HTC has been making smart devices for a very, very long time, but they’ve only started advertising themselves as a brand relatively recently. One of the folks that helps them get the HTC name into homes and onto computer screens is Eric Lin, global PR manager who holds all the newest, coolest phones in his hand. Akihabaranews recently cornered him for an interview and he discusses HTC’s current design focuses, their latest and greatest WinMo smartphones, and he almost, almost made me pre-order a Touch Pro 2 tonight. I pressed my iPhone to my forehead to wipe the sweat off and the sudden shock of its icy, metallic back was the only thing that kept me from completing an order. Dear god, those Touch phones look good!

You can check out the interview which starts here and ends here.

[news via wmwexperts via akhibaranews]

I love messenger bags and backpacks, and what is better than great bags.  Great bags on sale!!!  Skooba Designs makes some amazing products.  They have a line of laptop bags that can go through the x-ray at the airport without removing your computer.  That is a beautiful thing.  Now, onto the good stuff, sales details.  First, this is a 3 day sale, and all orders must be placed by the end of the day on Friday (05/01/09).  That’s in EST for all of you west coasters.

• *20% off plus FREE Express shipping
• *Any order over $50, receives 20% off plus FREE UPS select 3 day shipping   
• *Order by 3pm, and your order will ship the same day.  (if the item is in stock)
• *Orders received after 3pm on Friday will be mailed out on Monday (05/04/09)

All you need to do is enter the discount code MOMSDAY at Checkout.  So, get something nice for Mom, and pick up a little something for yourself.  You will not be disappointed.

I guess the word ‘silly’ kinda tipped you off on what I think of Sony’s proprietary cartridge disc thing. It’s not that the games are way too pricey for physical copies, but rather that they can sometimes take years to load. The difference between booting a digital copy from my memory stick and loading the game from a UMD can be like night and day. But if we were to mention prices, I also like the fact that I can find certain games on the Sony Store for a mere $15.99 instead of the $20-30 they’d demand on store shelves.

But enough of my blabbering, you want to know about that PSP mockup at the top of the post. Rumour has it that the UMD slot is being ditched and being replaced with 8 or 16GB of flash memory, the controls will magically come out from under the huge sliding screen, and they’re still sticking with the one analog stick deal. As a PSP owner, I think that’s a horrible idea. One of the things I find that really holds the system back is the fact that there’s no way to tightly control movement and aim with only one stick. I understand that it might not  be as simple as adding a couple of new wires to magically enable the system to see new controls, but if Sony is aiming to make this a truly portable Playstation and not simply a Playsholder, then for the love of God of War, give us our second stick!

[news and pic from Slashgear]

There is a real buzz about the Interwebs about the Palm Pre and its release date (would that be a Pre-release??)  In this corner, you have May 16, 2009.  A fairly plausible date, and only about two weeks from Monday.  On the other hand, rumors are starting to percolate now that we may have to wait until June 7.  That may seem like only a few weeks, but don’t be fooled.  Palm’s windows of opportunity may be narrowing significantly.  The closer it approaches to the release of iPhone 3 this summer, the more the Pre’s buzz will get drowned out by the legions of iPhone acolytes.  So, the best advice for Palm would be to release it as soon as possible in order to maximize the time before the iPhone buzz machine begins.  In fact, I am free today…what do you say, Palm.

[Via Precentral]

[Note: This is a three-way, multi-site review.  Chris Spera (italics), Clinton Fitch (bold), and Doug Goldring (plain text)have all teamed up to review Mobile Shell 3 together.  It is being simultaneously posted on Gear Diary, and Just Another Mobile Monday.]

It is hard to believe that it has been only a little over two years (February 2007) since Spb Software House revolutionized the way we use our Windows Mobile devices.  Since that time, dozens of other software developers and OEMs such as HTC, Samsung, and Sony-Ericsson have adopted this same technique of replacing the user interface entirely.  Through all of this, however, Spb Software House has managed to stay one step ahead of all the others by constantly refining and updating Mobile Shell.  And just when it looked like some of the other shell-type programs might be gaining a foothold, Spb ups the ante again with version 3 of their award winning program.  You are really going to want to sit down, hit the jump, and enjoy the ride for this one.

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