After releasing 2 minor updates for DictMgr and UI Tweaker, there will be 2 more software updates which will most probably be released within this month. ClearTemp and WinXplore will be improved in terms of loading/refreshing speed. In addition, new features will be added to WinXplore, e.g. auto-refresh, deleting of non-empty folders, renaming of folders, opening of folders using user-defined application as well as some minor bug fixes. So, do stay tuned for the updates.

You might have realised that the new SIP suite for HTC Touch Diamond has leaked on certain well-known sites. Anyway, I've had a look at it and it is also using XT9 just like The Touch Keypad/Keyboard introduced in HTC Touch Dual. Perhaps, this is even using the same XT9 dictionary strucuture like the Asus devices and O2 Xda Stealth or even the Windows Mobile Standard devices, but don't quote me on this.

Anyway, I have attempted to search for a XT9 dictionary editor before and did not have much luck. I did come across a desktop dictionary editor for Windows Mobile Standard devices (non-touchscreen Smartphones) before and I have also read about a hidden executable found on some of the old devices that can be used to edit the dictionary. From what I can see so far, it seems that the XT9 dictionary editors found work on either the Asus P525 or some of the old Smartphone devices. Too bad for users of HTC's XT9 SIPs.

I've also done some investigation and attempted to decipher the XT9 dictionary format used by Touch Keypad/Keyboad, but did not have much luck. Hopefully, some proficient developers will be able to "break" the dictionary structure for Touch Keypad/Keyboard or Touch Diamond Keyboard. Unfortunately, that person is unlikely to be me since I'm still not up to that skill level yet.

This may be long overdue. Anyway, TPalEditor (part of DictMgr suite) has just been updated to version 0.3 in order to support the English dictionary used in TouchPal v3.0. With regards to support of dictionaries for other languages (i.e. different location of the dictionary file), I may investigate the possibilities of adding such support in TPalEditor.

I didn't know M1 provides multi-SIM service until now. From StarHub's website, it doesn't look like StarHub has this service. Here's a comparison between the multi-SIM service charges for M1 and SingTel.

SingTel:
- Connection Fee: $10.70
- SIM Card Charge: $32.10 (for 2 SIM), $42.80 (for 3 SIM), $53.50 (for 4 SIM)
- Monthly Subscription: $5.35 (for 2 SIM), $10.70 (for 3 SIM), $11.77 (for 4 SIM)
- More Info

M1:
- Connection Fee: $10.70
- SIM Card Charge: $19.26 (for 2 SIM), $38.52 (for 3 SIM)
- Monthly Subscription: $5.35 (for 2 SIM), $10.70 (for 3 SIM)
- More Info

If you are a M1 subscriber and own a Symbian S60 phone from Nokia, you can try out the client for SMS 2.0 here. In a nutshell, SMS 2.0 allows you to send/receive formatted text messages. It's a brand new world of text messaging. Hope more phones and other network operators will be supported soon. Information on usage charges are available on this page.

Service Pack 3 (SP3) for Windows XP has just been released. In case you are searching for details regarding the service pack, these are the links which you may find useful:
Overview | Release Notes | Download Page

Mariah Carey's new video for "Bye Bye" is finally available! Check out this link to view the streaming video in full.

Source: Mariah Daily Journal

Nah...this entry has nothing to do with touching a diamond. Rather, it's about the HTC Touch Diamond. This device was launched/announced yesterday featuring the new TouchFLO 3D user interface (code-named HTC Manila) and has created quite a bit of hype in the Windows Mobile world. The specifications of the device are rather impressive for a Windows Mobile device and for the first time, a HTC device actually looks really pretty.



Specifications at a glance:

• Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
• Qualcomm MSM7201A 528MHz
• HSDPA supporting up to 7.2Mbps (which is still uncommon)
• Accelerometer which allows auto screen rotation for predefined applications
• Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS
• FM Radio
• 192MB RAM, 256MB ROM, 4GB internal storage
• 2.8" VGA screen
• 3.2 MP camera
• No Storage Card slot (storage space is limited to 4GB + 256MB then)
• 900mAh battery (isn't this low for 192MB RAM and well-connected device?)
• 102 x 51 x 11.5 mm (slimmer than LG KS20!)
• 110g

More discussion and links can be found in this news post over at PPCSG.

After finding one more enquiry regarding the update service used by CurrencyConv, I feel the need to explain how it works now. Firstly, the basic list of currencies and also the source of currency rate updates come from the CurrencyConvertor Web Service. On top of this list, I have also added a list of currencies that are pegged either to USD, GBP, EUR or SGD.

On the server where my website is hosted, this link will trigger a script to grab the latest currency rates from the web service, do the necessary conversions, and save them to a XML file. When the user selects update in CurrencyConv, what the application actually does is to download this XML file to the device where the application will read the file and process the information.

So, that's how CurrencyConv and the update service works for the time being. When time permits, I will try to think of and work out a better solution.

I have posted about the mobile internet plans supporting HSDPA available in Singapore just earlier this week in this blog entry. It seems that competition is spicing up once again as StarHub introduces a new mobile internet plan and also a range of home broadband plans that are bundled with mobile internet.

Here are the current mobile internet plans offered by StarHub now:

• MaxMobile Lite: $0.0107/kb (most expensive). Capped at $94.16.
• MaxMobile Value: $10.70 with $20 worth of data ($0.0032/kb for access usage). Promotional rate is now $5.35.
• MaxMobile SurfLite: $38.72 with unlimited data usage. Up to 2Mbps downstream and 512Kbps upstream. Current promotion discount is 30%. There is also a promotion where 50% discount is given plus a free modem for 24-month contract signups.
  
• MaxMobile Ultimate: $72.76 with unlimited data usage. Up to 7.2Mbps downstream and 1.9Mbps upstream (HSUPA). Promotional discount of 50% for existing MaxOnline and StarHub Business Internet customers.

As for home broadband, there are 3 new plans (suffixed with a "Plus" in the names) that come bundled with mobile internet. Check out the plans below.





How I wish SingTel respond to these recent promotions from M1 and StarHub to make customers (like me) happier.