11:58 PM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

I'm not sure what it is, but it's new and going to be announced in New York on May 25 at LinuxWorld. Hmmm, maybe a Linux-based smartphone? From MobileBurn's comments it seems to be worthy of some attention. Here's what they have to say...

Spring in full swing

Friday May 20, 2005.

Things are moving right along here at MobileBurn. We've got a lot of reviews in the queue still - and a couple of headsets, too. Expect to see reviews of Nokia's 7260 and 9300 in the near future, as well as Motorola's A630 QWERTY phone. If we are lucky, we might even see a Sony Ericsson K750 soon, too.

More interesting, though, might be what Nokia has in store for us on the 25th of May. I can't tell you what they are announcing, but I can tell you that they are making the announcement at the LinuxWorld show in New York, and that this device is something that I personally am anxious to own. Stay tuned.

09:47 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

PocketGear is currently offering a 20% discount on any software you buy from them.

To qualify for the rebate, enter the coupon code THEFORCE when checking out your order. Valid only until tomorrow night!

[via PocketGamer]

08:03 PM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

PalmFocus, home of the famous Treo650 list and the Tungsten T5 list of software compatibility, has recently announced that a site redesign is coming soon. This is a quality site, and I look forward to the new look.

BTW, We've got our own redesign work going on underground right now. No news yet about when it's coming, but you might have noticed the way Alexander has been realtively quiet for a while. He's hard at work on the site, masterminding a new look. One of these days, I'm sure the results of his mysterious activities will lead to a very pleasant surprise for all of us!

11:26 AM by pruss in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

My shareware utility to allow smoothed (anti-aliased) fonts on OS 5 hi-res devices (except for Tapwave) has been updated...

http://www.palmgear.com/index.cfm?xyz=90288
http://www.zlthemes.com/Programs.php

1.42: Added some tiny (12px and 14px) and some condensed Alethe fonts. Sort font list. Fix bug with non-exact fonts. Work-around for TakePhone problem. Make Smart Highlight work after gamma change. Added info in readme.html on how to use FontSmoother with a beta test version of YAHM on Tapwave Zodiac devices (yes, it works on the Zodiac!!!)

And a whole bunch more fonts can be downloaded from here:
http://www.palmgear.com/index.cfm?pr...rREF=&siteid=1

06:02 AM by Alexander Turcic in More E-Book Readers | Legacy E-Book Devices

The Pepper Pad that was due for delivery in January 2005 has finally made its appearance and will hit the market on June 28, 2005. Similar to the Archos AV400 video player, the Pepper Pad features a 20GB harddrive and is supporting various multimedia file formats including MP3, JPG, PNG, GIF, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, AVI, and DivX. The inside looks similar to a Dell Axim X50v: It is powered by a Intel XScale 624 MHz CPU and features the critically acclaimed Intel 2700G multimedia accelerator (which enables smooth video playback without stressing the CPU too much). Other spec details:

• 8.4" 800x600 SVGA TFT LCD
• 256MB SDRAM, 16MB Intel StrataFlash ROM
• 3.6Ah battery
• WiFi (802.11b WEP, WPA-Personal), Bluetooth, and dual IR
• USB 1.1 Client/Host
• SD/MMC card
• 20-bit stereo audio codec, stereo speakers and headphone jack, built-in microphone and jack, stereo line out jack
• powered by Linux MontaVista CEE 3.1

Perhaps a bit overpowered if your primary plan is to use this $799.99 gadget as a dedicated e-book reader.

[via Mobilemag]

05:37 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Professor Jonathan, latest member of the great PalmAddicts team, has posted his impressions from PalmOne's "PUGapalooza 2005" presentation of the LifeDrive in NYC. He reveals some interesting details that weren't covered in any review I've read so far.

11:34 AM by Zire in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

The first is from none other than Astraware:

Super Wild Wild Words

This game is really nice. As is true for all Astraware games it is easy to learn and has a built in help system that is very good. This game is a combination of book worm and hangman this adds to the playabilty cause you are thinking of words to make and the solution to the puzzle as well. Take it from me this game is good.

From the site:

Ready to rustle up some words?

Super Wild Wild Words is a Western-themed combination of word search and hangman, based on the popular PC and online game from GameHouse.

Super Wild Wild Words has two modes of play: Normal mode where players race against the clock to make as many words as possible before the board fills up; and Bonus mode where extra letters fall onto the play board as you make more words.

Earn Sheriff's badges to guess letters from the hangman puzzle, or even use them to guess the entire puzzle. Additional power pieces include Free Guess Keys and First Aid blocks, which give you back a body piece if you've made a wrong guess.
Super Wild Wild Words features:

* Two game modes
* Build words up to 12 letters long (registered users only, demo is restricted to words of up to 6 letters long)
* Bonus powerups to improve your score
* Complete levels by guessing the hangman puzzle
* Built-in dictionary of over 200,000 words!

The second is from Infinite Dreams (http://mobile.idreams.pl/skyforce.html):

Sky Force

This is one of those games that blow you away. It just looks so cool and plays even better. The demo is very limited (2 minute gameplay) but you can get the sense of what this game is like and you will want to buy it immediately. What got me are the 3D objects during the game (the lighthouse). It is 10 bucks so how can you go wrong for a game of this quality?

From the site:

1. GAMEPLAY
Addictive gameplay perfectly suited for mobile segment. Based on proven classic "shoot'em up" idea.
- 7 large levels,
- 4 big bosses,
- plenty of enemies,
- interactive environment elements,
- upgradable unique weapons,
- dynamic weather (rain, clouds, wind),
- ranking system.

2. HIGH QUALITY HYBRID 2D/3D GRAPHICS ENGINE
Amazing graphics and visual effects including:
- textured 3d elements,
- plenty of blended sprites,
- destructable 3d objects,
- huge transparent explosions,
- shadows,
- advanced particle system (fire, water, smoke, sparks).

3. MULTICHANNEL AUDIO SYSTEM
Multichannel audio system with high quality original soundtrack and plenty of ingame sound effects.

4. DIFFICULTY LEVELS
Three levels of difficulty for hardcore-gamers and rookies!

5. HIGHSCORES
Possibility of entering and saving highscores
(separate for each difficulty level).

11:00 AM by Bob Russell in Miscellaneous | Lounge

Well, it's only a few more days till Sunday morning, when I fly to San Jose for the PalmSource Developer's Conference. I can't remember the last time I was so excited about attending any conference or event. And as you may have seen noted on various Palm-related web sites, there will be an opportunity for conference attendees to purchase Palm devices at a discount of up to 40%. While quantities are limited, it's likely to be an opportunity for me to get a Palm device once more. I bet they have a few LifeDrives in stock also!

So with this decision point fast arriving, it puts me in quite a quandry. What to do? I'd like to upgrade my under-$200 Toshiba e405 PPC, primarily to get a better screen. But I'm reasonably happy with the device. It's well-designed, solidly built, small, zippy, has long battery life, holds plenty with external SD cards, etc. I'd like HiRes+ or VGA, but I can wait if I need to. And, additionally, if I stick with my Toshiba, I already have all the accessories and software also.

But if I do upgrade to a "luxurious" screen resolution, what are my basic options?

As far as VGA PPCs, I'm not convinced that VGA is well-enough integrated into PPC software to make my happy. Plus WinMobile5 didn't impress me as much as I expected it to. I don't know that I like the soft key concept and the focus on integrating it with the smartphone OS. Next generation models may take a while to come onto the market anyway.

With regard to the LifeDrive, it's a little heavy, and there are reports of limited battery life, and sluggishness or hesistation due to hard drive spinup. Those issues are a concern, both for general usage and for media playback. But, hey, it still looks really nice, and the "just right" PDA model doesn't exist anywhere yet. I'm frequently drooling over all the LifeDrive pictures and spec sheets, because it's got a lot to offer. Even the smaller touches are nice, like the mic. And how about that hardware button for instant landscape/portrait switching? Not to mention that awesome optional metal case? Doesn't seem to add any bulk and makes it like a flip cover top. Very nice.

Which brings up the following quick aside... Why doesn't PalmOne use a flip cover in the first place, like my wonderful old Sony Clie SJ33 did?! Or at least supply us with one of those fitted plastic sleeves like what evolved in the calculator world, which can be slid onto the device as a cover, or slid onto the device upside down to leave the top open. It can easily be removed completely if not wanted.

And, finally, there's the T5. It's no slouch itself, despite rumors of instability, so it makes another nice alternative with a great screen. No integrated WiFi, but I don't absolutely have to have either 4gig or WiFi. It's a bit cheaper than the LifeDrive, probably has better battery life, and I suspect that most of the reported bugginess may be manageable with the right choice of software kept to the most up-to-date versions.

What to do? What to do?... Your suggestions and thoughts, please!