PalmAddicts

PhoneFavs - Online mobile bookmarks

I have been using Yahoo Bookmarks for a number of years on my PC.  I have been wondering if there was a similar service that was smartphone friendly.  The search is over, PhoneFavs is the answer.  It is a bookmarking web site that can be viewed from your smartphone's  web browser screen. Here’s how it works.  First, you visit http://phonefavs.com on your computer or smartphone, and setup a free user account.  Next, you have a choice of importing Firefox bookmarks or Internet Explorer favorites, or adding bookmarks on your own.  Finally,  you browse to http://phonefavs.com on your phone, login to your "MyPhoneFavs" and set it up as your home page.  That is it! It is as easy as that! One cool feature Phonefavs has is the Mobilizer. The Mobilizer give you the ability to view any web site in an optimized view for your smartphone's web browser.  Web pages load much quicker because the graphics, and layouts are optimized for the small screen.  You access the Mobilizer by clicking on the letter M next to each Phonefavs entry.  This is an awesome feature. Phonefavs is a great tool for bookmarks. It's quick to open, easy to use, and the best feature, it is free!

JK hands on Celio's Redfly

jkOnTheRun got his first impressions upon testing out the Celio's mobile companion called Redfly, as what JK mentioned: "...it connects to a Windows Mobile smartphone or Pocket PC and extends the display and the keyboard of the phone. That's all it does and it does it very well. There is no processor onboard, no memory, no computer of any kind. It uses the phone as the processor and simply gives you better input/ output capability for the Windows Mobile phone." Read on his usual great blog here to get further infos of his first quick impressions. And there's also a link to Matt Miller's first impressions blog, complete with photos and video as well; all are in jkOnTheRun weblog.

(blogged with my Treo 750v)

Email options for the Centro

Murray who edits his personal blog PalmMac has written an interesting editorial looking at email options for the Palm Centro. "I've used Snappermail for years, going back to the days when I had my first Treo 180 and it has always been one of the first apps that gets loaded onto any new device. There's a real comfort zone thing going on there with Snappermail, it's like moving into a new flat and immediately putting up your favourite picture in the front room. In addition, it has always worked for me...it has always managed to connect and download and equally importantly, send email with the absolute bare minimum of fuss. I can't recall it ever crashing either in more than 5 years of active service." Read in full.

Google sees 20% increase of use

Once again Google prove why Microsoft and Yahoo! should worry; Google have reported that they see 20% increase of their search tool use by mobile phone users. Their ease of use & fast search tool are seem to be very appealing for mobile users, this mostly because Google’s layout design is simple and fits in the mobile phone’s small screen. Since Google draw their revenues from ads that are showed during the search results, this would mean a quite challenge to put those ads in the already cramped mobile phone’s screen. And because mobile phone users are always picky on data plans they have with their wireless provider, an overload ads data would scare users away to use the search tool service again. Personally I would think that a better result in the search tool we used, is a reflecting mirror on how much the search tool popularity growth. Plus it's very nice to have a localised search tool like what Google have done (later followed by Microsoft and Yahoo!). So, what is your favorite mobile search tool now? –via PC World

(blogged with my Treo 750v)

How Mobile Technology Evolved

[From Natasha R , US] I feel that mobile technology have come a long way. Nowadays, you can have a mobile device of anything from a portable dvd player to a portable game system. The technology has evolved too, the amount of applications or activities that you can do on you mobile device has evolved as well. For example, on a portable music player such as mp3 player, you can access the radio, connect to the Internet and even play flash games. In addition, the mobile device might have extra features to save up energy such as power off feature when your not using the system or longer lasting re-chargeable batteries so you don't have to keep paying money to replace the batteries on your system. Furthermore, mobile technology have become the optimal device to connect with other people around the world with portable internet access, people can access different social networks and chat with their friends or exchange photos and videos. A couple of years ago, mobile technology would be bulky and unattractive and nowadays the mobile devices have become slicker, smaller, and easier to carry and customize as the technology advanced to improve the mobile technology field. I feel that as time goes on, mobile technology will continue to improve and we look on these days as the evolution of the mobile technology and how advanced technology can become, when there are masses of people supporting it's development and improvement. Some people say that there is mobile device revolution, because everyone wants to get their hands on the newest, advanced mobile technology, however as the technology gets more advanced, the prices tend to raise and it's harder to afford those devices. I feel that there should be a balance between the two, as mobile technology evolves, the prices should be more affordable so everyone can have the chance to enjoy the beauty of a mobile device.

140+ real images of the Sprint HTC Shift device

[From Matthew Miller] Boy, when it rains it pours. Amazon blew the cover on the HTC Shift so I had to scramble to get my review up and I am still working on the full review. However, you can see 140+ images and my quick and dirty thoughts here, http://blogs.zdnet.com/mobile-gadgeteer/?p=952

Almost Time to Retire . . .

I hate the thought of it, but I am afraid it is almost time to retire my Palm T|X. It is not that I don't want to keep using my T|X, but it is just starting to show its age. The battery doesn't hold up for very long and the touchscreen is becoming erratic & unresponsive. I use my T|X quite frequently to read news and to read electronic books. I love its wifi capabilities and, with an expansion card, I can carry all my reference books and a complete library of my favorite reading material. I know the T|X is a popular device with the PalmAddict readers, judging by your contributions to the PalmAddict blog. Oh, I've considered picking up a new T|X from Palm, while they still have them available, but the price is still a bit steep for what it is. I do wonder why Palm can make a Centro to sell at $99 but we still end up paying a steep price for their other devices. Sure, the Centro cost is offset by a cellphone service contract, but it seems I have been paying that $300 - $400 for every Palm device I have owned. Surely, by now, the cost of the technology should have come down. I wonder: Is it a quantity of units sold problem, or does Palm not see the benefit of selling more for less? I guess I'll struggle along with my aging T|X until it gives up the ghost entirely.

Houston Chronicle Earnings Preview: Palm

[From Eric Mann] Houston Chronicle takes a preview at third-quarter results from Palm tomorrow. "Palm's shares have declined about 21 percent since the year began, closing at $5.09 on Tuesday. The stock has traded between $4.25 and $19.50 in the past 52 weeks." Houston Chronicle after the jump.

HappyDays

[From Eric Mann] Here is one from Eric this hour and Eric sends word in about HappyDays. "HappyDays is an application for the Palm family of hand-held computers. It is yet another Birthdate clone. HappyDays will help you remember the birthdays and anniversaries of your friends and family members. HappyDays is free to use and licensed under the GNU General Public License. It is developed using PRC-Tools on an Linux.

HappyDays is a work in progress. If you have any suggestions for improvement or found a bug in the program, please email me(Jaemok Jeong) or use Mailing list. You can see some reviews about this program from PalmGear H.Q.. Birthdate+, old version of HappyDays is available also." HappyDays after the jump.

Gartner says that the iPhone is fine for business

[From Hans] Gartner says that the iPhone is fine for business. "Today Gartner reversed its opinion on the iPhone: Before, it said the iPhone wasn't business-friendly, but today, the firm grants it "appliance-level" status, meaning that with the upcoming enterprise-friendly iPhone 2.0 update, it'll officially be safe enough—and functional enough—for hardcore suit-wearers." The Gizmodo has all the deets.

Event Reminder for Palm, Inc

[From Palm PR] Thanks Palm's PR department, remember that tomorrow you can tune into the Q3FY08 Results from Palm.com. Follow this link and you'll be able to tune in and see what's being said and just how well Palm are doing.

24 HOURS LEFT

Ladies and gentlemen please note that if you want to enter the giveaway for the MacBook then you only have 24 hours as the giveaway ends at midnight US PT tomorrow so you really do need to hurry. "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

Dell coming back to PDAs and smartphones?

This could be great news for the Windows Mobile platform and the entire PDA industry if Dell comes back to PDAs.  As most people (myself included) agree, Dell made some of the most stunning Pocket PCs that still can't be beat.  This can only be good news if Dell comes back into the fold.  With recent news of Garmin also coming back, the mobiles are not dead.

Dell reportedly plans to resume its handheld device business and the company may team up with Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) to develop Windows Mobile-based handheld devices, according to market sources in Taiwan.

Dell has been reorganizing its team for handheld devices since it hired Ron Garriques, a former executive vice president at Motorola in charge of its cell phone division, in early 2007, the sources indicated.

Dell apparently has accelerated its move towards the handheld device segment following Acer's recent announcement of acquiring Taiwan-based smartphone maker E-Ten Information Systems, the sources added.

Read more at DigiTimes.

Also check out what EngadgetMobile has to say.

Anyone who wants a SanDisk 4GB SD High Capacity Card then drop me a email with how you are using your mobile device

OK so I have another SanDisk 4GB SD High Capacity Card to giveaway [in fact I have quite a few memory cards lying about the office but just the one we are giving away today] so I am keeping the guidelines the same as yesterday's same throwaway. It's just a quick throwaway, and so as usual the first person who emails me with a few lines on how they are using their mobile device can take the SanDisk 4GB SD High Capacity Card off my hands.

Please remember do not send material that you have already sent in. No self site or software promotions and please do not send any blank emails or plea's for the device or I trash them immediately. Please put WEDNESDAY in the subject line and email - sammymcloughlin@gmail.com

Using Pocket Quicken with my Treo

I've used Quicken for years. I pay my bills on line and integrate my use with TurboTax. About 5 years ago, I picked up a copy of Pocket Quicken for my Treo 650, and started using it religiously. What I found was a very handy way to track my spending. My wife and I only have one checkbook, which she carries. We've had debit cards to this same account forever, but I was always losing debit card receipts, and then scratching my head when balancing my checkbook. (We don't keep a running balance in the checkbook - just in the desktop version of Quicken.) Having my Treo handy most of the day, I resolved to input my debit card purchases almost immediately. Hotsynching at the end of the day imports them into the desktop version, and my balance on this account (and now all my credit card accounts) stay pretty much up-to-date. It's now a habit, and I'm loving the results. I'm able to look up past charges or checks on my Treo, and even provide check numbers and categories when necessary. Pocket Quicken is available from Landware (www.landware.com) and sells for $39.95. It's available for Palm OS (3.5 and greater), Windows Mobile,versions 5/6 and Windows Mobile Smartphone Version 5.0 including the Motorola Q. Current version is 2.51, and it works with Quicken 2008. If tracking your personal or business finances include the Quicken desktop version, the mobile version is a handy addition.

Being Bothered

do you want to know what bothers me ... do you want the whole list or a few of the big things .... i will give you a few of the big things and you can write for the rest of the list ,,,

sammy bothers me and the rest of his friends who submit material that they have typed on there mobile device and they brag about it ... my fingers are too old as is my brain and all i can do is a sentence or two on my iphone ... they do volumes ... not fair i say

then there is the fact that i can not hold conversations with the people who write on PA ... they are often so interesting and informative and so far away ... i am a talker and sort of a writer ... i have written 2 books and many articles have been published ( yes i am bragging ;-) ) ... but i am a retired preacher and teacher and conversation is a gift of the gods

another thing that bothers me is i want to live to be 200 years old so that i can enjoy all the new electronic toys that are coming and i am working at it ... 123 years to go

thanxs for listening and for sammy and gang

On The Road, Real-World Conditions Review

I will be traveling across New York State at the beginning of April to look at colleges with my daughter and then she is flying home with her brother after spending a week in NC. While on the road, I plan to provide a real-world review of Palm OS travel software. I will be looking at Trip Boss, several flight tracking programs, and a number of programs and websites that claim to make life easier while on the road. Stay tuned beginning April 2nd.

Palm introduces the Centro to India

[From Hans] Palm has introduced the glacier white Palm Centro smartphone in India according to reports today. The Centro is available at the retail price of Rs. 13,990 (inclusive of tax) and will be distributed through Brightstar Telecom India Pvt Ltd., the national distributor.

Bejeweled 2 for Palm OS(R) and Windows Mobile(R) gets a major update!

[From Alison at Astraware] Astraware(R) and PopCap Games(R) are very excited to announce a major update to PopCap's best-selling, flagship game, Bejeweled(R) 2.

In version 1.30, Bejeweled 2 adds much-requested support for 240x240 square screen Windows Mobile(R) devices such as Palm(R) TreoTM smartphones and includes support for 320x320 Windows Mobile Professional and Classic devices such as Samsung's SGH-i780 smartphone.

This update also sees the very first release on Windows Mobile(R) Standard devices. Bejeweled 2, version 1.30, supports 240x320 and 320x240 resolution non-touchscreen devices including the HTC S710, HTC StrTrk, Samsung Blackjack & Blackjack II, and Motorola Q and Q9.

The game has been brought fully up-to-date on Astraware's current games framework and controls have been optimized for play with either 5-way or stylus. Bejeweled 2 is recognised by both public and media as the must-have puzzle game for your Palm OS(R) or Windows Mobile(R) device, and this update supports an even wider range of devices than ever before!

Bejeweled 2, version 1.30, is a completely FREE update for registered users. Players who haven't yet experienced this award-winning classic can purchase a copy, priced $19.95, from the Astraware website: http://www.astraware.com/bejeweled2

Why I No Longer use Memo or To Do

I don't Memo or ToDo on my Palm devices anymore. The reason is SplashNotes from SplashData. SplashNotes is an outlining tool available for the Palm OS, Pocket PC, SmartPhone and Desktop. Like all of SplashData's software, this program is polished and useful. SplashNotes allows you to create outlines that have bullets, numbers or check boxes so you can plan, manage, and organize nearly everything in your life. The addition of a Desktop component makes it all the more useful.

So, rather than create another memo, I create a new outline when I need to make note of something. For instance, I have a bulleted outline entitled "Blog Topics" with which I jot down ideas for posts to the various blogs I run or contribute to. Each topic can have sub-items indented for clarity, and each topic can be collapsed to streamline the view. When new ideas come up, I just add another topic. In addition to blog topics, I keep running outlines for Books/Movies/Music that I want to get, Geek Notes, Life Ideas, Podcasting/Music Recording and more. This is great if you listen to a lot of podcasts or read a lot of blogs (I do both) and want to jot down something you just heard or read.

Rather than create To Do items, which I have always found messy and cumbersome, I have created several outlines to track what I need to do: Home Ideas/Purchases, Blog Building, Business To Dos. I also have created topics to track my time and expenses for my private consulting. I also use SplashNotes to store certain documentation. For instance, I have my Palm Addict Guidelines, Bible/Sermon Notes, several Getting Things Done (GTD) guidelines, Life Hacking, and more. Lastly, I use it to store questions that I want to ask certain people when next we meet, such as questions for my doctor.

All in all, this is another great product from SplashData and I strongly recommend you give it a try. And, No, this is NOT a paid endorsement! (And now, I can check off SplashNotes on my Blog Topics outline) :-)

RoGame announces Update for DeStaller Pro

RoGame Software has announced an update to DeStaller Pro to version 3.2. DeStaller Pro application oriented uninstaller for the Palm OS that is available in a free and Pro version. Destaller allows you to maximize the memory of your device by allowing to safely remove single files, 'a68k' Files, saved and unsaved preferences and more. I use this program every week to make sure I don't have any rogue unassociated data left on my Treo. The program is also useful for quickly determining what software version you have installed on your Palm. DeStaller Pro is a bit safer to use than a deep level utility like TealScan, but as with all such file level utilities, back up first and be careful what you remove!

RoGame Software makes a number of useful Palm OS utilities, most of which are available in a free version and a Pro version. These include Backup Pro and several games. Their music software, including ChordLab (chord library),daCapo (metronome), EarMan (train your ear), Scale Master (portable keyboard) are excellent for songwriters and musicians.

Best way to start a day- A Page from The Bible

For me, the best way to start a day is to read the bible (with a cup of coffee in hand of course). In this day and age, some might feel that this is a very primitive book and not really worth the time. It all depends on the version you read. Most versions of the bible omit Gods name or use old ways of talking that just aren't how we communicate any more. One of the most accurate translations of the bible, if not THE most accurate is the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. Although not officially available in a mobile format. A version has been created in English, Spanish, French and a few other languages for Palm OS, the app is called NWT. Please contact me if you are interested (this is a FREE, product), I am not the creator of it nor do I receive ANY benefit.) NWT bible is also available in the iSIlo format and NWT+. I love being able to read on the fly, save my spot and keep reading, as my goal is to complete the bible in a year.

Flipside for Blackberry Review

As an iPod owner I don't use my phone as a main device.  RIM's media application is ever so slightly basic compared to Palm's offerings of Real Player or pTunes.

Back on my Treo my MP3 player of choice is Busker from Electric Pocket.  Why?

Well I covered that in a review a while ago, but mainly because I love cover art (The main reason I own an iPod Touch is coverflow!).  Now Flipside got me very excited, it's not a port of Busker; it's a brand new player from Electric Pocket.

Flipside had been long awaited by the Blackberry community, there isn't much competition in the area so when a strong developer comes along to make an MP3 player that has a gorgeous interface with cover art browsing  it was  bound to be talked about.

Interface wise FlipSide allows you to flip through your cover art to choose album, add to play list, or just to play an individual song.  This is incredibly effective using the scroll ball found on the Curve and Pearl devices as  a quick flick sends your cover art whizzing by. The interface really is where Flipside excels, unlike most Blackberry applications which can be a tad bland.

On the cover art side of things one very cool feature brought over from Busker is the ability to download new cover art as needed, very handy (if slightly slow over GPRS)!

As expect Flipside works perfectly playing in the background and can be flipped to from a shortcut it creates in the application menu, simple and effective.

I can't really pass judgement on the audio quality as I have no baseline comparison (and a tone deaf!), but it's as good or better than Busker is on my Treo, I suspect this will vary between Blackberry devices though.

So if you want a good looking, good quality player for your Blackberry Flipside is a superb choice. Go and have a nose over at the site here.

ToolboxToGo for Palm OS version 1.0.

[From Adriano at Iambic] Hi Sammy, Tuesday, March 18, 2008: we are happy to announce the release of ToolboxToGo for Palm OS version 1.0.

- Short Summary

ToolboxToGo is our brand new title for recent Palm OS based handhelds and smartphones, geared towards anyone wishing to have the ability of changing multiple contacts, meetings, tasks and memos' data at once.

The application includes five tools allowing to adjust contacts' capitalization, align phone number formatting, delete data based on creation date, apply numerous changes to any of the contact, meeting and task related fields, and remove tags from the item's note. Each facility is designed for fine grained selection of the pim items to which the changes will be applied and presents a list of records falling in the search criteria prior to moving forward with the updates.

We named it ToolboxToGo because we see a lot of parallels between what the tool offers and the types of helpful items a handyman or mechanic might carry along in his toolbox. In our ToolboxToGo users will discover five uniquely-designed tools that may find themselves unable to live without.

- Release Details & Download

Product Overview: http://www.iambic.com/toolboxtogo/palmos/
Details & Tour http://www.iambic.com/toolboxtogo/palmos/details.asp
Download: http://www.iambic.com/toolboxtogo/palmos/trial.asp

First impressions, photos, and video of the REDFLY Windows Mobile Companion. Can it succeed where the Foleo couldn't?

[From Matt] I was lucky enough to get a chance to evaluate an early beta of the REDFLY device and just posted some initial impressions here, http://blogs.zdnet.com/mobile-gadgeteer/?p=951

You will find 45 photos, a 10 minute video, and my first impressions in the blog posting.

As a person who commutes on the train 2 hours every day and usually always has a Windows Mobile device in tow, this is actually a perfect device for me to be real productive with text entry and enjoy surfing on a larger display.

I look forward to lots of real world testing over the next couple of weeks. IMHO, if it is priced at $500 then it may die before they sell too many of them and I personally won't pay that much for the device.

I am a long time user of Palm devices (from the Treo 300 to now my Centro)

[From Keith Schonrock III] I am a long time user of Palm devices (from the Treo 300 to now my Centro) and my Centro is my everything device! I use it to synchronize my addressbook and calendar with my laptop, to watch TV via Slingplayer, to play games on such as TextTwist and Bejeweled2, not to mention administering servers with TuSSH and also monitoring great websites and RSS fees such as PamlAddicts using QuickNews. I am a long time reader, but this is my first ever email in to you. Thanks for such a great site -- I visit multiple times every day!

eReader discount fort the week ahead

[From eReader] So here is your eReader discount for the next few days and if you can take advantage then you make the jump. "Punch in this week's Promo Code ERM318 to receive a 10% discount off any eligible book that you purchase. Offer good through March 25, 2008 on all books. This discount cannot be used with any other special offers" eReader after the jump.

Adobe forces Flash into iPhone

Wow, just few minutes after my last post about Flash isn't available for iPhone; Adobe has just announced that they'll keep on brewing a "special" flavoured kind of Flash player just for iPhone sake. Perhaps Steve Jobs is going to change his mind again faster than a speeding bullet, and include this new Flash in iPhone firmware 2.0 update next June. EngadgetMobile has the speedy news right at here.

(blogged with my Treo 750v)

iphones for $250! refurb from AT&T

Another reason to dip into the smartphone segment just surfaced over on iphone atlas. AT&T are offering refurbished 8GB iphones for $249.... You can buy now and activate it later according to the official website.... Me thinks a whole lot of people who were on the edge have been tipped over.... After having just stated last week that I was going to sensibly stick with repairing or finding a used TX.... I find myself having a  serious bout of technolust. Whats holding me back... well the usual questions, can I get the iphone without a dataplan? and even if I get it minus a dataplan, is there a way to switch off EDGE? If you have the answers to these questions I'd love to here them on the forum...

SilverLight vs. Flash Lite; A battle for mobile web platform supremacy (part. 3)

…story continued from previous. While the battle between SilverLight and Flash Lite is surrounding the mobile phone OS such as Windows Mobile, Symbian, Palm OS, UIQ, etc. There's one mobile phone that keep on growing and gain more market everyday, thus can't be looked down anymore: iPhone. The iPhone users are currently very satisfied with it's Safari web browser, even though it can't play Flash content in many websites; especially websites like YouTube and Hulu. But these content users are begining to complain for the lack of Flash support, and with Steve Jobs' announcement at the company’s annual shareholder meeting that Flash Lite is not good enough for iPhone; this means no Flash for iPhone like ever! Steve mentioned that Flash Lite, although it's the mini-sized of Flash player desktop, is still too heavy for iPhone's processor so it can cause lag in overal performance and drain the battery's life faster. With this, Microsoft's Silverlight have a good chance to be use in iPhone. But no bright news so far for Silverlight to shine in iPhone, judging from Steve Ballmer's statement; it's probably the revenue share policy from Apple is the main thing that hinder Microsoft to push Silverlight into iPhone. I bet Adobe will not stay still to let this slip away just like that, as what Anup Murarka, director of technical marketing for mobile and devices at Adobe said: “"We'd love to see Flash come to the iPhone. Hopefully when we have the opportunity to review the SDK, and if it's a vehicle to deliver a solution, we would look forward to working with Apple."

With Silverlight or not, many anylists believe that iPhone will continue to widened it's market share. Everybody are eager to see what Steve Jobs has left under his sleeves when iPhone firmware 2.0 announced in June this year, for you who can't wait that long then try to take a peek at Engadget here.

(blogged with my Treo 750v)

Use your GPS to the fullest with LightPole

Here’s another great idea for using your mobile phone to navigate around the city and get the best deals offered by nearby stores just in few click away, introducing LightPole. It’s more than a map application inside your mobile phone, LightPole uses both GPS system technology which already available in your mobile phone and combine it with Wi-Fi feature from partners such as Hotspotr. The use of Wi-Fi is more dynamic for publishing partners like a coffee shop or restaurant owner, who wish to promote their special offer only for short time frame; with Hotspotr service these promotions are based on ZIP code area which is more accurate than Google Maps said Doug Klein, CEO of LightPole. Timing is the essence of LightPole main idea, a great example was described by Klein: “A phone customer could find himself with two hours to spare in lower Manhattan, LightPole could feature a service from a company that does salon bookings in Manhattan. The phone user could check LightPole to find if that booking service has any salons nearby with openings during the two-hour window, and then book an appointment. Later, the user could add a review of the salon.” LightPole also have features where you could make a phone call directly to the stores, and share the news to friends via email. More details are on Nancy Gohring's (IDG News Service) usual outstanding article here.

(blogged with my Treo 750v)

Corporate email service solution for iPhone

The delay of Lotus Suites deployment for iPhone users in corporate environment was just another sad news for business users, but perhaps IBM is prepping a new integrated system for Lotus first to handle the new firmware 2.0 & iPhone SDK kit. But if you can’t wait that long for uncertainty, then there’s a solution came from Sybase called iAnywhere. According to Senthil Krishnapillai, director of product management for Sybase iAnywhere's mobile collaborations group, iAnywhere was made without the SDK kit but received guidance from Apple so it will work well in your iPhone. It also emphasis on important features such as proxy connection so there should be no compromises in the company’s firewall settings, which often becomes IT Managers biggest headache. iAnywhere can provide better security with restrictions in email attachments, and while syncing to company’s email server; iAnywhere can allow it’s users to look up for their co-workers buddies through corporate directory. Sybase plans to add more features in iAnywhere after the release of iPhone SDK kit, so corporate companies can enjoy the wide range it can support from Lotus Domino to Microsoft’s Exchange Server. Read on PC World article here for deeper infos.

(blogged with my Treo 750v)

Arthur C. Clarke dies at age 90

Sad news.  One of the world's great science fiction writers, and science popularizers, has just died at the age of 90 in Sri Lanka.  I'm 63, but I have a vividly clear memory of reading his wonderful "Exploration of Space" in the early '50's when I was about 8 or 10.  He described an unbelievable thing in that book - the launching of a satellite from the Earth that could actually be placed into orbit.  I have the clearest memory of thinking about how I wished I could live to be old enough to see such a thing happen.  I made it!

SilverLight vs. Flash Lite; A battle for mobile web platform supremacy (part. 2)

…story continued from previous. It's the same joyous news for Windows Mobile users, includes me as well upon hearing the news that Microsoft (MS) SilverLight for Mobile 1.0 is also making it's way to WinMob, I began slowly to think about why would MS do this? At the first glance, it seems MS was pulling a leg with Adobe. But on second thought, MS looks like undirectly admited that Adobe's Flash Lite is more popular & widely accepted than the SilverLight. From a business profit point of view, both sides are mutually gaining more revenues and popularity than when they're competing with each other.

The SilverLight needs to start get into mobile phone market so it wouldn't left behind so badly by Flash Lite, while the developers are still trusting Flash to run their web contents; SilverLight won't see a clear bright day for it's future. By comparing SilverLight with Flash Lite directly in WinMob device, the end-user cutomers can give feedbacks to the web developers so they'll use more SilverLight features than Flash Lite's; but of course if SilverLight is indeed a better platform than Flash. Adobe wouldn't turned down the huge-juicy contract to embedded the Flash Lite into every WinMob OS available around the world, in fact they must've also been hoping to gain what MS want that I've mentioned above. It's too early to say who's going to dominate other in the future, because even though Adobe's Flash is widely used; MS SilverLight is aimed for more integrated system for products from Microsoft. To be continued…

(blogged with my Treo 750v)

Bejeweled 2 - a new version!

Astraware is releasing a new version of Bejeweled 2 on March 19. If you haven't played Bejeweled 2 before (or even if you have...) --- you won't be disappointed if you go over to Astraware and download a trial version of Bejeweled 2. In fact, you'll probably want to buy it. I think it's WELL WORTH the price! I NEVER seem to get tired of playing Bejeweled 2!

Bejeweled 2 is truly a "classic" --- with beautiful graphics, great sound effects, colored jewels, exploding gems, hypercubes, different playing levels, 4 game play modes and 5 unlockable bonus play modes. Its so much fun to play, I can play for hours (literally!). It's also a great game for "kids" of all ages, take it from me, my grandkids have been playing Bejeweled since it came out and they were no older than 5 years!

Bejeweled 2 (available on March 19) is available for Palm OS, Pocket PC, Windows PC AND this update also adds support for square screen Windows Mobile Professional devices and marks the first ever release for Windows Mobile Standard devices! 

Astraware sells a lot of great games, and offers free trials too, so make sure you check out all the other great games they offer as well! Go on... give it a try... you know you want to watch those jewels explode! :-)

Setting up Ubuntu with the help in my palms

Palm has been helping my life in many ways. But one of the most intense use I experienced happened early this year, when I migrated all computers in my office from Windows to Ubuntu Linux.

It all started when I needed to read all the references, which was in PDF format. As most of them were 100 pages of more, they were converted to repligo, which offers a faster reading experience compared to Docs2Go or PalmPDF.

When it came to the installation and setup, I also relied on online references that I saved in memos. As palm limits the number of categories to only 15, I created one category of Ubuntu, and started all memos with titles and subtitles, such as "samba/setup", "samba/adding user", "GUI/compiz", etc. This way the memos are sorted by the "subcategories". I use MemoLeaf for its fast search ability to find the right memo in no time. I also key-in all outstanding issues in the built-in ToDos data using CanDo. The advantage of CanDo is that we can set "umbrella categories". We can choose to display either only the parent(s) or all the other categories within it.

The project was set to finish the end of this month, but thanks to palm I managed to complete setup of the new dedicated file server using samba and converted all computers to either Ubuntu or XUbuntu 1 month ahead.

And even after this phase is over, I am still using palm as reference to bash and other administrator guides, using plucker readily available format from the Linux Documentation Project Guides.

How Palm could redeem itself to the critics

[From Tyler] Firstly I love palm devices, but keep Microsoft off of it. I think it is smart for Palm to continue to offer their OS. As a Mac user... Microsoft is not only a nemisis but an annoying infectious thorn that attempts to ensure nothing is Mac compatible. Ok so the critics say the Palm OS is outdated, I would argue that if it isn't broken don't fix it. However, since the OS is still wonderful simply have someone redesign the look of the OS just re-skin it. Keep it simple, clean and speedy.

I have only two other areas that I really scratch my head on. Why has Palm not included Wi-Fi? It is a simple add and if it doesn't happen HTC and Iphone will destroy Palm's market share.

Why has Palm not included GPS? Sure you can buy an add-on but consumers would rather have the cost consolidated, it makes them feel like they are getting a better deal. They could even offer a GPS line and non-GPS line for those that are budget concious, though I feel if someone is buying a PDA or smartphone price isn't the most important thing features are. I feel if these changes were implemented and the pricing was still more affordable than the Iphone (they have to realize they don't have the same "cult" that Apple does) then Palm has a winner. As an Apple fan I have a Centro rather than an Iphone. Mostly because I loathe AT&T and love Sprint. But also because the Centro does everything I need it to and the Palm OS is simple and powerful, I re-iterate my bias against Microsoft. In any case Palm is right there but needs to convince the consumer that they aren't a one-hit wonder.

I am using an unlocked Tréo 680

[From Norberto From Mexico] Sammy: Currently I am using an unlocked Tréo 680 that I bought back in November upgrading from a T3. I use it mainly as my organizer with Calendar, to keep track of my business and personal appointments. It has also helped remind me (and many others) in a timely fashion of who celebrates their birthday, which is very much appreciated by my friends, colleagues and beloved ones. It also helps me with my thought and information centralizing and collecting with Memos (1112 of them), my contacts organizer with Contacts (1444 of them), my Bible reader with Olivetree's Bible Reader (4 Bible versions plus commentaries) and Bible Plus (3 versions plus fat commentaries), hear songs with pTunes, keep up with news and RSS feeds with Avantgo and read books with with eReader. By the way, I capture from internet many articles and pieces of information that are of my interest and readily convert them (with Dropbook) to eReader format which has a smaller footprint in the memory of my phone or SD card than other available options. In sum, my Palm paired with Palm Desktop, helps me keep my hectic life orgainezed. Please enjoy yourselves.

I have found my Treo 700p the best buy in my professional career thus far

[From Frank M. Jackson III, MPA] Hello Mr. McLoughlin, As a young administrator here at the university I have found my Treo 700p the best buy in my professional career thus far. I use it daily to keep up with meetings and todo lists. One of the main reasons I purchase this Treo is because I can give presentation at workshops using it and not having to log a laptop around.

Email On Treo

[From David Ross] I love the ease at which I can use email on my 680. My choice is Snappermail and its as easy as texting. Today I have kept up with my blogging, had newsletters and digest from a few site and got the minutes as a doc file from our local Primary Schools last Parents Council meeting. I was able to oen it with Docs to Go and make some comments and save as a seperate file. Yes email on the 680 is a breeze

Some ways I use my treo 755p

[From pshannon17] When I have a little free time during the day I enjoy surfing the web. Blazer is ok but a little slugish and somewhat limiting to some web sites I try to access. A prime example is palmaddicts. In the past I have had a lot of trouble with connection problems with opera mini. Two weeks ago I downloaded the most recent version of opera mini 4 and it has worked perfectly. I can even access palmaddicts on my treo 755 with no problems at all. An application that has enhanced my browseing experience is lightspeed. Lightspeed allows you to change the cpu speed of your device. There is a little comprise with battery life but not that much. It definately perks up blazer and opera mini. Lightspeed is shareware and certainly worth a try if your unhappy with the performance of any of your palm handheld devices.

Tuesday with my Treo

[From Jon Glass, Krakow, Poland] Today, I used my Treo to help me in teaching English. I used LIngvosoft's Polish-English dictionary, which acts as a fantastic thesaurus, as well. My student loves seeing all the many words he can learn! Can't beat the Palm!

Opera Mini Tips

[From .Rui de Castro] Lately I have been using Opera Mini for some of my browsing and I haven't had a crash. I still like blazer for some sites because its fast and some big site that Opera Mini still can't handle. But any way this is my set up: I have it installed through Zlauncher with its card feature, Opera Mini and its files are installed on my card and then I moved all of the Java files to the folder that Zlauncher creates om my card, this way when I run Opera Mini all the files that are necessary are installed temporarily on the Palm main memory. Oh by the way after installing Opera Mini, the first time you run it, goto any site then quit and do the Zlauncher Move to Card that described before. This way you save space on main palm memory and Opera mini is more stable because Java files that are left behind can be deleted, which is one of the main reasons it becomes unstable. Another thing that make it unstable is entering web addresses, that's why I use Phonefavs.com. I add all my favorite sites that I view on the desktop threw its easy to use bookmark. This way when I'm in Opera Mini I just have to go to the site and select the site that I want. It also has a mobilizer for does sites that are to heavy for Opera Mini to handle. I also have heard that there is a old Sony Clie font that you can add with Fontsmooth that makes the small fonts readable. I haven't tried yet.

Bigger storage for now

[From Ronald Abadi ] A couple of weeks ago I received a 1GB Class 4 Hagiwara Sys-Com SD Card from Tokyo as a gift. I had been meaning to replace my ageing 512MB MMC Plus Card on my O2 Xda IIi PDA Phone, but never really got around to actually replace it... until today. Actually last Saturday I went to a local computer bazaar and found out that the price for a 4GB SD Card is actually quite cheap nowadays, even for local currency rate; but a gift is still a gift and I figured I'd rather not waste this 1GB gift. Also, I aim to buy a 8GB SDHC instead sometime in the future. So just now I transferred the files from the MMC Plus Card into the SD Card. A soft reboot followed, and voila... it works nicely. So now I can carry more files around while the MMC Plus Card will now be on its way to test out some Linux LiveUSB distro :-)

Looking to the future

[From Shawn Valle] I have been a dedicated Palm OS user since falling in love with the Treo 650 in 2005. I’m done with dumbphones and now spend many hours a day (as many PalmAddicts do) using my Treo. I upgraded to a Treo 700p in 2007. Despite its shortcomings and upgrade issues, it’s completely replaced my Treo 650 as my only mobile device.

One thing I realize is that I spend so much time and money customizing it to work the way I want. The included VersaMail doesn’t work as needed on the 700p for Exchange and Vista. So, I’ve bought ChatterEmail as a replacement. The Palm user interface is dull, old, and not very customizable. So, I’ve bought UltimatePhone to allow me the customization I’d expect. There is limited file management. So, I’ve installed the free FileZ to allow me typical file management.

At the end of it, I believe WindowsMobile and iPhone have these items out of the box. Now, since I’ve already customized my Treo 700p, there’s no need to jump ship. But, my desire to take my smartphone to the next level requires new hardware.

I have very poor cellular/data coverage at home, and would greatly benefit from WiFi. I’m not going to spend on the money on a bulky Enfora sled. The 700p is already big enough as is. I really would like to utilize GPS capabilities. Though, I need to spend money on external GPS hardware to do that.

We know that the Palm Garnet OS will never support WiFi (on the Treo/Centro), and also never support integrated GPS. So that leaves me with the realization that I need to move to a new OS. It’s a tough realization, but I’m not willing to wait until sometime in 2009 for the new Palm Nova OS. I need a change in 2008.

iPhone currently does not have 3G or GPS, so it’s out. Windows Mobile 6 is on many devices. Right now the HTC TyTn II (AT&T Tilt) is on the top of my list. It has all the features I mentioned above, right out of the box. The rumored Treo 800w, might have them all also. But, who really knows when it’s going to be released?

Class, this is why we need a Palm!

[From Peter Aronson Dharamsala, India ] Before I got a Palm, my life was a mess. Case in point: I signed up to take a seminar at my workplace on time management and organizational skills. Weeks in advance I carefully wrote the seminar into my day planner, which was full of all sorts of well-organized pages I hardly ever checked. On the day of the seminar, I suddenly remembered. I opened my day planner, and sure enough, there was only half an hour to go before the end of the seminar. I ran to the classroom in a panic and opened the door, out of breath. I explained to the instructor what had happened, and she turned to the other students and said, "Class, this is the perfect example of someone who needs this class!"

We spoke privately after class, and I sheepishly acknowledged that this wasn't the only appointment I'd ever missed. I explained how I'd written it into the day planner I always dutifully carried with me and yet somehow, incredibly, I still hadn't remembered. Her first bit of advice to me: Buy a Palm. I didn't even know what it was at the time, but her suggestion -- and the little thing's amazing ability to beep and remind me of all sorts of events and tasks -- changed my life.

Eight years later I'm on my second Palm (a Tungsten E), and I don't know what I'd do without it. I use it as a GTD organizer, with ShadowPlan, ToDo Plus, and the Palm date book (and sometimes KSDatebook for its week view) being my main GTD apps, along with Memos. It beeps all the time now (and rings, clicks, buzzes and more, thanks to TechSounds 5), thankfully reminding of things before I miss them and embarrass myself.

MacBook Giveaway ends this Thursday

My PalmAddict throwaway to win the MacBook ends this Thursday at Midnight US PT so it's time for you to hurry if you wish to be entered into the giveaway. And as we have a wide number of entries it could be anybody who could win my throwaway item, so you only have a couple of days left to be entered so you need to hurry.

As always the guidelines are in this post and its easy to enter - make the jump.

It finally happened and I'm so happy to have my iPhone!

[From Ken (Atlanta, GA)] Sammy, I never thought I would experience this problem, but Murphy's Law has taken a big swing at me. My Dell Laptop HD died, 2.5 years of work gone, and with no HD back up. So my thoughts this evening are not how I used my iPhone today but how I'm going to use my iPhone while I get a replacement laptop...basically for everything I can. No choice, I need my iPhone for everything, checking and responding to mail, managing appointments and contacts, listening to tunes and watching movies. If only the SDK was released sooner and we had programs enabling document editing and creation I would be completely satisfied. That said, I don't know if I've every felt more happy to have a PDA! I can remain in touch and active with work (and life in general) while waiting for the replacement. I guess the lesson learned here is 2 fold, have a back up of your system, and keep you iPhone synced up.

We live in a world where we can take so much of our lives with us

[From Scott Kammerzell] OK, so we live in a world where we can take so much of our lives with us. We live in the Star Trek future of personal communicators that are always on and always with us. These devices can be set up to notify our loved ones or even our stalkers where we are every minute of the day. These can be used to carry business correspondence or even to sent it electronically. We can carry, in our pocket a device that is 80% of the way to supporting all the business applications. However, is that enough? Our pocket offices can create and view a world of media entertainment. However we cannot modify it on the go.

Our pocket studios could offer so much. They could truly be a window to a wider world of opportunity, but they are crippled by their true masters. What kind of world is it that we live in where we can spend hundreds of dollars on a device that can do x, y, and z only to learn that the "service provider" has decided that you don't need to be doing z? How far down this awful road that we seem to be neglecting to complain about do we have to go? How far is too far? What year will it be when we have to sign a license agreement at the Ford dealer saying that you don't actually own that car that you just spent $30-some thousand dollars on? That, instead, you are simply allowed to use it without modification until they decide to revoke your license? Will you be in the drive-thru at McDonalds when you car manufacturer goes out of business and your car stops moving? This is not what Star Trek promised. Our mobile devices are the first hit of the future technology drug that we are all trying out. And What the hell? Isn't the first one supposed to be free?

And. . . You know what? I would trade, in an instant, mobile youtube for . . . Well, a lot of things. Certainly among them is my freaking flying car.

S60 Ambassador program now open!

[From Rita El Khoury, Lebanon] Daniel Shugrue from the Consumed by S60 blog has just announced that the S60 Ambassador program is now open, worldwide! The program, an initiative from S60 to bring fans of their platform to demonstrate its power and report back to the S60 headquarters, is an amazing strategy to get valuable feedback from real-world users as well as encourage knowledge of S60. It's also another campaign in S60's "Word of Mouth" marketing strategy. The first 2 S60 Ambassador campaigns were limited to California and New York. Here's an excerpt from the S60 Ambassadors page:

"Do you like technology? Do you like mobile phones? Do you like software? Do you like people? Do you like being the first to know about new technology? Do you like toast? If you answered "Yes" to at least one of the previous questions, you might also like to be an S60 Ambassador.

S60 Ambassadors are consumers of S60 software (in other words, people who own an S60-based Nokia, Samsung, LG, or Lenovo phone) who want to know more about S60 and want to spread the word about S60 to their friends, family, and occasionally to strangers in the park. We, your friends at Nokia, want you to talk about S60 at Nokia-sponsored events around the world. And then we want to hear, from you, directly, what you talked about, what the people you talked to said, what you like and disliked about the event and the products you talked about. We don't ask that you hide the fact that you are an S60 Ambassador. We want you to be as honest as possible in your communications with people. We just want to know that there are people out there, in the "wild", talking about S60 software."

The rest can be found here.

Command Line Warrior

[From Ronald Abadi, Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia] Being a newbie to Linux Operating System, I often need to look up some Linux commands whenever I am working on terminal/console screen. That is not much of a problem when I am in the office. However, if I am outside my office, or maybe in a company branch, working on some workstations other than mine, chances are my need of the command list is greater there. When the workstations I am working on have no internet connection to google for, I will have to get the list with me all the time. In that situation, I figured it is much nicer if I just save the list of commands in my PDA so that the list stays with me whenever I go. So, I googled for some free lists of Linux commands from the net in PDF format. I saved them into my MMC Plus Card in my PDA. Now whenever I forget something or encounter some obscure command, I just fired up my PDF viewer to look it up in the list. I am ready to learn to be a Linux Command Line Warrior now :-)

I'm looking for Associate Writers for PalmAddict with some perks thrown in

I have been running PalmAddict since 1999, amazing to think my website is now approaching it's 9th birthday and have a great team of writers based worldwide and with that in mind I am looking for new Associate Writers to join the site. The Associate Writer role is a voluntary one but there are always great perks to be had from free software to gadgets. In the past a number of Associate Writers have had some great goodies given to them from Hannah with a MacBook to Simon who has received a Treo 680 and Tablet PC and Andy who only last week was given a HTC Touch which he should receive soon. So if you have some spare time to write for my website then drop me a line and give me a couple of sentences oin why you wish to become a AW for PalmAddict and as always I don't mind what mobile device you use. We are looking for writers worldwide who can spare as little or as much time as they wish. As always send your emails with AW in the subject line to sammymcloughlin@gmail.com. I'll repeat post this throughout the week.

(No experience necessary and you do not ned to have your own blog but we look for writers to post their thoughts on how they are using their mobile device, software they see, anything that takes their fancy. As always all entries are entered into contests etc...)

Novii Remote Blaster & Software

Novii Remote Blaster & Software on offer $14.95 Retail Price: $34.95 . "An SD card accessory plus software for turning the Treo 650 and other handhelds into the ultimate universal remote control! - The SD card accessory called the blaster solves the problem of Treo's underpowered IR port. - The easiest installation and setup of any remote control! - Operates over 10,000 home entertainment devices. - Includes a CD-ROM with all the software you'll need. - Received an "A" rating from Handheld Computing Magazine."

Crystal Clear for Palm OS

Crystal Clear for Palm OS from Pocketgear. "cool game for all ages. Goal is to remove as many balls as possible by clicking on groups of balls with the same color. Sounds Easy!? Let me challenge you, it's not. Download the exe into your PC (supports Windows OS) and double click to install the application in your PALM Device."

Yoga for Mind and Soul Hi Res

Yoga for Mind and Soul Hi Res from Pocketgear. "Calm your Mind and Soul. Yoga for Mind and Soul- adapted from the famous The Yoga Deck by Olivia H. Miller is now on your mobile. Progress along your path of emotional balance and spiritual growth. Lead your own way of life. Feel and experience here everything from Meditation to Spiritual Yoga and many more. Allow yourself to be aware of what is before you. Be present to the flow of one moment to the next. Let things be without denying them, judging them, or trying to change them. Yoga is all about feeling good. Yoga enhances your strength, energy, vitality, flexibility and levels of endurance. It is all about breathing correctly, about integrating that breath into your being and developing harmony between body and mind. In Yoga you use your mind to Diagnose and Heal your body. Each asana helps you become more aware of your body, mind and environment. The basic idea of Yoga is to unite the Atma or Individual Soul with the Paramatma or the Universal Soul."