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If iPhone has proved anything, it's that there are a lot of what Robin Williams would call nose miners out there who enjoy using their index fingers for navigation among other things. It's what I'd call a picky bunch. If you are a Windows Mobile person who feels deprived, you will be glad to know that there is a whole suite of software introduced by Vito Technology that employs finger push navigation similar to the iPhone.

The latest release is SMS-Chat. If you are a Palm Treo packer, you already appreciate the virtues of threaded SMS messages and the convenience of having your messages all grouped together. That's what SMS-Chat will do for you. It opens up a whole new world for SMS organization and manipulation. But threading is not the only feature of SMS-Chat.

From within this application, you can easily delete, forward, resend messages, and add new contacts. You can also send the same message to multiple recipients, which I appreciate greatly.

When you invoke the program, all of your chats are listed in the main menu under the name of a recipient. You can scroll up or down the list using your finger to make the list glide like an air hockey puck. Select any entry and the whole thread of in and out messages involving that person appears. Tap on any message, a menu appears, and you can choose to delete, forward, resend, or cancel the message.

From the main, opening screen, tap the icon in the lower left of the screen to bring up a menu with the following options: About, Help, Language, Minimize, Exit, and Cancel.

To send a new message to a person in the list, select a name and just start entering text into the blue input panel at the bottom of the screen. When you're done, tap the envelop in the lower right corner, the message is launched, and a copy appears in the thread.

To initiate a new message to a new person, just tap on the icon with the pencil and envelop in the lower left corner and choose from the contact list. Your contact list will pop up in a new finger scrollable view, which makes it fun, but if your list is very long, you will soon grow weary scrolling and may wish to start typing in the person's name and let the predictive engine find it for you.

I was prepared to complain about the single line, blue input panel, but I soon discovered that it expands as you type to accommodate your text.

However, I am amazed that such a savvy developer as Vito would neglect to put in a character counter when the count is critical and there is a strict 160 character limit per message. I certainly hope a counter will be included in the next release.

I think it would be wonderful too if there were various ways that you could organize messages into groups by various criteria such as subject, date, recipients, color coding and so forth. Perhaps down the road Vito will make this possible too.

Depress the three bar red icon in the upper right corner of the screen to bring up a menu for adding recipients (as many as you wish), viewing contact information, deleting the chat, or cancelling the operation.

Push the arrow in the upper left, and you go back to the scrollable list of messages. And that, my friends, takes us back to where we started and completes the tour. Please be sure not to leave any of your valuables behind as you exit the vehicle.

SMS-Chat couldn't be simpler or more elegant, and it certainly adds important, missing functionality that has been seriously lacking in the Windows Mobile texting platform.

If you want to add this slick, new application to your pocket pal, just go to Vito's new http://iwindowsmobile.com site and download it. Try it out for 14 days free, kick the tires, and if you want to make it a permanent fixture, it will cost you $14.95. Be aware that Vito is very rigid about allowing only one license per application per installation. I tried to install it on a couple of my devices to test it, and I was out of luck. But that's only fair.

Note that this version only works on Windows Mobile 5/6 Classic and Professional models. If you have a Smartphone or Standard model, you are out of luck, which is just another reason not to have a non-touch screen device as far as I'm concerned.

Hey, while your visiting Vito's new iwindowsmobile site, check out its other offerings designed to make nose miners happy that include AudioNotes, FunContact, GoodWin, ZoomBoard, and AstroNavigator II, all of which I believe I've already reviewed.

Timothy Hillebrand, Ph.D. is a retired archaeologist and windows mobile expert who writes for Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine and several other publications. Visit his blog at http://professorpocket.blogspot.com/

# posted by cgocbjeg : 2:11 PM  0 comments

Once a film is ready for release the few months prior to its release turn out to be the most crucial in terms of revenue collection and for deciding the fate of the film. This is primarily because of the way the packaged product is marketed to its audiences. And it is no secret how the publicity agency experts are constantly scouring aggressively for unexplored avenues to promote the film.

Press conferences, media meets, music launches, out-of-home advertising, print media, film trailers, contests, road promotions and online portals have somehow never been enough. And therefore it's not surprising that with the proliferation of mobile phone ring tones; this area of the music industry is being actively poached and exploited by keen capitalists within the film promotion industry.

According to reports it is forecast that globally 60% of music sales will come from online and mobile music. And with ring tones being the dominant in the mobile music category, it is no wonder really that this is the next most lucrative option for film promotion. It is said that the revenue generated from the mobile platform is substantial. An average film is reported to gross approximately a little over a million as mobile revenue as compared to a big production banner film that could fetch roughly over a four million.

With the aggressive drive to achieve 360 degree communication, promoters are looking to converge media channels as effectively and efficiently as possible. And the film industry is going digital what with the available mobile, internet and TV channels that are being continuously technologically enhanced. Specialized agencies devoted to promotions through the mobile phone platform are offering complete packages for film promotions in an attempt to cash in on the popular medium: not only can one download mobile phone ring tones of the upcoming film's songs but consumer's can also call a number to listen to the songs before downloading them and listen to interview snippets of the film's cast and crew.

One of the reasons for mobile phone ring tones having become so popular with the film fraternity is because of the lack of message wastage and the opportunity to reach out to the audiences effectively. Having film songs set as mobile phone ring tones, results in message recall not only for the mobile phone user but also for people around the user who listen to the ring tone being played. Researchers say that leads to the spread of something similar to an epidemic and before you know it the mobile phone ring tones are being shared amongst groups. And thanks to the technological boon of Bluetooth, Infrared and WAP, transferring data is not only hassle free but also cost free.

It is said that downloadable mobile phone ring tones make a business of more than $45 million worldwide and not a single report has predicted its abatement. In fact, there are several attempts to forecast its growth in leaps and bounds. In countries such as India, home to the largest film industry in the world, music composers compose ring tones of not only the film's OST but other popular tracks as well. Interestingly enough, this has also resulted in royalty issues stemming among the music industry with composers demanding a separate fee for the adaptation of their work to mobile phone ring tones.

From the consumers view point, they are only concerned with the value received at the end of the day from the usage of a particular media channel, and if in the case of mobile phone ring tones entertainment is what they are after, and if that is what they are getting, satisfaction on usage is achieved. For the production house, return of investment is a priority and if they can be assured of uninterrupted consumer attention through mobile phone ring tones; they will be only too happy to spend on this medium.

To find out more and download free ringtones please visit http://ringtones.orion-cs.com and http://www.milesringtones.com

# posted by cgocbjeg : 12:04 PM  0 comments