PalmAddicts

All-In-One... or Six Pockets?

There's an interesting article over at EngadgetMobile today entitled "Study: for most, all-in-one phones aren't". It has a link to a ZDNet article, but the jist of it is summed up by Engadget with:

"Hey, isn't the idea of a cameraphone to have the luxury of leaving your big, fat digicam at home? With a smartphone, isn't the PDA supposed to be history? And doesn't that iPod belong in the circular file now that you've picked up that fancy musicphone? According to a newly released study by In-Stat, phones with extra goodness packed in aren't prompting their owners to leave other devices behind. In fact, over half of multimedia phone owners are still toting a dedicated MP3 player, some 75% of smartphone users lug a PDA as well, and a staggering 80% of cameraphone owners "regularly" carry their digital camera."

I find this interesting as apparently I'm one of those people for which my all-in-one phone *is* my all-in-one device. I don't own an iPod or any other MP3 player. The last one I had was one of the first Sony MP3 players. I also don't own a digital camera. I haven't had one for at least three years. And I don't own a separate PDA. The last one I had was a Handspring Visor Edge which my daughter now uses. What I *do* own is a Palm Treo 650 (GSM). It feeds me my phone calls and email. It acts as my MP3 player thanks to a 2GB SanDisk SD card and PocketTunes. And it acts as a my camera for those few times I need to take a picture.

Now, admittedly, I can totally understand why some people still have multiple devices. After all, while my Treo is an all-in-one device, it is so at the expense of the quality of each individual component. Namely, the camera resolution is a bit less than average. Yes, newer Treo's have been cameras, but compared to a nice Olympus or Canon... even the small, fit-in-your-shirt-pocket ones... the Treo's camera is sub-par. And the same can be said for its audio quality. I've listened to my oldest kid's iPod (he gets a new one every 6 months or so) and I can tell you that the comparison is like comparing HD audio from your cable company to an AM radio transmission. Its usable and definitely a good solution, but by no means the best MP3 audio device out there.

I guess it comes down to the normal "functionality versus quality" tradeoff. Everytime we buy a PC versus a Mac we make a similar decision in that you get more functionality in Windows due to the available software, but you get better quality with a Mac. But with 95% of the world running Windows, its a bit of a no-brainer to realize that most people go for functionality. However, there are the technical elite... the people that shun functionality for quality. These people would rather have a Mac, an iPod, a Canon rebel, and a RAZR... they would rather have multiple, separate, but high quality devices. But then there's people like myself who would rather just have a laptop (a Sony UX180P in my case) and a Treo.

In my case, I've evaluted many of the all-in-one devices out there... from the Nokia E62 to the Motorola Q to the Cingular 8125 to the latest smartphone from Samsung. In my case, I consider the Treo to be the best of breed of the all-in-one devices. So while I may not have the best of each individual device, I do have the best of the all-in-one devices. Of course, for me pocketability is an issue as well. And I don't mean pocketability in terms of size, but in terms of the number of available pockets. I only have four pockets in my jeans or khakis. My wallet is in one, my keys in another. That only leaves two remaining. I don't have room for an iPod, a camera, and a cellphone. So instead, I have a Treo that serves the functions of all three and only consumes one pocket.

Of course, my wife is my polar opposite when it comes to gadget goodies. She carries a RAZR, a Canon rebel, and an iPaq with her everywhere she goes. Of course, she has the benefit of a purse. Her needs are different too. When I use my Treo's camera, its for quick snapshots of error messages or a parking space, etc. She takes pictures of our four kids. And when she's on her RAZR, she likes to be able to look at and type on her iPaq. Basically, our needs are different and thus our quality versus functionality needs are different. And we have different "spatial needs" as I'm constrained to pockets while she has a purse. In the end, I guess some of us *need* an all-in-one device while others can only *live with* one while yet others need the separate and distinct devices.

Voice Your Opinions On The Next Treo

Yesterday, I posted about a comparison article and poll over at Treonauts. At that time, just over 100 votes had been accumulated. As of just a few minutes ago, there are just under 1100 votes and there seem to be some definite trends:

1) The major trend seems to be a preference for PalmOS, GSM, and Cingular (only US carriers are listed, so the 14% of "other" could account for international Treo users).

2) More than half the users said they wouldn't pick their next Treo based on network speed (UMTS, EDGE, EVDO) alone, though a good third said they WOULD make their next choice based purely on network speed capabilities.

3) When asked which smartphone users would most prefer to buy or upgrade to, the vast majority chose the Treo 680.

4) Eighty percent of voters said the newer, slimmer, antenna-less form factor is a contributing factor in making a decision on their next phone (combined results of "yes, a little" and "yes, a lot").

5) Interestingly, more than half don't count price as a contributing factor.

Obviously, the results can be read and interpreted many different ways. We must consider as well that most of the voters are likely to be Treo power-users, not Joe-Shmoe off the street who's never even heard of PalmAddicts or Treonauts. Consider too that the poll is very US-based in that only US carriers are listed and the Palm 750v (presently only available through Vodaphone unless you go the hacked, unlocked route) is not listed. But still, with well over 1,000 votes thus far, it seems that despite the large number of WinMo Treo's and EVDO Treo's that've been released of late, the preference seems to remain for PalmOS-based (83%), GSM network (62%) Treo's. And roughly 1/3 of those voters will pick based on a need for network speed which makes a case for PalmOS, GSM, UMTS/HSDPA Treo's. The results of the poll also show there is something to be said for "higher priced" Treo's. Yes, Palm is aiming the 680 at the lower-cost smartphone market, but when 83% of the voters either don't care about cost or say it only influences them a little bit, that says something about people being willing to pay for full-featured devices. And combined with the previously noted PalmOS/GSM trend, one can infer there is something to be said for a full-featured (albeit not inexpensive), PalmOS, GSM Treo. I can only hope that Palm sees these results as they are exactly in-line with my own desires in a Treo.

If you haven't already voted, take a minute to let your voice be heard and vote in the poll.

Choosing Your Next Treo

Andrew (not to be confused with the Andrew writing this post) over at Treonauts has a very good write-up today on choosing your next Treo now that there are five Treo's (and he mentions a possible sixth), two different operating systems, two different network types (each with varying speeds), and multiple different carriers (many offering more than one version of the Treo) to choose from. As always, Andrew tends to provide a very level field to provide as much insight as possible and to make the best choice that meets your needs. Click here to read the article.

There's also a poll at the end of the article to allow you to voice your opinions on networks, providers, devices, etc. Of interesting note, after more than 100 votes, there seems to be a huge trend towards PalmOS, GSM, and Cingular (note that only US carriers are listed) and roughly 1/3 of the voters say they will choose based solely on speed alone. That definitely says something about the market for a GSM, PalmOS-based device with UTMS and/or HSDPA... a device we haven't seen yet.

Treos and WiFiBrands

I just spent some time catching up in the forums and learned that I had been labeled a "WiFirebrand" simply because I noted that the Treo 680 lacks wifi. Yet, Ed Colligan himself told us all a while back that future Treo's would have WiFi. Now granted, he didn't say all Treo's would have it, but he did say future Treo's would have wifi:

"Palm will add wireless Internet capabaility to future models of the Treo phone. The company had declined to add Wi-Fi because it drains battery life. Chief executive Edward T. Colligan would not say when the capability would be added. "We do believe Wi-Fi is an important technology," Colligan said.

Its worth pointing out that many Treo users didn't like the "battery life" explanation and would've preferred to take their chances with poor battery life and/or buy spare batteries (which would've help Palm's accessories sales). And the fact is, we have yet another (GSM) Treo that lacks either integrated WiFi or even the option for wifi drivers. That said, I'm not sure why I would be labeled a "WiFirebrand" for simply hoping for and commenting on the lack of something Mr. Colligan himself said we would see.

So now I'm a "WiFirebrand". I guess I can add that to the label my office gave me: "technophile" and to what my 14 year old calls me: "old geek with new toys". ;)

Seriously though, is desiring wifi for my Treo a bad thing? It seems as though simply asking "why" these days doesn't get a legitimate answer so much as a "why do you care so much about wifi" tongue-lashing. I have a Treo 650 with an unlimited data plan from Cingular. WiFi is most definitely not a need for me. If it was, I'd have the Enfora sled. That isn't to say its not a desirable option. So, yes, I can live without it and I will continue to as I choose to stick with GSM/PalmOS Treos. However it is disappointing to see the newer WinMo devices (Treos and others) come out with either WiFi or HSDPA/UMTS or EVDO, but for the PalmOS based Treo to still lack any of these. Give me HSDPA/UMTS and I'll desire WiFi even less. Or give me WiFi, but as an option. I know it may drain my battery and such. I know my phone may not work when using WiFi, but to be able to sit in an airport and choose to use the WiFi for some browsing and emailing at "normal speeds" would be nice. Further, I like to at least somewhat "future proof" my devices by purchasing them with current technologies. That said, buying a Treo 680 with the same speed radios (note: I didn't say the same radios as they are newer than in the 650) more than a year after I bought my 650 is a bit dis-heartening. While I might not use the wifi, knowing I could would be nice. That isn't to say I'm not interested in the Treo 680. I've said in forums that the extra RAM, slimmer & lighter form factor, and lack of antenna, all for a good price are a compelling upgrade for me to my over-a-year-old 650.

That said, my original question on the forums wasn't answered, but rather dodged with a comparison. I'll readily concede that some of the newer smartphones such as the Motorola Q and Blackberrry Pearl lack wifi, however, there's a huge number of them that do include it including the new Nokia and Samsung's. And how 'bout the Cingular 8125 and other HTC variants? Considering that we now have a "low end" Treo to compete with other low-end smartphones which lack wifi, why don't the other "high end" (PalmOS) Treo's have WiFi to compete with the other high-end smartphones? We all know the answer and it has to do with PalmOS. We've seen WiFi drivers for WinMo Treo's and UMTS for WinMo Treo's, but neither for PalmOS Treo's. Its the OS. I'm not afraid to acknowlegde the truth. We can all handle the truth... doesn't mean we like it, but we can handle it.

Finally, in this thread and so many others I keep hearing something to the effect of "Palm bowing to the carriers" as an explanation for the lack of wifi. Oh really? Then why doesn't anyone else have to bow? Why can Samsung and Nokia and HTC include wifi, but Palm can't? And why did we see drivers for wifi for WinMo Treos? Its not bowing to the carriers. If it were, then the Verizon released Treo wouldn't have had any wifi driver support as Verizon is all about making their $60 to $80 a month for unlimited data plans. Verizon is, in fact, the most opposed to wifi and connection sharing (of EVDO anyway). The answer is truly the PalmOS. And I, for one, am seriously hoping that we get something out of ALP and Access soon. I care more about seeing an updated OS with PalmOS backward compatibility/emulation that can keep the Treo current in the market (with WiFi, HSDPA, UMTS, EVDO Rev. a, etc) than I am in actually using those technologies themselves. I know that sounds a bit backwards, but if the OS continues to restrict the technology, then other manufacturers and OS's will so far surpass Palm that it could end up being a WinMo and Symbian only world. I, for one, fear that day. I have a huge investment in PalmOS applications and a need for a quad-band phone that will work most everywhere in the world. I've dealt with Symbian devices and been hugely disappointed. I deal with Windows everyday, 'nuf said. For me, the only "smart" smartphone is a GSM, PalmOS Treo and I'd hate to see that go away due to the OS restricting the wireless technologies, and thus rendering the device obsolete.

If you have a thought on this subject, share it in the forums.

Treo 680 Dates

So, after last Thursday's announcements regarding the new Treo 680's, the two items that remained largely unknown were the actual availability and the price. Well, today my wife setup a new business account with Cingular and while picking her RAZR's asked about a Crackberry (please... no comments about her being married to a Treo-addict, yet wanting a Crackberry... she's not tech savvy, 'nuf said). The sales rep actually told her she should wait for the new Treo 680 instead of getting a Crackberry (if only all sales reps could be so smart). When she asked how long she'd have to wait, she was told "one month". Upon hearing this, I told her to call back and ask for the price and she was told $149 w/ a two year contract or $199 with a one year contract.

Now, of course, we definitely must wait and see, but I don't see how her sales guy had any reason to lie. Of course, if his words become true and in roughly 30 days she's holding a crimson 680 for $149 plus tax, then I'll be sure to make him my new best friend and bleed him for leaks info in the future.

Proof that Palm loves PalmAddicts

If you read through the specs on the new 680, you'll eventually get to this page. Note the picture of the cat on the right for the "snap pictures and shoot video" section. Heck, even their flash demo shows the same cat picture. Come on... we all know PA gets covered with pictures of cats every few weeks. Conspiracy theories aside, I don't think its a coincidence that Palm chose a picture of a cat... sort of their subtle, "Thank you, PalmAddicts". Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if that's a pic of one of Jennifer's kitties. :)

Freeing Yourself of Sprint...

Are you feeling "stuck" in that two year contract you signed to get your Treo from Sprint? Maybe you want the freedom to switch to another carrier like Cingular or T-Mobile, but don't want the early termination fees? Or maybe you're in a contract with Sprint on a non-Treo and would really like to get a Treo, but don't want to pay the $500 non-contract upgrade price? Well, thanks to a change on Sprint's billing for SMS messages, now may be your chance. According to this post at EngadgetMobile, Sprint raised the price of text messages by $.15 each and according to the lawyers that constitutes a "material change" in the contract. And according to Sprint's contract wording (portion posted below), a material change on their end allows you to cancel without penalty. But best of all, this isn't a bunch of fluff. After reading the comments on the aforementioned article wherein many claimed they called and simply cancelled, I chose to do so myself (to can the contract on my "Blade"). Within less than 3 minutes, my contract was cancelled and I was told I would see my final bill within 10 days, that there are no early termination fees, and that my number was "flagged" in their system to be in good standing for number portability (meaning I can call Cingular or Verizon or whoever I choose and move my number over without issue).

A portion of the contract (emphasis mine):

"Agreement. We may change the Agreement at any time with notice. Any changes to the Agreement are effective when we publish them. If you use our Services or make any payment to us on or after the effective date of the changes, you accept the changes. If we change a material term of the Agreement and that change has a material adverse effect on you, you may terminate the Agreement without an Early Termination Fee by calling 1-888-567-5528 within 30 days after the changes go into effect. You understand and agree that taxes, Universal Service fees and other charges imposed by the government or based on government calculations may increase or decrease on a monthly basis, and that this paragraph does not apply to any increases in such taxes, Universal Service fees or other charges."

Act fast, though, the changes were made last week and you have to cancel within 30 days of a "material change".

Still Waiting...

All the recent news of new Treo's definitely has my interest piqued, but I'm still waiting. What am I waiting for? I'm waiting for a new GSM Treo with UMTS/HSDPA... released either in the US (preferably Cingular) or from Palm in an unlocked form... with the newer, slimmer, antenna-less form factor... with all the memory of the 700wx... and running a Palm OS (note that I don't care if this is Palm emulated on the ALP platform, Garnet, or Cobalt... I just want my existing Palm software investments of well over $400 to work).

Sadly, I think Palm has disappointed us a bit. There was a time, even recently, where we all looked forward to just one new Treo. Then we got a mix of CDMA Treo's and then Windows Treo's and thus each new leak that turns out to be a real product becomes somewhat of a disappointment as we see another CDMA/EVDO version or a new Windows version or even a new GSM version, but that's running Windows.

But what about us die-hards? What about those of us that are PalmOS loyal with a significant investment in PalmOS-based softwares? What about us US users that opt for GSM devices so we can take our phones anywhere and not be US-tied like most CMDA phones are? Where's the love Palm?

Don't get me wrong. I see the need for Windows-based phones... there are many, many businesses out there that have made the poor decision to use Windows on their desktops and thus want Windows on their mobile devices. And I completely see the reason for CDMA phones. After all, Palm won't make much money if they're only sold by two of the four US carriers.

But the first Treo's were PalmOS GSM Treo's. And the best Treo's have always been PalmOS GSM Treo's. And the vast majority of "Palm Addicts" and "Treonauts" lust after PalmOS GSM Treo's. And its us that are most likely to pay $600+ to upgrade our GSM/EDGE, 32Mb Treo650 to a GSM/UMTS/HSDPA, 64Mb~128Mb, PalmOS Treo700-something. So why don't we have what we want? Why are we... the diehards... the loyal... the PalmOS lovers... suddenly the red-headed step children?

I guess the one good thing about having to wait is the ROI. I upgraded from a 600 to a 650 after only 3 months, so there was no ROI to be seen. However, I've now had my 650 well over a year, so I've seen my ROI. But I'm ready for something new. I'm ready to not have an antenna. I'm ready for enough memory to not need PowerRun (great app that it is). I'm ready for more speed as Cingular roles out HSDPA. I'm ready for my new Treo!!!

But all hope is potentially not lost. As was pointed out in a post yesterday, if you discount the Sprint 700wx as an upgrade to the 700w and not a new phone, then we've still only seen three of the new Treo's we were promised. And it happens to be "that time of the year"... the time when historically Palm has announced a new GSM Treo... the end of the year... the fourth quarter... the upcoming October/November timeframe. Here's to hoping.

Review: BackupBuddy VFS

There's a saying among paranoid technophiles such as myself... "You never know how good your backups are until you have to use them". Oh, how true that is...

You might recall a review I wrote previously in which I tried to port my historical data out of the freeware password storage tool, STRIP, into SplashID. Along the way, I tried syncing my Treo 650 to a linux host to export the data via a perl script. Sadly, the end result was a forced hard reset, and even more sadly, I had no backups, so I was back to installing all my favorite apps from scratch (which was a good thing in terms of removing historical junk, but a bad thing in terms of downtime for my Treo and the resultant loss of productivity and connectivity). As the saying goes, "hindsight is always 20/20" and I immediately went searching for a good backup solution for my Treo.

I've been using BackupBuddyVFS for close to two months now. And, quite honestly, it was sort of a "set it and forget it" application. I made an initial backup then setup a schedule to backup in the background each night at 2am. Last week, though, I found out just how useful BackupBuddy is. You see, I've long been a hacker at heart, so last week I tried to play with a special build of the [non-Treo-friendly] NetFront browser and after installing it was forced to hard reset. I can't tell you the panic I felt as the "oh no, not again..." feelings crept up on me, but then I remembered I had Backup Buddy installed. So after a hard reset, I simply chose to do a full restore from the previous night's 2am backup. The restore completed within less than a minute, I was prompted to reset, and after I was 95% working. Why only 95% and not 100%??? Well, I also use GoodLink and even though BackupBuddy successfully backed up and restored all the GoodLink files, GL decided it didn't want to work. GL has its own backup function, one that I had neglected to use after the aforementioned forced reset with STRIP. In the end, I simply did another hard reset, but this time did a selective restore from BackupBuddy of everything except the GL files. I then re-downloaded and re-provisioned GL and was back to a 100% working status. And this time, I made a backup of just GoodLink via their backup tool. Not being one to wonder if I had a 100% working solution, I did one more hard reset. After, I did a selective restore via Backup Buddy of everything except the GL files, reset, then restore GoodLink from their backup/restore function, then reset again. After this, absolutely everything was working as though I had never reset my Treo to begin with.

And, I now have peace of mind again, which is a good thing for someone that's constantly installing this or trying that. :) BackupBuddy is most definitely on my list of recommended applications, one I would gladly pay for again (if needed), and one that will be on all Palm devices I own.

GONE - Cleaning Out My Closet - GONE

Well, sort of... actually, its part of someone else's closet. I am in possession of a well-loved, well-used Cingular (locked, originally provisioned to the old AT&T [blue] network) Treo 600 that I have no use for. It was replaced by a Treo 650 after the user complained about "buzzing sounds" during phone calls (a somewhat common complaint of the 600's) and that it would no longer hold a charge. I'd been keeping it for spare parts, but since we no longer have any 600's in use, I figured someone else might like it for the spare parts. As stated, the battery doesn't seem to hold a charge and there's a buzzing sound during phone calls, however the screen works fine and the stylus is included. Also available is the iGo charging adaptor (iGo adaptor number A26), so should you have an iGo charging solution, the adaptor may do you some good.

I'm not looking to make any money on this... the phone, stylus, and iGo adaptor are all available for free to the first interested party to email me at andrew_[NOSPAM]_at_[NOSPAM]_nccomp_[NOSPAM]_dot_[NOSPAM]_com. I only ask that you be willing to cover shipping. I'm in California, so if you're overseas, figure out your shipping options before emailing me, okay? :)

UPDATE - the Treo is spoken for...