The good news is that it starts up and is ready to use as a phone in about 6 seconds, as opposed to the 10x delay with the Excalibur.  In fact any WindowsMobile device could only dream of starting that quick, most are just about finishing displaying the inital splash image.

The GPS is good and works well,  even with the limited Maps application, but at least it accurately shows you where you are right now, anywhere in the world.  I tested this in london and San Francisco and both have been very accurate.  Also, the battery life is better than any WindowsMobile device I’ve had so far.

The really good news actually shames WindowsMobile, and that is I can connect to more than one Exchange server simultaneousl.  Why Microsoft can’t do this is for WindowsMobile beyond me, they don’t even do it for the desktop Outlook client.  The Curve seamlessly manages multiple email sources whether they are Exchange, Hotmail, GMail etc.  The only downside is that whilst it provides separate source folders for each new mail service you add,  it doesn’t separate your original mailbox out, which is left in the consolidated view.  This is an omission I am sure they will fix as its done in some third party themes already.

Anyway, it my summary is it does what I need and it just works andshows how far Microsoft need to go to catch up with the BlackBerry experience,  and thats something I didn’t think I would say.

However there are a couple of things to be aware of as Database mirroring and Snapshots aren’t supported.  Otherwise, FILESTREAM is implemented as a varbinary(max) and can be used as if it were a normal but importantly it is not limited to 2GB in size, rather to volume size (although thats no a good measure).  A cool capability is thta you can access the FILESYSTEM onject directly from the Win32 API,  you can’t delete or rename and object but you can read and write to it.  However NTFS security is applied and by default only the SQL Server Service has access permissions.

Anyway its here … http://www.formula1.com/services/live_timing/ unfortunately it requires Java runtime.

In general the HD deployment in the UK is a complete mess.  On FreeSat, you get BBC HD and ITV HD (if available) but not Channel 4 HD.  If you have Sky HD, you get BBC and Channel 4 HD but not ITV HD.  Unfortunately its seems FreeSat has failed to deliver on its promise even though its already 2 years late.

Firstly, the biggest problem.  For reasons which are impossible to fathom, Samsung decided to install WM6 Professional (PocketPC Edition) on to this device, despite it clearly being a WM6 Standard device.  This turns a perfectly good single handed device into a clumsy two handed version with none of the benefits of the PocketPC.  Unbelievably it ships with a stylus, and uses the wholly inappropriate Pro UI with drop down START menu and touch screen.  This is just craziness.  I recommend they make a WM6 Standard firmware update asap.

The GPS … what can I say?  Mostly it didn’t work,  when it did the accuracy offered was in the kilometre range, at one point offering me an accuracy of 5563 metres!

Now to put a tall hat on it they made it slightly too wide and made it with an ultra slippy shiny case that squeezes out of your hand like a wet bar of soap.

Completing my day, they use a non standard interface for power and connectivity instead of USB.

Funnily enough,  I got used to the trackpad, but not the cursor it drives which is all but invisible in sunlight.  There is a simple reason why WM6 Standard on a front facing keyboard candybar is the right OS, simplicity!

So, its gone back in the box, probably never to be used again.  What a disappointment!

It also put me in mind of the SuperThruster video EP from Sly and Robbie.  Well worth getting on DVD for its manga and thumping baseline.  Here’s a horribly compromised and dark copy I found on YouTube.

Of course as we all know, balance and karma must be maintained in any industry, and banking is no different,  and on the very same day, Barclays restored the balance by informing me they are not going to improve their online banking system which currently limits your transaction history to 60 items or 60 days.  So if you are running your business on Barclays you can’t even see enough data to do one VAT quarter let alone a whole year.  Barclays problem is that they are basically running a system designed 10 years ago and never touched since.  Back in 2001 I was advising they stored statements online as PDF’s which could be downloaded, and provide secure communication to your branch or specific Barclays staff, but alas it seems that they have been unable to do any of this, and sadly, not for the foreseeable future either.  

I have finally given up after 7 years of trying to jostle Barclays into providing a service that is more than just a payment system as there is a disconnect between customers, branches and the owners of the Internet banking group who really seem not to want to know what customers think.  Here’s the process I just went through which took a month;

• I register complaint with PC Banking about 60 transaction limit with India
• Call is escalated to PC Banking help in Coventry
• Operator very understanding but can do nothing to help and offers to escalate to Central Complaints
• Receive letter next day saying they will respond in 21 days
• 25 days later I call to follow up with Central Complaints
• They inform me there is nothing they can do and offer to escalate to PC Banking help in Coventry
• Hmmm … surely that’s a closed loop system
• … and of course thats where it ended, back at square 1, just a month later.

Whats crazy is that me and other concerned customers are just trying to help and be part of the solution for them but theres no way to interact with anyone who has any influence…. and … whats more one of the many times quoted reasons about lack of storage is easily overcome, and rapidly if the desire is there.

If it was me in Barclays PC Banking, I’d accept the limitations of the current system and exploit the existing security platform for authentication but extend the system with an online analytics data processing farm that could create on demand reports as PDF’s (or better still, an altaVENTE protected document) which could be downloaded.  Voila! a cheap, fast to implement solution that would keep the service acceptable whilst a new system is delivered.

The real solution ?  Well sadly, and despite every other effort their only option is to move to a bank with an online banking system that actually gives you full reporting and analytics, or reporting at least.  But if anyone from Barclays does read this and want my feedback then just let me know.

There’s a few articles on how to extend the length of the bar cable, but I haven’t found anyone who has successfully split bar inputs?  I’ll update when I’ve succeeded.

Why isn’t it great? Well, a simple update to being able to use the station short codes via the keypad would be great.  Right now it uses voice recognition, you know the sort of thing ‘Did you say Machester’ right after you actually said London.  Couple this with standing in a loud busy place where you can hardly hear then you see the problem,  its worst just where you need it most.

However, the idea and sentiment is great. Anyway, all stations have three letter codes like airports, so for instance CHX is London Charing Cross so I should be able to call Train Tracker and type in 249 (CHX).  Hopefully they will add this real soon as its a no-brainer.

0871 200 49 50

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/passenger_services/info_on_the_move/traintracker.html

• Much Improved performance for web design
• Firefox support for clickonce (maybe we can go back to using it now)
• Lightweight .NET Framework (Client Profile Setup Package)

There are loads of other enhancements, but its obviously far from finished so not really ready for deployment, but looks very promising, good work VS2008 Team!

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/products/cc533447.aspx