The latest in mobile tech news, eh!
Dmitry Grinberg's excellent Palm software support website PalmPowerups has been offline for about a week. Most of Dmitry's software consists of popular (and reasonably priced) unique Palm utilities, while some of them he distributes as freeware! We're glad to announce that Dmitry has his site back up and running...
Welcome back Dmitry, we missed you.
PalmPowerups back up
SiteAfter a week-long downtime PalmPowerups.com is back up. Some things are still being worked on, so please bear with us.
PowerDiGi v2 has been released. It is a free update.
All user information [INCLUDING LOGIN NAMES AND PASSWORDS] has, unfortunately, been lost, and will have to be recreated. This means your login will not work, and you need to create it again!
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this might cause.
dmitrygr on July 14 2007 15:29
Seoul Semiconductors has announced that they have developed a new Flash LED that out performs the traditional flash light source - the xenon lamp. Not only are the new super bright Flash LEDs comparable in brightness to a traditional xenon lamp, but their ultra-miniature size (1/3 the width, 2/3 the length, and 1/5 the height) provides a considerable space savings, and they can run continuously for use in video cameras, something that a xenon lamp can’t do because it requires charging.
They already have at least one camera company interested “Flash LEDs will be applied to digital camera s flashes of a global digital camera manufacturer”. This means that Palm (and others of course) will finally be able to incorporate a usable flash into their PDAs and Smart Phones! I can’t wait! ~ Are you listening Palm?
Here's their press release:
Flash LEDs Reach High Resolution Level of Xenon Lamp for Digital Cameras
SEOUL, KOREA (5 July 2007) - Seoul Semiconductor (KOSDAQ: 046890), one of the ten largest LED manufacturers in the world, announced today that it has launched a super bright and ultra-mini flash LED that will replace xenon lamps which are generally used as a flash light source for digital cameras or 5 mega pixel camera phones. Seoul Semiconductor s Flash LEDs will be applied to digital camera s flashes of a global digital camera manufacturer.
Seoul Semiconductor s new flash LED, FCW211Z series, features super brightness, ultra-mini size, display of moving image, and long lifespan.
FCW211Z can operate at high current of 2 Amp, and emit up to 100 candelas, which indicates more than twice the brightness level of conventional LEDs for Flash. The Light Energy of the product at 26.49 lux-secs is comparable to that of high capacity xenon lamp, and it is expected to exceed the level of xenon in the near future.
The Flash LEDs small size supports the miniaturization of devices. It is suitable for ultra-small products such as mobile phones, digital cameras and video cameras.
Comparison of dimensions between FCW211Z Series and xenon lamp
- FCW211Z Series: width 3.5mm, length 3.0mm, height 0.75 mm
- Xenon lamp for mobile phone: width 10.1 mm, length 4.6mm, height 3.5 mm
FCW211Z series enables displaying of moving images and continuous shooting without a need of charge while conventional xenon lamps are not available for those functions. Furthermore, the series offers more than two times longer lifespan than conventional xenon lamp.
"The performance of conventional LEDs were not the best for flash due to its poor brightness despite its availability in moving image, ultra-mini size, and long lifespan. However, with our new FCW211Z series, we can now enjoy both the advantages of LEDs and superior image quality with brightness that is comparable to xenon lamp," says Byung Hack Lee, head of the chip and module business division at Seoul Semiconductor.
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Just recently, Astraware released Tradewinds 2 the sequel to their original sea-faring trading game. This time, instead of sailing the seas in the Far East, you now travel the waters in the Caribbean Sea with plenty of new ports and characters to encounter. Oh, and of course plenty of pirates – we can’t forget about them now, can we?
The first thing you’ll notice when starting the game is how similar the game looks to the original. The ports look kind of the same, as do the menus you use to interact with characters like the shipyard owners or bartenders. However, you’ll soon find that many small changes have been made to these parts of the game that make it better than the original, or sometimes worse. First off, the merchants really know how to make a hard deal in Tradewinds 2. You'll find that most ports have the same prices for items, so it's hard to make a good profit when you start out. However, as the game progresses players will find that there’s more to the merchants than before: they can help you with your journey, and as new ports open up so do new trading options.
“Journey?” you say? Yes, this time trading and fighting pirates isn’t the only thing in this game. Well, it sort of is, but this time there’s a new twist: you follow the story of the characters you choose or even create. Each character has their own unique destiny, as it were, that makes Tradewinds 2 more exciting and funnier than before. You begin as a humble trader or plundering pirate in one of the ports, and each port has its own mayor. These mayors are a large factor in the progression of the story, as they provide the player with quests which must be completed to move on. Every quest has a reward, and when the player has completed enough quests, sometimes maps are given to you that provide new ports or mayors of other ports may begin providing quests as well. Within time, all ports will be opened to the player for buying and selling wares, repairing and buying ships, or hiding in local bars because you inadvertently lost a crewmember (where did my first mate go anyways?) or need to find a new one.
the new combat system. In Tradewinds, you could purchase up to 15 vessels to sail the seas, and each vessel could be upgraded in terms of extra firepower. If a player wanted to, they could have their entire fleet of vessels consist of massive frigates loaded to the max with cannons and no room for cargo. This time you sail on your own, one ship at a time. And on top of this, you are limited to the number of cannons your ship can carry. It seems sort of a nuisance at first, but in time I found it more of a blessing. I found that the more ships I had in my fleet in the original Tradewinds, the slower battles became. It was like the game was lagging at some points during battle. Instead, Tradewinds 2 puts your single vessel against multiple ships at once. This time, however, your cannons fire non-stop until you or your foes have sunk to the ocean bottom. What’s special this time is that you can buy special ammunition for your cannons, from firepots to tiki bombs. These add extra punch for your battles, and can mean the difference between victory and becoming shark food. Unfortunately, your cannons are still vulnerable and can be taken out by enemy fire. But hey, at least you can get shiny new cannons in the next port with a shipyard!Tamoggemon Software has just released Binary Clock 4.1!, the latest version of the award-winning Binary Clock for Palm OS.
This release improves the program's compatibility with the Palm Treo 755p!
Tamoggemon Software has always been committed to excellent customer care. This includes supporting newly-released devices as soon as possible in order to allow customers to upgrade to the newly-released device easily and without worries about their Tamoggemon programs.
Binary Clock costs only $9.95 and can be purchased from MobiHand; registered users can update simply by installing the new version over the old one! A 14-day evaluation version is available from www.palmbinaryclock.com!
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Yesterday, Tam Hanna of Tamoggemon Software fame, posted the following message on his TamsPalm Blog:
20% off all software in the TamsShop
It’s vacation time finally…time to chill out, relax and have fun! For me, vacation time always means looking at loads and loads of new apps for my handhelds - after all, nothing beats a few rounds of a cool game after work.
Anyways, the discount code HOLIDAYTIME gets you 20% off all Palm OS and PocketPC software in the TamsShop for a week from now - have great fun shopping!
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Monday, July 2, 2007
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KEELE, Staffordshire, UK and BOTHELL, Wash USA - 2 July 2007 - Astraware and Sandlot Games are excited to announce the release of the highly anticipated Tradewinds 2TM on handheld devices. Based on the highly-acclaimed PC game, Tradewinds 2 has been developed by Astraware for Palm OS and Windows Mobile handhelds and smartphones.
Tradewinds 2 is the sequel to Tradewinds. - a best-selling game of Far East trade and pirate adventures. Tradewinds 2 offers players a brand new adventure based in the exotic seas of the Caribbean. Building on the trading fun of the first game, Tradewinds 2 features 20 all new ports to explore, new ships and weapons to buy and upgrade, new goods to trade in, and a brand new feature - tasks to complete for honor and reward. In each port, the Governor may request the help of your captain - from simple shopping tasks to rescuing fair maidens and defeating dangerous pirates. Elicit help at the Inn, and buy charms and amulets from the trader to help your safe passage to the next port.
Choose from 5 characters to Captain your ship, or even create your own with the character generator, and then set sail for your adventure. Tradewinds 2 offers two play modes - Story Mode and Free Trade Mode - both offering many hours of game play. With over a hundred different tasks in a range of different character combinations encompassing different ports, Story Mode has excellent replay value. Free Trade Mode offers a different challenge, where players sail the seas to trade amongst ports and build their fortunes.
Tradewinds 2 is available for Palm OS. handhelds with hi-res screens running OS5, and for Windows Mobile. devices with a touch screen running WM2003, 5.0, and 6.0. Priced at $19.95, visit http://www.astraware.com/tradewinds2 for more information, to download a trial, or to buy. Tradewinds 2 for Palm OS, Windows Mobile and for PC can also be purchased from Sandlot Games - http://www.sandlotgames.com
About Astraware
Founded in 1994, Astraware Limited develops, publishes and distributes games for mobile devices. Some of the company's best known handheld titles include PopCap Games, Bejeweled, Zuma, and Insaniquarium, Sandlot Games' Tradewinds, and Astraware Sudoku and Zap!2000/2016. Astraware is a Microsoft Certified Gold Partner. Mobile gaming enthusiasts have downloaded more than 50 million copies of Astraware's products, and the company has customers in over 100 countries. For more information, contact Alison Barclay at alison@astraware.com, or visit http://www.astraware.com.
About Sandlot Games Corporation
Sandlot Games Corporation, headquartered in Bothell, Washington, is the world's premier developer and publisher of casual and family-friendly games. Sandlot Games boasts a captivating portfolio of popular game titles and franchises including Cake ManiaTM, GlyphTM, Super Granny., Tradewinds. and WestwardTM. Sandlot Games reaches millions of game players worldwide through a variety of distribution channels including online, PC, PDA's, handhelds, videogame consoles and mobile phones. Since 2002, over 80 million games have been downloaded by its loyal fan base. For more information or to play one of our award winning games, visit us at www.sandlotgames.com. For further information on the company, please contact: Jared Nieuwenhuis, Director of Global Marketing, Tel: 425.486.5822 (x291), email: jared@sandlotgames.com.