PalmSource today announced that the Treo 600 smartphone has delivered twice the Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) than the average mobile phone for leading mobile operator Orange. [PalmInfocenter]
New Styles of Blogs, RSS Take Center Stage at DEMO Show
“Moblogging,” or new location-based blogging technology and new RSS tools kicked off the annual DEMO show on Monday. [eWeek.com Messaging and Collaboration – Featuring Steve Gillmor]
Good stuff from Six Apart (Typepad and Moveable Type) as well as WaveMarket’s location aware WaveBlog (nice work Russ!)
MiniPC Returns as FlipStart
Akimbo’s IP TV
Paid Content has an interesting piece about Akimbo, a new company that is launching today, with an IP TV service, centered around the TV rather than the PC.
This is how it works – the $199 Akimbo box is connected to your television/home entertainment center, and can also be plugged into your “high-speed Internet connection.” For $9.99 per month, plus additional premium options, users will be able to download up to 200 hours of content at a time onto the box. Initial content will include a lot of ‘specialty’ video—foreign films, educational content, sports events that aren’t available on satellite or cable, and adult content, reports Paid Content. The company has a partnership deal with CinemaNow for movie distribution. [GigaOm: Om Malik’s Broadband Blog]
Interesting… but one would think that you would want to highlight more compelling content than Heart and Dick van Dyke in your interactive demo to get interest going.
RumorMill: Details of Upcoming Apple Handheld
A Mac-related web site has what it claims is a description of a handheld that Apple will release this summer. Supposedly, it will offer a clamshell design, an internal hard drive, and FireWire. [Brighthand]
As you might expect it would be the ultimate…
According to this report, the device will run an operating system that is described as being “OS X-like” and is quite possibly based on Linux. It will have an unknown amount of RAM, but it will also have the same type of miniature hard drive that is used in Apple’s iPod line of MP3 players.
Apparently it will use a clamshell design, with the screen on one side and keyboard on the other. Like many recent clamshell models, the screen can be rotated around and closed over the keyboard, allowing the device to be used as a tablet. Its touchscreen will have a HVGA resolution, and it will use Apple’s Inkwell for handwriting recognition.
Supposedly, Apple’s handheld will have FireWire, USB, and Bluetooth. Of course it will be able to synchronize with iCal, Mail, Address Book etc. on an OS X Mac, but Mr. Manzione reports that iSync with Windows will be available, too.
The real and obvious question is whether or not it is finally going to happen. To me it seems like a totally obvious missing detail in the product mix. The iPod is only one way, but does a great job of sharing info while on the go. A two-way device capable of mobile connectivity, full sync to the mac (and apparently pc desktop) with high speed bus and wireless… I’m there! I’d leave Palm in a second and I am sure I am not alone…
In the market for a new gear bag?
Belkin Bluetooth GPS for $150
It certainly is tempting, though without a car it’s hard to justify a portable GPS for my Palm or Laptop… I know where I am when I am in NYC – though now that I think of it, this would work with Vindigo as well for pure location based info… mmmmm
I thought the 50% off sale ended 1/30 but, according to dealmac.com, you can snap up a Bluetooth’d Belkin GPS unit for $150. [MobileWhack]
Brighthand’s First Impressions of Palm OS Cobalt
Ed Hardy has had an intensive education on the next version of the Palm OS at the PalmSource Conference and he now brings us his first impressions. [Brighthand]
PMA: 19-inch wireless digital picture frame debuts
Seems like a very nice frame… though as you might expect it’s also pretty expensive.
PhotoVu LLC on Thursday introduced the PhotoVu PV1900, a custom-made 19-inch wireless digital picture frame. The device is used to display digital photography in homes or businesses, mounted on a wall like a regular picture frame and capable of retrieving imagery over a wireless network. [MacCentral]
Nokia CTO Speech: etcon
Nokia certainly seems to get it…have to see what future developments lie in Symbian now that they really control it.
A few notes on keynote by Pertti Korhonen “Life Goes Mobile” CTO Nokia Corporation
Three themes: Differences between PC and Mobile, moving to a p2p medium, importance of open standards and user creativity.
Differences between PC and mobile platforms
That Idea’s All Wet!
I was literally thinking about this today in the shower… so weird to be on the same page!
Is the shower or bathroom one of your most productive places in terms of idea generation? Never sure how to best capture new concepts? Kevin Kelly’s Cool Tools recommends using a dive slate… [Fast Company Now]
Playstation games on Pocket PCs over Wi-Fi
Via [infoSync]
This is out of control…
Some kid figured out a way to back up a PS game as a pure ISO file and serve it over wifi to a PocketPC … there he plays the game with a PS emulator. pretty sick. I can’t imagine that the battery on a PPC lasts very long but still very cool to see what is possible. The video is an AVI file so you’ll need VLC or MPlayer to view on Mac.
What Isn’t in Palm OS Cobalt… Yet
There are some fairly significant new features in the next version of the Palm OS. But there are some equally significant things that haven’t been changed. And there’s one change that Mac OS X users aren’t going to like. [Brighthand]
Palm devices now Mac compatible with Audible
Audible has released new AudibleReady devices that allow Mac OS X users running iTunes 4 to download and listen to audiobooks, audio editions of newspapers, magazines and more onto audio-enabled handhelds from palmOne and Sony running Palm OS 5… [MacMinute]
NVIDIA Enhances Graphics for Next Generation Palm OS
OS 6 devices are going to be packing a nice punch! This enhanced graphics chip along with teh BeOS multimedia capabilities should make for a very capable handheld.
PalmSource and NVIDIA today announced plans to enhance the graphics
acceleration in Palm Powered smart mobile devices running Palm OS Cobalt
and Palm OS Garnet. NVIDIA will bring their GoForce family of media processors to bring advanced multimedia support to the OS. [PalmInfocenter]
palmOne Brings the Treo 600 to T-Mobile
It’s finally available….
palmOne today announced that the award-winning Treo 600 smartphone is now available to T-Mobile USA customers. The phone can now be ordered online and at retail, with a limited time upgrade discount available to previous Treo owners. [PalmInfocenter]
Preview of Palm OS Cobalt
The big news for this year’s PalmSource Developer’s Conference, which starts today, is expected to be the release of all the details of the next version of the Palm OS. [Brighthand]
All good things lie ahead… include threading for mulit-tasking (get your email in the background…), protected memory (so it won’t crash while doing this), roaming across networks and network types (wifi to GPRS) and finally the graphics and multimedia capabilities from Be which were acquired a while back.
Brighthand Reviews the Sony Clie TH55
The Clie TH55 is Sony’s first model that offers a HVGA screen in a handheld with the traditional tablet design. It also includes a camera and Wi-Fi, though not Bluetooth. Brighthand’s Ed Hardy brings us this review. [Brighthand]
Looks good… Larger than the T3, but apparently with better batter life. No bluetooth, just wifi for the US model, though the European model will have bluetooth. If you want it that way, you’ll have to find a good importer, or a friend overseas.
Sony OLED Displays Coming Soon
Timing sounds right for a Palm OS 6 release…
A new article has been published which confirms and earlier PalmInfocenter story about Sony planning to use Organic LED display technology in a future handheld. The report claims Sony has developed a new OLED display to be used in a yet unnamed PDA line sometime in the Spring. [PalmInfocenter]
Bluesnarfing: Latest Bluetooth Vulnerability
Seems Nokia phones are more likely to be susectible, but there are plenty of Sony Ericsson phones in the list as well.
While the hype over “bluejacking” via Bluetooth connections was quite overblown compared to what could be done with it, now security folks are warning about “bluesnarfing”. Apparently, there’s a security flaw that would let someone connect to your Bluetooth enabled device, download all your contact info and leave no trace. This attack apparently will even work on a number of devices when they’re in invisible mode – at which point they shouldn’t be reachable at all. Consider it digital pick-pocketing, where the victim will have no idea they’ve been taken. The guy who discovered this flaw says that the handset makers have been telling him it isn’t possible, so it should be interesting to see how they respond now that he’s gone public with the info. [Techdirt Corporate Intelligence: Techdirt Wireless]