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Theres been rumors going around that Verizon Wireless has decided not to carry the Palm Prestarting in 2010 after all. They were supposed to be the second wireless carrier in the US to get the WebOS device. While many people wonder if this is going to be the straw that breaks the camels back for Palm really none of us should be so surprised at this news.
Sales of the Palm Pre have been sluggish since it launched in June of this year and the hyped up competition from new comers like Android OS devices really doesnt help much does it? It splits up the market even more and consumers really have choices. There are also great Nokia products in the market as well as old standbys like BlackBerry and Windows Mobile devices.
Where does that leave Palm? Well, for one thing Palm repeatedly said prior to the launch that the Pre was not an iPhone competitor and I fully agree to this statement. While many people have tried to compare the two devices, in my opinion, theres simply no competition. Apple is what it is and it is good at making consumer electronics. They perfected the iPod and have worked very hard in the last 3 years to ensure that the iPhone will keep on getting better and better.
And thats where the key lies: they are focusing in only on 1 device. Apple simply cannot afford to spread their OS across multiple device platforms and dilute their resources and revenue. Meanwhile, manufacturers like HTC or Palm or BlackBerry are left struggling to introduce new models to the market regularly.
At the end of the day, indeed Palm might be late to the table. And while they have already decided to cut ties with Microsofts Windows Mobile platform I dont know that WebOS, which is in its infancy, can take over the market share that Apples iPhone has been able to. Sure, Palm is raising additional cash but they should also think seriously about who they want to carry this phone. Is it teenagers? Is it executives and middle management? I certainly hope for Palm sake that these Verizon rumors are not true, especially given the likelihood of the iPhone coming to Verizon next year as well. | |
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Recent news from Palm is that it will not be developing new handsets based on Microsoft’s Windows Mobile any more but will leverage the capabilities of its own webOS platform. The new OS has already been released in the USA in June of this year and will debut in Europe through Telefonica. Also the yet to be launched Palm Pixi will run on webOS.
Owing to the importance of webOS to the overall strategy of Palm the company has decided to dedicate all future development resources to the evolution of webOS. This signifies that the company plans to include only Palm webOS-based devices, declared Palm CEO Paul Rubinstein.
It comes as no surprise as Sprint’s Palm Pre is quite a success with its QWERTY slider keyboard, 3.2 megapixel camera, GPS, Wi-Fi and capacitance-based touchscreen. These features were made possible on the compact Palm Pre by the webOS. The company now plans to go ahead with the operating system.
Although revenue wise Palm has not regained its past position it is making inroads in the right direction feel the company heads and market analysts.
Going ahead without Windows Mobile is a step to garner support from enterprise users too. Soon you may have a webOS powered Palm Treo which might make a come back and give stiff competition to the BlackBerry which is hailed as the business phone for now and for ever. | |
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There are multiple rumors scouring the information highway about a possible palm price slash tomorrow. Could this be just a ploy to steal the shine away from Apples coming announcement. The rumor mill goes on to say that the price cut will last all the way through October 31.
How much of a price cut you ask? Well from its original price of $549.99 the price of $149.99 sounds like music to all of the Palm customers ears. Unless you were one of the unlucky few who purchased the phone before the price cut.
But once again this is all speculation. But at least we wont have to wait too long , in the wise words of a cute little orphan named Annie, Were only a day away!
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If you could charge your mobile phone wirelessly it will eliminate the hassle of wires running to and fro from the phone. You can also talk all you want without the anxiety of having to cope with a drained battery on your phone. You need not wait for your phone to charge up as most mobile phones will come with wireless charging features.
The technology which lets you charge mobiles wirelessly consists of a combination of super-capacitors which can charge devices in just seconds and not minutes. The technology however needs further development to reach your doorstep.
It is believed that wireless speed-charging will increase and affect mobile phone sales enormously. You can expect it to be better than the Touchstone charger introduced for the Palm Pre which uses induction technology for transferring power over short distances like a wired charger.
Super-capacitors are not a new phenomenon but have entered the mobile phone field only recently. It is used for camera flash applications where delivery of high levels of power for a short period is required.
Super capacitors are also called Farad capacitors and are a type of Hi-Tech Green energy. It polarizes an electrolyte and stores the energy. The process is however reversible which enables this super capacitor to be charged and discharged many number of times. | |
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Hey Readers, if you read my previous blog, I stated that I would be going more in-depth on the "Big Brother" fear today. I decided to take a look into not only which other phones were sending and receiving its users data but also the far reaching consequences of information sharing. My search results are rather disturbing.
I mentioned yesterday that the Palm Pre had received many complaints about its info sharing, but a lot of phones are transferring its users information, Palm Pre just got caught. Our obsession with convenience has now turned into a crisis of privacy. The technology age has now met with the "microwave generation" which has effectively wiped away our former guard of personal boundaries. We share passwords, credit card numbers, family pictures, home and business addresses and personal conversations daily over multiple avenues most often via our cell phones. Most of us dont blink when prompted by our phone to enter our email password or user name, as long as it makes reading, sending, and receiving our emails faster, easier, and more convenient. We dont stop to think about what is in our emails, what personal data our handy communications device has just gained access to. Let me not be misunderstood, I am self described cellaholic, I dont go anywhere without my phone. I could never be the person to tell anyone to "rage against the machine" and "burn all cell phones", because I wouldnt last a day without mine, but I will say that maybe we should all become a little more conscience of how much we share. Which leads me into my next point.
For most of us, using our phones as a mobile office, home phone, emergency life-line, as well as an entertainment hub is the norm. We "Share" information through email, tweets, YouTube, Myspace, Facebook and many other social networking media, and if you have a phone which has "Apps" you probably have an app for each one of the previously mentioned networks. We share a summary of who we are as people with just a click of a button or in some cases a swipe of a finger and thats just in the "About Me" section. So how can we be surprised by our cellphone companies gathering information about us, when they feel that they have given us warning that they will? On the other hand we have seemingly been desensitized about sharing our personal information. Being inundated with the ever present question "What are you doing?" , or "Whats on your mind?" and repeatedly answering can and has had an effect on our psyche. So to have our phones gather more information from us seems to be the logical ending. But this cellphone spying can become quite radical, even dangerous.
In my search for insight for this blog I found myself plastered with sites offering products, software, and simple spying accounts. All with the sole purpose of spying through a cellphone. I was disturbed to find that not only can your calls be monitored while your on them, but also your text messages, emails, and you can even listen to someones conversation if the phone is off with out the person knowing! The software is virtually undetectable and relatively low priced. This has far reaching consequences for anyone concerned about their privacy! I was shocked to find that the easiest and best phone for the software to work on is the iPhone. This may not seem shocking at first glance but if you do a little research youll find that Apple based its early marketing on revolting against "Big Brother". One of their most well known commercials, which you can watch via YouTube, is their attempt to showcase themselves as heroes against conformity and the ever present surveillance and domination of a Big Brother-like villain. This is was startling revelation for me since they too collect information from their cellphone users now.
Now in all honesty I dont fully disagree with cellphones having access to some information especially GPS, since in some cases it can be used to save lives. But I do believe that we should all take a good look at the way we freely share information about ourselves via Internet and cellphones. But who am I to judge, Ive checked email from my phone six times and tweeted twice since I began writing this. The decision, at the end of the day, is yours. | |
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 A story was brought to my attention today that piqued my interest and sounded like something all smartphone users should be aware of. If you have not heard about this scandle before now, complaints have begun to crop up about Sprints new Palm Pre. Users have been complaining that their phone is spying on them. And the conspiracy theorist are, for once, right. The Palm Pre, like other smartphones, does gather information on the user, such as geographic info where you are; apps that you may download/uninstall; etc. And if you back up files on your phone info is also sent back to the company.
Palm did respond to the customers complaints and concerns by pointing back to their End-User License Agreement better known as the fine print. Which does state that they will gather certain information from the users phone.
The problem comes in when the user becomes aware of the consequences of all that information being sent out. Where is it going? Who has access to it? Why do they need it? Hence the virtual firestorm that the people at Palm have come under since the information about their info gathering has come out. The implications that your phone could be spying on you are so far reaching that the the age old "Big Brother" fear has even begun to crop up again. If we all stop to take a moment to think about all the information that our phones have access to including knowing exactly where we are at any time.
Palm has also put out a statment telling everyone that the GPS option as well as other info gathering options can be turned off, but isnt it a little late to tell the users? Should that not have been something to publish upfront so the user wouldnt feel that their privacy had been invaded? Its seems to me that it makes them look bad by pointing back to the toggle options only after concerns were raised.
I also find it interesting that the only one phone has been brought to the forefront, especially when most other phones do this same thing. Stay tuned for Part II tomorrow when I get more into the Big Brother phenomenon via our smartphones. | |
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Thanks to some innovation, you can now get your Safari Apple bookmarks on your Palm Pre. Yet another reason why you dont need to be tied to the iPhone if you dont want to. Im sure Apple is not going to be happy about this just like the whole iTunes sync availability on the Palm Pre as well.
So heres the details: Mark/Space just announced availability of Fliq Bookmarks in the Palm Beta App Catalog starting today. Fliq Bookmarks lets you use Safari bookmarks including bookmarks folder and bookmark bar to view your favorite sites on your Palm Pre.
Fliq Bookmarks works with The Missing Sync for Palm Pre to copy bookmarks from Safari on the Mac to Palm Pre. The list of bookmarks can be viewed in Fliq Bookmarks and opened using its built-in web browser.
So, are you catching on yet? This means that you can sync contacts, calendars, music, ringtones, and photos too in addition to the bookmarks between your Mac and Palm Pre. The Missing Sync is compatible with all the Mac applications that you already use on your computer - iTunes, Address Book, iCal, Microsoft Entourage, iPhoto, etc.
For those of you PC people out there, a version of The Missing Sync for Palm Pre for Windows XP and Windows Vista is in the works.
source: press release | |
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Extended batteries for Palm Pre are finally in stock at Fommy! We have several Palm Pre extended batteries so have a look and see which one fits your lifestyle the best.
The slim extended Palm Pre battery is the same size as the standard battery hence no need for an extended battery door. 1400 mAh of power provides approximately 15% more juice to your phones life and can be a lifesaver. Costs only $13 more than the standard Palm Pre battery and it is definitely worth it!
The 2 mega extended batteries for Palm Pre, the 2800 mAh and the 3800 mAh come with a extended battery door as well. Cells made and composed in Japan with high quality standard. Get your batteries today before they sell out.
Its a known fact Palm Pre runs out of battery life fast, so make sure you get yourself an extended battery. Its a must-have! | |
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Palm Pre users may fret and fume with the release of the new iTunes update version 8.2.1. Although it includes bug fixes to earlier versions it was released to keep out Palm Pre from syncing with iTunes. It was in the cards for some time now as Apple had earlier announced that new versions may not support syncing with any other non-Apple / unsupported media players.
How is Palm going to get around this?
Palm Pre was more attractive owing to the fact that it could sync with iTunes especially to people who were moving from iPhone to Pre. Palm could sync the Pre with the older versions of iTunes although it could do nothing about copy-protected songs. You can’t ask for more.
If you have a Palm Pre and wriggling your hand at this injustice, if you may call it so, then just don’t upgrade to v 8.2.1 and hope to continue syncing with older versions of iTunes.
Many are of the opinion that the iTunes holds a virtual monopoly over the online music marketplace. May be soon another contender will appear on the online music scene and give relief to music fans.
It seems Salling Media Sync, a third party app can sync iTunes playlists, music and podcasts with a mobile device. Try it……. | |
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The iPhone and Android-powered devices were the first phones to get Google Product Search.
Good news came for Palm Pre users some time back. If you were wondering why your phone does not offer Google product Search then be happy, you have it now.
Google Mobile has announced support for all devices with an Internet connection if in the US, UK, Germany and South Korea.
You can now enter your product query on google.com and select the “Shipping results” link. You can also start searching for a mobile product directly by creating a book mark to www.google.com/m/products. Easy isn’t it?
More for iPhone, Android and Palm Pre phones in the US. If you have one of these devices you get Google Suggest an addition to product Search home page and results pages. This feature lets you select from queries as you type so that you can select appropriate item instead of typing.
Google Product Search gives you info on prices, ratings, reviews and product details from the World Wide Web.
The iPhone and Android-powered devices were the first phones to get Google Product Search. Good news now for Palm Pre users. If you were wondering why your phone does not offer Google product Search then be happy, you have it now.
Google Mobile has announced support for all devices with an Internet connection if in the US, UK, Germany, and South Korea.
You can now enter your product query on google.com and select the “Shipping results” link. You can also start searching for a mobile product directly by creating a book mark to www.google.com/m/products. Easy isn’t it?
Plus for iPhone, Android and Palm Pre phones in the US, you have one of these devices you get Google Suggest an addition to product Search home page and results pages. This feature lets you select from queries as you type so that you can select appropriate item instead of typing.
Google Product Search gives you info on prices, ratings, reviews and product details from the World Wide Web. Great for shopping directly from your smartphone and giving you the best of how you would have searched for a product on a desktop or laptop.
source: google mobile blog | |
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