Windows Phone Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves

Quick reminder, contest for the Gomadic 2-in-1 Charger ends this Friday. You can check out the details and the thread here. DO NOT reply to this posting as your entry won't count unless it is to the original contest thread. Thanks!

The Gomadic chargers are very slick, and we recently did a Quick Look on the 2-in-1 Charger pictured above. If you aren't familiar, the system uses what they call "Tip Exchange" so all you need is one cable and a tip for each device, instead of having to carry around separate charging cables. They pretty much cover every device know to man, or at least it seems that way (the brand list is here).

Now the folks at Gomadic are being generous enough to give away four (4) of their 2-in-1 Charging cables as well as two tips to be chosen by each winner. Since Gomadic has such wide coverage on devices, this is a network-wide contest. To win, all you have to do is go to the Tip Exchange page and pick two of the charging tips you want to go with your 2-in-1 Charger. Post the two numbers along with a reply to this post and you are entered. You MUST post the two tip numbers in your reply or your entry won't be counted.

One post per person, and the contest closes on Friday the 19th of March at 12pm Pacific time, GMT -7. This contest is world-wide with Gomadic providing the shipping. Remember that all first posts in our system are held in moderation, so if this contest entry is your first post, please wait up to 48 hours before getting concerned if your post hasn't shown up yet - it will. Winners will be contacted via private forum message, so have email notifications turned on. Winners will have 72 hours to claim their prize.

We've just picked the winners of our SBSH PhoneWeaver 2 and SBSH GoNews 1.3 giveaways, and without further ado, here they are, in alphabetical order:

• PhoneWeaver Winners: Antal, fbeiderb, geneb, jrjordan, maxnix
• GoNews Winners: bystander, Cyberdude007, fromamerica, jeffaitken, jlhorng

If you're one of the lucky ten mentioned, keep an eye on your inbox (and your spam folder, just in case) for an e-mail detailing how to claim your prize. A big thank you to SBSH Mobile Software for their generosity.

Congrats to HueMan, andrew_lee, txa1265 and dlindman, our winners in the XO Skins contest. Their products shipped out last week so depending on where you are, you should see something in your mailbox this week. Again, congrats and thanks for entering! 

In case you missed dropping by Windows Phone Thoughts during the holiday season, we drew The Noughties to a close by offering five copies of SBSH PhoneWeaver 2 and five copies of SBSH GoNews 1.3. The giveaways are still under way, though not for long! Our PhoneWeaver giveaway ends in a couple of days, so if you're keen on a chance to snag this great application, be sure to enter. Our GoNews giveaway, on the other hand, ends later in the week, though now is as good a time as any to enter. Good luck, and have a great 2010!

Just a reminder, it isn't too late to enter the XO Skins contest so head on over to the forum thread to get in on the action! Contest ends January 1st 2010. Replies to this message do NOT count as an entry, you must reply to the forum thread located here.

"Today, SBSH Mobile Software updated its best selling newsreader application GoNews to version 1.3, adding support for Windows Mobile Smartphones (non touch screen devices) for the first time! GoNews 1.3 is the first version to support both Windows Mobile Touch and Non-Touch screen devices! Furthermore, GoNews 1.3 brings great download speed improvements, design improvements and some great new features for both Windows Mobile Touch and Non-Touch users. We invite all our users to update to the latest and greatest GoNews version!"

You didn't think we'd stop at just PhoneWeaver, did you? Yes, thanks to SBSH, we're hosting another holiday season giveaway! This time, we have five copies of GoNews 1.3 up for grabs, and this latest version packs a punch. It offers faster updates, touch and non-touch optimizations, and of course, long-awaited support for Windows Mobile Standard (that's Smartphone in the old tongue). So what do you have to do to win? Read on and get commenting. Good luck!

• Leave a comment in this thread, stating your favourite news source. Perhaps it's CNN, BBC, The NY Times, The Australian, or even yours truly - Windows Phone Thoughts.
• Only one comment per person. Any more and your entry will be deemed invalid. Note that if you're registering and leaving a comment for the first time, your post probably won't appear right away as it needs to be approved by our friendly moderators.
• The giveaway is open to anyone and everyone, regardless of where you are in the world.
• Entries will be accepted until 11:59 PM GMT on January 10, 2010.
• A total of five winners will be selected randomly and notified via e-mail, so please ensure that a valid e-mail address is linked to your Thoughts Media account. Each winner will receive a single licensed copy of GoNews 1.3.

"SBSH Mobile Software is excited to announce today the PhoneWeaver for Windows Mobile Touch major update to version 2! SBSH PhoneWeaver 2 for Windows Mobile Touch is a robust profiles and phone management tool designed to fill one of the greatest needs of Windows Mobile users - enjoying powerful, smart and automated profiles! Additionally, PhoneWeaver brings a mobile-optimized interface for complete phone radios management with a touch of a finger! PhoneWeaver 2 introduce new location-based profiles to activate profiles automatically while you're on the move; touch designed profiles control panel that helps you switch between profiles with a touch of a finger and much more!"

Last week, much to the elation of many PhoneWeaver users, SBSH released v2 of the aforementioned phone management tool. The major upgrade adds a handful of new and improved features such as a touch-friendly phone control panel, location-based profiles, extended profile functionality, and Windows Mobile 6.5 optimizations. And thanks to SBSH, we have five copies to give away here at Windows Phone Thoughts. So what do you have to do to win? Read on and get commenting. Good luck!

• Leave a comment in this thread, stating the phone you currently use. If you don't have one, feel free to mention the phone you're hoping to get this holiday season.
• Only one comment per person. Any more and your entry will be deemed invalid. Note that if you're registering and leaving a comment for the first time, your post probably won't appear right away as it needs to be approved by our friendly moderators.
• The giveaway is open to anyone and everyone, regardless of where you are in the world.
• Entries will be accepted until 11:59 PM GMT on January 6, 2010.
• A total of five winners will be selected randomly and notified via e-mail, so please ensure that a valid e-mail address is linked to your Thoughts Media account. Each winner will receive a single licensed copy of PhoneWeaver 2.

I just posted a review of the XO Skin for the iPhone over at Apple Thoughts, and the kind folks from XO Skin decided to give away some of their products to our lucky readers! They cover a wide variety of products, from Apple MacBooks to Dell Laptops to Palm to Blackberry to, well, you get the idea. Since they do cover a wide variety of products, we are going to make this a network-wide contest, four winners total! So, all you have to do to enter is post a message in the discussion thread telling us what type of device you would cover with an XO Skin. One skin per person (your choice of what skin you want) and the contest closes at 12pm on January 1st, 2010, which is UTC/GMT -8. This contest is world-wide. Winners will be contacted via private message in the forum and will have 72 hours to claim their prize from time of notification. Good luck!

UPDATE: There is only one contest thread, so if it is your first post, it may take up to 72 hours for it to show up.

The only thing better than a contest is an easy contest, so jump over to Pocket PC Soft.net to check out the giveaways for an HP iPAQ 614c Business Navigator and an HP iPAQ Voice Messenger.

That lovely video below is what I was seeing yesterday morning standing in my garage - as I write this it's gotten even worse. Winter has really arrived in full force where I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Blowing snow, roads being shut down, the whole deal. Since Windows Phone Thoughts and Digital Home Thoughts have a world-wide audience, I'm always interested in knowing what it's like where you live. And since I happen to have some now-legacy micro-lights branded with site names that no longer exist (Pocket PC Thoughts, Smartphone Thoughts, and Digital Media Thoughts) I thought there was a way I could clear up some inventory and have some fun at the same time...because who doesn't like cool little flashlights for free?

So here's the deal: I want you to post a picture of what the weather is like where you are right now. Bright sunny day? Cold and wet? Night time? It doesn't matter what it is, I want you to share your environment with the rest of the community - it's always fascinating to me to see the different sorts of things we experience. I have 25 Pocket PC Thoughts micro lights to give away, 15 Smartphone Thoughts micro lights, and 10 Digital Media Thoughts micro lights. That's 50 total prizes, and they'll be given to the first 50 people who post an image of the weather or environment they're in right now. BONUS: If someone posts a video, I'll also include a spare battery for the micro light (while supplies last - I have five extra batteries, so first come first serve). Read more...

"We're all lost without our phones. So this holiday season, we're giving away three brand new Windows® phones from Verizon & AT&T for tweets that share your most embarrassing lost phone story. How creative can you be in under 140 characters?"

Running until December 10th, the "Lost Without My Phone" giveaway is simple to enter - just follow and send a tweet to @windowsphone explaining your most embarrassing lost phone story. Fitting that into 140 characters will be quite a challenge, but three Windows phones are on the line, so go for it!

We've got another great contest for you, and this time because it's an accessory that works with so many different products, it's a network-wide contest. The prizes? I'm giving away three pairs of SHURE SE210 Earphones (MSRP $179.99 USD), courtesy of the generous folks at Shure. Our very own David Tucker reviewed this earphones back in September, and he loved them - so I'm sure the three winners will as well. The SE210's feature a noise-isolating sleeves that block 90 percent of the ambient noise, and the more noise you can block out, the more you can enjoy your tunes.

What do you have to do to win? Simply post a message in this discussion thread telling me which type of device (or devices) you'd use the headphones with. A Windows Mobile smartphone? A Zune? An iPod? An iPhone? A netbook or laptop? That's it - one post per person, and the contest closes on Tuesday the 15th of December at 12pm GMT -7. This contest is world-wide; I'll be shipping you the prizes myself.

Remember that all first posts in our system are held in moderation, so if this contest entry is your first post, please wait up to 48 hours before getting concerned if your post hasn't shown up yet - it will. Winners will be contacted via private forum message, so ensure that you have email notifications turned on. Winners will have 72 hours to claim their prize.

Let's see those entries!

UPDATE:The contest is now closed, and the three winners are GqSkrub, webguy248, and deenoo. Thanks to everyone for entering - it was great to see so many entries! And big thanks to SHURE for donating the prizes!

Hey everyone! This is a quick heads-up for you to check Digital Home Thoughts if you're interested in winning some free stuff. It's by far our #1 site when it comes to contests, largely because it covers a broad spectrum of topics which makes it easier to get giveaway items. We've been running a hard drive giveaway (3350 GB in total storage) for the past five weeks, giving away a variety of hard drives, and this week we're giving away a 500 GB Western Digital hard drive. Also going on is a giveaway for a Skooba Design Checkthrough Brief bag, and on Monday we're launching a contest giving away 10 copies of Corel Digital Studio 2010. Watch for it!

One giveaway down, another to go! Thanks to Eltima Software, we have two copies of SyncMate 2.0 Expert Edition (each valued at $39.95 USD) for you to snag. The sync application is compatible with Mac OS X, and offers a plethora of sync options between Windows Mobile (and other smartphones), Google accounts, and Mac OS-based applications such as iCal, iPhoto, iTunes, Mail, Address Book, Safari, Firefox, and Entourage.

So, what do you have to do to win? Read on and get commenting. Good luck!

• Leave a comment in this thread, stating the editions that SyncMate is offered in. And here's a hint: there are two editions, and we've already named one of them in this post. Still stuck? Perhaps the SyncMate web page will help you.
• Only one comment per person. Any more and your entry will be deemed invalid. Note that if you're registering and leaving a comment for the first time, your post probably won't appear right away as it needs to be approved by our friendly moderators.
• The giveaway is open to anyone and everyone, regardless of where you are in the world.
• Entries will be accepted until 11:59 PM GMT on September 18, 2009.
• A total of two winners will be selected randomly and notified via e-mail, so please ensure that a valid e-mail address is linked to your Thoughts Media account. Each winner will receive a single copy of SyncMate 2.0 Expert Edition.

Without further ado, we're announcing the five winners of our Handy Weather 4.0 giveaway. And here they are, in alphabetical order:

• Cornelius, eliefrancis, toen, Trapperjohn, tsaojam

If you're one of the lucky five mentioned, keep an eye on your inbox (and your spam folder, just in case) for a message detailing how to claim your prize. Thanks to Paragon Software for their generosity. Stay tuned! We'll have another giveaway for you in just a tick.

Giveaway time! Thanks to Paragon Software, we have five copies of the new Handy Weather 4.0 (each valued at $17.95 USD per month) for you to snag. The weather application is compatible with Windows Mobile 5.0 and later, and offers a plethora of features such as detailed 7-day weather forecasts, satellite weather maps, a touch-friendly user interface, GPS/SMS/e-mail integration, and support for over 40,000 cities worldwide.

So, what do you have to do to win? Read on and get commenting. Good luck!

• Leave a comment in this thread, stating today's weather wherever you are in the world. You can be as basic or as detailed as you wish.
• Only one comment per person. Any more and your entry will be deemed invalid. Note that if you're registering and leaving a comment for the first time, your post probably won't appear right away as it needs to be approved by our friendly moderators.
• The giveaway is open to anyone and everyone, regardless of where you are in the world.
• Entries will be accepted until 11:59 PM GMT on August 16, 2009.
• A total of five winners will be selected randomly and notified via e-mail, so please ensure that a valid e-mail address is linked to your Thoughts Media account. Each winner will receive a single copy of Handy Weather 4.0.

Okay, we're a little late announcing the winners of our Ringtone Expressions giveaway, but better late than never, right? Without further ado, here are the lucky twenty in alphabetical order:

• bellor, bulldogdude, Certs, DaViD_BRaNDoN, Dyvim, eviktus, fone_fanatic, GreatDay, hacqua, looneytoone, Lucy, mafaquem, maxnix, NathanBaron, rombo, srsabu, the_matrixx, timmy, timtam, triplegems75

If you're in the list above, keep an eye on your inbox (and your spam folder, just in case) for a message detailing how to claim your prize. Thanks to Gx5 for their generosity. Stay tuned! We'll have another giveaway for you in just a tick.

"Our strategy for all of this is pretty straightforward; we want to create a global marketplace for Windows Phones where developers and users meet to sell and buy high quality and high value applications that make work easier and life more fulfilling. We're creating a clear process and new opportunity for developers and ISVs to make money from their investment in innovation. The applications we feature will be well organized, easily accessible by PC or phone and backed by a money back guarantee. And when they're ready to buy, customers will have a variety of payment options to choose from. These are new customer experiences, and frankly, capabilities that will set us apart."

As of this morning afternoon, Windows Marketplace for Mobile is now accepting application submissions from all 29 supported countries - and the Race to Market Challenge contest also kicks off. That site is password protected at the moment but apparently later today it will be live. Yeah, a bit strange. This contest is a way to build up the content on Windows Marketplate for Mobile, and to give developers a "first mover" advantage in terms of getting their applications into the marketplace. I think Microsoft is taking a realistic approach to this - they're not saying "Develop for Windows Mobile, it's the best!" they're saying "Develop for our platform as well - we have something to offer".

Want to build your application? Here's the Windows Mobile 6.5 developer toolkit (it's not an SDK mind you - you'll need to use the 6.1 Professional or Standard SDKs). Want to submit your application? Here are the Application Submission Guidelines. The prizes are a bit unusual: winners get one of four Microsoft Surface tables (Developer Edition), online marketing & promotion of their app, and a challenge trophies.

Think you have what it takes? Let's see those apps!

"As Acer begins to launch more and more devices, we're giving you the chance to win an Acer Tempo M900 Smartphone! The Acer Tempo M900 runs Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, supports AT&T US 3G frequencies, and has a stellar 3.8 inch WVGA display and GPS! All you have to do to have a chance of winning this great prize is answer one simple question. The closing date for entries is midnight on Friday July 31st, 2009"

Do you enjoy having new Windows Mobile devices yet hate paying for them? It may surprise you to learn you are not alone. eXpansys has apparently known about you freebie lovers for some time and has organized a contest with a simple appeal: Win something for free. The something is an Acer Tempo M900, and you need to get your entry in by the end of the month. Good Luck!