• astraware,  games,  pixi,  pre,  web os

    Astraware Releases Casino, Police Range for webOS

    September 19, 2010 /

     Astraware has released another pair of their popular games for webOS this past week.  Joining Suduku and OddBlob is Astraware Casino and Police Range.

    Astraware® is excited to announce the release of 2 new titles for the Palm® Pre™ and Pre Plus.  Astraware Casino and Police Range follow hot on the heels of Astraware’s debut webOS™ releases, Astraware Sudoku and OddBlob, which received an excellent reception from the webOS community on their release.

    “It’s great to be launching these extra titles for the Pre,” said David Oakley, CTO of Astraware, “and the great feedback and interest we’ve had from the webOS community makes it exciting to be so connected with our userbase and their requests.”

    Astraware Casino, already Astraware’s best-seller across a range of smartphone platforms, features 11 of the most popular casino games in 1 easy-to-use pack including Texas Hold ‘Em Poker, Craps, Roulette, Slots, and Blackjack.  The game includes instructions on how to play each game and has a fun awards system – the Souvenir Suitcase – with awards unlockable in each of the games!

    Police Range is a fun target practice range where players can put their skill and accuracy to the test as they train on 2 different types of police practice range – Crime Alley and Target Practice. Online high score leaderboards add to the challenge as players compete against their friends and other players worldwide.

    Both games, built using Palm’s PDK, require the 1.4.5 webOS upgrade to be able to run. Astraware Casino and Police Range are available now, priced $2.99, from Palm’s App Catalog on device. For more information and screenshots, visit: http://www.astraware.com/webos.

    Read More
  • att,  microsoft,  sprint,  t-mobile,  verizon,  windows phone

    No CDMA Windows 7 Phones Until 2011

    September 19, 2010 /

    While I was off vacationing, it appears that Microsoft has stated that there will be no Windows 7 smartphones released for Verizon or Sprint in 2010.

    “For the worldwide market, the vast majority of phones are GSM phones, so we focused on GSM first and then plan to deliver an update that will have great CDMA support in the first half of 2011. That’s device availability in the first half and we’re very confident of that. That’s probably a conservative estimate,” said Microsoft senior product manager, Greg Sullivan.

    After Microsoft’s disaster with the Kin, I’m all for letting them test out their new mobile operating system in “the worldwide market” before it comes to Verizon or Sprint.  The silver lining is that customers on AT&T and T-Mobile have a chance of getting their hands on a Windows 7 phone before anyone else her in the States.

    [Via BoyGeniusReport.com…]

    Read More
  • hp,  pixi,  pre,  sprint

    With New Line of Service Sprint Pre Drops to $49; Pixi Free

    September 12, 2010 /

    It is expected that Sprint will be dropping the prices for the original Palm Pre and Palm Pixi today.

    The Sprint edition Palm Pre, complete with center button, will drop from $149 to just $49.  The Sprint edition Palm Pixi, you know, the one without Wi-Fi, will be free, zero, nada dollars.  Both new prices reflect the final price after a mail-in rebate.

    If you are off contract and want to upgrade your phone without having to extend your service commitment, you will be able to purchase the Palm Pre for $349 and Palm Pixi for $299.

    [Via PreCentral.net…]

    Read More
  • Uncategorized

    On Vacation

    September 10, 2010 /

    The Labor Day picnics are over and the kids are heading back to school, but as device manufactures who are releasing devices “this summer” love to point out, summer ain’t really over until September 21.

    So with that in mind, I’ll be taking my “summer” vacation this week.  Posts will be light for the next few days while I take some time for a well deserved rest.

    Read More
  • dataviz,  docs to go,  rim

    Confirmed: RIM Acquires Some DataViz Assets

    September 8, 2010 /

    Digital Daily blogger John Paczkowski has confirmed that RIM did indeed acquire portions of DataViz last week.

    Mr. Paczkowski writes:

    Confirming an earlier report at CrackBerry.com, RIM (RIMM) said it had snapped up the developer of Documents To Go–one of Apple’s best selling apps of 2009–along with much of the talent that developed it. “RIM has acquired some of the assets of DataViz and hired the majority of its employees to focus on supporting the BlackBerry platform,” the company said in a statement given to Digital Daily. “Terms of the deal were not disclosed but the transaction was not material to RIM in the context of RIM’s financial results.” 

     You can read the full post on the All Things Digital: Digital Daily blog.

    [Via Digital Daily.com…]

    Read More
  • Uncategorized

    NYT: Digital Devices Deprive Brain of Needed Downtime

    September 4, 2010 /

    A recent New York Times article suggests what I already know: We need to unplug from the “digital age” more often and for longer periods.

    “Cellphones, which in the last few years have become full-fledged computers with high-speed Internet connections, let people relieve the tedium of exercising, the grocery store line, stoplights or lulls in the dinner conversation.

    The technology makes the tiniest windows of time entertaining, and potentially productive. But scientists point to an unanticipated side effect: when people keep their brains busy with digital input, they are forfeiting downtime that could allow them to better learn and remember information, or come up with new ideas.”

     Basically, the modern workforce gets a double whammy in that we are completely addicted to our computers and mobile gadgets and we are becoming workaholics.  Ok, the “we” can very easily be replaced with “I” here.  (Hey, there is a reason why this blog is called Smartphone Fanatics!)

    You can read the full article on the New York Times website.

    Thanks to Geri for the tip!

    Read More
  • blackberry,  dataviz,  quickoffice,  rim,  web os

    DataViz: No Documents To Go for webOS, Acquired by Research In Motion

    September 4, 2010 /

    Today, DataViz, the makers of Documents To Go, has officially announced that they will not be developing a version of Palm’s webOS platform.

    Announced on Facebook, and posted on the DataViz website, the company claims that creating a version of Documents To Go for webOS would be a much larger job than they expected and that the performance of such an application would not be an optimal solution.

    “We regret to announce that we have made the difficult decision to not produce a Web OS version of Documents To Go. We understand that our delay in this area has caused much disappointment to our current and very loyal user base. We would like to explain in more detail the reasoning behind our decisions thus far.

    Our intention had been to replace the Palm Viewers, which were based on the Documents To Go technology, with a full editing, aftermarket version of Documents To Go. In order to do this in a way that we felt would be most intuitive to users, we wanted to have the full version seamlessly replace the built in viewers. To do this, we needed some technical help from Palm. Because Palm was focusing on other areas at the time (including their very survival), and there was no official information available allowing developers to help ourselves, i.e., an SDK, there was a delay in getting us this information. Rather than do a substantially larger project that would result in a “sub-optimal” user experience, we decided to wait. This wait was much longer than anyone at DataViz expected. During this wait, we focused our efforts on other smartphone platforms, not because we were not loyal to Palm, but because it made “business sense” to do so. We have now come to the realization that it is not in DataViz’ nor our users’ best interests to continue the wait and produce the full version. We understand that another developer has chosen to create an editing Office product for webOS and we wish them the best. Again, we apologize to our users for taking this long to reach, what is for DataViz and many of our users, a disappointing conclusion.”

    Back in April, DataViz posted that they were unable to get the support from Palm that was required to properly develop Documents To Go for webOS.  On the surface, it would seem that DataViz has tired of waiting for Palm to get it’s act together.  Personally, I always felt the delay of Documents To Go for webOS was retaliation for the lost of time and money for the late stage cancellation of the Palm Foleo and Documents To Go for the Foleo platform.  The good folks at CrackBerry.com have a better reason: DataViz was acquired by BlackBerry maker Research In Motion!

    “More interesting than [canceling Documents To Go for Palm webOS is the] news from DataViz…they didn’t announce….. they were bought by RIM!! Though neither company has publicly announced it (yet), multiple sources have confirmed to us that RIM recently acquired DataViz for a reported $50 million cash (not material to RIM, so they didn’t have to disclose it publicly as they have done with other acquisitions like the QNX one). Jump on to LinkedIn and you can also quickly find that lots of former DataViz employees have recently switched up their profiles to Research In Motion as their current employer.

    Yet another interesting acquisition by RIM.”

    That leaked screen shot from August 19 showing the QuickOffice icon in a webOS 2.0 screen shot kinda makes a whole lot of sense right now.  I’ll have go dig up my old Palm OS QuickOffice serial number.  I wonder if I am eligible for upgrade pricing?!

    You can read the Documents To Go for webOS statement on the DataViz website.

    [Via CrackBerry.com…, PreCentral.net…]

    Read More
  • apple,  appletv,  ios,  ipad,  iphone,  itunes,  mac os x,  touch,  windows

    Apple Launches iTunes 10, Unveils New iPods, AppleTV, iOS 4.1 Update

    September 2, 2010 /

    It has been a busy day for Apple fanatics customers today.

    New iPods, Apple TV

    At today’s annual September media event, Apple took the wraps off a new iPod nano and iPod touch.  The iPod shuffle got it’s click-wheel back.  Apple TV received an extreme makeover, and we were told that iOS 4.1 will arrive next week (9/8/10) to fix the proximity sensor and Bluetooth issues on iPhone 4 and performance issues on the iPhone 3GS.  Owners of current iPod touch models will also be getting the iOS 4.1 treatment next week.  iPad owners, like me, will have to wait until November for the iOS 4.2 update to be released.  Ugh!

    The good news for those of us not eager to shell out a few hundred more dollars for the latest shinny Apple gizmo is that we can get our hands on iTunes 10 today.

    Once you get past the hoopla over the redesigned logo, Apple dumped the CD to focus on the music note, you’ll see the new features that have been added to the popular jukebox software.  Click the read link for the new iTunes 10 features and more photos of Apple’s latest gear.

    What’s new in iTunes 10

    •Introducing Ping. Use Ping to follow your favorite artists and friends or connect with the world’s most passionate music fans. Discover the music everyone is talking about, listening to, and downloading.

    • Rent HD TV episodes for just 99¢ each. Watch them on your Mac or PC, on-the-go with iPhone or iPod touch, or in your living room with the all new Apple TV.

    • Play your favorites on the all new iPod touch, iPod nano, iPod shuffle, and Apple TV.

    • Play music wirelessly with AirPlay on AirPlay-enabled speakers, home theater receivers, and iPod accessories.

    • Explore many look-and-feel improvements throughout iTunes.

    • Enjoy performance improvements which make iTunes faster and more responsive.

    • Additional voice support with VoiceOver Kit for iPod.

    For information on the security content of this update, please visit: support.apple.com/kb/HT1222.

    [Editor’s Note: At the time we posted this article, iTunes 10 was only available as a download from the Apple website.  It was not appearing in the Software Update control panel on our Mac OS X and Windows 7 boxes.]

    Read More
  • att,  hp,  pixi,  pre,  verizon,  web os

    HP Palm webOS 1.4.5 Update Available For Verizon Pixi Plus Customers

    September 1, 2010 /

    It looks like Verizon rolled out Palm webOS 1.4.5 for their Pixi Plus customers yesterday.

    The webOS 1.4.5 change log for the Verizon branded Palm Pixi Plus is listed after the jump.

    Verizon Pixi Plus customers can download the webOS 1.4.5 update by running the Updates application on their phone.

    The wait continues for Verizon’s Pre Plus customers and all of AT&T’s Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus customers.  Sprint customers received their Palm webOS 1.4.5 update on August 11.

    New applications

    NONE

    Feature changes to existing applications

    System

    • Palm Pixi and Palm Pixi Plus phones can now run 3D games and other apps developed with the webOS PDK. Check App Catalog for titles that are compatible with your phone.
    • This release includes minor fixes and enhancements to support the public release of the webOS PDK.

    Web

    • If a user enters text in a field on certain websites, the screen focus now remains on the text being entered.
    • This release fixes a rare problem so that podcasts now download correctly.

    Security

    • This release addresses several security issues with the Palm webOS software.

      Read More