Sammy's Review of the Week

>Starting with Palm news as we always do and Palm, this week announced that it will make the Palm(R) Treo(TM) 750 smartphone compatible with Microsoft System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008, delivering increased security and easier phone management, as well as access to information on the corporate network. IT professionals will be able to confidently manage large Treo 750 deployments with features such as policy enforcement, inventory and reporting, and software targeting. Mobile Device Manager is a comprehensive management solution that enables efficient control of Windows Mobile phones, such as the Treo 750 smartphone, by providing reliable, low-cost consistent manageability within a company's existing Microsoft infrastructure. "Increasingly, businesses turn to smartphones to provide tools to enhance their mobile productivity - whether it's accessing contacts, calendars or line of business applications," said Pieter Knook, senior vice president of Mobile Communications Business at Microsoft Corp. "Palm's support for System Center Mobile Device Manager will help IT departments make the most of their Microsoft mobile investments in three strategic areas: security management, Windows Mobile phone management and access to information."

>Next on Palm's agenda and Palm(R) Treo(TM) and Centro(TM) smartphone users and GPS enthusiasts in the United States and Canada, Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq:PALM) and Garmin(R) International, Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq:GRMN), today announced a Palm GPS Navigator featuring Garmin Mobile(TM) XT software for the first time. Drivers using the new GPS Navigator with their Palm smartphones can rely on turn-by-turn, voice-prompted directions to easily find their destinations as well as millions of points of interest, updated traffic, fuel prices, hotel prices and weather forecasts.(1) Expected late November, the Palm GPS Navigator featuring Garmin software will be $249 USD. The Palm GPS Navigator with Garmin Mobile XT Software is expected to attract new users to the mobile-phone GPS market. According to a report by Canalys, the mobile navigation space has maintained a frenetic pace during the last 12 months, with some vendors seeing year-on-year doubling of shipments or better.

>More big Palm news this week and Palm Closed Strategic Recapitalization with Elevation Partners. Rubinstein Named Executive Chairman, Anderson and McNamee Join Board. "Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq:PALM) today announced that its recapitalization plan with the private-equity firm Elevation Partners ("Elevation") has closed, positioning Palm to lead the next phase of the smartphone and mobile-computing markets. Elevation has invested $325 million in Palm, and the company will utilize these proceeds along with existing cash and $400 million of new debt to finance a $9 per share cash distribution. Palm shareholders of record as of Oct. 24, 4 p.m. EDT, should receive the cash distribution within approximately 10 business days.
Jon Rubinstein, former senior vice president of hardware engineering and head of the iPod division at Apple, has joined Palm as executive chairman of the board, and Fred Anderson and Roger McNamee, managing directors and co-founders of Elevation, have joined Palm's board of directors. Rubinstein, Anderson, and McNamee replace Eric Benhamou and Bruce Dunlevie, who resigned from Palm's board of directors. The total number of directors on the board has been increased from eight to nine in connection with the transaction."

>Additionally the Treo 750 landed in Equador. "Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq:PALM) and PORTA today announced the Palm(R) Treo(TM) 750 smartphone in Ecuador, the first Windows Mobile based Treo smartphone to take advantage of PORTA's network.(1) The Treo 750 offers the world-class Palm experience on Microsoft's Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system. The Treo 750 combines a multifeatured mobile phone with email, messaging, web browsing and organization software all in a compact design. It has UMTS/HSDPA (High-speed Download Packet Access) capability and comes with Microsoft's Direct Push Technology for Windows Mobile 5.0, which gives users connected to a Microsoft Exchange Server fast, automatic and secure wireless updates of their email, calendar items, contacts and tasks.(2) Also, PORTA customers that purchase the Treo 750 today can upgrade to Windows Mobile 6 later this year. More information about the Palm Treo 750 smartphone is available at http://www.palm.com/us/products/smartphones/treo750/."

>Eric Mann caught some financial bad news over at Barrons this week. " This from Barrons "WE ARE LOWERING OUR RATING on Palm from Peer Perform to Underperform on valuation given the recent appreciation in the stock. The completion of its recapitalization [including a $325 million investment by Elevation Partners] announced Wednesday, along with the addition of ex-Apple executives to Palm's board of directors, creates optimism regarding potential revamp of its products and improvements in execution. From a larger perspective, as a device-only company, Palm's success depends on its ability to create and deliver the next "hot" products. If [new executive chairman] Jon Rubinstein can duplicate the success he had at Apple -- leading the team that created the first iMac that led to Apple's initial turnaround and later the iPod -- Palm could potentially emerge as a leading vendor of smart phones. Nonetheless, in the near term, Palm continues to face several challenges"

>Other significant news this week and I received this email from Karel and Eric Mann on Saturday. Hi Sammy, Got news for you and your PalmAddict readers: one of the members on our Palmclub.nl (Dutch Palm User Group) has pointed out that the long-awaited Windows Mobile 6-update for the unbranded Palm Treo 750 is available for download on the Palm site. Not through the 'official' download page, that is still listig it as "Coming Soon", but through some direct links to a download page and the file itself.
Palmclub.nl (Dutch Palm User Group) / Palm download link 1 & Palm download link 2

> Meanwhile, please remember to cast your vote for the best in the Palm community in the Palm Addict Reader Awards 2007 Survey which you can find at this link. The survey is open for the remainder of the year and in December we will publish the results as we do every year.

Now on to post on PalmAddict that have caught my attention this week:

>Peter Arts wrote a fine editorial entitled Palm's Marketing Is a Mis-firing Message. "Build the better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door." That is a load of bollocks, as anyone in Sales and Marketing well knows. Instead, it should read: "Do a better job of marketing your mousetrap, and you'll always beat a better-built product." Don't believe me? Well, when's the last time you plunked down hard cash for one of those tasteless, gray discs that McDonald's dares to call hamburgers? McDonald's marketing is so good, that we forget the taste of hand-pressed chop meat, cooked to perfectlion on the backyard grill. Nope, we humans love to be convinced of things that defy logic."

>Paul Biba tells PA readers what Gmail IMAP is all about and what exactly it means to us. "The ability to use IMAP in Gmail is a huge advantage for Google and puts Microsoft and Yahoo behind the 8 ball in terms of catchup. For those of you who are not mail freaks, here is what this new addition does. Previously Gmail only had POP functionality. This meant that if you read your mail on Machine 1 using a mail program such as Thunderbird or Eurdora and archived or deleted some of it, when you went to another computer and used your mail program you would find all the mail still sitting in the inbox waiting for you. Changes made on one computer would not carry over to another computer unless they were made using the web interface from a browser. In other words, there is two way communication between your mail client, desktop or mobile, and Gmail. Everything will always remain in sync."

> Additionally Peter also reviewed the Treo 755p. "Continuing in this quest to trade quality for stockholder dividend, Palm replaced the former metal strips on the sides of the Treo with cheap plastic ones (if I seem to use the term 'cheap plastic' a lot, its because Palm put a lot of it onto this device). The fit and finish is poor in comparison to previous Treos, and the mini-SD door never lines up cleanly. Finally, I will reiterate an old rant of mine: the design seems to have been inspired by a bar of soap. Don't believe me? Get your 755p, and then a bar of Palmolive, Irish Spring or whatever. Hold them up against a backlight to compare silhouettes, and see if you can tell them apart in the dark. Bet ya can't! Since this was a free upgrade under my Sprint warranty (happily, there were no more 700p's left to replace my old one with), I'm only partially annoyed. However, I will say that if I were shopping for a new smartphone, I would not buy the Treo 755p. The good stuff inside is not enough of a trade-off for an emasculated design, executed with the cheapest materials available. As I will be moving to a Blackberry 8830 in a few months (and giving this Treo to my father-in-law), I will hide it inside a case until that time"

> So this was a good week for Apple. "Apple saw its profits surge by 67% in the three months to the end of September, thanks to demand for its computers and iPods. The firm said it had also sold more than one million of its new iPhone, helping it make $904m (£444.5m) in the period, against $542m a year before."

> Dashware makes using your mobile phone easier from your computer. "Dashwire, Inc. today unveiled its innovative solution for mobile phone users that automatically mirrors the content on a phone to the web, making it significantly easier to manage, enhance, and share mobile experiences – no cables required.
“The potential around web-connected phones and services is the biggest opportunity in the wireless industry,” said Ford Davidson, CEO and founder of Dashwire. “Mobile phone buyers are excited by the possibilities of their phones only to find that they can’t easily gain access to the rich features beyond making phone calls. And the instruction manual isn’t cutting it – even for simple tasks. With Dashwire, we took a different approach by automatically mirroring your phone to your computer screen to deliver an amazing end-to-end solution that enhances the experience of owning a phone.”"

> For those with Windows Mobile devices, Mobility Site did a video review, well more of a first look at Spb Pocket Plus 4.0

> This week Ultrasoft Money was updated to version 5.1.1 and resolves the following fixes: Editing split transactions would cause a reset on Palm OS 3.0 devices. Archiving accounts on the handheld would cause a "record count mismatch" error upon synchronization. Certain characters in the users HotSync ID would result in an illegal intermediate database file path. This is the latest release of Ultrasoft Money version 5. It is free to registered users of the downloadable version of Ultrasoft Money 5.0 or later. Click here to log in and install the update, or to upgrade from a previous version. As always Ultrasoft Money is good for both Palm OS and our Windows Mobile friends.

>Bob Russell at MobileRead posted his thoughts on the Sony Reader PRS-505 and I think he likes it. As with most devices there are some good and bad points but on the whole Bob is pleased. "The pure and simple conclusion is that the PRS-505 is great! This device is a huge improvement for the average person on the street. The improved contrast is significant in room lighting, the buttons are arranged much better, and there is no longer that scary circle case connector on the back. As much as I like my PRS-500, it already looks like it's a 5 year old dinosaur next to the nicely updated look of the new model. Even though there is not actually a lot of difference in the specs between the two, the changes in the buttons and screen are striking and effective, and are a surprisingly strong motivation to upgrade."

>I wrote a quick editorial on how my Treo 680 helps keep my sanity. "There are serious days when I will dream of email piling up into a mountain to the point where it's its almost too difficult to challenge but you know thankfully my Treo 680 helps to keep on top of it all. I probably get about 300 emails a day through websites, PalmAddict and my work and I need to be able to try and keep on top if it. I use Versamail to filter by name my friends emails so that I can read them first, these are the email as that are, say more interesting and need a quicker response, then come my work email and of course my business and websites mail. I think that if I didn't have my Treo 680 to manage my email then I would be so unorganised and I know that email would never get answered because I would be at the stage where I would just give up"

>Earlier in the week we reported that BusinessWeek wrote an editorial on Palm's Fading Lifeline. "Hi Sammy, I came across this article when reading Business Week today. The gist of the article is that Palm has lost its way, and while the Centro may be a great product, it will not be enough to keep the company going for much longer. As Palm has no immediate plans to offer a new operating system, their prospects are limited. I have been using Palm products since nearly the beginning with the Palm III and am now currently using a TREO 650. While I think it is a great product, if Palm can not continue to innovate and retain their market share, they will have a very difficult time surviving for much longer. The question is how long do we stick it out? I know that there are die-hard Newton owners who keep developing applications for it, but I can't see myself investing that much time and energy into a project like that."

>It seemed in a recent PalmAddict survey 47% of you use your Palm device to surf the internet.

>Did you know that you can fax from your cameraphone on your Treo? "Kust noticed a useful feature in previously mentioned document scanner service, Qipit: the ability to fax your document scans, effectively turning your camera (or cameraphone!) into an outgoing fax machine." Gizmodo.

>MobileRead and JK On The Run both reported that eReader for Windows Mobile was now being offered for free.

> Tom Hormby at Silicon User wrote very good editorial looking at the history of Palm. "Palm Computing was largely the creation and vision of one man, Jeff Hawkins. Palm first brought tablet computing to consumers in the form of PDA's (though was beaten by Apple and its scions). The later, and more momentous goal, was to bring consumers to PDA's through simple and very fast user interfaces. This second goal brought us the original Pilot, and an entirely new form-factor that millions embraced. It was only until the introduction of multimedia-rich smart-phones did Palm stumble, though it remains one of the leading manufacturers." It's a very good archive piece and one to grab a coffee and take a read of.

>Kevin Agot did a good review of the Thylus’ Thumb Stylus. "Thylus’ Thumb Stylus is a unique writing instrument unlike anything you’ve ever seen on the market today. Over the years, I have used a variety of styli that come in the forms of multi-functional pens or styli that are a little thicker than coffee stirring sticks. However, Thylus has come up with a one-of-a-kind product that may revolutionize how you input data into your PDA, iPhone or other electronic device. (Admittedly, I don’t have an iPhone, but I can easily see how this instrument can save on smudging up the touch-screens found on that product. I have also used this on my Nintendo DS Lite and it worked fabulously)!"

> The BBC promote their BBC News website by showing how journalists use their computers including Blackberry devices to file news pieces in the field. Would have been nice to see a Treo in there somewhere.

>Technical blog TamsPalm brings up an interesting possible trademark issue for Palm. "Apparently, Palm wasn’t the first company to have the idea to call a product Centro. Google AdSense has produced the following, pretty interesting URL: http://www.centro.de/ Following this link leads you to a German shopping mall/entertainment center containing a variety of companies. The mall was opened 1996; and is located in a village called Oberhausen."

>Software news and there was a recent update to the excellent Palm OS program, Finance Genius. "here has been an update to Finance Genius. "Finance Genius is a powerful financial calculator. Calculates Compound Interest, Continuous Compounding, Present Value / Rate of Return, Composite Investments, Bond Yield, Annuity, Mortgage etc.
More that 50 financial templates.
Currency Converter with wireless updating support.
LIVE rates for Currency.
Get your Stock Symbol data from the market.
Runs on all Palm handhelds with OS 3.5 and higher.
Made for business people and all others.
Logical and intuitive interface.
Free upgrades.""

>A BlackBerry 8820 arrived at PalmAddict Towers this week. "and no it's not forming part of a contest at the moment. RIM have sent PalmAddict Towers a nice shiny new Blackberry 8820, and I have just switched on and I like, it's slimmer than my Treo 680 and I look forward to having a play with this device. I think the Blackberry and the Palm communities are very similar. "

> I talked this week about how Diddlebug on my Palm device is the best way to replace "post it" notes. "It took me a while to stop using post it notes and get into the habit of using Diddlebug on my Palm device, then it was the Tungsten C, but now I hate using post it's. You see when I am on the phone or just need to make a quick note I will open up Diddlebug on my Treo 680 and just write whatever it is I need to. Whether it's a quick reminder or someone's telephone number, it's a very good replacement and I can just delete accordingly."

> Tech Palm Blog, TamsPalm got to see a demo of StyleTap running on a m600i recently. "We have just managed to get a hold of Gregoy Sokoloff from StyleTap(the guys behind the Palm OS emulator for PocketPC) at the Symbian Smartphone Show. Gary brought along a m600i and demoed us the current state of StyleTap on the machine" TamsPalm for the deets.

>How difficult is it to choose a mobile phone? Well Murray at PalmMac this week wrote a few thoughts on the issue. "My wife's contract with Orange is finally up in a couple of weeks and we will be moving to another carrier to get a better deal. Some of Orange's "upgrades" for existing customers are pretty poor in comparison to what can be obtained from a new provider. My wife said to me..."can you arrange it for me?" and I said no problem, that will be fun. "What sort of phone would you like?" I asked..."slider, clamshell or candybar?" "errr?" "you know, one that slides up or has a flip over cover, like your Motorola V3, or one that has no cover at all" 'It doesn't matter""

>HobbyistSoftare introduced loads of changes to their Palm OS programs this week including the excellent Butler.

>Rich Kendrick this week wrote us an excellent editorial called IMAP with Snappermail, looking at how this excellent email program works with IMPA accounts, a very good read. "About a week ago, my email provider (finally) upgraded their servers from POP3 to IMAP. I have been thinking about the advantages that IMAP would serve for me for more than a year now, but faced with the undesireable prospect of forwarding all my mail to a freemail IMAP service (or paying for it; ick!), I just left well enough alone. But now I have it! I no sooner finished reading the announcement email than I went and upgraded my Snappermail license to the enterprise edition. Understanding how Snappermail handles IMAP, as compared to POP, took a little browse through the manual. The gist of it is, your IMAP server gets its own root folder, with all of your IMAP and related local folders layed out beneath it. Your previous inbox and local folders are left under the root folder called 'local folders.' Once that's done, you create whatever local folders you want, and optionally link them to the IMAP server folders. Snapper can also optionally keep track of 'Ghost' messages, which no longer reside on the server."

>1SRC posted a review of Astraware Boardgames. "Astraware Boardgames is a must have for any handheld or smartphone owners who have kids or is just a big kid inside. My girls love playing Tic Tac Toe and Snakes & Ladders; which is great because it really comes in handy when I need to keep them occupied while we are out and about. If you enjoy playing board games, Astraware Boardgames captures the spirit of the classic tabletop games."

>Whilst GMAIL went IMAP we found out that Versamail was not supported :-(. Maybe Palm will introduce a update.

>Sena introduced a number of new cases for the Centro. "uxury handheld device accessory designer, Sena Cases, announces the launch of its new collection of cases for Palm Centro. Created to enhance its functional design and modern flair, the cases provide the ultimate insurance to protect the Centro from wear and tear.
Known for manufacturing premium portable device cases from the finest quality and most coveted leathers in the world, Sena’s cases are precisely hand-stitched by leather artisans. Every design offers exceptional details to enhance the functionality of each specific device. The Palm Centro cases are available in two styles LeatherSkin and the MagnetFlipper."

>Other Palm OS software titles to get updated this week included Softick Audio Gateway 1.17 now supports AVRCP on Palm Centro Smartphones! The excellent MagicButton has been updated.

>In other mobile technology news RIM introduced Facebook for Blackberry devices. "e stay with mobile technology news and Daniel has sent this in regards to those of you with Blackberry devices. "Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM) today launched Facebook® for BlackBerry® Smartphones, an exciting new BlackBerry software application that enables fast, streamlined and optimized mobile access to the popular Facebook social utility using a BlackBerry smartphone. The application leverages the push-based BlackBerry system architecture and Facebook Platform to create an unparalleled mobile experience for Facebook users. Mike Lazaridis, founder of Research In Motion, will join Dustin Moskovitz, co-founder of Facebook, to formally unveil and demonstrate the Facebook for BlackBerry Smartphones application today at the CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment show in San Francisco. T-Mobile USA has been selected to be the first carrier to provide the new software application to its customers." Facebook users will be able to download the application at www.facebook.com from their PC or BlackBerry smartphone beginning later today."

>Julie at The Gadgeteer did a very good review of the Palm Centro. "This is the point in the review where I'm trying to think of what more I can say about this product. The thing is that there is no innovation in the Centro. The software is the same as it's been for a long while now. Really, the main features of this phone are a smaller form factor than previous Palm phones, and the excellent price. You can pick up a Centro from Sprint for $99 if you opt for a 2yr contract. That's crazy cheap for a great little phone like this one. If you compare the specs of the $199 Palm Treo 755p to the Centro, you'll find that it has the same processor, same screen resolution and same camera resolution. The 755p does have twice the RAM though."

>darwin100 is off to India with his Treo device. "Could not be without my treo. It will be my main sorce of entertainment on the very long flight from SF to Kokata. I have audio books, 3 movies and multiple games to keep me out of trouble while flying. I have a case with multiple 2GIG SD cards so lots of storage for maps and travel info. I have contact names and addresses stored. When I arrive I will get a new Indian SIM card so I can make calls to make arrangements. I also have a time GPS which blue tooths to my treo so I will not get too lost. and can avail myself of any opportunities for finding a geocache. I also check news...keep in touch with my 90 year old mother and review pictures while on the road. Addresses to keep friends informed of my adventures are close at hand. If the treo had wifi all would be totally perfect....but it is as clsoe to perfect as I need."

>TreoCentral reviewed Gx5's Ultimate Phone. "t is amazing how much more we demand from mobile technology when compared to just a few years ago. A few years back, I was flabbergasted by the extreme portability and versatility of the Motorola's insanely popular Star-Tac line. It seemed like THAT was the cell phone to own. Before my first Treo, I purchased one of their shiny silver TimePort editions, moving up in the world from one of their kludgey “brick” models, into the new world of “digital phones”. Looking back, the Treo seems a huge leap from that tiny Silver phone with a miniscule four-line monochrome display and a thin, pull-out antenna that broke on a monthly basis, and yet, every year phones got smarter and more sophisticated."

Pictures of the so called Treo 800w started circling from TreoCentral started appearing on the website, I personally don't like the design of the it as I wrote in this editorial. "In regards to future Treo design, the Treo 800w design doesnt really do anything for me I am afraid. I think the Centro design was pretty much spot on but as for the 800w I really don't like the design and in my opinion a step backwards. So what design would I like to see in future? Well personally I'd like to see a design on the samelines as the Samsung Blackjack. I like how slim it is, the keyboard is nice to use and very easy to type on. The screen size is awesome and I like the scroll wheel because it allows me to navigate nicely. Of course I would like a device that allows for excellent battery life and integrated wifi, and yes maybe the Treo 800w will have these specs but on the whole the Blackjack design is pretty neat."

>Meanwhile Tadd at myTreo.net calls bluff on the picture thinking it could be a fake.

>Walk Mossberg discussed mobile rights and how the big phone carriers act in his editorial entitled Free My Phone. "Suppose you own a Dell computer, and you decide to replace it with a Sony. You don’t have to get the permission of your Internet service provider to do so, or even tell the provider about it. You can just pack up the old machine and set up the new one. Now, suppose your new computer came with a particular Web browser or online music service, but you’d prefer a different one. You can just download and install the new software, and uninstall the old one. You can sign up for a new music service and cancel the old one. And, once again, you don’t need to even notify your Internet provider, let alone seek its permission."

>AOL debited an extensive array of new mobile services at CTIA Show this week including new products for Windows Mobile. "Services Reflect AOL’s Renewed Commitment to Creating Rich, User-Tailored Experiences and Opportunities for Mobile Consumers to Share Their Lives. Unveils New AOL.com WAP Portal, AOL MyMobile Software, Mobile AIM Services and Winamp Remote"

>Alison at Astraware reminded us. " If you’re using a Palm device, you can enable IMAP on your Gmail and rather than having to use Snappermail, you can just install the Java VM and the Gmail app on your Treo, and that works just fine." - http://gmail.com/app

> Chris Pierce tells us how he enjoys using his Palm IIIc. "Why do I love my PDA? Let me count the ways...hold on, I made a list on my IIIc and I need to consult it. I'm an organization nut. I have to be. If I wasn't, I'd forget everything. So I use my Palm to keep track of all the phone numbers, addresses and birthdays of pretty much everyone I know (well, at least the ones I care to remember). All through college, my room was littered with Post-It notes. Covering my calendar, desk and mirror so I could keep up with everything. Once I finally got my Palm IIIc, I was finally able to quit killing the little yellow trees those sticky notes come from and jump into the digital age."

>Good news for US consumists perhaps? Caught over at the Engadget. "An under-the-radar class action lawsuit against Sprint Nextel is winding its way towards a settlement this week, and it contains a pretty huge concession by Sprint: the company will unlock phones for both current and former customers, and will begin training its customer service reps on how to connect non-Sprint phones to its network. The settlement was tentatively approved by a California judge on October 2, but hasn't had a final approval hearing yet, according to Sprint -- but it's still a huge win for US consumers, who haven't been able to buy mainstream unlocked phones from any of the major carriers."

>The Gadgeteer did one of their excellent Palm OS reviews this time for Slow-Cooked Software ScrapBook "One of my favorite MS-DOS applications was a program called InfoSelect. InfoSelect gave me a functionally endless stack of small note cards and a great search tool. Make a note, any kind- contacts information, scheduling details, grocery list, books to find, phone messages, etc.- and InfoSelect would store it for you, and find it in a heartbeat. To sweeten the pot, you could create reusable forms, color-code things, and much more. It was sweet." Also read Julie's thought's of upgrading to Leopard. "

> I got home late one night this week and as I was updating PalmAddict I am listening to one of my favourite podcasts and thats the MobileGadgeteer and JK On The Run podcast and you can listen to it here.

>Raul Reynoso Casas looked at some of the most popular Palm email programs to see if they worked with Gmail's IMAP functionality. "Hi Sammy, I am testing some email clients on my Treo 600 to access my GMail account thru IMAP, and this are the results so far..."

>Michael Goldberg wrote a very detailed editorial [it's more of an open letter] that we posted entitled Palm OS, The Thrill Is Gone. Interesting, fun blog post. what are other longtime Palm OS users thinking? "Dear Palm OS: It's been a wonderful seven years since you and I met through Handspring Visor. But I'm afraid the thrill is gone. And unless you do something really crazy—say, like buy into Apple's opening its iPhone and iPod Touch interface to software developers—then I'm afraid I'm going to have to move on. Which is a shame, because I really really want us to stay together. At least on the software side of life.
I remember buying you for $250 at a CompUSA at this time of year in 2000. It seemed like a crazy sum at the time for a handheld organizer with what, 16 MB of memory? Ah, but it didn't matter. "

>PalmDiscovery wrote a very good camera comparison between Treo's 755p vs 650. "Palm Discovery.net would like to extend a BIG THANKS again to Amy Clark of Environics for providing the product for this review. Many may have noticed that I omitted going through the camera and camcorder application on the Treo 755p smartphone when I did the original review of it here. So, I have created a special one instead and made it into an additional posting since it seemed the 755p review is a bit long and I tend to dislike breaking them down into parts. Here are some photos and videos taken with both the Treo 755p and the Treo 650 smartphones. For each smartphone, I have provided 2 pictures, the first one taken with the normal 1X zoom and the second one taken with the 2X digital zoom. Then, underneath, a short video clip."

>I enjoyed Christopher's piece entitled Palm and My Office Sound System. "My office has an old Macintosh with a small hard disk and precious little space left on it thanks to an installation of VirtualPC and Windows98. Thus little space is left for music files, and I usually work at home anyway so I have little incentive to leave or rip CDs in the office I use no more than 3 hours a week. In the past I've simply enjoyed streaming Internet radio played through my JBL Creature speakers, but increasingly I simply place my Palm TX in its charging cradle, plug the Creature's audio jack into the TX, and play my PocketTunes playlists. "

> There you go my PA friends, you cannot say that this week was a boring week in the world of Palm. Remember if you have Facebook and you want to be added to my friends list then you are more than welcome. Here is my Facebook profile. Enjoy the rest of the weekend and I will be back next weekend with my review of the week. Take care everyone.