ASUS P565 will not be launched in France

ASUS P565, which was slowly being launched in all parts of the world would not be able to make itself to France. It has already been launched in many parts of Asia as-well-as Europe and is enjoying moderate success. The ASUS underwent a partnership with Garmin to release ASUS-GARMIN branded phones this year. Could that be the reason that ASUS P565 was canceled? Or it was canceled that its successor, ASUS P835 has already been announced. But, then again, ASUS P835 is a ASUS-only windows mobile phone and not a ASUS-GARMIN windows mobile phone.

We enjoyed reviewing the device which was touted as the then world’s fastest PDA-phone.

ASUS P835 (beta) quick tour

Pda.pl were able to get their hands on the pre-production unit of the ASUS P835. They have done a quick overview of the hardware and the Glide Interface. Although, Asus seems to have change the glide interface quite a bit, but it looks quite sluggish. But, we are not complaining much as it is still a pre-production unit. Remember?


Asus P835 from pda.pl on Vimeo.

via pda.pl

SKTools Updated [Windows Mobile]

SKTools is a ‘all-in-one’ maintenance tool for Windows Mobile. It has been updated to the version 4.4.7.

So, what has been updated?

  • The addition of a Network Tools option (Ping, Trace Route, Port Scanner, Lookup, Whois (smart), HTTP GET, Network information tools)
  • An optional feature which shows executable files not registered in system as “installed” for WM5/WM6 devices.
  • Ability to save image in PNG format (if system support it, otherwise – BMP)
  • Fixed alternative registry backup path feature (registry cleaner)

[SK-TOOLS official webpage]

HTC releases ROM update for HTC DIAMOND

HTC has again released another ROM update for the HTC DIAMOND. Although, the last ROM update is just a month old, but they have rolled out another update. The new update does not promise any ground breaking improvements or adds any new features, but does some bug-fixes. Here is the description of the new ROM:

1. When you launch the Camera while the system is working on other programs, the preview screen may become black.
2. When playing a video, sometimes a portion of the video will be cut off a little bit.
3. Fixes Audio playback problem with the speaker. Specific issues: sometimes the music will turn off and on after 10 minutes, or there is a buzzing sound or no sound at all.
4. Fixes the problem of not being able to receive MMS when in standby mode.
5. When launching music via the Music tab on TouchFLO 3D, the sound may intermittently turn off for a second and come back on.

Usual warning: This is a generic update and will commit hard reset. So, you are requested to back up your precious data before performing the update

DOWNLOAD the update

ASUS P835 now official [Windows Mobile]

ASUS has unleashed its WVGA beauty, P835. Sporting a huge 3.5-inch WVGA (800 x 480), this new Windows Mobile device promises to give HTC some strong competition.

ASUS P835 specs review price

It looks like past mistakes have taught ASUS a bitter lesson. The previous flagship model, ASUS P565 (REVIEW), which although had the zippy 800Mhz CPU lacked on the software front. It did not even include Opera Mobile. The built-in IE mobile does a sloppy job of rendering web pages. But, in the ASUS P835, the ASUS has included Opera Mobile which is absolutely great to use on the WVGA screen.

Here are its specifications:

Windows Mobile 6.1
Quad-Band GSM
new and improved Glide user interface
528MHz Qualcomm 7201A processor
288MB RAM
256MB ROM
4GB internal storage
USB 2.0 connectivity
microSDHC card slot (yay!)
Bluetooth 2.0
aGPS
5 MP AutoFocus camera

Also, the ASUS has finally upgraded to the USB 2.0 standard. ALL the earlier models came with only USB 1.1 support, which made the transfer painfully slow.  Another noticeable improvement is the inclusion of the 5MP camera, which makes it the first ASUS mobile phone to sport a 5MP camera and that too with autofocus capability.

ASUS has also included their own SIP (soft input panel). This is nice addition as all previous ASUS windows mobile devices lacked a finger friendly SIP. Even their now old flagship model P565 lacked a finger friendly SIP. All these additions were completely absent. We are definitely looking forward the ASUS P835.

Compared to the earlier ASUS devices, there a huge increase in RAM as-well-as ROM. Now, the user won’t have mere 50MB RAM free at startup. With the increased RAM, I see at least 120+MB RAM free at startup with Glide interface on.

HTC TOUCH DIAMOND and HTC TOUCH DIAMOND 2 comparison photos [Windows Mobile]

CNet has posted several comparison photos of the HTC TOUCH DIAMOND and the upcoming TOUCH DIAMOND 2.  Let’s take a look at some of the photos:

First is the obvious increase in overall size of the device. The Diamond 2 has a bigger display (3.2-inch) as compared to Diamond-1 (2.8-inch). With the bigger display, the Diamond 2 also brings WVGA resolution compared to the VGA resolution found in Diamond-1.

The Diamond-2 looses the Diamond back.

The Diamond-2 is bit thicker than the Diamond-1. But, not terribly thick. It is still going to be one of the most slick looking devices around. Although, it is quite sad to see that there is sill NO dedicated 3.5mm jack for headphones.

Go to cnet.com to see more pics