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A plethora of new, Linux-based, high-end mobile devices to debut soon?

Linux undoubtedly has its place on mobile devices under the sun. Now that I’m planning a new roundup of all “let’s remote control your desktop PC from your Pocket PC” solutions, I’ve also thoroughly tested the well-known Linux-based rdesktop on my Sharp Zaurus C-760 (running under pdaXrom, the native (!) X-Window environment for Sharp Zaurii; its non-pdaXrom-based versions are qtrdesktop (Cacko and the original Sharp ROM) and Opie-rdesktop for OZ/OPIE; also see this for more info) and found it immensely better and more feature-rich than most other (even commercial – see for example Mocha’s Remote Desktop client) Pocket PC- or Palm OS-based remote desktop solutions. And the list doesn’t end in here: you can run for example Kismet on most Linux-based, Wi-Fi enabled devices (like the Zaurii with a Wi-Fi card).
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Now, all major “gadget” manufacturers have announced Linux-based mobile devices. They are as follows (I really recommend checking out the links!):
Nokia 330 (successor to the well-known Nokia 770 Internet Tablet). It’s rumored to have built-in GPS, 3.5”, high-resolution screen, DivX / MP3 video playback capabilities and a lot more. If the Web browser will be at least as good as Nokia OSS (which, I have to admit, isn’t very bad, albeit it does have its share of problems) or will be a direct port of Firefox, then, this gadget will be really cool and much more appealing than the Nokia 770. (Particularly if the screen will be much better / brighter than that of the 770 and the price won’t be much higher either.)
Sony MyLo: this seems to be another REALLY cool device: video (!!!) phoning with the built-in Skype client, probably games, Wi-Fi, built-in Opera (the Linux version of Opera is, currently, far superior to the current, 8.6 version, Pocket PC-based Opera Mobile).
Archos 604: another promising, Linux-based, Wi-Fi enabled device with a 30Gbyte hard disk with TV out and a 4.3-inch 480x272 screen. Unlike earlier, “dumb” Archos devices, it’ll greatly support Internet connectivity and contains the Linux version of Opera.
PepperPad 3: another video playback-oriented, Linux-based device: thumbwheel, TV-out, general ruggedness, kitchen- and bathtub-readiness (cool – you’ll be able to watch videos in your bathtub without fearing it’ll go wrong!), and a generally ergonomic design.
What does HTC (the major Windows Mobile manufacturer) do in the meantime? It seems they are just resting on their laurels and don’t plan to release anything really cool and multimedia-related. It’s only much smaller companies, for example Gigabyte, that do release really advanced devices. These aren’t, however, available outside the Pacific region. Someone should awake the HTC folks

Great side-scrolling game Nicky Boom (being) released for several mobile platforms

Nicky Boom was a nice platformer game released for the Commodore Amiga and MS DOS back in 1992 (Wiki page HERE). While, now, fortunately, there are several platformer titles for Windows Mobile (see for example THIS, THIS for a list of newer and THIS of somewhat older titles), few of them are compatible with the MS Smartphone platform (Nicky Boom is; note that I don't know whether it's compatible with low-end / old 176*220 MS Smartphone screens in addition to the now-standard QVGA ones). In addition, the game also has a Palm OS 5 version (only compatible with comparatively new models; that is, most models starting with the T3) and a Symbian S60 and UIQ 3 version is being worked on. It even has an in-browser ActiveX version on the homepage of the developer (click the Play button), DotEmu. A pretty decent demo is available; the full version costs $14.90 for all mobile platforms.
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Note that the game’s homepage doesn’t have a trial version for Palm OS. It IS available at ClickGamer.
While, theoretically, it may be possible to run the original game under Amiga or MS-DOS emulators, I wouldn’t think it’s a good idea. The only Amiga emulator existing for all the mobile platforms, PocketUAE, is very slow and, as it’s long been discontinued, it’s highly unlikely it will ever be fixed. Emulating MS-DOS is far better on Windows Mobile (see the dedicated Bible HERE), but I seriously doubt it’s able to run this title without major at least sound problems and/or without quickly chewing through your battery. The original game having no console versions, you can't rely on much more CPU-efficient and established, commercial console emulators like the almighty SmartGear either.
On Windows Mobile (I haven't tested the game on Palm and the Symbian version hasn't been released as yet), the just-released native version behaves far better: it uses little CPU time, which means it’s quite battery-friendly and runs on even the slowest configurations like the ones based on the old TI OMAP 850, the “heart” of many popular models like the HTC Touch, Wizard and so on.
As it’s just a traditional side-scrolling platform game, there isn’t much to talk about, game story- or usage-wise.
I had no problems running / playing it. Make sure you give it a try! I think I'll also nominate it for this year's Smartphone & Pocket PC Magazine Best Software Awards contest.
Cons
* Mono music only
* Some stuttering now and then if autofire is enabled. The latter isn’t a CPU usage issue as it stays pretty low even with autofire enabled
Pros
* Much better and, what is even more important, battery-friendly than running the original game under a MS-DOS or an Amiga emulator
* Very good CPU usage: ~28% on 624 MHz PXA-310-based, VGA HP iPAQ 210 and ~60% on the 195 MHz TI OMAP 850-based QVGA HTC Wizard, even with autofire on
BTW, speaking of other platformers, a bad piece of news: the long-awaited Prehistoric: Road to Hollywood (see THIS) will be never completed / released: Bonanza Interactive has gone out of business in the meantime.

REVIEW: excellent action-puzzle Dungeoned

The Redshift folks are back with an excellent title! Some months ago, they’ve announced they’d completely leave the Windows Mobile platform because of the rampant piracy. Now, they’ve returned with a remarkable action-puzzle mix, Dungeoned. If you like a combination of fast-paced action and puzzle games, you will really want to give it a try. It’s a bit similar to some maze games (for example, Astraware’s Mummy Maze, Monkeystone’s Hyperspace Delivery Boy! and AIM Productions’ TMax) quickly introduced in the Windows Mobile Bible of Games Part I, but is much more varied: in addition to having to find out Sokoban-like puzzles, you not only need to fight other (static) creatures, but, on some maps, also a second player, which is controlled by a pretty good AI (unlike the droid opponents in, say, the Commodore 64 classic Paradroid) and you must be very fast to attack him. This certainly makes a refreshing change to the gameplay.
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(more screenshots HERE; a mini-video HERE)
The title is Pocket PC-only; that is, as you MUST use the touchscreen, won’t work on touchscreen-less MS Smartphones.
The price has just been lowered to $9.95 (along with the release of a new build). The game is available HERE and is compatible with all Windows Mobile operating systems starting with WM2003. On VGA devices, it uses high-resolution sprites; in addition, as usual with Redshift’s all titles, it supports all the screen resolutions commonly used on Windows Mobile devices. What is more, it’s one of the VERY rare games that don’t use the CPU at 100%, resulting in the game quickly chewing through the battery. On my 624 MHz Marvel Xscale PXA-310-based VGA HP iPAQ 214, the CPU usage has never exceeded 35%, which is indeed very good news - few Windows Mobile game / emulator developers strive to lowering the CPU usage.
The problems of the title is the lack of in-game music (while the in-game sounds are without doubt good). There is only (very short and repetitive) music in the menus and the shop screen. Also, completely stylus-based control would be highly beneficial as in most, say, Bomberman clones; for example, PalmStorm’s excellent, free (!) Xplodus!. What I mean is tapping the close vicinity of your character to instruct it to go (attack) that way. This would really help players with devices with a, for gaming, sub-par (or plain non-existing – see the HTC Touch series, including the forthcoming Touch HD) D-pad. Yeah, the game does have on-screen arrows, but, in my opinion, they aren’t the best.
Verdict
Highly recommended, particularly now that the price has been dropped. Well worth at least a try.

Meego Conference 2011 Live Video Stream [email protected]

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Today at 12pmEST (Don't Miss It)
Here's the link for the live video stream
Meego = Nokia's Maemo + Intel's Moblin
For those who follow Meego OS for Mobile Devices, Tablets, Computers, etc, today is a great day as the Meego Conference 2011 will be going on and many devices will be shown off. For those who may not know, Meego summed up is the Full Linux OS put on mobile devices. What does this mean? It means that all the programs that run on Linux, can run on Meego as well and since they use the same code, the programs that run on the Smartphones, seamlessly transfer over to the Tablets, Computers, In Vehicle Infotainment systems and more. Also, OS'es that are programmed in Linux (Android, iOS, Symbian etc) can run on Meego due to Meego being full Linux. It already is stated that it can run Android Apps, Java Apps, Adobe Air Apps, Flash Apps and more on top of Symbian apps and of course it's own Apps. Meego already has lots of support from Developers and manufacturers but as any new OS, it will take time to really flourish. Here's how the creators sum it up:
"MeeGo is an open source, Linux project which brings together the Moblin project, headed up by Intel, and Maemo, by Nokia, into a single open source activity. MeeGo integrates the experience and skills of two significant development ecosystems, versed in communications and computing technologies. The MeeGo project believes these two pillars form the technical foundations for next generation platforms and usages in the mobile and device platforms space." - Meego.com
Here's a link of some of the support that Meego already has.
Here are some videos on Meego:
Meego 1
Meego 2
Meego 3
Meego Harmattan on Nokia N9 Teaser video
Meego Factory
The Conference is going to be great!!! Can't wait. Be sure to tune in.
Also, Mod's, if this is the wrong area to post this in, I'm sorry. Could you move it to where it should go? Thanks.

Good. Maemo 5 is good too!
Intel 1,2 Ghz Quad core processor will be like 4 times faster than SGS2 ot tegra 2, qualcomm chips!!!

Definitely. Maemo 5 is awesome!! Meego is going to rock!!! I can't wait. Only 40 minutes left.

Video was down for a while but it's back up now.

Day 1 was a bust. Today's conference has to improve. It starts at 12pmEST

10% OFF on Super Deal RK2918 Android 2.3 Tablet PC, should I buy?

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R701 Rockchip2918 Android 2.3 Tablet PC Capacitive Screen Aluminum Sheel 8GB
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