available on PAYG, in store at least. The price should make you think twice though - £299 seems to be an excessively big ask for a device that is unlikely to get Android 2.0 and is also locked to the Orange network. As a comparison, the Acer Liquid is available SIM-free for around £330, featuring that mighty Snapdragon processor and its in-line for the system upgrade that the DEXT will miss out on.

I think at a price of somewhere around £179 this would make a lot of sense. It packs a good keyboard and a nice screen, even if it is a little chunky.

Flying: Is It Worth The Trouble

So after the Shoe Bomber we now have the Underwear Bomber and as a result a new set of directives to restrict further the activities of passengers on airplanes. The best summary is here at Gizmodo and some of the new regulations are worth bearing in mind if you are flying into the US, around the US or possible outside of the US as well, knowing how these things tend to spread.

Flying is never the most enjoyable of experiences, cramped seats, unpleasant fellow passengers, overly dry air and the lack of air pressure all contribute to a less than brilliant experience. Now we have the added 'pleasure' of no leaving your seat for the last hour of a flight (parents will especially enjoy that restriction I'm sure), no use of electronic devices in the first or last hour of a flight and apparently nothing at all from your carry-on luggage allowed out of its bag in that same period - books, magazines, etc.

Given the overheads in travelling by air (lengthy check-in times, security checks, luggage restrictions) flying becomes a dubious choice for most shorter journeys. Even if you're not planning on flying Ryanair...

Could Apple Make The Tablet Socially Acceptable?

Apple has an event planned for the end of January at which we're led to believe we will see a new iPhone and/or the much-vaunted release of an Apple Tablet. The latter is almost certainly a larger screened version of the iPod Touch, if its anything more than rumour, which raises two questions: what does that mean for Mac OS and could carrying a tablet become as acceptable as a smartphone?

The first question is interesting. Apple is already a more successful phone/PMP manufacturer than it has ever been a computer company. The arrival of a larger tablet iPod is only going to tip the balance further and further away from the 'real' computers it makes. At what point does Apple look at the time, effort and returns it gets from being in the computer business and say, actually its not worth our while doing this any more. I'm not sure I really see a day when that happens, but the possibility has to be considered. As does the potential for licensing OS X in the same way as Windows. The hardware that Mac OS X supports is pretty standard stuff now and I imagine that Apple could deliver a shedload of shareholder value by selling 100 times as many licenses as it does hardware boxes.

The second question is even more interesting. I own a Samsung tablet PC and wouldn't dream of carrying it around with me outside of a normal office/business role. Sure its a mighty fine PMP in its own right but I wouldn't even consider it as an in car device. However Apple's iPod Touch Tablet (iSlate if the popular press is to be believed) sounds like the sort of device that people are going to start carrying around in a much more social way, after all its just a 'super' iPod. This could be the start of the revolution that Microsoft envisaged with UMPC - and spectacularly failed to deliver on.

Toshiba TG01 In The Bargain Bin At Orange

So the Toshiba TG01 had a pretty dismal launch and early life with Toshiba, recalls and removal from the catalogue defined its public perception pretty much from day one.

Well now Orange appears to have decided that it too has suffered Toshiba's failings long enough and has consigned the TG01 to the bargain bin. If you really want one (presumably as an exercise in how something that could have been so good can turn out so bad) you can find it in your local Orange store on pay as you go for just £149 - with a compulsory £10 topup. For a Snapdragon powered device with a 4.1" WVGA screen and WM6.5 that seems like a ridiculously low price. Anyone who has experienced Toshiba's disappointing delivery on previous smartphones will say that's still too much for a highly risky device with many, many flaws.

Toshiba Journe 801 Air Disappoints

Toshiba's performance in the smartphone market has been pretty dismal of late, its also lost much of its sheen in the laptop world, mostly as a result of moving to OEMs where it had previously manufactured in-house. Its a big company though, so you'd expect that it would have something decent to offer. On the basis of the Journe 801 - its first digital picture frame product the problems at Toshiba run very deep.

On specifications the Journe sounds quite promising: an 8" screen, built-in Wifi and a built-in battery. Whilst the screen is pretty good the Wifi implementation is so poor you have to wonder what the point of its inclusion in the product was.

The sales package claims compatibility with Picasa, but this only works if you're prepared to make your Picasa Web Albums open to all, otherwise it won't see the content. Worse still if you do create a public album you'll find that the Journe only allows you to download images from the album, there's no ability to stream pictures. There's no ability to email images to the frame nor can you set it up to access a local RSS image feed from your uPNP media device for example.

On the unit that I had the light sensor disabled the screen completely - a complete reset was the only way to restore it - I suspect that was down to a faulty sensor, although given some of the decisions made in the design of this frame that can't be taken as a given.

There were a few good points - the touch sensitive controls on the frame were pleasant to use - although a more sensible way of doing anything more than basic changes is to plug the frame into your PC and use the remote control software to set things up. Even that is absurdly limited in functionality, having taken the trouble to make this setup function available I'd have expected Toshiba to make more use of it.

All in all this was a sub-standard effort from Toshiba, you'd be much better served going for a cheaper frame which foregoes the Wifi, battery or both in exchange for a bigger screen. Or if you want a better Wifi implementation you can get plenty of alternatives for around the same price as the 801's £139 retail ticket. I'd suggest that you avoid the Journe 801 unless you find it heavily discounted - the one I tried was stickered down to £89 and still didn't represent good value for money.

Merry Christmas

Its that time of year again when we celebrate the hard work of the year gone by and kick back and spend some time with our loved ones. Whatever and wherever you'll be celebrating I wish you well and hope that you prosper in the New Year.

Microsoft Security Essentials King Of Free AV

MSE has always had a pretty good reputation for its anti-virus, spyware and malware handling, especially considering that it won't cost you a bean. Now independent testing has rated it as the best performing and lowest system impacting free product on the market - even besting some big name paid for products in the process.

AV-Comparitives.org is an independent site which regularly checks performance of products in the protection genre. Its their stamp of approval which has marked MSE out as the outstanding product of its type, so before you go out and pay for something which may not work as well its probably worth checking out Microsoft's freebie.

January Launch For iPhone HD?

Apple is going to be showing its next iteration of the iPhone in January and whilst speculation runs rife over what it will actually be, reading between the lines of the snippets of information coming through from sources who have been reliable in the past it is possible to take a guess at what is coming down the line.

Is the new iPhone going to be a larger, tablet-style device? Probably not, although I'm sure that Apple will deliver a tablet device with a 7-10" screen sometime during 2010. Whether it will be a full Mac or iPhone based remains to be seen. The former would be difficult to achieve without the use of a stylus and the latter would be effectively be a super-iPod Touch.

I think the focus for the iPhone in 2010 will be Hi-Def. That means a much higher resolution screen (at least the equal of the 800x480 screens that other platforms currently boast), a higher resolution camera and HD video recording. This ties in with Apple's alleged contracts with component suppliers and its courting of the media owners with subscription models for its iTunes service.

If it pans out Apple will wound competing services and consolidate its position as prime supplier of content to the masses pushing iPhone sales higher and higher in the process.

Time Stands Still For The Acer Timeline

Not ready to give a full update on the new laptop yet, but had to pass on the news of incredible battery performance of this machine. A full charge appears to deliver 10-12 hours of usable working life - that's with Wifi enabled and real world usage. That's using the standard power management settings with just the screen backlight turned down to minimum.

Otherwise the Acer sports a impressive screen and frankly brilliant keyboard. The Trackpad could be a touch bigger for my liking, but given the physical constraints dictated by the size of the battery, keyboard and overall machine it would have been the component I'd have chosen to compromise on too.

Windows 7 is a mighty impressive upgrade too by the way...

F1: Schumacher Deal Done BBC Reports

The BBC is reporting that Michael Schumacher has put pen to paper and will be a Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix driver for the next two years at least. I really can't fathom the reasons behind this return, other than life is so boring away from the circuit that he's willing to risk all to return.

I guess the repeated spills from motorbikes that have plagued his hobby career have probably persuaded his family that life in a Grand Prix car is much less risky.

And whilst he has obviously prepared physically for the challenge of his return I wonder how his mental state is. After all Schumi has never been matched in a Grand Prix car before never mind bested. If Rosberg were to see him off in the early part of next season how will that affect his desire to keep racing, I wonder?

Eurostar: Technical Problems Or Business Failures

Eurostar's cross channel service hit the blocks last weekend, thanks to a technical problem which brought five trains grinding to a halt in the Channel Tunnel, stranding passengers for up to fifteen hours.

The service has now been unavailable for three days, with a likelihood that only a limited service will run tomorrow.

Now anybody with any business sense will tell you that the mark of a great company is how it reacts when things go wrong. Eurostar have failed badly by that measure, apparently struck by the sort of organisational paralysis which typified British Rail.

Aside from the initial evacuation problems, Eurostar have had the problem of ensuring continued running its passenger service - and failed badly. There are so many ways that the company could have run a service for its customers whilst examining its technical issues that to have failed to implement any is laughable.

Personally I'd have ensured rescue locomotives were available at either end of the tunnel and offered passengers the option of a slower service whilst making them aware of the risks. They could have used the regular Eurostar service to either end of the tunnel and put passengers onto coaches on Euroshuttle trains for the journey through the tunnel. They could have even utilised ferry services for the crossing.

Any one would have minimised disruption to the company's passengers and would have probably generated less bad feeling than the complete abandonment of the service.

Whilst the initial problems were clearly technical, this weekend exposed Eurostar's weak management and inability to deal with out of the ordinary events. Symptomatic of too many British businesses today I fear.

iPhone Lands At Vodafone Jan 14

So having missed out on the original iPhone exclusivity deal thanks to a massive last minute bid from O2, Vodafone will finally be able to start selling the iPhone from the middle of January. Pricing doesn't seem to be breaking any boundaries here, in the same way that both Orange and Tesco Mobile didn't with their iPhone launches. Forget any hopes of a price war, at least until the new iPhone arrives and the networks need to clear old stock.

With Apple expected to launch a new iPhone in Q1 of 2010 I'm left to wonder how open the new iPhone deals are: will the new phone be available across the networks or is their another exclusivity deal looming?

Marks & Spencer Does Netbooks - Badly

Got no idea about technology and happy to take something on the basis that a big brand has put its name to it? Marks and Spencer would like to hear from you (and I'd like to know which strange path brought you to this blog).

M&S is going to be putting its name to a Elonex-sourced netbook sporting some pretty average specs and some pretty shocking colour schemes. For £279 these don't look like the sort of things that you'll be wanting to pop into your trolley with your mince pies and M&S underwear.

The link to Elonex is pretty amusing really - when I worked for the original company (rather than the current shell trading with its name) we used to take great trouble to deliver some incredible portable computers, eventually rebadging some rather nice Acer and Asus hardware. Presumably the road from OEM to Elonex to M&S is slightly less straightforward...

Football: Hughes Harshly Undone

When Manchester City fans look back on the eighteen months of Mark Hughes stewardship it will be with mixed feelings: he inherited a team from Sven Goran Ericsson that was split into factions, had a group of players with no real commitment to the club and a new owner looking for marquee signings to raise the club's profile.

In eighteen months Hughes has spent a net £175m (I exclude Robinho's transfer as it wasn't a Hughes purchase) and has put the club into a position where they are in touching distance of a Champion's League place and a Wembley final for the first time in a lifetime. With last year effectively written off as a culling exercise Hughes has had six months to develop his own side and, on balance, its probably fair to say his players are mostly starting to gel. Bellamy, Given, Tevez and Barry are all excelling, whilst Santa Cruz and Adebayor have show flashes.

The problem for City has been in defence, where Hughes three big money signings have yet to gel. That's hardly surprising, more than anywhere else on the football pitch defenders need to have to build a strong relationship to work effectively. For City this is taking some time, but then we're less than four months into the season and that's not surprising given that three of the regular starting four are new.

Will Mancini be able to carry City forward? The jury's definitely out. His achievements at Inter were rather a result of the Calciopoli scandal and previous appointments at Lazio and Fiorentina showed few signs of a great manager in the making (and I say this as Sampdoria supporter who worships the great man).

Hughes will feel hard done by. For City fans I hope that they aren't in exactly the same position in twelve months time as Mancio looks to put his own stamp on the team.

Its New Laptop Time Again

It's that time of year when a man's thoughts turn to replacing his computer, in my case that means a new laptop.

This time last year I looked at three options (MacBook, Q1 Ultra and OQO Model 2) before deciding on the UMPC Samsung, a choice for which I have no regrets. In fact the Q1U will retain a place in my armoury by virtue of its tablet capabilities even though it has now been superceded.

This year I wanted to get myself a more traditional laptop, but retain the portability benefits of something small and light. It was really noticeable that I carried the Q1U with me much more than any other mobile PC in the past. It sat in my bag and I had it with me even when I never planned to use it, the upshot of which was that I used it much more than I thought I would.

Which suggested that an ideal replacement might be a netbook of some variety - and my word aren't there plenty to choose from! After investigating the current state of play with netbooks I found that for all their portability and good battery life the reliance on the Atom processor affected their performance. Which meant that whatever machine I chose would have to pack a bit more processing power than the Atom.

Screen size was tied between strict limits too. The 1024 x 600 resolution of the standard netbook screen doesn't give enough pixels for comfortable surfing and whilst it was acceptable on 9" screens and below as screen sizes have grown the resolutions have failed to match up. Until you get to the new breed of 11.6" screens which have started to appear this year, then we head up to an altogether more reasonable 1366 x 768 - definitely usable at this size. Too much bigger though and the laptop itself suffers in the portability stakes - a 13" screen was the most I was prepared to accept in terms of increased footprint.

With new machines comes Windows 7 - and the need for more RAM - 2GB was the minimum I was prepared to accept, 4GB was my ideal. Hard drive sizes are less important as long as flash memory slot(s) are present - anything larger than 120GB would be big enough for my needs.

After much hunting and comparing of specs, testing machines at places like PC World, John Lewis and Selfridges; and scouring the internet for reviews I seemed to have narrowed the choice to three machines: the MacBook Pro 13/2009 edition, Dell Vostro z13 and the Acer Ferrari One 200. Of the three the Acer appealed more, except for its ridiculous co-branding, with Ferrari badges attached liberally and Ferrari red lid and accents. I found my solution in a machine that shares the Ferrari's shell but utilises a different set of components (Core Duo instead of AMD and an extra 1GB of RAM principally) to deliver a better performing machine (50% better in some benchmarks) which is much more restrained in its colouring and that Trusted Reviews managed to run to nearly nine hours off its standard 6 cell battery. That machine is the Acer Aspire Timeline 1810TZ and at a cost of £449 seemed rude to pass up - especially as one was sitting in stock at my local PC World just begging to be picked up.

I'll post some more in depth impressions of the machine soon, but for now I have to say the keyboard is incredible for a machine of this size, the screen is bright clear and crisp and video looks magnificent.

HTC Drops New Widgets For Android Sense

Owners of HTC's Android powered Hero and Tattoo should head over to the Market where they should find an early Christmas present waiting.

Three new widgets - a usable battery gauge, Today in History and a tip calculator are joined by a dice rolling application that utilizes the accelerometer.

These are all free and available in the app store from today.

F1: Schumacher In Another Shock Comeback... Surely Not

Seems like F1 World Champions just can't keep out of the cockpit, even after they've retired. In the past we've seen comebacks from Mansell, Andretti, Jones, Lauda and Fittipaldi. Michael Schumacher almost joined their ranks last year with the abortive plan to sub for Felipe Massa at Ferrari, ultimately stopped because of a neck injury picked up riding motorbikes (of all things).

Seems like Schumi is bored on his Sunday afternoons and as a result is considering a return to F1 with the new Mercedes Team.

Teaming up with the man who masterminded all seven of his World Championships, Ross Brawn, as well as re-joining the company that effectively nurtured his racing career right up to his Grand Prix debut would seem to be a good way of book-ending his career nicely.

I can't help feeling that such a move carries too big a risk to be sensible - a poor showing will tarnish his achievements in the same way that Mansell and Jones tarnished theirs. Of course Michael has always said that he doesn't care for records or history and if he's really missing the cut and thrust of life on the grid it may well be that being there is better than being anywhere else irrespective of how he performs.

Nico Rosberg is onto a hiding for nothing now though, as the great man's potential team-mate. Get beaten and he's marked out as a journeyman, beat Schumi and it will be a sign that the latter is finally past it.

Michael, time to find another outlet for your competitive spirit. Let Nick Heidfeld have the keys to that second Mercedes...

Don't Discount Windows Mobile

Had the occasion to use my Touch Pro 2 today (I have Co-pilot installed and stingy old ALK don't allow cross-grades) and I have to say I was pleased to be back. Windows Mobile may not be to everyone's taste but it does a good job of delivering most of the smart phone toolset. The TP2 isn't perfect but it has one of the best keyboards ever put on a mobile and the touchscreen means that it can be used for notetaking in Evernote - something that iPhone and Android can't do. The touchscreen does have its downsides though, requiring a more deliberate touch for interaction.

Of course there's no reason why Windows Mobile devices have to stick with touchscreens. Couple a fast processor, capacitive screen and some good old-fashioned HTC know-how and you end up with the rather fantastic HD2, a Windows Mobile device which suggests that there's life in the old dog yet.

I'm not expecting to jump ship from Android anytime soon, but after a pretty dismal 2009 I wonder whether things are looking up for Microsoft's mobile OS, as new players start to deliver more impressive devices using more of the technology that has boosted other platforms.

Acer Liquid Might Just Be The Best Smartphone Around

Or so Shaun at PDA 247 reckons. His three part review highlights some highly impressive features from Acer's first Android device whilst only marking down suspect call quality as a potential issue (not the first smartphone I've heard that about to be honest).

Now I'm sure that Shaun will be the first to admit to blowing hot and then cold on many devices in the past, nevertheless this is a guy who gets to use a lot of smartphones and is a pretty good barometer of smartphone performance. Such a positive review is a huge filip for Acer who's previous devices have been a bit of a mixed bag.

Sounds like the Liquid is well worth seeking out though.

Find the review at http://www.pda-247.com/wordpress/2009/12/acer-liquid-a1-review-part-three-and-conclusion/

DEXT Coming To PAYG On Orange

After back to back months of price cuts Orange is about to offer the Motorola DEXT on pay as you go. Now whether that's an indication that sales have been disappointing or that Orange are looking to dump their stock it doesn't sound like a positive piece of news. I suspect Orange are looking to focus their efforts on selling more iPhones and that's affected their commitment to Motorola. The arrival of the Milestone (aka DROID) has probably affected the DEXT's marketability too, even if its only available from Expansys at the moment.

It will be interesting to see how Orange prices the DEXT payg... at the right price it would certainly be worth adding my collection.

Ode To A Samsonite Briefcase

Its not often that you can count the case that you carry your kit around in as technology, but Samsonite's Esteem-tronic briefcase was just such a thing. I bought mine in 1994 and it was a conversation starter - an electronic locking system, ability to lock when inverted and futuristic looking styling.

At the time it was a hugely expensive buy, but 15 years later I can honestly say that I've had every penny of value out of that initial spend. Unfortunately fatigue has got the better of the plastic around one of the stays that hold the briefcase in the open position. This doesn't materially affect the case's ability to tote stuff around, but does introduce the risk of the lid collapsing so I've regrettably decided that now is the time to allow it to slip into retirement.

The sad thing is that there doesn't seem to be a equivalent in the current Samsonite range, so I'll need to look elsewhere for its replacement.

HTC HD2 Rocks

Had a chance to (briefly) sample the HTC HD2 today and my word its an impressive device. You'd think something packing a 4.3" screen would be a monster, but its surprisingly small... around the size of an iPhone 3GS and a tad slimmer.

The capacitive screen and HTC Sense work together well, but star of the show must be the processor, a Snapdragon running at 1GHz which has the whole thing buzzing along at an amazing rate of knots.

I'm not sure how the whole package would fare given a longer test, but on first aquaintance I'm not surprised that Vodafone has sold out its entire first allocation.

Google Phone: Fact Or Fiction?

Rumours of a Google phone pre-date the launch of Android itself and have continued to surface ever since.

The latest rumours seems to be given additional credence by the leaks of Google employees being given new, unbranded HTC hardware running an as yet unreleased version of Android.

Google says this is just dog-food - a nickname for the process of using your own products to improve quality. The tech press see it as proof that Google will release an own brand phone that will not be tied to any mobile network.

That argument holds no water for me - Android phones are plentiful on SIM-free deals and if Google wanted additional exposure for the platform it need only allow HTC, Motorola, Samsung et al unfettered access to Google branding.

A Google phone? It's a nice idea but logic dictates that it won't happen.

Fring For Android

Fring remains one of the best ways of managing your next generation communications on any device, it does such a good job of aggregating third party tools like Skype, Twitter and many IM services into one program.

For Android the application is a bit of a godsend as many of the services handled haven't launched native programs yet, notably Skype which only currently offers its hybrid service that uses mobile minutes for your connection.

The Fring application works exactly as it should, sitting quietly in the background until someone calls or messages you, jumping to the front for you to respond to in the same way as the native phone app.

Reliability and stability are excellent and voice quality matches native Skype applications on Windows Mobile and iPhone platforms. Impact on phone performance is not noticeable, on the Hero at least.

As a result I highly recommend all Android owners make it a permanent application on their smartphone.

Android 2.0 Upgrades May Be Some Time Off

The expectation over the release of Android 2.0 updates for existing phones has reached fever pitch, with HTC Hero, Samsung Moment and Acer Liquid owners waiting for the release of what promises to be a major leap forward for the OS.

It might be a long wait for some though. HTC have been unable to point to a date when Sense will be ready for the new OS. Best indicator of availability there is that Sprint are telling their US customers that an upgrade will be available in H1 2010 - by the end of June in effect.

For Samsung the US-only Moment uses a much less customised version of Android and as a result should be relatively easy to test but as yet there haven't been any positive noise from Samsung on an update yet...

The Acer Liquid has only become available in the last few days so its something of a surprise to find that it runs Donut (1.6) rather than Eclair (2.0). This may have something to do with a rumoured exclusivity deal between Motorola and Google that led to the hugely successful Droid (aka Milestone). It does look like the Liquid could be the first handset to see the 2.0 upgrade though, with early suggestions being that Acer will have something available in early January.

That notwithstanding there are clear signs that Google are running into the same problems with Android that Microsoft have had to deal with in Windows Mobile. The proliferation of devices from different manufacturers makes it virtually impossible to deliver a cohesive upgrade strategy.

For G1, Tattoo, DEXT and Galaxy owners - three of which are relatively new phones - there appears to be no further upgrade path. That's not a good selling point when touting for new customers.

F1: Silverstone Agrees New British GP Deal

After what seems like an eternity of wrangling and posturing, Silverstone and Bernie Ecclestone have come to an agreement that will see the Northants circuit stage the British GP for the next 17 years.

It's likely that the Grand Prix will utilise the new circuit layout planned for Moto GP, although whether this will improve the on track racing remains to be seen.

After the Donnington fiasco there seemed a real possibility that the British GP would follow the French one into history so the BRDC should be congratulated on their work in bending Bernie's iron will.

With two British World Champions in the field for the first time since the early seventies it would have been a travesty for the British crowd to miss out on what promises to be an epic battle.

Bad Day For Mobile Phone Giants

It's been a bad day for the traditional mobile phone manufacturers. Nokia announced that it will be closing its flagship retail store on London's Regent Street because of poor sales. Given its proximity to Apple's Retail Store the failure will be doubly disappointing for the Finnish giant, as well as highlighting the terrible problems that the business faces to restore its lost shine.

If things are bad at Nokia over at Sony-Ericsson its rapidly turning into car crash hell. The Satio debacle, X10 disappointment and now the X2 won't be with us before Christmas after all.

Having had a lukewarm reception to early test models the last thing SE needed was to miss the lucrative holiday season buying spree. It has though, which lends further credence to my belief that the company cannot build a smartphone and should be looking to pull out of the market and concentrate on its Walkman and Cybershot music and camera phones instead.

Football: Wenger Lacks Class

Spent an enjoyable evening at Eastlands yesterday watching Manchester City dole out an education to Arsenal's youngsters. Sad to see that Arsene Wenger, a manager who I had great respect for, disappear down the tunnel without the courtesy of a handshake with City manager Mark Hughes. There was no bad feeling in the game (barring one comedy moment when Hughes strayed into Wenger's technical area) yet the Arsenal man is clearly bearing a grudge against his City counterpart.

Win, lose or draw there is an acceptable level of professionalism and I believe Wenger fell below that last night, reflecting badly on himself and his club. 

Motorola Delivering With Android

Looks like Motorola's decision to move to Android has delivered a shot in the arm to the US giant's sales figures, boosted Android's credibility and delivered the first handset to challenge the iPhone on the shelves as well as the spec sheets.

The Droid has been a hot ticket in the US since its recent launch, with sales now close to one million. That's likely to rise significantly now that the European version is due to launch as the Milestone.

Final sales tallies for the year will make for interesting reading as both HTC and Motorola seem to be moving significant numbers of Android handsets - potentially making Google's OS number four in the market behind Symbian, Blackberry and iPhone.