Pre WebOS and Synergy...wow!

Well I could of simply updated my previous post about the Pre, but I'd rather post a separate post.

Now that I've seen the videos of the Pre Demo [link to VentureBeat]... I'm in a bit more of a WOW stage... again to remind you I've always been a fan of Palm... I only switched to the G1 since I got tired of waiting for Palm to release their new OS and since the G1 was released on my current provider T-Mobile. Now while I still don't think I'll be switching from T-Mobile and my G1 to Sprint and the Pre, I'm really jealous of the Synergy technology... Palm does it again... it produces a product and produces it correct from the start... they don't have to add features we want, they are already there... now whether I need those features....

I don't think the Synergy feature will make any difference for those who use their phones for personal use, but for those of use who like to use our devices as a combination device for personal and work reasons, this is the answer and WOW! Synergy allows you to see all your contacts, calendars, and emails as one without having to actually combine them on your own and without actually mixing them up. If I heard correctly WebOS currently works with Google and Exchange. Also it conviently combines various types of communication, where it be email, chat, or SMS.... and the multitasking abilities they added via their 'Cards' also make life good.

The 'Cards' approach to multitasking is definitely and improvement on current multitasking approaches on small handheld devices. Also considering the fact that Palm's previous OS (the one on current Palms including the Centro) has no multitasking.... the is a giant improvement for Palm. 

Basically on the OS side of the picture, I'm definitely impressed now that I've watched the video demos. Again I don't think I'll be switching to Sprint, but if it was to be released on T-Mobile, I would definitely have a decision to make.... For now, I don't really think I need the Synergy features.  I've already move most everything to Google (which would actually make a migration to the Pre really simple) and  we don't use Exchange at work (yet). Besides that, I know that there are several apps for the Android that allow it to work with Exchange so till I need Exchange and tried those apps, I don't know how much I would actually Synergy at this time... that doesn't stop me from being impressed... I'd even consider recommending it to Lauren since I'm pretty sure her future job will be using Exchange... I just don't know if Sprint is an available carrier for her. So for corporate (business/work) use, the Pre and WebOS definitely hits a home run in my mind... for personal consumers, I don't know how much difference there really will be for them between Android, the iPhone and now the Pre... I'm curious now though how the BlackBerry Storm will fair.

Palm goes Pre/webOS

Well as I'm sure many have heard... Palm has finally released its latest OS and device, the Pre. The new OS is named 'webOS', I guess they didn't like the name Nova? Anyways.... well as I'm sure you can expect... the blogosphere is all at flutter about the Pre...

Since I won't posting the specs, here are some useful links:
http://www.palm.com/us/products/phones/pre/
http://now.sprint.com/pre/?id9=vanity:palmpre
http://palmaddict.typepad.com/palmaddicts/2009/01/palm-unveils-al.html
http://mytreo.net/treo-and-palm-news/palm-pre-and-webos-announced/

So my take... looks nice, only problems... I don't think I want it. I'm hoping for Palm's sake that it is all that is cracked up to be. While I'll always be a Palm fan.... but after the endless (well I guess it has almost ended) wait for this new device and OS.... Anyways during the wait, the iPhone was released and I got an Android HTC G1.

To quickly rant my anti-iPhone stance... no the iPhone did not create the smartphone industry, it just stirred the pot very nicely, the industry was started mostly by Palm, RIM, and Symbian with help from MS, and both Palm and MS have always had a touchscreen (and a physical keyboard), the only thing the iPhone brought to the market was hype, and a pretty good platform that made others think. On the platform topic, Palm has supposedly been working on this new platform since well before the iPhone rumors started. As for RIM, Symbian, and MS... well Lauren has a Pearl and likes it, everyone I know with Symbian smartphones like them... and everybody with MS smartphones... well they tend to be mixed... my take on WinMo is that it is Windows (I like Office, not windows). And as I said, I got tired of waiting for Palm to release its new OS and when I heard that T-Mobile would be getting the G1 (the world's first Android phone) I knew which direction I was heading, and I'm very happy with my G1 (especially now that I regained root access to my phone).

And back to the Pre, yes the Pre looks really nice. The OS looks nice and clean, par with Palm's existence. The device is also clean looking and when you slide the keyboard out (yes if you haven't read the specs, it has a sliding keyboard) you get the nice surprise that it is a portrait keyboard (screen stays portrait unlike most HTC WinMo devices and the Android G1 which orients the phone landscape). I'm not sure which layout I like better.... I really like my G1, but I miss the keyboard sometimes of my old Treo 650, its probably because I was a lot faster typing on the Treo. Other specs I like, the camera has a Flash!, but that is not really that import to me... I don't take many pictures with my camera in the dark anyways.. and if I do, I'm usually taking pictures of lights so I wouldn't want a flash then either, but I can definitely see times I wish I did have a flash. Other specs I like the standard 3.5mm headphone jack and the microUSB connector (no more proprietary connectors). Only con with the specs... the phone seems a bit big.. the G1 is bigger than an iPhone, and about part with many of the newer sliding keyboard HTC WinMo devices, but the Pre, based on the specs seems bigger, and I'm assuming that is not with the keyboard extended... that could be a big downfall in these days with the sleekness of the iPhone, we'll see what people think when it hits the market.

So competing phones for each carrier... AT&T=iPhone, T-Mobile=Android G1, Verizon=Blackberry Storm, and now Sprint=Palm Pre.... so which one will 'win' well since they are all on different carriers... how can they loose? We'll have to see the results in Europe (yes Engadget has confirmed that the Pre will be released in other regions as a GSM phone).

So again, do I want the new Pre from Palm....no (well yes). Why not... primarily since I already have a G1, and secondly since the US release will be on Sprint. And while it has been confirmed that the Pre will be released in other non-Sprint regions as a GSM phone, I'm cheap and I like my US phone discounts. So for now here is to waiting for the device to arrive in the hand of people.. and for now, I'll keep enjoying my G1.

New Treo 850?!?!

So Palm has announced its latest Treo on its way the 850! I've also seen a number of posts listing the specs. And for the most part I keep hearing praises. Yes this phone is a good thing, not only has Palm finally added WiFi but they've also added GPS. So why do I not sound so exited about this? Very simple.... check out the last spec line in the PalmAddicts post linked here: PalmAddicts: Palm again makes me want one!

Do you see my problem with the 850? You don't... how can you not... its running WINDOWS MOBILE(WM). Palm keeps telling the market and there followers that they are committed to there own OS and that they are working hard to release a new linux-based version of PalmOS, but if this is the case, why more WM phones?

I know, there are separate development teams at work, one working on the new OS and one on Palm-based hardware and another on WM-based hardware, but other than a miniturized Treo (aka the Centro, which don't get me wrong if it was available for T-Mobile USA I'd already have one), but what have you done for Palm OS? Wasn't one of the reasons given for discontinuing the Foleo that you didn't want to be developing and maintaining 2 OS flavors? so what is the difference, okay so MS is developing WM, but don't you have to support it on your phones?

So Palm, Congrats on moving in the right direction by adding WiFi and GPS (and a much better with the Centro). Also the move to mini-USB is also a good one. But please do something for the PalmOS world soon, otherwise, I see a nice new shiny BlackBerry in my furture, with the exception of a touchscreen the Curve has everything you've just added to the WM-Treo with the bonus that it is not WM.

The power of Apple

News stories like this one from BusinessWeek are all over the place with Apple and its iPhone. They all make it sound like Apple created the idea of using a touch screen. And far be it from Apple from admitting that they were not the first. Yes way back Apple had the Newton, but Palm (or back the as part of 3Com) had the first PDA the Palm Pilot with a touch screen too. Then in the late 90s HandSpring released the first Treo, which was a phone/pda and yes with a touch screen..... Over the years Palm has release a number of Treos (I think to date we are up to 11 maybe more), even Microsoft has release a number of touch screen based phones (including some by Palm), HTC has been at the forefront of their hardware. But then Apple comes along and they decide that buttons are a thing of the past.... and thus the iPhone is released and now the whole world talks like they created the touch screen, heck they even created an iPodTouch and tried to trade mark the use of the name Touch with handheld devices... Anyways... I like Apple as much as the next, heck I'm even an MacOSX admin, but I'm a bit tired of all this articles about Apple and how its iPhone with a touch screen has revolutionized the market. That is not to say that is hasn't had an affect on the market, heck its affect has been one of the greatest... but history.... tells all.

read more | digg story

The Old Phone

Well my new Treo 650 arrived today. This will actually be the first entry sent via my new 650. Out with old 600 in with new 650, so I hope. I'll be giving this phone a spin and hpefully make the complete move soon.

Working on the road: SiEd for Palm OS

While sitting at the Firestone this morning (link) I had a good chance to try out an app I had just installed on my Palm Treo600. Actually last night I first tried it out with use of my external keyboard, but this morning was the great test.... I'm currently in the process of trying to complete my Master's Thesis and this requires sitting at a computer and typing. I'm writing my thesis using LaTeX. While I have yet to find a good LaTeX editor for the Palm, I did run across SiEd. I've tried others including tjepWriter and SrcEdit, but while both have their merits... SiEd's ability to work with any text file found on a memory card is the clincher for me. I was ably to keep working on my thesis while sitting at firestone with out losing time. With this ability to work on the road.... hopefully I will finish sooner than later.

PS: in the near future I plan to finally put together a "whats on my Treo 600" post that and give a more detailed review of the above mentioned text editors.

PDA Repairs

I know this article is a little old, but it came via a new post at PalmAddicts who just got back his treo 600 that was sent in. Anyways.... he fixes PDA and form the looks of it cheap and with great care. I'm planning on contacting him about an old Clie N series I have.


Article link: One man company fixes PDAs
Direct ebay link: BROKEN-Palm-Evaluation-and-Repair-Service-FULL-SERVICE

If half of this proves true, I can't wait for an ALP powered Palm

While link jumping from a post at PalmAddicts, I stumbled across this post through Palmsource's Opensource news site. If have of what is posted is true about the ALP system, I can wait to grab hold of a new Treo running ALP as soon as it is available. I'm really beginning to be happy that I decided tosave my money and buy a used 600, instead of goinging with the 650 since hopfully ALP should hit the market mid next year. I wouldn't be able to justify buy 2 $400 dollor phones in 1 year.
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