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Andrew at Treonauts has set the following discount. "To celebrate the arrival of the AT&T Centro last week as well as the beginning of March we’ve created a very special 10% Off coupon valid until midnight PST on Sunday, March 3 across all of our accessory stores." Make the jump and go and spend.
[From Eric Mann] Sprint is now offering it's $99 unlimited plan and thanks to Eric for letting me know the Gizmodo link is now live. "It's not the super cheap $59 plan everyone was hoping for, but it's finally joined the other three carriers in offering a $99 unlimited plan. Sprint's version includes unlimited voice, data, text messages, Sprint TV, Sprint Music, GPS, Direct Connect and Group Connect. " Read in full.
MobileRead is a great website for all things ebook and ePublishing and is in fact one of my favourite websites and if ereaders are your thing, then the latest editorial TB storage for eBook readers..., may well be of interest. "
Please forgive the formatting of this post. I'm trying to explain something, but I'm not sure I'm very good at that.
BACKGROUND: I've been using my Sony PRS-505 for months now. (The Sony PRS-505 is an e-Ink based eBook reader & MP3 player that weighs under 1 pound, and has a battery life measured in days.) I love the ability to read books on the go, but regretting that everything has to be on a MSPD card or SD card. Those cards can cost $5 / GB, so they are too expensive to store a few terabytes (TB.)" MobileRead for the full read.
Mike Rohde writes an interesting editorial entitled DVD Recorders & Over The Air Digital TV. I always enjoy reading Mike Rohde's editorials. "After Christmas, I made the decision to buy to a DVD Recorder and digital tuner, which is one of the best TV gear purchases I've ever made. My plans for a new DVD recorder was to capture favorite TV shows (Heroes, The Office and Numb3rs) and convert DV tapes of Nathan and our VHS wedding video to DVD discs." Rohdesign for the full read.
When you delete program files from your Palm device you want to make sure you get rid of those pesky files that it leaves behind right? Of course you do and the Uninstall Manager does that for you. "Uninstall Manager saves valuable memory space while keeping your device clean and trouble-free. Make sure that newly installed applications will be completely removed when they are no longer needed. Sandbox, Recording mode, uninstallation rollbacks and so much more - This is what makes UM the best uninstaller around." Make the jump and check out Uninstall Manager.
A new 2000mAh battery for the Centro has just surprisingly been released by Sprint according to Palminfocenter today. "Available at the Sprint-Nextel online accessory store, the 2000mAh Extended battery appears to be considerably thicker than the stock Centro battery. The battery nearly doubles the juice provided by the stock 1150mAh battery and, at the same $49.99 as the 1150mAh Palm replacement battery, looks to be a better value for heavy-duty Centro users who can live with the added bulk and weight as well as a black battery door. Unfortunately, the purchase price of the battery does not include a new replacement door, so an additional $7.99 must be factored into the equation." Palminfocenter has the full deets.
This is quite cool its something called CellKeeper Original and its been reviewed over at TreoCentral. "Besides the wallet, the CellKeeper piggybacks a compartment for your favorite smartphone. This “device” pocket – that’s what the company calls it – accommodates any of my Treos or my Centro, but I find it most comfy with my Treo 680, and especially my Centro – the smaller Palm smartphones. The larger Treos fit the pocket, but they stick out a good ways, and although the elastic-laden snap flap secures them just fine, they peek out above the edge too much for my comfort. The Centro nestles into the pocket best, and the 680’s form factor – better known as “shape” – works quite well. I documented those two with the accompanying pictures. Being red (well, crimson, in the case of my 680), they look just great in the sandy “camel” colored, brown-trimmed pocket." TreoCentral for the full deets.
[From Hannah at Proporta] The HTC Touch Cruise is sleek, stylish, and compact, but big on features and with an LCD screen size that gives you excellent multimedia experience, you can see why it's such a popular mobile device. Featuring HTC’s innovative TouchFLO interface, the Touch Cruise is extremely easy to use. Using ordinary finger gestures, you can quickly browse through e-mails, web pages, messages, music, and images, making navigation a breeze.
Of course Proporta have stepped up, and as from next week will be providing fundamental protection for this extraordinary device.
First up we have the infamous Alu-Leather Case (HTC Touch Cruise). One of Proporta’s specialities, this case is precision moulded and therefore fits around your HTC Touch Cruise perfectly; protecting it against anything you wish to throw at it. It also features our trademark ‘Screen Saver System’, which uses a layer of rigid, lightweight aircraft grade aluminium to line the Case protecting it from crushing and impact shocks. So suitably custom made, you’ll never even need to remove the device from its case as it features all the necessary cut outs to give access to all ports and controls.
Next up in the case stakes is the Silicone Case (HTC Touch Cruise). This one is also cleverly precision moulded, but from impact absorbent silicone to provide a thin, yet really tough, protective skin keeping your HTC Touch Cruise safe and sound. It protects against all the effects from everyday use such as scratches and impact damage, aaaaaand the case need never be taken off the device, because in the same way as the Alu-Leather Case, all the necessary cut outs allow access to all ports and controls. Phew, what a case :0)
Proporta also know that one of their Advanced Screen Protectors will do the trick when it comes to protecting your precious device screen from scratches and dust evasion. We’ve even been able to increase the thickness without impairing screen brightness or clarity.
P.S. Plug two sets of stereo headphones into one standard 3.5mm stereo socket on your PDA/MP3 Player at the same time with the Proporta Stereo Y Splitter – and share the music :0)
Access Sammy via Twitter and Facebook 
If you want to keep up to date with my whereabouts then you can subscribe to my Twitter feed which you can access here. If your on Facebook then again you can access my Facebook Profile here.
You can now replace the battery in your iPhone if you feel daring enough for $25 from USB Fever according to iPhone Atlas. "If you’re willing to void your iPhone’s warranty and risk serious, irreparable damage to the unit, you can undercut Apple’s price of a replacement battery by more than $60. USB Fever is now selling a replacement battery for the iPhone, with an accompanying toolset and installation instructions, for $25. Though the product selling page doesn’t mention it, this type of installation generally requiring soldering." iPhone Atlas for the full story.
[From Jack Haslam] If you have a Windows Mobile Treo device then you may wish to check this out, a daylight saving time (DST) update. "A February 2008 daylight saving time (DST) update is available for Microsoft Windows Mobile-based devices. This update changes the time zone data to accommodate DST changes in several countries, as summarized in this article. This update is a cumulative update rollup that includes all the changes that were released in update 941898. " Make the jump.
[From Hans] PDAPerformance kill LineUp and Saguaro and posted the following on their website. "
Dear Customer,
This was an extremely difficult decision for us, but certainly a critical one that we had to make. Our most recent development efforts, namely LineUp and Saguaro, relied primarily on the success of Palm. You’ve most likely heard about the struggling Palm OS economy. Unfortunately, it’s affecting us as well in ways we never could have predicted.
We’ve poured our hearts into making both LineUp and Saguaro and agonized over every last detail in both the code and design. During development, if a portion of our code wasn’t exactly right, we’d redo it to perfection. We’re that fanatical about our software. But when it comes right down to it - we’re a team of entrepreneurs, programmers and designers that have to eat, too.
Many thanks go to all of our fans and customers who have supported us throughout our development. We’re sorry to say that after 6 successful years, we have to go. We’re sure there are many more opportunities that will present themselves in the future. So don’t worry about us. We’ll be fine. Chances are, someday you might find each of us out in unique industries doing what we love most – innovating." Shame because it looked like it had great potential and when I tried it, like many people I was impressed. You can watch my PATV reviewing it here.
[From PMullman] It seems that the Windows Mobile Developer Center website gets a new look. "Windows Mobile lets you re-use your existing Visual Studio and .NET development skills and server infrastructure to extend your applications to mobile devices and give users new experiences and solve new business problems." Make the jump.
[From Hans] The Pocket Now website has done a good video rebiew of Opera Mobile 9.5. "Here’s my video walk-through of an early Opera Mobile v9.5 Beta. There are some significant design flaws with this program, most notably the removal of the Windows Mobile bottom bar with softkey menus. This makes it impossible to use the browser with the highly efficient keyboard shortcuts found in the rest of Windows Mobile. Instead you have a series of “mystery meat” icons that require a stylus to actuate (and documentation to understand). So if you’re used to navigating your device with just the keyboard, Opera will likely prove frustrating to use. This seems unlikely to be fixed in the final version since their promotional material still shows the “mystery meat” toolbar. That will likely be a deal-breaker for Treo users. " More details and to read in full.
[From Eric Mann] Picture ID is fully compliant with the Centro. "Finally a full screen picture caller ID application for the Treo® PalmOS® smart phones. Assign any JPG or GIF picture as caller ID from Internal memory or from the external SD Card. Display the picture in full beautiful color with optional custom color fonts.
With full screen picture caller ID you can easily identify the caller. Assign different picture ID for different contacts. For caller’s that are not in your Contacts database you can assign a different picture. You can also assign a custom picture for caller’s who do not have caller ID information or blocked callers. Caller’s who have caller ID information PictureID can display the caller’s city location using the flexible AreaCode database. The included area code database is for North American. You can easily edit and add your own area codes.
PictureID also supports Contact groups. If you just want to assign a picture for a Group (Category) then it can be done very easily.
You have full control over the caller display information such as Caller’s name, city name and phone number. You can display none, all or anyone of the field in the picture ID screen.
PictureID is compatible with the Treo® phone application and 3rd party ringtone managers."
[From Eric Mann] TreoNaviText by RNS is going to prove useful to some of you. "This product was created for Handspring/palmOne Treo 600, Treo 650, and Treo 700p only. It will not work on other devices than Treo 600, Treo 650, or Treo 700p.
Normally, there is no way to quickly move the blinking cursor around text without removing the stylus or struggling with a fat and/or stubby finger.
Now you can do it!
Use the following Option and 5-Way Rocker combinations to move the cursor faster:
* Option+Left
* Option+Right
RNS:: TreoNaviText is a Preferences panel, which means its icon is not displayed among other applications (in a launcher), but it shows up as a new panel in the Palm OS preferences (the "Prefs" application). "
[From Denker] PALM (Nasdaq: PALM) and HOP-ON, INC. (Pink Sheets:HPNN) announced today a signed settlement has been reached regarding use and registration of the GRAFFITI trademark.
Hop-on, Inc. settled its trademark dispute with Access Systems Americas, Inc. (ASA), formerly known as PalmSource, Inc., via confidential agreement restricting release of terms. The case was in the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
Hop-on will continue to own and use the Graffiti and Graffiti Wireless Trademarks in the categories designated on their USPTO Trademark application, which include mobile phones and providing wireless services.
ASA will continue to own and use the Graffiti trademark for its handwriting recognition software, operating system software, telecommunication service software and other categories designated in ASA's Graffiti Trademark and trademark application with the USPTO.
[From Hans] Today ageet released AGEphone Mobile 2 for Windows Mobile 5 / 6. The new version version features support for WM devices without touchscreen as a first and a completely revamped user interface and settings.
ageet Corporation, the experienced Japanese producer of VoIP software products such as the Vista Sidebar and Google Sidebar VoIP Gadget "AGEphone Gadget" and possibly the world's smallest and lightest VoIP engine "microSIP Stack", today released a completely revised version 2 of "AGEphone Mobile" softphone. This program can be used to make VoIP phone calls on a PDA or Smartphone that is based on Windows Mobile 5.0 (for Pocket PC or Smartphone) or Windows Mobile 6 (Standard or Professional) and utilizes the fully SIP compatible VoIP engine “microSIP Stack” developed by ageet, which is extremely small, fast and therefore suited for mobile devices. AGEphone Mobile 2 has been enhanced to also support keyboard-only control on devices without a touch screen and has been optimized for portrait and landscape mode on a wide range of screen resolutions, so devices such as HTC MTeoR, AT&T 852, Motorola Q9 and many more are capable of taking full advantage of the features the program has to offer.
The dynamic interface went through a major overhaul to guarantee easy and finger-friendly use of the product. Whether AGEphone is installed on a touchscreen device or one limited to keypad input, navigation through the softphone’s GUI is quick and fluid. Context sensitive menus change according to what the program is currently doing, mapping the best action to the soft keys of the device and making it unnecessary to navigate through endless sub-menus. On touchscreen devices, there isn't much need for a stylus because most of the interactive buttons can be pressed with your finger.
When dialing a number, the user is supported by an intelligent auto complete function, and recent incoming or outgoing call's numbers are quickly accessible by a single click. Numbers that are inputted scale themselves to screen size to guarantee best readability. Both in portrait or landscape mode the available space is being used to its best.
AGEphone Mobile 2 offers several special functions such as the capability to use multiple VoIP services at once, essentially making yourself accessible through multiple phone numbers. It also introduces a Provider QuickSwitch with which the user can switch between his VoIP services by simply pressing a key or tapping the screen. This allows fast and easy selection of the most suitable service when placing a call - the best choice is just a click away.
Take advantage of the different profiles you can set your Agephone to. Have your device automatically answer an incoming call as if you pressed the "accept" button yourself. If you're away from the phone, send all your incoming calls straight to the answer machine. Even reject all calls if you're feeling the inclination to. The choice is yours to make just by pulling up your menu.
Furthermore AGEphone now offers a new power management section which allows you to control energy consumption. You could for instance keep your device’s wi-fi connection from automatically shutting down or advice AGEphone to activate wi-fi on startup.
AGEphone Mobile 2 now also utilizes the device’s integrated phone book application, allowing the user to instantly access previously added contacts and call them by VoIP on the spot.
The settings menu has also been completely revised. It offers clearly structured categories that are accessible by both keys and stylus, and assists the user with auto completion and preset values.
The "AGEphone Mobile 2" softphone can currently be purchased online via ageet Corporation's homepage, http://www.ageet.com/us/download.htm. The purchase price is $35 USD. Users who purchased "AGEphone for Windows Mobile 5.0" can get an upgrade for free. A free trial version is also available, and ageet offers customized OEM versions for interested business customers.
The iPhone Alley which is a very good iPhone Blog says that the first publicly available jailbreak solution for iPhone Software v1.1.4 has been released. iNdependence version 1.4 Beta 5 will jailbreak and unlock the latest iPhone software update, allowing users to install third party applications. Read in full.
[From Chan] The Palm Centro will be available in Singapore from March 6th with a recommended retail price of S$598 (inclusive of GST). It will be available in the White colour. Life starts after five o'clock. That's why there's the Palm® Centro™ smartphone. Palm Centro gives you voice, text, email and web1, all in a phone that's a lot smaller than you think. It even has a touchscreen and a full keyboard, so you can say L8R to those tricky keys on your cell phone. Carry names and numbers, shoot photos and video, and meet up with friends. Centro. Let's go."
Remember that IM+ All-in-One Mobile Messenger was recently updated to version 3.2. Chat with IM+ All-in-One Mobile Messenger within AIM®/iChat, MSN®/Windows Live™ Messenger, Yahoo!®, ICQ®, Jabber®, Google Talk™ and MySpace® IM from your Palm in real-time. Communicate with friends and colleagues wherever you are regardless of location and mobile operator. IM+ users can use the same accounts on mobile devices and PC regardless of changing mobile operator - it's very convenient for using in business trips. It also comes with a 7 day trial so you check it out. I have used this on my Blackberry Curve and by far it was the messenger program IMHO available.
[From PaulJ] a listen to the WMExperts Podcast, Episode 2 available now for your listening pleasure and available from the WMExperts website. Thanks to PaulJ who have me the heaqds up and thought I would enjoy listening and PaulJa you were right. "We're back a little later than we'd like, but we'll nail this puppy down eventually. This week I'm talking a bit about the Sprint Touch - specifically how Sprint managed to ruin TouchFLO by adding their own applications that feel like they're little more than attempts to pull more money out of you. Fortunately, there are ways to customize the TouchFLO cube on the Sprint Touch. They come to us courtesy of PPCGeeks. Links after the break!" Make the jump.
PDA24/7 has reviewed the Palm Centro. "The Palm Centro has burst onto the UK market with barely a whimper, and is not setting the global smartphone market alight with stories of massive sales and a whole new generation of smartphone users loving their first smartphone. This is to be expected in a world of multi-connected smartphones that include GPS chips and all sorts of other gimmicks that make so many of us trade up so often." Read in full.
Another great game that I have been playing a great deal of recently is WordPop, in fact I love word games and this game goes down as one of my favourites so I make no apologies for mentioning on PA periodically. "Clear the board by creating words! As you pop each word from the board, there are fewer and fewer letters left. Plan ahead to win the round and the game. FREE trial" Make the jump and download the free trial.
[From Miles Shepperton] If you have a Windows Mobile device then take a look at the newly released Speero Voice Reminder. "By releasing the new Speereo™ Voice Reminder, we bridge the gap between Dictaphone with its ability to save large amount of voice information and an Organizer with its rich functions of time planner.
Speereo™ Voice Reminder can automatically inform you of various types of events such as meetings, appointments, calls, etc. It is controlled by speech commands. It will take you just several minutes to get used to the interface. Advanced functions are also available at any time.
Mr. Maleev, CTO: "There are dozens of PIM's & Organizers out there on the Software Market. They tend to evolve to more functional yet complicated applications. But only few developers take advantage of speech recognition capabilities. ХХI Century will be the break-through century for Speech recognition. The deal is in allowing users to set free from unnatural means of input, like styluses and keyboards. Not many companies dare to do so”.
In Speereo™ Voice Reminder all voice communication is based on human-types of dialogues. The program leads you by asking simple questions so you won’t need to stare at the screen while setting up a reminder any more.
Now you can set up any arrangement for any day in your calendar and attach a voice file and never be afraid that your recording may get lost somewhere among other files. Later you can listen up to your voice comment and easily recover all the details: when you hear the note with your unique intonation the program will virtually take you back to the time it was recorded. Every single thought you had then will come back to your mind to revive an entire picture.
Unlimited reminder length allows dictating as much information as you need. Enjoy your newly obtained free time by avoiding the mess with small keyboard or stylus – just talk!
15-day Trial is available for evaluation purposes. The program is compatible with all Windows Mobile devices. Free download from: http://www.personal-secretary.com/download"
Got some spare time? Check out the excellent Bubblets game, one of the most addictive Palm games that I have played and be prepared not to get any work done. "Read no further if you have deadlines to meet. Bubblet is a puzzle game for color and grayscale Palm OS devices that is simply addicting. Match similar patterned bubbles together in order to burst them from the board. The more bubbles you burst at once, the more points you receive.
Bubblet will run on all Palm OS devices and features high resolution graphics on the new Palm OS 5 units and Sony CLIE color devices running previous versions of the Palm OS. Bubblet is shareware and will expire in 15 days. If you like it (and we think you will), simply click below to register your copy for the small price of $12. " Make the jump at oopsdreams.
MyTreo has a video demonstration of Opera Mobile 9.5, "We recently received a demonstration of Opera 9.5, by far the most popular third party browser for Windows Mobile. This new version represents a substantial improvement over earlier ones, with similar navigation and display capabilities to the iPhone. It also has much more advanced navigation and bookmarking features. If you are a Windows Mobile Treo owner, we believe Opera is highly worth checking out." Make the jump and watch the video.
FOR TODAY ONLY GIVEAWAY: UBIQUIO 501 running Windows Mobile 6 
OK, as we are still having a bit of a clear out at the moment, Lindsey back in the office is giving away a UBIQUIO 501 it is running Windows Mobile 6. It is about a year old and they are good devices as we have used a couple of them in the office and today we are giving one away. Usual guidelines, we want a user thought or a mobile thought WITH A TITLE or we cannot enter you. Please put THURSDAY in the subject line and please do not resend something you have already sent and no self site or software promoting. Also we will enter you into the main contest so please remember to tell us whether you want the Nokia or the ASUS. The contest is open until midnight US PT tonight and I will draw a name at random - sammymcloughlin@gmail.com
You can read a good review of the device which also sports a 2 megapixel camera here at MSMobiles.com
Apple still on track to sell 10 million iPhones this year. "Although we'd been hearing that Apple had slowed down iPhone production, the company is still on track to hit its goal of selling 10m units this year, according to COO Tim Cook. Cook, speaking at a Goldman Sachs investor's conference in Vegas, also said that "Apple is not married to the single, exclusive-carrier model," and that Apple is open to new ways of selling the iPhone." Engadget for the deets.
This is quite a funny story that I spotted on the Engadget website. "Texas Instruments and others have been touting mini (or pico) projectors without hesitation as of late, but it seems that not everyone is quite so excited about them, with some folks now even warning about a number of potential dangers. One of those naysayers is Future Laboratory founder Martin Raymond, who told the BBC that while the projectors (likely to be used primarily in cellphones) are "appealing initially," he has concerns about the devices causing "visual pollution," adding that there could be "inappropriate showing of things that maybe other people shouldn't be seeing." " New laws could be in place to control what can be seen and cannot be seen and Engadget has all the deets.
News for my home country this morning, iPhone launching in Ireland on March 14th? "Looks like the iPhone is launching in Ireland with O2 on March 14th, according to Pocket-lint. It's supposed to go for the low, low price of €399 (including VAT) on the 8GB and €499 for the 16GB; we haven't heard anything solid either way, but we'll let you know if we do (and you do the same, would ya?)." The Engadget has the deets on this one.
Just caught this editorial from Palminfocenter on facts coming up from the Centro FCC Docs, did you know the internal name for it was the Treo 685? "Some light can possible be shed on the reasons for the tardy GSM Centro in some recently-released FCC filings. As posted by Engadget Mobile, these filings reveal some rather interesting details. First of all, the Centro’s internal name is the Treo 685, which is exactly what some earlier rumors had suggested and we discussed in a December report. This comes as no surprise whatsoever since the CDMA version is coined the "Treo 690" (presumably the EVDO radio gives the CDMA version the advantage of a higher model number!)." Palminfocenter for the full read.
[From Eric Mann] PictureID is currently reduced at the moment and is reduced to $9.95 until the end of this month which means it's only at the low price for a couple of days. "Finally a full screen picture caller ID application for the Treo® PalmOS® smart phones. Assign any JPG or GIF picture as caller ID from Internal memory or from the external SD Card. Display the picture in full beautiful color with optional custom color fonts.
With full screen picture caller ID you can easily identify the caller. Assign different picture ID for different contacts. For caller’s that are not in your Contacts database you can assign a different picture. You can also assign a custom picture for caller’s who do not have caller ID information or blocked callers. Caller’s who have caller ID information PictureID can display the caller’s city location using the flexible AreaCode database. The included area code database is for North American. You can easily edit and add your own area codes.
PictureID also supports Contact groups. If you just want to assign a picture for a Group (Category) then it can be done very easily.
You have full control over the caller display information such as Caller’s name, city name and phone number. You can display none, all or anyone of the field in the picture ID screen.
PictureID is compatible with the Treo® phone application and 3rd party ringtone managers. " Thanks as always to Eric for the heads up on this one.
[From Eric Mann] The excellent BugMe Notepad has reached version 5.24 and is as always one of the most valueable Palm OS programs available. "Building on the success of BugMe!, our new BugMe! Notepad is a media-rich notepad, with powerful productivity and communications capabilities. Oh, and its fun to use too :) Take notes in your own handwriting or with text. Jot quick notes as you go. Make a quick sketch, import a photo or map, or just have a little doodle. BugMe! Notepad captures what you draw directly on your handheld's screen, making note taking fast, easy and accurate. Use any note as a visual alarm - choose quickly from a pick list, or set an alarm for any time or day you want... "
[From Hans ] If you have a Blackberry device then this one may well just be for you. "The good folks at CrackBerry.com (hey wait, that's us!!) unveiled today the beta launch of the BlackBerry PIN Exchange application for Facebook.
The BlackBerry PIN Exchange enables Facebook/BlackBerry users to easily discover the device PIN numbers of their BlackBerry-toting friends and business associates. Members can dictate the level of privacy they want to maintain – sharing their PIN only with other BlackBerry using friends, listing it on the profile page for all friends to see, or making it viewable to all members of the PIN Exchange. In addition, it offers users the ability to:
Easily view the device PIN numbers of Facebook friends
Discover new friends on The Global Exchange
Create a profile and meet someone special in the PIN Meet area (a mini-personals site)
Invite other BlackBerry-using friends to join
Learn more about BlackBerry via CrackBerry.com-powered content"
http://crackberry.com/
This is what probably Microsoft scared about Google; on this Wednesday, Google released a new web-based service called "Google Sites". What's all the fuss that make Microsoft (MS) feeling etchy about this new service from the on-line search giant? Google Sites works just like MS SharePoint program, where users can collaborate their applications and emails together. In laymans term (for you who even never know what SharePoint is) it's a place where you can sync your documents, spreadsheets, emails, calenders, etc. -the list can still go on- with other people who have the same access. MS SharePoint is not well known for common computer users, because it's quite expensive and the main target are corporates / enterprise companies. So Google moves to barge into Microsoft's comfortable specialized market, is going to reduce (slow but steady) the software giant's share of profit.
As what the New York Times article mentioned; "Many businesses remain leery of putting their applications and data on servers they don’t control...", Google Sites won't have much of an impact yet to MS SharePoint. But as Google improves this web-based service, people will be drawn by it's main attraction: it's free! Well, time will tell for sure. But for now Google Sites is truly a blessing for end users who are looking for ways to sync their calendars & schedules with friends and families, no more miss-appoinment in the future.
(blogged with my Treo 750v)
Ever since Motorola challenged everyone with their RAZR lineups, Nokia is renewing their own with the slimmest from the bunch: 6500 Classic Edition. And so does Sony Ericsson, they announced the availability of C902 as one of the slimmest but with strong build mobile phone lineup. With 5 megapixels embedded at the back, this C902 will be another Cyber-Shot lineups which previously named K-series. With only at 10.5 mm thick, the total weight of 107 g is quite light for it's full metal body. Read on the GSMArena review here to get all the specs before this baby comes out, and enjoy a 3D view of C902 (it's so much better than imagining how thin it is only by looking at the pictures).
(blogged with my Treo 750v)
Congratulations to David Fuller for winning (one of the most wanted) prize giveaways from Sammy/PalmAddict: the MacBook Air! ~big applause~ And I would like to thank Sammy & PalmAddict for the HTC Touch that I won from the one-day only giveaway. I kinda felt like an Oscar winner who give thank speech on the podium ;-)
I'm really-really surprised to know that I've won, because of a busy weekend and the problems I had with my Treo, I actually almost too late to know that Sammy was giving away a HTC Touch just for one day. I had a very short time to come up with a blog and posted it on PalmAddict. I had no high hopes to win anything, because I know I'm not good in winning lottery or something like that; so I didn't even check who have won the MacBook Air or the HTC Touch. As always I read the PalmAddict RSS news from up (newest) to the bottom (oldest), but from yesterday I was so busy that I only could read few newest posts; and unfortunately the winner post is located at almost the bottom row. So when late at night I was finally going to rest, I remembered to continue read them all and very surprised to know that I won! I laughed quite hard and rub my eyes, just in case I was too tired and hallucinate my name on the post ;-p, but this is real.
Wow, I hope my post here can show every PalmAddict readers that Sammy's giveaways are real; and everyone could be the winner. Just keep on participate by sending your mobile experiences & thoughts, and who knows maybe you'll be the next winner!
(blogged with my Treo 750v)
A very good editorial from Chris Kanaracus, in PC World article, says: "Humans have gone to the moon and made a laptop less than an inch thick, but they still can't make the trains run on time." Those lines really described the truth happening in big cities, such as NYC & Massachusets. If you're one of the commuters who uses public mass-transportations, then you must know how it feels when you're late to work and must do some works before you steps your feet on the office. Finding a seat is hard enough, so "a laptop is not good enough without a lap." (quoted). You'll finally rely on your smartphones to do the jobs while one of your hand is grabbing that pole.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has put at least one coach of train to be equipped with WiFi (only up to 12 users so far) so workers on train can make use of coach's wireless internet than from their wireless operators, where signal bound to drop on some isolated areas. We all are surely can benefit from mobile apps available on the market and from web services, to widen the office space so we can work anywhere anytime. Your work hours already started at the time you enter your transportation to your work place!
(blogged with my Treo 750v)
Another new day is another new victory for Google, just few moments ago Opera have announced the end of their long contract with Yahoo! Inc. for their on-line service called OneSearch. And to replace absent of the search engine in Opera Mobile & Mini, is Google. OperaWatch deliver the article here.
Google have been supplying for 7 years as the main search engine for the Opera desktop browser, but for the mobile browser will become more fierce war along with Yahoo! OneSearch and Microsoft Live. Right now mobile phone owners are installing Opera Mobile or Mini as alternative to the built-in web browser, so far Opera has become a major player in this segment market. This will result is better for Google to dominate more over mobile search engine, and eventually comes along the mobile apps as well (such as Google Maps, Calendars, Readers, 2Go, etc.). But with the new upcoming Skyfire & Iris web browser, Opera should've move fast to improve their sluggish and limited mobile web browsers. We're still waiting for Opera Mobile 9.5 to comes out, where Opera promises features from 3rd party script (such as Java, Ajax, Flash, etc.) to run natively in it to improve our web surfing experience on mobile phones.
(blogged with my Treo 750v)
ENDS IN 4 DAYS TIME GIVEAWAY: Choose either a White ASUS Eee PC701 or a Nokia Tablet N810 
ENDS THIS MONDAY SO YOU NEED TO GET YOUR USER THOUGHTS TO ME I am giving you the option to choose between a ASUS Eee PC 701 or a Nokia N710 Tablet. Both belong to the office and vary between 5 and 8 month's old in good condition. It's the same rules as always, a user thought or a thought on mobile technology and Associate Writers are welcome to enter. All the deets are in this post and as always it's a random drawing and it's going to be a short giveaway ending next Monday at midnight US PT. Deets in this post which as always remains at the top of the page.
[From Neil S. Patrick] Over the past few months we have seen quite a few manufactures of Windows Mobile devices installing custom homes screens that attempt to give their devices are more attractive user interface and always make the devices more user-friendly and less intimidating for customers that aren’t that tech savvy. I think we first saw this home screen innovation start of with the Treo 500v from Vodafone and then most recently with the T-mobile Shadow.
I for one think this trend will continue, with the growth of non-tech savvy users wanting the features that smartphones offer it seems only logical that smartphones become easier and less intimidating to use. With that in mind I have to ask the question what are Palm and Microsoft really doing to move their OSs forward? With Windows Mobile we’ve seen lots of innovative ideas coming from the hardware makers themselves, but not much has been shown from Microsoft its self.
I personally think Microsoft is in a great position to take its platform to a new level of user-friendliness and polish by incorporating the knowledge it gained from working on the T-mobile Shadow’s “Neo” interface, and also incorporating it’s Zune interface into Windows Mobile devices, which many in the industry consider one of the best media playback interface on the market. I also believe the Windows Mobile interface could benefit from the Xbox 360’s “blades” interface, for sure it could help the Smartphone edition of Windows Mobile which doesn’t have touch screen functions.
Palm on the other hand has gotten so much bad press for be stagnant in its OS development truly need to be revolutionary in its designs going forward. Simply improving the current design will do little in bring the spot light back on Palm OS. Though the Palm Centro is quite unimpressive when looking at the specs, it’s actually a nice little device and for sure a good first step in bring in some fresh blood into Palm camp, but it’s a starter smartphone, and unless Palm has something for those users to upgrade to they will likely leave for either a Windows Mobile or Symbian device (even though Symbian never really got that big in the US, its extremely popular in Europe).
Right now if I was a betting man I’d bet on Windows Mobile eating into what’s left of Palm’s market share. In fact even though I didn’t mention the Apple iPhone I think if its SDK ever gets released by Apple, the iPhone will eat into both Microsoft’s and Palm’s market share.
Today I used my treo to check my gmail, to check my gmail and to browse my calander. I saw a cool movie now available on dvd and I hit up nexflix mobile to add it to my que. I should expect it within a week.
[From Scott Latter] Well we wait patiently for the Iphone to be released in Canada through Rogers. So much of my future mobile device decisions are based on whether the Iphone or Itouch are able to meet my mobile computing needs. Of course the release of the Iphone SDK will certainly make things better, but the wait is starting to wear on me and my Palm T3. Its doing the job for now, but its limitations are starting to show. Patience is a virtue..........but not one of mine.
[From Lauren Blake] My Treo 650, combined with PocketTunes, keeps me attached to the world. As a stay-at-home-mom, I don't get a lot of adult interaction throughout the day, so if it weren't for the news and political podcasts that I sync to my Treo, I would be way behind. In the car and while doing dishes, I can catch up on world events. My only complaint is that my headphone jack has started screwing up!
[From .Rui de Castro] The other day I saw this neat trick on a Videocast, for those times
that a iPhone app just freezes up and you normally have to just reset
it. There is a better and efficient way.
All you have to do is, when the app freezes up, just press the only
button on the bottom for about 5 seconds. After this you should be
presented with the main start menu. Fast and easy.
You can do this on a Nokia Symbian phone too, just press the 'C' key
and select yes. This way you clear the app from memory.
This is one thing Palm should have, all apps be in a sandbox and one
key to remove them from memory.
[From Nigel Walter, Thatcham UK] Following on from the posts about TMP and SPB Diary I'd like to throw Handy Calendar from epocware into the mix (here is a shotcut to more info from the developer). I have a Nokia E61i (Symbian 60 phone) and have tried various PIM programmes all of which fall short in some department. Handy Calendar is the best I have found so far. The only shortcoming is an inability to have recurring tasks but I think this is a symbian S60 failing rather than a software failing. I truly would be lost without my diary - my memory is one of those where I find myself halfway up the stairs wondering why I needed to go up them in the first place!
[From Tien Lee (Australia)] I was first introduced to the Palm with a PalmIIIe which I got for free for starting an account with the now-defunct CitiF/I. I broke the screen in about a week, but fell in love enough to buy my second Palm, a PalmIIIx. Since then, I have changed many Palms until my last and current Palm, the Tungsten C --- which I have had for 4+ years and have accompanied me all through medical school! I think I owe at least half my marks and passes to the little fella!
I have since started to look at the "dark side" with a Dallab P900 (relatively unknown PocketPC2003 device) and then a Fujitsu Siemens T830. Yet, after starting as a doctor on the wards, I reaffirmed my liking for the PalmOS's simplicity. I have been using the Fujitsu Siemens for almost a year, living through the forced hard resets (it just did it itself 2-3 times in the past year!), and the quirks and many soft-resets. I forced myself to use only the Windows Mobile device in order for me to develop new habits, discover new software, etc... to make it work! Alas, after almost a year on the T830, many different software setups, and keeping my Palm in the shelf, I found that I still could not get my work done with the T830 alone. Things were just too slow! It took 5-10 seconds for my drug references to open, 5-10 seconds for a Skyscape software to load, etc., when it was instantaneous on the PalmOS devices! DayNotez which worked well on the Palm for jotting random notes loads in about 10 seconds on the T830!!! By the time it loads, the conversation would have switched topics!
Finally, I dusted off my trusty Tungsten C, updated some of the software, and voila --- it works well and accompanies me everywhere in the hospital! These days, I carry both the T830 (it is my only 3G, GPS phone) and my Tungsten C everyday for the past 2 months! I am just waiting for Palm to release a 3G capable (i.e. UMTS) PalmOS device, and I'll certainly purchase it! I can't use the Centro/Treo since I am on contract with a 3G-only network!
[From Alberto (San Diego,CA)] I'm talking about my old Treo 650, I used it for everything, email, pictures, podcast, music, etc. Then my life changed the blackberry was introduced to me at my job, they got me a curve, so now I use a Curve and iPod to do what my Treo use to do. But there is a happy ending at least for my Treo, when my wife's razor died she migrated to my old Treo, and I am happy to report that she is totally enamored with that phone, she uses it for everything. Me I am just glad someone is using and taking advantage of a great piece of gadgetry.
[From Paul] Hi Sammy, I start my day waking to a Palmary Clock alarm and fetch the weather
report (4Cast) and my RSS
feeds (Neews). I commute by ferry so I can catch up on the news on the
ride and look at my todo list
(Agendus.) At work I keep track of projects with ShadowPlan and
drawings with PalmPDF, being able to
search through the past has been a lifesaver many times.
I keep a running log of work in ShadowPlan which nicely links back
into Agendus to keep track of todos.
On the ride home I catch up on my todo list and play a game or two,
currently I'm on my second Tradewinds 2
adventure.I can sync everything to my desktop (Suse 10,3) via gpilot
so Evolution is kept up to date.
Anymore I think I would be lost without my outboard brain.
[From Curtis, Philadelphia, USA] Sometimes we forget how wonderful our access to information is these days. In the not so distant past, it was difficult to gain access to all to a large library of books and varying opinions. My Treo 755p brings me constant access to untold ebooks but my most used information "tool" is google reader (google.com/reader). I use google mobile reader to keep up with news, poignant blogs and general entertainment. Information and learning is only limited by my own limitations. What a wonderful information world we live in.
[From Ronald Abadi] This time I want to talk about storage in mobile devices. Usually when we talk about storage (in handphones, PDAs, etc.), we think about MultiMedia Card, SD Card, MiniSD, MicroSD, SDHC, CompactFlash, etc. Now, I actually have no idea whether somewhere this has already been implemented or produced (and if so then I'm just being ignorant or simply have not heard about it yet), but I am really interested to find mobile devices that support USB storage.
Locally where I live (Surabaya, Indonesia), USB flashdisk/flashdrive is always cheaper than the aforementioned cards. True that for the majority flashdrive is dirt cheap nowadays anyway. But in third-world countries (mine included), when you take into account the currency rates and your paycheck, you would start to consider when it comes to buying. So, for example, I can get 4GB flashdrive quite cheaper than I can for 4GB SD Card. If mobile devices support USB storage, we can just stick flahdrive instead of cards. When transferring data with PC and laptop (especially old ones with no bluetooth or infrared support, these are still common in my country), it will be easier as well since there is no need to have card reader.
When it comes to space, if the needs for space is very high, we can stick external USB harddrive instead, and have 40GB, 80GB, 100GB, 120GB, etc. True that the mobile devices may not be so *mobile* anymore, but the point I want to say here is that it is nice if mobile devices support USB storage. We can have more freedom with storage.
Well, that is my thought on USB storage support for mobile devices.
[From Denise Wilson] As single parent, I thought that $500 dollars, was a lot of money to spend on an electronic item, but I have no regrets. My Palm T5 has allowed me to communicate with my clients, keep track of those clients which I need to follow up, as well as being able to figure out, how I might grow my business in this crazy North American economy.
In addition, I also use it to read upon on educational documents, in learning how to make my son a better writer, nothing like Shakespeare; but hopefully by the time he reaches Secondary School, he can express himself and I will not have to panic and wonder why he has not learnt basic grammar, and better writing skills.
Furthermore, I am an e-book drunk, meaning, I love to read my BBC News, Business Week online, and so many other wonderful sites. Recently, I was able to read reviews about the recent digital cameras that came out by Sony, as usual I did not purchase a top of the line camera, but I was pleased that the Digital Photography Review, allow me to make a really good choice.
[From Steve
Fairfax, VT] I am in Real Estate and our board switched over to new lockboxes,
those pesky boxes locked to a doorknob that holds a key to the house.
We simply punch in a code and point the infrared toward the box and
bingo, the box opens, records who I am and when I was there.
I download listings and maps so I have them at my fingertips for
clients when I am on the road.
I can't imagine being without my trusted assistant!
[From Greg
Atlanta] I read the post about the future of the keyboard. There will come a day when the line of demarcation between PC and mobile telephone will be blurred. The day of the all-in-one device will be heralded, and whomever (probably Apple!) is at the forefront of the revolution will reap considerable profits.
I should have purchased some shares of Apple's stock when the price was hovering around 10 bucks! That was less than five years ago! :(
[From Jason Burke
Maine, USA] My whole life is on a smartphone. I currently use a Palm Treo for my
personal life and a Motorola Razr for work. I find with the Razr that I
am frequently without important phone numbers, schedules, and documents
that are back at the station house or on my Treo. A second smartphone
would be ideal for my situation.
[From Gavin Carpenter] I was counting the money in my gadget fund the other day and thinking
that it was my PDA's turn to be upgraded. It occurred to me though
that there isn't a true upgrade to my LifeDrive at the moment and it
doesn't seem likely that there'll ever be one. Based on this and the
fact that the vast majority of new products released these days are
smart phone devices, many bloggers and users are saying that the PDA
is dead. I disagree, I think that the PDA has simply evolved.
With the continual march of technological innovation, faster processors, increased storage capacity, etc, all possible in a smaller form factor, why would anyone want an awkward way of creating and editing Office documents when you can have an ultra portable PC, running a full blown version of Office plus all the other Windows programs you could want? Doing the work on the target platform it was designed for cuts out the middle men of convertors and interpreters, making compatibility almost guaranteed.
The main problem at the moment is the interface, operating systems designed for desktops with mice and keyboards don't port well to mobile devices. Take for example the Windows start menu in XP, you open it, choose "all programs" and then have to navigate through a series of deeper and deeper tree like folders that can easily fill the whole screen. On a mobile device with a small screen this is just silly, the text either has to be so small it can't be read of lots of scrolling has to be done.
I think that Palm/PalmOne/Access/NameThisWeek should take their still unrivalled user interface and use it to make a Window's Explorer replacement that is quick, slick and easy to navigate. If they don't do this soon, I'll give it a go!
In conclusion the PDA is far from dead it's just grown up.
Exact II on offer $9.95 (Retail Price: 