It appears that Microsoft has finally wised-up and will stop using year numbers in their product names. So, instead of Windows Mobile 2005, we’re gonna get Windows Mobile 5. Thank goodness!

WM5 will upgrade the default applications like Word Mobile (the artist formally know as Pocket Word) and Excel, support hard drives, enable syncing over Bluetooth, support USB 2.0 and — best of all — keep your data persistent when the battery dies. I’ve put together a bunch of links related to WM5.

• Dave’s PDA reviews of all the new features — a good round up.
• Here’s a video of Bill Gates introducing it (look for the video entitled Bill Gates Keynote from the Microsoft Mobile & Embedded Developers Conference in Las Vegas)
• A Microsoft presentation on WM5.
• Engadget’s take on it
• And a post saying that Dell will offer an upgrade for Axim x50 owners. Giddy up!

I’m slightly obsessed with the weather. I’ve probably got over 100 bookmarks specific to just weather information. We’re talking wind info, fog images, pressure images, jet stream info, the real-deal-weather-forecast (and super-esoteric) NOAA area forecast discussion, tropical storm maps, Quickscat satellite seawind scatterometer, etc., etc., etc.

Once you get your bookmarks set on the Dell, it does a great job of rendering most weather sites. Here are a few examples:

SF Bay area forecast discussion
Northeast Pacific satellite pressure image
Bay Area winds

So, where ever you can get some WiFi on, you can get to whatever web obsession you have… instantly. The Dell Axim X50v is probably the best $380 bucks I ever spent. Dude, get your credit card out and www Michael today.

Knock, knock Nokia. It’s been a long time since I’ve wanted to buy anything from you. Remember back in the late 90s when Nokia phones were it? The pinnacle of Nokia’s hipness was probably the 8110, aka the Matrix phone.

Neo convinces Nokia to move their design team to the Matrix

Since successfully hacking into the Matrix, Nokia has come up with some design doozies. Let’s review a couple of Nokia’s greatest misses of the 21st century beamed directly to us from deep, deep within the Matrix.

How about the famous side-talking, first-generation N-Gage?

1/2 game machine, 1/2 phone, but mostly neither.

Or how about this one… the Nokia 3600? Works great — just as long as you don’t actually use any of the buttons. Who needs SMS anyway?

Push a button, any button… if you can find it.

And there’s a bunch of others, but no need to pile on. Recently however, it looks like Nokia just might just be regaining a clue regarding design. For example, there’s the Nokia 8800… a phone that actually looks, dare I say, kewl.

Nokia escapes from the Matrix?

Oh, and then there is the much-hyped, up-coming N91. The N91 is rumored to have a 4GB hard drive, an industry-standard 3.5mm headphone jack, support for of MP3, M4A, AAC, and WMA audio files, USB 2.0, 3G (WCDMA) and both built-in WiFi and Bluetooth. All for the low, low price of $900.

Lust-worthy gear from Nokia? Who would have thunk it?

I’m still really happy with my Audiovox SMT5600, so it’s going to take a lot to get me to switch phones. However, in a year and a half when my contract is up, I just might consider buying a Nokia. Hey, even being considered is a big step up for Nokia in my book. Welcome back from the Matrix.