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    RingMP3 for Palm OS

    Tamoggemon Software has released a new utility for converting audio files you already own into Centro and Palm OS Treo smartphone ringtones. RingMP3 helps you transform MP3/MID/WAV files into ringtones for your Palm – no Internet connection required!

    RingMP3 is super easy to use: pick a file on your memory card, and follow the steps outlined by its extremely simple assistant. After that, prepare to enjoy your new ringtone.

    A free trial of RingMP3 (limited to three conversion processes) can be
    downloaded from www.tamoggemon.com! The full version of the product costs $5.99 and can be purchased directly from MobiHand. Heavy ringtone users will find that the product pays for itself literally after converting three files assuming that a standard ringtone costs $2 each.

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    Yes, Palm Still Sells PDAs

    With all of Palm’s focus on the Palm Pre and webOS, and rightly so in my opinion, it is easy to forget the Palm still has a handheld business.

    If you are one of Palm’s customers who prefer a traditional PDA to that of a smartphone, you will be happy to know that you can still buy a handheld, the TX, Z22, or the Tungsten E2, directly from Palm.

    I do want to warn everyone that Palm’s CEO Ed Colligan did say that the company was no longer developing new PDAs, so if you have been holding out a new PDA to upgrade to, it looks like you are out of luck. That said, I own a Palm TX and it is a full featured PDA that will be up to whatever task you need to throw at it.

    For more information about the current PDA line up, visit Palm’s online store

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    A New Look for Palm Website

    Did anyone else notice that Palm’s website received a face life today? Did anyone also notice that the Centro is the only Palm OS device that is listed on the main splash page and on the interior support page? All of the PDAs and Palm OS Treo smartphones are now in the “View All Devices” section of the support page.

    I’m glad to see that the marketing department has woken up from their long Rip Van Winkle slumber.

    Are the winds of change really blowing at Palm? Be sure to check the Palm site again on January 8th.

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    Opera Front End 1.1

    If you like to use Opera’s Mini Java browser on your Palm OS smartphone (or PDA) Opera Front End 1.1 looks like the app for you.

    “Opera Mini is the outstanding mobile browser from Opera which also works on Palm OS devices. Unfortunately, it doesn’t behave like a default browser, URL’s can’t be transfered from other apps and access to special characters is limited.

    OperaFrontEnd is made to change all this: Opera Mini is now your default browser, URL’s are enqueued into Opera Mini and the access to the build-in keyboard makes it possible to enter every single character your Palm can display.

    OperaFrontEnd v1.1 even allows you to fall back to good-old Blazer whenever you need it for downloads or compatibility issues.”

    Opera Front End is on sale for $2.95 at MobiHand until December 31, 2008. For more details, visit the MetaViewSoft blog.

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    Elevation Injects an Additional $100 Million Into Palm

    In a press release issued earlier today, Palm has announced that investment firm Elevation Partners will make an additional $100 million dollar investment into Palm, Inc. Elevation will purchase the additional shares from Palm’s newly issued Series C stocks and has paid a 31% premium by acquiring the shares at $3.25 each. The Series C stock issued by Palm has a 0% dividend rate. With the second planned investment of $100 million into Palm, Elevation Partners will have invested about $425 million dollars into Palm.

    “The additional capital from Elevation Partners will enable us to put added momentum behind the new product introductions scheduled for 2009 and will provide us with enhanced stability in unsettled economic times,” said Ed Colligan, president and chief executive officer of Palm, Inc. “Elevation has been a great partner to Palm, and we appreciate their continued confidence and support.”

    “We believe that Palm is in a position to transform the cell phone industry, and we are pleased to have the opportunity to make this additional investment in the company. Palm has an industry-leading team and an exciting, differentiated product roadmap. We are proud to be associated with the company and look forward to great things from Palm in 2009 and beyond,” stated Roger McNamee, co-founder of Elevation Partners.

    The transaction is expected to close by January, 31, 2009. Palm also has the option to trigger a sell action by Elevation of up to $49 million dollars before March 31, 2009 to other investors under the same or better prices.

    Read the full Palm press release

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    Back from Vacation

    What a difference a week makes! I returned home a few hours ago from sunny Orlando Florida to learn that Palm has been busy while my family and I have been lounging around the pool under sunny skies!

    Be sure to check back later for a wrap up of the week’s Palm news and analysis.

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    Palm Posts “Preliminary” Q2FY09 Results

    Earlier today, Palm posted their preliminary second quarter earnings results for fiscal year 2009 (Q2FY09). When the dust settles on Q2, Palm is expecting quarterly revenues along the lines of $190-$195 million. This represents a decline from last quarter’s results of $366.9 million that was reported on September 18, 2008. Palm sites the “reduced demand for maturing smartphone and handheld products” and the “difficult economic environment” as the reasons for the decline.

    “We are seeing unprecedented dynamics in the global markets as economic uncertainty hampers demand for consumer products,” said Ed Colligan, Palm’s president and chief executive officer. “In order to ensure Palm’s long-term success during these uncertain times, we’re taking several steps to significantly reduce our cost structure. These measures will help us navigate this difficult period while launching our next-generation products as planned.”

    Today’s report also details several efforts that Palm has implemented in attempt to keep operating expenses down; including:

    • Reductions to the U.S. work force
    • Consolidation of European operations
    • Collapsing sales, marketing, & administrative support for the AsiaPac region to the US office

    Palm will present their final Q2FY09 numbers during a quarterly earnings results conference call which is scheduled for December 18, 2008 to be held at 1:30pm PT/4:30pm ET. Details for the conference call can be found on Palm’s Investor Relations website.

    Analysis

    As you will recall, Palm is some 18+ months into a corporate transformation that the company hopes will make it a relevant player in the mobile computing space again. To aid in the transformation, Palm has partnered with private equity firm Elevation Partners.

    The current global economic conditions aside, Palm appears to be dealing with issues around delays in the release of their next Windows Mobile-powered smartphone(s), which is rumored to be a CDMA version of the GSM Treo Pro, released earlier this year without a carrier partner, for Sprint and/or Verizon. I have not read any credible rumors that suggest Palm is working to release an AT&T branded edition of the Treo Pro before the end of the year.

    Palm is also still working to complete the development of their next generation operating system, Palm OS II/Nova. According to company executives, Palm is on track to complete the core of Palm OS II/Nova by the end of this year and expects to have devices shipping to customers by the middle of 2009.

    Palm’s stock was down -$0.51 to end the day at $1.88.

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    Black Friday Sales Round Up

    Here are just some of the sales that are going to be in effect for this year’s Black Friday (11/28/08).

    Palm.com (Online)
    Save $50 on online orders between $150 – $299.99
    Save $100 on online orders over $300

    Staples (In-store)
    SanDisk 4GB microSDHC card $9.99

    Apple.com (Online)
    Check the Apple store on Friday morning for their list of deals

    eReader & Fictionwise (Online)
    Get triple eReader Rewards points when you purchase any ebook from eReader.com by November 30, 2008.

    Get 40% Micropay rebates when you purchase any of Fictionwise’s 53,000 ebooks.

    BJ’s Wholesale Club (Online)
    8 different portable GPS units, LCD monitors, and digital picture frames

    SanDisk (Online)
    SanDisk has many of their popular memory cards and USB flash drives on sale

    Wal-Mart (In-store)
    Magnavox Blu-ray DVD player $128

    UPDATE 1:
    Amazon (Online)
    Check out Amazon’s Black Friday DVD and Blu-ray deals! Select new DVD and Blu-ray titles are going for under $15. You can also scoop up copies of Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 on DVD for $1.99!!

    UPDATE 2:
    Palm is offering the Centro cradle for $12.99 (regularly $29.99). Get it here.