If you thought the Palm Pre had a lame name, then consider their newest fumble: the Palm Pixi. Can you imagine walking into the nearest Sprint store and asking for the latest smartphone to hit the market, only to have the clerk bring out the Pixi? Well, names aside, the phone looks pretty cool. It's basically a stripped-down, simpler version of the Pre. It replaces the sliding keyboard with a fixed QWERTY keypad. The screen is a bit smaller, but still retains the 8GB of memory and GPS.
In other Palm news, the company has dropped the price of the Pre to a very affordable $150 and someone leaked an early copy the webOS version 1.2. The latest update which fixes small problems like the Select All option in the edit menu of the browser and makes some changes to the GPS.
Of course, we would be remiss if we didn't mention the forthcoming iPod price cuts and the new iPod leaks. CNET News is bringing you full coverage of the event on our live blog, and apparently TechCrunch has already reported that the 32GB iPod Touch has dropped from $399 to $279. Check out the photos and tune in tomorrow to see if our Technodamus predictions actually came true.
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Sony's got an early demo unit of the PSP Go floating around New York, and we got to spend a little time with it--and Sony PlayStation team rep Al De Leon.
We don't have anything new or earth-shattering to report other than to say we like the smaller design, and the PSP Go does feel pretty good resting in your hands. Oh, and we also have some video shot with a Flip UltraHD (sorry the tight shots aren't sharper but the Flip just isn't good at close-ups).
The PSP Go ($250) is set for release this October and we should have a review up the day it launches. In the meantime, you can read our substantial preview.
As always, comments are welcome.
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Nintendo stopped by our CNET New York offices Wednesday afternoon to give us a sneak peek at the brand new Nintendo DSi. We had plenty of hands-on time with the portable gaming device and have a good idea what we can expect from the various built-in media features.
We also got a taste of some features we're just not allowed to talk about yet. Unfortunately, we weren't able to hold on to a DSi, but we were assured we'd be getting our review sample soon.
For now, check out our First Look video of the DSi where we run through the main features and provide a side-by-side comparison with the DS Lite.
The Nintendo DSi will be available April 5 for $170. Keep your bookmarks here for our full review in the days leading up.
Want a closer look at the DSi and DS Lite side-by-side? Check out our extensive slide show comparing both.
If you missed last week's news about Google's feature-honing update for its native BlackBerry app, here's your chance to see it in action.
As part of a few well-appointed changes, the new Google Mobile App for BlackBerry does away with its predecessor's penchant for hogging space on the home screen and has rearranged its resources to pack a greater wallop with search. Tune into the video to see what we mean.
Mobile browsing has come a long way and continues to gain speed and power as cell phone hardware and processing technologies mature. At the forefront of this evolution is Opera Software, whose most recent efforts bring us Opera Mobile 9.5 beta for Windows Mobile Pocket PCs. Watch the video to see what's new and improved in this free, brand-new release.
For more details, check out the full review.
Can't get a song out of your head and don't know what it's called? There are two good applications for iPhone that will fetch song titles and artists when curiosity begins to gnaw.
Shazam for iPhone (see video) grabs song, title, and album information after 30 seconds of listening to a recording. If YouTube videos are available, you'll be able to download them in a click from the results page. When or if you're ready to buy, the application also integrates with the iTunes music store, which will gladly bill your account for the song.
Broader still is Midomi for iPhone (coverage), which supplies singing, hummimg, speaking, and typing as input options in addition to recording a 10 second song clip. Either way you phrase your request, Midomi will return similar artist details, video, and iTunes lookup results.
As unexotic as it may sound, I really do enjoy a good game of digital solitaire from time to time. But once you've got the basics down, doesn't it get old? Probably not if SolSuite Solitaire is laying down the deck. A list of games nearing 500 tests luck and skill, and ranges from easy to difficult play. The game has a fair amount of customization, as well as automated tutors and ways to look up rules. High scores are also posted from around the globe. SolSuite Solitaire is thick with statistics that track how many points you score over how many moves in how many seconds, and it packs tools to track your progress over time. Though it's a solo card game in an Internet epoch where social gaming is king, be forewarned: get a little curious about new game arrangements and this app will suck you in.
Not every social networking concept strikes gold, even when the coalescing factor is the common interest of finding a good Internet cafe. In the case of WeFi, a hot-spot-finding application with a social community tacked on, various CNET editors have raised a collective eyebrow at some of the more intense methods of attaining human connection, but largely agree that being able to chat with verified friends or nearby Internet surfers adds a useful dimension to the search for reliable Wi-Fi access in comfortable coffee shops.
This First Look at WeFi for Windows laptops and WeFi for Pocket PC tours WeFi's easy-to-use interface and automated hot-spot-sniffers from two Internet-thirsty devices.
There's no shortage of local search applications for cell phone users to rely on. In addition to Google Maps Mobile, Yahoo OneSearch (which is also bundled into Yahoo Go), and TellMe's BlackBerry app, is newcomer FreeMobile411, a simple, clean-looking WAP app that searches local business and residential listings for people, business names, and business types. While the publisher, V-Enable, works on distributing a more robust client through cell phone carriers starting with Sprint, FreeMobile411.com remains as reliable a lookup for people on low-end Internet phones as it is on high-end phones.
The shouts of indignation from defenders of the two big multiprotocol IM apps, Pidgin or Trillian, are a bit more hushed these days. The newest chat client in town makes them both look passe.
Digsby is a free beta release of a supercharged communications client that gathers up major IM networks like Yahoo, AOL, MSN, Google Talk, Jabber, and ICQ with Web mail and social networks. From a single skinnable interface, people can chat, check e-mail, update Twitter, and view MySpace and Facebook activity feeds. Instant messaging, e-mailing, texting, file transfers, and voice and audio chat can all be launched from within the conversation window.
As an aside, Digsby's got some good-looking emoticons that resemble bubblier versions of Yahoo IM favorites. Although they're mapped to a range of character sets meant to be compatible with a variety of networks, some things are still lost in translation. (An emoticon for a kiss on the cheek I sent from Digsby transformed into a sloppy wet one right on the smacker when it materialized on a co-worker's screen. Oops.)
The wealth of preferences lets users rein in the number of activity notifications that pop up and customize privacy settings and most aspects of the display. I highly recommend ripping out the system-tray icons, which only add clutter, and shutting out strangers in the privacy settings. I accidentally let the latter lapse the first time I evaluated Digsby and was pestered by spim (spam IM) that I couldn't immediately quash.
When you've got your preferences just so, including some splendid skins, you, too, may begin to see Digsby as a perfect example of where integrated services are going. Based on my imagination, I predict a basic mobile version and integration with image editing and video playback next.
