Unfortunately, it looks like the end of the traditional Palm OS will also bring an end to Palm User Groups – the picture on the left side was made at the farewell/dissolution meeting of the Hong Kong Palm User Group.

As of now, nobody knows if the group will continue or will end forever – however, further images of the meeting can be found at the following URL’s (no English translation as of this writing):
http://www.hkpug.org/discuz/viewthread.php?tid=2141
http://www.hkpug.org/discuz/viewthread.php?tid=2142

Even though attendance had dwindled in the last months, today’s meeting was very well-visited:

Most people followed the German Nexave news feed, which unfortunately was extremely slow even though it wasn’t updated a single time while we were there (so much about sending somebody there/about the new server):

Fortunately, my XPERIA X1 was tuned to Engadget…and quickly became the lust object for all attendants as news about the new boxen began to trickle out. General user sentiment was very positive – all attendants (yours truly excluded) were impressed by the “rich features” of the box:

Unfortunately, the announcement of EVDO-exclusivity did not go down well: on e user stated that he already was used to waiting, but now has “something to wait for”…

Other topics of interest involved Apple stuff, Nokia’s E-series QWERTY handhelds and digital cameras:

The BlackBerry was not liked too well:

Finally, here’s a collection shot showing all the attending boxen:

In the end, I left the place impressed by the enthusiasm Palm’s recent announcement managed to create. I myself was not too impressed: the world imho doesnt need another web-only platform…and the lack of even rudimentary Palm OS emulation is appaling.

What do you think?

Overall responses to the device have been pretty positive, some have even declared that this is the device they have been waiting for “for years”. Most users have expressed interest to purchase the device if a GSM version is to be released in the future…

Further information on the box can be found at the URL below – hit the link below for the full scoop:
Live from the CES

We are awaiting news from Palm, but are not too hopeful – stay tuned for further info as we get it!

Should any of you feel like passing by, hit the Pizza Plus around 1900 or later. As usual, further information can be obtained at the web site of the organizer!

I will be there from around 1930 onwards, and will tug along my XPERIA X1, Nokia N96, BlackBerry Curve and MSI Wind U100 for sampling – see you there!

Fortte cases
Fortte’s customizable cases were passed around and demoed – even though the colors weren’t too popular, the general idea of customizable cases managed to raise heads and got people talking…

iPhone 3G
Herwig has always been our resident Apple nut…he unsurprisingly got himself an iPhone 3G:

Cutting a long story short: he is extremely dissatisfied. The machine had to be replaced two times due to software issues, and T-Mobile’s support is lackluster at best. However, the motion sensor can be used for some truly innovative things…like an app that simulates beer:

JayBird headset
JayBird’s excellent bluetooth headset was passed around – people were very impressed with it. Trial versions of Softick Audio Gateway were provided to interested third parties via Bluetooth…

Sony Clie TH55
Alexander (our organizer) tugged along a Sony Clie TH55 he purchased recently:

The device was passed around and caused a stream of nostalgia:

In the end, the downward trend of the PUG has stopped somewhat – 5 people wasn’t the top number, but wasn’t too low either.

How is the turn-up at your PUG?

Dana Wireless
The Dana Wireless is among the most boring handhelds ever – one picture says more than thousand words:

Janam XP30
Do not ask me where this box came from, but it was in the locker in the center of the room:

A Nexave employee gladly handet it out to me – unfortunately, the machine didn’t power up. Nevertheless, here are a few comparison images next to a Treo 680:

This year’s big surprise was brought along by vivomobile – a huge crate full of broken handhelds, planars, parts,.. – they all could be taken home for free(loads of toys for tinkers):

Clemens Schuchart from the PUG Neuss Podcast held a 30min talk on how to use a Palm(and what to use it for) – while most of this wasn’t really interesting for professionals, beginners still could learn a lot here:

After that, Palm’s Mr. Weiss had a short presentation and answered a few preprepared questions from the Nexave team. Generally, Mr. Weiss’s answers were rather bland and did not contain anything new or especially interesting:

As always, a load of German Palm freaks was around:

This year, yours truly also had a small booth demoing various handhelds not running on Palm OS. The devices attracted a huge load of onlookers(including some very prominent ones) – many used the opportunity to look at Windows Mobile(and a jailbroken iPod touch):

Of course, some StyleTap consulting was also needed:

In the end, it was a rather interesting evening – I’ll try to make it there again next year:

Stay tuned for extra stuff(and some surprises) soon!

This month’s PUG meet-up was delayed due to the new year’s eve celebrations; the PUG Vienna thus met yesterday. As always, we met in the Pizza Plus – here’s what we discussed:

GSPDA M70
Group Sense’s Treo competitor went round and round; and was generally well liked. However, the subjective size advantage was not perceived as big as I initially felt it was:

Alexander stuck his 8GB SDHC card into the M70 – the machine wasn’t able to identify it:

hp 314 navigator
HP’s 314 navigator(via TamsPPC) managed to impress because of its included games and the huge, highres screen:
Christian tortured the voice gateway feature of the box a bit – the 314 can act as a hands-free with most bluetooth phones(not with Palm OS Treos, though):

QTEK 8500
A QTEK 8500 smartphone also popped up at the show – all of us agreed that the Windows Mobile Smartphone launcher urgently needs an overhaul:

Apple iPod touch
I brought along an Apple iPod touch I purchased in anticipation of the SDK release, only to have it stolen while it was on the desk there. I have no ideas how this amazing feat was accomplished, but the device was gone by the time I left the table for the first time. The “insurance” purchased along with the device does NOT cover theft – although the sales clerk told me that it did…

Anyways, the machine was well liked by many except for the dedicated home button(a thing that managed to piss me off significantly in the short time I had the machine):

For me(as the owner of the iPod touch in question), this meeting was a bit dissatisfying – but it’s almost bitter irony to have a gadget stolen at a gadget user’s freak. Anyways, I had a bit of fun and got a few interesting opinions on the devices…

Flush
Flush – a small freeware application that flushes the DB cache at power-off, was beamed around. Our Treo 650-users seem to like the application very much…on my Treo 680, it did nothing except slowing down poweroff by approximately 40secs:

Freedom Bluetooth Keyboard
Freedom’s classic bluetooth keyboard has served me well so far(especially while my Laptop was at Acer’s for an insanely long repair cycle). However, Alex didn’t particularly like it – its response to typing was too slow for his liking(he is an extremely fast typist):

HP ipaq rx4240 and StyleTap
Martin took a detailed look at the TamsPPC rx4240 – and gave StyleTap and the Windows CE GUI a workout:

Mini Laptops
Asus eee and the OLPC XO were also discussed to some extent. There is an OLPC XO demo in Vienna every Wednesday(expect info soon)… . The main topic of controversy was about the XO’s display…luckily, an ipaq running NotePad makes an excellent conflict resolution tool:

Treo Torch
Martin, the fearless Treo 650 modder, struck once again. After bringing us , he now integrated a torch into his 650’s antenna:

Weather applications
Alex and I got into a little quarrel about the best weather app – he preferred KMeteo, while I preferred TreoWeather. While the latter looks better(available in the TamsShop), KMeteo is free and supports a 10day forecast.

Add in the regular chit-chat about Apple and remote-controlled helicopters and the classically-well-done Pizza Plus food, and you have one happy bunch of Palm OS users…
Overall, I really enjoyed this user meeting. The next one is on December the 6th…not sure if I will make it…