04:14 PM by Bob Russell in Miscellaneous | Lounge

I've just received a very nice email from Dana Kelly at Ilium Software. They have upgraded their eWallet software from 4.0 to 4.1 and have provided me with the exact information that I want from them:

* The version and platforms I originally purchased
* A summary of what has changed in the new version
* Links to the new software downloads
* Software keys for each platform I'm registered for, and
* Appreciation to me for being a customer

I'm not going to knock other developers for not doing this because we've got a great community of developers in the mobile device world. Some even surpass expectations by providing free upgrades across major revisions. (A couple of great examples are ShadowPlan and DVD Catalyst, which are two wonderful applications.)

Sure, there is a range of quality with regard to support, but on the whole mobile software developers are very responsive and helpful. In addition, if you purchase software at PalmGear/PocketGear or Handango, generally you can get upgrades online if you have the right to a free upgrade based on your previously purchased version.

Still, this was a refreshing touch by Ilium Software because rarely do software companies make it so convenient for the customer to learn about and acquire an upgrade. Kudos to Dana and the Ilium Software crew!

09:35 PM by Brian in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Congratulations to Nokia and their 770 Internet Tablet team for taking Engadget's 2005 Handheld of the Year for both the Reader's Choice and Editor's Pick!

Related: Nokia 770 Doing Surprisingly Well

07:38 PM by Brian in E-Book General | News

You may have seen an artist's futuristic renderings of flexible digital newspapers in movies like Minority Report. As more readers satisfy their appetite for text online while hitting the books less frequently, the need for foldable, rollable, flexible color displays is increasing with every passing day.

Flexible tablet-sized E-Ink displays are promising, and while their grayscale-only screens provide excellent readability for text, their slow refresh rates are not suitable for full motion video and other rich media content. With the help of some U.S. Department of Defense funding, Universal Display Corporation of Ewing, New Jersey, has created a prototype display that could allow for that futuristic digital newspaper to soon become a reality.

Universal Display showed off their rollable four inch diagonal full color active matrix OLED prototype display today at the United States Display Consortium's Fifth Annual Flexible Displays and Microelectronics Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. The display is only .04 inches thick and weighs in at .2 ounces, and runs full motion video using metal foil. According to the company, their display technology has the potential to "create exciting, new product possibilities" which include:

• Low-power, bright, colorful cell phones
• Full color, high-resolution, personal communicators
• Wrist-mounted, featherweight, rugged PDAs
• Wearable, form-fitting, electronic displays
• Full-color, high resolution, portable Internet devices and palm size computers
• High-contrast automotive instrument and windshield displays
• Heads-up instrumentation for aircraft and automobiles
• Automobile light systems without bulbs
• Flexible, lightweight, thin, durable, and highly efficient laptop screens
• Roll-up, electronic, daily-refreshable newspaper
• Ultra-lightweight, wall-size television monitor
• Office windows, walls and partitions that double as computer screens
• Color-changing lighting panels and light walls for home and office
• Low-cost organic lasers
• Computer-controlled, electronic shelf pricing for supermarkets and retail stores
• Smart goggles/helmets for scuba divers, motorcycle riders
• Medical test equipment
• Wide area, full-motion video camcorders
• Global positioning systems (GPS)
• Integrated computer displaying eyewear
• Rugged military portable communication devices

This new display technology could allow for some interesting new form factors, giving portable device designers the freedom to escape from their quandary. Universal Display hopes to use this display technology to develop their "Universal Communication Device", which they described as a pen-like device that would allow a user to unroll a thin, metal screen for visual and verbal communication.

Read the full press release here.

Related: As E Ink approaches the performance of newspaper

Source: The Inquirer via Gizmodo

05:38 AM by Colin Dunstan in Miscellaneous | Lounge

Spend $199 on a mobile handset and $35 to $225 on monthly service fees, and what you'll get is unlimited access to sports news in the palm of your hand. Mobile ESPN, which the sports titan says has been "built from the ground up for sports fans, by sports fans," is now available in more than 700 Best Buy store across the country. Services include access to breaking sports news, up-to-the-minute scoreboards, ESPN video footage, and other goodies. The somewhat clunky-looking Sanyo flip-phone features a super speedy EV-DO network connection, a 1.3-megapixel camera, and a MP3/AAC player. It also has an E button that connects directly to ESPN's Web site.

[via CNNMoney]

04:58 AM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

StyleTap is a Motorola 68K emulation platform allowing you to run Palm OS applications on any Windows Mobile device. The latest version, 0.9.108, adds support for square-screen devices including the Palm 700w. Other news include improved support for 5-way navigation keys, improved font rendering, and general fixes for certain Palm OS apps.

You can download the trial from here.

Related: StyleTap attracting software pirates?

04:50 AM by Colin Dunstan in E-Book General | News

Whether that's gospel truth or just marketing hype, according to latest forecasts South Korea continues to see a tremendous surge in popularity for e-books. Thanks to big companies such as Amazon.com and SK Telekom tapping the domestic e-book market, and to a national passion (and, some say, obsession) for the Internet and everything digital, sales are expected to expand more than threefold to 140b won ($144m) this year and to surpass 300b won in 2007.

Just as the Koreans embrace cyber-age with a frenzy all their own, it wouldn't surprise me if despite the forthcoming introduction of the Sony Reader and other advanced e-book reading devices, e-books will remain a niche technology in the Western world for a very long time.

Related: In Korea e-books are soaring

04:21 PM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

RIM Chairman Jim Balsillie spoke recently at a breakfast that was attended by Palm Addict's Associate Writer Peter Wolchak.

Mr. Balsillie provided a very concise description of the tug of war that goes into every portable device design. "Asked what future BlackBerrys will look like, Balsillie said 'A lot of people tell us they want the device to be smaller.' He then paused and shrugged. 'But they also want a larger screen and a larger keyboard.' "

Similar conversations were occuring at last year's PalmSource Developers Conference in San Jose. I had the opportunity to visit with a product manager for PalmOne, and even among developers and techies he was often facing questions that in some way or other could boil down to the same issue of wanting devices to be bigger and smaller at the same time. Bigger screen and keyboard, but with a smaller case. More memory, brighter screen and small form factor, but a longer battery life. It's forever a tension of tradeoffs.

The good news? As the technology improves, the tradeoff curve gets better. Smaller more efficient radios in smartphones. Smaller more efficient batteries or fuel cells. Chip sets combined to reduce internal space for circuitry. More efficient and effective screens. In fact, I suspect that better designs for integrating keyboards will even show up over time.

So designs will get better as the technology allows. But the tradeoffs will never go away.

You can find Peter's original post at PalmAddicts.

12:21 PM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Lounge

SlySoft has released a new all-in-one video converter tool designed to make it easier for you to put your DVD home collection onto a mobile device. CloneDVD mobile is based on the FFmpeg library which supports various output formats including DivX, XviD, AVI, and MP4. Other features include support for multi-angle movie DVDs, a freely adjustable target size, support for chapter trimming, and a step-by-step wizard. Happy portable watching!

You can download the 21-days trial from here.