Category: palm

Rumored New Palm: Tungsten C – with 802.11b?

Ashley Bischoff1 Comment

According to PalmInfocenter, Palm may be releasing a Tungsten C in March:

Highly speculative rumors from the PalmInfocenter forums, claim it may resemble the Tungsten W with a built in thumboard with integrated WiFi (802.11b) instead of a GSM/GPRS radio.

[…]

Another theory is that the “C” could possibly stand for Camera, or any number of other things. That would support this rumored device which was submitted anonymously back in November. Speculation on that device ranged from a possible Smartphone to a tablet like handheld. […]

It’s very characteristic of Palm to drop the price on their high-end model before announcing a new one (which they did earlier this month), and PalmInfocenter rumors have been reliable in the past.

So, there’s little doubt in my mind that a Tunsten C will likely be released in March. What its gizmo will be (802.11b, digicam, or otherwise), I can’t be sure. Personally, I’m rooting for 802.11b as that would allow for cradle-free hotsyncing and — even better — mobile e-mail access such as in airports or coffee shops.

Spare Color Palm?

Ashley BischoffLeave a comment

As I use Plucker more and more (Plucker screenshots), I’m realizing that web browsing would be much more pleasant in color ;). Granted, I can get 4 shades of gray on my Palm Vx, but one of those shades is “white” and one shade is “black” (leaving really only two shades of gray).

So, if you happen to have a color Palm that’s just lying around, I’d be happy to take if off your hands for a few bucks (I’m not really even considering a new model at the moment, since even the m130 is still about $200).

[Dow update: -159.87 to 7858.24]

Plucker – Offline Web Browser for Palm

Ashley Bischoff5 Comments

I was talking to Bryan today about Plucker. I was originally going to e-mail him, but I figured I’d post about it here as well.

Plucker is an offline web browser for the Palm (screenshots). It has a PC-component that downloads websites that you specify, converts them to Palm-friendly format, and queues them for your next Hotsync into your Palm. The Plucker-viewer resides on the Palm to view the pages.

Sounds like AvantGo? Well, it is similar, but better. Unlike AvantGo, Plucker is free (well, the basic AvantGo with 2 MB capacity is free, but the 8 MB version is $19.95/year). And, while AvantGo actually charges websites to be accessible by AvantGo, you can also pluck any page on the web (though it has an easier time with pages that are enhanced for mobile devices).

Plucker is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac.

Update 2/13: Changed URL for plucker friendly pages (the PDA Sized URL Wiki is more up-to-date).

MP3/Ogg Player for Palm Tungsten T

Ashley Bischoff1 Comment

Palm InfoCenter reports that Aerodrome Software has released AeroPlayer v1.0, which can play both MP3 and Ogg files:

Aeroplayer only runs on the Palm Tungsten T and requires at least 150k of free memory. Audio files can be transferred through hotsync or with an external card reader. The app is $16 shareware. […]

It’s too bad that it’s not free, but it may be one of the few shareware programs worth paying for (not that I steal shareware — if I find an app too expensive, I simply don’t use the program).

What’s especially nice is the device-convergence angle: with a Tungten T and this app, you wouldn't need to carry around both a PDA and an MP3/Ogg player.

Pleasantly, Palm has also dropped the price on the Tungsten T by $100, to a list price of $399. Not that I can afford one either way ;), but at least I can more easily buy one once my job prospects improve.

No More Graffiti for Palm

Ashley BischoffLeave a comment

Due to a lawsuit from Xerox, Palm is abandoning Graffiti (its handwriting-recognition system).

PalmSource, the operating system subsidiary of Palm, Inc., announced today that future versions of Palm OS will not contain Graffiti. Rather, they will incorporate a modified version of Communication Intelligence Corporation's Jot handwriting recognition software, something it’s calling Graffiti 2 powered by Jot.

The impetus for the switch appears to be legal rather than technical. In April 1997, Xerox sued Palm, claiming that Graffiti was essentially derived from its patented Unistrokes technology. Unistrokes, or “Unistrokes for Computerized Interpretation of Handwriting”, as it is referred to in Xerox’s 1997 patent, is a system of text-entry using single-stroke symbols for computerized recognition of handwritten text. […]

So, presumably, the next Palms will have Jot. And, looking over the character guide, it doesn’t seem that bad. Most of it is actually very similar to Graffiti already, and probably only a few characters would be tough for me to un-learn (such as q/u/v, along with all the brand-new editing commands).

I’m pleased, though, that Jot supports writing on top of the main desktop area, as Palm always seemed confined to writing within its own little Graffiti-only area.

(Link from Slashdot)