The T-Mobile SDA

Uncategorized No Responses »
Apr 272006

I already told you that I own a T-Mobile SDA. I’ll tell you something about this smartphone and why I bought it.
Facts: The SDA has a 176×220 pixel colour screen (no touchscreen), 32MB internal memory, IR, BT, MiniSD, and comes with a full license of Outlook 2002.

Characterizing the SDA in one sentence is easy: „small, but powerfull“. Well, the phone is no more really up-to-date, there are already newer versions on the market (e.g. the SDA II/Qtek 8310) has the same form factor, but integrated Wifi). But I only paid 100€ for my brand new SDA and for that price it’s definitely a good buy*. It offers basic PIM support (calendar, contacts, todos) with outlook syncronisation, email, webbrowsing, mp3 and video playback. With additional software the SDA becomes even more powerfull. The box comes with software to view Word, Excel, Powerpoint and PDF files (only view, not edit). AvantGo and Mobipocket versions for WinMobile Smartphone Edition are also available. I also installed chat programms for ICQ and IRC and with the thinkoutside driver I even can use my infrared keyboard from Palm with the SDA. Wrinting SMS with ten fingers is really freaky :-) .
I’ve never used a WinMobile device before and some things are different: Programms do not stop when you leave them, they’re only in the background. Only the task manager really stops them. This can be anoying, but it’s also an advantage. Looking up something in the calendar while you’re chatting via IRC? No problem. Multitasking is a feature that I sometimes miss on PalmOS.

The navigation via the joystick, soft keys and numeric keyboard is simple and comfortable. A touchscreen doesn’t make much sense for such a small display in my oppinion. And I want to use my mobile with only ONE hand (touchscreen means one hand for stylus and one hand for mobile).

And why did I buy the SDA? Because I switched to the Tungsten C. I don’t have Wifi on-the-go, but I sometimes want to check my mails or chat while I’m in town or at university. And I want a small, compact mobile phone that provides basic PIM functionality. The SDA offers both (and even more) at a good price.

* the German online-shop „otto.de“ actually offers a bundle of SDA and TomTom Navigator (software and BT GPS receiver) for 199€. Some users only want the TomTom software and/or GPS and sell the SDA for a low price.

Posted by Thomas Busch at 12:41 am

Howard Tomlinson from AstraWare

Interviews 1 Response »
Apr 262006

Here is yet another part of the TamsPalm developer interview #1/2006-’The future of the Palm OS’. This time, our victim was Howard Tomlinson from AstraWare!

Please tell us a bit more about your company(products, history)

Astraware is the premier developer and publisher of games on Palm OS and Windows Mobile platforms. We started as hobbyists in the 1990′s and created our business from that. We have nearly 100 products, but the most famous of them are Zap!2000, Bejeweled(s), and Astraware Sudoku.

Do you think that a development shack supporting only the Palm OS API has chances to survive?

Yes, though it may not be the most business-efficient way. It takes more effort to support multiple platforms, but done right, not that much more.

Do you feel that the Palm software market has changed?

Yes, it has got a lot more professional. 5+ years ago, a hobbyist could create and release shareware and make reasonable sales from it. Now, the customers are no longer early adopters, and with much more choice available, it is the well produced, well polished applications that are the only ones being sold successfully.

What do you think about the Treo 700w? Will the ‘traditional’ Palm cut it against HTC, etc?

I think it will be successful. I still prefer Palm OS, so I’ll stick with my 650 for now, but the 700w has certainly attracted a lot of attention.

Do you think that Garnet will still be around next year?

Yes.

Why did Cobalt fail in your oppinion?

Personally, I think it was because there wasn’t a need for it at that time (from manufacturers), perhaps because the demand for the capabilities that Cobalt would provide wasn’t there – and arguably still isn’t.

What do you see as Garnet’s sucessor on the market?

We’re all waiting with considerable interest to find out more from PalmSource/Access.

Do you think that palm’s developer support is good enough?

This is perhaps misleading, because the developer support role has always been with the OS manufacturer, not the hardware manufacturer. There haven’t been major changes to the OS that require support recently, so it perhaps hasn’t been critical for most developers. (And for new developers there are already many good resources available!)

What do you think about ESD’s, can you reccomend a specific one?

ESDs are having to diversify, and find areas that they can succeed in that a good developer couldn’t manage easily on their own such as carrier relationships.

What kinds of marketing can you reccomend?

I can tell you that I wouldn’t recommend paid advertising of banners or in print magazines – these are not good value. The most successful things we’ve done have been to run promotions and to let our existing customers all know with a good offer when we release a new game.

Do you wish to say anything else?

If only I had the time ;)

Posted by Tam Hanna, Site Founder at 11:45 pm

6 tips for better carrier customer service

Workshops No Responses »
Apr 262006

InfoSyncWorld brings us this exciting blurb on carrier customer support:

http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/6600.html

While most of the hints given appear to be common-sense, looking into them may still get you thinking. If I had that back when I bought that crappy game from T-Mobile for my MT50, I guess that I would be richer by a few bucks now…

How is your own carrier support story?

Posted by Tam Hanna, Site Founder at 9:42 pm

Brownout warning!

TamsPalm internal No Responses »
Apr 262006

Dear Readers,
in a few hours from now, our web host, HostLoco needs to take all web sites hosted offline for a firmware upgrade on their core routers! This means that TamsPalm will not be reachable for up to 30 minutes!

I apologize in advance for any inconvinience(and am glad to accept hints about new hosting companies)! The guys/gals served us very well so far, but they now start to break up…

Best regards
Tam Hanna

Posted by Tam Hanna, Site Founder at 9:07 pm

Palm Linux development finished soon?

Linux and Palm, Uncategorized 5 Responses »
Apr 262006

The development of the Linux ports for Palm OS is fast. The newest story: Hackndev.com writes about the newest Linux for the T|T3, which supports booting from a SD card and mounting it in Linux. Now, according to the T3 page in the Handhelds.org Wiki everything works on the T|T3, except Bluetooth – but they are already working at Bluetooth support -, turning the device off and on and sound.

While many other Palms are supported by Linux, too, the T3 is the most supported machine. The most unsupported machines are TE, TE2 and T5 while the TE2 and T5 ports were just updated, supporting touchscreen,… So I’m very optimistic that many Linux ports will be ready and user-friendly, at least next year!

Posted by Alexander Gratz at 6:54 pm

tejpWriter 3.0 released

Palm News No Responses »
Apr 262006

Peter Thorstenson just alerted us that his opensource Palm OS text editor tejpWriter was updated to version 3.0!

It contains mayor imporvements like HiRes+ support. We already tested tejpWriter together a few weeks ago, so no further comments here.

The program’s home page is:
http://twriter.atspace.com/

Stay tuned for a review!

Posted by Tam Hanna, Site Founder at 3:42 pm

PHP gotchas

Uncategorized No Responses »
Apr 262006

A few of us like doing PHP coding for fun-in fact, most of TamsPalm is a CMS that is based on PHP.

The site given below contains a few interesting gotchas, including why:

  • The string abcde doesnt contain abc
  • Why 0.1+0.7 is not 0.8
  • and many more

A good read if you are interested in PHP!

http://devzone.zend.com/node/view/id/168

Posted by Tam Hanna, Site Founder at 1:27 pm

Sidekick 3, Nokia N72, N73 and N93 announced/leaked/launched

Hardware News No Responses »
Apr 262006

Here is the latest bit of news from across the river:

Symbian
2 or 3.2 MP digicams, bluetooth, etx flank Nokia’s latest re-hash of Series 60 phones. Get the full news here:
N72
N73, N93

Sidekick
The SideKick 3 was leaked at FCC. Mini-SD, 1.3mp camera and bluetooth; thats the news basically:
Engadget post

Posted by Tam Hanna, Site Founder at 8:37 am

Hackers and Painters review

Book reviews No Responses »
Apr 262006

Hackers and Painters definitely isn’t the usual kind of book that you expect to see reviewed on TamsPalm-it doesn’t try to teach you a new skill(like all other books reviewed so far). Nope, instead, it tries to achieve something different – Hackers&Painters wants to make you think!

You notice the difference between this and a regular O’Reilly book immediately, as it has a hard cover:
Hackers and Painters review Hackers and Painters review Hackers and Painters review
The topic covered begin with the epic question of why nerds are unpopular. After that, the book quickly shifts to how hackers think and live. Most programmers will find themselves in this part of the text, the clear explanations serve as reasoning “for the laymen”.

After that, the book goes on to web applications and startups. He discusses a variety of topics ranging from why web applications will be great to how wealth is generated. A good bit of wisdom about managing startups is included as well-but don’t expect deeper technical coverage on how to create web apps.

At the end, Paul Graham speculates a bit about how programming languages and computers in general will develop in the future. While his speculations may be a bit wild sometimes, most of the time, they are very probable and understandable.

The text itself has a very pleasant style. It is easy to read, and I had no problems with any of the acronyms. Laymen will probably have an extremely difficult life in some of the more technical chapters, but they should be able to make it through most of the book with the acronym reference at the end!

Overall, this was a great read. This book is not too technical, so even a layman can read most it(good for friends who don’t understand what you are doing). Then broad array of topics covered will definitely make you think(and even look at LISP, maybe)…and thinking leads to innovation, after all!

Posted by Tam Hanna, Site Founder at 3:05 am

The futility of mobile tech forecasting

Editorials No Responses »
Apr 252006

Mike Mace’s Blog Mobile Opportunity is full of interesting anectotes from the past of Palm Inc. For example, he just dug up a file from 1997 showing what Palm was expecting to see in PDA’s in 5, 10 and 20 years:

http://mobileopportunity.blogspot.com/2006/04/futility-of-high-tech-forecasting.html

Overall, Palm’s predictions for 2002 were pretty accurate, and the twenty yeasr prognosis looks really mad. A must read-what do you think?

Posted by Tam Hanna, Site Founder at 10:28 pm

HP shoots a storage server..and it lives

Funny Stuff No Responses »
Apr 252006

Most companies brag about how their storage solutions are bullet proof, redundant, etc. HP now decided to take a XP12000 disk array to the shoting range, and hnt a bullet right through its pricey interiors.

And indeed, the box doesn’t skip a single frame and is restored and repaired while operating! A must-watch!

Watch the video

Posted by Tam Hanna, Site Founder at 4:19 pm

T|T3 Linux now supports SD cards

Linux and Palm, Software News, Uncategorized No Responses »
Apr 252006

Hackndev.com writes that the T|T3 Linux port now has a working SD driver and supports booting from a SD card!

Download and additional info: http://hackndev.com/node/160

Posted by Alexander Gratz at 2:38 pm

On allowing photographs

Miscellaneous 1 Response »
Apr 252006

Seth Godin just blogged a situation that most of us know too well-not beeing allowed to photograph an object in a store or restaurant:

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2006/04/the_paradox_of_.html

But-unlike the McDonalds show a few weeks ago-there was no external reason for the “aggressivity”. Seth now takes a look at why it is a bad idea to prohibit customers to photograph for marketing reasons.

Where were you attacked when photographing?

Posted by Tam Hanna, Site Founder at 1:57 pm

Iain Barclay from Electric Pocket

Interviews No Responses »
Apr 252006

Please tell us a bit more about your company(products, history)

We develop popular applications for Palm and Windows Mobile, including the famous BugMe! Notepad note-taker(review on TamsPalm), Ringo, a user-friendly ringtone manager and Busker – an MP3 player specially designed for mobile use.

Do you think that a development shack supporting only the Palm OS API has chances to survive?

Maybe for another year or so, but I would be seriously considering other options if I were in that position.

Do you feel that the Palm software market has changed?

Yes, we consider it as a “Palm OS Treo” market these days.

What do you think about the Treo 700w? Will the ‘traditional’ Palm cut it against HTC, etc?

Yes, I think Palm have a great product, and – more importantly – have developed very strong carrier relationships, which are critical in making a successful play in the smartphone space.

Do you think that Garnet will still be around next year?

Yes, I would think so.

Why did Cobalt fail in your opinion?

It was far, far too ambitious – making it so late it missed the boat.

What do you see as Garnet’s successor on the market?

It’s hard to say. Access/PalmSource would have us believe its Palm OS on Linux, but I think it really depends on what Palm does next. If Palm goes down the Linux route, then that is interesting to us as there will be a clear market for us to provide applications on that platform. We’ll wait and see on this one I think!

Do you think that palm’s developer support is good enough?

Yeah, I don’t have any issues with it.

What do you think about ESD’s, can you recommend a specific one?

I love what Mobihand are doing at the moment. They have wisely focussed on the Treo-niche, and are doing some very good things for developers and for the contents sites. They’ve brought new energy to the space, and that has got to be a good thing.

What kinds of marketing can you recommend?

We’ve always favoured stealth marketing, but that’s because we’re engineers!

Posted by Tam Hanna, Site Founder at 8:18 am
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