PalmAddicts

Free App To Sync Win Mob with your Mac

For those of you thinking to switch over to a WinMob system, but own a Mac, Eltima Software have come up with a solution with SyncMate. A free Mac OS desktop synchronization tool to use with WinMob. You can establish a connection between your Mac and Pocket PC via USB or Wi-Fi and synchronize applications like Address Book, iCal and Stickies. It can also sync SMS text messages, folders and documents. There's an expert edition available for $39.95 that will also allow one click sync with iPhoto, iTunes and share the internet with your mobile device and Mac. So, finally a bit more choice at a price point everyone loves.... free! Caught this over at palminfocenter.

Sammy's Centro Diary

I love instant messaging from my mobile device now you all know that I use my Centro to instant message when I am mobile using a great program called Toccer on the Centro and a program called IM on my jailbroken iPhone. I have to say that using a instant messenger client on my mobile device has indeed helped productivity, I am able to stay in contact with my staff so know what is going on, send instructions when I need to and also stay in communication with my friends. I like Instant Messenger, personally I think it's a better communication tool than email when I need instant communication and the keyboard on the Centro allows me to be able to type off a message instantly and with this in mind thats why the Centro is just an ideal device. So I can be anywhere, my local coffee shop and stay in contact, I don't need to drag my MacBook Pro with me everywhere and there was a time that I would carry my laptop with me everywhere just so that I could keep on top of email and instant messages but now my mobile device just allows me to do this and in this case it's the Centro. If you want to send me an instant message then my IM details are in the right hand column, I'll try and say hi if I see your message, [I do work from home and the office so could be busy if I don't respond immediately], my Twitter page is here which I also update from my Centro if I am out and above.
[blogging from my Centro]

The Gadgeteer reviews the ReSource Power Station Organizer

Kelly at The Gadgeteer has written a review of the ReSource Power Station Organizer which could be useful but looks rather bulky to me but yep I see it's usefulness. "My guess is your list of personal gadgets rival Julie’s. With your coveted collection, you probably have a charger for each item and an issue with storing the chargers. If you’re like me, you have a countertop full of phones and charges taking up much-needed counter space. Or, you have trouble remembering to charge your phone. Here to streamline the charging of your devices is the Power Station Organizer by ReSource. The nice folks at X-Treme Geek sent one to me to review." Read in full.
[blogging from my Centro]

email to SMS at Treonauts

email to SMS, you may learn something from reading Andrew's editorial over at Treonauts. "A reader recently emailed me telling me how disappointed he was at not being able to use the exceptional threaded SMS messaging application on his new Centro because his company had (rather stupidly) decided not to support Messaging plans for any of its team. He asked me if I knew of any other solution that might still enable him to send SMS messages to friends and associates (and vice versa) even though he did not have a Messaging plan. I have to admit that the question took me a bit by surprise as I had thus far assumed that pretty much everybody would have access to SMS. Finding the answer to his problem proved to be considerably more time consuming than I had originally expected but I did eventually find a couple of suitable solutions and learned quite a bit in the process." Read in full at Treonauts.
[blogging from my Centro]

A reminder about Pennovate Notes Lite

Just a quick note that Pennovate Notes Lite is free of charge and is a very good program well worth taking a look at. The Lite Edition of Pennovate Notes does not include support for SD memory card storage and does not include support for e-mailing, Bluetooth, and beaming .bmp notes. If you want more features take a look at the PRO version.
[blogging from my Centro]

Wifi hotspots will become the new telephone booths

Wifi hotspots will become the new telephone booths according to Ericsson Chief Marketing Officer Johan Bergendahl. "While it hardly comes as much of a surprise, Ericsson Chief Marketing Officer Johan Bergendahl is now predicting nothing short of the demise of WiFi hotspots, and he's saying that that they'll be replaced by -- you guessed it -- mobile broadband. Speaking at a conference in Stockholm, Bergendahl said that "hot spots at places like Starbucks are becoming the telephone boxes of the broadband era," and that "in a few years, [HSPA] will be as common as Wi-Fi is today."" Read in full.
[blogging from my Centro]

In the UK get a free Centro

[From Shaz] If your in the UK Expansys are flagging up a offer where you can get a free Centro, "Exclusive to eXpansys customers - get the Palm Centro Smartphone on a T-Mobile Contract for FREE - giving you voice calls and mobile data for email and internet access! In the pack you get a Palm Centro Smartphone and a T-Mobile sim card - the contract runs for 12 months and includes up to 200 minutes or 400 texts and 1GB data per month (supporting GPRS and UMTS)!" Expansys for the deets.
[blogging from my Centro]

Mozart

Mozart is listed as a new game and maybe fun for music lovers, "Mozart Mozart is a program designed to aid in the process of learning how to read music. It does that in form of a game. Once the game is started via the toolbar or menu a stream of whole notes comes streaming from the right side of the screen. These notes have to be named in the order of their appearance with the current input instrument (i.e. piano). Once a note gets too close to the clef on the left side of the screen it disappears in a cloud of vapor and the player loses one life. For each note named in time the player gets one point or more depending on level. The further the game progresses the more notes will appear in this steady stream and their range will widen to potentially include many ledger lines above and below the staff. Once a player has depleted all his lives the game is over and he might receive a high score.

With version 3.0 Mozart can use new sound modules from RoGame Software. These are part of a sound library that will be made available in other music education titles as well. The game includes a Grand Piano module that sounds very realistic. Palm OS 5.x is needed for playback of these new sound modules and playback is asynchronous on many devices like the newer Treos, which makes for a very realistic game experience.

Over the years also many music professionals have used Mozart mainly to improve the reading of unfamiliar keys. Version 3.0 adds key signatures which makes Mozart an even more valuable tool for the student as well as for the professional. A real boon, however, is the option to have the notes of the current key signature highlighted graphically in the current instrument. The Solfege instrument now works according the “movable DO” principle and the letter input instrument changes note names according to key. A toolbar button to switch between parallel major and minor makes this concept very transparent.

Another new feature in Mozart 3.0 are ranges. This concept has been implemented very broadly and allows for different ranges in every clef and instrument. By allowing the student to adjust the range of notes that can appear in a practicing session games can be better targeted towards specific weaknesses.

Previous users of Mozart will find many more new features in version 3.0 than can be described here. There is a new bass instrument. Sessions can be repeated. Solfege syllables can be switched to use Si instead of Ti. The game speed can be adjusted globally and is now constant, and much more. If you are involved in music in any capacity be it as student or teacher or professional, you want to take a look at this application. Get the demo and give it a spin."
[blogging from my Centro]

Addr2Memo (Address2Memo)

[From Eric Mann] Take a look at Addr2Memo (Address2Memo) which exports an Address Record to the Memo Pad Application or the build-in Clipboard. You can export a Address book entry via pressing the Export Button or the menu with selecting the menu entry or entering shortcut (/) E. With shortcut (/) C the Address is copied to the Clipboard and can be inserted in any Application via paste. Looks like this program is freeware.

[blogging from my Centro]

Unlimited iPhone plans now available

Just picked this up for our iPhone readers, unlimited iPhone plans now available and you can read in full at the redeyechicago iPhone blog. "I mentioned last month that AT&T had joined the unlimited plan bandwagon and extended that option to iPhone users. That's now available. For $119.99, you get to talk all you want anytime. But, SMS is still limited at 200 per month. Of course, my opinion is if you are spending $119.99 for an unlimited option, it makes sense to spend an extra $20 and get unlimited texts as well. That is, if you text much." Read in full.

[blogging from my Centro]

The guys at TreoCentral have done a good review of one of my favourite programs Resco Explorer for Palm OS

The guys at TreoCentral have done a good review of one of my favourite programs Resco Explorer for Palm OS. "For the casual user with only a few apps installed, Resco Explorer is probably overkill. This app is more appropriate for Treo users who know just enough to get themselves into trouble. Resco’s main strength is the value it offers for the price. BackupBuddyVFS Pro alone costs nearly as much as Explorer, and the other utilities that have free equivalents, like the file manager or the FTP client, are far more robust. I especially love the http download tool. The Windows Explorer style interface isn’t the most elegant design for a file management, but it is the most informative and familiar for Windows desktop users. For anyone in search of that information and familiarity, Resco is worth exploring." Read in full.

Retro Heaven

[From David Ross (Fife Scotland)] Although I have a Treo 680 today I have been in retro heaven with my Visor Deluxe and its GPS Companion. I followed my route to work today with old but functional software. I will have to load the Deluxe with some of the freeware I loved when I got it. Next stop a Visorphone. Thanks for a great site. [Click on the image for the full size]

My iPhone Camera Catches a Uninvited Guest

Over the weekend, my wife and I had some friends visiting. We had normal activities planned. BBQ. Have a few drinks. Play a game and maybe watch a movie. That all changed temporarily as I was in the house when I heard a cascade of shrill screams eminating from my backyard. When I arrived on the scene, the 2 ladies and my friend were all standing on a chair. "What," I asked, "is going on?" They all pointed in unison, as if they practiced for days, to a bush not far away. Again I asked, what? Again, in unison they all said, "a lizard." I started laughing and went to investigate. Sure enough, there was a rather large lizard looking at me through the bushes. Before I took any action to save my wife and friends, I pulled out my trusty iPhone and snapped some photos, not just of the lizard but of the 3 stranded on the chairs(great bribe photos!) I was able to get the lizard into a box and relocate it to a more conducive area. It made a regular saturday rather interesting. I love having a decent camera ready to snap a quick photo.

QUICKIE: Checking where my house is!

You may have noticed that I live in the south west of England. As I am away from home at the moment, I am using my iPhone to keep in touch with the weather and folks at home. For those of you who do not know the area, it is about 15 miles away from the place that CNN has just reported as having winds in excess of 130km/hr. You may see my house or its roof fly past your window any time soon! Although I am told that it's holding up so far... Touch wood!

UBIQUIO 503G - The first person to email us can take this off our hands

OK so I was meant to do a couple of throwaway's over the weekend but due to my time constraints I didn't find the time so here we go I am going to do it today. The first person who emails a couple of lines about how they have been using their mobile device can take this UBiQUiO 503G Windows Mobile smartphone running Windows Mobile 6 which we have had in the office since just before Christmas. I have to say that for a Windows Mobile smartphone it is very good. Remember, you cannot submit something you have entered before and I want a couple of lines from you. Email as usual to - sammymcloughlin@gmail.com

Product Page

Butler 4.68 and 4.69 beta

[From Rob at HobbyistSoftware] Butler just got to version 4.68 as the official release. This fixes a minor bug relating to the keyguard.

8/Feb/08 extra debugging round sleep handling code
8/Feb/08 fixed bug where keyguard not turning off the second time screen turned on
I have also just released a new beta. This hopefully fixes an anomaly where the LED colour might not change at night. It also supports a new shortcut which lets you reset the LED via a shortcut key.

10/Mar/08 updated code for handling LED switch (night to day, day to night)
10/Mar/08 added launchcode to reset LED
You can download the shortcut seperately here

Download at the Hobbyist Software download page

SplashData Launches SplashMoney for Windows Mobile

[From PRW] SplashData, Inc., the leading provider of productivity software for smartphones, today announced a Windows Mobile version of its popular SplashMoney personal finance application. Until now, SplashMoneys mobile finance features, wireless online banking and two-way synchronization with companion desktop software has only been available for users of Palm OS handhelds.

With SplashMoney, Windows Mobile users now have the ability to instantly download their most recent banking account activities through a wireless connection. The wireless banking capabilities of SplashMoney, combined with the two-way synchronization between the handheld and desktop computer, positions SplashMoney as one of the most powerful mobile financial management tools available.

SplashMoney is a complete personal financial manager for handhelds and desktop computers that allows users to securely record transactions, track account balances, generate reports and budgets, and manage finances while on the go. SplashMoney features a streamlined user interface, charting of financial data, the ability to assign icons to transactions, transaction filtering, and bank account reconciliation. The software supports most account types, including checking, savings, credit card, cash, asset, liability, and money market accounts.

SplashMoney may be used as a stand-alone application on a handheld or Windows desktop computer, and is optimized for two-way synchronization between the two. Changes made to both mobile and desktop versions will be retained and merged into one up-to-date file upon synchronization, rather than the most recently updated version overwriting the other version.

The security of personal financial data on mobile devices is of chief concern to many, and SplashData has built-in secure password protection using 256-bit Blowfish encryption to protect against malicious hacking or other threats.

"Managing finances on the go has never been more important, with many families using multiple credit cards and checking accounts," said Morgan Slain, SplashData CEO. "The Windows Mobile version of SplashMoney joins the Palm version in making it easier than ever to get an instant overall picture of your finances. SplashMoney delivers a complete end-to-end financial management solution of unparalleled integration, simplicity and value."

SplashMoney is available now for $29.95 at www.splashdata.com. It is also available as part of the SplashWallet Suite, which includes SplashID, SplashPhoto and SplashShopper as well as SplashMoney at a 50% discount. A full functioning 30-day trial version is also available for download.

Rohdesign Podcast 04 - SXSW Interactive Edition

The fourth Rohdesign Podcast is available for your listening pleasure. Mike always has interesting things to say. "In the fourth episode of the Rohdesign Podcast, I talk about networking at SXSW, excellent design sessions I was able to attend, sketchnotes progress and plans for Sunday's activities." Mike Rohde after the jump.

MemHog

Another free program for you this hour and it's MemHog which looks pretty useful. "MemHog tries to fill up your Pilot's database memory until only the amount of free memory that you specify is left. It isn't always quite exact, but serves its purpose, which is to allow programmers to test their applications under low-memory conditions.

The top of the screen displays:
Total memory. The amount of RAM on your Pilot available for database storage.
Free Memory. The amount of free RAM available for database storage.
Without Memhog. Approximately how much memory would be free if Memhog weren't using any.

At the bottom of the screen is:
Target Free Mem. Enter here the amount of free RAM you would like for MemHog to leave.
Set Target. Press this to make MemHog attempt to use up all but the amount of memory that you specified.
Set Max Free. Press this to cause MemHog to release all of its memory.
As with any utilty that stresses your PalmPilot, please be careful. Many applications do not handle low memory situations very well, and can cause nasty errors. " Free and available from freewarepalm.com

CoPenLiteDA seems like a good idea

Has anyone seen CoPenLiteDA, a popup freehand note quite a clever little idea actually. It's also freeware and you can get from freewarepalm.com.

Sammy's Centro Diary

Good morning my wonderful PA readers and I thought I would give you a quick write up on what I have been doing with the Centro this morning. The alarm went off at 8.30, shower and then gym. I listened to my Pocket Tunes playlist on the Centro which got me through my workout, then a glass of tropicana and a slice of brown toast as I work my through Chatteremail and answer personal emails which are always the first emails that I read and respond too. The it's a quick looks at QuickNews which displays my collection of RSS newsfeeds which covers all sites from news, to fashion through to mobile computing. I love it because I can read the stories that jump out, flag them the ones I want to write about and discard the rest and saves me so much surfing time. In fact I would say that QuickNews and Google Reader on my Mac are great at saving time. Unfortunately I don't get so much time to surf the net, mainly because how busy I am but these online RSS readers are just ideal and I have used QuickNews for as long as I can remember so very much recommend it.
QuickNews - http://www.standalone.com/palmos/quick_news/

Anyway I continue to enjoy the Centro experience and I picked up my old Treo 680 this weekend and thought wow it's a brick compared to the Centro. It also feels great in the hand and I can just slip[ it into my pocket. For some reason whenever I carry the iPhone it just slips out of my pocket but thankfully the Centro just stays in my pocket, it's not too heavy and it's not bulky either. The keyboard is fine, initially when I first saw the device I thought the keyboard was going to be a little cramped to type on but I have not experienced any problems and I can type away without any problems. So there you go, three weeks into receiving the Centro its working out great for me.

TAKEphONE 7.55 (031)

[From Eric Mann] TAKEphONE 7.55 (031) beta is available to download and adds the following changes:
Display: some more minor fixes (bottom tabs not showing in 'Redial' screen).
Display: option to skin “More actions...” & “Copy” buttons in call log details screen.

Hi-Launcher

[From Eric Mann] Take a look at the excellent Hi-Launcher which Eric is recommending this morning. "Hi-Launcher adapts the Start Menu known from desktop computers to Palm OS handhelds. This lets you switch between your PDA applications immediately and directly! You can select a triggering button that will pop-up the Menu over any running application." You can tweak this program in any way you like:
Now you may adjust the whole Menu to your needs:
frame, splitter, font, and background colors
frame, splitter, and font styles
item size and order
unlimited submenu hierarchy
pop-up animation
pop-up trigger

Pimp-up your Treo 750 battery gauge

Almost missed this great freeware for Windows Mobile 5/6 devices, it's called Vista Battery Gauge. It's a simple program that doesn't need to be installed, just download & run it on your Treo 750. The original post came from 'ins0mniaque' at xda-developers forum, but the better version (v1.1.1) is available at Freeware Pocket PC here. Many users who've tried are suggesting to put the program into the WinMob's Startup menu, or you could simply paste a shortcut in there. Otherwise the progam will not launch by itself after you do a soft-reset, but this is simply your choice whether to start it up manually or automatically. Download this one directly to your Treo with this site.

(blogged with my Treo 750v)

Sliding Keyguard replacement

[From Henk at Meta view] Hi, I'm glad to inform you about my latest iPhone-alike product which I released as GPL-licensed freeware: nexave It's a keyguard replacement on Treo phones which also works on Tungsten devices. I just made a small video. You can find the video, the app and the source at http://www.metaviewsoft.de/PUM-2008

An iPhone look-alike keyguard replacement (for all Hires Palm OS devices)
Shows current time and date
Shows battery level
Shows memory state
Shows on Treo devices your own phone number and the current mobile provider
Keyguard window is transparent and can be dismissed by a down slide with your thumb or a press on the center button. Keyguard works also on Tungsten etc. devices.
Version 1.0: Application (.prc)
Source code for prc-tools hier

The Protective Laptop Bag from Proporta

I've received my new Protective Laptop Bag from Proporta this morning, having been lucky to have received a new Macbook from Sammy I only thought it right that I should buy a few accessorIes to go wIth it, 3 to be exact

Really impressed wIth the overall look of the bag, which is Khaki Green, lovely to match wIth any lady and lads fashion. (Insert picture of bag front on wIth the label) The bag has only two main compartments but inside each is enough pockets to put my gadgets in...along with a few new ones! Brilliant! Any excuse will do.

The bag comes as a hand held carry on, and inside is an extendable strap to attach the outside so that the bag can then become shoulder bag. However, and now here is the clever part... to my surprise the bag zip compartment is storage for the shoulder straps which attach to the side of the bag to transform it into a shoulder. (side view of the bag with the straps out) The protective bag is so cleverly thought out that it does not look like a laptop protective bag and the option of three styles are available to accommodate the individual personal preference. Each of the straps are cushioned so that you can travel wIth comfort, especially wIth the weight of the laptop, you can now prevent the straps from rubbing. ThIs can sometimes be really strenuous when carrying your laptop in a bag, I also sometImes feel as though I am a pack horse wIth the bag being so big and bulky.

The Proporta Laptop Bag is not bulky, and has the added extra of having space for all your needs. I don't really know how I have coped without this bag before, OK, well I do I have used my old one for a few years, and it has lasted for me. But having this new laptop bag makes you wonder, what on earth was I doing wIth the old one In the first place. As they say though new things come along everyday and in a few years time a new laptop bag will be out, but untIl that time I am going to love this new bag as much as the old and hopefully it will be as loyal and sturdy as the last.

At the moment I have put my MacBook, my 3G iPod, wires, adaptors, phone chargers and a few files I will need to take home into my Laptop Bag. (Insert picture of bag open with products visible) Surely I couldn't fit much more in, but I truly have pockets to spare, and as I said at the beginning I will now have to go about purchasing more gadgets to fill the pockets with, because god forbid I should leave them empty.

Proporta know that you may struggle to fill the pockets and inside the front compartment when you first receive your Laptop Bag you get a handout with a diagram of the inside so that you can see just what to put in each pocket, or what may be appropriate to be put into them. Helpfully and clever, well I wouldn't expect anythIng other than this from the Proporta website and their products. The laptop bag is available from Proporta and retails for $47.95

Switch & close

Multi-tasking is a great feature that Windows Mobile has, and with the "ok" button in Treo; the opened apps are stored & running on the background. It's an endless argument why Palm didn't use "close (x)" instead, or perhaps that's how Windows Mobile is meant to be made. I've done so many soft-reset because of this multi-tasking habit, and already tired to keep on opening the Memory management in WinMob Settings; that's when I decided to search for Task Manager app that can save my time (& my Treo as well). ;-)

Found this app made by DinarSoft©, called HandySwitcher® that do exactly what I've been looking for. Unlike others same apps, HandySwitcher v3.0 is very light and run simultaneously on WinMob system, it doesn't take up too many of Treo's resources. You also can put HandySwitcher on the Today screen, this really shorten the time you need to close any apps in order to release memory that's been taken up. Another feature I like is that it can force to close all the apps running on the background, and if you want to you could keep the one that currently in use/active. There are others features such as informations of CPU & memory performance available in your Treo, read on their website here to find out more about this application.

I recommend HandySwitcher for those who use their Treo 750 for heavy multi-tasking, this is how a Task Manager app should be made.

(blogged with my Treo 750v)

How my HTC Trinity helps me through the day

The day starts early a wake up alarm. Time to go wash and prepare for another day at the office. While getting dressed, a quick look at the schedule for the day and maybe for the rest of the week, so I know what appointments I already commited to for the next few days (built in Calendar and Pocket Informant). I leave the house and proceed to take my daughter to her nanny. The HTC connects to my bluetooth headset and sits tight in the car waiting for any incoming calls. I drive back home, park the car and proceed to the subway. At this point I put my iPod Nano to good use, put on some Led Zeppelin tunes (or whatever my spirit feels like) and get the HTC going by connecting to my 3G HSDPA network using Newsbreak to refresh all my RSS feeds while catching the subway. Ocasionally I will also twit from the subway either using IE or SMS messages. I read the news (BBC), financial and business (CNN Money and WSJ), I read technology news (Apple, Engadget, etc), lifestyle blogs and of course mobile sites like PA, among others. When I get to the office I have already done a few things and I am ready for a day's work. Throughout the day I use the HTC mostly for taking or making calls and also manage my calendar. I also send SMS to friends and keep my twitter miniblog updated either through SMS or my 3G connection. Also, if I need to log on to some specific site, I check my Splash ID to get the info I need. When I leave the office and head home I am usually tired so I sit back on the subway doing nothing, just thinking about life. Or else I will have printed some article or research and I do some reading of that. Getting home it's time to take care of the baby and dinner so my HTC goes to the charger and it will ring a few times too. After dinner I connect to my Wifi network and update Newsbreak again to see what's new, and after I will sit at the Mac or at the TV for some series watching before sleep. Ocasionally but not daily I use some other features on the HTC like the built in GPS with my TomTom European Maps, I can go anywhere I like and its very helpful to have the GPS with you at all times, you can even use it if you're in a friends car and he needs directions. How about geocaching? Beeline GPS to the rescue! Or if I am waiting in a line I will play a game of Bejeweled, my favorite game and a classic that I use to play on my Palms. Ocasionally I will also use the 2MP camera for taking pictures, though it isn't something I do daily. The only bad thing about the HTC? It's missing a keyboard, and that I do miss a lot.... oh and Windows is not exactly a great platform but it gets the job done.

Now having been a Palm fan for about 10 years, and having had 8 different palms (pilot personal, IIIx, m100, m105, m125, treo 90, tungsten c, treo 600) I feel sad that there isn't any Palm OS device on the market that has the capabilities I currently use. And as other brands come to the market with new products (Apple, RIM, HTC, Samsung, Nokia, etc) I see Palm slowly digging its own grave. Sad because I think Palm could be the single best OS out there and the Treo formfactor is clearly a winner, as well as the adaptation of the OS for single hand navigator key using without stylus. If you don't agree with this, then just look at how many PA readers have contributed saying that they have switched from Palm to something else because they just couldn't cope anymore with giving up so many things just for emotional attachness to a platform. If you ask me I see another Apple story here, where the company with the best platform fails to look around itself and just enters a downward spiral, and unless another Steve Jobs comes to the rescue (like at Apple a few years ago), the company is bound to disappear from the map or else stop producing Palm OS phones and just be another WinMo device manufacturer. So what gives, Palm?

Doing Grocery with my Treo 650

[From Ederic Eder Quezon City, Philippines] My Palm Treo 650 helped me complete my grocery list yesterday. Instead of writing the items I needed to buy on a piece of paper that could easily get lost, I used my Treo. It has no special software for the grocery list -- I have yet to download one -- so I just used the Tasks application. After getting each item, I only had to tick the checkbox beside it to make it disappear. This made me sure I did not forget anything, especially the candies for my girlfriend's niece and nephews.

kMeteo, an excellent free weather program for your Palm device

So we are keeping an eye on a storm that is supposed to hit the UK where I am based sometime in the next 24 hours and one of the best free weather programs that I use on my Centro is kMeteo, it's a free program but as always donations are welcome. "kMeteo permit to get weather in your Palm. You can get weather directly from your Palm with a wifi, bluetooth or data internet connection. kMeteo is a free software, licenced under GPL v2. The feature list includes:
Display full data about the actual weather.
Display ten days forecast weather.
Multi City. Get the weather from different city at the same time.
Wireless retrieve the weather from your palm.
Timer to get weather each days at the time you set."
It's free so make the jump.

MarksSpace and the iPhone SDK

[From MarksSpace] This from the Missing Sync this morning "On March 6, 2008, Apple released the iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK) to developers. The iPhone SDK offers developers access to many aspects of the iPhone and its capabilities and enables developers to create applications for the iPhone and iPod touch. Mark/Space is actively examining the iPhone SDK in regards to improvements and new features for The Missing Sync for iPhone. While it is too early to talk about plans, we're happy that the SDK is finally available to evaluate. Learn more about The Missing Sync for iPhone."

Sprinting

[From Judy (Waterford, Michigan, USA)] Over the Christmas holidays my family and I switched to Sprint as our mobile phone provider. I had used Cingular for years and I could never use my phone in my office. My office has no windows and I had to walk out to the lobby and sometimes to the parking lot to make a call. My family and I took the free flip phone with our service. The phone is the Samsung M300 and I love it. It works great in my office which was my number one hope. I even bought a new ringer... the theme from The Man From U.N.C.L.E. - a show I loved as a kid. My niece bought me a blue tooth device for my birthday. I actually had to get a bit of a lesson on how it works. It will be great for my long car rides. I'm very happy with Sprint and my new phone. It is great to be able to use my mobile phone in my office for the first time in five years!

A Day In The Life Of A Palm TX

[From Tom Stitzer] HI, I use a Palm TX every day of my life. It starts in the morning when Palmary Clock's alarm wakes me from sleep. Follow that with some email checking with SnapperMail and Resco Neews for the headlines, both of which updated themselves an hour or so before I awoke. In the car, on the way to work, I use Pockettunes rather than my iPod to listen to podcasts. Why? I'm not sure myself, but I like PocketTunes customizability, as far as skins go, and it's ability to shut down after a specified time. Also, I find the Palm much more useful at the gym (more on that later).

Once getting to school, I use Documents To Go to keep track of my students's grades and progress, as well as lesson plans. Later, at the gym, I can again listen to podcasts or some workout songs, while I use Notepad to track my workout exercises (cardio and weights). After that it's back home for hotsync and hot shower. When bedtime rolls around, again Pockettunes plays me some more music, streaming internet radio, or podcasts and then shuts itself off, after 30 minutes going to sleep as I already had.

The Palm has become such an integrated part of my life. Before the TX I had a Treo 650, prior to that a 600, and then various Sony Clie's, including the NX70, 80, and 73. All were used in varying amounts, but it's taken me till now to find all the programs I use now and develop a good routine. I think mobile devices will continue to grow and be a part of everyday lives. Right now, it's the true geeky who do what I do. Most non-geeks spend a lot of time with their phones, maybe an mp3 player, but in the future, i see a majority of the population becoming like myself. It seems just inevitable to me. With all of the press about the iPhone, people are just starting now to see the capabilities! Plus, with wireless points becoming more and more available, mobile computing becomes more and more integrated into everyone's daily lives.

Well ‘PUSH’ Me Over

[From Neil S. Patrick ( Florida, United States )] Apple has always had the best technology presentations, but I’ve always thought they also had the best “hype-machines” in the business when it came to said presentations. But at the recent iPhone SDK event, for once there was no hype, just great displays of technology in action. I watched Steve Jobs and crew display push email on the iPhone and I was well and truly wowed, not because push email is anything new, but because of how seamlessly it integrated into the iPhone’s already excellent mail application. I watched as exchange did its magic and updated the iPhone’s calendar and like a child that had long stopped believing in Santa Claus and only to then find out he was real, I was amazed beyond words.

Clearly Microsoft Exchange is nothing new and just about anyone who’s into technology would have at some point seen exchange in action, and I’m no exception. And yet that SDK event made me feel like I was seeing it for the first time. Apple, in my eyes now well and truly has the smartphone market, or at least they will come June, when these new Exchange features get added to the iPhone via the firmware 2.0 update.

For once I can truly see RIM being nervous about their smartphone market share slipping away. Windows Mobile smartphones obviously have always had push email and Microsoft Exchange functionality, but were maybe too clunky or overwhelming for the typical executive who isn’t that tech savvy, so Windows Mobile never truly challenged RIM in the corporate environment. But with the iPhone’s slick user interface and Microsoft’s PUSH technology, I think Apple has all but guaranteed it will be a serious competitor in the smartphone/corporate environment, and that’s without even having a true QWERTY keyboard.

Even though at first glance one might think that Microsoft will be a bit worried about its Windows Mobile platform, I kind of think they’re more than will to take a hit there if it means their Exchange server truly becomes the standard that all corporations around the world embrace.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to head over to apple.com and order my iPhone.

Treo vs. iPhone

[From JB - NYC] The following events are true. You may draw what conclusions you will. Today I was sitting in a meeting with two colleagues. We were trying to remember the name of a certain clothing store and its location in downtown Manhattan. We all pulled out our smartphones. Colleague 1 said, "I just got this iPhone and haven't learned to do anything but make calls on it, yet." Colleague 2 said, "I know I have maps on my iPhone, but it has currently frozen up and I can't do anything. Do you know how to reboot it?" While this was going on, I calmly powered up my Treo 650, entered a partial name into tryDA, secured the address and phone number, mapped it to GoogleMaps, and we quickly had the information in question. Today the Treo won.

Momma’s Centro

[From Melanie Roberts (Covington, Louisiana)] Its time for our annual school fair and the list of things to do is much longer this year. As we are trying to raise funds for our yet-to-be-built gymnasium. My Centro and all the extra programs I have installed are working beautifully. Food, rides, prizes, worker schedules, auction items, rental equipment, etc.;and all the information that go with these items are in my phone. So many of us volunteers are in-sync with these same schedules, numbers and extensive lists. This years fair will run the smoothest because of momma’s Centro.

Luckily I carry my PDA

[From Ronald Abadi Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia] Today is a public holiday in my country, so I did not go to the office. I decided to go to a nearby grocery store to do some stock up. By chance, I met an old friend there, one I have not met in many, many years. We talked for a while, and gave each other address and contact info. Well, I never carry a pen and note with me, so I could not write down his address and contact info, but luckily I always carry my PDA Phone. So, I just fired up the contact program and jot down his address and contact info there. It is really quite convenient to have a PDA at moment like that.

Having my m500 with me everyday

[From Samuel Wang, Singapore] Dear Sammy, Having my m500 with me everyday as the case doubles as my wallet means that I can check the bible whenever I want and read it wherever I am. Within seconds confirm an appointment or get contact details but best of all I can customize everything to make it work the best way for me with so many little software tools I can download free! It is the easiest and best mobile data store and access tool for me.

Collecting Information

[From Don in Nebraska] I use my trusty Tungsten T3 to gather all kinds of data. I track my work hours, organizational rosters, motivational quotes and ideas and Church Documents. I like having access to the information where ever I am without carrying a lot of paper. The information is easy to search on the T3 so even if I don't remember where I put it I can find the information I need. I can't count the number of times I've spent a few hours looking for that paper note. T3 is a time saver.

Browsing like on the desktop computer

[From Tibor Szentmarjay, Budapest, Hungary] Every evening when my daughter is already in bed and I start checking my emails and RSS-feeds my wifes comes to my desk and claims the family notebook. I shouldn't resist if I want some breakfast next day so I usually let her checking the baby forums and blogs. So if I don't do the washing up or take a book to read I put out my PDA and run Minimo, which is a Mozilla based browser. Mozilla based - so almost everything can be view what can be viewed in a Firefox. You can check already pages with latest technology like AJAX, it has RSS support and lots of other features and of course it is free.

GIVEAWAY [Could end anytime] - 12 inch MacBook Pro

OK as we are replacing MacBooks in the office with MacBook Pro's I have a spare 12 inch MacBook [pictured left] and the giveaway could end ant time.

All you need to do is send me a user thought on how your using your mobile device or a thought that is mobile technology related. No pleas informing why you should be the winner or what will you do with the prizes if you win. Please put MARCH in the subject line and IMPORTANTLY give your mobile thought a title, or it will not be entered. Let me know your town/ country too. No self sites or software mentions and keep your thoughts positive. If you don't see your user thought posted then please do not resend, we receive so many but all of them are entered - sammymcloughlin@gmail.com