[From Stephen Shorting, NJ] Yesterday I was talking about how I received my iPhone 4 a day early, today I've managed to spend some time with it. The battery is amazing, it is much better than my old 3GS and I can spend the day with brightness on full and not have to worry. Ok, so the video camera is equally as impressive, the clarity is very good indeed, I'll upload a video on You Tube so you can compare for yourself. I'm very happy with the 4G, more thoughts later.
Hey Sammy and PalmAddict readers, engadget Podcast is out. LISTEN HERE.
"Back for more, eh? Well you've come to the right place -- the Engadget Podcast! Join Josh, Paul, and Nilay as they take you on a magical journey through the trials and tribulations of the BlackBerry Storm, investigate the legal situation of the Apple-cloning operation known as Psystar, dish on the latest Zune and Xbox happenings, and lament the forthcoming death of FireWire as it cedes its high-speed throne to USB 3.0. And just think, access to this treasure-trove of information is yours free of charge!"
Yahoo has turned down Microsofts latest offer to buy its online search operations.
"Yahoo Inc. has rejected Microsoft's latest attempt to buy its online search operations in a "take or leave it" proposal that Yahoo said would have dismantled its Internet franchise. As described by Yahoo in a statement released late Saturday, Microsoft packaged its latest offer with activist investor Carl Icahn, a billionaire who is seeking to overthrow Yahoo's board of directors in a shareholder meeting scheduled for Aug. 1. Without providing many specifics, Yahoo said Microsoft renewed an earlier bid to buy the company's search engine and proposed turning over the remaining pieces to a board controlled by Icahn. Yahoo said it received the complex proposal Friday and was given less than 24 hours to respond. Backed into a corner, Yahoo lashed out in a blunt manner likely to inject even more bad blood into its already venomous relationship with Microsoft and Icahn. "It is ludicrous to think that our board could accept such a proposal," Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock said in the statement. "While this type of erratic and unpredictable behavior is consistent with what we have come to expect from Microsoft, we will not be bludgeoned into a transaction that is not in the best interests of our stockholders.""
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i31efT0LCyZyDmIxpfR0iKdw9JTgD91T1FJ01
Treo 800w now available online according to Engadget.
"We're not sure if you check most mobile provider's sites every ten minutes or so (like we do), but if you did, you would have noticed that the latest Palm Windows Mobile device -- the Treo 800w -- is available for purchase at Sprint's online store. The phone, which features a 320 x 320 screen, EV-DO Rev. A, WiFi, and GPS, is currently listing for $249.99 after a $250 instant savings, $100 mail-in rebate, and two-year contract."
"Stay on top of the competition with 24X7 access to your customers´ calls, corporate email, and access to professional Microsoft tools anywhere you go. A data plan of $25 or more or a Simply EverythingSM plan must be purchased along with the handset in order to receive the mail-in rebate. Get free shipping and free activation when you purchase a phone with a new line of service online!"
http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/13/palms-treo-800w-now-available-online-from-sprint/
Gizmodo website (via TamsPPC) is reporting some more specs for the rumored Treo 850.
" This source is unproven (and the info comes from a "friend who works at Palm") so don't take these as hard rumors, yet. The big whoop is Wi-Fi for the first time, while the other stuff is more run o' the mill: HSDPA, 320x320 touchscreen, 2MP cam, microSD, 256MB onboard memory plus 32MB SDRAM, miniUSB and WinMo 6.1. The RAM spec conflicts with what BGR said, 100MB."
http://gizmodo.com/393128/leaked-palm-treo-850-specs-hurray-for-wi+fi
As usual Treonauts holds the flame as one of the best Palm smartphone websites and they have just posted a review of Propel Launcher giving high praise, 5 stars out of 5.
"The level of customization that Propel offers is truly staggering and it manages this with in an extremely simple and very complete Preferences menu. Among others, you can have up to 7 unique “Views” (each view is fully customizable and is preset with Applications, Power User, Contacts, Files On SD Card, Music, Memos and Company Contacts)."
Make the jump here to see the Blue Verizon Centro as reported on the Engadget website.
"It's not often that a single handset unites all four US national carriers (assuming the T-Mobile thing ends up going down), so we have to give Palm some credit here -- it's an honorable feat. And with the Centro being a surprise break-out success for Palm (a much needed one, may we add), there's no reason to think they won't be able to push a few units on Verizon, too."
I know that a lot of our readers use iPhone's and I wanted to bring to your attention for those of you who follow Twitter feeds such as Sammy's own feed. MobileTwitter is a iPhone Twitter clone that offers a number of features and is only available for jail broken iPhone devices.
Engadget Mobile spot the BlackBerry 9000 in the wild and it looks like a lovely device, droll buckets at the ready. Take a look at the pictures.
If your expecting any new Windows Mobile Palm smartphone devices anytime soon (I'm thinking the Treo 800w) you are going to have to wait until the fall. Ed Colligan broke the news in the Palm Q3 FY08 Conference Call.
"During the call Colligan made several references to its aging Windows Mobile line and announced that they would refresh the WM product line before the end of summer. He gave little specific details but did confirm it would be targeted at enterprise customers and would be keyboard based. He also confirmed it would be announced as a new Treo and said it would include Microsoft's latest offerings."