No experience with Hebrew on the TyTN

Someone asked in a comment whether I have used any Hebrew support or Jewish calendar support on my TyTN, since they saw that I'm in Israel. The answer is sorry, but no, I've been using a lot of VoIP and blogging, but all in English. Sorry!

YouTube Mobile confirmed not working

After the problems I mentioned before with submitting videos directly from my TyTN via the YouTube Mobile e-mail interface:

http://pdaphone-fan.blogspot.com/2006/11/youtube-mobile-not-working-can-anyone.html

I've gotten confirmation from YouTube support that there are problems with the e-mail interface, and they're looking into it:

We're aware of this issue and we're working to resolve it as our system doesn't seem to be accepting many videos from cell phones.

We apologize for the inconvenience!

I look forward to its working, mobile video blogging directly from my TyTN awaits!

TinyTube blasted by YouTube over Verizon deal

Sometimes I hate being right! On Nov 28 I wrote:

A New York Times article today discusses a YouTube mobile venture with Verizon.
...
Hopefully the TinyTube mobile YouTube site that I discussed previously will keep working

and on Nov 30 TinyTube stopped working, with the explanation:

when a Senior Manager at YouTube contacted us about Terms of Service violations we took the YouTube content offline.

Besides the fact that I liked the TinyTube service on my TyTN, it's frustrating that YouTube, a company that's clearly been trying to become the video host for the world (eg allowing other Web sites and blogs to easily embed their videos) blows their whole philosophy when a Verizon deal conflicts. Yes, TinyTube talked about terms of service violations, but the timing makes it clear that the problem was the Verizon deal.

Maybe TinyTube can put small Verizon ads at the bottom of their pages -- I bet then the "terms of service violations" would be taken care of!

Thanks to the TinyTube folks for the great service! Hope to see you back soon.

Problems sending video e-mails over 3g

I've noticed that e-mails containing videos over one meg seem not to send well over UMTS (3g) connectivity. They seem to send fine over USB connectivity. I originally wrote here that Wi-Fi also had trouble, but the same messages that wouldn't send over 3g have sent fine over my own Wi-Fi connection.

I'm not sure if this is an issue with the connectivity or with my mail server, which is Yahoo.

Has anyone reading this had this problem, or on the other hand, has anyone routinely sent video attachments over 1 meg over UMTS (3g) connections?

Notable blog messages: Mobile Skype, Mobile YouTube, and more

The following messages are further down in this blog, or archived, and I thought that people seeing the blog now might want not to miss them. Particularly interesting (not discussed in other places I've seen) is Mobile Skype over 3g and problems with mobile YouTube, and also mobile YouTube browsing.

Mobile Skype:
http://pdaphone-fan.blogspot.com/2006/11/skype-mobile-over-3g-on-tytn-in-moving.html
http://pdaphone-fan.blogspot.com/2006/10/skype-windows-mobile-version-on-tytn.html

Mobile blogging:
http://pdaphone-fan.blogspot.com/2006/11/testing-picture-blogging-from-my-tytn.html
http://pdaphone-fan.blogspot.com/2006/11/another-mobile-blogging-test-worked.html

Mobile YouTube submissions (not working):
http://pdaphone-fan.blogspot.com/2006/11/youtube-mobile-not-working-can-anyone.html

Mobile YouTube video browsing:
http://pdaphone-fan.blogspot.com/2006/11/tinytube-mobile-youtube.html
http://pdaphone-fan.blogspot.com/2006/11/flash-videos-youtube-or-google-on-tytn.html

Recording calls and sound bites on TyTN:
http://pdaphone-fan.blogspot.com/2006/11/recording-calls-and-other-sound-bites.html

Video e-mails from TyTN:
http://pdaphone-fan.blogspot.com/2006/10/tytn-video-e-mail-easy.html

Traveling with TyTN:
http://pdaphone-fan.blogspot.com/2006/10/traveling-with-my-tytn-general-points.html
http://pdaphone-fan.blogspot.com/2006/10/traveling-with-tytn-wi-fi.html

YouTube mobile not working! (can anyone help?)

I've tried several times now to post a video to YouTube directly from my TyTN using the YouTube Mobile system, and have not yet succeeded.

I took a video and e-mailed it from my TyTN to the e-mail address that was generated for me by YouTube mobile, but it never posted. I then tried again with a shorter video, and it never posted. I then tried with only the e-mail address in the To field (no alias name), and it never posted. I then tried through the e-mail interface but sending it from my Web-based e-mail instead of from the TyTN, and it never posted. Each time I also included a BCC that did successfully receive the video. Since it didn't post through web-based mail either, it looks like the problem is with YouTube Mobile, not the TyTN.

I also took the same short video file and uploaded it to YouTube through the regular web interface, and it uploaded fine (it's here), so the problem is clearly not with the video file itself.

Note that I sent these through e-mail, not MMS, because of the size. But YouTube Mobile says it should work over e-mail as well.

Has anyone gotten YouTube mobile to work? Please comment with any suggestions!

Nokia offering to block mobile VoIP

Nokia is reported to be offering cellular carriers the ability to block mobile VoIP on their 3g data networks. This is somewhat surprising since Nokia has always been supportive of VoIP, on products like their Web Tablet. Since I've gotten to like Skype Mobile on my TyTN, I hope carriers don't start using this evil ability to block cellular VoIP. If they do, will customers move to other carriers?
http://www.voipnews.com.au/content/view/1338/107/

YouTube mobile for Verizon phones

A New York Times article today discusses a YouTube mobile venture with Verizon. It will cost $15/mo, only for Verizon customers, and will give only a subset of YouTube, not all YouTube videos.

Hopefully the TinyTube mobile YouTube site that I discussed previously will keep working, since it works on all handhelds for all YouTube videos, providing true mobile YouTube.

Skype mobile over 3g on TyTN in moving car - successful!

I just tried out Skype Mobile on my TyTN, this time using a 3g (UMTS) connection in a moving car. And it sounded great, as good as a cellphone call!

The same should work equally well on Skype Mobile on any other 3g device, since I don't think that the device or CPU plays much of a role in Skype Mobile performance. But I've only used the TyTN, and maybe CPU speed does matter.

Now for a few details:

1. I was talking on the speakerphone. As I've mentioned before, Skype Mobile doesn't work over the regular phone handset mic and speaker, just the loudspeaker or headphones. I haven't tried it using headphones to see how it sounds then. Over the speakerphone it sounds as good as a regular cellphone call over speakerphone.

2. When I was talking, the car was moving less than 80 km/hr (50 mph). At faster speeds (train speed or real highway speed) the 3g connectivity is reported to sometimes have problems.

3. I logged into Skype and started the call when the car was fully stopped in traffic. Skype Mobile doesn't seem to remember my password, and I don't suggest typing passwords into forms while driving.

4. Obviously Skype call quality depends on bandwidth availability, and may go down as more people use 3g.

I've said before that mobile Skype is impressive, and working well over 3g makes it ubiquitous wherever there's 3g.

Previous messages I've written about Skype mobile are:
http://pdaphone-fan.blogspot.com/2006/10/skype-windows-mobile-version-on-tytn.html
http://pdaphone-fan.blogspot.com/2006/11/skype-in-coffee-shop.html
http://pdaphone-fan.blogspot.com/2006/11/windows-mobile-skype-on-speakers-not.html

Skype Mobile can be downloaded from
http://www.skype.com/intl/en-gb/download/skype/mobile/

Very nice!

NYT article on grabbing Wi-Fi coverage

Interesting article in today's New York Times about people with Wi-Fi devices (like the TyTN or K-JAM) grabbing connectivity on other people's Wi-Fi networks.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/27/technology/27wifi.html

I find it strange that the article doesn't mention how many public Wi-Fi hotpots there are. Roaming Wi-Fi devices aren't only usable by "stealing" bandwidth from people's houses, but also at cafes and malls all over the place. Also, they don't mention the frequent assumption that anyone that doesn't lock their Wi-Fi connection is implicitly leaving it open for use.

But a good article nonetheless.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/27/technology/27wifi.html

Testing picture blogging from my TyTN

Why, you ask, are you looking at a picture of a residential neighborhood in Israel? The answer is that I'm testing mobile blogging sending a picture straight from my TyTN's camera.

In Blogspot terminology, this won't go through the "email to blog" feature, which only handles text, but rather through "mobile blogger" which only allows one blog per email address but does allow pictures. Let's see if it works.

Also note that my TyTN is set to reduce picture resolution when sending. If it ends up not looking good, I'll know to turn that off first next time.

These comments in red are being added later on my computer:

Setting up picture mobile blogging was pretty easy, with a few notes: First, the setup process could not be completed on the TyTN, since the Web page that connects my mobile blogging to this particular blog doesn't work on the PDA browser. Second, setting up mobile blogs with pictures now requires using the new version of blogspot, not a big deal but it took some doing. But now that the setup was done once, I can apparently send pictures in mobile blog entries straight from my TyTN without any trouble. I'll do another message to confirm this next week.

Lastly, I happen not to like the new phrase "moblogging" for mobile blogging. Can anyone think of a better phrase? Maybe "phlogging" for phone blogging? "Pocklogging" for pocket blogging? Comments welcome.

3g UMTS data connectivity -- fast!

I just got my 3g UMTS data connection working, and I have to say, I'm really impressed with the speed. Unlike older technology, it really enables e-mailing and some browsing effectively, anywhere.

I've found one problem with how Windows Mobile (at least on the TyTN) handles the interplay between 3g and Wi-Fi: I haven't found any way to specify that the TyTN should try Wi-Fi first and then 3g whenever Wi-Fi is available. What I'd really like is to be able to specify specific Wi-Fi networks that should be higher priority than 3g, such as my own home network.

But instead, the TyTN works like this: If I want to use Wi-Fi, I have to connect explicitly. If I've connected to Wi-Fi, all programs automatically use it. But if Wi-Fi isn't connected, and a program tries to access the network, the TyTN connects using 3g. (I assume this isn't a TyTN thing, rather a Windows Mobile thing.)

If anyone knows of a solution to this, please post it as a comment. It's not such a big deal to connect Wi-Fi before using it, this is really just a nitpick. But it would be nice for the device to do the right thing without my having to do it explicitly, especially since I think it's a common need.

Comments or suggestions welcome.

Other than that, I've very impressed with the 3g data connectivity. I'll write later after I've tried Skype or other things specifically on the 3g connection.

TinyTube - mobile YouTube !!

I just saw a mobile version of YouTube called TinyTube at http://tinytube.net/

Basically it gives an interface to browsing and searching YouTube videos that fits on mobile devices, and then converts them to 3GP format to play on mobile devices, with options for low, medium, or high resolution/bandwidth.

I just tried it on a mall's public Wi-Fi and on 3g/UMTS, and it works well. It doesn't give all the bells and whistles that YouTube gives, but bottom line, it gives access to YouTube videos.

Note that you can browse their site from your computer to see how it looks, but it's smart enough to give you regular Flash videos if you're on a computer, and only convert to 3GP if you're on a mobile device (presumably to save its server resources). On a mobile device, instead of a link "stream" you'll see links for low, medium, or high bandwidth/resolution.

One minor point is that on my TyTN the videos are first converted fully, then downloaded fully, and then viewed, and are not streamed, so there's more wait time. But that's a minor nitpick compared to the bottom line that this system has opened up YouTube content to mobile devices.

Very impressed, this is exactly the right service to offer.

http://tinytube.net/

Another mobile blogging test (WORKED)

After my mobile blogging test on Nov 14 that didn't work, I'M trying this again. I'm sending this from my TyTN to the "mail-to-blogger e-mail address" that I've set for this blog.

On blogspot the mail-to-blogger method doesn't suppport pictures. After I get this working, I'll try the other approaches.

OK, THIS WORKED THIS TIME, APPARENTLY I HADN'T SAVED MY SETTINGS CORRECTLY. SO MOBILE BLOGGING ON BLOGSPOT VIA TyTN E-MAIL WORKS. NEXT I'LL TRY PICTURES.

Final word: Mobile Skype only on speakers

Following up on my previous message about Mobile Skype on the TyTN (and other Windows Mobile devices), it looks clear that Skype Mobile does not allow you to take calls on the TyTN like a regular phone call, rather only on the speakers or through the music headphones.

The previous reader who said he'd taken calls on the regular phone has clarified that he didn't.

That said, I'm still a big fan of Skype Mobile on my TyTN.

Prediction: Skype Mobile on Zune

You read it here first: I predict that Skype Mobile for the Zune will be announced soon.

Microsoft is making a big deal of the Zune's Wi-Fi connectivity, so Skype would be a natural.

That said, I'll stick with my TyTN -- Skype makes more sense with 3g connectivity and PDA contacts. But for folks without TyTN's, I predict your Zunes will soon be able to Skype.

Flash videos (YouTube or Google) on the TyTN

One of the real lackings of the TyTN (and all other Windows Mobile PDA-phones) is the inability to watch Flash videos on YouTube or Google Videos. Deals are reportedly in the works to bring Flash videos to PDA-phone users, but not yet.

In the meanwhile, I've found two on-line services that will convert Flash videos into formats that can be watched on the TyTN:

VidConvert (from bleb.org): http://www.bleb.org/services/vidconvert/
and
MyMobileClips: http://www.mymobileclips.com/
(I haven't tried their WAP site at http://wap.mymobileclips.com )

Anyone else found solutions for Flash videos on the TyTN or other PDA-phones? Comments welcome. Otherwise, the services above are at least a start.

Glofiish M700 not really a TyTN challenger

Some articles are calling the newly announced Glofiish M700 a "TyTN challenger." But from what I've read, it seems more like a K-JAM challenger to me.

Yes, the device has the same slide-out keyboard form factor, 2mp camera, and Wi-Fi. The keyboard was clearly styled after the TyTN's, with identical shift, function, start menu, and OK buttons along the bottom.

It also adds GPS, which is a nice addition, enabling location-based mapping services.

But it's not a 3g phone, so it has no 3g data connectivity and no 3g video calls. And it doesn't appear (from the pictures shown) to have the same buttons and wheel that make the TyTN so nice for single-hand use.

Windows Mobile Skype on speakers not phone

I mentioned in a previous message that I got Skype Mobile running on my TyTN, but that it used the speakers and microphone, or the PDA earphones but not a phone Bluetooth headset.

A reader commented that he had gotten Mobile Skype running on his handset. After trying some more, I'm still unable to do this. I also see that the Skype Developer Zone lists this as a known issue with Skype Mobile:

On PocketPC phone editions audio comes out from loudspeaker, it is not
transferred to phone speaker. To avoid using loudspeaker, we suggest you to use
wired headset. This will also give you better overall sound quality in Skype
calls.
In many cases if you have bluetooth headset connected to Windows mobile
device, it is not possible to use it for Skype calls. In most cases you will not
hear anything, or most of the text is cut off.

If anyone reading this has managed to use Skype on a Windows Mobile device over the phone handset, meaning as a regular phone call not over the loudspeaker or PDA headphones, please comment with more details!

Until further notice, I conclude that Windows Mobile gives programs an API to the speakers and mic that only works on the loudspeakers or PDA headset and not through the phone.

All that said, I still like the idea of Skype Mobile on my TyTN, especially since I live outside of the USA and call the USA a lot. When I can listen to Grateful Dead tunes while switching back and forth between local cellular calls and international VoIP calls, and while checking my e-mail, I'll feel like I'm living a convergence life.

More news about HTC

Anyone who owns a TyTN or other phone with the HTC name-brand (as opposed to phones they sold under another name) is used to the question "it's made by WHO?"

Well, HTC seems to be getting its name out a lot more these days.

The Seattle Times has a long article (here) about HTC and its vision for the future. This vision apparently continues the K-JAM and TyTN trend, developing a cellphone with the same form factor but a full ultra-mobile PC inside.

The UK-based Register also picked up on them, with a short article (here) about this vision of PDA/phones developing into computer/phones.