Over the last few years we've seen the Palm OS platform stagnate while Microsoft, Apple, and Symbian continue to develop their mobile operating systems. Oh sure, there will be a new version of the Palm operating system at some point, but at this point we're not sure there will be any manufacturers willing to run Palm software on their devices.
But here's one good reason to pull your old Palm PDA out of the junk drawer, or even pick up a used one on eBay: Game-maker PDAmill is offering its Palm OS games for free. All of them.
The game developer recently announced that they would stop developing for Palm. And while the company could have continued charging a small fee for some of its excellent video games, they instead decided to give them away.
The games included Arvale, an RPG, several games in the GameBox series which include classics like Solitaire, Mahjohng, Snakes, Blocks, and Cannons, and Snails, which is a turn-based action game similar to Worms.
Remember how Palm was supposed to be releasing its super-cool new operating system based on Linux this year? And then remember how Palm went and pushed the release date back to 2008?
Apparently now they're pushing it way way back -- to the end of 2008. That's right, Palm's next generation operating system will be more than a year late, according to Palm CEO Ed Colligan.
The new Linux-based operating system is being developed by Access, who is writing a Palm compatibility layer into a totally new OS. That will let users run existing Palm applications as well as new programs designed for the OS.
Palm and Access (the company that acquired PalmSource) are working on Linux-based operating systems that will run on Palm hardware and support PalmOS applications. But considering how quickly Palm is losing market share to Windows Mobile (you can even buy a Palm Treo with the Windows Mobile operating system), maybe they should think about scrapping the compatibility layer altogether and just pushing out a modern OS for Palm devices as soon as possible.
Update: Thanks to our readers for pointing out that Palm is working on a new OS independently of Access.
The point of this post is to provide a handy list of software for Palm OS devices because many free apps are now hard-to-find. Commercial apps aren't, but I'm a cheap, cheap man. Follow along as I save you a bundle on hardware and software that'll put a powerful gadget in your pocket.
I wound up with a Palm T|X from my little brother who bought himself an iPhone (and the subsequent snobbery that comes with). It's been years since I used a Palm regularly, and the last one I tried was a WristPDA but was so hopelessly out-of-date that I abandoned it for a real watch (you know, that won't short out in the rain). My first PDA was, in fact, a PalmPilot Pro and was branded from 3Com. Those were the days, when Palm and Apple's Newton stood and chuckled at the nascent Windows CE platform. My how times have changed. The Newton is long buried (but not exactly dead), and Palm is largely in freefall. Why they spun out their OS years ago is beyond me, and it certainly hasn't helped their software situation any. Where Palm apps of every stripe once flowed freely there is now but a trickle, and every day that trickle gets slighter while developers move on to more robust platforms.
Still, what amazes me is how great Palm hardware is, and how you can really do quite a bit with it-- if you know where to look. So I've distilled my own adventures in Palm down to one handy little guide, full of useful apps and tips to get you started. You can find a decent deal on ebay for nearly any modern color Palm too. Don't be afraid to buy a unit with dead battery and buy a replacement battery. Do be afraid to buy something monochrome and without Bluetooth. I find the T|X is a sweet spot-- no laggy hard drive like the LifeDrive, an SD slot, Bluetooth and WiFi, and the ability to go fullscreen and landscape. If you crave tiny, check out the smaller Tungstens that slide open. Currently you can get an opened T|X on ebay for less than $150.
When acquiring this little guy I had three primary needs: 1) PDF Reader 2) Image browser 3) Quick note capture with alarms
See what works and doesn't, plus all the cool extra things I found after the jump.
Palm was once king of the mobile landscape. The Palm Pilot made reality what a decade of electronic organizers and ill-fated Apple Newtons never could; A practical handheld computer to store the junk from your head. Once Palm established the market Microsoft stepped in with Windows CE, early versions of which were laughable in comparison to the Palm. Three name changes, infinite version numbers and the integration of the mobile phone saw Windows CE grow up into Windows Mobile, and take the lead. It's an age old story of Microsoft takeover by market-share and, now Palm is only steps away from being swallowed whole bought outright by one of a host of other industry players.
John Dvorak explains that either Nokia or Motorola are likely to drop the hammer on a buyout of Palm sometime soon, and at a price of around $20 a share. eWeek reports their could be as many as 4 bidders fighting behind the scenes, although speculation runs wild as to who the two not named Nokia or Motorola may be.
Despite ads floating around inviting shoppers to the url, www.ontreo.com--Palm's site for the new Treo 680 released last week--had remained dormant until today. And it probably should have stayed that way. Engadget says the phone itself has a "whiff of 2004" about it, and that goes triple for the obnoxious flash-based bit of yesteryear that Palm has whipped up to support the phone. Aside from being blinding and difficult to navigate, it's one of those "hey, look at our cool site!" sites that tells you absolutely nothing about the product. Assuming you can find the information links (I'm not telling; you'll have to figure it out for yourselves), each of the phone's features is given exactly one paragraph of description before the detail links whisk you off, without so much as a how-do-you-do, to Palm's main site. Actually I'm okay with that. It's where they should have sent everyone in the first place.
There is one interesting tidbit buried in the site, though: apparently the the 680, like it's big brother the 700, will support TiVoToGo. That makes it almost worth the $199 pricetag right there.
You can read a paragraph about that, too, if you make it through the blinding orange and emoticon-headed masses with eyesight and sanity intact.
Torrentfreak is reporting that BitTorrent has struck deals with several entertainment companies including 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, G4, Kadokawa Pictures USA, Lionsgate, MTV Networks (Comedy Central, MTV etc.), Palm Pictures and Starz Media, which will make those companies' movies and television shows available in BitTorrent's upcoming download store. Among the properties named are X-Men III, Mission: Impossible III, Prison Break, Laguna Beach, and South Park. These companies join Warner Bros. in partnership with BitTorrent, the launch of whose digital media store has been pushed back to early next year.
Opera software released a new version of its mobile browser, Opera Mini, on Tuesday for use on Palm and RIM handhelds. This new version has "the Google" search engine as default. Since launching earlier this year, Opera Mini has received much fanfare and thanks from mobile users for bringing a fast and much better mobile browser to the marketplace. This new version enhances on image rendering and speed performance by condensing web pages, and decreasing the data size that is transferred. Not only is Opera free to download and use, but they have a contest running right now where Operaheads can win a free Palm Treo or Blackberry for coming up with a sales pitch to explain why Opera Mini would improve your on-the-go lifestyle. The deadline for the contest is November 30th.
In the world of smart phones, it seems like good old Microsoft is seeing some fast growth rates. The current numbers, according to Microsoft's Mobile and Embedded Devices division, were at 6 million last year, with hopes that they can double usage for this year. The biggest taker in the market is currently Nokia, who runs Symbian on their smart phones allowing for software that runs email, mobile TV, and games. The leading device in the smart phone arena is of course, the Blackberry, whose usage also hits the 6 million mark. Microsoft has a lot to contend with considering Blackberry plans to double its users every single year. I think there is certainly room for all four major players [including Palm] in the marketplace, but it really does make it that much harder to decide which devices to purchase and run software off.
What do you think, who has your vote? Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Palm OS, or Symbian?
Now that Download Squad is accessible via mobile device, I thought I would start bringing you more downloads for mobile users.
This slick little app will turn your mobile device into an email and RSS powerhouse. You set up an online account with Flurry first with your email accounts and RSS feeds, then you can download mail and RSS feeds from their gateway servers onto your mobile device. They support OPML import for all your news feeds, and POP3 or IMAP for your email accounts. The service is currently available on many carriers including T-Mobile, Cingular, Verizon, U.S. Cellular, Nextel, Sprint, Virgin Mobile, Boost, Edge and others. You need a phone that supports J2ME (Java) and MIDP protocols (most newer devices do support both) and a wap-enabled browser to download the app. Get this download (direct download for your mobile) of Flurry. Then set your Gmail or other POP3/IMAP service to allow access, and you're golden! If you can't download the app via your phone, it is also available to download onto your PC (JAD edition or JAR edition) then transfer using blue-tooth or a cable. Drop me a line below or send me a tip if there are sweet mobile apps you want me to cover in the future. The read link below is a PC-viewable version of the download page. Enjoy!
While there are a great number of ways to put a Getting Things Done system into action on a Windows PC, I'd like to compare and contrast the benefits of using native Windows software like Outlook (arguably the most popular personal information management software on Windows) and handheld computers (in this case a Pocket PC) versus using online web-based software. Today's post will focus on the "offline" native Windows and Pocket PC software.
Sometimes the simplest
applications make us smile. Around here, we're generally not too fond of funky interfaces or whiz-bang graphics
on every piece of software. That is especially the case for PDA applications. Take, for example, this
wonderfully made donationware application called Flight Status.
Developed by some high school kid (Andrew), Flight Status fills a great gap on the Treo platform for the mobile
professional. You punch in your flight number and airline, and it sends you back real time flight status.
Don't remember the flight number? No probs, just select the airline, departure and arrival airports, and it'll
get the rest. Simply said, it works. Andrew has done a great job in designing a simple GUI, but we are
wondering one thing: When did a high school kid start thinking about mobile professionals? Thanks to Eric Mack
for the link.
Over the last few years we've seen the Palm OS platform stagnate while Microsoft, Apple, and Symbian continue to develop their mobile operating systems. Oh sure, there will be a new version of the Palm operating system at some point, but at this point we're not sure there will be any manufacturers willing to run Palm software on their devices.
The point of this post is to provide a handy list of software for Palm OS devices because many free apps are now hard-to-find. Commercial apps aren't, but I'm a cheap, cheap man. Follow along as I save you a bundle on hardware and software that'll put a powerful gadget in your pocket.
