Mobile Fun Blog

How to set up Sat Nav on your Windows based Smartphone

Tuesday, June 17th, 2008

To set up your Windows Mobile device to work with most Satellite Navigation applications you will first need to configure your Bluetooth GPS Receiver.

Windows Mobile 5.0

• To start the set up, launch the "Bluetooth Manager" on your device. To do this tap Settings > Connections > Bluetooth on the start menu
• On the Bluetooth options screen you need to turn on bluetooth and make sure that your device is discoverable.
• Click on the devices tab at the bottom of the screen and then select new partnership. Your device will now search for your GPS receiver.
• Once the search has completed, select the GPS device you wish to use, You will then be prompted to enter the passkey. This is usually 0000, but varies from device to device, so keep your instruction manual for your GPS receiver close to hand.
• The next screen will ask you to select the services you wish to use with this device.
• Tick the box next to serial port and then click on finish.
• Now click on the "com ports" tab at the bottom of the screen, you will have two options here, new incoming port and new outgoing port. You need to select new outgoing port.
• On the next screen you will need to select the GPS device that you have just added and press next.
• You now need to choose a com port from the drop down list and press finish. Make a note of the com port number that you have assigned to the GPS receiver as you may need this later on in the set up process.

Your GPS is now set up to talk to your handheld device. You may need to change a few more settings depending on the software you are using. If you are unsure consult your user guide.

Tom Tom Navigator

To use TomTom Navigator you will need to tell the software which GPS receiver to use.

• Launch the application and then go to the preferences screen. Click on the Show GPS Status screen.
• Click on configure and scroll through to select "Other Bluetooth GPS", this brings up a list of all the available connections on your device.
• You need to select the com port you assigned to the GPS receiver earlier on in the set up process. If you can’t see the full name of the port, tap and hold the name to reveal it.
• You will know that your GPS is correctly configured when you see the UTC time in the top right corner and you get a black and yellow spinning icon.

If for any reason the icon isn’t spinning and you can’t pick up a GPS signal, there is an alternative set up option you can try:

• Click again on the configure button, and this time scroll through and select "Other Cable NMEA GPS" (Don’t worry about the name, we’ll tell it to use Bluetooth later on)
• Select the baud rate, if you are unsure set the rate to 4800.
• You should now see the same list of available ports that we saw earlier on. Select the appropriate one for your GPS receiver, remember you can tap and hold the name of the port to see its name in full.
• You should now see the yellow and black icon spinning on the screen.

If this still hasn’t worked then you may need to contact TomTom technical support for more advanced help.

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

 Loading ...

How to use your Bluetooth Headset with Skype

Tuesday, June 17th, 2008

To use your Bluetooth headset with VOIP programs such as Skype, you will need to pair your headset with your PC, authorise it to access Skype, and then configure Skype to use Bluetooth audio devices. The process is fairly straight forward, but varies slightly depending on the dongle and driver that you are using.

The steps below assume that you have installed the software that came on the CD with your Bluetooth Dongle, not the generic Windows drivers, and that Skype is already installed on your PC running Windows XP SP2.

To determine which Bluetooth drivers you are using, you will need to access Device Manager. To do this, press the "Windows" and "Pause Break" keys on the keypad simultaneously. This will then open System Properties. Click on the Hardware tab, and then you will see a button to launch Device Manager – click it. This will then open a new window listing all devices connected to your computer. Towards the top of this list you will see Bluetooth Devices, click the plus sign to expand the list. The top line should say Bluetooth Enumerator, the second line will tell you which driver you are using and will be either Broadcom/Widcomm, Toshiba, or BlueSoleil. Make a note of your driver manufacturer and close all windows. If you see Microsoft listed, it means you have the generic Windows drivers installed, and probably won’t work with Skype unless you update the drivers. For information on how to do this, read our post on updating your Bluetooth drivers.

Please note that drivers are specific to the dongle you are using, and you can only use the driver manufacturer that is supplied with your dongle. You cannot, for example, use a Toshiba driver with a BlueSoleil supported dongle.

Broadcom / Widcomm – Skype Compatibility Rating 5/5

• If you have already paired your headset with your PC, delete the pairing.
• Right click the Bluetooth icon by the clock and select add a bluetooth device. This will then launch a wizard to guide you through the pairing process.
• The wizard will search for available devices, select the headset you want to use and click on next.
• The next screen will ask you to confirm the services you want to use. Mono Bluetooth Headsets will list only Hands-Free Unit, Stereo Bluetooth Headsets will also list Stereo Audio.
• Ensure all boxes are ticked and then click next.
• Click OK on the pop up and then click finish on the confirmation screen. You may then see a further pop up confirmation message. Click ok.
• The next screen will ask you to confirm the type of headset. Regardless of your headset, select personal handsfree device with no display.
• You will then be asked to confirm what applications the headset will primarily be used for. Make sure Skype is ticked – click next,
• Now switch over to Skype, you should see a pop up alert by the clock asking you to allow a program to access Skype, you need to allow this add on.
• Once you’ve allowed it you’ll see a message at top of the Skype window.
• Click on the BTSTAC~1.exe file name, then on the pop up screen make sure that the check box next to "allow this program to access Skype" is ticked,
• In Skype, go to Tools, Options and select Audio Settings. For each of the 3 drop down boxes select "Bluetooth".
• Check the "Ring PC Speaker" box if you want incoming calls to ring through the PC speakers as well as ring in the Bluetooth Headset then click on save,
• Make a test call. There may be a brief delay when it connects initially, but you should then be able to hear and talk through your Bluetooth headset.

Toshiba Drivers – Skype Compatibility Rating 4/5

• If you have already paired your headset with your PC, delete the pairing. You can do this through the Toshiba Bluetooth Control panel.
• You’ll see the name of your Bluetooth headset, and three buttons underneath – new connection, detail and delete. Make sure the headset is disconnected and then click delete.
• Launch Skype.
• Go back to your Bluetooth control panel and click on new connection.
• On the wizard that appears, you need to select CUSTOM mode.
• Turn your headset on and put it into pairing mode then press next. Your PC will then search for Bluetooth devices in range, if it doesn’t find your headset on the first scan, click refresh to do another search.
• Select your headset from the list of discovered devices and click next.
• On the next screen you may be prompted to select the type of device you wish to connect. You should see two or three options – Audio Sink, Handsfree, Headset. (Audio Sink may only show up if you are using a stereo headset.)
  You need to select Handsfree on this screen and click next.
• You will now be prompted to enter Pin or Passkey, this can be found in your user guide.
• The next screen you see should ask you if you want to use this in cooperation with a VOIP application. You need to make sure that this box is ticked. If its not, you won’t be able to use it with Skype.
• On the final screen you will be given the option to rename your headset and place a shortcut to the connection on the desktop.
• Click finish.
• Now switch over to Skype, you should see a pop up alert by the clock asking you to allow a program to access Skype, you need to allow this add on.
• Once you’ve confirmed it you’ll see a brief confirmation message in the main Skype window.
• Click on this message and make sure that the check box next to "allow this program to access Skype" is ticked.
• In Skype, go to Tools, Options and select Audio Settings. For each of the 3 drop down boxes select "Bluetooth wave" – Click on save.
• Make a test call. There may be a brief delay when it connects initially, but you should then be able to hear and talk through your Bluetooth headset.

BlueSoleil – Skype Compatibility Rating 2/5

BlueSoleil drivers aren’t the best for working with Skype. The latest version of the drivers, 5.0.5, doesn’t support VOIP services such as Skype unless you pay for an upgrade. You can download version 3.2.2.8 from the BlueSoleil web site which does support VOIP at no extra cost, but I found it to be more difficult to use than Toshiba and Broadcom. The following guide is based on Software version 3.2.2.8.

• Pair your Bluetooth Headset to your PC as normal and then launch Skype.
• To begin setting up Skype, click on Start -> All Programs -> IVT BlueSoleil -> BlueSoleil VOIP Plug In.
• After a few seconds you should see a pop up notification by the clock asking to allow access to Skype, you need to allow this add on.
• Once you’ve clicked on it you’ll see a message at top of the Skype window.
• Click on the .exe file name.
• On the pop up screen make sure that the check box next to "allow this program to access Skype" is ticked.
• Connect to headset, (either by pressing call button on headset, or by right clicking on the headset icon in the bluetooth control panel and selecting connect.)
• In Skype, go to Tools, Options and select Audio Settings. For each of the 3 drop down boxes select "Bluetooth SCO" – Click on save.
• In some cases, "Bluetooth SCO" may not work, in which case set these to Bluetooth AV.
• Make a test call. BlueSoleil is a little slow, and you will find that your call initially is played through your PC, but will be transferred to the headset after a few seconds.

(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

 Loading ...

How to pair your Phone and PC

Tuesday, June 17th, 2008

Before you can begin using programs such as Nokia PC Suite, you will need to pair your handset with your computer.

To begin pairing:

• Turn on Bluetooth on your mobile device and make sure it is set to discoverable/visible/find me.
• Right click the Bluetooth icon in the system tray next to the clock.
• On the pop up menu that appears select add bluetooth device.
• Follow on screen prompts to search for devices.
• Select your phone from the list of discovered devices.
• When prompted for a PIN number, enter 0000 unless one is provided for you.
• On your handset accept the pairing request and enter the same PIN number as entered on the PC.

Windows will then check your device and install any drivers that are needed for your phone and computer to work together. While Windows is installing drivers for your phone, you may see some yellow notification bubbles by the clock, keep an eye on these as your response may be required to authorise access to your PC.

You may be asked for the driver disc that came with your mobile phone. If you don’t have the disc, download drivers and software from the manufacturers website.

(2 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)

 Loading ...

My weekend with the KF600

Monday, April 7th, 2008

This weekend I decided to take a break from my Nokia N82 and spend a little time with the LG KF600.

The KF600 is the latest handset from the Korean manufacturer and is trying to change the way that we use our phones with the introduction of its “InteractPad”.

The phone looks stylish, is a decent size and weight and feels well built. The one thing you notice immediately is the lack of keys on the front of the phone. The KF600 is a touch phone, but with a twist. Rather than having a large touch screen display that drains battery power, the screen has been split into two parts, the display and the InteractPad.

The InteractPad is a unique way of using your phone, from the standby screen you have 6 touch sensitive keys, and as you move through the different screens of the phone, these buttons move and adapt to suit the application you’re using. In some cases I found the InteractPad to be a bit awkward, but in other applications it works really well.

I tend to use my phone mainly for photo’s, music, email, internet and texting rather than making calls. The camera on the KF600 is a 3 megapixel and has an LED flash. Photo’s come out clear and pretty sharp, and if you print them out they will be of a decent quality at 6″ x 4″ size. The flash is ok for taking photo’s in low light close up, but if what you’re taking photo’s of is more than a metre away, it probably won’t be much use.

The KF600 works really well as an MP3 player. There’s a dedicated shortcut key on the side of the phone for quick access and I found it easy to transfer tracks to the phone using Bluetooth or the data cable and software that came with it. The music interface is probably the best use of the InteractPad, you have the usual play/pause, forward and rewind, as well as a track progress bar. Normally these just scroll along with no purpose, but with the interact pad you can simply drag the slider to get to the part of the track you want – great if you want to skip sections of podcasts.

Email and texting works well too. Predictive text meant writing messages is quick and easy, and setting up POP3 email was very straight forward. The only thing I found to be not so great here was the handwriting recognition. In theory it sounds great, but in reality, writing with the end of your finger just isn’t accurate enough, and for hardcore texters, you’ll be able to text using the keypad a lot faster.

Internet access on the KF600 is pretty standard, it runs off a GPRS connection, so a fairly slow connection, but if you just want to check the odd train time or find out what’s on at the cinema then it does the job with no problem at all.

Overall the KF600 is a good all round handset. It will take a little getting used to with the InteractPad, and for the first few days I can guarantee you’ll be touching the top half of the screen and wondering why nothing is happening, but give it a week and you’ll be flying through the menus, but once you’ve got used to the interact pad, you may struggle to go back to a conventional phone.

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

Nokia Maps 2.0

Wednesday, March 19th, 2008

Along with the announcement of 4 new handsets at the Mobile World Congress, Nokia also announced the arrival of Nokia Maps 2.0 – an upgrade to the current version of their mapping software found in some of their N-Series and E-Series devices. Nokia Maps 2.0 promises to be more pedestrian friendly, and be clearer to see while driving. The full version is available to download now, so we thought we’d try it out and see what’s new.

2D Map View	3D Map View	3D Night View	Arrow View

Maps
When Nokia Maps 2.0 loads, the differences are noticeable almost immediately. The search bar is now a permanent feature in standby and a data counter has been introduced to help keep an eye on your data usage, especially handy if you aren’t on a fixed rate data plan. Two icons on screen tell you which keys to press to zoom in and out of the map. The signal strength indicator has been improved to show more than just 3 bars of signal reception. Locking on to signal is much faster too – I normally manage to achieve signal lock on my Nokia N82 in 5-10 seconds and often get a signal indoors.

The map views are pretty much the same as before, with the choice of alternating between 2D/3D and day/night view. On screen navigation display has been improved considerably too – you now have the choice of Manoeuvre view, Birds Eye view and Arrow view. Arrow view is a much simpler way to navigate; it shows an arrow facing in the direction you need to travel. Interesting additions are Satellite and Hybrid views, very much along the same line as Google Maps, although you can’t zoom in as far.

Satellite View
Non-Major Cities	Major Cities

Navigation
To set your destination is extremely simple. If you know the address or postcode of where you want to go you can simply enter this into Nokia Maps. Once it has confirmed the address and shown you on screen, simply select “Drive to” or Walk to”and away you go.

Navigate to Address or Postcode.

The built in search has also been improved in Maps 2.0, if you don’t know the full address or postcode, you can now enter part details in and the application will look it up and give you a list of possibilities. The search includes Transport, Restaurants, Cash Points, Post Offices and many more. You can also search by category, such as Eat & Drink, and you can set filters such as Fast Food, Restaurants, Italian etc, and it will just show the locations close to your current location.

“On Foot” directions	Local Search	Extra Services

Pedestrian Navigation
One of the biggest problems with previous versions of the pedestrian mode was that you never really knew if you were walking in the right direction until you’d walked far enough to notice the difference on the screen. Maps 2.0 has managed to fix this by using the inbuilt accelerometer to create a magnetic compass – This tells the phone which direction you have turned. Walk mode also has information built in on rail transport systems for some of the worlds largest cities to make commuting even easier.

Compatibility
Nokia Maps 2.0 is compatible with S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1, including N81, N81 8GB, N82, N95, N95 8GB, E51 & E90. If you are using a Nokia N95 you will need to using the latest firmware (Version 20.0.015 or newer). You will also need to have either an in-built GPS receiver (N82, N95, E90) or a separate Bluetooth GPS receiver. You will need to buy a license for the Voice Navigation, this can be done directly through your handset using premium rate SMS or by purchasing a Nokia Maps Drive & Walk Voice Navigation License.

Download
You can download the full version of this software from Nokia Maps website.

(3 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)

 Loading ...

Mobile World Congress: Sony Ericsson Announcements

Monday, February 18th, 2008

Sony Ericsson has announced a range of new handsets at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week. Seven handsets were announced in total, each unique in their own way. Sony Ericsson has introduced a more rugged and durable handset, a sleek new Walkman handset and a premium touch screen device running Windows Mobile.

Xperia X1:
The handset getting the most attention on the Sony Ericsson stand is without doubt the Xperia X1. A Windows Mobile device, with a slide out QWERTY keyboard and a 3″ WVGA (800×480) screen in landscape mode. Using the device could not be simpler with its full touch screen interface and a 4 way joystick to help with navigation.

The X1 has an FM radio, 3.5mm audio jack, built in GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP. The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 also has a 3.2 megapixel camera and has 400MB of internal storage. You can increase the storage using the micro SD card slot. The X1 supports HSDPA and HSUPA giving data speeds of up to 7.2Mbps (network dependant).

G700 and G900

The G700 and G900 are two new touch screen devices running Symbian UIQ software normally found on higher tier devices such as the P1. Both handsets are aimed at business users that need more handset functionality and give one touch access to calendars, notes and web pages.

They have 160MB internal memory that can be expanded using a Micro M2 Memory Stick. The G700 features a 3.2 megapixel camera, with image and video stabiliser. The G900 supports Wi-Fi and has a 5 mega pixel camera with the ability to select the focus point just by touching the screen.

C702
The C702 is a new phone to the Cyber-Shot family, designed for those with a more active lifestyle. It is dust and splash proof and comes with GPS built in for navigation and guidance.

The 3.2 Mega pixel camera has face detection and red eye reduction as well as the option to “geo tag” your photos using the GPS receiver. Once uploaded to an online photo album such as flickr, you can see exactly where your photographs were taken. The phone will support fast internet over HSDPA and stereo Bluetooth with A2DP profile.

C902
The slim C902 also belongs to the Cyber-Shot family. It has a 5 megapixel camera concealed in a unique sliding design. It also has an advanced flash that can be used when taking photos using Sony Ericsson’s “BestPic” feature. This allows you to take up to 9 photos with flash in quick succession and select the ones you want to save.

The camera controls have been improved and are now operated through the phones touch screen. The C902 has 160 MB of internal memory, a Memory Stick Micro memory card slot and has full Walkman like media playback.

W980
The W980 is another in Sony Ericsson’s range of Walkman Music phones. It has a 3.2 megapixel camera and 8 gigabytes of internal memory. The W980 also has an in-built FM transmitter, so you can now listen to your music on any radio with in 2-3 metres.

When closed the phone looks like a portable MP3 Player, and its touch sensitive buttons give you full control over your music.The W980 provides clear stereo and bass and lets you control your music with shake control, SensMe and TrackID. The music can be listened to through a Bluetooth Stereo headset as it supports the A2DP profile. You can also download music direct to the phone using Sony Ericsson’s “Play Now” service over a HSDPA connection.

Z770
The Z770 is a clamshell design, aimed at professionals and business users that need email and high speed data – without the desire for a smartphone or PDA. The Z770 has a 2.2″ display and a 2 megapixel camera. Internet connection is fast over HSDPA and it has Bluetooth with A2DP support. The internal memory is 32MB, which can be expanded using a Memory Stick Micro memory card.

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...