Save a Tree with LocaNote Lite for S60 Touch

Tam Hanna (of TamsPalm fame) and Tamoggemon Software just released LocaNote Lite for the S60 Touch. (screenshots coming soon)

We feel that the Copenhagen heads should be considered hypocrites: while talking about the environment, their notes are being scribbled down on paper. Paper, which is produced out of trees, and furthermore, is dumb.

On contrary, S60 touch phones, are smart. With Tamoggemon LocaNote, they become your personal note taking tool – and can do loads of things your ordinary slab-of-wood will never be able to do.

For the ultra-low price of 3€ on Ovi, customers can enjoy the following features:

x) Flexible folder structure
File cases for paper are large and – at least to a large extent – unportable. LocaNote Lite allows you to sort your notes into folders, which can contain subfolders ad infinitum. And all of that in less than 1 cubic decimeter of space…

x) Rich colour notes
On paper, the number of colours is limited by the amount of pens which fit into your pocket. In LocaNote, the number of colours does not affect your pockets – create full colour notes on the run with but one stylus or finger tap!

x) Note searching / sorting
Finally, finding notes is easier than it has ever been before. Enter the date when you created or edited the note, and LocaNote finds it for you – no effort whatsoever on your end!

Cutting a long story short: paper notes are out. LocaNote is in. Go, Tamoggemon! Go, LocaNote! Go, S60 touch!

HeroCraft Christmas Present – 2 Fun Games for Free!

The Christmas Present from HeroCraft – 2 Fun Games for Free!

Don't miss great opportunity to present to yourself, your friends and family mobile games to forthcoming holidays! Only the 10th and 11th December – you can get our games – Twice! and Snow Lines for free! The only thing you should do is to fill simple form with your email address on the game page and get the free activation key.

If you don't know what game you want - don't hesitate, just get both of them! Let us present the Christmas games for you:

Snow Lines
Snow Lines is arguably the best Lines game yet. You will be able to play against the clock or to set up dizzying records; achieve high scores; or try to overcome dozens of original levels. Several game modes give the opportunity to get as much amusement as possible out of Snow Lines, and flexible rules help you to find something new in this game every single time you play. Just load it up and you'll be inveigled into a vortex of smiles, excitement and riddles which get ever more complicated the more you play.

Twice!
The smart logic game Twice combines the main principles of a classic game: an attractive appearance, popular and simple rules and a variety of game modes. Its rules are well known: you have to flip the face-down tiles in the puzzle one by one and remember the pattern on the other side. When you flip two identical tiles, you score points. To complete the level you have to find all of the pairs. Twice has three game modes so you can pick the game that suits your tastes – race against time, limited number of attempts or no limits at all. Just choose one of them and you will not be able to stop playing! The magical graphics and traditional Oriental music add a mysterious charm to this game.

Attention!
Promotion is actual only for 10th and 11th of December and also only for Windows Mobile and Symbian platforms! Get hurry, don't miss our Christmas present

CyberMonday Savings at the Everything stores

The Everything stores, including EverythingPre and EverythingTreo, are having a Cyber Monday sale including a ten percent discount on all accessories.

Simply enter the Coupon Code MONDAYET at checkout, under billing info, to have the 10% discount applied to your entire cart of accessories.

Have a family member with an iPhone, iPod, BlackBerry, Windows Phone or Droid? Shop our sister stores and enjoy Cyber Monday Savings using the same coupon code.

(Cannot be combined with any other offer and does not apply to handling charges, taxes or software.)

10% Off until Midnight Pacific on Monday, November 30th.

Palm Will Announce Q2 FY 2010 Earnings on 17 Dec

This Palm Press Release just in:

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Nov 30, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM) today said it will announce its second-quarter fiscal year 2010 financial results on Thursday, Dec. 17, shortly after 4 p.m. Eastern (1 p.m. Pacific), followed by a conference call for the public at 4:30 p.m. Eastern (1:30 p.m. Pacific). The conference call will be hosted by Jon Rubinstein, chairman and chief executive officer, and Doug Jeffries, chief financial officer.

Investors and other interested parties are encouraged to listen to the call via audio webcast at Palm's Investor Relations website (http://investor.palm.com). Investors wishing to listen to the conference call via telephone may dial 877.278.9658 (domestic) or 763.488.4651 (international). There is no pass code required for the live call. A telephone replay of the conference call will be available through Dec. 24, 2009. The dial-in number for the replay will be 800.642.1687 (domestic) and 706.645.9291 (international). The pass code 43773355 is required for the replay. An archive of the audio webcast of the conference call will be posted on Palm's Investor Relations website at http://investor.palm.com.

About Palm, Inc.

Palm, Inc. creates intuitive and powerful mobile experiences that enable consumers and businesses to connect to their information in more useful and usable ways. The company's groundbreaking Palm webOS(TM) platform, designed exclusively for mobile application, introduces true multitasking and Palm Synergy(TM), which brings your information from the many places it resides into a single, more comprehensive view of your life.

Palm products are sold through select Internet, retail, reseller and wireless operator channels, and at the Palm online store (www.palm.com/store).

More information about Palm, Inc. is available at www.palm.com.

Palm, Synergy, and webOS are trademarks of Palm, Inc. All other brand and product names are or may be trademarks of, and are used to identify products or services of, their respective owners.


SOURCE: Palm, Inc.

Black Friday Promotion at the Palm Store

As is essentially traditional, the Palm Store is once again holding an online Black Friday Promotion

Black Friday Promotion Details
Treat yourself or a friend to $30 off purchases of $99 or more 26 November 2009 through 1 December 2009 at the Palm Store. Some exclusions apply.

How it works
Add items to your cart totalling $99 or more before taxes are applied, and $30 is automatically deducted from the total at checkout. Not valid on cancelled or out of stock merchandise. © Copyright 2009 Palm, Inc. Palm, Pre and Touchstone are trademarks of Palm, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Terms and Conditions
• Offer valid only at the Palm Store. • Discount is applied after taxes and does not include gift wrapping, shipping, or similar charges. Prices and savings based on MSRP. Prices and availability subject to change. Entire order must be shipped to a single address. Not responsible for typographical errors. Limit one per customer. $30 discount and free shipping offer cannot be combined with any other promotional offer nor is this offer valid on previous purchases. Offer not valid on canceled or out of stock merchandise. Void where prohibited. • Free shipping offer applicable to orders delivered to addresses within the U.S. only and not available for shipments to APO/FPO addresses or P.O. boxes. • Offer only valid while supplies last and is limited to sizes/styles available. • Applies to orders made between November 26, 2009 and December 1, 2009 • Offer is not applicable to orders placed through Group Sales.

© Copyright 2009 Palm, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

WebOS HomeBrew Apps List at Pre|Central

The Palm PRE is quite popular but for quite some time there was no support for paid WebOS applications on the WebOS Apps Store. This has caused the HomeBrew crew to find their own solution. The most popular solution I know of is the HomeBrew Apps on-line at Pre|Central:

Homebrew Apps
285 Apps in the Gallery
3,298,498 Total Downloads since August 19th

Welcome to the Homebrew App Gallery at PreCentral.net! Like the gallery itself, the apps you'll find here are all beta and are for testing purposes only. They are all under development - use with care.

Click on any header to re-sort the apps, filter by category below, or search by tag by clicking the links in the sidebar. Don't forget to rate apps!

Palm WebOS Application List Available On-Line

Palm has made their WebOS Application List available on-line. This is a great summary of the applications (officially) available for WebOS phones.

Mobile Apps That Go Further!
Applications designed for the Palm® webOS™ platform make your phone more powerful, more useful, and more fun. And many take advantage of the Palm Synergy™ feature, allowing you to do more with just a touch. Automatically add an event date to your calendar. Share location information in one step. Both free and paid apps expand what you can do.

Daylight Savings Time - Palm Update

Did you remember to set your clocks back this morning for the end Daylight Savings Time? Everywhere in Canada and the US (that observes DST) changed their clocks back this weekend. The real question is: Did you Palm device know about the new DST change?

If your Palm device didn't know about the new DST timings, then you want to visit Palm and get the DST update. Back in Feb 2007 I published an article explaining the 5 W's about this update:

Palm Releases Daylight Saving Time Updates
New Daylight Saving Time Changes
Beginning this year (2007) Daylight Saving Time (DST) for most of the U.S. and all of Canada, starts on the second Sunday in March (11 March 2007), and changes back to standard time on the first Sunday in November (4 November 2007). These dates are NEW and a change from the current start/end date that is built into some Palm devices.

Palm devices, both smartphones and handhelds, need to be updated so that they reflect the correct time when the new DST changes take effect. Without the Daylight Saving Time Updates, calendar events and email messages will indicate an hour off the actual time in locations that observe DST.

Things get really interesting if your Palm knows about the new dates, but your OS or application doesn't. For your information, the only two Microsoft OS's with the proper Daylight Saving Time corrections are Windows XP Service Pack 2, and Windows Vista. None of the other versions know of the DST change, nor will Microsoft be making a fix available.

Affected Palm devices: (every Palm that knows about DST)

BlackBerry PhoneSnoop App Spies on Users

US-CERT (the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team -- the operational arm of the National Cyber Security Division (NCSD) at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)) has announced the existence of a Blackberry app called PhoneSnoop which is designed to spy on users.

BlackBerry PhoneSnoop Application Used to Spy on Users

US-CERT is aware of public reports of a new software application called PhoneSnoop. This software allows an attacker to call a user's BlackBerry and listen to personal conversations. In order to install and setup the PhoneSnoop application, attackers must have physical access to the user's device or convince a user to install PhoneSnoop.

US-CERT encourages users to only download BlackBerry applications from trusted sources and to password protect and lock BlackBerry devices.

Brian Krebs excellent blog "Security Fix" has quite an interesting article on the whole PhoneSnoop situation.
.

Handango Spooktacular Savings Event

Spooktacular Savings
The Spooktacular Savings Event ends at the spine-chilling stroke of midnight C.S.T. 31 Oct 2009 and is only available on Handango.com. Discounts only apply to the first billing cycle for subscription products and do not apply to iPhone apps

Halloween Special from Skyscape

No Tricks -- Just Treats

This Halloween, Skyscape is offering you a very special treat. Save $15 instantly when you spend $100 or more or save $40 when you spend $200 or more. For a limited time, you can combine this offer with Skyscape constellations for even more savings!

Skyscape constellations are highly discounted customized solutions. We have created 14 unique constellations for Physicians and Nurses. Each constellation combines popular, trusted resources and tools into one comprehensive suite for your mobile device.

Click here to see Skyscape's entire portfolio of resources for physicians and nurse and to buy or learn more about Skyscape constellations.

Enjoy the freedom of your Skyscape library, but hurry - offer ends 3 November 2009.

Pump Up Your Palm - 50% Off PalmOS Games and Apps

Here's a great software promotion for all our Canuck-PDA readers:

Handmark, a world-leading creator and distributor of mobile games, applications and other mobile services for BlackBerry, Android, iPhone, Palm, Windows Mobile, Symbian and other leading mobile platforms just announced a fantastic promotion it is running exclusively for Palm OS customers.

For a limited time, Handmark is helping to "Pump Up Your Palm" offering 50% off all* games and applications. This includes hundreds of the best games and apps for Palm OS phones, including Tetris, Tradewinds 2, Bejeweled, Text Twist, GTS World Racing, Astraware Casino, and many others! Just use promo code PALM50 during checkout when shopping on http://www.astraware.com; http://www.handmark.com; or through Pocket Express "Extras" (http://www.pocketexpress.com) to redeem this stellar discount.

*excludes Crazysoft titles

"Palm Pre is Fab" says WPG-SUN

In a Winnipeg Sun article entitled: "Pre is fab: Latest smartphone does it all elegantly" Steve Tilley gives quite a good (in my opinion) review of the Palm Pre which just recently became available here in Canada. Steve says "The Palm Pre smartphone is an attractive alternative to a BlackBerry or iPhone" and, in his 'verdict' at the end of the article, warns that "the Pre could cause gadget love at first sight".

The folks who ushered hand-held organizers into the collective consciousness have come a long way, baby. Heck, I remember when we used to call these things Palm Pilots.

-={snip}=-

It's the latest phone to be saddled with that tiresome "iPhone killer" label, but it's also one of the few that really can stand up to Apple's beloved little slab.

A chunky, squat black number, the Pre (pronounced "pree" and not "pray") lands in the crowded uber-phone market with a few secret weapons. One, it combines a very sharp iPhone-like touchscreen with a surprisingly functional BlackBerry-like keyboard, revealed by sliding the screen up. Best of both worlds right there, eh wot?

And two, it's a built-from-the-ground-up marriage of hi-tech silicon guts and cool, intuitive software. From e-mail to web browsing to memos to maps, the Pre does everything you'd expect a high-end 3G smartphone to do, and it does it with what can only be described as elegant grace.

-={snip}=-

When using the Pre, I felt like the folks at Palm didn't just sit down and cobble together a device with a touch-screen and a handy slide-out keyboard. It feels like they reverse-engineered the thing from the perspective of you, the user, to make it easy and fun to use. And it's even pretty decent at making phone calls.

-={snip}=-

Despite its faults, the Pre is an elegant device that doesn't try to mimic an iPhone or a BlackBerry, even though {it} offers some of the best features of each. It reminds me of how I felt the first time I used a Palm Pilot, way back in the day: An exciting, albeit not entirely perfect, glimpse at the future of gadgetry.

But hey, the Palm Pilot evolved, and so will the Pre. Stay tuned.

-={snip}=-

Verdict: While it has a few flaws and the battery life is mediocre, the Pre is packed with features that make it an attractive alternative to a BlackBerry or iPhone. And if you've never used either of those devices before, the Pre could cause gadget love at first sight.

Be sure to follow the link above (or this one) to read the whole article. It's definitely worth your time.

I have a couple of personal comments. Steve states that the Pre has an "iPhone-like touchscreen" -- when, because the Palm Pilot was the first commercially successful PDA with a touchscreen, it should say the iPhone has an improved Palm-like touchscreen. He also says that it includes a "surprisingly functional Blackberry-like keyboard", yet that style of keyboard was pioneered by the Treo smartphone, again made by Palm. In fact, it is widely acknowledged that RIM's Blackberry's (and most other PDAs for that matter) "acquired" their keyboards by openly emulating the Palm Treo.

However, all those personal nit-picky points aside {grin}, the review is a good one and well worth reading in it's entirety.

BW: Palm's Pre Is Trying to Live Up to the Hype

A recent Business Week article entitled: Palm's Pre Is Trying to Live Up to the Hype is definitely worth a read.

Here is a few brief paragraphs, just in case you need more convincing :

Wall Street is reducing forecasts for Sprint's sales of the smartphone. That doesn't bode well for Palm as it works to sign up new carriers for Pre

Palm's road to a comeback is hitting a few speed bumps.

When Palm (PALM) launched its Pre smartphone on June 6, expectations were high that the long-troubled company could have a hit with the device, the biggest launch by the new management team led by a former Apple (AAPL) executive. Now analysts estimate that Palm likely will sell just 300,000 to 500,000 Pres in their first three months on the market. That's not bad, but it's short of the outsize expectations ramped up by the phone's advanced technology and splashy debut.

...snip...

Competition with Apple's coveted iPhone is just one of Palm's challenges. For now, the Pre appears to be a niche product, with a particular appeal to Palm devotees. A spat with Apple over Pre's ability to gain access Apple's iTunes music store led to a complaint by Palm to an industry standards group. And Palm is still trying to persuade more software developers to write applications for its device, which could increase its appeal.

...snip...

Continue reading the full Business Week article . . .

Palm to Present at Investor Conference

SUNNYVALE, Calif., 04 Aug 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM) today announced that Palm's Chief Financial Officer Douglas Jeffries is scheduled to present at the Pacific Crest Technology Forum in Vail, Colo. on Tuesday, 11 Aug. 2009 at 3:30 p.m. Mountain Time.

The company invites investors to listen to the audio only webcast at http://investor.palm.com/events.cfm


About Palm, Inc.

Palm, Inc. is a leading mobile products company, creating instinctive yet powerful mobile products that enable people to better manage their lives on the go. The company's products for consumers, mobile professionals and businesses include Palm Pre(TM), Palm(R) Treo(TM) and Palm Centro(TM) phones, as well as software, services and accessories.

Palm products are sold through select Internet, retail, reseller and wireless operator channels throughout the world, and at Palm online stores (http://www.palm.com/store).

More information about Palm, Inc. is available at http://www.palm.com

tIRC for Palm OS Released - IRC Chat, Reloaded

Tamoggemon Software frees IRC heads all over the world from the shackles of their netbook or PC. Install tIRC on your PalmOS handheld/smartphone, and enjoy a new IRC experience. Chat wherever you are – be it in the restaurant, on the bike or in the loo...

Our long PalmOS experience has allowed us to implement the following unique features, which elevate your mobile chatting experience to a new level:

Background mode
Use other applications while chatting - it’s no issue for tIRC.

Flexible display
tIRC’s text rendering engine was designed by John Wilund of SrcEdit fame. It is the only IRC client which was explicitly optimized for HiRes and HiRes+ screens!

Clickable links
Got a pesky URL on-screen? Click it to open it in your web browser of choice!

Keeps you connected
Supports WiFi, Bluetooth and GSM/CDMA connections
Supports multiple channels/server

Unwire your IRC experience - get tIRC

Tamoggemon tIRC comes with a free 30-day trial, which lets prospective customers torture the product before purchase. tIRC is available exclusively from Handango and can be purchased for $19.95

Further information about the product can be obtained here:
http://www.tamoggemon.com/palmos/tirc/index.html

Palm Pre available on 27 August at Bell Mobility stores

Here's some breaking (and long awaited) news from Palm about the availability of the Palm Pre here in Canada (finally!)

This is copied directly from the "Official Palm Blog"

It’s almost here! Bell Mobility announced today that Palm Pre will be available at its retail locations in Canada on 27 August for $199.95 (on a three-year contract with a minimum 500MB data plan). If you want to be sure to get your hands on Palm Pre ASAP, you can place an order online now at www.bell.ca/pre, at Bell stores and at Bell retail partners Best Buy, Future Shop, The Telephone Booth/La Cabine Téléphonique, WIRELESS etc. and Wireless Wave.

Bell smartphone clients can choose from a wide variety of voice and data plans, including Smartphone Combos that offer unlimited Internet browsing, personal email and text messaging. More details are available at Bell Mobility’s website.

Jon Zilber

While you're at the Bell site drooling (yes, admit it, drooling) over the new 3G Palm Pre, be sure to enter for a chance to win your very own 3G Palm Pre. The Bell Palm Pre give-away contest simply asks you to pre-register your interest in the new 3G Palm Pre and in return, they enter your name in the draw which ends midnight of 31 August. The official contest rules are in this pdf.

I hope you win (if I don't, that is ).

Beta testers needed for LocaNote Lite on S60v5

Tam Hanna of both TamsPalm and Tamoggemon Software fame is a well established developer of mobile applications for several different handheld platforms. He just issued the following press release:

Tamoggemon’s LocaNote has always been a software critic’s darling – the product’s highly innovative features impressed Symbian so much that Tamoggemon was invited to demo its next-generation notetaker at the Mobile World Congress.

LocaNote Lite will be sold for an MSRP around 5 Euros on the Ovi Store in the near future (detailed time and pricing will be announced at a later point in time). The Lite version of the product allows its users to take an unlimited amount of handwritten notes.


These notes can then be stored in folders – folder structures can be more than eight levels deep to make finding individual notes easy.


Finally, notes can be filtered to make finding stuff easier:


We are extremely proud to announce that LocaNote Lite is now ready for beta testing, and are looking for testers. People who own an XM5800 or N97 should get in touch with Tam Hanna via Tamog (at) gmx (dot) at to be considered for inclusion!

Further features like on-the-go printing, GPS and draw-on-photos will become available in LocaNote Plus and Pro, which are scheduled for Q4 2009. Existing LocaNote Lite customers will be offered attractive upgrade pricing, which will also be disclosed at a later date.

P.S. Customers can tune in via http://www.tamoggemon.com/s60/loca/index.html

Get Astraware Solitaire for just 99c!

Astraware Games Bulletin: Get Astraware Solitaire for just 99c!




Summer is gloriously upon us, and between holidays, long journeys, and children to be occupied once they're out of school, now is the best time to make sure you're prepared with appropriate entertainment, and with Astraware Solitaire, we think we've got the perfect package!
We've carefully selected 12 of the most popular solitaire games (including "Klondike" - familiar to anyone who has ever used a PC) and made sure that all the popular variants of those games are included too! Easy icons to get to your favourite game, statistics and hints, a golden "Trophy Deck" option that you can build up by trying and completing the different games (and you can even play with it once you've earned all the cards), and most importantly, the Astraware sparkle - our care to polish the game and make everything as easy, straightforward, and fun as possible!
Hope you have a great summer!
Howard and all the games team at Astraware.


Astraware Solitaire
We've recently released new versions of our fantastic single-player card games pack, Astraware Solitaire, for BlackBerry® smartphones and iPhone™ and iPod® touch. Astraware Solitaire includes 12 of the most well-known single player card games chosen from customer feedback. All versions of the game allow you to customize the rules to play how you want to!
To celebrate the new versions we're giving you the opportunity to buy Astraware Solitaire for just 99 cents - yes that's right - 99 cents!
If that sounds like a crazy offer, we're giving you Palm OS and Windows Mobile users this one-off chance to get Astraware Solitaire PLUS Astraware Sudoku and Astraware Boardgames all together for just $9.95 - that's the regular price of just one of those games!

Astraware Solitaire is available for Palm OS®, Windows Mobile®, S60®, UIQ®, BlackBerry®, iPhone™ and iPod® touch!

Get Astraware Solitaire for just 99c
or
Get the Astraware Classic Collection for just $9.95
(Offer available until July 11th 2009)

Tradewinds 2
Alongside the Palm OS and Windows Mobile versions, Sandlot Games' highly acclaimed trading game Tradewinds 2 is now also available for iPhone and iPod touch.

In Tradewinds 2 you can navigate a fascinating new world and discover uncharted ports teeming with friends and foes alike. The choice is yours; be a master commander, defeating pirates and plundering their vast hordes of booty, or, play it safe by trading exotic island goods, gradually amassing untold wealth, power and influence.
To celebrate the new release all versions of Tradewinds 2 are available for just $4.99 for a limited time. Grab your copy today!

Get Tradewinds 2 for just $4.99 today!
(Offer available until July 11th 2009)


Phaze™
Finally, we have a new game exclusive to iPhone and iPod touch from Pazzazz Games - the creator of GTS World Racing and Hellfire. Phaze™ is a maximum velocity racing game with 16 futuristic locations. Navigate the twists and turns as you race your opponents in high tech race craft. Aim for the boost pads to achieve warp speed, pick up weapons to blast your opponents and collect power boosts and defensive shields along the way! If you're a fan of low gravity racing games, then you'll LOVE Phaze!

Get Phaze for iPhone and iPod touch today!

Thank you for taking a little time to read our newsletter. If you have any comments or suggestions, please email us. We really do value your opinions!

Regards

Howard and the Astraware Team
If you have any comments or questions about the games, please contact our support team at support@astraware.com who will be happy to help.

Astraware Limited is registered in England & Wales no. 3940683. Tel. +44 (0)1782 667820
Registered office: Unit 6 Brock Way, Knutton, Newcastle-under-Lyme ST5 6AZ, United Kingdom

PalmInfoCenter.com Store Sale

PalmInfocenter.com Store Classic Sale!
Grand Opening Sale -- Load Up on Apps!

The PalmInfocenter Software store is kicking off another sale. We've just launched a new Classic compatible selection of Palm OS applications that are compatible with MotionApp's webOS Classic emulator on the Palm Pre. Customers can now browse a list of certified Classic compatible titles.

To help kickoff the launch, the store is offering 20% off all software so you can load up on apps with a nice discount. Just enter coupon code, "CLASSIC" during checkout.

The sale runs through July 4th and is good for all Palm OS and Windows Mobile applications.

Palm Promo Video - This is Funny!

At the wrap-up of the “D: All Things Digital” conference, Palm’s executive chairman Jon Rubinstein and Elevation Partners’ managing director and co-founder Roger McNamee shared the spotlight in several ways, including showing the video below which makes light of hype surrounding the new Palm Pre and it's webOS.

The video doesn't contain much in the way of accurate or enlightening information, but it's certainly good for a laugh! Enjoy!

Palm Unveils More webOS Details

CARLSBAD, Calif., 28 May 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Today at The Wall Street Journal's D: All Things Digital conference, Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM) introduced attendees to the latest features of the Palm(R) webOS(TM) platform, including Palm media sync, the integration of Twitter in universal search, and a beta version of its App Catalog. Jon Rubinstein, Palm executive chairman, and Roger McNamee, Palm director and co-founder of Elevation Partners, debuted the new webOS features, which will be available on the new Palm Pre(TM) phone when it launches June 6 on Sprint's mobile broadband network.(1)

Palm Media Sync

Palm media sync is a feature of webOS that synchronizes seamlessly with iTunes, giving you a simple and easy way to transfer DRM-free music, photos and videos to your Palm Pre.(2) Simply connect Pre to your PC or Mac via the USB cable, select "media sync" on the phone, and iTunes will launch on your computer desktop. You can then choose which DRM-free media files to transfer.

"We designed Palm media sync to be an easy and elegant way for you to take the content you own and put it on Pre, and it's just one of the ways we think you'll be amazed by webOS," said Rubinstein. "We've had an overwhelming response since we introduced Pre at CES, and with availability just days away, we can't wait to let everyone see firsthand what the excitement is all about."

Pre also acts as a mass storage drive, letting you side-load your media content. Once connected to a computer using the USB cable, Pre will appear as a drive on the computer desktop. You can drag and drop music, photos or video files onto your Pre, or drag files from your Pre to the computer. And, just like a digital camera, Pre works directly with your computer's default desktop photo software to seamlessly import photos captured with Pre's built-in 3-megapixel camera.

In addition to listening to music transferred from your desktop, you can use the on-device Amazon MP3 store to purchase individual songs or full albums over-the-air. You can search by artist, song and genre, and preview and purchase music files. You can then download purchased tracks when you're connected to a Wi-Fi network.

Twitter in Universal Search

Palm also announced that Twitter search is integrated into webOS universal search.(3) Universal search is about finding what you want quickly, whether it's an on-device contact to call, a place you're trying to get to, or a Wikipedia article for encyclopedic information. Just start typing and Pre will figure out if you're looking for a contact, an application, or even let you search the web via Google, Google Maps, Wikipedia and now Twitter. Universal search uses Twitter's search service to sort through real-time current events and news, so universal search now covers every aspect of search on the web: general info, location, encyclopedia, and news.

Twitter's ability to show what's going on right now is a perfect fit for what universal search and Pre are all about. You don't have to be a Twitter user to benefit from Twitter in universal search. It's available for all users, even if they don't have an account, so anyone can keep on top of real-time news and the latest trends.

App Catalog

Rubinstein and McNamee also gave conference attendees an advance look at the beta version of the App Catalog, which will be available on Pre at launch. The beta version will feature applications from developers such as AP News, Citysearch, Fandango, Pandora and uLocate.

"We've received excellent feedback from participants in the Mojo SDK early access program and look forward to the SDK's public release. Developers are very enthusiastic about the platform's ease of use and industry-standard development model," said Rubinstein. "We're excited to launch Pre with the beta version of the catalog, which will give a taste of how the overall webOS ecosystem will work."

The App Catalog was demonstrated at the conference using Fandango's webOS application, which takes advantage of Palm Synergy(TM), a key feature of webOS. It also uses Pre's location-based services to find theaters near you, and lets you watch trailers, buy tickets, add showtimes to your calendar and get directions to the theatre.(1) Also included in the beta App Catalog will be Pandora, which makes use of the platform's multitasking capabilities, running elegantly in the background while you're using other applications. It highlights a unique aspect of the notification bar that lets you know what song is currently playing, and control pause and play without having to go back into the application.

The Palm Pre phone will be available from Sprint on June 6 for $199.99 with a two-year service agreement and $100 mail-in rebate. More information is available at www.sprint.com/palmpre and www.palm.com.

Palm Pre / Web 2.0 Expo - Michael Abbott's "Key Note"

Michael Abbott's "Key Note" speech at the Palm Web 2.0 Expo for Palm Pre developers.

Michael Abbott (Palm, Inc.) Palm stole the show at CES, unveiling the new Palm Pre - the first phone based on Palm's groundbreaking new webOS. Mike Abbott, SVP of Application Software and Services for Palm explains how webOS will change the way users and developers think about mobile web experiences.

Treo™ Pro Now Available from Bell Mobility

Treo™ Pro by Palm Now Available on the Bell Mobility Network



The Treo™ Pro smartphone by Palm is thoughtfully designed for people who define their workday the way they see fit. You can respond to business and personal email, stay on top of appointments and contacts, and use Wi-Fi or GPS.2 All on a thin device that packs plenty of battery power for a life on the go. Treo Pro. Perfectly balanced.

1 For new customers on a 3-year term when activating a minimum voice and data plan combination or combo plan of $45 per month or greater. Bell reserves the right to limit the usage. Out of bundle rates may apply. Offer ends March 31, 2009.

2 Within wireless coverage area only. Email and GPS require data services from Bell Mobility at additional cost. Voice prompted as-you-go navigation requires an additional service plan, sold separately. GPS coverage not available in all areas at all times. Wi-Fi within range of 802.11b/g network only. Some Wi-Fi hotspots require fee for usage.

Skyscape: March to 1 Million

Skyscape is getting really close to their Millionth member, "a Skyscape Millioneer!" and they're offering prizes for your help referring people to them.

Are you on the SmartLink Relay Team?

The race is on. But instead of asking you for a sweaty brow and sore feet, we'll let you run this relay in comfort. The most we ask you to exercise is your hand-eye coordination, using your mouse to link us to your friend - think of it as handing the baton to your teammate.

The winners get more than a medal. Read on.

We sent you a note earlier about our March to 1 Million program. This is a giveaway reward for the referral of a friend or colleague, to introduce Skyscape's award winning medical information on the go.

In case you missed it, we are offering some very cool prizes to celebrate our Millionth member, a Skyscape Millioneer! You can win just by being on the relay team - $100 in certificates for the Skyscape store. That's just for starters.

If you are the one who passes the referral baton to the Skyscape Millioneer directly, you will win a Sony Bravia 1080p 52" LCD television, along with Sony blu-ray player, and a scholarship for Medical and Nursing students, named after you!

The Skyscape Millioneer will also get a bunch of cool stuff, including a new MacBook, and iPod Touch and $200 in certificates for the Skyscape store. We think they will thank you.

So don't wait - the finish line is not far away and you should sprint out of the blocks to join in the winning team!

Best Regards,
The Skyscape Team

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day at PalmGear

Visit m.pocketgear.com from your device to browse our mobile catalog.

 

 

All coupons expire 31st March 2009, 11:59pm EST. Coupons cannot be combined with any other special offer and are valid once per customer.

Pocket Tunes 5.0 for Palm OS and Windows Mobile

NormSoft has just announced the release of the new Pocket Tunes 5.0 for Palm OS and Windows Mobile

Experience your music like you never have before with the new Pocket Tunes™ 5.0 for your Smartphone or PDA. But, don't take our word for it; try it for yourself or read this review from WMExperts.


What's New

Podcast Download and Catalog
Subscribe to your favourite podcasts and automatically download them every day. To make it easy to find your favourites, we've added a catalogue of over 1,000 of the most popular podcasts, or you can add your own. This catalogue will continually be updated as podcasts come and go. Also new in 5.0, you can set an option to automatically delete your podcasts after you finish listening to them. And, we've dramatically improved automatic bookmarking of podcasts and audio books so you'll never lose your place ever again, even if you switch between playing music and books or podcasts.


Last.fm Scrobbling
Every time you listen to a song on your Palm OS or Windows Mobile Smartphone using Pocket Tunes Deluxe 5.0, this gets tracked to your Last.fm music profile - it's called scrobbling™. Based on this profile, Last.fm creates customized radio stations of music you'll like. Plus, Last.fm also uses your music profile to give you: New music to listen to, Concert listings in your area, Music videos, Free downloads, Neighbours (people who like the same music you do), Charts based on your listening history. For more information and to start using Last.fm, visit www.last.fm


Sync with iTunes
You can now synchronize your playlists from iTunes on your PC or Macintosh with your Smartphone or PDA. Simply connect your device, and the Pocket Tunes Sync software can automatically synchronize selected playlists, including album art, with iTunes. Never again will you be without your favourite tunes. (Pocket Tunes Sync for Windows works with both Windows Mobile and Palm OS devices. Pocket Tunes Sync for Macintosh works only with Palm OS devices.)


WMA Internet Radio
Pocket Tunes 5.0 adds support for the most popular Internet radio format, WMA. With this addition, the built-in catalogue contains many more of your favourite stations, and makes it much easier to find a compatible station. Many popular AM/FM radio stations broadcast in WMA format, making it easier for you to listen to local radio from anywhere around the world.

PowerSDHC Stops T|T3, iQue, Zodiac Development

Back in June I told you that "Dmitry Grinberg of PalmPowerUps fame, is at “it” again, and has created a new blog: Palm SDHC – “The status of creation of an SDHC driver for PalmOS” to document his progress on development progress."

Then in September I told you that Dmitry had released his PowerSDHC driver (it seems Palm forced Dmitry to change the name of his driver and his blog away from "PalmSDHC" so it's now called "PowerSDHC").

I also stated in that article that I would be posting a review of PowerSDHC once I had time to review it. Sorry it's taken so long to get this posted, but it took me until Christmas to get my own copy of PowerSDHC for my PalmTX and a high-speed 8 Gig SDHC card to go with it. Once I jumped through a few hoops in order to get Dmitry's registration worked out, PowerSDHC was installed, registered and working like a charm. They say that the best thing you can say about low level software like Dmitry's driver is that it just works. Well, PowerSDHC just works! It's been running flawlessly ever since. I have kept a standard SD card with PowerSDHC (and it's key file) handy at all times. I've just never needed it.

I can highly recommend PowerSDHC to anyone wanting to add SDHC capacity to their supported device.

Which brings me to the next bit of news: On Valentines Day, 14 Feb 2009 Dmitry posted the following entry to his PowerSDHC blog

PowerSDHC on T|T3, iQue, Zodiac
PowerSDHC on T|T3, iQue, Zodiac has been canceled due to lack of time to spend on the project (T|T3) and needlessly complicated driver installation requirements (Zodiac, iQue).

I can only hope that you weren't one of the people waiting for PowerSDHC to add support for your device, because, while it's a real shame, it doesn't look like these older devices (T|T3, iQue, Zodiac) are going to be supported any time soon.

Palm Pre 26 Minute Video Live Demo

Chris Davies has posted a 26 minute long video of a live Palm Pre demo at both precommunity.com and YouTube. Taken at Mobile World Congress 2009 this is suppose to be "the most complete demonstration" available to date.

I was impressed with how deep the answers went: for example, when the_hands mention that the back cover comes off allowing you to change the user replaceable battery, Chris? asks, "can you show us" and the_hands proceed to remove the back cover of the Pre and show the battery pack (BP1) as well as the Vodaphone SIM etc. Very cool. (Yes, I know I truly am a geek).

aldweb is the new home of "Alternatives to C" page

aldweb, home of Speedy (the freeware benchmark utility for PalmOS based devices) among many other fine programs, is the new home of the "PalmPilot Software Development - Alternatives to C" page. I'll let aldweb explain why this popular developer resource has moved to their site.

The "PalmPilot Software Development - Alternatives to C" web page has always been a reference for me, and for many other Palm OS developers.
Michael Winikoff who created and maintained this reference page decided to no more host it on his web site.
But, before quitting, he fortunately dropped me an e-mail for offering me to host it.
Since I did not want to see this historical and valuable contribution disappear from the web, I decided to upload it to my web site.
I am not sure that I will succeed to maintain this page on a regular basis like Michael did, but, at least, his job is kept alive.
Thank you Michael for all of what you have done to the Palm developers community.
aldweb

While it's true that I'm a little behind the times with this announcement, since this move occurred last July, I feel that this is an important enough move / resource that I wanted to make sure any Palm developers out there, especially those new to the platform, are able to easily locate this valuable site.

Palm® Centro™ Now Available on Bell Mobility

Here's some good news from Bell Mobility, and it's a darn sight cheaper than what Rogers wanted for a Centro last summer! If you're curious, my "rant" on Rogers' price gouging is here: "Rogers Cell Phone Pricing Madness!"

Palm® Centro™ Smartphone
Now Available on Bell Mobility for as low as $49.951
(with 3-year service agreement)

learn more

The Palm® Centro™ smartphone gives you voice, text, email, and web,2 all with the power of a touchscreen and full keyboard. Which means it’s easy to keep up with friends in so many ways. Touch the screen to quickly share a photo. Use the keyboard to send a text. Even find friends using Facebook® for Palm.3

Centro. Let’s go.

Revolutionize Note Taking with LocaNote for S60 Touch

Our good friend Tam Hanna, founder of Tamoggemon Software (and the TamsPalm blog) is announcing the release of a new software product for the S60 (Symbian OS) called LocaNote. Here is the press release with the first details and photos we've seen of this new product:

Revolutionize Note Taking with Tamoggemon LocaNote for S60 Touch

Man has always had the desire to create written proof of his existence:
every (ancient) culture has left behind documents detailing their achievements. Cutting a long story short: writing is the most natural thing in the world…

The Director of Carrier Relations at Tamoggemon’s, states the following:
“Touch screen technology can tear down the border between users and their data – if it is applied correctly. At Tamoggemon’s, we have years of experience creating top-notch Palm OS applications. We know what makes a good app – and look forward to helping S60 touch users with our knowledge and experience! Touch screen is in our bloodstream…”

Tamoggemon LocaNote is the best, fastest and most efficient note taking application for S60 touch. It is designed to stay out of your way and let you focus on what really counts: your notes.

LocaNote Lite, which will be released on the 1st of April, will feature the full note taking engine, along with a variety of features like folder support, advanced filters and on-the-go printing, which allows customers to print their notes at any OBEX-capable photo booth or photo printer.

LocaNote Professional, which will be released at an unspecified time in the future, will offer location-aware note taking. Your data will finally become location-aware – with amazing results for your personal productivity!

Our long-term roadmap sees a variety of LocaNote-derived services along with a variety of other S60 touch applications. Stay tuned!

Last Day to Save - Handango's Valentines Deals

Just a quick reminder about "Handango's Valentines "Apps We Love" Deals"



Today is your last day to save!

Samsung Announced "Blue Earth" Solar Powered Eco Phone

Samsung Blue Earth Solar Powered Eco Phone

While it's a far cry from a smartphone, at least in the traditional meaning of the term, Samsung might really be onto something with it's new eco-friendly Blue Earth phone. It has quite a few interesting features, from it's integrated solar cells, built-in eco-calendar, built-in pedometer (with the nifty CO2 saved calculator), and the amount of care and attention that went into selecting the materials it's made from and even the box it's packaged in. I know quite a few "non-smartphone" users that care enough about the environment to consider switching, should this phone ever become available here in Canada.

Here's a quick blurb from the Samsung Mobile World Congress / Blue Earth Dream site:

You can see the example of Samsung's activities in eco-friendly products such as the Samsung Blue Earth.

Samsung Blue Earth is the first solar powered full-touch screen phone

• Solar Panel on the back of the phone
  
• Eco-friendly phone made from recycled plastic extracted from water bottles
  
• Free from harmful substances such as Brominated Flame Retardant, Beryllium and Phthalate
  
• Eco-UI: Eco-mode / Eco-calendar / Eco-walk
  
• 5 star energy efficient charger which uses standby power lower than 0.03W
  
• Small and light package made from recycled paper

Be sure to click through to the Samsung Mobile World Congress / Blue Earth Dream site to learn more because they have two animated video clips showing the Blue Earth phone "in use".

Here's the Blue Earth eco phone press release:

SEOUL, South Korea--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. today unveiled the innovative solar powered full-touch screen phone “Blue Earth”, alongside Samsung’s vision for environmental sustainability. Under the slogan: “The Blue Earth Dream: Eco-living with SAMSUNG mobile”, Samsung reinforced its commitment to protect the environment through the design of eco-friendly products and a programme of activities for its customers. It will be showcased at Mobile World Congress 2009 for the first time.

Designed to symbolize a flat and well rounded shiny pebble, Blue Earth is the first solar powered full-touch screen phone. By charging with the solar panel located on the back of the phone, users can generate enough electronic power to call anytime anywhere.

Blue Earth is made from recycled plastic called PCM, which is extracted from water bottles, helping to reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions in the manufacturing process. The device, including charger, is free from harmful substances such as Brominated Flame Retardants, Beryllium and Phthalate.

The latest in a series of eco-friendly products, Blue Earth comes with a unique user interface which is designed to draw attention to preserving our fragile environment. Simple to set screen brightness, backlight duration and Bluetooth to an energy-efficient mode, this new user interface allows the user to be energy-efficient with just one click of ’Eco mode’. Through the ‘eco walk’ function the user can count their steps with an in-built pedometer, calculating how much CO2 emissions have been reduced by walking as opposed to motor transport. This unique function allows user to calculate the value of this footprint through the number of trees that have been saved.

The packaging for Blue Earth is designed to be both small and light, made from recycled paper, and comes with a 5 star energy efficient charger which uses standby power lower than 0.03W. As part of the Voluntary Agreement of European Commission IPP (Integrated Product Policy) pilot program, Samsung has agreed to start using rating on energy consumption on the no-load mode of the mobile device charger.

“Samsung’s ‘The Blue Earth Dream’ demonstrates our small but meaningful commitments for the future and our environment,” said Mr. JK Shin, Executive Vice President and Head of Mobile Communication Division of Samsung Electronics. "We are committed to achieving the highest eco-status with our customers and business partners by providing the best eco-products and promoting eco-activities.”

Get in touch with Samsung Mobile! Learn more about ‘The Blue Earth Dream’ and other eco-friendly initiatives at www.samsungmwc.com (The site will be opened on February 16) and visit us at Hall 8, Stand 8a139 at Mobile World Congress, Barcelona.

About The Blue Earth Dream

The Blue Earth Dream conveys hope and sets goals for sustainable growth and life. In increasing environmental awareness, Samsung is developing ways to reduce CO2 emissions and to save energy at every stage of the product life cycle, as an effective response to climate change. Milestones have been put in place to eliminate hazardous substances from handsets and packaging will be designed from recycled materials. Samsung will encourage its customers to recycle handsets at a growing number of special take-back points worldwide.

About Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2007 consolidated sales of US$105 billion. Employing approximately 150,000 people in 134 offices in 62 countries, the company consists of two main business units: Digital Media & Communications and Device Solutions. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, memory chips, mobile phones and TFT-LCDs. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com.

The Press Responds to Microsofts New Windows Phones Announcement

Well, the press (generically) are responding quite rapidly to Microsoft's recent announcement of New Windows Phones and a new version of their Windows Mobile OS.

The majority of the press articles I've read agree with my personal opinion: Windows Mobile is the ugly stepsister of all the smartphone OSs! It's clunky, slow, resource intensive, and ugly. Microsoft is still in the same position they were in when they entered the smartphone race: way at the back of the pack, busy trying to play catch-up with both their software (OS and apps) and hardware. While Palm spent many years putting Windows Mobile (in all it's various names and incarnations) to shame, currently it's the iPhone that's taken on that position. This latest announcement is just another "look, see what we have (copied)" gambit by Microsoft.

One of the more interesting responses is in an article entitled "Microsoft still has no iPhone answer" on Digital Noise - a blog about music and technology by Matt Rosoff for cnet news.

In part Matt says:

Most of Microsoft's announcements Monday at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona were leaked weeks ago, so there weren't any big surprises.

• There's a new mobile OS, Windows Mobile 6.5, that's supposed to be friendlier than the notoriously clunky earlier versions.
  
• There's a set of cloud-based services for synchronizing data like contacts and photos.
  
• There's a marketplace for Windows Mobile apps.

Assuming that any of this makes you want to run out and buy a Windows Mobile phone, too bad. None of it's available until late this year.

I found Matt's article quite interesting, so click through and read the whole thing.

Microsoft Reveals New Windows Phones

Microsoft announced today at the Mobile World Congress that they have a new Windows Mobile operating system (version 6.5) and that their partners have several really neat new phones.

Microsoft Reveals New Windows® Phones With Marketplace and My Phone Services

Microsoft mobile partners fly the Windows flag: HTC, LG and Orange preview first Windows® phones.

BARCELONA, Spain — 16 Feb. 2009 — Today at Mobile World Congress 2009, Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer along with key mobile partners, HTC, LG and Orange, unveiled new Windows® phones featuring new user-friendly software and services. The next generation of Windows® phones will be based on Windows Mobile 6.5 and feature a new user interface and a richer browsing experience. In addition, Windows® phones will feature two new services: My Phone, to sync text messages, photos, video, contacts and more to the Web; and Windows® Marketplace for Mobile, a new marketplace that will provide direct-to-phone mobile applications and can be accessed from both the phone and the Web.

“Windows® phones bring together the best of the Web, the PC and the phone so you can connect instantly to the experiences you care about, no matter where you are,” Ballmer said. “We’re working with partners across the industry to deliver a new generation of Windows® phones that break down the barriers between people, information and applications and provide great end-to-end experiences that span your entire life, at work and at home.”

Windows Mobile 6.5 Delivers New User Experience

The new Windows Mobile 6.5 home screen keeps people up-to-date on important information by providing a dashboard-like experience to items such as new e-mails, texts, missed calls and calendar appointments. It also includes an improved touch-screen interface, making it easy to take action with a finger, and an updated version of the latest Internet Explorer Mobile browser, which in a third-party research study sponsored by Microsoft supported execution of up to 48 percent more assigned tasks than the other browsers and phones studied.

My Phone Service Connects the Phone to the Web

The free My Phone service will enable people to access, manage and back up their personal information on their device to a password-protected Web-based service, making it easier to upgrade phones without the worry of losing important information. With automatic syncing and backup, users can count on their contacts, appointments, text messages and other information being kept up to date and easily restored should they lose or upgrade their phone. Consumers also will be able to automatically upload photos and video from their Windows® phone directly to the My Phone service, making it simple to preserve content that, in the past, would have lived and died on the phone. The My Phone service is currently available in a limited invitation-only beta.

Rich and Integrated Marketplace Service Will Offer Easy Access to Mobile Applications

The new operating system features Windows® Marketplace for Mobile, a rich and integrated marketplace for searching, browsing and purchasing mobile applications from Windows® phones or from a PC by simply using a Windows Live ID. The new marketplace will be included with all Windows phones based on Windows Mobile 6.5, which will help consumers to easily find, install and experience those applications that fit their needs and make the phone truly personal. Developers, who have already built over 20,000 applications for Windows® phones, will be able to offer applications to customers through the marketplace via a simple security and compatibility check from Microsoft.

O'Reilly & Palm to Release 1st Official Resource for webOS Programming

Here's some exciting news from Palm and O'Reilly -- they're collaborating to release the first Palm Pre webOS programming book. Read the press release for all the details, and follow the links to learn even more!

O'Reilly Media and Palm to Release First Official Resource for webOS Programming

First Chapter of "Palm webOS: Developing Applications in JavaScript Using the Palm Mojo Framework" Now Available Online

BARCELONA, Spain, 16 Feb 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- On the heels of the enthusiasm that has greeted the debut of the Palm(R) webOS(TM) platform and the Palm Pre(TM) phone, O'Reilly Media and Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq:PALM) today announced that they're collaborating to create the first official resource for programming the new webOS platform. Written by Palm Vice President and Software Chief Technology Officer Mitch Allen and members of the webOS development team, "Palm webOS: Developing Applications in JavaScript Using the Palm Mojo(TM) Framework" is being edited and distributed by O'Reilly Media, a leading publisher of technology resources.

The first chapter of the Rough Cuts Version of the book is currently available online for free from the Palm Developer Network at http://developer.palm.com, and is scheduled to be available on the O'Reilly website Monday by 7 p.m. CET (10 a.m. Eastern). Rough Cuts is a service from Safari Books Online that provides early access to books on cutting-edge technologies prior to publication. Programmers eager to learn how to develop applications on webOS can literally read the book online as it is being written or download it as a PDF. And with Rough Cuts, readers can participate in an ongoing discussion about the book and technology. The complete book will be published upon release of Mojo, Palm's webOS software development kit (SDK).

"Palm webOS is unlike any mobile platform available today," said Mitch Allen, vice president and software chief technology officer, Palm, Inc. "Because it leverages several industry-standard web technologies, including CSS, HTML and JavaScript, it enables them to build native JavaScript applications and provides a rich open development environment that's familiar to tens of millions of web developers. I'm excited to be working with O'Reilly to show the developer community just how easy and satisfying it is to develop applications for webOS."

Unveiled last month at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, webOS has won enthusiastic praise for giving users what other mobile platforms can't: cloud connectivity and data-integration, bringing users' information from the many places it resides -- on their phone, at work or on the web -- into one simple, integrated view.(1) Palm Pre, the first phone to run on the new platform, has a sleek design that offers a large touch screen and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard.

The Palm webOS book offers developers concise information about the application model and framework, and how to use Palm's Mojo SDK to build applications to run on webOS, along with best practises, considerations, and guidelines for design and development.

Palm has stepped up to the plate in terms of working with open standards and delivering a platform the mobile community can embrace," said Executive Editor Steve Weiss, O'Reilly. "Mobile application development has emerged as one of the guiding themes in tech for the foreseeable future, and O'Reilly is pleased to be working directly with Palm to create the best learning resources for application designers and developers as quickly as possible."

Check here for more information about the book, including table of contents, index, author bio, and samples: http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596801816

Mitch Allen will also present a free webcast on 25 Feb. at 10 a.m. PT to offer developers a rare preview of the webOS operating system and development environment, followed by a Q&A session. More information will be available from the O'Reilly website and the Palm Developer Network.

About Mitch Allen

Mitch Allen is vice president and software chief technology officer at Palm, Inc., where he provides executive-level technical leadership for Palm's software strategy. His primary focus is the establishment of Palm webOS as the leading mobile platform for web developers. As one of the earliest designers of webOS, Mitch has been a principal architect of Palm's new OS and application development framework. He is currently leading the design of the Mojo developer SDK and toolsets, and working with initial developers in their use of the platform and SDK.

About Palm webOS

The groundbreaking Palm webOS platform, designed exclusively for mobile use, introduces Palm Synergy(TM), which brings your information from the many places it resides into one simple, integrated view.(1) webOS also lets you keep multiple applications open and instantly flip from one to another, so you can flow easily between activities without losing your place. It's designed to be so in sync with your needs that it feels like it's thinking ahead for you. More information about Palm webOS and Palm Pre is available at www.palm.com. Information about the Palm Mojo Framework and SDK is available at http://developer.palm.com.

About O'Reilly

O'Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O'Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying "faint signals" from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.

About Palm, Inc.

Palm, Inc. is a leading mobile products company, creating instinctive yet powerful mobile products that enable people to better manage their lives on the go. The company's products for consumers, mobile professionals and businesses include Palm(R) Treo(TM), Pre(TM) and Centro(TM) phones, as well as software, services and accessories.

Palm products are sold through select Internet, retail, reseller and wireless operator channels throughout the world, and at Palm online stores (http://www.palm.com/store).

More information about Palm, Inc. is available at http://www.palm.com.

Link Your Mobile and Home Phone Services

Here's a really neat product line from a Canadian company that links your mobile (cell) and home (wired) phone services. I'm definitely intrigued and I'll have to do more research into the XLink. Read on to learn more:

XLink Communication Hubs -- The World's First and Still the Best Multiple Cellular Bluetooth Gateway

Finally your cell phone can be accessed from anywhere in your home or office!

The XLink family of products makes it possible to send and receive cell phones calls using regular telephones. No more searching for your cell phones; just use regular phones at home or in the office.
Any cell phone with Bluetooth wireless technology will work with XLINK™.

The XLink can simultaneously connect to three different cell phones; one for each family member! As many regular telephones as desired can be plugged into the back of the XLink. Whenever any of the connected cell phones ring, all the telephones ring also!

XLink can be used with or without landline phone service. Now you can decide whether or not to keep your landline. Either way - all your telephones can keep functioning!

XLink products work right out of the box. There are never any extra cables or modules to buy. You get everything you need in this one cost effective solution.

There are two models in the XLink family, the XLink BT and the XLink BTTN. The XLink BT can connect to three cell phones. The XLink BTTN can connect to three cell phones and a regular telephone line or Voice Over IP adapter box.

XLink BT - $99.99 CDN
If you have already abandoned your traditional phone line and currently use one or more cell phones then the BT model is for you. It will connect your cell phones to as many regular telephone sets as you wish. Connect up to THREE cell phones.

XLink BTTN - $129.99 CDN
If you want to connect one or more cell phones to your regular telephones but want to keep your standard telephone service or want to use a VOIP adapter box then the BTTN model is what you need. You can connect up to THREE cell phones to the BTTN model, as well as, one regular telephone input. This input can come from a regular phone line or from a VOIP (internet telephony) box such as Vonage or MagicJack.
Save Money with XLink

XLink was created for your convenience and to allow you to save money!
If you have a cell phone that you use almost all the time and a landline, it might be possible for you to cancel your landline and exclusively use your cell phone. This will save you money every month.

One reason people do not like to cancel their phone line is because then all their phones throughout their house stop working. The XLink BT was created to address this issue. Now you can cancel your phone line but keep on using your telephones like nothing has changed!

Coming Soon: Skype Link
Receive incoming Skype calls with your cell phone or regular phone.

Do you also use Skype to communicate with people? XLink will shortly connect your Skype calls to your home phone system as well.

Incoming Skype calls will ring your house phones and you will be able to dial your Skype speed dials from any phone connected to the XLink.

And best of all this will work with your exising XLink hardware!

About Xtreme Technologies
Xtreme Technologies is a Canadian (based in Calgary AB) electronics design and manufacturing company and the leader in Cellular Gateways and Bluetooth Docking Stations.

Sweet Valentine's Savings from PalmGear

PalmGear gives you Sweet Valentine's Savings


Celebrate Valentine's Day with 20% off any order at PalmGear, now through February 19th. Just use coupon code SWEETSAVINGS at checkout.


http://www.palmgear.com/


BONUS Lovin' - Right in your Back Pocket

Download games and apps directly from your Palm Smartphone. Just visit m.pocketgear.com from your device to view our mobile catalog of over 2,500 Palm apps! Use coupon code MOBILESHOP and receive 25% off your first download from the PocketGear App Store for Palm OS. http://m.pocketgear.com/

Valentine's Day Specials from Skyscape

Here's a Valentine's Day Special announcement from Skyscape. Be sure to click through to read all the details on their specials.

Valentine's Day is around the corner. Give your loved one the gift of knowledge!

Spend $75 or more and get 10% off your entire order* or spend $100 or more and get 20% off your entire order*.

Using mobile medical information at the point of care has been proven to reduce errors, save time and improve patient outcomes. With over 500 trusted resources covering more than 35 specialties, Skyscape provides healthcare practitioners with an unlimited selection of titles from the most expansive mobile medical library in the world!

To see Skyscape's entire portfolio of resources for physicians and nurses, and get your Valentine day gift, click here.

Hurry - offer ends February 20, 2009