Palm is running a special 20% off discount code on their online software store, Software Connection. Act fast, as this offer is only good until 11:59pm on Wednesday, September 24, 2008. While checking out, use the coupon code “PALMSALE2008” to receive your discount.
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AT&T Treo 680 Reaches EOL
The Boy Genius Report has gotten their hands on what appears to the the latest AT&T wireless road map, which shows the Palm Treo 680 reaching End of Life (EOL). The crimson Treo 680 in November, 2006 on Cingular, which was latter gobbled up by AT&T.
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Pick Up Some Bargain Booty with Astraware’s Talk Like a Pirate Day Sale!
Avast me hearties!!! Friday 19th September is International Talk Like a Pirate Day and the Astraware Team is celebratin’ once again! ARRR!
To celebrate with us, get your hands on some fine booty – 6 of the best pirate/nautical/treasure games on very special offer for just 24 hours with more than 50% off each!
Save several dubloons off the price of Tradewinds, Tradewinds 2, Hidden Expedition Titanic, Seven Seas, Bubble Babble, and Golden Skull, but don’t delay – at the stroke of midnight the offer ends! Don’t be a scurvy landlubber, get yourself along to http://www.astraware.com/promo/tlapd08.
A word from Captain Redbeard Tomlinson: “Yarrr, these games be great for when ye’ve been marooned and the rum’s run out!”
Don’t forget – Friday 19th September – Yo Ho Ho!
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Third-Party Developers Are Essential
I was recently reminded how important third-party application developers are to the mobile computing user community.
Back on September 7, Pimlico Software, the company behind the popular DateBK application and the indispensable DBFitIt utility released a small, freeware application referred to only as “PalmHotSyncSetup” that allows older Palm OS smartphones and handhelds to sync with Palm Desktop 6.2 by ACCESS for Windows.
When Palm released the ACCESS edition of Palm Desktop 6.2, it only provided support for the recent crop of Palm devices running Palm OS 5.4.9. This includes the Palm z22, E2, TX, Treo 680, 700p, 755p, and the Palm Centro. If your Palm OS device didn’t come with Palm’s enhanced PIM applications (Contacts, Calendar, Memos, and Tasks) it was not officially supported. Testing older devices from my personal collection revealed that some older “legacy” devices could be synchronized with the new edition of Palm Desktop. My testing lead me to give the Tungsten E and Tungsten T3 the Foleo Fanatics seal of approval for Palm Desktop 6.2.
My testing also verified that Palm OS devices, including the Palm Vx, Tungsten T, and the Sony Clie NZ-90 could not be synchronized to Palm Desktop 6.2. These devices could be synchronized with Microsoft Outlook however; an option that will cost customers an additional $110 or more if they don’t already have a copy installed on their PC.
Taking this information into consideration, my final recommendation on the situation was to use Palm Desktop 6.2 on Vista if you had one of the officially or unofficially supported devices. If you had an older device, I recommended that customers just stick with Palm Desktop 4.1 or 4.2.
Pimlico Software to the Rescue
Pimlico Software, a long time player in third-party application development for the Palm OS platform, earlier this month has released a free desktop utility that adds support for older Palm OS devices to Palm Desktop 6.2. By flipping some switches in the complex Windows Registry, a database of sorts where Microsoft keeps lots of settings for your PC, Pimlico turns on synchronization support for the older PIM applications: Address Book, Date Books, Memo Pad, and To-Do List.
This is fantastic news for Palm customers who have gotten amazing longevity out of their Palm handhelds running Palm OS 3.5 and later. With Windows XP no longer available to consumers who purchase a new PC from big box retailers like Best Buy and Circuit City, Pimlico’s software gives these customers a way to continue using their favorite Palm with Windows Vista. (There are issues with Palm Desktop 4.x and 6.x on Vista. Read about your options here and then pick your poison.)
Pimlico’s easy to use solution takes the risk and pain out of turning on, or off, the ability to sync with older devices. The contributions by Pimlico and others, offer customers the much-needed tools, tweaks, and fixes that manufactures are unable or unwilling to provide users with.
This is why I believe that third-party application developers are so critical to any computing environment.
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Apples Releases Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.5. Update
When I returned home this evening I found that Apple has rolled out the next maintenance release to Mac OS X Leopard, 10.5.5. The update is available now via the Apple Software Update control panel, which can be found in the Mac OS X System Preferences area. (System Preferences can be quickly accessed from the grey gears icon in the Dock menu along the bottom of the Finder desktop.According to the Apple knowledge base, the Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.5 update “is recommended for Mac OS X Leopard versions 10.5, 10.5.1, 10.5.2, 10.5.3 and 10.5.4. It includes general operating system improvements that enhance the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac.”
For more details about what the update fixes, please refer to the Apple website.
Normally I don’t post notes about desktop operating system updates on Foleo Fanatics. This update, however, I though was worth mentioning here as it does relate to my fellow Palm OS users. In Apple’s update documentation in the General section, the following line caught my attention:
“Fixes an issue in which contacts might not sync properly with PalmOS-based devices.”
At this time, I am unaware of what issue this update addresses specifically. If you read the Macintosh forum over on the Palm Help Forums, Brighthand, or other sites, the Mac boards are full of Mac and Palm customers who can’t get their Palm OS devices to sync with their Macintosh.
Regardless, I’m glad to see that Palm and Apple are still working together to ensure that there is some interoperability between their devices.
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Club Astraware September Offers
Alison over at Astraware dropped me a line to let everyone know about this month’s Club Astraware special offer on Astraware Solitaire. As many of you know, I rave about Astraware’s games. They are just that good.
The Club Astraware Member-only discount offer for September 2008 is Astraware Solitaire for just $9.95, that’s a huge saving of $10 off the regular price!
In addition to our regular offers for Palm OS(R) and Windows Mobile(R) device owners, this discount is also available to Club Astraware members who own Symbian(R) S60(R), and UIQ(R) smartphones.
Astraware Solitaire features 12 of the most well-known and best-loved single player card games, chosen based on direct feedback and suggestions from Astraware customers.
The games included in Astraware Solitaire are Klondike, Pyramid, Spider, Clock, Yukon, Canfield, Four Seasons, Sultan’s Harem, Idiot’s Delight, Golf, Calculation, and Freecell, and to make the playing experience both familiar and fun, each game has custom gameplay options so everyone can enjoy the games using their favorite variation on the standard rules.
There are 3 double points offers in Club Astraware this month, so members can build up their points even quicker and get bigger discounts on games in the future! The games offering double points this month are Westward, Hidden Expedition: Titanic and Platypus. Simply buy any of these games at full price and get twice the regular number of points! For example: buy a game for $19.95 and you’ll get almost $4 worth of points to use against your next purchase!
These offers are only available in Club Astraware until the end of September 2008. To get your hands on them simply join or login to Club Astraware at http://www.astraware.com/club. It’s quick to join and completely free too!
If you’re not already a member, check out our 7 great reasons to join Club Astraware here: http://www.astraware.com/club/register.php
To read more about Astraware Solitare or to download the free demo, visit the Astraware Solitaire web page.
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Welcome Back PalmGear.com!
PalmGear.com, one of the early staples in the Palm ecosystem, returned to service today under new management.
PalmGear.com, was shutdown earlier this year by parent company, Motricity. and customer accounts were migrated to sister site, PocketGear.com. During the process, many freeware and shareware applications disappeared while most commercial Palm OS software was rolled into PocketGear site.
Under new management, lead by a former Motricity executive, PalmGear.com has gone back online in all it’s former glory. To help celebrate the return of PalmGear.com to the Palm community, a 20% discount promotion is in effect for all of the software being sold on the site. During check out, use the coupon code “NEWOWNERS”. The code will remain in effect until September 14th, 2008.
I’m glad to see PalmGear.com return. I do hope that the PalmGear brand can be rebuilt by the new owners. I’m even more excited that I don’t have to deal with the old PocketGear.com site that I griped about in my 1SRC Editorial, “Adios, Motricity.” And while I have yet to receive a “welcome back” email that I suggested in the editorial, I have confirmed that my old PalmGear.com account is still in effect providing me access to all of the great Palm OS software and license codes that I had previously purcased.
Welcome back, PalmGear! We’ve missed you.
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Rumor: Rose and Green Centros Coming To Sprint
The SprintUsers Sprint customer’s community website is reporting that Palm and Sprint will be rolling out two new colored Centro smartphones on October 19, 2008.
The leaked Sprint Quick Reference Brief states that a rose and green colored Centro will go on sale in October. No device specs or pricing are listed in the brief, but at this point, we have to assume that the new Centro units will be exactly like the other CDMA Sprint units with new shells.
Checkout SprintUsers.com for more details and discussion…
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The Continuing Search for Mobile Nirvana
For this week’s 1SRC Editorial, I continue my search for mobile computing bliss for a smartphone/keyboard solution that will afford me a more flexible solution while I wait for Palm to release a Foleo.From this week’s editorial:
I love the idea of having information at my fingertips. Whether it is my PIM information, the mobile web, or my documents. In the last few years, I’ve only been able to achieve half of my mobile Nirvana. Once again I am going to try for mobile bliss.
The Story So Far
Back in the 1990’s I had the dynamic duo of PDAs: a Palm handheld and a folding hardware connected full sized keyboard. It was a winning combination that kept me productive on the go. Type in web addresses was a snap, composing email messages was a breeze, and taking notes in meetings couldn’t be easier. That last point also ensured I was able to read my notes after the meeting.
When I made the jump to a Treo, things started to fall apart. Wireless keyboards, connecting over Infrared or Bluetooth were plagued with connection and compatibility problems. In the end, I became frustrated with the whole solution of wireless keyboards and I gave up on the idea and went back to using pen and paper. Not exactly the technological wonder I was looking for.
Mobile Bliss Take 3
“They” say that the third time is a charm. I’m hoping that the saying rings true.
I have a small collection of wireless keyboards in the bottom drawer of my desk. The latest addition to my collection is the iGo/ThinkOutsde Bluetooth Sierra wireless keyboard. I originally purchased it to pair up with my Treo 700p. Any one who has used a Treo 700p in the past knows that the Bluetooth stack had, to put it politely, issues.
Years later, I have come to own a Palm Treo 750 powered by Windows Mobile Professional 6.0. While doing some “fall cleaning” in m home office, I came across my Sierra keyboard. Could this Windows Mobile device and this Bluetooth keyboard offer the solution that I have been longing for?
Read the full editorial over at 1SRC.com…
I’ll provide you with an update to see how I’m doing with my Treo 750 and iGo/ThinkOutside Bluetooth Sierra wireless keyboard during this week’s 1SRC podcast, show 197, and 1SRC Chat on 9/6/08.
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The Price of Technology
While doing a little “fall cleaning” in my home office I happened across an old receipt for a SanDisk SD card from January 2004. I was really excited to have all of this extra storage space for my trusty Palm handheld.
Oh, think of all the wonderful things that I was able to store on that card: Pictures, a handful of my favorite .mp3 files, Office documents, and articles clipped from the web for offline reading thanks to iSilo. Those were the days.
It is funny how our perception of technology changes over time. Back then that 256MB SD card cost me $74.95. Today, for less than half of what it cost me to purchase a 256MB card in 2004 I can now buy a 4GB microSD card for my Palm Treo 750. Just imagine what $15 will buy in 2012 and what we will be doing with all of that space on our mobile computers.
Ah, technology.
