MobileTechReview has a review of the Palm Centro (At&T) and writes, “The Centro isn’t a revolutionary, cutting edge device.

The PIC Accessory store is now carrying a new Monaco Aluminum Hard Case for the Palm Centro. Monaco's Aluminum hard case is constructed from aircraft grade aluminum with a tough anodized finish and its interior is lined with soft, protective neoprene. The case has all the usual cutouts for access to the ports and keyboard and there is a crystal clear hard cover over the screen to protect from scratches, nicks and fingerprints. A 360 degree removable belt clip is also included.

The Monaco Aluminum Hard Case for Centro is available now for $24.95. It is available in silver and black versions. Shipping for most orders begins at $5.95 and comes with our standard 30-day 100% money back guarantee.

The Treonauts blog has published what looks to be a first look at an "official" extended Centro battery. Believe it or not, this new high-capacity battery comes not from aftermarket battery specialists Seidio but from Palm Inc themselves. Curiously, the author goes on to explain that the battery has not yet been officially announced by Palm and is not yet available for sale.

The new Centro battery offers a surprisingly robust 1850mAh of power but unfortunately at the expense of its slim size. This looks to be a "rumpshaker" battery in the grand style of Seidio's older 3200mAh offerings for the various Treo models.

So far, Palm has shown little interest in bringing support for SDHC cards to its traditional handhelds, but a developer may handle the job, if there's enough interest.

MotionApp's impressive mOcean audio player has been updated. mOcean is a iPod emulating digital audio player for the Palm OS that also offers iTunes synchronization, skin and background support, live internet radio, podcast support, audiobooks and phone and video functionality. The program lets you browse and control music playback with an on-screen mini scroll wheel as well as the 5-way navigator. Some of the most recent updates include, improved stability, support for the Palm Centro, faster interface responsiveness and various internal improvements.

mOcean v3.2.1 for Palm OS is available for $29.99. A free trial period is included. You can also read our review of mOcean v3.0.

Although Palm is highlighting the success of its new Centro smartphone, much of its quarterly earning announcement is bad news.

Palm Inc. today reported that total revenue in the third quarter of fiscal year 2008, ended Feb. 29, was $312.1 million. Driven by strong demand for the Palm Centro, smartphone sell-through for the quarter reached a company record high, totaling 833,000 units, up 13 percent year over year. Smartphone revenue was $275.4 million.

"Centro is off to the strongest start of any smartphone in Palm's history," said Ed Colligan, Palm president and chief executive officer. "Centro's fun design, great price point and amazing array of easy-to-use features is expanding Palm's customer base with more than 70 percent of Centro buyers trading up from traditional cell phones."

According to news reports, Palm has launched the Centro smartphone in India. The Cento is priced at Rs13,990, and will be available at IT retail stores in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Pune, and Chandigarh. TechTree reports, Palm has associated with mobile networks like Vodafone and Airtel in India to widen its reach in the country.

Livemint.com has a few quotes from Olivier Rozay, regional director, Asia Pacific, Palm Australasia Pty Ltd. Rozay says "With the launch of phones such as Centro, which is priced at Rs13,990 in India, we now have a much more affordable product for Indian users." Previously Palm had been selling the Treo 680 there for Rs18,000.

Rozay also goes on to remark "We are also going to launch the next version of Palm operating system by end of this year, which will be more suited for our sleeker and better-looking devices."

Palm Inc. will report its Q3FY08 results tomorrow. The company will also hold its quarterly earnings conference call with investors and analysts. The call will be webcast to interested parties, details can be found here.

Of course, stay tuned to PIC for the details and highlights from the call. You can catch up on details from the last call here.

Astraware has released a major update for Bejeweled 2 for Palm OS and Windows Mobile devices. This is the first major update in a number of years for the extremely popular PopCap title.

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

iambic has released a new utility for Palm OS devices. ToolboxToGo is a collection of applications geared towards users in need of applying multiple changes to their tasks, meetings, or contacts. It 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. The company says, 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.

ToolboxToGo for Palm OS v1.0 is available now for $9.95. A free trial period is included.

Terry writes, "I was lucky enough to be invited to the UK launch of the SIM Free Palm Centro in London on the 5th March. Some people liked it for its value, others dismissed it for not having 3G or Wifi. Aimed at a demographic of "sub 35 year-olds", Palm claim it will appeal to both text-mad teens and business people on the go. So has it lived up to its 'one device fits all' badge or did it leave me running arms outstretched for my dear old TyTN?" Read on to find out!

Overall Rating:


The Good

Compact and lightweight

A good value entry level smartphone

Quad band phone usable world-wide

The Bad

No stereo headset as standard

No 3G, GPS, or WiFi

No Java support in broswer

ActiveCaptain Mobile is a new application designed for boating enthusiasts. The application combines access to thousands of NOAA charts and powerful navigation tools with a wealth of local information from the ActiveCaptain website. The program features a guidebook with access to over 30,000 marinas, boatyards, anchorages, and local knowledge markers, and a powerful, portable chartplotter. With a GPS module, ActiveCaptain can function as a portable chartplotter which can track your location, offering a backup to onboard navigation systems.

RESETgame, makers of the popular Par 72 Golf, have released a new action title for Palm OS and Windows Mobile devices. Tank Ace 1944 is a 3D strategy shooter that puts you in command of a World War II tank. There are three different scenarios: Allied, German, or Soviet and three tanks a Sherman, Tiger, and T34, each with movable turret and cannon. The goal of each round of play is to clear the enemy from a map sector and drive them off the far bank of a river so that your side can cross and advance.

Tank Ace 1944 is available now for Palm OS and Windows Mobile devices. It comes with a free trial and costs $14.95 for a registration key.

Engadget Mobile has posted a new article detailing word on a round of updated versions of the SlingPlayer Mobile client software for Symbian S60 and both Standard and Professional flavors of Windows Mobile. Presumably a major part of the WM version's updates will be centered around supporting forthcoming WM 6.1 devices such as the rumored Treo 800w and Drucker from Palm.

While the article goes on to mention that the BlackBerry version of SlingPlayer is still progressing nicely, no word is made of the Palm OS version of the software which was released last July. No exact release date for the new versions of SlingPlayer Mobile is given other than "this spring".

The new Best Buy retail circular for March 16th -22nd is showing sale pricing for Palm's oldest remaining Palm OS product, the Tungsten E2 handheld, as well as the newest Palm OS model, the GSM Centro from AT&T.

This week's sale brings the E2 again down to its previous sale price of $149.99, with a $60 instant discount in effect (remember, Best Buy strangely sells Palm PDAs with higher-than-MSRP shelf prices). Additionally, Best Buy is touting the availability of the stylus/pen multipack for the E2 for $14.99, which is the standard price for this item. The full Tungsten E2 ad can be found on page 21 of this week's flyer.

Since the news has been a little slow of late, I thought it would be interesting to take a look back and what was going on around this time of year at PIC in the years past.

Eight years ago:

• Palm Inc Big in Japan
• Handspring talks Visor as a Gaming Platform

Seven years ago:

• It's Official: m500 and m505 Released
• New Features in Palm OS 4.0 and the m50x Series
• New Clié Available in Japan
• Rumor: Visor Edge Gallery Of Photos and More Details

Treocentral reviews the Pam Centro (AT&T) and writes, “If you’re a PalmOS lover and on AT&T, the Centro is a great upgrade if your current device...

Absolutist has released an update to its Bubble Shooter Mobile arcade game for Palm OS. Bubble Shooter is a game of simple rules with a great wealth of combinations and strategies. The goal is to explode all the bubbles before they overflow the board. As described by its developer the game takes the best from Tetris, Arkanoid and Pool and adds its own new twists and features.

Bubble Shooter Mobile v1.09 is available now for Palm OS 5 and later color devices. It comes with a free trial version and costs $16.95 to purchase the full version.

Initiate's functionality is packed into the strip of buttons.

(Credit: Hobbyist Software)

Having something come to you is always better than having to go to it. Like Launchy for Windows and Quicksilver for Mac, Duh Button Launcher Plus and Initiate save you time by getting your apps open ...

Megasoft2000 has released a new version of its popular MegaLauncher for Palm OS. MegaLauncher v6.45 (Apache) is a multipurpose application manager that can work on all modern Palm OS platform devices. To call it a simple launcher with skin support would be an understatement as the program provides a wide array of features. Highlights include a Today view with plugin support, a network and ftp manager, built-in file browser and utilities, multi-window mode, a theme manager, zip support and whole range of customization options. The latest update features full support for the GSM Centro.

MegaLauncher v6.45 (Apache) is available now for Palm OS 5 and above. It includes a free trial period and sells for $19.95.

Palm is running a site-wide 25% off accessories promotion. From now until March 19th, you can take 25% off all accessory purchases from the Palm.com store. The discount is applied once you add items to your shopping cart.

In addition, the Palm online store has a few other specials including a free universal keyboard with a Tungsten E2 handheld purchase and a free bluetooth headset with any Unlocked Treo 680 or Treo 750 purchase.

Access, makers of the NetFront browser and the Access Linux Platform, recently demonstrated their next generation Palm operating system. Palm split off as two companies--a hardware company named Palm (PalmOne at the time) and a software company called PalmSource--and Access bought PalmSource after the firm had some financial troubles sustaining itself and finding hardware manufacturers to adopt the operating system.

The new platform runs atop Linux and supports true multi-tasking as well as a refreshed look with more colorful icons. However, it will also run legacy Palm applications designed for the Palm OS.

The msmobiles video demonstrated the new operating system. However, it seemed like there was a bit of a lag to me. You can check out the video below:

iambic has released an update to its popular Agendus suite for Palm OS devices. Agendus is a powerful, enhanced PIM suite that includes journaling capabilities, a personal project manager, a Contact View "Photo Dialer" and enhanced Contacts, Meetings, Tasks and Memo functions. Version 12.06 is primarily a maintenance release and includes full support for the GSM (AT&T) Palm Centro smartphone.

Agendus for Palm OS Professional Edition, v12.06 is available with a free trial and can be purchased for $39.95 US. A standard edition is availble for $10 less. It is also available for Windows Mobile.

Astraware has released an update to its Astraware Casino game that adds a new game - Texas Hold 'Em No Limit Poker. The game is a collection of the most popular casino games all in one pack. Also included is: Blackjack, Video Poker, Roulette, Craps, Baccarat, Slots, Video Keno and Texas Hold 'Em Limit Poker. Astraware starts you off with a $1000 virtual wallet to get you started and as you progress and play more, higher stake tables and games are unlocked, offering bigger bets and larger wins. Texas Hold 'Em No Limit Poker, allows players to bet the pot or even go all-in when they have that winning hand.

Astraware Casino v1.20 is a free upgrade to registered users. The game is available for Palm OS smartphones and PDAs running OS5 and above, and for Windows Mobile devices. The full game is priced at $19.95 and includes a free trial.

GoTreo Software has released a new application for Palm OS. SafeGuard is designed to troubleshoot, prevent and help diagnose software problems with Palm OS devices, namely the Treo and Centro. The program aims to identify misbehaving 3rd party applications in order to remedy system crashes, software conflicts and device reset issues. It can maintain a history of application usage and all device crashes and resets, and can show you detailed information about what processes are running in the background. You can quarantine troublesome apps and GoTreo even claims it will help stop the dreaded "Reset Loop of Death" scenario.

SafeGuard v2.01 is available now for $19.95. It comes with a free trial period. It is compatible with the Treo 650, Treo 700p, Treo 755p, Treo 680 and Palm Centro.

Henk Jonas of MetaViewSoft has released a cool iPhone-like keyguard replacement for Palm OS devices. The app simply replaces the standard Treo or Centro keyguard, with a nicer looking transparent slip screen showing the time and system vitals. When you click the center button to dismiss the keyguard, it does a graceful slide away animation. I have to sys it's a nice looking little utility and also shows some additional info such as battery level, free memory and whether or not your silencer is activated. You can also dismiss the keyguard by clicking on the window with a finger. You can catch a short video clip of it in action after the break.

The as of yet unnamed app was created by Henk for the recent German Palm User Meeting sponsored by Nexave. It is available as a free download with a GPL open source license. The source code is available for prc-tools. It should work on all high resolution Treo's, Tungsten's and I successfully tested it on a Sprint Centro as well.

Toysoft has released their 2008 Major League Baseball schedule and guide for Palm OS. mySchedule MLB includes all 30 MLB team's regular schedules, all team rosters, player salaries, coaches and staff listings. In addition, mySchedule includes a graphical view of player positions and game day games. You can also export any team's schedule to the DateBook or Calendar application with an alarm reminder so you never miss the first pitch.

mySchedule MLB comes with a free trial that only includes the roster and schedule for the Atlanta Braves. The full version includes all teams and data and sells for $10.00. It is compatible with Palm OS 3 and above.

• Palm Centro, Samsung BlackJack II Available for Free with Two-Year Contract
• Acer Acquiring E-TEN
• Google Calendar Sync Now Available

Even though it works just like a Treo, Palm has a renewed focus for its devices running on Palm OS.

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Having been given a pre-launch SIM Free UK Palm Centro, here is the... Read More

On the evening of Thursday 5th March, in an exclusive bar off London’s... Read More

Battery life, easy availability of 3rd party software, fast Wi-Fi, ease of use Palm TX Handheld is a ...

Resco has released an all new version of Resco Explorer for Palm OS devices. Explorer is a powerful and feature rich file system browser, image viewer, launcher, zipper, backup utility and FTP/LAN browser with an impressive range of features and customizable options. The new 2008 version includes many GUI improvements including smooth scrolling and an improved search dialogue, bluetooth browsing and FTP support, an improved audio player with network streaming support, new general options and a secure storage area that will allow you to encrypt files and folders of your data in a secured area. You can view the full list of updates here.

Resco Explorer 2008 v4.01.4 is available now for $29.95. It includes a free trial version and supports most Palm OS 5 and above devices.

Mark/Space has released The Missing Sync for Palm OS, v6.0.3. This minor update incorporates a number of fixes and updates. Details include Call Log and SMS Log applications now allow deletion of individual items, Yojimbo 1.5 now synchronizes and fixes to a few iTunes and contact sync issues.

The Missing Sync for Palm OS provides enhanced Mac OS synchronization for most Palm OS devices. It works as a replacement to the Palm desktop application and HotSync Manager and includes a number of additional tools and services including iTunes & iPhoto syncing and a video conduit and encoder.

AT&T is now offering the Palm Centro, and Antoine Wright brings us a review of this low-cost, consumer-oriented, Palm OS smartphone.

• Small Update Released for Motorola Q9m
• Spb Mobile Shell 2.0 Now Available
• iambic Vehicle Manager Updated, Palm OS Version Released

Amazon.com is now offering the Palm Centro for free after rebates when purchased with a new service plan. The offer is good on both the recently announced AT&T Centro and the Black and Red versions on Sprint.

The rebates total up to $350 and include a conditional $250 discount that requires you to keep the service and keep your account in "good standing" for six months. THe offer is only good for new service plan purchases.

The Stanford PalmPilot User Group meets at 7 pm on the first Tuesday of each month.

The March fourth meeting will feature a demo of the AT&T Palm Centro smartphone.

If you've wondered what a Windows Mobile Treo may look like with a 320 X 320 screen, look no further than the ASUS M536 Windows Mobile Professional phone with touchscreen. Palm had created the market for PDA-phones with touchscreens in the candybar form factor and full QWERTY keyboard with its Treo line. However, Treos running Windows Mobile have had lower resolution screens than the Palm Operating... Read More

iambic has released a new application for Palm OS devices. Vehicle Manager is an automotive oriented application that enables you to keep tabs on a single car, and can scale up to keep track of a whole fleet. It records a variety of information about automotive vitals as well as recurring expenses such as scheduled maintenances and gas fill-ups. You can also track fuel consumption and fill up history, insurance and registration info, track trips and calculate the cars total cost of ownership. In addition to the mobile client, there is a Windows Desktop version from iambic as well.

Vehicle Manager for Palm OS v3.5 is available for $19.95. A free trial period is included. Vehicle Manager is also available for Windows Mobile.

SHAPE Services has updated their remote desktop client for Palm OS. RDM+ Remote Desktop enables you to remotely access your home or laptop computer even through NAT systems and firewalls. You can send and receive emails, surf web, edit documents in word processor, copy, cut, paste files or folders and do hundreds other things that you typically do sitting in front of your home or office computer. RDM+ uses strong encryption protocols to securely connect to your Windows XP or Vista computer. This update includes a new file manager feature.

RDM+ v3.6.8 for Palm OS is available now for $34.95 USD. It comes with a fully functional seven day trial.

1SRC: Software 2 hrs, 6 mins ago CNet: In testing: Time Capsule 2 hrs, 51 mins ago Palm Infocenter: New and Updated Palm OS Software 8 hrs, 5 mins ago CNet: Why wouldn't Apple document performance-boosting APIs? 11 hrs, 36 mins ago Brighthand: Nokia Unveils the Morph Nanotech-Based Concept Smartphone 12 hrs, 51 mins ago CNet: Photos: Top 10 reviews of the week 13 hrs, 51 mins ago MobileRead: MobileRead Week in Review: 02/23 - 03/01 16 hrs, 50 min

On Sale

• VoiceDialIt - Voice Dialing for your Treo 2.0
• FakeCall 2.3
• Premium 639, Ringtones and 65 Wallpapers
• Mozart 3.6
• VoiceNavIt 2.0
• Westward for Palm OS 1.00
• ScaleMaster 1.1
• Ringtone Xp for Treo (Rainbow) 1.0
• Brilliance for Palm OS 2.1
• Music Bundle 6.8

New Software

• Fastlaunch for Treo/ Centro 1.00
• Mahjong Mania Pro 1.0
• Dog Gone It! 1.0
• Who Said That? 2.2
• Mobicue for Motorola phones 1.1.0
• SmarTreo 1.00
• Rampart Games Super Pack 3.1
• Brilliance for Palm OS 2.1
• Brain Freeze Trivia for Palm OS 2.3
• Candy Machine 1.0

Updated Software

• MissedCall 1.3.5
• RingerSwitch Pro 1.7.4
• RingerSwitch Basic 1.7.4
• Phone Technician 3.00
• Initiate Pro 3.37
• Genius! 1.44
• Snoozy 1.11
• Show Off 1.11
• Rollover 1.05
• Initiate Standard 3.37

It can be tuned by ear, tuned to itself using harmonics, tuned using a pitch pipe, tuned using a digital tuner like the Intelli IMT-500 or eNote and even tuned with the help of a PDA or smartphone. That's ...

Palm is now offering an Unlocked GSM version of the Palm Centro in select asian countries. Palm's Hong Kong and Singapore websites now advertise the availability of a Glacier White Centro with a grey accented keypad.

Neither site is showing an official price or availability date. The "buy page" currently lists a directory of retailers. Crave is reporting that it will go on sale on March 6 in Singapore for S$598.

As we mentioned last month when covering the availability of additional OEM batteries by Palm for the new Centro smartphone, one of the major drawbacks of that device’s smaller physical size is reduced battery capacity. While heavy-duty Centro users are doubtless still eagerly awaiting a higher-capacity OEM size battery from Seidio, a new 2000mAh battery has just surprisingly been released by Sprint.

Available at the Sprint-Nextel online accessory store, the 2000mAh Extended battery appears to be considerably thicker than the stock Centro battery. The battery nearly doubles the juice provided by the stock 1150mAh battery and, at the same $49.99 as the 1150mAh Palm replacement battery, looks to be a better value for heavy-duty Centro users who can live with the added bulk and weight as well as a black battery door. Unfortunately, the purchase price of the battery does not include a new replacement door, so an additional $7.99 must be factored into the equation.

SplashData, makers of the fantastic Splash suite of multi-platform mobile apps, has just released an update to their SplashID program for Palm OS devices. SplashID is an easy-to-use program that offers fast and secure encrypted storage of passwords, serial numbers, and any other type of valuable personal information that must be kept confidential.

SplashID for Palm OS devices is now up to version 4.11, dated February 18, 2008. This update addresses a handful of bugs in both the desktop and handheld components of this app, including some issues with the new Centro smartphone. A full list of the bugfixes can be found on the SplashID release notes page.

The ever-constricting Palm-conomy has just claimed another victim. PDAPerformance, developers of the "OS within an OS" Saguaro as well as the LineUp widget platform, has just announced their immediate closure. No specific reason other than unfortunate financial circumstances and the dire straits around the entire Palm OS ecosystem are given.

Their entire website has been replaced with a polite goodbye letter, thanking their many fans and customers throughout their six years of years of business. No archived media, downloads, or additional contact information is available on the site.