If you have a Windows Mobile touchscreen device, you’re familiar with the process of being unable to accomplish pretty much anything without the use of a microscopic stylus. I’m referring to just about anything: opening a program, dialing a number, closing a program, writing an email, etc. Plus, if you’ve got fat, er, large-framed fingers or some kind of arthritis, fuhgettaboutit.

(I actually used to be a big fan of the stylus when I first started dealing with PDAs – wow, I sound like I’m 80 – but I’m now of the opinion that “if you can’t do it without a stylus, it should be designed differently.”)

Well, if you’re more than familiar with the problems I’m describing, you might want to check out iDialer for Windows Mobile. [Author: Doug Melton of supware.net. He’s on Twitter if you want to follow app developement.]

The application is completely free and gives you a nice, full-screen application for dialing numbers or contacts. The interface is modern (read: iPhone-esque), the keys can’t be missed and it certainly benefits those of us who are forced deal with (what seem to be) 2 pixel x 2 pixel number keys on our existing WinMo phones.

As Geoffry over at TechZulu mentions, “the program is QVGA and VGA compatible and should work in both portrait and landscape orientation.

In addition to giving your fingers, eyes and stylus (stylii, if you will) some much-needed relief, iDialer offers integration with Google Voice, Phone.com or jajah! Essentially, you can configure you the iDialer app to make outgoing calls from your account on these networks. You can use supware.net’s iDialer online configuration to generate a customized .cab installation file based on your Google/Phone.com/jajah account info. (You just need to provide your phone number, no passwords.) Then, install that after you’ve gone through the initial iDialer installation.

[via TechZulu]

If there’s one thing I truly loathe (although, trust me, there’s plenty more), it’s the everyday voicemail experience one might have with their cell phone provider. Why do I despise it so? Well, first off, there’s always a chance your call will drop right in the middle of retrieving a message. Second, there’s a variety of different numerical options you need to memorize in order to navigate through your messages (i.e., 3 to erase a message, 7 to save a message, etc.) Last, but not least, the messages are stored on your provider’s servers forcing you to dial a number and enter a pass code in order to retrieve them. Then, once you’ve retrieved them, they’re still on someone else’s servers and you have no way of hearing that message again without re-dialing voicemail, re-entering your pass code and re-navigating through your other messages. There’s nothing intuitive about the process at all.

The above reasons are precisely why I let a 3rd-party handle my cell phone voicemail service.

About 2 or 3 years ago, I began beta-testing a service from CallWave that not only allowed me to receive my voicemails through my email account (as an MP3 attachment) but the service also provided me with a (highly inaccurate) transcription of the message within the email so, if I were in a crowded place, I wouldn’t even have to open the attachment. (The premium version of the service offered a more accurate transcription of messages received.) Of course, all free things must come to an end and I was notified that my beta test would soon end. The regular service offering was $14.95 and that wasn’t something I was prepared to do… at least not with all of my other regular monthly charges.

So, while I wasn’t quite ready to replace my wife’s $15/mo TiVo subscription for a $15/mo voicemail service (that wouldn’t have been fair, now would it?), I also wasn’t quite ready to give up the ridiculously-convenient service of having those voicemails in my email inbox. That said, I went for a compromise: GotVoice.

GotVoice offered me the same options as CallWave but did so for $9.95/mo. It was still $10/mo on top of a Zune subscription, TiVo, Maghound*, Web hosting, etc. and so on and so forth. However, while the transcriptions were pretty accurate and the MP3 delivery was relatively timely, the online account management interface to manage current and saved voicemails was antiquated… to say the very least. The site looks as though it was birthed straight from 1997. I’m a bit of a design snob (despite what you may think by looking at this site) and I just couldn’t take the “Web 0.2” look.

I looked for alternatives as time permitted but never really found one that suited me… until a post on Lifehacker alerted me to an existing service by the name of YouMail.

There are a few different reasons why I chose YouMail and why it remains my service of choice. First, there’s a number of different pricing plans between $0.00/mo (a.k.a. “free, baby”) and $18/mo.

Second, if you choose to purchase the transcription option and elect to have them sent to you via text message (in addition to or in replacement of transcriptions sent by email), the messages are abbreviated in order to accommodate for the 160 text message character restrictions. (i.e., “your” is replaced with “yr” in the transcription; “for” is replaced by “4”, etc. Basically, your voicemail transcription resembles an instant message conversation with your 12-year-old niece.)

Third, the service goes beyond the traditional voicemail delivery options and allows you to create customized greetings or even select from a variety of existing ones and then apply unique greetings to one, some, or all of the contacts in your address book. (This also represents a supplemental source of revenue for the company as some of the greetings are labeled “premium” and require purchase. The vast majority, however, are free.) In addition, you can create your own greetings and upload them (WAV or MP3) to your online account.

Last, but certainly not least, MP3 attachments of incoming voicemails, visual voicemail management,  personal greetings and unwanted caller blocking are all available on the free account.

Overall, YouMail represents the best voicemail delivery/transcription service I’ve tested thus far. If you’re not convinced, give the free version of YouMail a try and at least get started with customized greetings, voicemail by email (MP3) and online management of your new and saved messages (“visual voicemail”). Then, if you decide you want the transcription option, you can select add-on packages ranging from $3.99 to $17.99.

*In case you’re curious: I opt for the $4.95/mo Maghound plan and get FastCompany and Men’s Health for myself; Self for my wife. (I wasn’t being greedy… she already gets People and Us Weekly through an alternative source.)

Microsoft is now accepting applications for “Windows Gurus” that will eventually staff the Redmond-based company’s first-ever round of brick-and-mortar stores in the U.S. Think you’re qualified? Here’s Microsoft’s way of determining whether or not you are:

Do your friends and family turn to you when they want to learn more about their PCs? Do you relish the chance to teach them how PCs can improve their lives and do things they never before thought possible? In your free time, do you turn to your PC for fun-or just to create or learn something new?

Of course, there are additional questions* to be answered in their official online job application, but, If you’re interested, you can learn more at msretaillive.com. They’ve also set up a specialized E-mail address, jobs [at] mswindowsguru.com that you can contact if you have questions about the position(s).

Currently, MS is seeking various individuals located in different cities within the following states: CA, FL, MA, MD, MN, NH, NJ, NV, NY, VA, WA and in Washington D.C.. So, if it sounds interesting, check out the site to find out more. Who knows? You could find yourself working full-time (for $20/hr – here’s the link again) at Microsoft’s version of the Apple Store.

Source: The Sean Blog (Microsoft TechNet Blogs)

*Additional questions include: do you have experience using Apple Macs? When was the last time you shopped for a new computer? What OS are you using at home/work? What type of Internet service are you using at home? (Hint: answer “dial-up” and you probably won’t get the job.) And, of course, the classic: “Have you been convicted of a felony in the past 7 years?”

Powered by Zoundry Raven

For those of you operating a Windows-mobile powered device, this day promises not to disappoint.  For, you see, Opera decided to release the latest version of their eagerly-anticipated (and what seemed to be indefinitely-delayed) mobile Web browser.  The beta is a free download but will most likely require the purchase of a registration upon it’s final release.  (The last version of Opera Mobile cost about $30…and wasn’t that good.  Granted, it was still better than any version of Internet Explorer Mobile but that’s not saying much.  This version trumps the last one and I’ll most likely be willing to purchase it to improve the Windows-mobile Web browsing experience any way I can.)

Improvements over the last version (v8.65) include performance enhancements, pan & zoom browsing (remarkable and very iPhone-esque), Web standards compliance and the ability to save Web pages and/or images to your phone.

Try it out and I think you’ll agree that it’s definitely the best Windows-mobile based browser out there…at least until Mozilla officially enters the market.

Source: http://www.opera.com/products/mobile

According to Fox News, Verizon Wireless customers could eventually be able to purchase and use Apple’s iPhone.  Why do they believe this?  Verizon, last Thursday, announced that the next generation of wireless technology to replace GSM technology (on which their aging CDMA network is currently based) will be none other than LTE (Long-Term Evolution) which is the exact same technology that AT&T will be using on their next generation network. 

Logically, it makes sense: with Verizon using the same technology as AT&T, surely phones available on one company’s network would inevitably work with the other.  (Of course, neither AT&T nor Verizon have ever made logical decisions on interoperability.)

Verizon will begin trial runs of their new LTE-based network in 2008 but it isn’t expected to be available to customers until at least 2010.