PalmAddicts

From the Treo to the iPhone

When the iPhone was first announced I was pretty intrigued. When it was first released a few months later, a part of me wanted to be one of the first to get it. But two things held me back: 1) I never get the first release of a device without reading lots of reviews first and 2) I'm an AT&T business account user. Well, I read all the reviews and decided I wanted one. And thankfully, as of last Monday (1/21/08), AT&T started offering the iPhone for business users (why they didn't do this long ago is beyond me). So I placed my order on Monday and it arrived three days later. Activation couldn't have been easier. My existing voice plan was one that qualified. And I was already paying $40/month for unlimited data on my Treo plus an extra $5/month for 200 txt messages. Well, the business iPhone data plan is $45/month for unlimited data and 200 txt's... so that was a breakeven for me. And best of all, the iPhone that was shipped included all the latest software updates which includes all the bugfixes, stability issues, etc.

I've heard a lot of complaints about corporate users not wanting the iPhone... the lack of Exchange support, the lack of IMAP idle, not being able to sync calendar and contacts over the air, etc. Perhaps I'm unique, but I've been a very happy corporate user thus far. Granted, I don't use an Exchange server. I use a regular ISP that supports IMAP and POP. And I was already used to sync'ing to get my contacts and calendar (granted, with my Treo that was via BT). But needing to sync via cable isn't that much of an issue for me as the included dock just sits next to my computer. Besides, the SDK is around the corner which means pretty soon I'll be able to do what I've always done with my Treo: buy some good, stable, third party apps that I'm sure will open up all sorts of options for me including IMAP idle, Notes syncing, and perhaps even syncing my contacts and calendar OTA.

I've been using my iPhone for a week now and its been great. My Treo 680 had served me well (as had my 650 and 600), but it was older and getting a bit marred. Plus, there is some uncertainty about the future of Palm. Don't get me wrong, I wish Palm the best and could very well switch back to a Palm device someday in the future. But for now, the iPhone represents the best of what's new and cutting edge and seems to be a great tool for a first generation device.

Cisco Sues Apple Over iPhone

Apparently the negotations mentioned yesterday broke down.

"Cisco sued Apple for trademark infringement over the "iPhone" name Apple chose for its new cellphone, unveiled yesterday. Cisco obtained the iPhone trademark in 2000, and had been in talks with Apple over rights to the name.

"Cisco entered into negotiations with Apple in good faith after Apple repeatedly asked permission to use Cisco's iPhone name," said Mark Chandler, Cisco's general counsel. "There is no doubt that Apple's new phone is very exciting, but they should not be using our trademark without our permission."

The article is at the Wall Street Journal if you have an account.

Looks like Apple is either going to be paying some fat royalties... or renaming the phone by June. Of course, with Cingular planning to rename over to AT&T, perhaps Apple and Cingular can have a renaming party. :)

On the iPhone...

Just over a year ago, I posted the following on PA:

"I just received my new IBM Thinkpad T42. It includes a biometric fingerprint scanner that can completely replace the normal CTRL-ALT-DEL routine. I must say that's it quite convenient. But as I used it more I started to realize what a nuisance it is to not have something like this on my Treo. I'm one of those very paranoid Treo users. Its locks anytime the screen is off and I must enter a password to do anything other than receive a phone call. But this can be quite frustrating at times. Many of my co-workers don't even bother. They're checking email and making calls so often that locking their device is a serious issue. Plus, its not like its foolproof. I decided to glance at a co-worker while he unlocked his device, then told him his password. Can we say security by obscurity? The more I started to enjoy the fingerprint scanner on my Thinkpad, the more frustrated I became with the locking mechanisms for my Treo and had to ask myself why we don't yet have a biometrics solution of some sort for mobile devices. Now, I'm not an electrical or hardware engineer, so perhaps there are size or power constraints that make these unfeasible for mobile devices. But on the other hand, I've seen available in USB sticks which are both small and draw very little power. Perhaps there's some other limiting factor? As I look at how I hold my Treo650, I see many places where a fingerprint reader could go:
1) over the top where the current IR port is (for a forefinger scan)
2) on the right-side nearest the Treo logo (for a thumb scan)
3) on the left side above the volume controls for a middle finger scan
4) if a future Treo gets rid of the stubby antenna, perhaps one could be places there.

However, I also recognize that these are convenient places for a right-handed person like myself (we all know that lefties have the advantage... after all, if the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handed people are in their right minds). But a good, neutral placement would be the center button of the 5-way. It could scan a thumb print from a right-handed or left-handed person. Plus, the default auto-lock of a Treo without a password is to simply press the middle button of the 5-way to unlock it. Looking again at my Thinkpad, I realize too that on my Thinkpad I have to swipe my finger across the reader. However I've seen USB thumb readers where you just place your thumb on it and don't have to draw it across the reading interface. I'm curious why we don't have biometric devices like thumb readers in our Palms and Treo's yet. I'm also curious if other readers would see the advantages of this... of being able to immediately unlock your device by just touching it (and, of course, still being able to use a password when your fingers are covered in Cheetos residue)." Permalink

Well, today Apple answered my question. According to Time Magazine's "History of the iPhone", it says in part:

"as a result, when you swipe your finger across the screen to unlock the iPhone..."

As I read the entire article, I realize that Apple probably has a winner with this one. And everyone... Microsoft, Nokia, RIM, Symbian, HP, etc... not just Palm are going to have to step up to compete. It would seem that Apple has just done to the cellphone market what OQO did to the UMPC market... they altered it drastically and in part, created a new device...

Treo 680 to Get Push-To-Talk

I know... I thought the exact same thing... and had I heard it anywhere else, I would've discounted it outright. However, the Boy Genius Report has a very good reputation for having information from "the inside" and has been correct in just about everything posted. In fact, the only times the info on that site is wrong is when the carriers or device manufacturers make changes to the marketing materials or plans. So with that preface, follow the link to the Boy Genius Report about the new Cingular 8525 which is to have PTT, as does the Cingular Blackberry Pearl, and... according to the post, the new Treo 680 is also supposed to get via a software update.

I admit I'm a bit torn on the prospect of PTT for a Treo. If I'm not mistaken, this would be the first Palm device to support PTT. Given the battery life issues many are experiencing with the 680, I'm not sure adding PTT would help the 680. There's also a lot of questions that we've never had to ask before... such as how PTT and BT interface, or how PTT affects data connections (especially in light of sales of the Cingular 680 requiring an unlimited data plan). Still, this could be a good thing for people coming from the Nextel world and definitely an option to help set the 680 apart from other smartphones on the market.

So would you like PTT functionality in your 680? Would you be willing to use it in lieu of the missing WiFi functionality? Do you see any benefit to PTT in your Treo? Discuss in the forum...

My New Treo Is Here, My New Treo Is Here

Well, thanks in no part to a shipping screw-up by Cingular, I was forced to wait an extra few days for my new Treo 680. But that is behind me now, as it finally arrived yesterday. I spent a good few hours getting it setup, installed, etc., but I am now back to having a full working device and using the softwares I need most (GoodLink, ChatterEmail, Directory Assistant, Google Maps, TreoAlarm, SplashID, and a Solataire game). Ironically, with my 650, I was forced to use PowerRun for many apps due to the memory requirements of GoodLink and DocsToGo. Even with DocsToGo on the SD card, and many other apps moved there as well, I was still sitting at less than 5Mb free on average and many games, including Pool Deluxe simply would not run. Right now, with all my same apps installed, I'm sitting at 45Mb of free memory. This is great! A lot can be attributed to what's in ROM now, as well. My 650 came with RealPlayer which I never used as I had PocketTunes. It came with DocsToGo, but a limited version, so I had to waste memory installing the full version. I also had to install a separate PDF software and voice memo software. With the 680, DocsToGo has the read/write capabilities I need and integrated PDF support, and its in ROM. PocketTunes is included and is in ROM. And the 680 now includes a VoiceMemo application that's also in ROM. With many of the normal items I use in ROM, the only large application I've installed was GoodLink. I've no more need for PowerRun (at least not now).

A few things have jumped out at me:

1) The new 680 software load includes a Voice Memo appplication. This wasn't on my 650 (it was only available as a third party add-on). This is one app I always wanted and am glad to see it included at no charge. I'm not sure yet if this is a Cingular-only included addition or if all 680's have it, but its definitely welcome.

2) The radio no longer interferes with radios and landline phones. I'm sure I'm not only one that has experienced a buzzing sound in my truck's FM radio or on my desk phone when my Treo made a data connection (for email, mostly). But this doesn't seem to be a problem with the 680.

3). I have the latest 9.2.x release of Good Mobile Messaging installed. It takes up less memory and has newer, crisper graphics. Best of all, it has an "exit application" option now. This is great as there were times with my 650 where I wanted to exit GoodLink to free up memory to play games, but I could only do so with a reset. This is no longer a problem, but with the extra memory, its also not such a need right now.

4) Things seem faster in general. Blazer loads pages faster. Things download faster. Google Maps updates faster. And PoolDeluxe starts immediately.

Overall, I'm very happy with my Treo. Sure, it might be marketed at a lower-end market, but it still meets all the needs I've had thus far, and it does so a bit better. So for me, Palm's choice to market this at a lower-end market is simply a cost savings for me and my company. :) Related, the price for the phone is actually cheaper through Cingular's National Business group. Its $174.99 for the phone regardless of the length of the contract (one year or two year, its still $174.99). So if you want one yourself, but your company has an account with Cingular, order it through your company and save $25.00

Update: oh yeah, and I decided to play around a bit with a restore of data versus re-installing it all. When I first just restored everything via a hotsync, I had 39.2Mb free. However, after doing a hard reset and installing everything manually, I had 45.4Mb free. Most likely its temp files, browser cache, etc. But we all know that a manual reload is sometimes a good thing for our Palms. Related, with the lack of a reset switch, I couldn't figure out how to do a hard reset. Going to Palm's support page and choosing the Treo didn't yield any answers. Eventually, I figured it out though: simply remove the battery, then hold down the red power/end call button while you insert the battery, keep it held down while the Palm screen scrolls by, then once the Palm logo is gone, release the button and it will ask if you want to reset the device.

Treonauts Second In-Depth Review of the 680 is up

Looks like Andrew at Treonauts (no relation... we just share a kewl name) has been working while we in the US have been enjoying our four day weekend and just posted the second part of his in-depth Treo 680 review. You can read it here. And in case you missed it, you can read part one here. Treonauts always seems to do an excellent job of bringing all-around and fairminded reviews of all things Treo-related.

Upgrades Are Sometimes A Matter of Opinion

I recognize I may be in the minority with this post and I may be speaking solely for myself, however, the new Treo 680 *is* an upgrade, at least for me. I understand that Palm isn't marketing it as an upgrade. And I completely see PJ's frustrations as some people are reviewing it as such. After all, as more than one review has pointed out, when a device comes out just a month before 2007 but with the technology of 2004, its hard to consider it an upgrade and one must realize they [Palm] are marketing a lower end device at a lesser expensive market.

That said, to me (and to at least two others at my office), the Treo 680 *is* an upgrade. Why? Because it has improvements over our existing Treo 650's. All three of our 650's are well over a year old. They've each been dropped and marred. While the 680 may not be a huge technical marvel in terms of upgrades, it does have just enough to make it compelling for at least these three existing 650 users. The new form factor is definitely desirable. Many are like myself and desire the thinnest, lightest device available (if this weren't true, the RAZR and all its various versions wouldn't have sold as well as it has). The lack of an antenna stub is pleasant. The available memory is double that of the Treo 650. This alone, to a poweruser like myself, makes it a viable upgrade. And while the capabilities of the GSM/GPRS/EDGE radios hasn't changed, the chips that make them work have. The bluetooth radio has been upgraded as well. And that doesn't even speak of the various software upgrades and changes (to the phone app, to Blazer, and to the BT software).

And there's another reason I see the Treo 680 as an upgrade. As things stand now, its the only available device I can use since the Treo 650 came out. The Treo 700 series is either CDMA/EVDO or Windows based. There is no Treo 700 series device that is both PalmOS (or at least PalmOS on a Linux platform) and GSM. I need an international capable phone, which means no Sprint or Verizon for me. Additionally, I want the stability of PalmOS and the compatibility with the hundreds of dollars of third party software I've purchased over the years. Combined, that means I need PalmOS and GSM. For me, at least, the Treo 680 is both an upgrade and a carryover device. Its an upgrade in minor steps from my Treo 650 (sort of like XP SP2 was an upgrade to the original Windows XP). And its a carryover device in the sense that I'm still hoping for a newer device that will still be PalmOS compatible, but will also have newer UMTS and/or HSDPA radios and capabilities. Thus far, though, I've waited well over a year for an upgrade to my trusty 650 and I'm not willing to wait another year or more for the new radios, not when I have other needs such as more RAM and desiring a slimmer, lighter device.

So for me, the Treo 680 *is* an upgrade, even if Palm isn't marketing it as such and even if its capabilities are not vastly superior to that of my Treo 650. Share your thoughts and opinions in the Forum.

Just Bought My New Treo 680

Well, that was some good news! I have a corporate account with Cingular, so I called on behalf of myself and two others at my company to find out what our options are. All three of us have 650's that were provided by Cingular, but only with one year contracts [I typically go for a one year contract instead of a two year... yes, it costs a bit more, but A) its still carrier subsidized and cheaper than an unlocked version and B) it allows you to upgrade sooner]. In the case of the three of us, all our phones were out of contract. I was told the price to upgrade, with a two year contract, was only $179.99... $20.00 cheaper than the $199.99 advertised price for a two year contract with new service. Can't beat that. I was tempted to go for an unlocked 680 with the music bundle, but the fact is, I already own PocketTunes Deluxe, already have a 2GB memory card, and already have the Palm stereo headphones. So for me, the music bundle really wasn't worth it and the corporate cost is less than half of the unlocked price straight from Palm (besides, Cingular is known for providing unlock codes if requested, just like T-Mobile).

One thing I'm still intrigued by is a rumor/comment made on TreoCentral of supposed future 680W's and 750P's. In the case of the latter, that would imply a PalmOS Treo 750 with UMTS/HSDPA??? That's what I've been hoping for. But I'm also not waiting. Its still a rumor from a comment made by a supposed manager at a Cingular store. My 650 has done me well for the last year or so and its time for an upgrade.

Good Technologies To Be Bought by Motorola

Looks like everyone's favorite "Outlook for the Palm" software company, Good Technologies, is going to be bought out by Motorola. I'm not sure what this means for the future of Good, but it definitely puts Motorola in a more competitive space against RIM (and Microsoft). Interesting news no matter how you look at it. Good (makers of Goodlink and GoodAccess) have some great software (I know... I use it) and support for all the best devices presently available.

The acquisition also says a lot of good [no pun intended] for Good regarding the patent suit recently brought against them by Visto. On one hand, they'll have Motorola's legal team and money to fight or settle and on the other hand, the fact that Motorola is interested when Good is facing a patent suit says Motorola is confident of a successful outcome for Good.

Treo 680 Gets FCC Approval

I just caught this over at Engadget Mobile. It seems the Treo 680 just received FCC approval (barely a day or two after the 750). I guess this means we should start seeing them soon (presumably from Cingular if leaks and rumors come to fruition). Historically, cell companies start shipping within 2 to 4 weeks after receiving FCC approval.

I, personally, am really looking forward to the 680. Its not *everything* I want... I still want UMTS and/or HSDPA, but the lack of an antenna, slimmer & lighter form factor, protected SD card slot, color options, and extra RAM make it a viable upgrade for my more-than-a-year-old Treo 650. And I'm not alone... I have about ten 650's deployed in my company and both my VP of Sales and CFO are anxious for the 680. So between those two and myself, the odds of my entire company upgrading are pretty good.

Also, for what its worth, I spoke with a VP over at Good (maker's of GoodLink) and confirmed that the Treo 680 is fully supported with their latest 4.9.x release. So all you GoodLink users simply need to get your software upgraded and you'll be all ready to go...