Mobile Ministry Magazine: 04/01/2007

GMPSoft Newsletter Deals

In the latest GMPSoft Newsletter, there are some deals for some good resource materials for your PDA device. Items such as Spurgeon's Morning and Evening devotional and PDA DEPReader are featured in this edition. Visit GMPSoft's website for these and more Biblical resources for your mobile device.

The 81-day-experiment continues with the BlackBerry 8800 and Cingular BlackJack

Pierre wrote in this weekend to let MMM know that the 81 Day experiment is still going, this time with the BlackBerry 8800 and Cingular BlackJack. Here are his words on those two:

The 81-day-experiment continues with the BlackBerry 8800 from Cingular—Day #9, the new comparison chart

Today is the BlackBerry 8800's last day in my 9 day experiment with the device. I can say with confidence that the BlackBerry 8800 is an impressive business device in many ways. It offers the same reliable business features that the previous BlackBerry models offered for years, in addition to an enhanced interface, a slick design, and a host of new applications including playing music and video.

Click here for more details

The 81-day-experiment continues with the Samsung BlackJack from Cingular—Day #1, back to the Cingular store

Another visit to the Cingular store, and this time Ernest helped me with the Samsung BlackJack. The Samsung BlackJack resembles the Motorola Q especially the Motorola Q Black that was released late last year. I am eager to find out how it compares with the Motorola Q and T-Mobile Dash which I have used previously in the 81-day-experiment.

Click here for more details

Continuing with the N800

i am typing this post on the n800 and finding that it is a really neat device. Typing is a bit slow fr me, and so consider this a short post.

I did find some biI did find some bible softwble software but it was not very install friendly.

just lost part of this post. i thInk its google's fault :(

Labels: internet tablet, mobile, N800, Nokia, usability

Mobility

Since getting the N800, I have had a rash of thoughts about mobile computing. Mostly thinking of mobility as a way of life and a [impending] movement, rather than just an alternative way of to how to do things that computers have enabled us to do. I've started processing my thoughts, and have placed an initial post of those thoughts at my personal site. Here is a snippet:

...The 'why' should be addressed first. If only because what we consider as computing is changing by leaps and bounds. What was once university and big science computing, is now doable in the palms of our hands. We can take our data on the go and use it to interact with our world in ways that sci-fi only dreamed about 30 years ago. And at the same time, legislation and technology is moving at such a pace that if we do not understand it now, we will be overrun and have the perspective that "the technology is out to take over us...

Read the entire post.

What are your thoughts concerning mobile technology and how it is slowly becoming a part of everyday computing? Whether we think of a smartphone, laptop, online calendar, or MP3 player, all of these lifestyles are swooping in and out of this space we call mobile computing. How do we respond to this as those who represent Christ? Or, should we even respond at all?

Labels: accessiblity, community, mobile, N800, usability

Information that Works for You

I was just on an instant messaging (IM) conversation with LJ talking about an aspect of working with information that I would like to be better at doing, but so far have not taken enough of an initiative to do so. Essentially, I'd like to get to the point where information is working for me (and others) instead of me working for information.

This thought started a few weeks ago when I called for a meeting at my church of the guys on my a/v team. In sharing with them that the meeting was mandatory, I also sent to them a vCal attachment that had the meeting details. I explained that this vCal could be downloaded and saved into Outlook, Google Calendar, or if they need it on their phone, forwarded to their phone to appear in its calendar. One of the attendees responded back that it was great to have that information and it made it a lot easier for him to respond favorably to the meeting because that (small) part of putting the information into his calendar was already done.

That got me thinking, how can I harness an action like sending a vCal item for meetings into a better experience of having information that serves me instead of me serving it?

So far, I am only as far into this thought process that I can say that what I'd like is to get into the pattern of attaching my vCard (business card) and vCal (meeting/calendar) items to emails when I want people to have an action response to something. But, I wonder if this can go further. Not so much in using a web service or a specific tool, but how can I change the way that I do things so that I am now serving people, instead of serving information and pulling people along?

What are your thoughts on this? How can we make information work for us, instead of being pushed and pulled by it?

Labels: accessiblity, community, microformats, mobile, usability

The Nokia N800, Continued Thoughts

My use of the N800 has slowed somewhat in the past dady or so. Part of that is because I received a N95 to review for Brigthand, and the other reason is that now I am done with my prelimenary ooohs and aahhhs, I want to know where the N800 fits.

Now, I am not anywhere near the typical computer user. I work on a desktop all day, and when I come home, the last thing that I want to do is sit in front of another. So in that respect, the N800 has been extremely great. Not only does it offer me the ability to stay connected (via Bluetooth to my Treo 680 which is usually charging after work), but its a simple enough device that getting online and viewing sites is a pleasure.

I have really enjoyed the RSS widget on the front page. I am thinking that a calendar+todo widget would probably be the next best thing to add on there. Of course, that would make the N800 much more like a PDA, but my thoughts are that if it can hook into Google services, like the rest of the device does, then its a win win for a lot of people.

Not having a Bible on the N800 has been a bummer. I really need to find a solution on that end. If any of you out there have an N800 or know of Bible software that works with one, please point me in the direction of it. Thanks.

Today I had a few crashes when trying to connect to a wifi network. The N800 does boot quick though (much faster than my Treo 680).

At this point I see a few areas where the N800 can be improved, but the target audience is the harder fit. For a minister who is in an area where they will be connected wirelessly and need something with a better screen than a communicator or smartpthone, the N800 fits really well. But other than that, I am having a hard time really findig any who would really benefit from this versatile and fun platform.

A Few MidDay Notes

Just a few notes as we are entering the top of the hump (EST time anyways).

The ESV Blog reported about the podBible, a ESV downloadable reading Bible for your iPod. Very neat.
Image: Nokia E90 and HTC Advantage, via All About Symbian

Image: Nokia E90 and HTC Advantage, via All About Symbian

In using the N800 and Treo 680, I am having similar thoughts to others of whether the laptop needs a revolution. But if you look at another story, it just might be that the revolution has happened already (it's just not priced right everywhere yet).

One thing is for sure, if we do see that revolution continue towards mobile tech, the change to how we approach community and worship cannot be far behind.

Which, if you think about it, would be neat. especially if we can have praise and worship parties regardless of location.

That's all for now, but isn't it neat to have a though of how God can and will influence tech at this point of the week?

Labels: Bible, church, community, ESV, mobile, mobiles, music, Nokia, praise, Treo 680, worship

The N800 After A Few Days

I posted on Saturday that I had received a Nokia N800 via the Nokia Blogger Relations program and have since had it in and near my hands for a lot of good use. This is the first time since CES that I am getting a bit more than just a few moments with the N800, and so my play time is one part learning the device, and another part seeing where it fits into one's device portfolio.
Image: Nokia N800 via Treo 680 camera

Positive First Impressions
Aside from the fact that it's a new device in my stead, I can say that most of my first impressions have been quite positive about the N800. Seeing also that I am not PC based, meaning that I do not center my computing around being on a PC, but rather everything comes thru my Treo 680 and from there I do computing, having another device that does well without being attached to a PC is kinda neat. Now, there is the Nokia PC Suite software, and I shall get around to loading that and working with it, but for now, I am enjoying being untethered.

So, Any Negatives?
Just a few. Mainly in that some of the programs are hard to find as the interface is unlike anything that I have ever come across. Also, while the touchscreen does an amazing job of knowing when you are using your finger versus a stylus, sometimes the point of my finger registers as a stylus and all I want is the big keys so that I can type IMs and go places. Speaking of IMs, Google Talk keeps cutting out on me, even when on a BT connection to my phone. I am wondering if that is a firmware fix (for which I'll need to get on a PC and do).

So yea, things are going well with the N800 and I am throughly enjoying my time with it. I haven't found one simple Bible reader program for it though, and that has been a considerable downer as the UI and device are well suited for a real Bible study machine.

Labels: internet tablet, mobile, N800, Nokia, Treo 680

The 81 Day Experiment and the BlackBerry 8800

Pierre at the 81 Day Experiment has continued his experiment with the recently introduced BlackBerry 8800. This model is closer to the Pearl/8100 in appearance, but has the keyboard and many other familiar items BB users will like.

The latest segment talks about how the 8800 survived a drop and coverse some "driver friendly" aspects of the device. <a href="http://81dayexperiment.typepad.com/the_81day_experiment/2007/04/the_81dayexperi_7.html" target="_blank">Read the entire posting</a>.

If any of you are using BlackBerries as a mobile solution within your ministries, how are you doing so and what do you like/dislike about them?

Considering Mobile Tech for Life Use, but Kingdom Rep

One of the music artists that I like to hear rap and preach is named The Ambassador. He takes his name from 2 Cor: 5: 20 ("...Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's stead, to be reconciled to God."). I like that verse for a few reasons, but the key one is that it speaks of us being an ambassador, not simply for blessings and benefits, but for the fact that our representation of Christ is what leads people around us to want to be reconciled to Him.

Its like having a new phone or mobile device and your friends see it, and then they want it (or something very close to it). You, in effect, become a beacon of what it is that people want. And by no fault of your own, but because of what it is that you are carrying and how you are using it, people are finding a new joy and potential about life that they had previously not seen.

Now imagine if God's directing our use of mobile tech. Just imagine the kind of beacon that is. And better yet, think of when you are using and putting technology in a place where you are free to move with God whether that is an area of teaching, or just a place where you are quiet under Him to hear and respond in intercession.

This week, consider the effect that your life has had because of and with mobile tech. And just think, a Christ-focused approach to using it makes for a life-giving outlook to those around you. Just like an ambassador.

God is calling, and he wants you to turn off your cell phone

One, I love the title.
Two, I agree with the posting on so many accounts, not the least of which is "why cannot people understand how to turn off their cell phones (or at least the ringer)?"

Here is a snippet of KP's post:
...We got to church early to get a seat and proceeded to watch all the people trickle in. We watched a caregiver lady assisting an elderly lady into the pew in front of us. “That’s nice,” I thought.

Until the caregiver lady’s cell phone started ringing. And this was like 2 minutes before the service was about to start. The phone rang once before she even realized it was ringing; she picked it up, then watched it ring again… like “who’s calling me?”…. then realized she shouldn’t have the phone ringing in church. Genius...

Read the rest of the post, and please, please, turn off the ringer before going into service or meetings.

Labels: church, mobiles, usability

Nokia Meets MMM

Just as the post title states, look what has made it into the MMM stable as an upcoming review item.
Image: Nokia N800 product box

Here's the thing. We will have a good amount of time with the N800 to go over positives and negatives. And I'll be using it alongside my Treo 680 to get a good idea of how well it works for me. But besides me, there are some of you looking at tablet devices and the N800 is an excellent one. What are some things that you would like us to cover concerning the N800? And who do you think we should check in towards some neat Bible software for the N800?

Leave your questions/remarks in the comments to this post.

Labels: internet tablet, mobile, N800, Nokia

Samsung Q1b UMPC/Tablet PC Review

In the list of those things that my last mobile posting missed, this is one item.

I recently wrote a review of the Samsung Q1b TabletPC for TabletPC Review (and also soon to be published at Brighthand). Here is a snippet of that review.

...Another positive of the Q1b is its weight. It always felt as if I were holding a paperback book instead of a computer. Sure, I didn't want to throw it around or fold the pages, but the handwriting recognition and built-in applications were snappy and for the most part pleasing to work with. In addition to the weight, the Q1 rarely got hot in use. I could use it for 2.5 - 3 hours straight and the only time I felt heat is when I rotated the screen to a direction where I could feel the exhaust vents blowing...

Read the entire review .

Get Daily Bible Quotes on Your Apple iPod

According to the folks over at the ESV Blog, you can now get daily Bible verses on your Apple iPod.
From the ESV Blog, "Travis creates the images in Photoshop each day. He says that "making the images by hand also 'forces' me to read the new daily verse each day. If it were automated, I would probably be tempted to skip from time to time." You've got to love something that combines private devotion with providing a service to the wider church."

Download the verse of the day fed by pointing your iTunes or RSS feed reader to the verse of the day feed.

Test Post

Just testing on posting to MMM via email to Blogger. It will be deleted soon enough.

34 Hours

Late last month I had the opportunity to spend 34 hours in a U-Haul driving from Iowa to Vermont. The weather was especially crappy from Cleveland to Burlington, and I found myself grateful for the interstate rest stops that provide WiFi that served as my only real source for weather updates and stuff like that, which I accessed with my Palm Tungsten E2 and a wireless card. (Of course, I *could* have turned on the radio, but how non-geeky is that???)

I'd be curious to hear other stories of how public hot spots have "saved the day".

Grace and peace,

A. Jay

VT Shootings
Please lift up a prayer today/tonite for the families and all those affected by the shootings on the VT campus.

There is a topic that we'll hopefully come back to a bit later in talking about our responsiblity with mobile tech in situations such as these, but until then, please just keep them all in your prayers, including the family of the shooter.
posted via Mo:Blog

Mowser Makes the Web Nicely Mobile

Just reading at MobHappy and a new web service/application has been released that should make things a lot nicer for those of us who take the time to develop mobile formatted websites so that those of us who like to view websites on the mobile have something plesant to look at.

Mowser is a "combination of a transcoder (so mobile users can visit full HTML sites), a directory of mobile-friendly sites, and keywords (delivering quick access to certain sites and information — for instance, “w Las Vegas” sends you to the weather.com page for Las Vegas)."

The really neat thing about Mowser, versus using sites/services such as Google's Mobile Web and Skweezer is that it takes the stylesheet that was used to make the site handheld friendly, and then breaks the page into smaller and already formatted versions.

Check out MMM on Mowser, then add Mowser to your mobile browser to have a much better mobile experience.

That all being said, I did fix a number of items relating to mobile formatting over the past week. Do let me know if you run into any issues still.

Carnival of the Mobilists #69

The latest Carnival of the Mobilists has been published at Mobile Marketing & Spam.

As with previous carnivals, there are plenty of articles and some good information to get you into the swing of what is going on, and will be coming down the pipe in mobile.

If you have any articles that you would like to submit, the next carnival is at Mobile Opportunity, and so get your entries into there to be featured in an upcoming carnival.

Meetup Over, Till The Next One
Well, the meetup is just about over and I am here with Demetritalking tech and fun.

Hopefully, it will be a lot less than year till the next one (one month perhaps).

In the meantime, if you are on Internet Explorer 6 and noticed that the site is back to normal, then cool. IE6 didn't like what I did for mobile fixing. But was able to get that squared away. Now, the fun is making sure that Treos and other mobile devices work. A fun endavor, but not one that I want to do during a meetup :)
posted via Mo:Blog

Meetup, Here and Rollin
Live from the meetup. Its a small crowd but things are now underway. Look for us in the corner near the long line.
posted via Mo:Blog

A Mobile Fix, Question to You

Greetings all, on my clock it says 3:30am, but I've finally gotten to fixing (at least I hope so) the issue with MMM not displaying correctly on some mobile devices. Please take a look at the site on your mobile device and comment here with what kind of display you are getting. At this point, it is not pretty, just mainly functional.

That being said, I am looking at moving MMM to a different blog system. If that happens, I am pretty sure that WINKSite will be a part of that solution. WINKSite will enable a a completly mobile accessible version of MMM to be had on nearly any mobile device. Not quite sure, but that is something in mind. If you have any suggestions as to how MMM can better be served to you (that does not equal paper), let us know.

Last question of the early morning, how many of you are viewing MMM on your mobile device (laptop, TabletPC, smartphone, or PDA)?

Meetup Tomorrow!!!

Don't forget, we are having a meetup tomorrow at 3pm at the Starbucks at the Annapolis Harbor Center.

We plan on being there for about 2hours and then from there, life happens (or take a trip to the Philly area if anyone's game).

The conversation will be loose, so don't look for anything incredibly structured. I'll be sharing about how MMM got started, where it is, and where its going. There will be a few devices to play with (heheheh), and some Franco-Italian drinks to make things all that more fun.

We're interested in doing other meetups anywhere in the USA. So, if you have space and the time, and want to talk about how understanding mobile technology's place in faith matters now more than ever, let's talk and share in the labor of equipping folks to preach the Gospel, and encouraging one another to walk further in it.

PDAHomepage Hymns Available for MObiles
Well, folks, my birthday is over and there is some news and updates that I was sent in to let you all know about. The first for the day comes from the the folks at PDAHomepage, who have a great mobile-friendly portal full of links to a ton of mobile content. Below is the text of their latest announcement:

...[we've] added a huge online hymnal with over 600 hymns onto the website. All these are in a PDA friendly format thenceforth I would like to request that you may take a look at the new Hymnal section which can be accessed from the religion page: http://www.pdahomepage.com/religion.html there you can also see the "Bible verses by topic" page of the site...

There is a lot more than just these hyms available. Point your mobile browser (regular phone or smartphone) to the PDAHomepage website and enhance the experience of browsing and finding relevant information on your mobile device.

Thank to Nigel for sending this in
posted via Mo:Blog

GMPSoft Newsletter Deals
The latest newsletter from GMPSoft came out yesterday with some neat deals on Bible software bundles for Palm OS and Windows Mobile/Pocket PC devices.

Visit the GMPSoft website to subscribe to the newsletter and see the latest software deals.
posted via Mo:Blog

Personal Pause
Greetings and blessings all;
While it is that postings and site updates have been few this week, today will be pretty scant as well as I am celebrating my birthday today and wanting to just sit in reflection a bit more on that. Of course, I'll be around on Friday, and so if you have any news that you'd like to have posted, please do send it in. I have some time carved out to get that up this week.

Something that came to me as I was just posting on my personal site is that I need to do a much better job of being a vessel of praise, instead of letting the things around me cause me to emotionally and mentally lose sight of God's control on it all. Even when computers aren't working or projects are taking longer than I have wanted to, I need to become Psalm 103 and really let God be my all. In doing that, I am sure that I will truely grow in Him and reflect His glory everywhere I go.
posted via Mo:Blog

Despite the Layoff, Still a Meetup
Hey all; hope that you are all getting back into the swing of things now that the Easter season is firmly past us. I know that some of you have been awaiting a new post or two here at MMM for some time, and so here this one is to both encourage you to continue to preach Christ - no matter if your mobile tech is a pen and pad or a TabletPC. Remember, it is the Spirit of God that calls the hearts, all we need to do is be in position to be available as a witness to His revelation to others.

Don't forget that this Saturday, April the 14th will be the next MMM Meetup. We will be meeting at the Starbucks at the Annapolis Harbor Center. Since there is no picture of me here (hehehe), just look for the guy who has a ton of tech all around him and no laptop :) We will be talking tech and faith, and also looking to continue partnerships with ministries in the Annapolis area and beyond towards helping people in ministry better understand how to use mobile technology in respect to this faith walk.

Now, if you are interested in a MMM Meetup happening in your town/city, get in contact with us and let's talk about some times and dates where we can make that happen. We have a team of folks all over the US, as well as one in Asia, and so something of benefit just might be possible.

That's about all at this point. God bless all, and watch for those places where faith and technology intersect, that just might be a great place to set up a "water stand" for others who are passing by.
posted via Mo:Blog

Remember

Calendaring on the Go

One aspect of being mobile that I have frequently enjoyed is the fact that my calendar is available in the palm of my hand. However, that definitely does not help those who want to know if I am available for getting together now or anywhere in the near future. While researching for another project, I ran into 30Boxes and found that it can be a really accessible and usable calendaring solution for those who are on the move, and the people that need to keep up with them.
Image: 30Boxes logo, via 30Boxes

30Boxes is an online calendar that leverages many social networking features to give you an easy way to keep up with where you are spending your time, and to also let others know of where and how busy you are.

I have not played with it just yet, but want to hear from any of you who might be using 30Boxes or a similar solution in your ministries/organizations. Does an online calendaring system work? Where could this be improved?

Simple Mobility to Simple Ministry
I sit beside a person on the Metro who has a daytimer (paper, leatherbound), and I am something near amazed at how far simple things such as to-do lists have come. It is amazing that so much can be done electronically, and at the same time, this mobility is a simple thing. We only want to use and access information quickly and efficiently, while making time for those things we deem as most important.

I think now if the scripture where Jesus commissioned disciples to go out, but to carry very little. The point was not to be poor, but to keep ministry simple and reliance completly on God and not themselves or riches they'd be associated with. How hard that is in this time where being mobile is a sign of affulence - is affulence.

How simple can ministry be then if we take away the ticks and pens that give form to our day, and then just rely on God with no matter what is in our hands.
posted via Mo:Blog

Christian Mobile Announces WapBibles.com
In what could be considered a groundbreaking release in some arenas, Christian Mobile along with the Bible Societies of America, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, Russia and South Africa have announced the new mobile website and initative http://wapbibles.com. Just point your phone's browser to wapbibles.com and be presented with Bibles to read and download right to your mobile.

There is even provision at wapbibles.com to pay for Bibles and biblical material by direct billing, credit/debit, PayPal, and premium SMS.

If you or someone that you know is in need of the Bible on the go (ok, who isn't really), wapbibles.com seems to not only be very accessible, but also a relevant solution.
posted via Mo:Blog

Pocket Bible Reader
In going thru my RSS feeds, I noticed that I had a post about Pocket Light Bible reader linked. Do check out the review and download and try it for yourself if you are looking for a Bible reader for your Windows Mobile/PocketPC device.
posted via Mo:Blog

Ancient Commentary Released by Laridian
From PocketPC Thoughts, Laridian Releases Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture

Laridian has just released bundle 1 of the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. When done, this will be a 28 book series covering the entire Bible. It contains the writings of such early church fathers as Augustine, Jerome, Origen, Tertullian and dozens of others...

they range from 750KB to 1.1MB, whereas bible translations are usually in the 2.5-3MB range, so each book has roughly one third the text of the entire bible. They are $19.99 each, or $199.99 for all 12 books.

According to the PPCT article, these codes also work with Palm OS devices.
posted via Mo:Blog

Ministering Effectively in this Information Age
One of the hardest things to do today in this time where information is both easily accessible and plentiful is to figure out how to manage it with the unchanging nature of our faith.

An article at Church Relevance speaks on a perspective to take that will not on keep you from feeing overloaded, but also provide some navigation to you in these info-heavy times.
posted via Mo:Blog

I Wonder...

if the church will take a harder look at QR codes and similar tecnology now that the NY Times has.

Statement from Kathy Sierra and Chris Locke

Last week, we posted about a issue of a blogger being threatened via her blog and other means and how it basically took her off the blogsphere. Released today was a statement by both kathy Sierra and Chris Locke in advance of an CNN Video article on the subject.

The model of discourse that has happened between Chris and Kathy is something that we all should look to have towards one another, rather than using the invisiblity of online communication to bruse one another.

MMM Meetup, April 14th 3pm
OK folks, it might be a bit of a short notice for some, but if you will be in the Annapolis, MD area on April the 14th, Mobile Ministry Magazine will be having its second meetup.

The agenda is not finalized just yet, but the location (the Starbucks at the Annapolis Harbor Center) is. So, contact us if you are coming so that we can have a good headcount and not overrun customers who would be there otherwise.

More information to come in the coming days and weeks.
posted via Mo:Blog