05:23 AM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Great news for all PocketPC owners. Pocket IE on Windows Mobile 2003 does support CSS (Cascade Style Sheets)! Jay McLain gives a fairly decent list of CSS attributes that are supported by Windows Mobile 2003.

That is great news for people authoring mobile web pages; unfortunately, I don't know of any decend PalmOS-based online browsers that would support CSS as well.

05:06 AM by Colin Dunstan in Miscellaneous | Lounge

Have you visited the website ThinkGeek.com? ThinkGeek is a unique online store catering to geeks with items such as shirts, stickers, mugs, caffeine and a few other things. If you are a geek or if you know and love one, then you can stop there for great gift ideas!

I think I am going to order one of those There's no place like 127.0.0.1 T-shirts now

04:39 AM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Portable Audio/Video

PC maker Packard Bell will be launching its new iPod mini clone next month to compete with the iPod mini. The new hard drive based player named the Pocket M@estro will come with 5GB of storage and will play MP3 and WMA files and includes an incorporated FM radio. The player will allow radio shows to be recorded and also record voice memos for later playback, the device connects to PC's via a USB 2.0 interface.

Interestingly, the device comes with an OLED screen. I have never seen one of those in real life, and I am curious how they compare to standard LCD screen.

02:47 PM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Portable Audio/Video

The Gadgeteer brings a wonderful (as always) hands-on-review on the latest 4th generation iPod. Julie's conclusion:

People in the market for an iPod should not hesitate to buy this model, but do I recommend that 3rd generation owners rush out and upgrade? No, not unless your current device has some type of defect or you just have to have the latest model. The 2hrs additional battery life and new clicker design are nice, but for me these features aren't that compelling. As far as power, most of the time I'm near an outlet and can grab some juice when needed. I didn't have any real complaints with the old wheel design. My advice to 3rd gen owners is to just wait for the 5th gen devices. Maybe they'll have some of the cool new features that were rumored for the 4th gen.

Did she just say 5th generation iPod? Oh dear, it seems like I am always running behind time (still owing one of those of the first generation).

11:02 AM by Colin Dunstan in Miscellaneous | Lounge

BusinessWeek covers an article on the healthcare leading software for Palm OS PDAs. The writer argues that handhelds are becoming vital partners for managing your health:

"Today's Palms, Pocket PCs -- and even some cell phones -- are packed with enough memory to store your entire family's medical history. Advanced features such as Bluetooth wireless messaging and the ability to transport data into PC-based spreadsheets and other applications make it that much easier to maintain your health. Whether you're grappling with a serious medical problem, expecting a baby, or simply counting carbs, you're likely to find a program to help."

Interesting for all those who believed that PDAs are only good for managing appointments and contacts!

04:44 AM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Infosyncworld has an review of the palmOne's own Wi-Fi SDIO card for the Tungsten T3 and Zire 72. The reviewer concludes that the card is easy to setup, provides 802.11b connectivity within a good range, and offers solid security through 64-bit and 128-bit WEP encryption.

Edit: Palm Infocenter brings another review, which comes to a similar conclusion like Infosyncworld. It adds that the card is quite power thirsty.

After a *long* delay, the palmOne Wi-Fi card will finally be available starting on 3 September for $129 USD.

12:46 PM by Colin Dunstan in E-Book General | Deals and Resources (No...

The team that created Palm Digital Media and the PalmReader software has come together again to launch Paperback Digital, Inc.

Paperback Digital will publish "attractively priced" MP3-CD audiobook editions of best-selling and classic titles from the science-fiction, fantasy and horror genres. Most other audiobook suppliers still use traditional audio technology which limits an audio CD to only 74 minutes. With MP3, you can put up to 15 hours of recorded voice on a single CD. Prices will vary between $14.95 and $25.00.

Paperback Digital will open its online bookstore on September 7th, and some of the first available audiobook titles will include:

• The Galileo Affair by Eric Flint and Andrew Dennis
• Spirits In The Wires by Charles de Lint
• Cally's War by John Ringo and Julie Cochrane
• Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
• Reflex by Steven Gould
• Survival, Species Imperative 1 by Julie E. Czerneda

04:43 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

T-Mobile said last night it would offer free wireless Internet connections through Monday at the roughly 300 Wi-Fi hot spots it operates in Florida (e.g. at Starbucks, Kinko’s, Borders, and airports) in the wake of Hurricane Charley.

A spokesman for T-Mobile said it was offering the service to help people displaced from their homes by Hurricane Charley, which lashed much of Central Florida last night with heavy rain and hurricane force winds last night.

It is great to see how new technologies such as Wi-Fi can make a big difference nowadays (meaning Wi-Fi is good for everybody, not just us 'geeks' ).