WELCOME TO THE WINDOWSFORDEVICES.COM WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

                          July 29, 2004

               by Rick Lehrbaum -- Editor-in-chief

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_____________________ * * * TOP STORIES * * * ____________________

SPECIAL FEATURE:  WINDOWS, LINUX GRAPPLE IN GREAT GADGET SMACK-DOWN!
Impassioned battles between Linux and Windows partisans are no longer
confined to the desktop and server arenas. With the growing ubiquity of
smart devices, the device arena offers action every bit as intense,
justifying massive vendor technology investments, high-dollar PR
campaigns, and generous helpings of technical hyperbole from both
corners, which contribute to a pugilistic aura not unlike that found at
a WWF wrestling championship.  What really matters for the spectators,
though, are the actual devices produced by the respective competitors.
We therefore decided to hold the first-ever "Great Gadget Smack-Down,"
pitting OS vs. OS.  Not on paper, according to oft-conflicting market
share estimates, feature and architecture claims, or purported
time-to-market benefits -- but instead, where it really counts: based on
which OS powers the coolest and best gadgets.  Hop in your ringside seat
and get ready for the action!
Read full story


HOT NEW MOTOROLA SMARTPHONE BOASTS QUAD-BAND WIRELESS, VIDEO
Motorola has announced what it calls the "ultimate mobile email device."
The MPx220, running Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition, includes an
integrated 1.23 megapixel camera, Bluetooth wireless technology, and
quad-band wireless performance.
Read full story


NEW HP POCKET PCS OFFER TRI-WIRELESS, VGA SCREEN, 1280X960 CAMERA
HP introduced a new suite of iPAQ Pocket PCs that the company says are
intended to address the growing converged data/voice market.  The h6300
series devices boast 3-way wireless (GSM/GPRS, Bluetooth, 802.11b) with
selected models adding a 640x480 pixel camera, the new hx4700 series
features a "visually stunning" 4-inch VGA screen together with a
touchpad that provides a "mouse-like" cursor for easy navigation, the
rx3000 offers the option of a 1280x960 pixel camera with 4x digital
zoom, while the rx1700 lacks built-in wireless but does include a USB
interface.
Read full story


MOTOROLA MESHES WLAN+CELLULAR IN WINDOWS CE MOBILE DEVICE
As part of its "Enterprise Seamless Mobility" initiative, Motorola has
introduced the CN620 Mobile Office Device ("MOD") that runs Windows CE
4.2 and supports both GSM/GPRS and 802.11a communications.  The device
can seemlessly switch between WLAN and cellular modes when the user
walks from inside to outside of a building.
Read full story


MICROSOFT "MOBILE AND EMBEDDED" ANNUAL REVENUE SURGES 58%
Microsoft released financial results for the fourth quarter and the
fiscal year ending June 30, 2004.  Fourth quarter revenue for the Mobile
and Embedded Devices segment was $70 million versus $44 million for the
same period last year, an increase of 59 percent.  For the fiscal year,
embedded revenue increased 58 percent over last year from $156 million
to $247 million.
Read full story


DIY DIGITAL PICTURE FRAME RUNS WINDOWS CE
Digital picture frames are becoming popular as demonstation projects for
Windows CE. Recently, Microsoft's Mike Hall produced a video showing how
to build one using Windows CE 5.0. In this article, based on excerpts
from Jay Ongg's weblog, Jay explains how he built a digital picture
frame using Windows CE 4.2 and an old laptop. Can't wait to have a
picture frame in your living room that endlessly cycles through your
favorite digital photos? Read this article about a do-it-yourself (DIY)
digital picture frame!
Read full story


LOTTERY TERMINALS WIN WITH WINDOWS XP EMBEDDED
Scientific Games is supplying a new generation of lottery terminals,
based on Windows XP Embedded, to the Ontario Lottery.  The Extrema M
lottery terminals feature touch screens rather than key pads, and
customer-facing displays that allow the lottery agency to drive impulse
sales with promotional videos and visions of huge jackpot winnings.
Read full story


ULTRA-THIN "PANEL PC" POWERED BY ETHERNET
DSP Designs has introduced what it claims is the first flat panel PC to
use the recently adopted "Power Over Ethernet" (PoE) standard, IEEE
802.3af.  At less than 1 inch thick, the POET6000 runs Windows XP
Embedded and is ideal for wall mounting.
Read full story


"SKWEEZING" THE WEB INTO WIRELESS HANDHELDS
Greenlight Wireless announced version 2.0 of its wireless Web browsing
application for mobile device users.  Skweezer, which supports Windows
Mobile powered PDAs and smartphones, is a service that is intended to
make browsing the Web on a handheld device faster, easier, better, and
cheaper.  Skweezer optimizes Web content before it's sent to the device,
thus speeding transfers and reducing wireless data charges from the
service provider.
Read full story


OTHER NOTEWORTHY ITEMS FROM THE PAST WEEK . . .

*  Windows CE gains platform-independent device driver architecture
   Read full story

*  Eden-based mini-ITX SBC supports Windows Embedded
   Read full story

*  MIPS 24K core family certified for Windows CE
   Read full story

*  Free VoIP software released for Pocket PC
   Read full story

*  Syware solves problem of sometimes-connected wireless databases
   Read full story

*  Security package protects Pocket PCs on VPNs
   Read full story

*  Bsquare discontinues "power handheld" device
   Read full story

*  Online petition rallies developers around open standards
   Read full story

*  Latest Mobile Pentium chips power PCI-104 SBC
   Read full story

*  PISA SBC powered by latest Intel mobile chips
   Read full story


. . . and that's not all.  Check here for the latest breaking news:

                WindowsForDevices.com News Page


______ * * * "COOL DEVICES" QUICK REFERENCE GUIDES * * * ______

 
 PDAs and other handhelds
 
 Mobile phones
 
 TV set-top boxes/devices
 
 Windows-based webpads and slate-type tablets
 
 Thin client terminals & devices
 
 Other smart devices

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 July 22, 2004
 
 July 15, 2004
 
 July 8, 2004
 
 July 1, 2004
 
 June 24, 2004
 
 June 17, 2004

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