MDA III arriving soon, X30 and MDA II for sale now

Well I did it, I took the plunge and just forked out some major bucks for the T-Mobile MDA III device from a seller on ebay. I will be getting it today or tomorrow via FedEx and can't wait to get a device that should satisfy all my desires. I have been using my MDA II for a few months now and my other devices rarely see any usage. I was missing WiFi, an integrated backlit thumb keyboard and WM2003 Second Edition and since this device has all of that then I feel comfortable getting down to a single Windows Mobile device. I will still keep my UX devices for Palm reviews since there is no other Palm Powered device with BT, WiFi, and integrated keyboard.

If you are interested in my Dell Axim X30 or MDA II package then I recommend you check out my ad here. If you mention that you saw the ad via my personal blog then I will knock $25 off each package price. Note that this is $25 off the package price as I mention in the previous sentence. I will work out other discounts if you want to buy pieces of the packages.

I'll keep you updated on the MDA III.

iPAQ 4700 shipping, where is palmOne?

It has been a week since I posted a blog entry and hope no one is too disappointed. The iPAQ hx4700 is now shipping from many places and user reviews are starting to pour in. I have decided not to spend my money on one since the rumored Dell X50 looks more interesting at a savings of $150+ in a smaller form factor. I just cannot stop using my MDA II and am actually thinking of getting rid of some more devices (my UX models?) and getting a MDA III with WiFi and thumb keyboard.

We should be hearing some news from palmOne soon regarding the rumored Treo 650 and Tungsten T5 and they sort of interest me, although if the T5 is lacking WiFi then it will probably be a no go for me.

I was selected to be on the MSN Search Champs team and will be attending a summit at Microsoft next Monday and Tuesday. I love doing these tech shows and cannot wait to provide my input on the future of MSN Search. I wish my fulltime job was in the tech sector, but at least I get the chance to have fun occasionally.

Fewer updates in the future

I've had some issues in my life recently that brought me to refocus on what is important and where I should be focusing my efforts. As a result, you will probably see less postings on here that before as my excitement for PDAs and mobile devices has been reigned in a bit.

I am pretty content with the devices I have and have no plans for upgrading anytime soon. Thanks for reading and I appreciate all the comments and feedback you have provided in the past.

Rafting trip and break from computer

I just spent the last four days hardly touching a computer or PDA as we celebrated my wife's birthday and other family outings. My wife and I went white water rafting down the Tieton River over by Yakima and it was a BLAST. This was my first trip and I am still a bit sore today from all the paddling. The Tieton is usually a small creek you can walk across, but in September they open the dam to Rimrock Lake for irrigation in the Yakima valley area and the river flows making it a Class IV rafting adventure. We wanted to see even more rapids, but it was a nice trip for $65 each that included a big barbeque afterwards.

I should be back in action this week and then early next week I am taking a business trip to Minnesota to inspect a few aluminum boats to see if they were made with some bad aluminum.

Voq Professional Phone and questions on the silence from palmOne

I received my Mobile Planet catalog yesterday and like to use it to browse what products are out or coming soon. They had an unlocked Voq Professional Phone now available for pre-ordering for $500. This isn't too bad for a SIM unlocked phone without activation, but it is lacking Bluetooth. It doesn't have a camera, but that is not a dealbreaker for me. The thumb keyboard looks very usable and this could be a decent Treo 600 alternative for those looking for a Windows Mobile device. I have been trying to get one to review for Geek.com, without any luck so far.

It still appears the iPAQ hx4700 won't be out until maybe as late as October and others may beat them to the punch with their VGA devices. The new ASUS model with a 3.7 inch display with WiFi and Bluetooth is in the current Mobile Planet catalog, but still not yet shipping.

It has been very quiet in the Palm world and the only device that is more than a rumor is the Treo 650. It was fun when Sony was in the market and releasing new devices every couple of months and I think the longer that palmOne stays silent then more and more people may move to the Windows Mobile platform where there are a ton of new devices and options available for buyers.

Back from the holiday, quoted in a Smartphone book

I had a busy Labor Day holiday with family barbeques and birthday parties, but am back to work again. I submitted my review of the Dell Bluetooth keyboard and am working on more reviews now.

The following is taken from a blurb I submitted on PDAGeek today:

If you are interested in buying a Microsoft Smartphone device or already have one in hand then you may be interested in checking out the just released How to Do Everything with Your Microsoft Windows Mobile Smartphone by Jason Rich. I pre-ordered the book from Amazon a month ago and just received it last night. I browsed through the book last night and there is some great stuff in there that will even help a Smartphone geek like me who has already discovered most of the functionality of the device. You will find sections in the book called Voices from the Community where Smartphone users tell a story about their use. You will find the Chief Geek, Joel Evans, on page 256 and palmsolo (aka Matthew Miller), on page 338. The book retails for $24.99, but you can find it on the Geek.com PriceGrabber store front for as low as $16 shipped.

Isn't that cool? I made it in a book that is out in stores. My book, Master Visually Windows Mobile 2003, has been published and is on the way to the stores now and should be shipping in a week or two. I don't earn any royalties or anything, but hope you at least go to Borders, etc. and check it out. I would appreciate any feedback you may have since we may write a follow up book when the new OS is released probably in 2005.

School started and busy writing, new iMac thoughts

Well my two oldest daughters started public school for the first time in their lives and are in 3rd and 5th grade. My wife has homeschooled them until now, but they have been begging to try public school so off they went. They loved their first day and we are very happy with the teachers and principal. Luckily, the school is very small (about 350 kids) and the girls only have about 22 students in each class.

I haven't done much with my devices, but have been writing up some reviews and have finished judging software for the Pocket PC awards. The Dell Bluetooth keyboard is awesome and I am writing most of my text on it.

The new iMac looks very tempting because I would love to get down to a single power cable out the back. I could hook up my WiFi router with print server in one location and use a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse to run the iMac. Very tempting and my wife and I are talking about it. I have owned some type of Apple computer since 1989 and still have two older models in the house now that my daughters use and this new iMac may take us back to all Macs, except for a PC desktop out in the garage that I would use as my mobile device platform. There are some apps for burning DVDs, creating Photos Stories, and more that I need to use with a Windows PC.