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| Thu May 10, 2007 - 1:58 AM EDT - By Jennifer Chappell | |
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Palm has launched a new Treo owner resource site called MyPalm which is in beta. The website is more than just a site; it's a service for Treo owners and is full of information.
All you need to do is sign up on the MyPalm website and become a MyPalm Member and that is free. I signed up today and it was easy. Once you sign up, they'll send you a confirmation email and you're in.
After you've completed your registration you'll have access to these members-only benefits:
Just for signing up, you get a FREE game of Astraware's Sudoku for your Treo. You'll find the information you need in order to download the game on the home page of MyPalm. You can download the game wirelessly. Palm will send you a text message on your Treo and you click on the download link in the text message. When you get to the download site, you click "Get It" and you go through the download process. The software upload is sent wirelessly to your Treo and a MyPalm Software icon is created. You click on that link to get the game on your Treo. I haven't played Sudoku since I sold my LifeDrive a few years ago so it'll be fun to play this game again, especially on my Treo 680.
When you've registered, you have your own personal MyPalm page with all the information on alerts, support, how to, software, services, and accessories. This home page has all the info you need with many places to visit. You can look at your member account and change your info, buy software and accessories. You can get 24/7 free support and get "how to" tutorials. It's a very nice program from what I've seen so far.
You can click on "account" and there you can manage your account. You can edit your user name, which when you sign up is your email address. You can also edit your password, personal information, and your primary device information. There is also an alerts section which lets you choose which of the following alerts you'd like to receive:
You can check the box to the right of the alerts to choose whether you want to receive the alerts via the web or email.
There is also an e-newsletters section where you can subscribe to the following e-newsletters:
As mentioned earlier, there is an Alerts link at the top of your home page. When you click on this, it will take you to a page that contains the latest alerts for your Treo. I clicked on it and the two alerts were about the free Sudoku game and about the Palm camera update for the Treo 680.
Palm has included a Support link also. When you click on the Support link it takes you to a Palm support page for the Palm device under which you registered. So my support page is all regarding my Treo; Treo 680 Unlocked GSM. This is nice Palm. It's got the getting started with your device, troubleshooting, downloads, and assistance covered. Yes, it's the Palm Support page that you see whenever you go to Palm's website and click on support. But being a MyPalm member, you can just go straight to the particular support page for your Palm device from your MyPalm home page. I like shortcuts. Plus, there is a Live Chat available on this member's support page. Again, very nice Palm! The Live Chat has available times listed which are M-F 6am to 8pm PST and S-S 8am to 5pm PST. "Help with HotSync" is directly below the words Live Chat and I assume that is just one example of what Palm is offering help with. There is a highlighted link to "More" so I'm sure that the Live Chat is for assisting with other problems as well. I like how Palm is stepping up and being more helpful to customers lately.
Now back to the home page again. There is a small section in the upper right of the page about Support. Palm offers FREE 24/7 members-only assistance. There is a phone number there to call if you need help. Free? Wow! What's that sound I'm hearing? I believe I can hear some echoes of something that sounds like "it's about time".
Another link is the "How To" and this takes you to a page in animated slide show style where you can click on tabs at the top for instructions on each topic. There is MyPalm, Email, Phone, Web, and Photos. This slide show section has nice graphics and makes me think of the Palm device Tours on Palm's site for all the Palm handheld devices.
If you click on the Email tab at the top, there are a few "how to's" over on the right hand side. I clicked on "Sync VersaMail messages automatically" and a new animated clip began. There is a picture of a Treo 680 and the Email icon is highlighted with a gold circle. I clicked on the Email icon and this took me to Step 2 where I was instructed to click on the Menu icon which was also highlighted. You just follow the steps 1 through 11 and you are instructed exactly how to sync VersaMail messages automatically. I like the step by step instruction guide. Goodness knows that my peabrain needs precise instructions. My mind tends to race continuously and I lose concentration very easily. With animated guides such as these where you can go back and reclick on an icon, even my scattered peabrain can understand how to perform the tasks.
So now let's head on over to the Software tab on the home page. This of course takes you to a page with software. There are three tabs to choose from which are bestsellers, recommended, and offers. The software is listed on the left of the page and you can click on each one or the "learn more" tab. The categories are listed over to the right of each software title and the regular and sale price is listed over to the far right column. There is also a box on the top right where you can choose a category to narrow down your choices. I noticed that Bejeweled 2 is at the top of the Bestselling software. The fourth software title listed on the Bestseller section is Sudoku and of course it's listed as Free.
When you go back to the home page and click on the "Services" tab, you're taken to a page titled "Services & Content". This page doesn't really have much yet. There are the same three tabs as on the software page; bestsellers, recommended, and offers. The only bestseller listed is the new Palm Backup Beta and that is also the recommended software. As of now, there aren't any offers listed for the Treo 680, but it says to check back soon.
And back to the home page we go. "Accessories" is the last tab to choose. I clicked on it and was taken to a page very similar to the Software page. There are many accessories to choose from and they're also categorized in the bestseller, recommended, and offers. The bestselling accessory at the moment for my Treo is the Palm GPS Navigator Smartphone Edition 2 featuring TomTom Navigator 6.
So if this MyPalm Beta sounds good to you, go and check it out. I like what I've seen so far. I really like the Support that Palm is offering Treo owners through this program. 24/7 assistance is pretty nice. The Live Chat looks like it would be very helpful as well even though it's only available at certain times. I hope I never need the support but it's great knowing that it's available. I like being able to download wirelessly on my Treo also. And of course I like the very useful tutorials on the "How To" page. I'm sure I'll be looking at that part of MyPalm pretty often. ;-)
Remember that this program is still in Beta and I'm sure that Palm will be improving the site soon and addding more and more features and options.
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