The places youÂ’ll go (Â… and the things youÂ’ll do) with your Treo.
This was a really fun week in the world of Treo. And if I had choose a common theme to the bulk of the stories I’ve read, I’d say they seemed to deal with how to do more with your Treo—at home and on the road.
So letÂ’s go and talk Treo!
Palm News
As usual, our first stop is Palm News.
Now Arriving: AsiaÂ’s First Windows Mobile Treo
On Thursday, Palm, Microsoft and MobileOne announced
the first Asian availability of the new Palm Treo 750v smartphone, bringing for the first time to Asia the hallmark Palm experience on Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 over a wireless 3G/UMTS network.
The new Treo 750v will be available next month through M1, Vodafone's network partner in Singapore.
Global expansion is a key part of Palm's growth strategy, so I am pleased to announce our Vodafone relationship now extends into Asia Pacific," said John Hartnett, Palm senior vice president, global markets. "With Vodafone in Europe and now M1 in Singapore providing the Treo 750v smartphone, we can deliver a robust, business-ready device featuring the Palm experience, accelerating our momentum in the enterprise market.
And speaking of PalmÂ’s growth strategy, there was some additional commentary on last weekÂ’s earning report.
Charlie Wolf, an analyst with Needham & Co. LLC points to four positive developments for Palm:
1) The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company plans a marketing blitz later this year for the Treo 750v, which runs Microsoft's Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system.
2) The company's upcoming entry-level Treo could prove a worthy competitor given the innovative design that Palm has delivered in the past.
3) He believes Palm's Treo 700w will gain traction in the corporate market when trials end shortly.
4) He likes the fact that Palm is putting its R&D money into software development, which he says could produce some interesting new features for customers.
Needless to say, Wolf has a “buy” rating on the stock and a 12-month price target of $26 (it closed on Thursday at $14.42).
Palm Chooses Podcasting Partner
This week it was announced that VoiceIndigo was selected to be the podcasting partner for the Palm Treo Mobile Portal. This alliance will enable mobile users of Palm Treo 700p and Treo 700w smartphones (not sure why they left out 650) to discover, listen, and share podcasts.
VoiceIndigo joins Yahoo!, Google, ESPN, Weather.com and other leading Internet properties on Palm's mobile portal to give mobile users easy-to-use access to news, email, weather, sports, and now podcasting. With VoiceIndigo, Treo smartphone owners can now have quick access to podcasts including NPR, BBC, the Onion, InfoWorld and others.
REMINDER: PalmÂ’s Special Promo Offers don't last forever!
Check out PalmÂ’s special deals. Some of their promo offers end in October and that page is worth bookmarking, since the promos constantly change.
Speaking of new Treos, Benjamin Higgenbotham, at Technology Evangelist, recently expressed his thoughts on the Treo 700p versus the Treo 700wx.
700wx: Slow but powerful. This is a PDA first and communications device second. If you want to be able to access your SlingBox, LogMeIn remote computers or Skype from your PDA then them 700wx is the clear winner. However, if you need a phone, e-mail and SMS device primarily then this is not the unit for you.
Treo 700p: Great at communicating, lousy at business tasks. The Treo 700p is a phone first and PDA as a distant second.
But which one does Higgenbotham ultimately prefer? I wonÂ’t spill the beans. See for yourself .
Recent TreoCentral Guides, Reviews & More
VoiceIndigo Simplifies Podcasts on your Treo - By Dieter Bohn
Dieter remarks, “There's now a very easy way to access podcasts directly on the Treo (not just the 700 series either). If VoiceIndigo is true to their word, it's going to get even easier in the near future.”
mVoice - By Xious Sonenberg
Xious takes a look at a small and easy to use program from MotionApps, the same guys who make mOcean and a bunch of other Treo-friendly utilities. He states:
Not only does mVoice do exactly what it says it will, but it delivers multiple functions on one application: record voice calls, voice memos, and mount SD cards on your PC or Mac desktop or laptop machine. It is mostly cross-platform, having only minor issues on Windows Mobile and it looks nice too, though the buttons could be a tad larger to make them more fingerable. It's really a kick-ass product, but they need to step up the quality of their customer support a little.
Game Review: PenguinPanic – By Mike Overbo
This one looks like fun. It's like TetrisÂ… but not. Mike writes:
PenguinPanic is a good game -- it's just not great. The story mode is fun but short, and it seems like it was added on so penguins would be involved somehow. As a puzzle game, its competition is games like Lumines (PSP), Snood (Pocket PC), Bejeweled (Palm OS), and PenguinPanic's progenitor Tetris, and it falls short of all of them. On the other hand, if you are or were a Tetris fiend, this game could very well suck you in and not let you go, just like the original. Once you're the savior of all penguins, you'll know what I'm talking about.
Pocket PC: SBSH Software Showcase - By Tim Hillebrand
Tim takes a look at SBSH and some of the Pocket PC applications they offer that work well on a Treo 700w|wx: PocketBreeze, ContactBreeze, iLauncher, and PocketWeather. He notes, “SBSH certainly provides the 700w|wx owner with a powerful suite of programs to increase productivity while saving time.”
News & Reviews from Elsewhere in the Treo Community
REVIEW: Mobi World USB Charger Plug Adapter
If one of the places youÂ’ll go is outside the United States, then this will really come in handy. Andrew writes:
The Mobi Products World USB Charger Plug Adapter ($24.95)
has definitely made it into my Treo essentials kit and my only wish is that it could be available in black or grey for aesthetic purposesÂ…
MyTreo.net talks about travel adapters too. John comments:
In the car and at home, the JAVOMeta charger was what I needed, allowing me to combine 3 accessories (sync/charge cable, a cigarette lighter charger, and AC wall charger) into 2 accessories (JAVOMeta and a sync/charge cable) that would fit into my small accessory bag..
The JAVOMeta charger definitely reduces the clutter of having multiple charging devices. However, the convenience comes with the inconvenience of slower charging times compared to alternatives.
And even more for those on the goÂ…The Parrot 3200 Satisfies California Wireless Law
Matthew Miller, The Mobile Gadgeteer (and PDA Geek) points to the Parrot 3200 Bluetooth car kit as a great hands-free solution that is hard wired into your vehicleÂ’s speaker system. In his review, which is crammed with photos, he remarks:
One of the biggest benefits I have experienced is that now the audio for calls plays right in my truck's stereo speakers, and I actually can't keep the volume all the way up or calls blow me away. If I am listening to the radio when a call comes in the stereo is muted and the call comes through the speakers. My phones all connect quickly when the truck is turned on, and I have found the Parrot 3200 LS COLOR to be extremely reliable and dependable.
This review does a great job of stepping you through the entire installation process. If I didnÂ’t have a Jeep Wrangler, IÂ’d be sold!
Is it true? Skype on Treo?
iSkoot, a mobile Internet communications company, has announced a new version of its mobile phone application which extends support to Palm OS powered Treo smartphones. iSkootMobile is a free, software app that connects mobile phones to PC-to-PC networks. iSkoot now lets Treo owners place and receive Internet calls through the Skype service from their mobile handsets, without the need for PCs, special hardware, or Wi-Fi hot spots.
This is good news for owners of Treo 650 and Treo 700p smartphones. They ARE supported.
As for SlingBoxÂ…
The Palm OS folks will have to wait. According to this story, Symbian operating system made the cut:
While PalmOS users have been waiting and campaigning for a long time to get any support from Sling, the giant market of Symbian devices appears to have proven more alluring.
I hear a collective “GRRRRRRRR” (as in grinding of teeth) coming from Treo 650 and 700p owners.
So let's end this section on a happier note. The folks over at PC Magazine have started a website called Smart Device Central. The focus is obvious. They recently put together an overview of the top smart devices. Regarding the Palm Treo 700p, they said, "You can't go wrong with the top of the line Treo, which taps into Sprint's and Verizon's high speed networks and runs a huge library of existing Palm OS software.”
(YeahÂ… unless you are a sports fan who wants to use your SlingBox. Grrrrrr.. But I digressÂ…(
Endnotes & Ponderables
To close out this “Places You’ll Go” issue, I found this story fascinating. Apparently, Pierre Khawand, founder of People-OnTheGo, issued a press release in August announcing that he planned to use a new handheld device every 9 days, starting with the Treo 700, and moving through a variety of BlackBerry and Windows Mobile models. He would also post daily observations of his 81-day experiment on a blog, with the intent of helping readers select or upgrade the device that best fits their need.
That announcement took place in August and the publicist just got it to us at TreoCentral. So here are links to his thoughts about the 700p and the 700w
In case you were wondering, heÂ’s at Day 44 as of this writing..
But thereÂ’s moreÂ…
This week, we sign out with some music. Verizon Wireless has inked
an exclusive deal so you can now get Jimi Hendrix ring tones and ringback tones on your mobile phone. Verizon Wireless customers with TXT Messaging-capable phones just need to send the TXT Message “JIMI” to 7575, to get started.
Purple haze all in my brain
Lately things just don't seem the same
Actin' funny, but I don't know why
scuse me while I kiss the sky
Can you hear me now?
ThatÂ’s a wrap!
