Just a little while ago JAMM was contacted and asked if we’d like to review the new HP Mini 1000 Mi which is a netbook by HP running HP’s Mobile Internet Experience OS (homebrew Ubuntu Linux). Of course we’ll jump at the chance to bring you reviews of pretty much anything mobile, so saying yes wasn’t exactly a tough decision.

Over the next few weeks (or longer) I’m going to be giving my thoughts and impressions on the device I’ve dubbed MiniMe (get it?) but I thought to get things started I’d give you some pictures of what the Mini Mi looks like and what comes with it.

Yes, its a box. I couldn’t just give all the good stuff away before you even hit the break!

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Spb Software today announced Spb Wallet 2.0, and for all of you out there going Ho-Hum another version update for another program, I beg you to reconsider.

The really big thing about this update is that it announces Spb’s new approach, as Spb Wallet will eventually [dependant on app store processing] be available across three OS platforms. Windows Mobile, Symbian and iPhone. A first in the world of mobile software development. I’m still to be able to compare the applications side by side, but a little Twitter I had today from a friend, installing it on a N85, showed a gleeful appreciation of the programs features on installation.

I’ve been using Spb Wallet for a long time, since 1.0, and I’m liking what I’m seeing at the moment, new UI options, new syncing options, and a more compact core, and file compression. Remember this is a complete PC/Mobile device package, with AES 256 encryption.

Spb Wallet 2.0, Select Features:

• Supported platforms: Windows Desktop (2000, 2003, XP, Vista), Windows Mobile 5+ (Professional and Standard), Apple iPhone and iPod, Symbian S60 (9.0+)
• Strong AES 256 encryption
• Integrated Online Templates Gallery with 7,000+ most popular cards, and option to order customized cards for FREE
• Improved integration with Firefox and Internet Explorer: protection from phishing, login Autocomplete for familiar sites, automatic capture of login information for new ones
• New desktop synchronization engine: synchronization with Google mail, network folders, Apple iPhone via Bonjour
• Automatic wallet lockup & clipboard cleanup
• Active card fields: open web sites, send emails, send text messages, make phone calls, and copy data to clipboard – straight from Spb Wallet
• Importing wizard, password generator, quick search

A great update from a forward thinking company, I’ll have a review in a couple of days, but hit the link below for the full press release, and to get an upgrade if you are eligible, or to try it out, you know you want to!

Spb Wallet 2.0: Spb’s New Multiplatform Approach to Product Development » Press Releases » Spb Software

If you rack up those frequent flyer points then you probably know how annoying it is to have to take your laptop in and out of its bag every single time you go through a checkpoint. Skooba offers a range of laptop bags that allow airport security to see if your laptop is really a laptop without you having to bother with zippers and power buttons. Their most recent addition is the Checkpoint Messenger, featuring more than 10 pockets and compartments. It’s designed in such a way that your laptop will look like it’s been placed in a bin as it goes through the x-ray machine.

It’s available now at the Skooba website for $129.95. Check the full press release after the jump for all the deets.

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Thanks to the reviews I do for the site I’ve got multiple power solutions for my devices, so I can charge just about anything on the go. One of the features I really appreciate in a mobile charging solution is the inclusion of the word ‘universal’. Mmm. Universal. This means I can take just about any device, attach the correct wire, and have it charging over mini-USB. Proporta’s new charger also includes a retractable wire that can be fitted with Nokia Slim, Sony Ericsson, iPod, USB –> Mini-USB, micro USB, Samsung, or PSP connector heads. If you’re on the market for the one device to charge them all, this might be for you. The battery itself stores 2500mAh which is roughly enough to charge an iPhone or equivalent smartphone twice over. I wish I could show you more pictures but I haven’t seen any more on the website

The new charger is available from Proporta for approximately $70 (I did a rough conversion from British pounds).

When I got my Touch Pro last month, one of the first things I did was set up my email.  I have two Gmail based accounts I use, and I set them both up using IMAP settings.  The funny thing was one account worked perfectly.  The other would check my email, but would send sporadically.  Sometimes it worked, sometimes not.  As time went on, it would not send most of my emails.  This was frustrating, but i figured it must have had something to do with my account and moved on to other things.

Today, I learned (and yes, I know I am a bit late to the table with this one) that there was actually a bug preventing me from sending email.  According to Microsoft:

This behavior is associated with a feature that was introduced in Windows Mobile 6.1. It provides a way for users to send e-mail through an alternate outbound e-mail server provided by their mobile operator in the event that the default outbound e-mail server becomes inaccessible.

The problem occurs if a mobile operator doesn’t use this feature, and therefore doesn’t supply a value for the alternate SMTP address. When the mobile device fails on any attempt to connect to the e-mail provider’s default SMTP server, Windows Mobile 6.1 automatically loads the value for the alternate SMTP server—which in this case is blank. The e-mail account configuration details are then corrupted, which results in loss of the ability to send e-mail with that particular e-mail account.

With this fix, the feature is patched to ensure that Windows Mobile 6.1 takes appropriate action when it detects a blank value for the Alternate SMTP server.

I downloaded the patch tonight, it is really a tiny file and took almost no time to download and install.  After installing it, I immediately tried to send several emails, and managed to fire off three with absolutely no problems.  No telling whether this behavior will last, but it looks like this patch may have done the trick. 

I will admit that I feel a little like the time Elmo Saved Christmas on Sesame Street.  The only reason Christmas needed to be saved was because Elmo ruined it in the first place.  So, Microsoft, thanks for fixing it…but not so much for breaking it in the first place.

For more information, check out the patch on Microsoft’s download site.  It is available in cab or Microsoft Installer formats.

[Thanks to BTarver over at SpbClub for pointing this one out]