Mobile Computing Authority

MCA 057: Thunder of the Inexpensive Notebooks

ibanyan@gmail.com — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 14:00:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- Mars Phoenix lander saves itself
- Dell "E"| notebook series
- Asus 1000H Notebook
- Acer Aspire Notebook
- EZ ReRegister
- BlackBerry Thunder keyboard

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Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

OtterBox Defender Case Review by Bill Foust

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 21:03:00 GMT

While at WES I was able to stop by the very busy OtterBox booth and snag a free Defender case for my BlackBerry Pearl â easily the best freebie at the show. I mean, there was lots of great swag, but this one was actually something I knew I would use. Iâve had it for a couple weeks now though, and I just have to share my experiences with it.

First, itâs worth describing what you get. The case itself offers 3 levels of protection for your hand held. At the bottom is a thin sticky vinyl âkeyboard condomâ that covers the keyboard, screen, and camera. In fact it pretty well covers the whole thing except the sides. The only part not covered is the trackball, which of course, must be free. Around that goes a hard plastic case that provides the real strength and protection. Around that is the soft rubbery layer that covers the side keys and adds a lot of comfort while holding it. Lastly, a new holster is also provided; complete with requisite magnet.

Now obviously adding all this stuff is going to make the device thicker and bulkier then without it, which is why the holster is included in the package. Surprisingly though, I really liked the new size and feel. I wasnât just was OK with it, but actually LIKED it. One of my complaints with the Pearl all along is that the thing is too damn slippery, and my Pearl has all the banged up corners to prove it. For Curve owners this might be different, but I liked the feel of the rubbery case and I liked the slightly larger size. As if to prove the point, I havenât dropped my Pearl once since using the new case.

Now there are a few small negatives (and one really big one), but the bottom line here is that the case just plain works. The vinyl cover doesnât seem to interfere with the screen, camera or my ability to thumb type. The side buttons work and the sound quality from the speaker isnât impacted at all that I can tell. (The speaker holes are covered with a fabric of some kind).

So what didnât I like? The hated the bottom section of the hard plastic that frames the screen. The hard plastic part of the case has a ridge that completely frames the screen. You can see in the picture above that is shaped slightly to make room for the trackball, but even this shaping interfered with my ability to use it. Every time I went to scroll the trackball up, my thumb hit that ridge. It felt like trying to use your mouse on a desktop that was too small and constantly running off the edge or hitting the keyboard.

Now those guys at OtterBox must have had a good reason for putting it there, but I couldnât see it. That thing just had to go, so I whipped out my trusty jigsaw one evening and cut it off.

That was all it needed. That change took it from 3 out of 5 to 4.5 out of 5 for me. I just couldnât see myself using it long term before and now I donât think I will stop using until I get a new hand held.

Nothing is perfect and there are still a few negatives though. For me, the vinyl covering the screen is just OK. There are still small bubbles that I canât seem to get rid of and that I notice. Also, the side buttons seem a little harder to push, but the biggest negative left is the fact that doing a battery pull is suddenly a lot harder because you have to disassemble all three layers of the case. Still, these are not showstoppers for me and generally love the way it looks and works for me.

MCA 056: ID4

Thu, 3 Jul 2008 23:26:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- Indian government now backing down?
- Farewell to DevBerry blog :-(
- We try out BlackBerry Unite!
- Palm Q4 earnings results
- We love the looks of the Nokia Supernova
- LG Chocolate series 3
- LG stands for Lucky Goldstar
- T3 Mobile Defender

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Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

MCA 055: Otterbox review and other news

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 01:08:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- Otterbox Review
- iPhone 3G
- Vodafone Germany releases BlackBerry OS 4.5
- BlackBerry 4.5 OS beta apparently floating around
- BlackBerry Thunder (aka 9500)
- Nokia E71
- Firefox Mobile Concept mobile browser

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Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

MCA 054: SpinVox review and other news

Mon, 2 Jun 2008 00:07:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- Phoenix Mars Mission
- SpinVox
- Blurry picture of the BlackBerry Thunder?
- BlackBerry 4.5 OS beta apparently floating around
- StyleTap Palm OS emulator for iPhone and iPod Touch
- Microsoft says Windows Mobile sales will increase by 50%
- Sony Ericsson's Paris phone gets demoed in video

MCA 053.3: WES 2008 Day 3

Sat, 17 May 2008 16:07:00 GMT

Joint podcast between MCA and CrackBerry.com for day 3 of WES 2008.

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Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

Mevio {Mevio-4178bdf14edfe0e1e7f6c4b5412bf709}

MCA 053.2: WES 2008 Day 2

Thu, 15 May 2008 00:43:00 GMT

WES 2008 Day 2 - Joint CrackBerry.com and MCA podcast.

MCA 053.1: WES 2008 Day 1

Wed, 14 May 2008 01:17:00 GMT

Joint podcast between CrackBerry.com and Mobile Computing Authority for WES 2008. --> Get 10% off at bplay.com by using promo code MCA Special Thanks: - Don LaFontaine for the voice overs - Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

MCA 052: KickStart the Storm!

Sun, 4 May 2008 23:36:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- BlackBerry KickStart (9100?)
- BlackBerry 9000 specs. (sort-of official)
- BoxTone lounge at WES 2008 - we'll be there
- 3G iPhone to be discounted to $199?
- Does Deutsche Telekom want to buy Sprint?

MCA 051: HAL 9000

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 23:47:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- BlackBerry 9000 and 9100?
- BES 4.1 SP5 (4.1.5) now available
- Indian BlackBerry restrictions
- Readius e-ink rollable ebook
- Samsung gesture interface
- AT&T cuts jobs - hires into mobility
- Microsoft acquires Danger (Sidekick)
- Microsoft wants to play in the mobile browser game
- O2 slashes 8GB iPhone price

MCA 050: The G's

Mon, 7 Apr 2008 00:16:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- All AT&T smartphones to be 3G within months
- Walt Mossberg says 3G iPhone within 60 days
- Verizon LTE plans on 700 MHz
- AT&T LTE plans on 700 MHz
- Sprint delays WiMax plans
- Motorola has cut 10,000 jobs since January 2007
- Deutche Telekom says Engdget can't use the color magenta
- Microsoft wants to play in the mobile browser game
- RIM Q4 2007 profits double
- T-Mobile BlackBerry 8120 on April 14th

MCA 049: BigDog

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 00:02:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- R.I.P. Russell Shaw (he co-hosted with us on episode 13)
- BigDog
- Mobile calls on Emirates flights
- ZX Spectrum Laptop
- CDMA BlackBerry Curve on Sprint?
- UMA coming to Rogers in Canada?
- RIM JDE Plugin for Eclipse
- BlackBerry 8120 available on T-Mobile April 14th?

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Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

MCA back on March 23rd

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 13:07:00 GMT

Hi all.

We skipped an episode last Sunday but will be back on March 23rd.

Craig.

MCA 048: Outages and Hacking

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 23:41:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- Read Craig's review of Skyfire in "PDA Essentails"
- Palm OS Emulator for iPhone
- BMW ConnectedDrive
- Momenta
- Qualcomm GOBI
- GSM calls hackable?
- BlackBerry BIS Outage
- North American BlackBerry Outage
- WES Early Bird Registration discount

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Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

MCA 047: New and upgradable

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 23:37:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- 16 GB iPhone and 32 GB iPod Touch
- eCoupled wireless power demo
- Windows Mobile on Nokia hardware?
- Femtocell heating up
- HTC Magnum
- SMS to enter toilet
- BES 4.1 SP5 and BlackBerry OS 4.5
- RIM touch screen and slider patents
- Skyfire mobile browser
- Garmin Nuvifone

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Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

MCA 046: Airy Wireless

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- Palm closes all retail stores
- Apple MacBook Air
- Palm Treo 800w
- FCC 700 MHz Auction (Auction 73)
- Southwest Airlines tests in-flight Wi-Fi
- LTE Approved
- Battery life to improve ten fold?
- Networked Geiger-counters in cell phones?
- BlackBerry updates in our future

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Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

MCA 045: CES 2008

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 23:39:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- BlackBerry Enterprise Administration for Microsoft Exchange book
- Sony Ericsson developing P5i "ultimate" smartphone
- Wistron Shows Google Android Phone
- Asus Eee with WiMax
- Brica KT600 8 MP phone
- Mobivox free calls
- Blinger mobile banking
- QuadTri Pad one handed keyboard
- Opera Browser to be on iPhone?
- BlackBerry 8920?

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Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

MCA 044: Smartphone Round Robin Roundup

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 16:23:00 GMT

The good people over at Smartphone Experts created the idea of a Smartphone Round Robin where someone from each of their blogs used one of four smartphones for one week. So Jennifer Chappell from TreoCentral, Kevin Michaluk from CrackBerry.com, Mike Overbo from Phone Different, and Dieter Bohn from WMExperts all used a Palm Treo 680, an Apple iPhone, an HTC Kaiser (AT&T Tilt), and a RIM BlackBerry Curve (8310).

You can read their first look and final thoughts here.

All of them agreed to come and talk to all of us about their experiences with each device and some of their thoughts on the devices and surrounding technology. We even get into the US carrier marketplace.

As the last MCA for 2007 this is a great bumper episode for all to enjoy!

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Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

We talk to the Smartphone Round Robin Team on MCA 044!

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 01:22:00 GMT

Hi all!

I wanted to let you know that we will be chatting to the Smartphone Round Robin team. Thats Jennifer Chappell from TreoCentral, Kevin Michaluk from CrackBerry.com, Mike Overbo from Phone Different, and Dieter Bohn from WMExperts.

Each of them used a BlackBerry Curve (8300), iPhone, Treo 680, and an AT&T Tilt for a week (1 week per device). They have all been writing about their experiences throughout the experiment but we thought it would be great to have them on the show to let you hear about it first hand.

So make sure you tune in to the next episode!

MCA 043: Open

ibanyan@gmail.com — Mon, 3 Dec 2007 00:16:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- Google to bid for the 700 MHz band
- LG phone didn't kill man
- Cartel's car phone brings back the memories
- EU agrees to open up the GSM 900MHz band to other technologies
- Google Maps 2.0 Beta has cell tower tower triangulation
- Verizon says they are now open - world laughs
- Eavesdrop on Bluetooth head sets
- BlackBerry 9000 series specs?

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Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

MCA 042: Android and more

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 23:58:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- Smart phones outsell laptops
- Physical keyboards beat iPhone keyboard
- iPhone malware
- VW on board computer interface
- Seiko Epson e-Book reader
- Nissan GT-R GUI
- Microsoft captures your life
- Which Tokyo Flash watch do you like?
- BlackBerry Pearl II

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--> Get 10% off at bplay.com by using promo code MCA

Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

MCA 041: Google Phone

Sun, 4 Nov 2007 23:48:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- BlackBerry Desktop Software 4.3.0 Download
- BlackBerry OS 4.3.1 video recording on an 8300 (Curve)
- BlackBerry Pearl II (8130 CDMA/EVDO)
- Google "Gphone" or Google mobile operating system?
- Passwords using pictures
- "Twin" phone (WCDM and GSM)
- Weather forecasting umbrella from ThinkGeek

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--> Get 10% off at bplay.com by using promo code MCA

Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

MCA 040: Device Top Ten

ibanyan@gmail.com — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 23:31:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- BlackBerry for Dummies (second edition) book giveaway
- Send us an email. The first 7 get a free copy
[UPDATE - ALL BOOKS HAVE NOW BEEN WON]
- Get 10% off purchases from bplay by using our promo code MCA

- iPhone 1.1.1 Jailbreak code posted
- BlackBerry 8310 released on AT&T
- BlackBerry 8320 released on T-Mobile
- Verizon will share your data with others unless you opt out

Device Top Ten:
1) iPhone
2) BlackBerry 8320 (Curve)
3) HTC Kaiser/TyTN II
4) Palm Centro
5) BlackBerry 8830
6) BlackBerry 8100 (Pearl)
7) BlackJack
8) Palm 700
9) Nokia N95
10) OQO Model 02

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Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

MCA Out of Office for 2 weeks

ibanyan@gmail.com — Sat, 6 Oct 2007 00:33:00 GMT

Bill, Dante, and myself at the MCA need to take a 2 week break because of scheduling conflicts. We hate to do this to you because we know those withdrawal symptoms will start setting in, but we promise, we'll be back on October 21st with out 40th episode.

Can you believe its the big episode 040!?

To keep you busy while we are away, head on over to bplay and grab some cool BlackBerry games, ring tones, ans themes. Just CLICK HERE.

See you on the 21st!

MCA 039: Bad AT&T! and Goodbye CDMA

Sun, 23 Sep 2007 23:24:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- Samecell
- BlackBerry "Connect with the Experts" kicks off
- Idokorro changes name to Rove Mobile
- BT bid for Sprint - rumor
- SK Telecom injects $270M more into Helio MVNO
- T-Mobile USA to buy SunCom for $2.4B
- Verizon goes LTE (GSM) for 4G
- AT&T gets HTC Keiser - removes second camera
- Will T-Mobile pick up the HTC Kaiser?
- AT&T launches BlackBerry 8820 - Finally!
- T-Mobile launches BlackBerry 8320 - Does UMA!
- BlackBerry release Microsoft Visual Studio Plugin

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Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

MCA 038: Apple, TyTN II, and Gandalf

ibanyan@gmail.com — Sun, 9 Sep 2007 22:55:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- GSM turns 20!
- Motorola Transformer Phone
- BlackBerry BIS Outage
- Video downloads at CNN and ABC web sites for BlackBerry
- HTC TyTN II
- Palm Gandalf dropping on September 12th?
- Palm Folio axed
- iPod Touch
- iTunes WiFi Store

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Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

MCA 037: Dante is back

Sun, 26 Aug 2007 22:20:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- Palm Centro
- Apple September 15th 2007 event - New iPods?
- iPhone firmware update to 1.02
- Non-US iPhone carriers announced
- iPhone SIM unlock via software a reality
- The NEStari
- Motorola Q9m
- Nokia beefs up Exchange support for E and N series
- BlackBerry "mini-BES" to sync multimedia
- RIM BlackBerry OS 4.3

Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

Mevio {Mevio-4178bdf14edfe0e1e7f6c4b5412bf709}

MCA 036: Mark Shuttleworth and Ubuntu Mobile

Sat, 11 Aug 2007 20:35:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- We talk to Mark Shuttleworth about Ubuntu Mobile and Embedded, and a bit about his trip into space.

Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

MCA 035: Luddites and cool tech

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 22:58:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- Mark Shuttleworth on the next show
- Signup on Talkshoe to join us
- AT&T Video Share
- Old school typewriter for Luddites to send email on
- Colors that only a digital camera can see allow for cool new clothes
- SSD drives now faster than 10,000 rpm Western Digital Raptor
- BlackBerry 8820 announced

Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

Coming up! Mark Shuttleworth talking about Ubuntu Mobile

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 00:33:00 GMT

We are excited to announce that Mark Shuttleworth will be chatting to us about Ubuntu Mobile on MCA 036 which will record at 9AM Eastern on Saturday the 11th of August 2007.

We will be recording the show live on Talkshoe as usual so if you'd like to be a live audience member, please sign up and join in.

The next episode will be MCA 035 so join us then to hear more.

MCA 034: iPhone review and shocking iPods

Sun, 15 Jul 2007 22:49:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- Our iPhone review
- Remote control your PC or Mac with your iPhone
- Voice over IP on your iPhone
- Optus, Vodafone, and Telsra selling BlackBerry 8300 (Curve)
- RIM wants to move into Africa
- FCC approves new BlackBerry 88xx series with WiFi
- Virtual BlackBerry on T-Mobile Dash first?
- First 3.5G BlackBerry going to Australia's Telsra?
- iPod wearing jogger gets struck by lightening
- Ultra cool Belkin N1 router with LCD display
- Swiss to start paying a digital audio player (DAP) tax!
- New T-Mobile Sidekick Slide (Danger)
- Will it blend (iPhone episode) [video]
- Spint boots off complainers

Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

MCA 033: iPhone and some

Sun, 1 Jul 2007 22:49:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- Apple iPhone Launches
- T-Mobile @Home Launches
- Cell phone stalking?
- BlackBerry 8320 (Curve 1.5?)
- RIM Financials
- Tabbed BlackBerry Browser?
- BlackBerry "Garage Door" Keyboard
- T9 sold for US$265 Million

Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

MCA 032: We are back!

Sun, 17 Jun 2007 22:19:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- BlackBerry 8300
- Black ... BlackBerry 8300?
- BlackBerry trade-up program (ends June 30th)
- SlashPower
- 2015 Nike Sneakers!
- Apple iPhone launch details
- Microsoft OFone
- Windows Vista Windows Mobile Device Center 6.1 Released
- Palm Foleo

Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

MCA back on June 17th

Sun, 27 May 2007 15:17:00 GMT

Hi all.

I know I said we'd be back on Sunday May 27th but what I didn't think of was that it is Memorial Day long weekend here in the USA. None of us will be around to record the next episode!

Then I'm on vacation for the the first two weeks of June so we can't record then either. June 17th is the next opportunity I'm afraid.

By then we will be able to talk about the BlackBerry Curve (8300), the Apple iPhone may already be released, and we will have a whole month's worth of news to catch up on!

So please remain subscribed and we'll be back on June 17th! We will record that next episode live on TalkShoe of course so you'll be able to join in.

Craig.

MCA 031: Pictures from WES 2007 Podcast

ibanyan@gmail.com — Sun, 20 May 2007 13:48:00 GMT

Pictures from the second day of WES 2007 podcasting.

From left to right:
Brooke Van Hatten (Chalk), Douglas Soltys (BlackBerry Cool), "Jibi" (BlackBerry Forums), Craig Johnston (MCA).

MCA 031-3: WES Day 3 plus bplay

Fri, 11 May 2007 01:40:00 GMT

It is the last day of WES 2007 and Doug and I sit down to chat about it. We also talk to Nicholas Reichenbach who is Vice President of bplay.

Other links:
- Attensa

Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

MCA 031-2: WES Day 2 plus Chalk

Thu, 10 May 2007 00:48:00 GMT

Day 2 of WES 2007. Doug and I recorded another episode out in the open. This time we spoke to Brooke Van Hatten from Chalk. She discussed their product that allows you to create training material and push it out to BlackBerrys.

We had Jibi (from BlackBerry Forums, BlackBerry Cool, and BoyGeniusReport)

Jibi spoke about BES 5.0 which is due out in May 2008 and has a list of awesome features!

Bplay did not make it today but we hope to have them on tomorrow. Doug and I will be recording in the same place (outside Solaris) at either 2pm or 5pm so please pop over and say hi or hang out.

Other links:
- Documents To Go for BlackBerry
- BoxTone

Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

Coming up on MCA 031-2

Wed, 9 May 2007 12:53:00 GMT

We will be recording MCA 014-2 (and BBCool 5-2) outside Solaris again at 5pm today.

We hope to speak to someone from Chalk who is one of the vendors that caught our eye. They are at booth 712 and will also be conducting a demo in Crystal L at 1pm today.

We will also be talking to someone from bplay about their awesome BlackBerry games.

MCA 031-1: Wes Day 1

Wed, 9 May 2007 03:29:00 GMT

Day 1 of WES 2007 coverage. Douglas Soltys of BlackBerry Cool teams up with me (Craig Johnston) to talk about how WES is going.

We also talk to the President and CEO of Idokorro Rob Woodbridge, about WES and what new products Idokorro is working on.

Since we had 2 microphones for the recording, it picked up the background sounds very well, so I left the recording in stereo to retain that atmosphere. I also left in the blemishes, GSM chatter included :-)

If you want to stop by during our recording tomorrow, we will be doing it outside Solaris again. We simply took over a table and some chairs by the window, so look for some people talking into microphones and that will be us.

[PS. I accidentally called this episode 014 part 1 - and also named this MP3 file with this name. I cannot tell you why, but I have corrected the episode name now :-) ]

Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

Total WES Coverage

ibanyan@gmail.com — Sun, 6 May 2007 22:11:00 GMT

Just a reminder that Craig will be in Orlando this week covering the Wireless Enterprise Symposium.

He will be recording short daily episodes together with Doug from BlackBerry Cool so make sure you keep your podcast aggregator up to date!

Essentially MCA 014 will be made up of multiple parts, each part recorded at the end of each day at WES (if all goes well :-) ).

If you see Craig or Doug, come up and say hi!

Since MCA 014 will be completed by the end of the week, there will be no scheduled recording on Sunday as usual. The next episode, MCA 015, will be recorded on Sunday April 27th at 5pm Eastern and of course, on TalkShoe.

MCA 030: BlackBerry Cool

Mon, 30 Apr 2007 02:18:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- First WinMo 6 device - O2 XDA
- BlackBerry 8830 Announced
- Deepfish already on the BlackBerry
- Verizon Launching BlackBerry 8830 on May 14th 2007
- BlackBerry Virtual Machine runs on Windows Mobile 6
- RIM Outage
- BlackBerry 9000 Series details
- 4.2 OS for the BlackBerry 8700 Series
- BlackBerry Cool and MCA teaming up at WES

Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

MCA 030 News

Thu, 26 Apr 2007 18:24:00 GMT

Hi all.

We will have Douglas Soltys from BlackBerry Cool on the show, plus we will record the show live again so you can listen in and, more importantly, participate!

If you would like to participate, or just listen to the live recording, go to http://www.talkshoe.com now and register. Then at around 5pm EDT on Sunday April 29th, login, find our show, and join in.

MCA 029: WiFi in space and other news

Sun, 15 Apr 2007 23:22:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- Removable cell phone patent
- WiFi in space
- Samsung WiMax phones
- Nokia N95
- Fujitsu bets on SSD
- Palm Linux coming
- 100 Million iPods Sold
- AT&T BlackBerry 8300 on May 25th?
- Lego BlackBerry
- Verizon BlackBerry 8830 "World BlackBerry"
- Vodafone BlackBery 8300
- BlackBerry vs BlackJack
- DST changes a waste?
- TalkText

Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

MCA 029 Live on Talkshoe

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 13:03:00 GMT

Hi all.

We will recording MCA 029 live on Talkshoe so you can listen in and, more importantly, participate!

If you would like to participate, or just listen to the live recording, go to http://www.talkshoe.com now and register. Then at around 5pm EDT on Sunday April 15th, login, find our show, and join in.

MCA 028: Talkshoe

Mon, 2 Apr 2007 01:27:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- Nokia Coffin
- Cell phone image
- Palm Treo 755
- iPhone launch date?
- Dvorak says no to iPhone
- New PSP firmware gives free T-Mobile
- Deepfish
- Sling Player for Palm OS
- Helio Ocean
- OQO Model 02 Ships
- New Moto CDMA phones
- Symbian 9.5
- Boy Genius RIM Break In
- Talkshoe

Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

Live recording of 028 on Sunday at 5pm Eastern Daylight Time

Sat, 31 Mar 2007 02:15:00 GMT

Hi all.

We have decided to try something new starting with episode 028. We will record the show live so you can listen in and, more importantly, participate!

If you would like to participate, or just listen to the live recording, go to http://www.talkshoe.com now and register. Then at around 5pm EDT on Sunday April 1st, login, find our show, and join in.

MCA 027: CeBIT

Tue, 20 Mar 2007 00:31:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- Geek Brief Meet Up on MCA Podcast Island
- BlackBerry 8300
- TiVo Mobile
- MacBook Pro Burns
- Samsung F700
- Asus M530w
- Digital Cube G43

Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

MCA 027 delayed 1 day

Mon, 19 Mar 2007 00:50:00 GMT

Hi all.

We did record episode 027 tonight however there is a problem with one of the audio files so I was unable to do the post production.

We hope to have that file sorted out in time to have episode 027 out tomorrow night!

Sorry about the delay.

Cheers.

Craig.

MCA 026: BlackBerry 8800

Mon, 5 Mar 2007 02:19:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- Our BlackBerry 8800 Thoughts
- Quick DST Update
- Grundig B700 Linux Smartphone
- Cingular/att hand out free BlackJack (Samsung i607) extended bateries
- Does Palm want to be bought?... Will Nokia buy them?
- Mobile Starbucks Locater
- T-Mobile USA surpasses 25 Million subscribers

Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

MCA 025: DST 2007

Mon, 19 Feb 2007 04:58:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- Craig writing for PDA Essentials
- Dante's BlackBerry Pearl for Dummies released
- BlackBerry 8800 Officially Launched
- Bill wants to use the 8800 for Geo Caching

- Daylight Savings Time Change Patches
- BlackBerry
- We talk to Jon Edmunds of BoxTone about their free DST Expert App
- Windows CE
- Windows Mobile
- Palm OS
- DST Panel
- Symbian

Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

MCA Podcast Island Monthly Party in SecondLife!

ibanyan@gmail.com — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 22:37:00 GMT

Please come and join us for our monthly party on Saturday February 17th at 9AM SL Time (9AM PST, 12 Noon EST, 5Pm GMT) !! The music will be pumping and the circular dance floor will be rotating! The "'Sploder" will be exploding and giving out great rewards.
Go on a treasure hunt to find hidden coins on the island and win cash prizes!

Take a short break from dancing and pop downstairs to pick up a typing animation override in the form of a SmartPhone like a BlackBerry 8100 (Pearl), Palm Treo 750, Motorola Q, Samsung i607 (BlackJack), etc.

Camping chairs will be available for you to sit on and listen to or watch podcasts.

Hang out and meet new people or mingle with your friends!
Yes the party is two hours long but that doesn't mean you have to leave! Stay all day and party on!!

Click here to teleport directly to the party!!

MCA 024: Powercast

Sun, 4 Feb 2007 18:58:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- We talk to Keith Kressin from Powercast
- Daylight Savings Time Changes in 2007
- BlackBerry
- Windows Mobile
- Palm OS
- Symbian

Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

MCA 023: Wireless Power

Mon, 22 Jan 2007 02:15:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- MCA Island Kick-Off Party!
- Apple iPhone
- OPTi Sues Apple
- Cisco Sues Apple
- White BlackBerry Pearl (8100)
- Wireless Power
- Powercast
- Splashpower
- Google Phone
- Prada Phone
- Feedback for touch screens
- Play MP3 via Mono Bluetooth headset on the Pearl

Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

SecondLife Meetup on January 20th 2007

Fri, 19 Jan 2007 17:03:00 GMT

Hi all.

We are officially launching the MCA Podcast Island on Saturday January 20th 2007 at 9AM SL Time (which is 12 Noon Eastern Standard Time, or 5PM GMT).

Please join us for our kick-off party, and pick up your typing animation override!

See you there!

You can register for SecondLife FREE at http://www.SecondLife.com

MCA 022: Cusp of CES

Mon, 8 Jan 2007 03:21:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- Windows Vista SideShow
- Asus W5fe
- Google and Earthlink give San Francisco Free WiFi
- Samsung i760
- Microvision cell phone projector
- Hitachi 1 TB Hard Disk
- SanDisk 32GB SSD
- Sony Micro PC
- Palm Treo 750 finally in the US via Cingular/AT&T
- Ford/Microsoft show off "Sync"
- BlackBerry 8800 Pictures

Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

MCA 021: Managing Windows Mobile

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 01:47:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- Jeffrey Neafsey talks about Managing Windows Mobile devices
- Windows Mobile Configuration Service Providers
- Remembering James Kim
- RIM Sues Samsung over BlackJack
- ABC wants to know about your BlackBerry addiction
- Biohazard watch detects aliens
- Sanyo mobile phone battery recall
- Palm pays Access $44 million for it's own OS

See you all in 2007!
Since the next scheduled episode will be December 24th we thought we'd skip it and record out next show in 2007. We hope to add enhanced AAC and a few extra segments.

Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

MCA 020: Joy Of Unlocking

Mon, 27 Nov 2006 02:21:00 GMT

Topics/Links:
- Copyright Office rules that consumers can legally unlock cell phones
- OnStar could go black for millions of analog subscribers in '08
- Palm Treo 680 launches on Cingular, $199
- Windows Mobile 6.0 for PPC (Crossbow)
- UFO Detector
- SlingPlayer for Symbian - Partnership with 3
- Bypass Zune Music sharing DRM
- Cingular shipping the BlackBerry 8100/Pearl?
- BlackBerry Video Generator

Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

MCA 019: Moto Good - NTP Bad

Mon, 13 Nov 2006 01:30:00 GMT

Topics:
- Good Technology acquired by Motorola
- Globalstar GSP-1700 satphone also loaded with EV-DO
- Sling Media to partner with major carrier soon?
- 'Mr. Walkman' walks away
- Emirates 'to debut mobile calls'
- Palm Responds to NTP's Patent Infringement Lawsuit
- Oren Tavory suing NTP for excluding
- Dutch legislators warned about BlackBerry security

Links:
- Motorola acquires Good
- Globalstar GSP-1700
- Sling and carriers?
- Nobutoshi Kihara leaves Sony
- In-flight cell phone service
- NTP Sues Palm
- Oren Tavory sues NTP
- False panic about BlackBerry security

Special Thanks:
- Don LaFontaine for the voice overs
- Derek "The Bandit" Richardson for the intro

PS. I thanked Bill for the intro today but I really meant Don.