MakaPalm » Palm OS

Garnet VM emulator has new version

Ederic — Sun, 31 May 2009 07:05:28 +0000

ACCESS, the Japan-based company that now owns Garnet OS (formerly Palm OS), has announced a new version of its Garnet VM emulator for Nokia NSeries.

Access website says release version 1.03b of Garnet VM Beta 4, released on May 29, 2009, has improved stability.

Garnet VM enables users of Nokia tablets — N810, Nokia N800, and Nokia N770 — “to run thousands of Garnet OS (formerly Palm OS®) applications.” These apps include Google Maps™, Snappermail®, DateBk5, as well as games like Bejeweled®, PacMan and Sudoku.

Palm Pre will also have its own Palm OS emulator, the “Classic” emulator, from a different company called MotionApps.

(Via AppScout.com)

My Palm Centro

Ederic — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 19:12:23 +0000

Last December, I wanted to buy a Canon or Sony digital camera in Singapore before going back home from a training for my new job. But when I saw an ad for a slightly used, white Palm Centro on eBay, my plan changed. I managed to get the Centro for only 300 SGD (around P9,000). At that time, a brand-new Centro was being sold for around 400 to 500 SGD.

I immediately transferred the data from my battered Treo 650 to my new phone. As was always the case with Palm OS devices, the data transfer was completed without causing me a headache. With the Centro, it was still like having my old Treo 650, only with a lighter pocket and more space to install new apps. I missed Treo’s keyboard, though.

Like the Treo 650, my Palm Centro is still “a cellphone, personal digital assistant, portable MP3 and video player, digital camera, ebook reader, and ‘game and watch’ in one device.”

With the Centro, I can still enjoy my favorite apps: the good old AvantGo, eReader (which contains my mobile library), the classic Bejeweled, FunSMS, Card Export, eWallet, Bible, and ptLyrics, among other software. I also discovered new ones like ComicGuru (creates Palm version of comics) and purchased new games like GTS World Racing and Cake Mania (for M).

I was also able to install and set up relatively stable Opera Mini to still enjoy the new Yahoo! Mobile and post on my blogs while on the go — even if the app crashes from time to time.

I read ebooks while listening to the music on my Centro. Sometimes, I also take pictures. Its battery supposedly has a four-hour talk time and up to 300 hours standby time. But obviously, I’m a heavy user so I need to charge it always. Good thing that the hotsync cable, aside from allowing me to synchronize and backup my data on my laptop, also doubles as a charger.

Palm’s suggested retail price for the Centro is P 18,490 without plan. See the complete details and specs on Palm Philippines.

It’s Palm’s time to shine again

Ederic — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:48:11 +0000

01/09 Update: As expected, Palm launched today its new OS — the Palm Web OS — and Palm Pre, the first smartphone running on the new platform. The twin launch has been receiving great reviews. I’m sure you’ve read about it already, but just in case you haven’t, visit the official Palm blog for more details. Congrats, Palm!

It’s almost midnight here in Manila, Philippines, and by the time we wake up tomorrow morning, the World Wide Web would probably be full of reports and comments on the new operating system that Palm is expected to announce at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

Earlier reports from CrunchGear and other blogs say a new “iPhone-like” device running on the new OS called Nova will also be announced at the event. “The new phone will have a full QWERTY keyboard that will slide down under a portrait-oriented touchscreen,” the report says, adding that it could also play media and would of course have Palm’s calendar, email, and contact function.

I love my Palm Centro – I got one while I training in Singapore for my new job with Yahoo! Philippines — but I wish it had WiFi capability and a better camera. It looks like “Palm’s newness” would satisfy such desires.

Mobileburn says the Palm Nova phone could also feature a high-resolution camera, which, along with Wi-Fi, is on the top of my wishlist for new features. Hopefully, the new Palm phone would also be able to run old Palm programs and databases.

I’m one of those loyal Palm fans who would really be happy to see it on the top again with its long-overdue OS upgrade. I believe Matthew Miller of ZDNet is correct in saying there are “a ton of people that want to see Palm succeed.”

Palm is, after all, the brand that brought us the wonderful little handheld computer called PalmPilot, which eventually evolved into what I call an all-in-one device: a cellphone, personal digital assistant, alarm clock, portable MP3 and video player, digital camera, ebook reader and ‘game and watch’ rolled into one. And with the new OS, I hope Palm would resurrect Foleo.

With tomorrow’s announcement, I hope Palm could prove that it is, as I’d been insisting, “not a dying platform.” It’s Palm’s time to shine again.

Palm finally introduces Treo Pro

Ederic — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:29:37 +0000

This time, it’s for real. After repeated leaks on the details of its latest smartphone, Palm has finally unveiled Palm Treo Pro today.

With its modern look, Treo Pro is now the sleekest device from Palm. Mobility Mind says it’s “arguably the best-looking Treo smartphone so far.”

But it’s powered by Windows Mobile 6.1, so Palm OS fans would have to settle with Centro or wait some more. Also, the Treo Pro primarily targets corporate users. It is “for businesses that want to simplify their IT infrastructures and lower costs,” according to the official press release.

Its unique features include built-in WiFI and GPS, 3.5mm stereo headset jack, and MicroUSB™ 2.0 for synchronization and charging.

For complete details, read the full press release from the Palm website:

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Aug 20, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq:PALM) today introduced Treo(TM) Pro, an effortlessly usable smartphone for businesses that want to simplify their IT infrastructures and lower costs, and for users who want to stay on top of their professional and personal lives. With its streamlined design and Palm(R) shortcuts layered on Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, Treo Pro is a unique combination of sleek simplicity and robust productivity — including email, Wi-Fi and GPS capabilities(1) — that meets the needs of businesses and end users alike. Treo Pro, which will be available from Vodafone and O2 in Europe(2) and from Telstra in Australia, also will be available in an unlocked version in the United States, Europe and Asia Pacific.

“Businesses want the control and savings that Windows Mobile affords, in an innovative and elegant package that keeps their users happy. That’s where Palm comes in,” said Ed Colligan, president and chief executive officer, Palm, Inc. “Everything about Treo Pro — from the hardware design to the packaging and accessories — embodies the elegant and simplified end-to-end experience that our customers expect from Palm.”

The Treo Pro smartphone lets IT managers support an increasingly mobile work force with the ease of use and robust feature set business professionals demand. Besides the benefits of lower costs and increased productivity, Treo Pro can deliver the increased security, easier device management and access to information on the corporate network that Windows Mobile 6.1 provides.

Users can quickly respond to business and personal email, access the web, stay on top of appointments and contacts, and use Wi-Fi or GPS on the go.(1) Treo Pro’s thin design blends a flush, high-resolution color touch screen and a full QWERTY keyboard with a removable battery that packs up to five hours of talk time and enough strength for the business user’s needs, offering a powerful yet effortless mobile experience.

“I’m really happy with Treo Pro — it’s a technology leap from a device design and capability standpoint, enhancing Palm’s presence in the Windows Mobile realm,” said Wasif Malik, senior systems consultant, Student Educational Services & Mobile Solutions, Ohio State University Medical Center. “It’s cleverly designed for Windows Mobile, with a large touch screen, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and all the productivity applications for Windows Mobile 6 in a much thinner design.”

Palm Experience on Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional

The Treo Pro smartphone, based on the popular Windows Mobile platform, helps optimize business processes by effortlessly mobilizing users with enhancements to the Windows Mobile 6.1 platform, including:

– One-touch Wi-Fi button — Easy, fast Wi-Fi connection experience (802.11b/g).(1)

– Today screen enhancements — Web search directly from the Today screen.

– Ringer switch — Silences the device immediately.

– Screen saver — Lets users know at a glance — without turning on the device — what time it is and whether they’ve missed a call or have a new SMS/MMS message.

– New voicemail indicator — The center button flashes to let users know that a voicemail is waiting.(3)

– Dedicated email and calendar buttons — Fast one-button access.

“Windows Mobile is delivering mobile solutions that help businesses address the changing competitive landscape,” said Andrew Lees, senior vice president of Microsoft’s Mobile Communications Business. “The Treo Pro smartphone brings together a powerful combination of Palm’s feature innovations and Windows Mobile 6.1, providing access to the information people need when away from the office.”

Lower Costs, Increased Productivity

With Treo Pro, businesses can quickly and easily deploy a secure, low-cost and compatible infrastructure for their mobile workforce by taking advantage of a tightly integrated Palm and Windows Mobile 6.1 solution, including:

– Microsoft Direct Push Technology(4) — Direct connection to Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 SP2 or 2007 gives users up-to-date email, contacts and calendars.

– Microsoft System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008 — With the deployment of Mobile Device Manager, the Treo Pro can deliver increased security, easier smartphone management, and access to information on the corporate network. IT professionals can confidently manage large Treo Pro deployments.

– Thousands of applications available for Windows Mobile — Businesses can extend mobility beyond email to optimize business processes.

– World phone — With high-speed UMTS/HSDPA network capabilities(5), Treo Pro is a sleek world phone that’s ideal for companies with an international work force.

– Integrated GPS — Users can access maps, turn-by-turn directions and point-of-interest (POI) searches.(1)

– Support and training — Palm shortcuts make Treo Pro so easy to use, businesses can spend less on training and support for their users. End-to-end enterprise support means companies can expand the scope of their mobile deployments without putting a strain on internal support personnel.

– Familiar Windows experience — Users can browse the web with built-in Internet Explorer Mobile; open, view, and edit Word and Excel compatible files; review PowerPoint presentations and PDF files; and open ZIP files remotely.

Pricing and Availability

Treo Pro will be available in September in Europe(2) through Vodafone (from free to EUR 399 with contract) and O2 (pricing is available from O2 direct sales and online business stores), and in Australia through Telstra (from free with contract). It will be available in the United States in the fall through the Palm online store (http://www.palm.com/store) as well as select Internet, retail and enterprise resellers for a suggested retail price of $549. The U.S. version is unlocked and unsubsidized, giving end users the flexibility to simply insert their existing active SIM card and immediately start using their Treo Pro without a new contract.

Detailed regional pricing is available from local resellers and distributors. Additional Treo Pro availability is scheduled to follow worldwide.

The Treo Pro smartphone comes with an international power charger, microUSB cable and a stereo headset (3.5mm). Other accessories designed exclusively for Treo Pro (sold separately) include a vehicle power charger, leather side case, travel microUSB cable, cradle, extra battery, TTY audio adapter, and replacement styli.

More information about the Treo Pro smartphone is available at www.palm.com/TreoPro

Twilight ebooks on sale at eReader.com

Ederic — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 03:58:56 +0000

Ebook version of the titles in Stephenie Meyer’s very popular Twilight Series are now on sale at eReader.com. The Twilight books tell the love story of Bella, a unique high school girl, and Edward, a perfect hunk who happens to be a vampire.

eReader, which describes itself as “The World’s Largest eBookstore,” is my favorite ebookstore. I bought my soft copy of “The Google Story” there. It also offers free downloads of the eReader software, which smartphone users may use to read ebooks on their Palm OS, Symbian, WinMobile, Apple and other mobile devices.

“The newsletter says eReader offers 25% discount, but my computation — if I remember my Math correctly — reveals that the price cut is actually around 34%. Here is the list of old and new prices:

Twilight (Twilight Series Book 1) from $10.99 to $8.21
New Moon (Twilight Series Book 2) from $10.99 to $8.21
Eclipse (Twilight Series Book 3) from $19.99 to $14.93 (34% off)
Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga Book 4) from $22.99 to $17.17 (34% off)

A spokeswoman for Meyer said that in less than three years, the first three books in the series sold 6.5 million copies in the United States alone. According to a New York Times report, “Breaking Dawn,” the fourth and final installment, sold 1.3 million copies in its first 24 hours on sale.

NYT columnist Gail Collins read the first two novels and tried to search for the key to the series’ success. “The attraction is clearly the vampire hero, who is a perfect entleman, eternally faithful and — as the author points out repeatedly — quite a hunk,” she writes. She then lifts some description of the vampire: “He lay perfectly still in the grass, his shirt open over his sculpted, incandescent chest, his scintillating arms bare … A perfect statue, carved in some unknown stone, smooth like marble, glittering like crystal.”

Like Harry Potter — whose story captivated millions of children and adults in the world with its last book selling 8.3 million copies on the first day — the Twilight books encourages young people to read. Collins notes: “Before you make fun of this, I want you to seriously consider whether you’re interested in denigrating people who spend their leisure time actually reading books rather than watching ‘America’s Got Talent’”.

In its review of the first book in the series, Amazon.com writes that “the precision and delicacy of Meyer’s writing lifts this wonderful novel beyond the limitations of the horror genre to a place among the best of [young adult] fiction.”

Read the first chapter of the first book on NYT.

Will Palm apps run on Windows Mobile, Symbian and iPhone?

Ederic — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 04:35:18 +0000

I didn’t know that there is a way to run Palm applications on Windows Mobile devices until I read about StyleTap’s official announcement of its plan to come up with a version for iPhone.

StyleTap Platform, I learned, is a mobile software that enables thousands of applications written for Palm OS to run on other devices. Styletap for WM has long been available, while a version for Symbian is already in beta testing. The iPhone version will be released this July.

A free 14-day trial of StyleTap Platform may be downloaded for free on its official website. A registered copy costs US $49.95.

Isn’t it great to know that you may enjoy the wifi capability of WM and Apple devices and still run your favorite Palm apps on it?

Palm is not a “dying platform”

Ederic — Fri, 02 May 2008 17:35:46 +0000

As I wrote earlier, at least two Palm game developers recently started distributing their Palm games for free, and one announced it will stop developing games for Palm. And then today, fellow Entrecard member Adrian Corscadden asked me on Twitter how much longer do I think I’ll be blogging about palm devices, as “they seem to be on the way out.”

The Washington Post on April 30 posted PC World contributing editor James A. Martin’s piece “Is the Palm OS Dying? Should You Care?“, which discussed the pros and cons of Palm devices against other smartphones. (Here is another version of the article published at the Australian PC World and reposted at the Palm blog).

Martin said he was not surprised when, in a conversation with an executive at a smart phone software developer, he learned that the latter’s company no longer released new versions of its software for Palm OS, which the executive described as “a dying platform.”

A Palm loyalist for more than a decade, Martin also sees the “uncertainty about the Palm OS’s future.” But while he described Palm OS as “easy-to-use and efficient” and Palm devices as “reliable and sturdy” he also feels his Palm Treo 755p is lagging in features as compared to other phones.

Martin, however, wrote that it doesn’t mean it’s time to ditch our Palm devices. He cited four reasons “why Palm OS smart phones are still worth owning”.

Palm’s touchscreen are not too “touchy”. He’s never had problems of accidental clicking in Treo’s touch screen.
Palm smart phones come with tons of useful software that are easier to use than the Windows mobile versions.
More than 30,000 third-party Palm OS applications are available, according to Palm.
His Treo 755p’s keyboard keys are nicely spaced, for a smart phone.

While acknowledging that Treos and Centros “lack some features other smart phones offer,” Martin added that “Palm’s smart phones still offer a strong mix of features, software, ease of use, and affordability.” He also recommended the Palm Centro for first time smart phone users or those who wish to replace their old Treo or Windows Mobile devices.

The very first comment I got on this blog was “Read my lips: “Palm is dead”. I thanked the visitor and told him: “What may be dead for you is very much alive for others.”

While fellow techies may rave about their new smartphone’s GPS, Wifi or 5 megapixel cameras — which my Treo lacks — I won’t trade my Treo for these newer phones. I still maintain that my Palm Treo 650 is my cellphone, personal digital assistant, alarm clock, portable MP3 and video player, digital camera, ebook reader and ‘game and watch’ in one device. I would only upgrade to Treo 680 or Palm Centro.

With the sale of the millionth Centro and its successive launches all over the world, more and more people are discovering and rediscovering the reliability and versatility of Palm OS and Palm devices. In its March statistics, mobile advertising firm Admob reported that Palm ranks third in the share of their worldwide traffic from smartphones. Palm got a measly 6%, but Apple, manufacturer of the much-hyped iPhone, is even behind with only 4%.

Palm OS may be on the decline, but I don’t believe it’s a dying platform. As I told Adrian, Palm devices are too useful to be “on the way out.”

Solved

Ederic — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 19:24:42 +0000

My Palm is now running perfectly well again. A hard reset and reinstallation of the apps solved the problems I mentioned in my previous post.

One great thing about Palm is that the transfer of important data (contacts, calendar, memos) is fast and easy. After doing the hard reset, I just had to reinstall my apps from a backup folder that I copied from the PalmOne directory on my PC, and I’m ready to use my Treo again.

Palm backup command on Linux

My Palm Treo 650

Ederic — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 19:38:27 +0000

From ederic@cyberspace, my main blog:

(Photo courtesy of my friend Bing)

Here’s a photo of my newly acquired Palm Treo 650. I got this secondhand unit for only P9,500 last July 21 in one of the stalls in Greenhills.

For those who are not familiar with Palm products, the Palm Treo 650 is a cellphone, personal digital assistant, portable MP3 and video player, digital camera, ebook reader and “game and watch” in one.

You could also use it to write and edit documents, send and receive email, and browse the Web. It has a full QWERTY keyboard (parang sa computer), speakerphone, infrared and bluetooth (but no WIFI).

Here are more information that could probably convince you to swap your cellphone that keeps on freezing (Ano ba yan, nag-hang na naman?) with a Palm Treo:

Since I always write timelines at work, here’s my Treo’s (thanks to Twitter):

July 21, 2007 – Went to Greenhills with Mhay and her parents. We were looking for a laptop for Mhay and a second-hand Treo 680 for myself, but I went home with a Treo 650.

July 21, 2007 – Attended a children’s birthday party. Took photos with my Treo 650. A friend saw my new phone and immediately liked it.

July 22, 2007 – Went to work with my Treo. The said friend decided he’d buy his own Treo the next weekend.

July 24, 2007 – Set up my Gmail account on VersaMail — Treo’s email client. I started downloading GMail messages thru my Treo even if I’m in front of my Internet-connected office PC.

July 27, 2007 – Got the Treo stereo headset I bought on eBay; it’s just the regular headset that looks like those used with portable music players. I still have to save for a bluetooth headset.

Preached about the features of Treo to a college batchmate through Twitter: “[M]as ok tong treo kasi may organizer at e-book reader, may phone at music/video player pa. all-in-one gadget. ”

July 27, 2007 – Two of my friends went to Greenhills to swap a Nokia phone for a Treo. Unfortunately, they didn’t get a good deal.

August 02, 2007 – Updated its firmware to 1.20 — a very risky thing to do since I was not really sure which updater would work for my unit. I decided to try it, anyway — and thank God, I did it right. It also saved a lot of space on my Treo.

August 4, 2007 – Went to Araneta to buy CDs for the Palm Desktop (with PhotoSync) CD image (ISO file) that I downloaded. Later that day, I successfully installed — after several failed attempts — the software. After that, My PC could also sync my photos, too.

August 6, 2007 – Installed a demo version of Causerie-3.2.5, a chat client for Palm with Jabber (for Google Talk), Yahoo Messenger, MSN, AIM and ICQ.

August 7, 2007 – . A friend told me she will buy a Treo 680 this December.

Succeeding updates to this time line will be posted as new blog entry. Of course, you will know if later this year, I will be able to get my own Palm Foleo — a Linux-powered mobile companion to Treo — which already has a number of third party applications even before it is released in the market.

Random Posts

Intro

Ederic — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 11:19:14 +0000

My name is Ederic, and I’m a Palm addict.

I started using a Palm –my girlfriend’s m130–in early 2003. Later that year, I bought my first Palm handheld–a Palm m100, which I eventually sold to a friend because I bought another friend’s m505. I later upgraded to a Palm m515.

Just last month, I bought a secondhand Treo 650. I’ve been playing with it for the past few weeks, installing and uninstalling programs while discovering more things that the Treo could do.

In this blog, I’ll be sharing with you my Palm Treo experience.

By the way, my favorite programs — other than Bewejeled, of course — are eReader, funSMS and AvantGo.

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