Today Resco released a significant version update to their Contact Management application. [Press Release Link] I have been lucky enough to participate on the Beta team for the final development of Contacts Manager 2nd Edition and would like to thank Resco for this opportunity, and for supplying me with the application for testing. <Contact Manager Previous Version 1.10 JAMM Review> When Doug looked at the initial release of the program, he was really impressed, and I really think Resco has upped the ante with this new release.  So, How good is Resco Contact Manager 2nd Edition ?

I was showing a co-worker of mine, who had just received his iPhone 3gs, some of the features of Contact Manager 2nd Edition and the response I got was "That looks just like my iPhone 3GS Contact Manager!”. Then after seeing some of the other features like the letter pop-up scrolling, he further commented "Hey! mine can’t do that, I like that!"

An iPhone user impressed with a Windows Mobile application, already that is way too cool, and I think that Resco is to be congratulated on the implementation of this release. Actually, I’ve been using Resco Contact Manager 2nd Edition for the last week and it has become my favorite contact manager and here’s why:

I tested out the finger scrolling for accuracy and ease of use and it is very fast to scroll to and locate a contact, utilizing the letter pop-up scrolling, it is possible to go from A to Z within seconds.  The scrolling is a lot easier in Resco Contacts than on the iPhone, as you can always see which letter you’re on as you scroll through the list.

c

When you select the Contact Button the Main Menu Popup is displayed that lets you decisively choose your next action:

The Group Action allowed me to easily check-off a selection of users and perform a group action on those selections,such as sending a message to all in the group, setting a group ringtone, or effectively deleting a group of contacts.

It is possible to sort contacts by category or by favorites.  One thing I did notice is that when the application is closed and reopened, the previously selected category is not remembered.  The same behavior occurs when a category is selected and the keypad is closed.  I found it was quite frustrating to have to keep re-selecting the filtered category, as it is defaulting back to All Contacts in both scenarios.

Here is what the contact layout looks like, which is very finger-friendly with large buttons that performed just the actions that I needed.  All of the main communication choices are available from the Summary Tab:

Here is the  Menu which is easily accessed from the bottom right of the Summary Tab. It  opens up a quick menu to the most frequently used functions including the new Social Networking Features:

So, how do we find the new Locate on Map functionality.  It’s easy.  Just Double – Click on the Address to get the Address Menu and select Locate on Map:

A wealth of information is visible from the detail tabs. I did notice, however, that it is not possible to edit the contact information from the details interface (in-line editing), but rather it is necessary to click an extra time to get to a general WM editing window and the field that you clicked-on to edit losses focus.  I think it would be much more value-added to allow editing from the detail windows, as the current solution losses focus from the field when you select and try to edit.

I really liked the spacious Notes tab which allowed for large blocks of text.

Previous calls are saved and logged into the Call History, where you can select and redial.  One thing that I noticed was that when selecting a contact from the call history by pressing and holding-down with your finger, the menu does not allow for Saving to New Contact, as with the default Phone Manager.  It is necessary to click on the contract to open detail page, where the menu button needs to be pressed before you can “Add a New Contact”.  This has become an inconvenience, as it is quicker to save history calls as new contacts from the default phone application.  Overall, there are too many clicks to get to the various phone functions, as I wish they were available from the main screens.  Here are the features available when holding-down the stylus from the Call History:

The Today Screen Plugin is  large and very intuitive. I found myself using this Today Plugin constantly as a one-stop shop for contact elements, as well as the bluetooth and WIFI buttons for easily toggling on and off these functions. It’s nice having all of this functionality consolidated in one plugin.

As it is easy to miss the functionality of these icons, I wanted to give you a quick look at the comprehensive  Today Screen Functionality, so that you don’t miss out on this cool one-stop function stop.

The First Plugin row opens:

• Phone settings (displays mobile service connection name, ie. Verizon, AT&T, Sprint)
• The Date is to open your calendar
• Time is to open the clock setting
• The Bell is to open the alarm settings

The Second Plugin row opens:

• Favorites
• Contacts
• Call Log
• SMS
• Email

The Third Plugin row, toggles on/off:

• Phone
• Bluetooth
• WiFi
• Phone Profiles
• Phone Lock

Another cool feature…I really liked the size of these pop-up toggles. It’s impossible to miss the toggle button with your fingers

Conclusion: This update to  Resco Contact Manager is a pleasure to navigate and use and is a marked improvement over the previous version.   Overall, the kinetic scrolling was smooth, and the letter bar with pop-up letters made navigating contacts a “snap”. 

What I Liked:

• Most of all I liked the new larger element implementation, so that people can easily find what they are looking for without squinting.  It was a real pleasure using this contact manager, as I am used to straining my eyes with other solutions.  Overall the layout of the various buttons and tabs are very user intuitive and I had no problem finding my way around Resco Contact Manager.
• The Finger scrolling works amazingly well and in my opinion, as well as my iPhone co-worker’s opinion was on even par with  iPhone’s scrolling feature.  I haven’t seen this implemented as smoothly in any other Windows Mobile application.
• The Keypad is large and easy to enter phone numbers and the functionality was fluid and smooth throughout my testing.
• Group Operations makes it easy to select a group and Send SMS, MMS, Email, set group ringtones, and group deletions.
• Facebook and Google Maps  integration round off this new edition of Resco Contact Manager.

What Needs Improvement

• Previously selected categories are not remembered.
• Cannot create a new contact from the Call History.
• In-Line Editing is not possible

Vital Stats:

Name: Contact Manager 2nd Edition

Developer: Resco

Version: Second Edition

Trial: 7 days

Where To Buy: Resco

Price: $24.95

It’s been unfolding all day, but it seems Microsoft is leaking again, via XDA Devs, with the latest version of Windows Mobile 6.5, which now has a .1 after it.

Brandon over at PocketNow.com has done a quick video of one of the latest leaked builds, and one of the trendiest UI features of late, finger friendliness, seems to be addressed in this build. There look to be some nice swipe able options in the UI that are more comparable to third party apps than WinMo natively.

SO it seems like we’ll be seeing this on new devices in 2010’

Renowned ROM hacker l3v5y claims this version, called Windows Mobile 6.5.1 will be released in January 2010, with the Samsung Jackie being the first device to get it

Well maybe? These leaked ROMs that offer us a sneak preview of Windows Mobile development are no end product, running on devices that are not essentially designed for the OS. Let’s just hope that it delivers half of the experience documented above!

Via WMPowerUser

One of the hottest mobile devices (I won’t call it a phone) to drop this summer has been the Palm Pre, which is currently available exclusively on the Sprint network.  I did not think I was going to have a chance to lay hands on one of these for a few months, so I was quite excited when one of my Sprint contacts emailed to ask whether I would be interested a review unit.  Of course, my response was an enthusiastic yes, and within a few short days, I was opening the lid of my brand new Palm Pre.  Well, not exactly brand new, as these review units make their way around from one reviewer to the next for a while.  And not exactly mine…as I will have to send it back.  But for the next few weeks, it is all mine, and I plan to share that experience with all of you.  To kick things off, I thought we could start by talking about the hardware and accessories.

Let’s go ahead and crack open the box.  On top, in its throne of cardboard and paper padding, there is the Pre itself.  We’ll just go ahead and move that aside for a moment, and see what else is in there.  Peering past that layer of manuals and quick start guides, we find a relatively neatly arranged assortment of accessories.  Among them are:

a microUSB sync/charge cable.  I had heard a rumor that this was not a true microUSB cable, but a connection which was similar but did not match the microUSB.  I tested it out with the microUSB cable from my Amazon Kindle, and found it worked just fine.  Go figure.

There is also an AC adaptor, so you can plug the Palm Pre into a wall for easy charging.  This is a component which many device manufacturers have been leaving out of the box, forcing you to purchase one separately or charge solely through the USB port on a computer.  After a few days, though, I could see why it was included.  My universal AC adaptors were not able to power this one, so you have to use the Palm branded adaptor.

iPod-style earbuds, for listening to music.  We can just ignore those.

A relatively nice pouch style case.  Though I will say that this Pittsburgh Steelers fan was not impressed by the brown and orange color scheme.

One thing which was notably absent was the Touchstone charger.  You will have to buy that separately.  Also sold separately is the car charging adaptor, which would have been nice to find in the box.

OK, a few seconds ago, we set aside the Pre.  Well, it is time to revisit it and take a much closer look at the hardware.  The first think you will notice is the size and shape of the device, which is extremely unique.  It is oval shaped and very sleek, like a water smoothed stone (please do not try to skip the Pre across the water surface in your local pond).  The downside to this unique texture is the slick coating they put on the whole unit.  While it helps the feel of the device in your hand, it also makes the Pre extremely slippery, almost like a bar of soap.  In order to lessen this effect, there is a rubberized ring around the middle of the device.  Unfortunately, this was not nearly enough to grip without feeling like it would just fly out of your hand.  I recommend finding a nice case as soon as possible.

The top of the device features a 3.5 mm standard headphone jack, which I was absolutely thrilled to find after so many Windows Mobile devices without one.  Next to that is a switch, which I initially thought was a screen and button lock.  Instead, this is a mute switch, which I thought was unique and much appreciated.  Next to that is the power button.  Give it a tap to turn off and lock the screen,  Hold it a little longer to power off the device.

The right side has no controls, however, you will find the connection for the microUSB sync/charge cable here.  I was disappointed to find a little plastic door here.  I have a strong dislike for these plastic doors, which generally just get in the way, and eventually break off anyway.  I don’t really think these plastic doors offer much more than a cosmetic benefit, and I wish manufacturers would leave them off or come up with a better solution.

The left side features your volume controls.  Not much to say here other than up for higher volume, down for lower volume; and I thought Palm did a great job of camouflaging these buttons into the side of the device. 

Nothing much to see on the bottom of the device.  Just a small button, which will release the back of the device.

Speaking of the back, let’s go ahead and flip this thing over and take a look.  On the back, you will find the speakerphone and a 3.0 megapixel camera.  We’ll talk more about that in a later installment.

Pop off the back cover to reveal the 1150 mAh battery.  I had heard horror stories about this battery.  Charge it three times a day.  It will lose a charge in 2-3 hours.  The truth is though, I was pretty impressed by the battery life.  Not blown away, but impressed enough to say it feel pretty close to the mid range average for mobile device batteries.  On a heavy use day, in which I did a lot of downloading, texting, emailing, and plenty more, I was still able to achieve six hours of battery life.  On a light to average use day, I topped out well over 12 hours.  I’m not sure whether the battery horror stories were exaggerations, or whether the recent firmware upgrade fixed whatever issues were causing this.  The bottom line, however, is that this battery is certainly adequate.  It could be better, but I have often said that the battery is the weak link in all mobile devices; and this one turned out to be at least as good as the batteries in most mobile devices I have used.

One thing which you may have noticed is missing from this picture, though, is a memory card slot.  While the 8GB of memory the Pre packs is more than many Windows Mobile devices, it is really not enough for the multimedia capabilities of the device, especially video.  In comparison, the iPhone, which also does not offer a memory card, starts at 8GB and goes up from there.  Most of the Windows Mobile devices with smaller storage feature memory cards.  The Pre falls in the middle.  Its 8GB of storage are plenty for using your device as a phone or PDA.  But once you start adding in music, photos, and especially video, it will quickly become insufficient.  The Pre should have offered either more memory or a microSD slot.

OK, enough holding you in suspense.  Let’s take a look at the face of the device, where you will find a fantastic 3.1 inch touchscreen.  It could have been a little bigger (it is slightly smaller than the iPhone’s 4 inch screen) but I found it was plenty big, bright, and crisp for everything I needed (and that picture should give you a nice wet your appetite for our next installment on the WebOS interface and software).  It did attract its own fair share of fingerprints, but that has been a consistent compliant of almost all touchscreens I have used.  Beneath the screen is the home button, which you will see in action in our next installment.  For now, all you need to know is that when you push it, the Pre will revert to the home screen. 

You might also notice a rather large border on the bottom of the device here.  The home button almost seems to get lost in that area.  Well, before you go decrying what appears to be wasted space, let me tell you about that.  This space is actually a gesture sensor.  Slide your finger across this space from right to left…and you will instantly shoot back one screen in your browsing.  Not too shabby.

OK.  I think that about does it…oh wait…what’s that?  You want to know more about the keyboard?  OK.  Go ahead and slide it out, and we can talk about my biggest problem with the Pre.  Namely the fact that this is one hard keyboard to slide.  The combination of the angle at which the screen sits when opened (slightly tilted) along with the slipper coating, makes this a particularly touch slider.  I found myself constantly wrenching and muscling it open…which can’t be good.

Once opened, I have to say that I enjoyed the keyboard on this device.  It is essentially the same keyboard as the Centro and Treo Pro, which I did not mind at all.  I found the keys felt good, gave pretty good tactile feedback, and were easy to use.  They were a bit small, but the spacing ensured that mistakes were minimized.  The other complaint I had here was that there appeared to be no rhyme or reason to the placement of the special characters and symbol keys.  It would have been nice if Palm had extended the keyboard slightly in order to add an extra row for numbers, which would also have allowed a more intuitive layout of special characters.  Other than the occasional “lost” character, though, I did really like this keyboard.

One last hardware feature I found hidden on this device.  While the keyboard is opened, flip it over to the backside.  Look at that shiny little mirror.  Pretty cool hidden feature, I thought. 

So far, there is an awful lot to like about the Pre, with that bright, vibrant screen, easy to use keyboard, and overall shape and design.  But the hardware is really not the main attraction.  The main attraction is the WebOS interface and Synergy sync.  We’ll take a look at that, as well as the included apps and App Catalog in our next installment.  Stay tuned, we have plenty more to cover.

Check out more at Sprint or Palm.

In a post from SlashGear today, some interesting features of Apple’s store policies were highlighted.

According to Marco Arment, an iPhone developer and lead behind the Tumblr project, Apple have decided that apps rated 17+ will not be able to use promo-codes.

It seems like adult content, and if you consider a 17+ rating adult content, then you’ll be happy. Basically though, lot’s of reviewers are dependent on promo codes to acquire, and test iPhone apps. If the rating system changes, and a whole heap of apps, that Apple assumes, may contain adult content.

So anything that may contravene these rules, may be excluded from the Promo code convention,

Twitter, RSS, Flickr, IM, social-networking, ebook reader or Tumblr client could, feasibly, be required to carry a 17+ rating, together with bearing a “this app can contain frequent nudity and drug use and violence and mature themes” warning

This may affect even more apps than people are speculating about, what about third party shooters? There are lot’s of game’s that will also fit this premise.

I’m always quite confused by policies like this, some how the legal department, gets in a huff, and the rules change. Is it panic , or relevant?  I’m all for keeping people safe online, especially young people, but will this policy change, stop the bevy of online reviews for iPhone apps?

In the long run, I feel that Apple are reactionary, fixing problems that they predict, before they happen. It’s called covering all of the bases, and Apple certainly seem to do that!

In the long run though, are they limiting the market for really good, useful apps, erring on the side of over cautious!???

Are Apple’s establishment morals, a hindrance for iPhone Devs, or is this a prudent development? Seems rather constrictive to me!

from TUAW

The first patch was a bug fix, but this is a real update for real racers. Real Racing has to be one of the best looking racers on the iPhone, and it’s great to see updates for such an expensive game. Firemint apparently worked for a whole year on this racer, and the polish shows up even in the screenshots. I have yet to try the game (hoping to fix that soon), but there are a lot of really impressive YouTube videos out that showcase how fast and smooth the gameplay is. As for the graphics — man, that game looks like it’s running on the PSP. I can only hope that this game is a sign of things to come on the 3GS’ more powerful hardware.

Anyway, as far as this update goes, here are the highlights:

New vehicle class: listen to the distinct roar of a V12 engine and
experience unsurpassed speed and control with new exotic vehicles
Support for up to 6 players in local WiFi multiplayer (up from 2 players)
Select your favourite songs from your personal music library while
racing (iPhone and iPod Touch OS 3.0)
Completely new game soundtrack with 10 original music tracks composed
specifically for Real Racing
Even more content in Career Mode with an exotic vehicle qualifier and
two new championships
New control method: touch-wheel-to-steer, manual accelerate and manual brake
Increased smoothing of the horizon tilt feature
Various improvements, bug fixes and OS 3.0 compatibility updates

[image from fingergaming]