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| Fri Mar 2, 2007 - 9:48 AM EST - By Annie Latham | |
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It�s hard to believe that we�ve crossed over into March. For Palm, it was a relatively quiet week (thus "in like a lamb"). For the rest of the world of Treo, the news has been kind of eclectic, with a spike in Windows Mobile-related stories. Also, thoughts of Spring Break must be on the minds of a few folks, as several travel-related stories hit.
As for me, I�m dreaming of Spring Training (Cactus and Grapefruit League ball games started this week). But I digress. Let�s Talk Treo!
Looks like healthcare is proving to be a healthy niche for Palm.
On Monday, Palm and Tolven, a developer of healthcare information solutions, announced the availability of open source electronic Personal Health Record (ePHR) solutions on Palm Treo smartphones. The Tolven ePHR, an intuitive web-based application, lets users create, view, store and share extensive healthcare information, including medical history, medication lists, doctor's orders, laboratory results and immunization records -- or simply monitor and capture blood glucose levels in the privacy of their homes. Using a Treo, patients, their families and clinicians can securely connect to health records via the Internet virtually anywhere.
Plus, Handango just reported statistics from 2006, and medical applications netted the highest average selling price at $49.26. "Medical professionals are increasingly relying on mobile software to enhance productivity, giving content providers an opportunity to create more robust software in this category."
This week, Palm�s CFO, Andrew Brown, spoke at the Merrill Lynch Communications Forum. There were no written reports as a result of his comments (unlike last week when talks about accepting lower margins to gain market share stirred things up). But then again, Tuesday was the day the market took a huge dive. The financial community was probably more interested in what Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke had to say.
Where Else in the World was Palm?Surprisingly, there were no global expansion announcements this week.
There were a few reviews of the Treo 750/750v:
Brighthand: "A Business Device That Can Play for Hours"
"If Office Mobile were better (the improvements within Windows Mobile 6's version of Office Mobile speak towards all issues), then the Treo 750 would be a better device to stand on its own. However, those deficiencies keep it more the PDA than smartphone star. That is not to take away from Palm though. The Treo 750 is a remarkable device and finally brings to U.S. GSM customers the Palm and Windows Mobile experience that Verizon and Sprint users have had for the past year. The slimmer profile and Exchange integration can make this easily a replacement for many BlackBerry outfits, and it is still stylish enough to not be a complete party pooper if you pull it out with your friends to shoot off a text message. It's a business device that can play after hours."
MobilitySite: "One of the Best Phones in the Past Two Years"
MobilitySite�s Chris Leckness gave the Cingular Palm Treo 750 a rating of 91 out of 100:
"The Cingular Palm Treo 750 is one of the best phones in the past 2 years. Palm took a great form factor, added Windows Mobile and their touch to create a device that has the versatility of a Pocket PC Phone and the ease of use of a Smartphone. Despite a couple quirks, the Treo 750 is real strong performer and could be a serious asset to business users and casual users alike. Knowing how Palm does business, I expect software updates to fix most of the quirks pretty quick. The form factor, the added software menus for the Today Screen, and the added OK and Start buttons make the Palm Treo 750 amazingly easy to use one handed. If you are walking down the street, riding the bus, or sitting at your desk, your data is easily accessible. While I am 100% sure that there are phones coming down the road that will upend the Palm Treo 750, right now there is no phone that fits my lifestyle any better."
Note: This review has some great comparison pictures and a video.
The UK�s Guardian Unlimited covered the 750v in its technology blog.
Review: Plantronics Pulsar 590a Bluetooth Stereo Headphones - By Harv Laser
When it comes to audio, Harv Laser is TreoCentral�s resident expert. In this review, he checks out the Pulsar 590a Bluetooth Stereo headphones by Plantronics. Plus, he provides some great context�by talking about headphones from the past and comparing them to what�s available today.
Regarding the Pulsar 590a, he writes:
"The Plantronics Pulsar 590a Stereo Bluetooth Headset is a product that attempts the challenge of a �do everything� invention. They deliver respectable audio, but the ergonomics of the button arrangement leaves room for improvement. There's a learning curve here � reading the manual is mandatory until you get the hang of all the controls, where they are, and what they do.It's also interesting to note that the Pulsars retail for about $250.00 but you can pick them up for half that price from TreoCentral's store or just about anywhere else. Would I pay $250.00 for these headphones? Unlikely, but at half that price they're certainly a choice to consider if you're shopping for a pair of headphones that can do everything these can do and include just about every accessory you could possibly want."
Review: Smartphone Experts FormCase for Treo 750 - By Tim Hillebrand
Tim provides his thoughts on the stylish (and affordable), form fitting case by Smartphone Experts .
"If you are looking for a handsome case to make a fashion statement, this is the case for you at a reasonable price ($29.95) considering the fine leather and quality artisanship."
Another way to carry your Treo is with a holster. Jay looks at the Smartphone Experts SafeGuard holster. It offers a functional solution that will surely help you keep your Treo "answerable on the second ring or even sooner." He writes:
"Nothing beats a holster for keeping your Treo ready to grab, and Smartphone Experts� SafeGuard fills that bill nicely. Its flexible rubber lining reduces the likelihood of scratches, the well designed latch isn�t likely to pop out the SD card unawares, and the screen stays well out of harm�s way."
Review: SPE UltraSlim Executive Treo Leather Pouch
Andrew at Treonauts provides his thoughts on the Smartphone Experts (SPE) UltraSlim Executive case:
"�the SPE UltraSlim is extremely well built with an ultra slim leather profile, an ultra thin and ultra light body as well as superb leather and stitching details � essentially it�s a very high quality leather case at a terrific price ($29.95) in this category�"
PDA Street�s Joe Moran wrote a review of StyleTap Inc.'s StyleTap Platform, a Palm OS emulation utility "that promises to let you run most Palm software on most Windows Mobile devices."
He notes:
"Not withstanding the two applications we weren't able to install, we didn't experience any adverse issues with the programs we could get to run. Sound functions seemed to work properly, and you can even cut and paste between your StyleTap Platform and native Windows programs."
For another opinion, StyleTap was reviewed by TreoCentral�s Douglas Morse in November.
Review: Slingbox and Slingbox Mobile
This review of Sling Media�s Slingbox also includes video showing the SlingPlayer software in action.
"So what do I think? Well, as you may have already guessed (the intro was a bit of a give-away!), I love it. Sure, I have a couple of little issues - like the fact that you can only download the SlingPlayer Mobile software from the US site (choosing "UK" shows no mention of it), however overall it's one kick-ass product. It's easy to setup, easy to use, easy to understand and works extremely well. The SlingPlayer software is faultless, the Slingbox itself works fantastically well and the functionality and freedom it gives you is wonderful."
This week, MobiTV announced they have more than 2 million paying customers, more than doubling its fan-base in less than one year.
And in this week�s Mossberg Solution, Katherine Boehret writes:
"MobiTV's services will never replace your home-entertainment center experience. But the ability to watch TV on your phone is a great way to stay plugged into news and entertainment. Just be sure that you're using a fast network and a generously sized screen."
JupiterResearch�s Julie Ask remarks in her blog:
"There are lots of mobile video offerings out there, but according to our research, �live� tops the list and they were first to market. I'm not sure which is more impressive - the technology (which is pretty amazing) or that they have two million subs. paying about $10 per month�"
SmartDeviceCentral�s Jamie Lendino wrote up his thoughts on the Opera Mini web browser. It�s strength he says "is in reformatting regular-sized pages so that you can view them on a cell phone's smaller screen." He continues:
"Opera Mini's other usual benefits are intact, such as the ability to quickly scroll up and down Web pages using your phone's navigation pad. This simple adjustment makes it faster to read pages with Opera Mini than with say Internet Explorer for Windows Mobile. The scrolling is smart enough to go line-by-line on a home page when selecting stories to read, but then will kick into the faster mode when actually reading text. Adding and managing bookmarks is also a snap with the on-screen menu. During testing, the browser reliably delivered pages and never crashed, something that's not always a given with mobile apps."
He didn�t use a Treo to do his testing. TreoCentral�s Douglas Morse looked at a version of it last year.
Here are a couple of stories that just missed last week�s deadline for this column.
News: Handango Releases Special Editions of Yardstick Stats
Handango, the world's leading provider of smartphone content, released special 2006 year end editions of the Handango Yardstick, a global report on the state of the smartphone content industry. Highlights include:
News: Office 2007 Support Comes to Palm's Devices
According to Ed Hardy at Brighthand, Microsoft has recently introduced a new version of its Outlook desktop application. Because this includes significant changes from the previous version, Palm, Inc. has been required to release a software update to allow all its Palm OS-based smartphones and handhelds to synchronize with it. He provides links where you can find this update.
News: Ringo Mobile Now Mobile2Market Certified
This week, Electric Pocket announced Ringo Mobile application for Windows Mobile Pocket PC Phone and Smartphone devices has earned Mobile2Market certification by Microsoft. Mobile2Market is Microsoft's comprehensive testing program aimed to provide assurance to users of Windows Mobile devices that certified applications have met rigorous testing standards.
Now for three travel-related items:News: Conde Nast Traveler Announces Concierge Mobile
Concierge.com, the leading online resource for luxury travel, is making it easier for the discriminating traveler to connect with its trusted recommendations and advice with the launch of Concierge Mobile. A version of the web site optimized for use on mobile phones, Concierge Mobile includes the most popular features of Concierge.com: insider guides to nearly 200 destinations; Cond� Nast Traveler�s Gold List of the top hotels and resorts in the world; weather forecasts, and travel images that can be downloaded as wallpaper for your phone. You can have this travel resource at your fingertips simply by typing www.concierge.com into your wireless device.
News: Severe Weather Tracking � Coming Soon to Your Palm
SWIFT Weather (www.swiftweather.com) announced the company is releasing the new SWIFT Mobile on March 31, 2007. It is "the most comprehensive weather tracking software specifically designed for use with handheld and mobile devices such as PDAs, PocketPCs, and SmartPhones in the U.S." According to the press release:
"SWIFT Mobile will provide users of handheld devices the unique opportunity to know more than the local weatherman - and know it first," said Rory Groves, CEO of SWIFT Weather. "With the ability to combine multiple layers of weather data - including radar, cloud imagery, and severe weather warnings for blizzards, hurricanes, hail, wind, or tornadoes - the average person will no longer be at the mercy of local weather service reports on radio and TV - which is invaluable."News: Shout Postcard Available for the Treo
The Me Inc. mobile division of The SCO Group, Inc., a leading provider of mobile services, announced the availability of the free trial version of Shout Postcard, a new mobile service that lets users quickly and easily share life's experiences on-the-go through photos, text and voice. Designed initially for Palm Treo smartphones, Shout Postcard features a colorful, easy-to-use interface that helps users quickly combine a photo, a recorded audio message up to a minute long, and text to create a personalized, multimedia postcard that can then be sent to family, friends, co-workers and social networks. Shout Postcard includes many unique features that integrate with Palm Treo phones based on the Palm OS platform. Check it out at www.shoutpostcard.com.
Tips: Watching Movies on Your Treo
Duke Carico of Everything Treo has documented how to transform movies for viewing on your Treo.
Tips: Desktop Software on Your Treo
MyTreo.net�s Jack Draisey has posted a piece about "using the Treo to work off of any modern Windows desktop or laptop computer in an amazingly portable way." Apparently all you need is a "card reading application" and a "flash drive launcher."
Someone has done it. Here's a video that shows the Windows Mobile iPhone skin in action.
That�s a wrap!
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