07:42 AM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Almost no one these days thinks of using a computer on the internet without some kind of virus protection, and hopefully some sort of a firewall. But the same can't be said of portable computing devices and smart phones. So far, such attacks have been relatively rare and the devices themselves have only become widely adopted fairly recently.

But not only are the devices more common, but the data stored on them more important, and the devices are increasingly connected. WiFi, bluetooth and mobile phone internet capabilities are putting devices within the reach of malicious code more than ever.

IBM is reporting for 2005 that

Based on early indicators, a new and troubling trend this year may be the aggressive spread of viruses and worms to handheld devices, cell phones, wireless networks, and embedded computers, which include car and satellite communication systems.

There are some anti-virus programs available already, but not much is known about them by the typical user. They do not generally get rave reviews, nor are they reviewed much at all. In fact, they have been considered overkill.

So, 2005 is the year of the rooster, the year of handheld computing, the year of mp3 phones, and now it's also the year of portable device viruses!

(via PocketPCThoughts)

02:44 PM by ignatz in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

There have been rumors since late last year that the T3 was being discontinued. The evidence appears to be piling up. The Palm Store does not list the T3 any more. There are rumors on PalmInfocenter here. Here's another user confirmation from PalmAddicts.

It would seem that when current stocks are exhausted, there will be no more new units available for purchase. Sad to think that they would kill what is still a very popular unit. Hopefully this indicates that there are more Palms to come, but I'm not holding my breath.

01:05 PM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

PocketTVTeam announced that PocketTV 1.0.3 finally supports the Intel 2700G video hardware accelerator of the Dell Axim X50v.

While I am happy to see that there is competition, I am not convinced that PocketTV 1.03 would offer me any advantages to using Betaplayer, the free alternative. First benchmark tests show that Betaplayer is still in the lead!

12:57 PM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

RIM has finally released its first Wi-Fi Blackberry, the Blackberry 7270. It offers Wi-Fi built as well as a VoIP client (using Nortel and 3Com technologies); alas, it doesn't have cell phone capabilities.

Both Nortel and 3Com will put a SIP client on the device, and sell it to business users, alongside voice-only Wi-Fi handsets from Spectralink. "First generation Wi-Fi phones haven't been terribly good, because of their battery life," said Mike Valiant, market development director for enterprise voice at 3Com. "This is the first in a portfolio of other Wi-Fi devices: it's good enough to put alongside the Spectralink devices." The two companies are selling the 7270 as a device that offers instant messaging, e-mail and telephony in one handy unit, but offering it to people lower down the executive chain, who aren't so mobile, and can't run up the high mobile bill of a typical BlackBerry user.

[via TechWorld]

10:18 AM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

A today's press release announces that Nokia and RealNetworks are expanding their long-term relationship to enable Nokia to ship RealAudio, RealVideo and the Helix DNA powered RealPlayer on a wide variety of Nokia mobile devices.

The agreement will help both companies to achieve their mutual goal of enabling robust media functionality on mass-market mobile devices. In addition, the two companies today announced that Nokia has joined the Helix community.

Read the full press release here.

Btw, RealPlayer for Mobile Devices also supports Palm OS and Windows Mobile devices.

09:22 AM by Colin Dunstan in E-Book General | News

Israel Steinmetz from BellaOnline (don't look at me like this - I normally don't read women mags) wrote a nice article explaining why to read e-books on your PDA. Excerpt:

The key to the advantages of reading eBooks on a PDA is convenience. Reading eBooks on a PDA provides opportunities for reading that mesh with one's life. One can carry one's grocery list on the PDA, use it for shopping, then read a book while in the checkout line. (Reading the TV Guide or beauty magazine in line is no longer necessary.) Or, one can turn out the lights, get into bed, and read a book on a PDA (with the backlight on) until falling asleep. (No more falling asleep with the room lights on.) eBooks on PDA's are books that fit into our lives.

04:54 PM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

BargainPDA has a new article out with some good information if you are wondering about upgrading your trusty PDA.

With a desktop computer, you can do all kinds of upgrades without replacing your computer. All kinds of memory, disk, replacement cards and specialty devices are available for even the novice to do a home upgrade. Not to mention the availability of USB devices that can be added.

But for PDAs, the story is a bit different. While some upgrade of functionality can be done with add-ons like keyboards, screen protectors, GPS modules or memory cards, the only real method of upgrading is to buy another PDA.

And be sure to keep an eye on some of the great sites out there to see what's going on in the industry. My personal favorite is Sammy McLoughlin's Palm Addicts, which is focused on Palm PDAs, and has frequent updates. It is a very fun read. A few other nice sources are www.palminfocenter.com, www.brighthand.com, www.pocketpcthoughts.com. Many more are out there also, but this will get you started if you are "on the hunt!"

My own eye is on that Dell x50v and the Palm T5, but I might wait for the next generation of devices because I'm still very happy with my tiny pocketable Toshiba e405.

06:32 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | iSilo/X

Darren, the main guy behind the fantastic e-book reader iSilo, released the first V4.25 beta of iSilo and iSiloX today.

Highlights of iSilo V4.25:

• Added color themes feature:
  - Ability to create color themes with selectable text and background colors.
  - Added ability to use an individual color theme for each document to force the text and background colors to those of the color theme.
  - Added Options/Color configuration page/panel and dialogs for managing color themes.
• Addressing of miscellaneous issues.

Highlights of iSiloX V4.25:

• Added ability to specify a maximum link depth for off-site URLs.
• In iSiloX for Windows, added ability to specify the character set when creating Font Silo fonts.
• Addressing of miscellaneous issues