Verizon Wireless Palm Centro
(Credit: Palm)It's not quite the Palm Treo 850 or Treo 800w news we were hoping for, but we're sure Verizon Wireless customers will still be happy to hear that they'll be able to get their hands on a Palm Centro starting Friday, June 13. Like the AT&T and Sprint models, Verizon's version of the entry-level smartphone will carry the same affordable price tag of $99 (with a two-year contract) and comes in a cobalt blue color.
Details are still trickling in as far as what the Verizon Palm Centro will include (Palm was finalizing the releases when we talked to a rep yesterday afternoon), but we imagine the feature list won't be too different from the other models. This includes integrated Bluetooth; EV-DO support; Documents to Go 10; a 1.3-megapixel camera; and PocketTunes Deluxe. For e-mail, you have your choice of using VersaMail 4.0 with built-in support for Microsoft Direct Push Technology and Exchange ActiveSync, or you can choose Verizon's proprietary Wireless Sync e-mail solution. It does not appear that the Centro will work with the carrier's V Cast streaming media services, nor will it support the A2DP Bluetooth profile. We'll be getting the full story from Palm later today, so check back soon.
It's one thing to bang out a quick third-party program for a single phone model, and quite another to develop a mobile application that works as predicted on a battalion of cell phone models, each with their own set of finely cultured specs.
For numerous reasons, developers may not have all those phones at the ready, and when it comes time for final testing, emulators that live on the screen and mimic device behavior just aren't good enough.
(Credit:
Palm Software)
If you're Palm, a mobile platform and device manufacturer that's fighting for its slimmed-down market share, you'd want to encourage developers to get their applications out there. That could be one reason why, with the help of DeviceAnywhere, Palm is launching its Virtual Developer Lab. Simply put, developers will rent hourly remote access to Palm phones in the physical world to complete their tests and make tweaks. Software makers throughout the community will be able to collaborate on projects in real time or fly solo to finish their products and bring them to market.
It's Palm's undertaking, but DeviceAnywhere is running the show. Previously known as MobileComplete, the company, headed by CEO Faraz Syed, has established management systems for helping developers on all platforms port and monitor applications to shared hardware pools for over 1,000 cell phone models. The remote access software includes a built-in advanced reservation system for booking time on a device, and a first-come, first-served queue that alerts the next developer in line when it's his or her turn to test a program's mettle. When they're done, a clean-up script plucks out leftover artifacts.
For the Palm Virtual Developer Lab, data centers sprinkled across the globe will house the 13 Palm handsets, for which developers will pay $100 per month and $13 to $16 per hour to access. This system replaces Palm's previous invite-only lab for premium developing partners, said Syed, which shut out the majority of developers.
No doubt the initiative will spark discussion about Palm's attempts to steady its declining presence in the mobile industry even after some lift brought by the Centro device in late 2007. Interested developers can register for the Palm Virtual Developer Lab here.
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Palm closing retail stores, paying out Treo owners
The inventor of the increasingly ubiquitous Pleco Chinese-English dictionary software for Palm and Windows Mobile devices said the company is "very seriously considering developing" an iPhone version.
In an interview in April's China International Business (not yet online), Michael Love tells of developing the 6-year-old product and how it's getting popular enough that many foreigners in China are buying PDAs or PDA phones just to use Pleco.
I, for one, would not have bought my Windows Mobile-running HTC Touch if not for this program, and untold dozens of my Beijing friends and acquaintances are carrying around Treos for the same reason. (Love said he switches between a Treo 680 and an HTC Touch, himself.)
Here's what Love had to say about the iPhone prospects:
We're not thrilled about Apple locking down distribution and charging developers a 30 percent commission to sell iPhone software, but we really like the platform and think it has enough potential to be worth the hefty fees.
The iPod Touch is actually more exciting to us, in some respects, than the iPhone, since it doesn't force you to change your cell phone carrier and can be found almost anywhere.
It's next to impossible to buy a cell phone-less Palm or Windows Mobile handheld in many parts of the world nowadays, but the iPod Touch is all over the place, so for those people who are willing to buy a handheld just to run Pleco, it would be a better option than they've had in quite a while.
(Credit:
Palm)
I'm all tingly: Cell phone store Wirefly is offering the Palm Centro smartphone for free with a two-year Sprint service plan. Normally, the Centro runs $99.99 after a mail-in rebate; this deal requires no rebate and even includes free shipping. Hence the tingling.
I won't go into major detail about the Centro, as I've already written a fairly exhaustive review. What I'll add is that after several months of ownership, I'm very happy with it. It does flake out at times, to the point where I have to yank the battery to reset the phone, but mostly it works like a champ. I have zero trouble using the keyboard, cramped though it may be, and I love being able to run all the Palm software I've enjoyed over the years. (Anyone for Text Twist?)
The Wirefly deal is for the black model only (rats), and of course it requires a two-year service agreement with Sprint. You can choose from any number of plans, starting at $29.99 monthly. Seriously, this is a fantastic deal, folks. If you've never owned a smartphone before, here's your chance to get a great one without spending a penny on the hardware.
Update: Looks like Amazon has this deal, too, and it's even better: You can get the black or red Centro from Sprint or the white model from AT&T.
What do you do if you're billed as a business professional's Facebook, and a substantial portion of your more than 19 million members are jet-setting business types with fancy mobile phones and jobs that lend themselves to schmoozing? You build a mobile Web site so they can invite contacts as they meet them or identify in real life those they already have.
That was the impetus behind LinkedIn's mobile beta. (That and the fact that all the other social networks have mobile Web sites, too.) It's a good move for the social network, whose CEO, Dan Nye, said in a statement that "many of these professionals are on the move, attending conferences, sales meetings, and client events. Making LinkedIn available on mobile devices responds to both these business realities and will be great for our users."
LinkedIn Mobile's beta WAP on a BlackBerry.
That may be true in the future, but LinkedIn's multilanguage beta WAP site, accessible from phones by visiting m.linkedin.com, has a long development road ahead if it's to be as useful to members as the main Web service. The stripped-down Web site offers a search bar, and the ability to view contacts, updates, and your own profile. You can invite other members from your phone, and change language settings, or offer device-specific feedback; you can also forward job postings to a friend. It won't be until future releases that you'll be able to answer a question, update your profile, accept or decline invitations, or reply to a job posting.
LinkedIn Mobile looks nice enough on the iPhone, for which it was optimized, but professionals with BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Palm devices will look forward to downloadable applications that will be able to integrate with phone's contact list and camera.
Engineering director Brandon Duncan confirmed that these versions are under consideration, and LinkedIn will decide which platforms they'll develop for based on user and market demands. In the meantime, LinkedIn members on the move can check their accounts or pick out contacts in a crowded room with a quick photo appraisal by visiting LinkedIn from their phones.
Palm Centro for AT&T
(Credit: AT&T)As expected, today AT&T announced the addition of the Palm Centro to its lineup of smartphones. Unlike the Sprint's red and black models, AT&T's version comes in white and features lime green buttons. And while it carries the same affordable $99 price tag (with a two-year contract and after rebates and discounts), you do lose the 3G speeds and have to settle for ho-hum EDGE. However, it does support the carrier's push-to-talk service and AT&T Music. Otherwise, the GSM version of the petite Palm smartphone is very much like its CDMA cousin. You get a 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth 1.2, preloaded instant messaging clients, and push e-mail capabilities with support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, Good Mobile Messaging, and Xpress Mail. You can get your hands on the white-hot AT&T Palm Centro starting today.
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eReader)
I love e-books. For years I've read them on whatever PDA or smartphone I happened to be carrying at the time. (Currently it's a Palm Centro.)
Sure, the screens are small, but you get used to that pretty quickly. For me, nothing beats the convenience of having a good book in your pocket (or clipped to your belt) everywhere you go.
eReader, one of the oldest e-booksellers, was recently acquired by another e-book veteran, Fictionwise. To celebrate, the company just dropped the prices on over 8,000 titles: Every book over $10 has been discounted up to 20 percent.
That's great news, as I think part of the resistance to e-books in general has been their pricing. Surely a book that has zero printing, distribution, and shipping costs should sell for less than its dead-tree counterpart, no?
Anyway, the required eReader software is available for Palm, Windows Mobile, and Symbian devices, as well as for Windows and Mac PCs. While you're at it, sign up for the free eReader newsletter to get an additional 10 percent off each purchase.
P.S. I don't care what Steve Jobs thinks about the masses: I read, and I would love to be able to read books on my iPhone or iPod touch. Betcha lots of other folks would, too.
(Credit:
iGo)
Smartphone keyboards are fine for composing short e-mails and maybe tweaking the occasional Word document. But if you want to get any serious work done on your device, fuhgeddaboudit. Your thumbs don't deserve that kind of punishment. Instead, reach for the iGo Stowaway Ultra-Slim Bluetooth Keyboard, which serves up a full-size set of QWERTY keys and then folds up slim enough to slip into your pocket.
The Stowaway normally lists for $149.99 (ouch!), but Amazon has it on sale for just $29.99--which qualifies it for the store's free Super Saver Shipping. Just make sure you check device compatibility before ordering; although the keyboard works with a broad range of BlackBerry, Palm, and Windows Mobile devices, some customers have complained of compatibility issues (check the user reviews on the Amazon product page).
I've been a big fan of Stowaway keyboards since they first came out for Palm PDAs almost 10 years ago. They're amazingly compact, comfy to type on, and guaranteed to boost your mobile productivity. [via Business Hacks]
As much as I love my new Palm Centro smartphone, it's not terribly smart when it comes to voice dialing.
(Credit:
VoiceIt Technologies)
OK, it can't do it at all. Same goes for its Treo brethren. (All together now: Weak!)
At least there's third-party software to fill in the gap. VoiceIt Technologies' VoiceDialIt provides fairly seamless voice dialing for the Centro and Treo. And from now until December 31, you can snag it for $15.95 (normally $24.95).
The software employs a simple, attractive interface for adding voice-dial contacts, either manually or from your address book. I installed it on my Centro and, in about three minutes, was voice-dialing my way to hands-free happiness. (I did, however, have to refer to the manual to figure out how to enable the trigger button. Fortunately, the manual is excellent.)
VoiceDialIt is compatible with the Centro and all Palm OS Treo models, from the 600 to the 755p. There's also a Windows Mobile version, though it's not on sale.
Palm Treo 750
(Credit: CNET Networks)Today, Palm officially released its Windows Mobile 6 update for the Palm Treo 750, bringing such enhancements as HSDPA capabilities (w00t!), Microsoft Direct Push Technology for real-time synchronization with Outlook, and better Calendar management. It's available now as a free download from Palm's Web site, and once installed, you also get support for HTML e-mail and more security options (encryption of miniSD cards, remote data wipe)--all the benefits of Windows Mobile 6, which you can read about in our full review.
In addition to the update, Palm also announced it has begun selling unlocked versions of the Treo 750 (previously, only available through AT&T) through its retail and online stores for $549. The smartphone will ship with Windows Mobile 6 out of the box.
