• pre,  sprint,  web os

    Palm Releases Security Update for webOS

    Earlier today, Palm released Palm webOS Update 1.0.4 which addresses security issues in the new mobile operating system.

    Palm webOS 1.0.4 does not add any new applications or features to the Pre, but does raise the Sprint configuration to version 1.6. The nature of the security issues that are being addressed with the 1.0.4 update have not been specified.

    You can download the Palm webOS 1.0.4 update over the air to your Pre by using the Updates application. For more information, visit the Pre software update page.

  • att,  centro,  treo

    What’s Up with Palm on AT&T?

    I was just looking at the AT&T website, and I noticed that there are no Centro or Treo 750 smartphones available for sale. I’ll admit that both devices, the Palm OS 5 Centro and the Windows Mobile Treo 750 aren’t new devices by any definition, but you would expect that AT&T would still have some units in stock.

    I have read some Internet rumors that said that the Palm webOS powered Eos smartphone would be arriving on the AT&T network sometime around the end of the year, but nothing specific. I have also not read anythign that would indicate that Palm is halted the sale of the AT&T smartphones.

    Windows Mobile customers can still get the Palm Treo Pro as an unlocked device and use their existing AT&T 3G SIM cards with the device if they wish.

    I’ll have to keep an eye on this one.

  • Uncategorized

    Palm Reports Q4 and FY 2009 Results

    Palm, Inc. today reported that total revenues in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2009, ended May 29, 2009, were $86.8 million. Gross profit was $20.1 million and gross margin was 23.1 percent. These results include the effects of subscription accounting treatment required by GAAP. In accordance with this methodology,revenues and cost of revenues for the Palm Pre smartphone are deferred and recognized over the product’s estimated economic life.

    On a non-GAAP basis, Adjusted Revenues in the fourth quarter totaled $113.2 million, Adjusted
    Gross Profit was $30.4 million and Adjusted Gross Margin was 26.8 percent.

    “The launch of Palm webOS and Palm Pre was a major milestone in Palm’s transformation; we have now officially reentered the race,” said Jon Rubinstein, Palm’s chairman and chief executive officer. “We have more to accomplish, but the groundwork is laid for a very promising future here at Palm. Our senior management team is capable, motivated and focused on execution; there is a large group of developers waiting to build great applications for Palm webOS; and we have a new product pipeline that we think will set a standard for the industry.”

    The company shipped a total of 351,000 smartphone units during the quarter, representing a 6
    percent increase from the third quarter of fiscal year 2009 and a year-over-year decline of 62
    percent. Smartphone sell-through for the quarter was 460,000 units, down 5 percent vs. the third quarter of fiscal year 2009 and down 52 percent year-over-year.

    In addition to the prepared statements that where posted on Palm’s website, there where a few other items of interest that I took away from listening to the conference call.

    • Palm is continuing to wrap up production of the Pre to meet demand
    • US penetration for smartphones is 19%, 11% globally
    • A user experience that delights the customer was mentioned twice
    • The Mojo SDK program is being expanded; everyone will have access by the end of September
    • Palm plans to continue to roll out fixes and software enhancements to webOS that will be free to Pre customers
    • The Pre did not go on sale during Palm’s Q4 period
    • Canada’s Bell Mobility is the next carrier to begin shipping the Pre

    I’m really surprised that both Palm’s CEO and CFO where talking about building hardware and software products that delight the customer. That has been a long standing requirement at Palm, and it seems that even through the transition of senior company management, new hardware platforms, and a new mobile operating system, at the core, Palm is still the company that wants to be simply, easy to use products to market. I’m glad to see that delighting the customer is still very much a part of the company’s DNA.

    Palm still has a lot of work cut out for them, but after a long and hard road that started two years ago, we finally have a Palm that is really up to the challenge of building some new powerful solutions that we haven’t seen in a long time from the company.

    You can read the full Q4 and FY 2009 results document on the Palm website.

  • apple,  dataviz,  iphone,  motionapps,  palm,  pre,  splashdata

    iPhone OS 3.0, webOS 1.0.3 and New Apps

    I’m a fan of both Apple and Palm. That is why I’m using a MacBook to write this blog and record my 1SRC Pre|Switcher podcasts. My phone of choice is the Palm Pre smart(er)phone.

    This weekend looks like it is going to be a busy one. Just in the last few days, I’ve gotten my hands on new software for both my Apple iPod touch and my Palm Pre.

    On Wednesday, Apple released the iPhone OS 3.0 update for existing iPhone and iPod touch devices. I also received copies of DataViz Documents To Go and SplashData File Magic. I’ll have reviews of iPhone OS 3.0 and both both applications soon.

    Palm Pre customers will also want to download and install the webOS 1.0.3 update to their phones using the Updates application. If you also use MotionApps Classic on your Pre to run all of your old Palm OS applications, you should read the Classic FAQ before performing the upgrade.

  • motionapps,  palm os,  web os

    Classic 1.1 Released With Some Bumps In the Road

    Along side the Palm webOS 1.0.3 update that went out Friday, MotionApps also released the 1.1.05 Classic update for webOS. Classic is a Palm OS 5 emulation package for webOS.

    Classic 1.1 has some nice enhancement baked in, such as:

    • sound support
    • pinch/zoom feature
    • improved keyboard behavior
    • improved process of Palm OS application and data loading
    • enhanced preferences and overall greatly improved stability

    The update, unfortunately, didn’t roll out as smoothly as MotionApps would have liked. A note quickly appeared on the MotionApps blog that read:

    “We have received reports from some users that they are experiencing issues with Classic after installing the webOS 1.0.3 update on their Pre which at the same time updated Classic 1.0 to Classic 1.1.

    If you are experiencing any issues when running Classic after webOS 1.0.3 update, please see an FAQ entry we have posted with a fix.”

    The fix, as reported in the FAQ, includes the deletion of the “ClassicApps” folder on the Pre’s storage volume that appears when you mount the Pre to your computers desktop.

    The article also states that early adopters of Classic should also delete the Classic ROM Updater application as it is no longer required because the feauteres have been migrated into the Classic 1.1 update.

    Classic can be downloaded to your Pre by using the App Catalog program on your Pre. If you chose to use Classic beyond it’s 7 day trial period, you can purchase Classic for $29.99 from the MotionApps website.

  • web os

    Palm webOS Update 1.0.3

    On Friday night, Palm launched webOS 1.0.3 as an over the air (OTA) update for their Pre smart(er)phone. To download and install Palm webOS 1.0.3, use the Updates application on the Pre.

    webOS 1.0.3 does not install any new application on the Pre, but does address some of the issues that have cropped up during the Pre’s first full two weeks on the market. According to Palm, the webOS 1.0.3 update includes fixes for:

    • Power performance in areas where wireless coverage is sporadic or unavailable has been enhanced.
    • Non-SSL Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) mail servers are now supported.
    • Events created in Google calendar that contain a symbol or accented character in the event name can now synchronize.
    • Changes made to Google events on the phone now sync with Google online within a few minutes.
    • The sync interval for Google events has been decreased from every few hours to every 15 minutes.

    This update will also change the Sprint configuration version from 1.4 to 1.5, however, there is no mention as to what this change intails. I have read some speculation on the Internet that this update changes how the cellular radio works. I have not seen any change in coverage or signal strength after the update was applied to my Pre.

    You can read the complete list of webOS fixes address in the 1.0.3 update on the Palm website.

  • apple,  iphone

    SplashTravel Comes to iPhone/iPod touch

    SplashData has recently released its popular SplashTravel suite to the App Store, but with all of the travel utilities combined under one icon. Until now, the suite has been available for Palm’s Treo and Centro smartphones.

    SplashTravel for iPhone and iPod touch offers:

    • Trip Organizer for Air, Hotel & Car reservations
    • Flight Tracker with gate, plane, and status info
    • Unit & Currency Converter
    • Tip Calculator
    • World Clock
    • Time Calculator
    • Packing List
    • Expense Report tool
    • lists of country codes, clothing size charts, etc.

    Beyond the existing travel applications included in the suite, SplashData also added the powerful Trip Organizer and Home screen features to bring it all together in a cohesive user interface. I really like the idea of the trip organizer because when I travel for work, I always seem to forget something: black socks, a brown belt, toothpaste. I may have to book a trip to Florida just so I can test SplashTravel out!

    For more details, visit the SplashData website or jump right over to the Apple App Store.

  • centro,  pre,  treo,  web os

    People Love Their Pre Smartphones

    We tend to get a little fanatical about mobile technology around a site like Smartphone Fanatics. That said, people really love their new Pre smartphones! One example is a review from Jenny Levin, a librarian in Chicago, IL.

    Ms. Levin has posted a review of the Pre on her blog, The Shifted Librarian, which has been written from the point of view of a Palm Treo or Centro owner who is considering the jump from Palm OS 5 to webOS.

    “When I picked up my new Palm Pre smartphone last week, one of the store employees said, “You must have been waiting for this phone for a long time.” He could tell I was excited about it. I told him I’d been waiting for this phone for nine years, six of them on Palm Treos and a Centro, waiting for the next leap.

    And now that I finally have it, I can say that while it’s quite clearly a first generation device, I love it. This post will explain why, but it won’t be a comparison of the iPhone versus the Pre. I’ve only played with an iPhone a couple of times, so it wouldn’t be fair, plus everyone knows I’m not a fan of Apple, so I can’t really be objective about this. So instead, this will be a review of the Pre from the perspective of a Treo/Centro owner wondering if she should upgrade, because that’s the question I’m getting asked the most. Back in 2003, I started a popular page called What’s on My Treo 600 that listed all of the apps I used and as a result, I heard from Palm owners for years (and occasionally still do), so this is an area I know well.

    In fact, a lot of my issues with the Pre come from features the Treos/Centros did better, but I’ll also describe what’s new, both the good and the bad. As a result, this will be a long review, so skip this post if you’re not interested in smartphones or the Pre.”

    Keep reading

    Ms. Levin and I share many of the same views about the Pre. Long time Treo users will find that some of the nice little refinements from Palm OS 5.4.9 didn’t make it into webOS 1.0.2; however, the big wins like multitasking and Synergy really make it all worth while. And yes, there have been issues with webOS 1.0.2 and the Pre including the erratic signal strength issue, weirdness with the Touchstone charging base, and Exchange and Gmail syncing issues. The good news is that Palm is aware of all of these issues and is working to resolve them. (There are some perks to be a Palm discussion forums moderator.)

    You can read the full review over at The Shifted Librarian website.

    Thanks to Geri for this tip.

  • apple,  iphone,  itunes,  pre,  web os

    Palm Responds to iTunes Third-Party Support Note

    Yesterday, John Paczkowski of the Wall Street Journal’s All Things Digital blog, reported that Palm has issued their own statement about the Pre’s ability to use the webOS Media Sync feature to sync with Apple’s iTunes jukebox software.

    “Palm’s media sync works with the current version of iTunes,” Palm spokesperson Lynn Fox told me. “If Apple chooses to disable media sync in a future version of iTunes, it will be a direct blow to their users who will be deprived of a seamless synchronization experience. However, people will have options. They can stay with the iTunes version that works to sync their music on their Pre, they can transfer the music via USB, and there are other third-party applications we could consider.”

    I really hope this doesn’t turn into a battle of wills. Once the technology is put out there, the hacker community is going to find ways around whatever road block that Apple tries to throw up to defend the walled garden that is iTunes.

    In my opinion, it is clear that Apple will end up fighting a cold war with Palm or the hacker developer community similar to the one that pits Apple against the hacks that have been jailbreaking iPhones since 2007.

    The long and short of it, if Apple’s iTunes users and iTunes Store customers want to sync media to the Pre smartphone, someone is going to cook up a way to do it. So why not just let Palm’s customers sync up with iTunes.

    Besides, Apple doesn’t think that the Palm Pre is a real threat to iPhones sales. Or do they?

    [Via AllThingsD.com…]

  • apple,  itunes

    Pre’s iTunes Sync Feature Can Break at Anytime

    I think we all saw this coming. I’m surprised, actually, it has taken Apple this long to bring it up.

    AppleInsider.com
    is reporting that Apple has posted a new Knowlege Base article (6/16/09) stating that the iPod and iPhone maker doesn’t test for third-party media player compatibility with it’s software and that the new Palm Pre smartphone may no longer be able to sync with iTunes as Apple upgrades the software over time. In article HT3642, Apple states:

    “Apple designs the hardware and software to provide seamless integration of the iPhone and iPod with iTunes, the iTunes Store, and tens of thousands of apps on the App Store. Apple is aware that some third-parties claim that their digital media players are able to sync with Apple software. However, Apple does not provide support for, or test for compatibility with, non-Apple digital media players and, because software changes over time, newer versions of Apple’s iTunes software may no longer provide syncing functionality with non-Apple digital media players.”

    AppleInsider also writes:

    “Whether or not this is likely to happen with the Pre is difficult to tell. The feature works by identifying the smartphone in its hardware ID as an iPod and would require that Apple detect the difference between the Pre and a genuine iPod. Many of Palm’s current engineers — as well as its new CEO Jon Rubinstein — are former Apple employees who have worked on the iPhone or iPod and are familiar with iTunes’ current methods of recognizing plugged-in devices.”

    We will have to wait and see what happens. Apple and Palm have been dancing around each other like boxers in the ring. Will this become a slugfest similar to the games that Apple players with the hackers who jailbreak iPhones; with each side upping the ante? No one really knows for sure, but it has become clear that with Palm having people who have worked on the iPod and iPhone on staff, Palm should be well equiped to counter any unintentional or otherwise, breaks between the Pre and iTunes.

    [Via AppleInsider.com…]