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PALM NEWS
By
Pen Computing staff
Visual Voicemail now on Palm Treo  Mobile workers know the tedious voicemail routine: Call voicemail, enter PIN, wade through menus to sequentially to one message after the other. Skip, save, delete, repeat. Visual Voicemail from Traverse Networks changes all that, delivering voicemail to mobile devices within an email-like inbox. Visual Voicemail is available as a stand alone solution or as a fully integrated component of CallConnect that provides complete control of a corporate office phone from mobile devices including Palm Treos, RIM Blackberries and Symbian based smartphones. Very clever. -- Posted Monday, November 28, 2005 by chb
Treo 650 now on Alltel network Alltel, owner and operator of the nation's largest wireless network, and Palm announced the Palm Treo 650 smartphone will be available through Alltel retail stores starting tomorrow. The handset will cost $399.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a two-year service agreement. -- Posted Tuesday, November 22, 2005 by chb
PalmSource acquisition final Japan's Access and its US branch announced it has completed the acquisition of PalmSource which is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Access and no longer traded as a separate company. Each share of PalmSource has been converted into the right to receive US$18.50 in cash. Up to now, almost 40 million devices using the Palm OS have been sold. According to CNET's news.com Palm CEO Ed Colligan had told Computer Business Review in October that he probably would not have separated PalmSource from Palm had he been in charge at the time. It also reported that Motorola had launched a failed US$17.25 per share bid for PalmSource. -- Posted Wednesday, November 16, 2005 by chb
Colligan reassures Palm developers In a letter sent to Palm developers, Palm CEO Ed Colligan reassured Palm OS developers that Palm won't stop using the Palm OS for some time to come, and also why branching out to Windows Mobile made sense. [see Colligan's letter] -- Posted Thursday, November 10, 2005 by chb
Palm opens five new retail stores Palm, Inc. announced the three-year anniversary of their retails stores with the opening of five new Palm Retail Stores in California where customers can "test drive" Palm's products and get expert support from Palm's friendly staff. These stores incorporate the new Palm brand, an accessories wall where customers can choose Palm accessories and games, and a computer area where sales staff show customers how to sync their devices to their computers and answer questions about applications. New locations include: Valley Fair Westfield Shopping Town (San Jose), San Francisco International Airport, Terminal 1, San Francisco International Airport, Terminal 3, Palm's company headquarters in Sunnyvale, and The Grove Shopping Center (Los Angeles). -- Posted Tuesday, November 8, 2005 by chb
New rev of Zagat To Go PDA software and mobile media specialist Handmark announced the availability of the new 4.0 version of ZAGAT TO GO, the mobile version of Zagat Survey's hugely popular restaurant and entertainment guides, for Palm handhelds, Treo smartphones and Windows Mobile Pocket PCs. In addition to its comprehensive ratings guides, ZAGAT TO GO now offers many new features including wireless content updates, detailed street-level maps, and turn-by-turn driving directions to the user's desired destination. [see full Handmark release or Zagat's ToGo page.] -- Posted Monday, November 7, 2005 by chb
PDA sales UP! No, DOWN! No, UP! No, DOWN! Mobilemag.com: "Gartner predicts PDA sales to sky rocket this year -- According to a report by Gartner, the shipment of PDAs in Q3, 2005 has registered a staggering growth of nearly 21 percent over the corresponding period last year. The total shipment figure in the given period stood at a commendable 3.45 million units. On the basis of this trend, Gartner has projected a record sale of nearly 15 million units of PDAs this year which will far exceed the best ever PDA shipments figure of 13.2 million units registered in 2001."
Betanews.com: "PDA Sales Continue to Decline -- Handheld devices continued to fall out of favor with consumers, according to a report released by market research firm IDC. In the third quarter of 2005, handheld sales fell 8.8 percent compared with last quarter, and 16.9 percent year over year. Even with the declines, device manufacturers are continuing to release new products, many featuring some type of wireless connectivity. While IDC expects an uptick in sales sequentially from quarter to quarter, sales will likely miss last year's numbers." -- Posted Monday, November 7, 2005 by chb
Forbes reports on Palm's situation and product launches In a recent Market Scan feature, Forbes reports that accoridng to Palm, its PDA products have lower average gross margins than its smartphones which have the average selling price. Palm PDAs, however, can still be profitable. Smartphones were almost two thirds of Palm's revenue for the quarter ending August 2005. The Verizon Windows Treo with an EVDO radio (EVDO is a high-speed network protocol used for wireless data communications) will sell at the $700 level, an EVDO replacement if the Treo 650 will ship by next May via Verizon and maybe Nextel. Less expensive Treos in the $200 range are also expected. -- Posted Saturday, November 5, 2005 by chb
Missing Sync for Palm OS mark/space announced that its Missing Sync for Palm OS now supports the new Sync Services technology in Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, with Address Book and iCal data synchronization greatly improved. Now calendar categories, multiple addresses, Birthdays, IM addresses and other fields are synchronized. There's synchronization for iTunes playlists and iPhoto albums, and photos taken with camera-enabled devices can be sent right to iPhoto. The utility costs US$39.95, with upgrade discounts for users of earlier versions. -- Posted Friday, November 4, 2005 by chb
PHT Corp uses Palms to collect medical data Palm, Inc. announced that PHT Corporation, one of its leading clinical trials customers, is using 1,500 Palm Treo 650 smartphones to collect and wirelessly transmit self-reported data from subjects using PHT's customized LogPad application in clinical trials across the globe. PHT plans to roll out the initial set of smartphones over a six-month period for use during a series of clinical trials. PHT has deployed more than 20,000 Palm handhelds in the past two years and is at the forefront of smartphone use in clinical research. More than 70 biopharmaceutical and medical device companies, including 13 of the top 15 drug-development firms in the world, use PHT's market-leading electronic patient reported outcome (ePRO) solutions in more than 180 clinical studies worldwide. -- Posted Tuesday, October 25, 2005 by chb
PalmSource among first to join Mobile Linux initiative The Open Source Development Labs (OSDL), a global consortium dedicated to accelerating the adoption of Linux, announced the formation of a new working group, the Mobile Linux Initiative (MLI), focused on accelerating the adoption of Linux in the rapidly-growing mobile market. MLI participants will work on operating system technical challenges, foster development of applications for Linux-based mobile devices, deliver requirements definition documents and use cases, and host complementary open source projects that support the initiative. MontaVista Software, Motorola, PalmSource, Trolltech, and Wind River are among the first members to participate in MLI. [see Mobile Linux Initiative] -- Posted Monday, October 17, 2005 by chb
Palm launches US$99 Z22  In a one-two punch, Palm not only launched the intriguing new TX, but also the handsomely styled $99 Z22. The new lossleader runs Palm OS 5.4 on a 200MHZ ARM-based processor, has 32MB of memory with 24MB available to users, a 160x160 touchscreen, a Mini USB connector, and measures 2.7 x 4.1 x 0.6 inches. It weighs almost nothing: 3.4 ounces. Compared to the prior lossleader, the US$129 Zire 31, the new model has twice the memory, runs the newest version of the Palm OS, but doesn't play music. Palm advertises it as a "Small wonder. Your planner, journal, sticky notes, and calendar all in one little place." [see Palm product page] -- Posted Wednesday, October 12, 2005 by chb
Palm releases new Palm TX  Palm announced the new Palm TX handheld that features integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless technologies, a large, high-resolution 320x480 color screen; and all the power needed to efficiently access and manage information conveniently on the road away from the desktop. The TX runs Palm OS "Garnet" 5.4, has 128MB of memory with 100MB accessible to users, a 312MHz PXA processor, a SFIO slot, a standard 3.5mm stsreo headphone jack, and a multiconnector. It measures 3.1 x 4.8 x 0.6 inches and weighs 5.25 ounces. The Palm TX will have an estimated street price of $299. Compared to the T5 whose overall design it shares, the TX adds WiFi and costs $50 less, but has a somewhat slower processor and half the memory. [see Palm TX page] -- Posted Wednesday, October 12, 2005 by chb
MobiTV expands service to Wi-Fi with the Palm TX MobiTV announced today that it will be expanding the MobiTV Service to WiFi devices and networks. The first such offering will be launched for the Palm TX handheld later this year, in time for the Holiday buying season. With the bandwidth available through most WiFi networks, MobiTV will deliver broadcast quality television at 24 frames per second. At launch, the service will include approximately 10 channels offering a mix of news, weather, sports, and entertainment programming. The MobiTV WiFi version is similar to the MobiTV offering for Palm Treo 650 smartphones with a simple, TV-like interface including a graphical channel guide. Channel navigation and volume control is possible through both the familiar 5-way native Palm navigation and on-screen tapping. The Palm TX handheld from Palm, Inc., announced today, features integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth(R) wireless technologies(1); a large, high-resolution 320x480 color screen; and all the power needed to efficiently access and manage information conveniently on the road away from the desktop. The Palm TX handheld will have an estimated street price of $299. -- Posted Wednesday, October 12, 2005 by chb
What's the future of Palm? No one really knows, but Information Week ran an article with some pretty good speculations. [click for article] -- Posted Wednesday, October 5, 2005 by chb
THEY DID IT!!!! WinMobile on Treo After months' of denying it, the once unthinkable happened: "Palm, Microsoft and Verizon Wireless have just announced a partnership to bring Windows Mobile to the Treo smartphone. The new smartphone provides customers with more options and will be available beginning early next year." [Read full press release]
-- Posted Tuesday, September 27, 2005 by chb
Access to become a challenge to smartphone supremacy? Will Access' purchase of PalmSource upset the platform hierarchy in the smartphone market? According to an analysis posted at ovum it might. "It is not hard to imagine a future Access proposition built on the foundations of the Palm OS user interface and application environment with Linux at its heart," argues Tony Cripps. We agree. After all, that's the recipe Apple took with OS X. Place a superior user interface on top of an industrial strength OS, and you have the best of both worlds. However, it's one thing to use that recipe for desktops and notebooks, and another for handhelds or smartphones. Access has considerable options and resources now to take a crack at conquering the smartphone market, and Nokia, Symbia and Microsoft should probably follow developments very closely. -- Posted Friday, September 16, 2005 by chb
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