07:01 PM by Colin Dunstan in Miscellaneous | Announcements

Thanks to Shaun and everyone from PDA 247 for naming us their "Best Technology Web Site" of 2005. Shaun is a very respectable member of the mobile community scene, and his sites, Palm247 and WindowsMobile247, have been around for as long as I can think back. There're among the few sites I can heartly recommend beyond a shadow of a doubt to anyone interested in current news on mobile technologies.

I'd also like to take time to thank the millions of visitors who have given me the inspiration to work harder. It's been worth every minute. Thanks also to those who send us stories and daily scoops on the world of gadgets!

06:45 PM by Colin Dunstan in Miscellaneous | Lounge

WebXCopy is another Skweezer-like free proxy tool to strip away non-essential HTML code from regular Web pages, to make the latter more pleasant to surf on mobile devices. On the downside, Jenner Research, the company behind WebXCopy, claims to have filed a patent on the "implifying, splitting, and scaling operations against desktop oriented web content to fit in client devices." I don't see how anyone could patent such an obvious use of widely available technology.

[via PalmAddicts]

06:21 PM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Judging by its name, you'd think the Lexar JumpDrive Mercury was a futuristic fever thermometer that you could stick in a spare USB port to check your computer's health. Dead wrong. It's just an unflatteringly boring 1GB-to-2GB USB stick, except for this novelty: it uses E Ink-technology to feature a unique on-board storage capacity meter. As you probably know, E Ink is paper-thin, low-power and readable even in difficult conditions such as direct sunlight. It's also the technology we've been waiting for such a dreadfully long time to emerge in the e-book market. Enough, I think I'm going to cry.

[via Gizmodo]

05:55 PM by Colin Dunstan in E-Book Readers | Alternative Devices

Your first look at the Pepper Pad might lead you to wonder, "What the hell exactly is this device?" Is it a PDA? A mini laptop? Or perhaps an Internet tablet (using Nokia terminology)? Well, fact is, we've got quite a few ideas how to impress our neighbors with this little baby. The Pepper Pad Plus is an upgraded model to come out in Q2 2006, with a better battery, Wi-Fi 802.11g, a 30-gigabyte hard disk, and Bluetooth 2.0. It also includes updated VoIP and streaming software. What hasn't change is the Intel XScale 624 MHz CPU, the 8.4" 800x600 SVGA TFT LCD, and the 256MB RAM.

Existing Pepper Pad owners will be able to upgrade to the new software for free and participate in a program to obtain the new hardware features. For new buyers, the Pepper Pad Plus comes at USD $800 after a $50 mail-rebate if purchased by Jan. 31, 2006.

[via Engadget]

05:14 PM by Colin Dunstan in Miscellaneous | Lounge

Found this gem via Download Squad today:

Portable Gaim is the versatile Gaim instant messaging client packaged as a portable app, so you can take your IM settings and buddy lists with you. The Off-the-record plugin is also included for secure, encrypted messaging.

Gaim supports AOL/ICQ, IRC, Jabber, MSN, Yahoo and more. So put this thing on your iPod or USB thumbdrive, and you'll be able to always stay in contact with your online friends. Well at least for as long as you have access to the Internet and a Windows machine with a spare USB port.

Download here.

09:44 AM by Zire in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

It's hip, daddy-o! Play the swingingest puzzle game with plenty of Fifties style and Vegas pizzazz

* Fast-paced fruit-matching action!
* Three game modes: Regular, Strategy and Speed provide for every taste in puzzle games!
* Unlimited levels in each mode!
* Nineteen bonus puzzle levels to tax your mind and increase your score!
* Groovy fifties fruit-machine style graphics!

It's only $4.95 on Astraware's site; buy it here or click here to download.

I highly recommend this game and for this price why not buy it?

12:29 PM by Laurens in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Is it time to overhaul the Palm GUI? asks Kent Pribbernow of PocketFactory:

The Palm interface just works, and has done its job with great zeal since 1997. [...] And yet, as elegant and simple as the Palm interface is, it was originally designed years ago for monochrome organizer screens, and has remained largely unchanged since that time. [...] I think PalmSource should take this opportunity to borrow a page from Apple's playbook by starting over from the beginning. OSX still retains the classic Mac interface while building upon it with modern technologies like Quartz and Aqua. So too, I think, PalmSource should strive to achieve the same goal.

Interesting read, and the screens look great!

01:22 AM by pruss in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

I have just released version 1.65 of my FontSmoother, a utility for hi-res OS 5 devices to support smooth (antialiased) fonts. News and changes:

1.65:

• Added Sony small font support--see "Advanced" options.
• Moved "Application options" from menu to "Advanced" panel (one fewer tap to access).
• Renamed "Smart Layout" to "eBook Mode", but made it a touch smarter.
• Can configure a separate font package for the "Clock Popup Window" (the window you get by tapping on the statusbar clock) on the T3/T5/TX/LifeDrive in the applications list.
• Included new YAHM version (2.5.111), compatible with both Zodiac and non-Zodiac devices.
• Fixed two "Quick Make Font" naming problems.
• Added menu white-space fix to "Use Fonts4OS5's fonts" mode. Fixed compatibility problem between Silverscreen and some earlier OS 5 devices. Fixed bug in FontHack-style font handling, and renamed FontHack_fonts to eReaderPro_fonts.

Get it from the usual places:
http://palmgear.com/index.cfm?xyz=90288
http://zlthemes.com/Programs.php