MSN India WAP Portal has a new look

The MSN WAP Portal now has a new design. So take your MSN with you, visit http://m.msnindia.com from your GPRS phone.

Click here to check out the live MSN Mobile site on your PC.

Get Driving Directions Map Weather for your location and lots more, check the site for more details.

To get MSN Mobile Site on your phone:

• Go to the Phone Menu
• Select Web Browser
• Enter http://msnmobile.in in the address box and start surfing
• If in doubt, refer your phone's instruction manual or visit your service provider's gallery.

Note: You need a GPRS enabled SIM on a GPRS compatible cellphone to view the MSN Mobile Site on your phone. Please contact your service provider's customer care executive for information on getting GPRS connection.
To get MSN Mobile site on your Windows Mobile Device:

• Select 'Start '
• Select 'Internet Explorer'
• In the address bar type http://msnmobile.in and select enter.
• Press enter (green arrow next to address bar or enter key on your keypad)
• To set this as your default home page.
  • click on 'Menu'
  • select 'Tools'
  • select 'Options'
  • select 'Use Current'
  • select 'OK'

Note: You need a GPRS enabled SIM on your windows mobile device to access the MSN WAP Site. Please contact your service provider's customer care executive for information on acquiring GPRS.

Check http://specials.msn.co.in/sp03/mobilesms/index.asp for more details.

Windows SideShow for Windows Mobile Developer Preview released

SideShow for Windows Mobile Developer Preview was released at TechReady 2008! Windows SideShow for Windows Mobile is an application for Windows Mobile 5 and 6 PocketPCs and Smartphones that allows you to use your Windows Mobile device as a Bluetooth SideShow device.

If you're new to Windows SideShow and want an overview of the feature, just go to WindowsSideShow.com to find out more. “Windows SideShow is a new technology in Windows Vista that supports a secondary screen on your mobile PC. With this additional display you can view important information whether your laptop is on, off, or in sleep mode. Windows SideShow is available in Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Enterprise, and Windows Vista Ultimate.”

And now any Windows Mobile 5 or 6 phone can work as a Bluetooth based Windows SideShow device! You can download it here. This is a beta release.

This enables you to use your phone as an extra window into your PC. You can both access your computer’s information from your Pocket PC or Smartphone, and control the computer through a gadget interface. While the phone is out of range, or when your computer is off, you can continue to view content sent to the phone previously. This makes it easy to send information to the phone that you'll need later on. It can be used for many things : - using it to control PowerPoint presentations while viewing the speaker notes,

- using it as a remote control to Windows Media Player

- viewing RSS feeds on the road and many more and add to that, developers have the opportunity to invent a whole new range of scenarios using the software and the Managed API SDK (Announcing the Windows SideShow Managed API SDK and Runtime releases!) that allows Visual Basic and C# development.

Here is the detailed Installation instructions for setting up SideShow for Windows Mobile.

SideShow Development Forums

Windows Live for Nokia now available in more countries including India

Windows Live services has been made available to an additional seven countries for Nokia phone customers. The new markets being announced today are : Hungary, Iceland, India, Israel, Poland, Romania and the USA. This add to the existing list of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Thailand, UAE, UK and Vietnam.

The service was first announced last August and was initially available in 11 different markets and on 5 different mobile S60 handsets.Later 15 more markets were added. Now with today's addition of 7 more, it makes a total of 33 countries.

In terms of handsets the following S60 handsets are compatible with Windows Live for Nokia today - the Nokia N73, N80 Internet Edition, N95, N95 8GB, N76, N81, N82, N93i, E90, E65, E61i, E51, 6120*, 5700*, 6110*

The Windows Live for Nokia service provides Hotmail, Messenger, Live Contacts and Spaces access to our customers that use the popular S60 mobile phone range.   The application is downloaded and installed on the device and once you sign in with your Live ID you have full access to your email, messenger, contacts, etc.

This will be available to the new 7 countries later today.  They can be found in the 'download' folder on the phone. For screenshots and more details please check the source.

(Source: Live with Phil.)

* Note that users with these handsets must first download a software pack at www.nokia.com/windowslive

Vodafone, Microsoft Offer SMS Search in India

Vodafone and Microsoft India today announced the launch of SMS Search for Vodafone customers in India powered by Live Search. Vodafone subscribers can simply type in their query as a SMS text message on their mobile handset and send to 55060. According to the company, the mobile originating SMS will be charged 30 paise per query.

The development work to embellish the Live Search platform to deliver search service via SMS was done at Microsoft India Development Center (MSIDC). This is one of the several Live Search services targeted at emerging markets currently being developed at MSIDC.

Live Search on Vodafone mobile enables users to search on-portal/deck content like ringtones, images, articles, etc. It also provides local/directory information like restaurants. The users can also search mobile sites (WAP sites) and World Wide Web (WWW), through this service.

Currently, the local search/directory information is available in eight major cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad. In addition, 21 more cities are expected to go live soon.

(Source:PC World)

Microsoft Releases New Version of Its Windows Live Mobile Developer Program

"Today at Mobile World Congress 2008, Microsoft Corp. announced that it is releasing a new version of its Windows Live Mobile Developer Program, enabling developers to create mobile versions of its popular Windows Live services that can be built for virtually any mobile phone independent of phone operating system. Microsoft also announced Windows Live @mobile, a new program that allows operators to adopt and deploy Windows Live services. These two initiatives will enable Microsoft’s developer community to deliver compelling Windows Live services and provide flexibility to access the Windows Live platform to innovate on top of those services. In addition, mobile operators can connect their customers to Windows Live, one of the largest communications and sharing networks in the world, create additional revenue opportunities and enhance the customer experience"

"These latest updates to the Windows Live Mobile Developer Program include new features to Microsoft’s Mobile Services Protocol and a new software development kit (SDK), enabling developers to create mobile versions of Windows Live Hotmail, Windows Live Messenger and Windows Live Spaces that can work on any phone operating system. These updates give developers the capability to create applications with an exceptional user experience and more advanced functionality, all built on a WS*-compliant protocol..."

Windows Live @mobile
Microsoft is also announcing the availability of Windows Live @mobile, a program that enables mobile operators to deploy a set of standard Microsoft mobile services such as Windows Live for Mobile and MSN Mobile to their customers quickly and efficiently. These standard deals support different business models, providing operators with several choices, including subscriptions, transactions or advertising so they fit with their existing business or new business ideas. Operators can choose to deploy browser-based services that work on nearly any phone with a data plan or with any of the certified third-party clients developed by Microsoft partners.

Currently, @mobile is available in 46 countries and is expanding to additional markets in the next year. Additional information on both Windows Live @mobile and the Windows Live Mobile Developer Program can be found at http://msnmobile.members.winisp.net.
More details at : Microsoft PressPass