Astraware has just released Bubble Babble, a new aquatically themed word game for Palm OS and Windows Mobile devices. Astraware bills the game as a undersea bubble-bursting brain teaser. Players must link together letter bubbles to form words and impress Wordsworth Smartygills - your friendly fishy host. You score points for each word you make and are rewarded for more complex and unusual words. The game has four different play modes and increasing levels of difficulty. There is also a multiplayer option and a word of the day feature.

Bubble Babble is available for smartphones and PDAs running Palm OS 5 and above, and Windows Mobile Professional, Classic and Standard devices running Windows Mobile 2003 and later. The game is priced at $19.95, but is currently available for $9.95 with a limited time new release discount. A free demo is included.

Palm has quietly released a new ROM update for Treo 755p users on the Alltel network. Alltel's version of the Treo 755p comes in sleek all-black color scheme and was released after the device's debut on Sprint but prior to Verizon's 755p launch late last year.

Palm has not released any details or posted to their blog about the availability of the Alltel 755p ROM update, other than saying that: "This software update is for a phone reset issue that occurs under certain specific and rare conditions." The Alltel 755p ROM will be at version 1.03 after successfully completing this fix and all 1.02 ROM users should install this update.

TechCenter Labs (aka Gary Mayhak) can always be counted on to release clever and affordable accessories for Palm devices, such as the add-on bud microphone for Palm handhelds lacking integrated voice recording.

This time around, TCL has released a nifty new emergency charger for all Palm devices utilizing the Athena/MultiConnector plug type. The new TCL charger joins the existing TCL USB charger and utilizes either a conventional AA alkaline throwaway battery, a NiMH rechargeable AA or a higher-capacity disposable lithium battery such as this type (.pdf link) offered by Energizer for specialty photo applications. The chargers have built-in circuitry to give the correct voltage required by Palm devices so as not to over or under-charge their batteries. TCL are offering a total of four variations of the charger: $9.95 for the charger in silver or black without a battery and $10.95 for the charger in without or black and bundled with a disposable lithium battery included.

Palm Desktop 3.0 or later; Pocket PC 3.0 or later; ActiveSync 3.1 or later. Desktop PC: Windows 95 or later; 32 MB available RAM;

WMExperts has gotten some additional information regarding the Sprint Palm 800w running Windows Mobile Professional. The device blends the form factor of the Treo and the Centro line to create a slimmer, more modern profile.

According to WMExperts, the Treo 800w will be launched on Sprint for around $250 on a two-year agreement after instant savings and rebates. The device will launch on July 13th. The pricing should put the Treo more competitive with offerings like the BlackBerry and the oft-rumored next generation iPhone from Apple which may get carrier subsidies making it slightly less expensive than the the first generation release.

The 800w is said to have a micro-USB connector for charging, synchronization, and sound output with a converter to a 3.5 mm for headphones. Also on deck is WiFi (a first for any Treo), GPS, 320 X 320 touchscreen, and Bluetooth. The device will use the same 1150 mAH battery as the Palm Centro.

The Treo line of phones is one of the few widely-available phones running Windows Mobile and has a candybar QWERTY keyboard. Other devices include the Samsung i780 which so far has only seen a European release, ...

With an imminent release rumored for July on Sprint, the floodgates of Treo 800w images have been opened. Starting with a now-pulled Sprintusers forum post and quickly spreading to other sites, several new leaked spy shots clearly show what appears to be a production version of the Sprint Treo 800w. While still substantially less sleek and stylish than the GSM 850, the 800w does look nearly identical to what the earlier pre-production leaked photos suggested.

An additional forum post from someone who claims to be a Sprint employee is suggesting that the device will debut on July 13th on Sprint, with a final price of $250 w/ 2 year contract and after an undisclosed amount of mail-in and instant rebates. Read on for further pics and details.

One of the biggest compromises entailed by the Centro's relatively small size relative to its Treo brethren is the reduced battery life. With only a small 1150mAh stock battery, the Centro offers the smallest stock battery of any Palm smartphone yet, less than the 1200mAh of the older Treo 680 and 750. Palm did briefly announce, release, and then almost immediately EOL their own branded extended battery earlier this year.

Fortunately, longtime Palm accessory specialist Seidio, suspiciously silent on the Centro battery front, has just announced an extended battery designed exclusively for the Palm Centro. While this new offering from Seidio unfortunately doesn't fit under the stock battery door, it does offer a whopping 2600mAh of power (an increase of almost 40%) while remaining the same approximately physical size as Palm's 1800 mAh battery. For comparison purposes, 2600mAh is the capacity of the largest Seidio battery that fits the stock battery cover of the Treo 650 and 700p/w/wx.

The normally slow summer season has really been showing some surprising signs of life on the Palm OS front, as updates to a number of classic Palm OS apps have recently been released. Now an entirely new version of the premiere Palm OS call recording and voice memo app, CallRec, has been released by developer QMobilSoft.

Calling this latest build of CallRec an entirely "new" version worthy of the 6.0 moniker might be a bit of a stretch. Version 6.0, dated June 1 2008, appears to be the recipient of only two primary new features. Both of these are security-related, as file encryption and password-protection of recorded files from within the app now make their appearance. Despite a lack of whiz-bang new additions, version 6.0 of CallRec looks to continue the strong showing of the already excellent 5.x version.

Deluxeware have just released a new version of their recently-released Golden Skull game for Palm OS devices. Developed by DeluxeWare and co-published by Astraware, GoldenSkull is an interesting-looking Palm OS title along the lines of Astraware's own Bejeweled. It combines puzzle gameplay with an adventure storyline set amidst the background of Mayan archaeological exploration. Fans of the new Indiana Jones might find this a very appropriate title to check out in an otherwise slowing market of new Palm OS entertainment titles. The title's first update since its release less than two months ago, adds four difficulty levels alongside the usual list of small, unmentioned bugfixes.

Golden Skull - Saeed's Adventures v1.10 is available now for Palm OS and Windows Mobile. It costs $14.95 and comes with a free trial period. The game supports all Palm OS 5 320x320 devices and, refreshingly, 320x480 handhelds.

ShSh Software has released an update to its TAKEphONE software. TAKEphONE is a enhanced contact management application, designed to improve and simplify your contact management phone call operations. It facilitates stylus free operation and one-handed dialing, enhanced search capabilities, as well as telephony features, such as calling-card support, extra digits dialing on all contacts, Internet phone number search and much more. This new version adds improved graphics and skins, a new clock display, an updated 4cast plugin and many more improvements.

TAKEphONE v7.60 for Palm OS is available now for $19.95. This update is free for previously registered customers and a free trial period is available.

Despite recently releasing a version of Pocket Tunes for Windows Mobile-powered devices, NormSoft has not forgotten their loyal Palm OS user base. A new version of the Pocket Tunes audio player app has been released by Normsoft for all Palm OS Garnet devices.

Pocket Tunes Deluxe sells for $37.95 and a free trial is available. A basic version is also available for $19.95, which omits the support for online music stores. You can read my earlier review of Pocket Tunes 4 here.

The longstanding champion of Palm OS digital audio players, Pocket Tunes, has now been ported over to Windows Mobile. NormSoft has just released a version of Pocket Tunes for Windows Mobile 5 & 6 Pocket PC and smartphone devices. The software includes all the features from the Palm OS version including a Pocket Tunes Sync application for iTunes for Windows PCs, a built in streaming radio catalogue, support for Napster, Rhaspsody services and the usual MP3, WMA, AAC, and aacPlus file support.

Pocket Tunes for Windows Mobile debuts at version 4.1. It is available now with a 15-day free trial period. It costs $37.95.

PC World reviews the Palm Centro (AT&T) and writes, “The Palm Centro is an attractive option not just for Palm devotees but also for anyone seeking an inexpensive smart phone with a QWERTY keyboard. Previously, we tested a Centro ...

StyleTap Inc. has announced plans to release a version of its Palm OS emulator for the iPhone and the iPod touch, which will allow over 20,000 currently-available mobile applications to run on these devices.

New numbers from IDC on the first quarter sales of smartphones shows Palm took 13.4% of US sales, up from 7.9% in the previous quarter. However, Palm is down substantially when compared with the same period last year when Palm had 23% percent share of US smartphone market.

Strong Centro sales are credited with boosting Palm's numbers this quarter. However, IDC analyst Ramon Llamas attributes Palm's yearly declines to strong sales of the iPhone and RIM's expanding reach into the "prosumer" segment. There is more on the report at CNNMoney.

Toyspring has released Bike or Die! 2, the sequel to its popular bicycle simulation game for Palm OS devices. In Bike or Die 2 players pedal a Physics-based bike simulation through cleverly designed obstacle courses consisting of varied terrain such as hills, rocks, snow and caves. The game has a unique gravity and feel to it as you attempt to maneuver through each course without destroying yourself. The new version features much improved graphics with added textures and a more 3D-like levels, background music, customizable bikes and player profiles.

Bike or Die 2 for Palm OS is available now for $14.95. A free trial is included. You can checkout a video clip of the game in action after the break.

Mark/Space has released updates for its Missing Sync software for Palm OS and Windows Mobile. The software provides enhanced Mac OS synchronization for each respective platform. Updates for the Palm OS version v6.0.4 include fixed Yojimbo sync issues, support for the latest Centro models, SMS and Call Log application fixes and other minor fixes. The Windows Mobile product is up to v4.0.3 and includes a number of updates detailed here. Highlights include improvements under Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard, increased performance of devices mounted on the desktop and improved bluetooth connections.

The minor version updates are free for most recent customers. To get the update, select Check for Update from the Missing Sync menu in the application.

Access Co., Ltd. has released a new version of its Garnet VM, which allows users of the Nokia N810, N800, and N770 to run thousands of off-the-shelf Palm OS applications.

ShSh software has released a new version of its popular 4cast weather browser for Palm OS. 4cast downloads weather information from the Internet and displays it in a nice palm native interface. It supports 5-day forecasts for multiple cities, weather maps and alerts. 4cast can also be used as a plugin for 2day, DateBk6 and ZLauncher. This update includes support the new yahoo weather format, enhanced skinning support (now compatible with TAKEphONE skins) and other miscellaneous improvements and fixes.

4cast v1.90 for Palm OS is available now with a free trial period. It costs $9.95 to register the full version.

Astraware has published a new racing game for Palm OS and Windows Mobile. GTS World Racing is the sequel to the popular GTS Racing Challenge first released over five years ago. The game was developed by Pazzazz Games.

GTS World Racing offers 64 track layouts across 16 worldwide locations - from snowscapes to dusty deserts; 3 car types to choose from each with their own handling characteristics; and 4 difficulty levels from Easy to Extreme. There are four game modes including: Single Race, Challenge Cup, Grand Tour and Championship.

Australia's APC magazine has published a new article with a few recent comments from Palm CEO Ed Colligan, As we have become accustomed to whenever Palm talks about the "new OS" Colligans comments are high on hype and hyperbole, yet completely bereft of any serious new details. The article summarizes some of the recent news around Palm, including the recent debut of the Centro in Australia, with a hint and tease at what is expected to come next.

The overall interview comments continue to recycle Palm's usual talking points about the new OS and the companies position on its current competitive situation. Colligan talks about how by executing on their own system, it will allow them to create more compelling solutions, saying "We think it's going to be stunning and breakthrough in its execution, and we're working on some very exciting new devices to go with it".

Standard & Poor's is the latest Wall St firm to put out another pessimistic outlook on Palm's near term financial prospects. S&P analyst Todd Rosenbluth has just changed his rating on Palm from Hold to Sell citing Palm's current competitive situation and the larger economic climate.

Todd stated "We believe PALM is more exposed than peers to any fluctuations in its business or the economy, which has proved problematic given PALM's weak Q2 and Q3 FY 08 (May) results. Even with recent handset model launch, we believe PALM's ability to gain market share in the high-growth smartphone market will be limited by new offerings from competitors."

Standard & Poor's is the latest Wall St firm to put out another pessimistic outlook on Palm's near term financial prospects. S&P analyst Todd Rosenbluth has just changed his rating on Palm from Sell to Hold citing Palm's current competitive situation.

Todd stated "PALM's ability to gain market share in the high-growth smartphone market will be limited by new offerings from competitors, While we think new management will provide improvements, we expect a turnaround to take time." (via Tech Trader Daily)

Pocket PCs can fit in your pocket and Palm OS PDAs can fit in your palm. But, what do you do if you want a Palm or Pocket PC that can fit on your...

The Boy Genius Report published some new specs for the Tro 850, which may change again upon release. However, as it is, the unit looks nice:

-14 mm in thickness, width 60 mm and length 113 mm
-GSM, EDGE and UMTS HSDPA 3.6
-aGPS
-Wi-FI b/g
-320×320 screen, touch panel
-micro-SD slot under the battery
-2 MP camera
-1500 mAh battery
-A micro-USB connector for both power and sync
-Bluetooth 2.0 EDR + A2DP, 256 MB NAND-Flash (> 175 MB for user), 32 MB SDRAM
-Windows Mobile Pro 6.1

Before, it was rumored that the unit will have 100 MB RAM.

A live photo from Engadget Mobile is shown below. The unit is a touchscreen Windows Mobile Professional device and will have the keyboard mirror that of the popular Palm Centro.

It looks like the screen will be flush.

• Windows Mobile 6.1 Now Available for HTC TyTN II
• PocketBible 4 Released
• Device Anywhere Opens Palm Virtual Lab
• eReader Beta for Symbian S60 Released
• OpenMoko Changes UI and Application Framework to QTopia

Rumor: The recent flurry of leaks regarding both the CDMA Treo 800w and its stylish GSM Treo 850 stable mate have until now been long on images and short on actual detailed tech specs. Fortunately, that has just changed with Tam's Palm blog posting some detailed specs of the upcoming Treo 850. Tam's tipster claims that the 850 is not simply a Windows Mobile version of the Centro but rather an "evolution" of the older Treo 750 for GSM networks. Additionally, the report states that this device is code-named "Skywriter".

The Palm Treo 850 has been rumored, and various websites have released pictures and information on Palm's flagship mobile.

I am absolutley sold on ebay. I just purchased 3Com Palm Pilot VIIx 8 mb with stylus PDA Pocket PC from ebay and I am more then satisfied.

Palm's online store is having another 50% off selected accessories sale. The sale includes a number of deals on popular accessories such as Palm's GPS navigation kit, memory cards, cases and wireless headsets. You can view the full list of sale items here. Highlights include:

• Palm GPS Navigator featuring Garmin Mobile XT for $139, regularly $249
• Palm GPS Navigator Car Kit for $99, regularly $299
• Palm Wireless Headset Series 3 for $45, regularly $69
• Palm Centro Air Case for $12, regularly $19.99
• Palm Centro Extra Battery for $29, regularly $49

In addition, Palm is offering free shipping on all orders over $49. Palm is also having a sale on the AT&T Centro when purchased without a contract. Customers can save 20% and pickup a Centro without activation for $279. All of the above offers will expire on May 28th.

Opera Software has released a "silent" update for the Opera Mini browser. The new build addresses issues that were causing problems with the latest v4.1 release on many Palm OS devices. Opera reports the new version (4.1.11355) has better memory handling on Palm devices which should correct the missing image problems. There are also a few minor BlackBerry specific fixes and a bookmarking bug correction.

Users can download the latest version by visiting operamini.com on your phone. In order to use Opera Mini with a Palm OS device you need to have the Palm Java Micro Environment installed. Since Palm no longer distributes the JVM you need to already have it installed or find an alternate source (download link) for it online.

This is good news for Treo fans, the upcoming Palm Treo 850w smartphone photo leaked. According to a source this new Treo 850w will feature a 400MHz processor plus 100MB of RAM; it also looks like it has a WiFi on/off button if you look at the side view. As usual there is no information on prices

Filed under: Cellphones For the legions of developers anxious to use their talents to build for Palm (yes, all four of you), listen up. By partnering with DeviceAnywhere, Palm has opened up its Virtual Developer Lab, which enables devs to remotely access actual Treo / Centro handsets in order to ex… 3G cd released articles Woz HSDPA mozilla firefox digital storage Mac tv web arcade sony DECT ofcom pocket MP3 tuner games addicted life conferencing channels travel Panasonic digital theatre sys

(Credit: Boy Genius Report)

Just recently, we reported on some rumors about a Palm Treo 800, a CDMA smartphone with Windows Mobile 6.1, EV-DO Rev. A, and GPS. While the feature list was pretty impressive, the picture of the reported device didn't excite us very much. In fact, ...

The seemingly unending source of mobile device revelations that is the Boy Genius Report has uncovered and posted the first set of spy shots of the Palm Treo 850. The device looks to be a manifestation of the previously detailed model codenamed Palm Drucker. At first glance, the device looks to be a welcome depart from the usual Treo stylings and presents a more modern look with a blend of design cues from the Centro. The device would also confirm that Palm has an additional model on tap, in addition to the Treo 800w, first seen last week.

BGR is reporting that the device is running a 400 MHz processor and reports 100MB of free RAM. The Treo 850 is also shown stacked up with a BlackBerry 8800, which helps us to gestimate that it's thickness is roughly around ~.55 inches (14mm), a noticeable reduction from Treo's past.

DeviceAnywhere has unveiled its new public Palm Virtual Developer Lab (VDL) – a remote testing service designed to reduce the time and resources required to develop, test, monitor, and deploy applications and content for Palm smartphones. The on-line service is available globally to all developers who register for DeviceAnywhere's Palm package and provides support for in-market devices released by the Palm, including the Treo 755p and the new Palm Centro.

Six months after its United States debut, Palm's Centro has found its way Down Under, with the company today announcing via press release that their latest smartphone will be arriving on Telstra's pre-paid network as of May 26 in sparkling Glacier White. Sporting an initial price tag of $299, the pre-paid Centro will be targeted at "traditional mobile phone users".

Telstra's version of the Centro will also feature a dedicated link to their BigPond service, allowing users to access exclusive BigPond content. A Palm spokesperson has told Palminfocenter via telephone that while the Centro will initially be locked to Telstra's network, the company is not ruling out an unlocked version in the future.

Softick has updated their popular Audio Gateway program, the Bluetooth Stereo A2DP solution for Palm OS devices. New features in this version include a new Quick Launch capability with a link to popular media players from the main program screen, the ability to auto-launch an app after establishing a A2DP connection, fixes for the Treo 680, fixes for a few other minor bugs.

Softick Audio Gateway v1.21 from Softick is available for $19.95 and a limited trial version is available for download. The updated version of Audio Gateway is free to registered owners of the software. PIC's review of version 1.12 of the app can be found here.

The ClieVideo group has released v3.1 of its Lightspeed software for Palm OS. Lightspeed is an application that lets the user change the CPU clock frequency, i.e. overclock or underclock the processor, on supported Palm OS 5 devices. This release includes some changes and optimizations to its CPU speed code so that changing the frequency now takes less time, a new preference has been added that decides action taken at device wakeup, the GUI has been updated for Zire 31, Z21 and Z22 devices and other minor bug fixes.

Lightspeed v3.1 is available for $19.95 and comes with a free trial period. It is currently available at the discounted price of $14.95.

This is information about the next Palm Treo 800w smartphone , specs from this smartphone leaked. We got info that this Treo 800w comes with a 320×320 display, 400mhz CPU, 128MB of RAM, 256MB of ROM, EVDO REV-A connectivity, and GPS receiver, WiFi and Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, 2.0 megapixel camera, and running under Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, a standard operating system for the device on its class.

via

(Credit: Via Boy Genius Report)

For all the crap Palm gets about its lack of innovation, it's still got a pretty loyal fanbase so we imagine some of you will be interested in this tidbit. There are various stories around the blogosphere about a new Windows-based Treo, codenamed "Zeppelin" ...

• Palm to Present at JPMorgan Technology Conference
• WorldMate Live now includes GPS
• Eduardo Cachucho wins 2008 Nokia Mobile Filmmaking Awards
• OtterBox 1990 for Samsung Q1 Ultra and Q1 Ultra Premium UMPCs

Longtime Palm OS ROM hacker Shadowmite has posted what appears to be one of the first shots of an Treo 800 / Palm Zeppelin prototype device. The picture matches up with most of the earlier leaked renderings and presents a clear view of the long awaited new Palm smartphone.

Unfortunately there are no major new details or confirmation of existing rumored specs along with the picture. The little tidbit the source does confirm is that the device uses a new micro USB connector.

Read on for the full sized pic.

In Palm stock market news today, UBS analyst Maynard Um cut his rating on Palm to Sell from Neutral, with an unchanged $5 price target. Palm's stock closed today down 12 cents (~2%) at $5.82.

In his research note Um notes that Palm is on track for some new Treo products in the August and November quarters (?), and cites the ever increasingly competitive mobile landscape including the 3G iPhone and new BlackBerry Bold. He also states that a Palm turnaround still relies on the success or failure of its new Linux product, which he says won't be launched before the first half of 2009 "at the earliest." (via Tech Trader Daily)

Electric Pocket's popular Ringo Pro ringtone manager for Palm OS and Windows Mobile software has been updated. Ringo is a enhanced ringtone manager that allows you to easily setup and define ringtones, photo ID's, and sms alerts for individuals and groups on your smartphone. Electric Pocket has recently issued a new collection of fun SMS alerts for free and now includes free access to over 50 free mp3 ringtones to get you started.

Pricing for Ringo Mobile starts at $24.95. It is available for both Palm OS and Windows Mobile Treos. A seven day free trial period is included.

Palm announced today that it's Chief Financial Officer Andrew J. Brown is scheduled to present at the 36th Annual JPMorgan Technology Conference in Boston on Monday, May 19, 2008 at 3:40 p.m. Eastern Time.

A live webcast of the event will be made available online at Palm's Investor Relations site.

Opera Software has released the official version of its Opera Mini web browser v4.1 after being in beta for the past couple of weeks. This release includes several new features, including automatic completion of web addresses, tools for attaching files to web-based email, support for file and photo uploads, text search within pages, downloading attachments from email for storage on your phone, and saving and viewing pages offline. Opera also says this version is up to 50% faster than previous versions due to improvements in its back-end proxy.

Users can download the latest version by visiting operamini.com on your phone. In order to use Opera Mini with a Palm OS device you need to have the Palm Java Micro Environment installed. Since Palm no longer distributes the JVM you need to already have it installed or find an alternate source (download link) for it online. Also see our recent article on Palm OS web browsing for the optimal Java settings for Opera Mini on Palm OS.

The second half of 2008 has long been considered a very uncertain period of transition for Palm. The embattled handheld maker will presumably be attempting to tread water on the residual sales of the popular Centro smartphone alongside a handful of new Windows Mobile-powered devices, all while presumably prepping the Nova OS for release sometime in 2009. What exactly Palm's upcoming Windows Mobile device lineup looks like remains the most pressing question facing the Palm faithful as we kick off the beginning of the summer months with just a small handful of rumors to contend with.

As usual, all of the information presented here combines a great deal of speculation based largely on Palm's past releases plus a handful of leaked images, specification and online chatter. Of course, we've had a few leaked images, roadmaps, and specs over the past year to go on as well. All of the content of this article is essentially speculation and conjecture based on Palm's traditional device history and should in no way be interpreted as an actual Palm release schedule.

HeroCraft has released a new game for Palm OS and Windows Mobile devices. Hexxagon Labs is a logic game, which contains over a dozen arenas filled with intellectual challenges. The goal of the game in each level is to occupy as many cells on a field as possible, capturing pieces of an enemy. The game features 17 original hard-to-solve levels and three bonus tutorial levels, two player mode and will even display "amusing facts from the scientific world" before each new round.

Hexxagon Labs for Palm OS v1.0 is available now for $14.96. It is also available for Windows Mobile and Smartphone edition. A free demo version is available.

Apt is a new program for Palm OS devices. It is described as a cross between a button launcher, preferences app and macro program, tailored for individual applications on your device. Apt allows you to configure your device in a per-application basis, by adapting your settings as you move between programs. Customizable settings include things like brightness, screen orientation, button assignments and launcher menu shortcuts. You can also capture any sequence of events on your device and create macro's within existing apps.

Apt v1.0 is available now for Palm OS 5 and higher. It comes in two versions, a free "lite" version and a full features version, which has more options not available in the free version.