1src columnist Alan Grassia has posted a new piece entitled "Up In the Air" concerning the possible future plans of Palm not involving their Nova OS or their future hardware offerings. Grassia's piece makes for quite interesting reading in light of the recent MyPalm closure.

Grassia's piece begins with the suggestion that Palm may attempt to capture an Apple-sized bit of the online software market with a new Software Connection storefront, whether or not the new PocketGear management is onboard with Palm or not. With the arrival of nearly ubiquitous wireless 2.5G & 3G connectivity, as well as a more robust future version of the Palm OS, Palm may feel that the time is ripe to transition from a Hotsync-based software installations to OTA downloads and installers.

OQO has been a venerable name behind some of the best looking ultra-portable computers, however, if reports from Engadget Mobile are true, then the company has a lot of designing to do as they enter the smartphone foray. From the looks of the new phone, the styling takes a lot of cues from the Palm Centro and the latest Windows Mobile Treo 800w. The model is supposedly dubbed the OQO G900, a model descriptor that is borrowed from the Toshiba Portege G900.

With the OQO brand, I had expected a simpler model number as their handheld computing devices had simple Model 01 and Model 02 descriptors as well as refined design. And a non-flush touchscreen? How very 1990s of OQO. I am not sure if the photo seen on Engadget Mobile is actually a photo of something from the OQO labs or if its a counterfeit headed for the Asian market.

Comments [0]

CNET reviews the Palm Treo 800w and writes, “You see, the Palm Treo 800w is the first Palm smartphone to finally offer integrated Wi-Fi and not only that, but GPS as well. It’s also the first Sprint smartphone to ship with Windows ...

If basking in the light of new Palm device launches months ahead of chief competitor Verizon wasn't enough, Palm OS users on the Sprint network have one more reason to remain committed to their carrier of choice. A recent post on the Palm corporate blog reveals that Sprint's new adaptive web service, Sprint Web, is certified for all Palm OS smartphones offered by Sprint. Sprint Web learns from users' search histories and tailors homepage content based on the results of past search inquiries.

Curiously, neither the blog post nor the official press release make any mention of any Windows Mobile-powered Treos utilizing the Sprint Web feature, despite the recent launch of the flagship Treo 800w on Sprint last month.

Astraware and PopCap Games have announced the release of one of PopCap's flagship titles for Palm OS and Windows Mobile smartphones. Insaniquarium Deluxe offers hours of frantic aquarium fun as you feed your fish, watch them grow and protect them from alien invaders.

Insaniquarium Deluxe is billed as the craziest aquarium game ever - tend to your fish and keep them happy and they'll reward you with precious coins and jewels. Use the money you earn to buy upgrades for your tank or egg parts which hatch lots of different in-tank pets with special powers. These pets can help you feed your fish, collect coins, or even protect against the aliens that will invade your tank and wreak havoc. You can also use the money you earn to buy better weapons to see the aliens off quicker!

Play Single Player Mode. Multiple players: one device. Mutliple players: IR Beaming (Palm OS or Pocket PC) Multiple players: Bluetooth(Palm OS)

Palm's surprisingly successful Centro smartphone has received its fair share of accolades and satisfied customers but has not earned the ultimate sign of industry respect by being deemed worthy of copying by Chinese handset manufacturers…until now. Engadget's semi-regular "Keepin' it Real Fake" series showcases clone, knockoff, and copycat electronics from the Far East. Their latest report spotlights a Chinese-manufactured and designed Windows Mobile Centro clone oddly wearing US-based OQO branding.

Almost more surprising than its actual existence is the solid feature set attached to this new Palm Centro-inspired device. If the listed specifications are correct, this smartphone sports a PXA310 CPU precisely twice as fast as Palm's Centro (634mhz vs. 312mhz), a higher-resolution 2 megapixel camera (vs. the Centro's 1.3mp), GPS, Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional powering a 320x240 touchscreen, and both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities. In fact, one of the few areas where the Centro manages to eke out a win in the spec category is battery capacity, with 1150mAh li-ion battery to the G900's 1080mAh battery pack.

...

June Fabrics Technology Group has updated its PdaNet software for the Palm Treo 700p/755p and Palm Centro. PDANet allows your Windows computer to go online by connecting to your smartphone via a USB cable or Bluetooth. The app works nearly instantly with no setup necessary. PdaNet goes through the unlimited data plan on your phone and does not require any extra service.

PdaNet for Treo 700p/ 755p v4.12 is available with a free trial and costs $34.00 to register.

It is also available for the Treo 650 & 680 and Windows Mobile devices.

treoware has just put out a new version of its WineManager 2008 software for Palm OS devices. WineManager is a comprehensive wine collection manager and inventory assistant. It combines a number of tasks including the ability to assist with buying wines, tracking your current cellar content, and will even help you select the proper wine from your cellar for your meal. With more than 1800 classified appellations and 200 vintage charts, WineManager is able to provide information in virtually any situation. The program can even be setup scan and recognize your bottle's barcodes for easier management via the digital camera.

WineManager 2008 v1.1.7 is available now for Palm OS from treoware. It comes with a free demo period and costs $19.95 to register. It is currently on sale for $18.45 for a limited time.

Slow-Cooked Software has released a new version of its ScrapBook application for Palm OS devices. ScrapBook is an enhanced note-taking application for Palm OS, supporting nested folders, versatile search capabilities, and encryption. It basically provides a number of useful extensions to the feature set provided by the built-in "Memos" note-taking program and notes can also be exchanged with the built in memo pad.

ScrapBook v1.15b is available now for Palm OS 3.5 and higher. It comes with a free trial period and costs $15.00 to register.

Apple won't let StyleTap offer its Palm OS emulator through the official iPhone App Store, but the company isn't giving up.

NinerPad is a new note taking, task, project tracking and sketch pad application for Palm OS devices. It allows you to create notes on your device in your own handwriting. You can create folders and groups, apply tags, search and set reminder actions for each note. The app gives you a nearly unlimited size canvas. You can also export your notes for sharing or integration with other applications.

NinerPad v1.0R1 for Palm OS is available now from Niner Productions. The trial version is essentially a free lite version of the app without nags or an expiration. Registering the full version for $11.00 unlocks additional features such as the .gif export, search and mulitple workspaces.

There is a nice review of the Palm Treo 800w over at Mobile Tech Review that you might want to read. I have loved the Palm form factor and have been excited to see and use the new 800w. There is no question in my mind that the ...

The Motley Fool web site has posted a new article by Tim Beyers to its Investing section entitled "Palm Will Burn Your Portfolio". In short, the article pulls no punches when discussing Palm's stumbles over the past several years and simply calls Palm "The worst stock in the world". After delving further into the article to reach beyond the topic of stock performance, Beyers' piece goes onto paint a dismal picture for the handheld pioneer that essentially jump-started the entire modern PDA/smartphone sector in 1996. Also found within the article is a smattering of undated Gartner marketshare numbers to back up the article's tone.

This piece really hits hard at Palm's dismay performance during four consecutive quarterly losses by virtue of being focused on outright financial (non-)performance in contrast to more forgiving, tech-related pieces bolstering Palm's future outlook based on their past successes. None of the Palm OS core strengths such as compelling ease-of-use, 3rd party app flexibility, and the Centro's value relative to competing smartphones from RIM, Apple and Microsoft licensees are touted within the article.

...

A new entry entitled "Now You Know Palm Centro" in the previously-presumed dormant "Now You Know" series of Palm instructional books has quietly just hit the market. Amazon is already selling this book for $13.59, well below its SRP of $19.99 and ahead of the official release date of August 2nd.

The book is authored by Patrick Ames and published by technology and lifestyle publisher Peachpit Press. For a printed volume, the book appears to contain quite up-to-date information given the appearance of what is an unbranded Verizon Cobalt Blue Centro on the cover. This is the first volume focusing on the new entry-level Palm Centro. Ames is the author or co-author of all previous books in the Palm Press series.

Australian PC Authority does a first look review of the Palm Centro and writes, “Palm’s new Centro is a stripped-down smartphone with a tiny QWERTY keyboard and a tiny price tag. It’sa pre-paid phone only available from Telstra, ...

Palm, Inc. today said it has sold its two-millionth Centro smartphone, confirming the $99 product’s growing momentum with traditional mobile phone users who want to move up to a phone that offers more functionality. Hmmm, OK. Quote: Recent data released by AdMob, the largest advertising network on the mobile web, further echoes the momentum of Palm’s smallest, lightest and most affordable smartphone. According to the company’s Mobile Metrics report (http://www.admob.com/s/solutions/metrics), Palm Centro leapt onto the list of mobile phones worldwide in May as the No. 8 device, and moved up in June to No. 7. AdMob cites the growth of inexpensive phones, such as Palm Centro, as a primary driver in mobile Internet usage. Our comment: “Meh...” http://www.palm.com/centro

Astraware has just released its first update for the original Bejeweled title nearly two years. The new version updates the classic gem swapping game with new graphics that add "even more sparkle and shine", to use the company's own words. The update also includes improved support for newer devices, added multilingual support (English, French, Italian, German, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese), various minor improvements and a behind the scenes code overhaul.

Bejeweled v2.61 is available now for Palm OS devices and Windows Mobile. It comes with a free trial period and sells for $19.95.

Here’s the latest update in our Usability Speed Tests designed to show how easy and quick different Smartphone user interfaces can be. Today we’re looking at the HTC Touch Diamond.



Here are the results:

1. 8sec (TouchFLO ) 8 sec (Start menu)
2. 6secs (Launch Google maps)
3. 15 sec (Opera slowness)
4. 23 sec (Play Weird Al music)
5. 76 sec (Add specific new contact)
6. 48 sec (write specific email to new contact)

For more information about our Usability Speed Tests and how you can test your own phone, <url=http://www.pocketnow.com/index.php?a=portal_detail&t=news&id=5575
>see our original post. Even if your phone turns out to perform horribly in these tasks with its user interface, please post a video response on Youtube for all to see.

Also see usability speed tests for...
Palm Treo 755p
Apple iPhone
Palm Treo 800w

Comments [6]

The Treo 800w is new Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone by Palm featuring 320×320 touch display, QWERTY keyboard, EV-DO Rev. A, WiFi 802.11b/g and GPS support.… + view full entry.

Hoping to continue the success Palm found with the Centro, the Treo 800w is one of the most full-featured smartphones on the market. Running Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, the 800w features the latest in high speed communication with ...

A new CNBC article entitled "Palm Almost Ready for High Fives" has been posted under Jim Goldman's TechCheck column. In the new piece, Mr. Goldman paints a cautiously optimistic picture of Palm's future, as the company currently struggles through a grim twelve months filled with a series of layoffs, four consecutive quarterly losses, buggy products, retail store closures, and product delays. Goldman's articles goes onto shed some interesting light problems facing the embattled handheld pioneer and the imminent changes promised by CEO Ed Colligan as the company completes its transition from the PDA days of the 1990s to a smartphone-centric future.

The arrival of August brings not only the close of summer but the annual rite of the back-to-shopping season that's always a strong period for tech gear sales. Based on a leaked weekly sales flyer scan, Best Buy is kicking things into high gear the week of August 3rd-9th with a solid crop of Palm-related deals. As always, these deals may vary in availability or price from region to region.

Palm's newest remaining handhelds, the TX and Z22, both introduced in October 2005 and rapidly approaching their 3-year anniversary, are both marked down from Best Buy's usual prices. The Palm TX, still Palm's only Garnet-based product with 128MB RAM, 320x480 screen and Wi-Fi, rings in at an attractive $254.99, a $60 savings from Best Buy's strangely higher-than-MSRP usual price of $314.99. With the recent beta availability of an unofficial SDHC driver for older Palm devices such as the FAT32-enabled TX, this device's long-term viability just became quite a bit brighter. The entry-level Palm Z22 handheld gets a $10 price cut down to $89.99, a savings of ~$10 from its usual ...

The Palm Centro has been a signifiant bright spot for Palm. While having a lower price than the Treo models that came before and after it, it has found a large following, with over 2 million Centros sold worldwide since its launch last fall.

The excellent Palm Treo 800w will now get Bluetooth voice dialing with an official patch from Palm. According to wmpoweruser.com, the patch is available as a cab file and brings Bluetooth support to Microsoft Voice Command. If you perform a hard reset, the cab must be reinstalled so it would be wise to keep the cab file on a memory card for access at a later time if need be. You can grab the file from Palm's Support Page.

Comments [0]

Palm has announced that it has now sold over two-million Palm Centro smartphones. Available from almost 20 carriers worldwide, including the three largest carriers in the United States, Centro has reached more young adults and women, as well as a broader range of household income, than any prior Palm smartphone. The Centro is on store shelves in more than 25 countries in North America, South America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

In addition, recent data released by AdMob, the largest advertising network on the mobile web, states that Centro is among the top 10 devices worldwide for mobile Internet.

The Treo 800w update to enable voice dialing over Bluetooth which we wrote about last week, is now available for download. Palm's support page states:

This software download will enhance the convenience of hands-free calling, as it will enable the use of your Bluetooth headset or car kit to initiate voice calls on the Treo 800w via Voice Command voice dialing software.

The update can be downloaded at Palm Support. There are options to update via a Windows Installer, microSD card and over the air by visiting: palm.com/800wota on your device.

The classic Palm OS Multiformat Game Emulator, Little John Palm, has recently received a fresh round of updates. Little John Palm is an open source classic video game emulator with support for a number of systems including the NES, SNES, Gameboy, Genesis, Sega Master System and Turbo Grafx 16. Henk of Metaviewsoft has contributed a number of new fixes and improvements of late including: Treo and Centro compatibility updates, volume fixes, ui tweaks, hires gfx fixes and an optional phone call detection mode among other minor updates. Henk and a few other developers have recently had some success adding experimental support for using a Nintendo Wiimote with a Palm device and LJP over bluetooth.

The latest version 1.2 of LJP can be downloaded from Henk's blog. Updates on the Wiimote supprot can be found at the LJP forums.

CellSpin has released a Palm OS version of its mobile blogging application. This allows users to post text, images, and video to several social networking services.

Last year my school made a plan to get rid of paperwork and have it all done electronically, by the form of a PDA. This was a nice idea but was poorly executed due to the... [Read More]

Palm Treo 800W now with integrated GPS feature, Palm and Sprint announced it a few weeks ago. not only GPS feature also it will come with Palm software, and it offers maps, point-to-point directions and point-of-interest (POI) searches.

Our smartphone come with a nice 320×320 screen, 2MP camera, and a microSD card slot. For price you can buy it for $250 if you’re willing to stay loyal to Sprint for two years.

As seen in the PIC's review and amidst much online discussion of Palm's new Treo 800w, one of the device's major shortcomings is about to be quickly addressed Palm. According to this post on Palm's 800w support page:

"Treo 800w Voice Dialing Over Bluetooth will be available soon as a download from this web page. Please return to this page in the coming days for the download and details."

No additional details such as whether or not the update will be RAM or ROM-resident are offered, no is an exact release date given.

Here is another nice review from engadget mobile. They've taken a lot of time to point out the good and the bad in the Treo 800w. There are some flaws that need some attention.Most people who are used to the Treo line of phones will ...

cellphone review. Eltohn asked: I keep $ 200 up… im 16 and I want to work something above. I find it hard to hold sull'ottenere money. so… should I expect to have enough for laptop? or should I go for other options? ...

• Palm Releases ROM Update for Sprint Centro
• Multiple BlackJack II Colors Now Available
• AT&T Wireless Introduces AT&T Navigator Global Edition

Palm has released a new ROM update for the Sprint version of the Centro. Palm says the update is a tune-up that offers improved Gmail IMAP compatibility and an updated setup wizard with the new Gmail settings, support for the Google Mobile Maps My Location feature, improvements to Bluetooth and Microsoft's Direct Push Technology within Versamail. The full list of updates is posted after the break.

The Sprint Palm Centro software update 1.07 is available now on Palm's support site. The usual Windows installer and memory card update methods are available. A full data backup is recommended before proceeding. Palm says the updater should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.

I’ve been using the new Palm Treo 800w for a few days, and I wanted to share my impressions of the device before I post my full review sometime next week. The Treo 800w is fast – its TI CPU (to my surprise), makes quick work of ...

The Case-Mate Signature Series Case for the Palm Centro is new in the PIC store this week. This case is a form fitting case made from imported Italian leather. This luxurious leather is wrapped around a custom molded, impact resistant plastic shell for superior protection and fit. Precise cutouts insure full access to all Palm Centro controls. A silk/nylon lining insures softness, durability, and protection from moisture.

The Case-Mate Signature Series for Centro is available now for $34.95. Shipping starts at $5.95. Case-mate also offers a similar model for the Treo 680/750/755p. You can also check out Kris' recent review of the Case-Mate hard shell case.

The third-party project to add support for high-capacity memory cards to Palm-brand handhelds has reached a milestone: a beta version has been released to the public.

Dmitry Grinberg of PalmPowerups has released the first public beta version of his SDHC driver for Palm handhelds. The software updates the memory cards drivers for certain Palm PDA's so that they can read and write to larger SDHC compatible cards of 4 GB and higher. Dmitry's writes,

As you may be aware, most Palm devices that do not carry a "Treo" or "Centro" brand cannot read or write to the new SDHC cards. This leaves everyone owning such devices behind in terms of storage and costs. SD cards top out at 2GB, while SDHC cards are available at 32GB sizes already, and 16GB cards can be obtained for less than $80 USD.

Palm Inc has repeatedly refused to write an SDHC driver for their handhelds. This has long been regarded as a lost cause by most Palm owners. Luckily Palm Inc are not the only ones in power to help. PalmPowerups to the rescue! We've been hard at work creating an SDHC driver for your devices. It is very difficult and has been one of the most complex projects we've ever undertaken here. It ...

(more...)

http://justanothermobilemonday.com/Wordpress/2008/07/21/review-ringo-for-palm-os-is-no-dead-ringer/. I get a kick out of messing around with ringtones. Like pairing your boarding kennel with “Hound Dog” and your investment manager with “Gold Digger”. Or setting the ringer for your younger brother to be a blaring alarm noise. My Centro lets me work out my evil ringtone tendencies better than any phone I’ve ever had, but it still has a few limitations. The biggest is that the built-in ringto

TouchLauncher, the application launcher that puts a Palm OS spin on the iPhone home screen, has recently been updated. Since its debut a few months ago, the app has quickly risen to become a best seller in the PIC software store and has seen a number of updates along the way. TouchLauncher basically functions as a more finger friendly interface with support for finger scrolling, drag and drop operations, custom iconsets, wallpapers, weblinks, contact icons and much more. The last couple of updates address some bugs, improve category and 5-way functions, improvements with high-res+ support and updated icons. You can checkout a video clip of TouchLauncher in action after the break.

TouchLauncher v.1.1.5 is available now for devices running Palm OS 5 and higher including Palm PDAs (Palm TX, LifeDrive, T3, T5, Zire 72). The app comes with a free trial period and costs $6.99 to purchase.

One of the best Palm OS freeware apps just recently received its first update in nearly four years. Work on the open source Diddlebug program has picked up after a long hiatus and the new developers have just released a new version. Diddlebug is essentially an e-post it note application. It allows you to scribble notes on your Palm device using the stylus (or finger) and set alarms and reminders for each note with ease. The new version features numerous bug-fixes, proper 5-way navigation support and compatibility with the latest Palm devices including the Treo 600/650/680 and Centro devices.

DiddleBug v.2.90.d.5 is free to use and is open sourced under the GNU General Public License.

Palm last week introduced its latest new color for the Palm Centro smartphone. The new Electric Blue Centro is exclusive to AT&T and is available now starting at $69 after rebates and a new service agreement.

The Electric Blue shares all the same features and software as its white and black associates on AT&T. We previously posted our full review of the Onyx Black Sprint Centro and the Glacier White AT&T Centro as well. Read on for the full live picture gallery and additional details.

Seidio has long been one of the Palm mobile community's favored peripheral sources for a variety of reasons. First and foremost among these is the variety available in Seidio's signature accessories line, with their family of slim plastic hardcases a constantly popular option. Last year I reviewed Seidio's rubberized Innocase for the Treo 700-series. While that case had a few aggravating flaws, it remained a nicely made device that frustratingly didn't quite tap its full potential (or at least the example I owned failed to). Nevertheless, I have a few fond memories of that particular case, as it brought the soft-touch paint of the then-new Treo 750 to all Treo users frustrated with the slickness of their devices' exterior.

After spending the past few months with my new Verizon 755p, I've grown to love that device's rubberized coating even more but still would like some additional protection when I don't feel like toting a leather pouch case or belt case. So I decided to purchase another version of Seidio's Rubberized Innocase for my 755p and see what improvements have been from the previous ...

We'll provide a full review later.Our initial impressions are that the Treo 800w is a nice upgrade to the previous Treo models but with some drawbacks. It feels small in your hand and feels much lighter to carry. The display is sharp, ...

Palm today formally announced the Treo 800w smartphone running Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional Edition. The device is available now at Sprint stores and online at Palm.com starting at $249. The Treo 800w is the first Palm smartphone to include a number of new advanced features such as integrated Wi-Fi, EvDO Rev A high speed data and GPS technology.

The Treo 800w is squarely aimed at business professionals. Featuring the latest version of Windows Mobile, the device offers out of the box Exchange support with Outlook email with Microsoft Direct Push Technology and HTML support, native Microsoft Office documents, PowerPoint and PDF and zip file attachment support. The device is also compatible with Microsoft's System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008, which delivers increased security and easier smartphone management as well as access to information on the corporate network.

The long awaited, oft rumored and much anticipated Wi-Fi equipped Treo 800w has now been officially made official. The Palm Treo 800w debuts today on Sprint for $249 after the usual contracts and rebates. In addition to Wi-Fi technology, the 800w also packs in a number of other significant firsts for Palm including high-speed EvDO Rev A, integrated GPS functionality and the latest version of Windows Mobile 6.1 with a 320 x 320 pixel display.

I've been using the Treo 800w for only a few days and am working on my full detailed review. In the meantime I've put together my first impressions of the device along with some high-res live pictures and tips. Read on for the first part of my Treo 800w review.

The Treo 800w is Palm's latest smartphone for business users, and its first with Wi-Fi and GPS. Adama Brown brings us a review of this Windows Mobile 6.1 device.