12:14 PM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

This is a fun time... it's rumor season again for upcoming Palm product releases! The latest rumors are centered around a possible Treo 800p, but I'm sure more will surface.

Now the most common response to the rumors is that the specs are too good to be true. But the days of wonderful spec rumors are great because until something is released, there is always hope that we'll get the perfect Palm device! I've been through this cycle a bunch of times now, and it never fails to excite me. It never fails to get me hoping for something that's probably not possible, and it puts me on the edge of my seat waiting to see what will really become available.

But one thing I'd say is that when a good device is released, I'm delighted about it. Recently, the PalmOS world has seen what are some of the the best devices ever. But is anyone celebrating? Not many. Mostly just complaints are what we hear.

The last time a device released with "everything we want" was probably the T|X. I was delighted at the time, and I still think it's spectacular. I don't have one, but I would like to have one.

True the lifedrive wasn't as spectacular a success as we hoped, and it did have a few issues, but it was pretty neat also, and you can't just dismiss any device with a screen that nice and so much built-in storage.

But I really never felt that any of the recent devices got the big buzz of praise they deserved. Especially after a long run of what I felt were so-so devices. True, some liked the T3 pretty well, but it had some reliability issues and battery life issues that were pretty severe limitations to its success.

So I wonder. If a Treo anything like recent rumors is released this year or in three years or in five years, will there be anyone saying "wow this is great"?

The fact is, we have a way of being disappointed with almost any realistic product rollout.

Even the Treo650, which has turned out to be a pretty spectacular device, got a little positive hobby press, but never really seemed to get the overwhelming buzz you might expect. All the focus seems to be on weaknesses that really weren't as significant as we all made them out to be. Is it really all that tough to live with a smaller memory footprint or a slightly big form factor? Are the keys really too small, or maybe just right after all? Personally, while no device is completely perfect, I do think the Treo 650 falls square into the "great device" category.

So I guess I wonder if there will ever be joy among Palm fanatics, no matter what the next Treo looks like. Or will we just continue to complain away any good features? It seems that if it's not that infamous "monster" device (you know, the one referred to in the forums with the defibulator and hidef projection tv and other stuff built in), it doesn't really stand a chance of being called a great device.

Maybe it's time we realize that the Palm world is living some glory days. The future? I don't know. And there is a heck of a lot of uncertainty for the years to come. But let's not be so critical that we miss the fun and greatness of the current time.

It doesn't seem anyone else out there is expressing this perspective, so maybe I'm the only one that sees things like this.

Tell us how you feel. Do you agree that these are the glory days for Palm, or do you feel like Palm just always keeps falling short?

07:20 PM by Bob Russell in E-Book General | News

There are many programs available these days for reading RSS feeds on a handheld. And there are many different ways that I can see doing that. In my opinion, all but web clipping solutions are worthless. But I know that there are many people that love mobile RSS feed reading, so I'm sure there will be some differing opinions, which is a good thing. We all see things from a different perspective, and if there are useful ways to use mobile RSS readers I think we would all love to hear more about it.

With all that in mind, let's take a quick look at what seem like the various approaches. This is not meant in any way to be a "how-to" description or a comparison of readers, but more of a philosophical look at the different approaches to mobile RSS feed reading.... plus my thoughts on why most of them are not worth the bother.

1) Web clipping base on RSS feeds [e.g. Sunrise]

This is actually the one way of reading RSS feeds that I like!

You can define a feed in Sunrise is to give an RSS feed instead of a URL. Sunrise pops out a mobile Plucker-formatted version of the feed information that you load onto your device. Very similar to iSiloX, but you use a different reader, you have the ability to do RSS clipping, and with Sunrise you have an amazing amount of flexibility when it comes to controlling what content gets extracted.

2) Web content similar to or based on RSS feeds [E.g. AvantGo]

Another way to get RSS content is to extract it from a standard web clipping tool. AvantGo content is a bit like this, but it's not necesssarily coming from RSS feeds. There are others out there also, but content providers might be a little touchy about some of them. There's that tug of war between those that consider it to be a very effective publicity tool that drives traffic to the site, and those that take the view that it's taking advantage of them by creating unauthorized use of their content. Personally, I think the name of the game for most web sites is first of all a mission to accomplish something, and secondly to drive traffic. In my opinion, financial and personal and corporate benefits all seem to come from those things. What is most important to the people running various sites, and what drives them to put in long hours, varies a lot. You see some people passionate for their content and the visitor community, and any revenue is just a pleasant bonus or a way to pay expenses. Other people with web sites are focused on bringing in dollars and it's the only reason they do it. Either way, traffic is the name of the game for success or failure outside of the original purpose of putting the content out there. Even if your goals are not monetary, you want to make a difference to your readers and to as broad an audience as you can. And oddly enough, corporate sites are often not the most revenue oriented. At least not in terms of web-specific revenues. Many corporate sites are simply an extension of PR, sales, customer service, etc.

At any rate, this is not a good general solution, and even sites like AvantGo are only barely adequate, and really don't solve the general RSS feed reading issue.

Update: I should have also included MobileRSS in this discussion. It's a really nifty free web site that has been around a long time, and lets you create a custom account and subscribe to RSS feeds. Then it provides you with a personal link that has titles, summaries, and text for the RSS content. It's all in a nice mobile web form, so it's easy to view or to grab with any web clipping tool. While I don't currently use this approach, it's a slick way to get RSS content on your pda.

3) RSS reader software [I dare not single out an example!]

Here's where it gets really interesting. Mostly because of two factors. First of all, some devices are connected to the internet and some only have connectivity for synching. Secondly, some RSS content is fairly complete and other content is abbreviated and looks more like a teaser than an article.

You would think that dedicated RSS feed reader software would be the ideal way to read RSS feeds. Maybe it is... it has been a while since I have tried RSS software for Palm or PPC, so I don't speak with authority on the quality or features of RSS readers. But for me, it just wasn't worth the trouble. And it's even more uninspiring when not connected to the internet.

For one thing, I can be so much more efficient at the desktop that mobile RSS was really just a waste of my time and the interfaces I tried were frustrating more than helping me. It didn't last on my device more than a day or so. If you are using RSS feeds it probably is because you have a lot of them you want to scan very efficiently. That sounds to me like a desktop job, not a handheld task.

But even more important were the two factors I mentioned above... connectivity and teaser feeds.

So even if I did get an RSS feed, without connectivity, then it wasn't up to date. For sites without a lot of updates, or with daily content appearing mostly in the early morning (like a newspaper) it is not so much a problem. But for great sites like Palm Addict or Slashdot that have so much frequently updated content I actually want to read, I don't see any other reasonable option than to just visit them frequently throughout the day on my PC.

One problem with most collections of RSS feeds is that they accumulate fast. I don't really want to be reading old feeds. And the whole point of RSS feed reading is to very quickly and efficiently skim through the feeds and pick out the best ones for a quick look. That's just so much easier for me on the desktop. And if the feeds are stale, that is annoying.

But I suppose that's not the biggest issue anyway. After all, if they are constantly updated you could fall into the trap of never-ending feed reading!

Much more important is the other problem - if I'm not connected (or even if I'm connected with a slow connection) then I read the RSS feed and all I get is a bite size teaser when I wanted a hearty meal. I am constantly frustrated with any story that I'm interested in because I only get a portion. And it becomes either hard or impossible to get the rest of the story. I read just enough to get interested and then to make me realize that I can't read what I really want to see now, because I have to go back to being an old-fashioned web site visitor. If I'm not connected, I can't do it. If I am connected, it's still probably not a simple thing and many sites are a pain to navigate on a handheld. If you are just after a few sites, no big deal. But if you are RSS feed reading, you want to hit many sites quick and easy. That's still not the most effective thing to be doing on a handheld when you are trying to get through a bunch of feeds fast.

Bad stories from feeds are, of course, no problem. You don't want the rest of the story anyway! But the good stories are the only reason I'm reading RSS feeds in the first place, and those are the ones I can't read. I am left wondering what's the point?

And back to my original premise, unless you're doing some sophisticated form of web clipping via something like Sunrise, why bother at all? Just wait until you get home and do your RSS feed reading at your desk.

10:00 AM by Laurens in Archive | Sunrise

Attached you'll find an updated Send to Sunrise for Firefox 1.5.0.1.

Note that this extension works only with the Java version. (Sunrise XP will have a dedicated Firefox extension of its own that works completely within the browser.)

I also updated the Windows and Linux distributions.

Side note: it's so annoying that Firefox extension manifests have to be updated whenever a new version is released. I updated the maxVersion field to "2.0", so it should be working for the next few Firefox releases.

08:13 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Rumors swirl about an upcoming Palm Treo 800p supposed to hit the markets on March 15th. Features include juicy 128MB of RAM, a "Wifi option" (not sure if that could mean integrated WiFi), SD card support, Bluetooth 2, and EVDO. PalmAddicts has the details!

05:56 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Palm investor Mark Nelson, who owns 6.6 8 percent of the Treo mobile phone maker, wrote to the board urging them to consider selling the company, the Wall Street Journal is reporting today, without saying where it got the information.

Mr. Nelson praised Palm's management in his letter, but he said the company is in a competitive market that faces "slowing innovation, commoditization and choked margins." As a result, Mr. Nelson wrote, Palm should "explore strategic alternatives, including a sale of the company." ... In his letter, Mr. Nelson acknowledges the rising share price of Palm and says the company is "in the ascendant." But he argues that Palm, which is one of the smallest players in a cutthroat cellphone market that is dominated by giants like Nokia Corp., faces such intense competition and likely commoditization that these "overwhelming market forces will render insignificant steps this [Palm] or any management can take."

Nelson bought into Palm in early 2004 when the stock was trading at around $10 a share. The stock has recently traded at around $40.

This is not the first time a Palm investor had tried to run for the money. In November 2005, the Swiss hedge fund company Sagio Investments SA, which owns roughly 5 percent of Palm, wrote to the board complaining about the lagging company's stock price at the time.

Related: Palm stock surges after takeover chatter, Palm is cheap, says investor, Palm investment shark shows its teeth

11:55 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Palm saw a remarkable surge in their stock price over the past few weeks (they just hit the $40 mark, a new 52-week high), and it's not only the introduction of the Palm Treo 700w that has been feeding investor fantasies. Attached you find some graphs depicting Palm stock performance as of today, 01/01/06, 06/01/05, and 01/01/01.

The following Briefing.com news went through my mails today:

Palm likely to stay independent over near term
Caris notes that PALM's torrid rise over the past few weeks could be partly attributable to take-out speculation; however, they believe it is likely PALM's mgmt will remain independent, at least over the near term. The firm says the co is broadening its portfolio, diversifying into new customer segments, and ramping its international sales. The firm says that several large-cap computer and wireless cos, like HPQ, MOT, NOK or DELL, could be natural buyers and have ample capital, business synergies and interest in boosting their rev growth rate to merit due diligence on Palm.

Caris & Company analyst Susan Kalla has initiated a "buy" on Palm in September 2005 and she envisions, thanks to the Treo 700w, better than expected revenues and margins for Palm for the next few quarters. Given that Palm is currently trading at a low PE and that smartphones are becoming more popular every day, it's not unlikely that various large cap companies have a general interest in Palm. The question is, what would happen to our beloved Palm handheld if it was indeed acquired by a big name such as Apple (who btw recently filed the "Mobile Me" trademark)?

Related: Sprint Treo 700w expected to arrive earlier

11:40 AM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Experienced Treo users are probably familiar with the PDAnet tool that allows you to connect your laptop to a Treo and surf the web. Verizon has never allowed that in their terms of agreement, so if you want to surf on both your laptop and your Treo, you need a separate plan for each, which I think runs about $40 each with unlimited data. With PDAnet, you can just get the Treo plan, and use it with your laptop.

It seems that Verizon wants more of your money, so they may be on the road to making PDAnet useless and introducing an add-on $15 plan. Hard to complain too much, though, as it's much less imposing than some of Verizon's other policies with regard to data plans. Their 10meg/month plan, for example, includes a hefty shakedown with some pretty severe charges for data that goes over the 10meg limit. Even worse, they don't allow streaming media over the data network. But isn't that the next "killer app" after mobile email and web browsing? On the other hand, the $15 fee might be more reasonable as an addition to an unlimited Treo data plan because you would be expecting more data usage, especially with the new 700w with its faster speeds. Certainly much more reasonable than the $40/month for the unlimited Treo data plan. Heck, you can surf to your heart's content with almost any other Verizon phone using a $5/mo WAP browser fee.

But take my own complaints with a grain of salt. I'm just holding a grudge because I went with Verizon instead of Sprint, which has a $15/mo unlimited data plan for the Treo. As a result I eventually ended up canceling my data plan altogether. Verizon made and is making a fortune on me because I hardly use my phone minutes most of the time either. So when a nice new PalmOS Treo appears at Sprint one of these days, it's probably a quick goodbye to Verizon after way too many months of being soaked.

Read all what has been written about the Verizon customer service rep's informal comments at Whatever Comes To Mind.

(Via JKonTheRun)

06:09 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

According to some analysts from Bear Stearns, Palm is planning to launch the Sprint version of its Windows Mobile-based Treo 700w earlier than expected. CE Stock Blog has an excerpt from their note:

Sprint to offer PALM Treo 700w ahead of schedule, as early as end of February. Based on our channel checks, it appears that Sprint is likely to offer the latest PALM Treo 700w (Windows version) as early as end of February, which would be ahead of schedule (following its launch with Verizon on 1/5) - Sprint version of Treo 700 was not expected until end of March at the earliest based on the historical length of the exclusivity agreements with carriers (i.e., 3-6 months). Sprint is likely to price Treo 700w at $449, at parity with Verizon and a $50 premium to Treo 650. Sprint will offer both models.

This comes as a surprise considering that numerous sources have stated before that Verizon Wireless would have an exclusive on the Treo 700w until at least mid-2006.

[via Engadget]