TamsPalm - the Palm OS Blog

Use the discount code SEASOFTAM to get 20% off the list price of InsaniQuarium Deluxe for Palm OS, PocketPC or WMS in the TamsShop!

AstraWare’s initial InsaniQuarium turned out to become a smash hit and a true evergreen. The company thus released an update called InsaniQuarium Deluxe - is aquarium management still as much fun as it was back in 2002?

The game’s core idea involves the management of an aquarium. However, fish drop coins instead of waste…collecting the coins then makes you richer.

Fish must be fed. Feeding a fish for some time makes it grow:

The bigger a fish becomes, the more coins it drops. Earned money can then be invested into food upgrades, laser power or new fish. The three images below show the food getting upgraded:

One new feature found in DeLuxe is an auto-tapper that eventually gets unlocked as you purchase upgrades. It allows you to tap-and-hold instead of having to tap the screen multiple times:

Unfortunately, aliens prey on the inhabitants of your aquarium. The various types of alien have its own strengths and weaknesses…while some can be killed with lasers, others must be overfed:

Due to various additions like carnivores and star catchers, elaborate economies can be constructed. In such aquariums, few fish feed other animals which then generate precious diamonds:

The “hard cap” on population size found in the original InsaniQuarium has been lifted. Instead, the game limits the amount of inhabitants by stuttering graphics and starvation…there is a point where food cannot be dropped fast enough to keep all inhabitants alive:

The final goal of the game is the unlocking of so-called pets. Pets hatch from eggs that must be purchased for ever-rising prices, and can then perform a variety of helpful things:

This review looked at version 1.0 of the game on a Treo 680. It needs about 3500KB of RAM. Stability-wise, the game was decent…it didn’t crash, but sometimes had issues with the recognition of on-screen taps. Nevertheless, it remained playable at all times. The start-up time of about 7 seconds was annoying, but bearable…

In the end, InsaniQuarium is an excellent game even with the technical issues found in version 1.0. Even though the deluxe version adds nothing worth noting, it remains a very addicting piece of software. All gamers who don’t own its predecessor are hereas officially encouraged to download the free 30min trial of the game…and should expect to pay the 20$ required for the full version(don’t forget our InsaniQuarium deluxe discount code SEASOFTAM).

A while back I compared Resco’s IDGuard with SplashID (see “Resco idguard versus splashid: whats in your pocket“).  I’ve been beta testing the desktop component Resco has created for IDGuard.  The app is just about ready for release.  You can already get the latest beta directly from here, or go to this page to read about it and download from the beta section on the page.

Previously, my only real reservation about switching from SplashID to IDGuard was the lack of the desktop component, I have switched now.  Resco is honing the desktop component for release (there are still a few bugs, although not in the conduit).

More to come when I’ve more fully tested it!

I am a bit of a time fanatic and I like all my clocks, watches and Palms to show the correct time. I even have a monthly Palm reminder to go around the house and set all the clocks using BigClock since it shows seconds. For years I have been using a freeware Hotsync conduit called TimeCopy which sets the Palm device to the desktop time. On the road I used a simple program called SNTP to set the time manually via NTP.

I then found AtomClock which can be scheduled to adjust the time once a day which means your Palm clock will always be correct. It has a simple interface where you select the NTP server (and add your own if required) and then select “Set Clock” if you want to manually sync the time.

Atomclock has 3 themes depending on your taste:

The latest Palm devices such as the Centro (which I have) have no reset buttons. Pulling out the battery for a reset normally messes up the clock. Now my standard procedure after a reset is to run AtomClock. Now I never have to look elsewhere to set my Centro time, I just manually run AtomClock and then schedule it to keep the time correct all the time. My Centro is now as accurate as an atomic clock!

AtomClock is written by Alex Pruss and is available from Palmgear for $4. It has just been updated to support NTP protocol servers as well as TIME servers. TIME servers are being phased out since NTP is a better time sync standard. The latest beta with NTP support can be found at http://www.1src.com/forums/showthread.php?t=145150.

AstraWare’s GTS Racing is considered a classic PalmOS game, as people who want a car racer still flock to this 2004ish title in hordes. Its developer Pazzazz Games now delivered an update called GTS World Racing and put it on a TamsPalm device for review - will it stay on top?

As usual, the game supports a variety of race modes - some of them can take up to an hour to finish:

Three car types are available - unfortunately, the cars specifications are static and can’t be changed as races proceed(no upgrading here):

The tracks are set up in sixteen locations all across the world. Each difficulty level modifies the track layout(and, amusingly, changes the ambiance) - the shots below show a few track samples:

AstraWare populated the tracks with a few occasional trees, tunnels…and that’s it. For a 2007 game, the tracks appear literally dead most of the time…

Finally, it’s possible to get the car thoroughly stuck into the terrain - if that happens, the game must be restarted:

After starting to play GTS:WR on my Treo, I was shocked to find myself unable to control the car. The steering reacted incredibly slowly - luckily, this can be fixed by increasing the sensitivity in the prefs. People wanting to use mechanical transmission are out of luck: even though the game seems to support this, you cannot assign buttons to change the gear(which leaves your car in 1st all the time). Getting out of the game on a Treo requires use of the menu - the launcher key is disabled…

The game’s sound effects are horribly annoying and essentially consist of high-pitched humming that barely resembels a car’s motor - IMHO, they are the worst ever in a handheld racing game. As for background music: sorry, no such luck either.

GTS World Racing is a decent game that - unfortunately - has been left behind by the evolution of racing games on other platforms. The tracks are plentiful, but the game’s action is sterile compared to other racers(things like nitros, car upgrades, cops, damage models… apparently don’t exist in Pazzaz Village). AstraWare usually manages to get at least the controls right: unfortunately, GTS World Racing is the exception to the rule. Cutting a long story short: fingers off until a significant update is released…

P.S. In case anyone of you is looking for a REAL racing game and happens to own a S60 phone: give Steve Townsend’s racer a pop. Its one of the best games on the market IMHO….

Use the discount code CHEAPGATEWAY to get 20% off Softick Audio Gateway in the TamsShop!

For ages, Palm devices have been plagued by breaking headphone jacks. As I always had issues with headphone cords, Jaybird’s AD2P device seemed like a perfect fit. Unfortunately, Palm OS devices do not support AD2P - can Softick Audio Gateway even up the odds?

The program’s main screen is clear and simple. The toggle at the bottom let’s you choose where the audio goes to. Click one of the icons to launch the corresponding media app. The list at the top allows you to pick your headset:

A variety of quality options are available to “adjust” the tradeoff between sound quality and CPU load. The settings shown below work flawlessly on my Treo 680 - no noticeable speed losses here:

Softick integrated an extra option for silencing the program while a call comes in. Extra points should be awarded to the genius who decided that the ringer should always be played via the speaker…no more missed calls here:

Generally, I am very satisfied with the performance of the product. Audio quality is excellent, and there is no more stuttering or hissing than on a wired headset. My final torture test involved connecting to a headset and a bluetooth keyboard: occasional audio pauses became audible while typing fast.

This review looked at version 1.21.2120 on a Palm Treo 680. The program needs 468KB of memory and can NOT be run from an external memory card.

In the end, Softick’s Audio Gateway fulfills its promise - my Jaybird JB200 headset works flawlessly with my Treo. Seeing that there is no other way to use an AD2P device with a Treo, the product is a must-have. The well-thought-out extra features make the purchase price of 20$ a bargain…

The folks at Opera’s have updated their Opera Mini browser once again. The latest update is said to bring the improvements shown below:

The Opera Mini 4 servers have been upgraded with quite a few improvements. To begin with the servers should now be nicer to phones that are low on available memory. but what we are are especially pleased with the new feed system and hope you will like it too:
* Improved feed (RSS/Atom) viewer to support for bidirectional text and layout. Oh, and it’s faster.
* Fixed bug with select items being wrongly positioned.
* Fixed problem with images in object tags not being rendered correctly.
* Made sure image maps gets rescaled to fit the screen width.
* Fixed problem with page being zoomed in when going to page which is in history.
* Fixed problem with some phones with little memory getting too many images.
* The server now prioritizes sending images at the top of the document if the phone’s too low on memory to display them all.

And for those of you using the 4.1 beta client:
* Downloading of files which require authentication now works (gmail etc).
* Redesigned the file download page.

Please let us know if you feel any changes on your Treo!

A Palm insider has given us access to information that definitely and finally confirms the existance of two Palm devices currently codenamed Zeppelin and Skywriter.

The document that we are looking at covers a developer program that allows Palm’s favorite developers to make their applications ready for the two new devices AND maybe even comarket them with Palm. All applications must be submitted by May the 30th - this could point at a launch of the device(s) in Q3 2008.

Last but not least, a mock-up of the devices has been included and can be viewed at our sister site TamsPPC along with a copy of the original text!

Use the discount code CHEAPYPUS to get 20% off the product in the TamsShop! This discount code is also valid for the PPC and WMS versions of the game!
AstraWare’s side-scroller Zap2000 remains one of the most popular Palm OS action games ever - it was bundled with some versions of the Treo 600 and is included into the ROM of a lot of GSPDA phones. The title’s age has provoked a few new launches including the excellent - now, AstraWare tries to reclaim the crown..

The game is organized into levels; each of these contains a few areas:

Each area contains primary and secondary targets - while secondary targets can usually be taken apart with a single shot, primary targets can take quite a beating(and have cool damage textures):

There is a huge variety of primary and secondary targets - players will definitely not get bored with this game:

At the end of each area, a ‘tally’ is made and bonus points are awarded:

Platypus’s power-up system unfortunately isn’t based on money - instead, special waves of enemies drop colored stars that provide approximately 30secs worth of one of four advanced weapons. Unfortunately, the timer starts to tick immediately after the object is picked up and keeps running even when you shoot - not exactly amusing for a shooter pro:

Some bonuses can be shot. Weapon stars sometimes change their color under fire; bonus fruits break up to provide more points(but are more difficult to catch):

The graphics are comic-like, but provide an amazing amount of details in some scenarios. Volcanoes in the background erupt, ships fly along…someone spent a lot of time tinkering with this:

This review looked at version of Platypus on a Treo 680. The game was exceptionally stable in the reviewing period, although the Treo powered off a few times while the game was running. Platypus needs 4MB of RAM, but can be run off an external memory card.

In the end, Platypus definitely isn’t an epochal work that changes the face of the shooter genre forever. However, it nevertheless is an excellent game that will surely make all shooter freaks very happy. Some tactical subtleties like bonuses that transform when shot add tactical depth - as for the comic graphics…these are a love-or-hate thing. If you love sidescrollers, definitely get this 20$ game in the TamsShop!

As some of you may know, mobile game producer PDAMill stopped developing and supporting their Palm OS games early last year and took them off the market. Recently though, they posted this on their website:

Several years ago, we developed many of our great titles for the Palm OS platform. However, in February of 2007 the decision to stop development for the Palm platform was made and our products were then discontinued.

Until now, all of these titles were only available to customers who had purchased the games in the past. Due to an incredibly high demand, we have now released all of our past Palm titles for FREE!

Catch the details and download the games for Free here on PDAMills website.

Thanks to Magellan at Brighthand for the tip.

There are a lot of keyguard replacements for Treo and Centro devices. But what when you want to keep the default keyguard an you just need some more information displayed? Then TopGuardEx or TopSignalOnKeyguard by RNS:: might be the solution!
Both applications enhance the default Treo/Centro keyguard with several information. Using the programs ist very simple.
TopSignalOnKeyguard adds the signal status symbol to the keyguard.

Installing and configuring is very easy. Just install it via Hotsync etc and run it. It will install itself in the system - enhancing your keyguard from now on.

If you want, TopSignalOnKeyguard can hide itself from the PalmOS launcher.

That was it - no other steps are required here.
If you want more information than just the signal status then you need TopGuardEx.
TopGuardEx adds additional items such as Bluetooth state, battery level or a clock.
After installing the software you will find it in the preferences panel. In the settings window you can customize your keyguard.

Here you can decide what to show. Bluetooth state, phone signal and battery level can be shown at the same time while the clock can only be displayed alone. Clock + Battery e.g. doesn’t work.
So your keyguard can look like this:

Or like this:

In that way you can see the most important information just on power-on. There is no need to switch to the launcher in order to check your system status which is very annoying when you are working in another app. Just switch on your Treo/Centro and voilà - there it is.

If you want to have a look on your own at these applications, just visit the developer’s homepage and get the trial!
The full version costs $4.95 (TopSignalOnKeyboard) and $9.95 (TopGuardEx). You can get it via e.g. Mobihand.

TopSignalOnKeyboard at MobiHand (Download Demo and purchase)
TopGuardEx on ranosoft.net (Download Demo and purchase via serveral vendors)

Action-loaded 3d tank combat in the pocket of your hand…sounds like a perfect time waster if done right. RESETgame’s Tank Ace 1944 plans to be exactly this - can it stack up?

The game contains three different campaigns, containing a bunch of missions each:

All missions begin in a terrain map similar to Command&Conquer’s - the map displays the squares currently under combat. A quick tap begins your mission:

The tank can either be controlled with the 5way or via softkeys on the screen:

Terrains can be viewed from the top and in a 3d perspective; enemy tanks are rendered in impressive 3d:

Once you actually start driving around, the engine starts to ‘redraw’ the terrain whenever you leave a ’tile’. Since each redraw changes the view angle(and field of visibility), not loosing control is almost impossible. The 1-2sec lags don’t really help the game either:

Even though the developer took an insane effort attempting to create realistic graphics and varying terrain types, the gameplay is lackluster. Most of the time is spent looking for tanks - fighting them is rare:

This review looked at version 1.0 of the game on a Treo 680. Tank Ace needs approx. 750KB of memory and was stable in the testing period.

In the end, Tank Ace delivers its promise of 3d graphics - but at a high price. Finding enemy tanks is extremely hard(radar, anyone). The permanent ‘engine redraws’ happen at the worst possible moments(e.g. in a battle) - furtherly draining the already boring gameplay of fun. The company definitely tried hard - but Tank Ace is one of these games that should be avoided by all non-freaks…

Jan Slodicka from Resco’s has just informed me that his excellent Photo Viewer has seen an update!

Version 3 of the program improves the product’s fax support, makes cropping easier and is significantly faster when handling large folders. Owners of Treos with a green “call” key also get a new feature - they can now use this key in order to open the context menu.

People who have purchased the program in last year can get a new unlock key for free by following the procedures outlined on this web page. All other Resco Viewer owners must pay 50% of the regular price - more information on this option is to be found here.

Opera has recently begun porting its desktop browser to various mobile devices(S60 review here, PocketPC reviews here and here) - the Palm OS was ignored so far(for various non-technical reasons not to be discussed here). However, Palm OS users that have the Palm Java VM installed on their device can use Opera Mini - can the latest beta release stack up?

As usual, a newly installed version of Opera Mini displays a page containing a quick “changelog” and the EULA - it must be accepted before the browser can be used:

Entering an URL now brings up an autocompletition tool - its recommendations are helpful even when visiting unknown URL’s:

Once an URL was visited, finding it again is really easy:

Another new feature is the integrated “download manager” - Opera Mini can now download files without forwarding them to the native browser. This has worked decently on my Treo, however, the Java VM’s permission dialogs became more and more garbled as time went by(forcing you to navigate them blindly with the 5way nav):

This “review” is based on beta 4.1.10781(downloadable here), and was performed on a Palm Treo 680 in T-Mobile Austria’s GPRS/EDGE network. The program was exceptionally stable while I tortured it a bit(not a single crash or hangup) - Blazer is significantly more troublesome to use.

In the end, Opera has clearly shown its commitment towards its mobile browser - each version gets significantly better. Opera’s excellent URL autocompleting was rated excellently in our review of the S60 version; and seeing this come to the Palm OS definitely is great! Blazer haters will be relieved to hear about Opoera now handling downloads itself - while downloading has never been much of an issue for me(I use the Nokia N71 for that as its on UMTS and thus faster than my Treo 680); I can imagine quite a few of you celebrating…

iambic has attained universal brand recognition with its Agendus PIM. Now, the folks around Adriano Chiaretta decided to release yet another contact tool - ToolboxToGo is said to unify your contact’s formatting….what does it do?

Starting the app up presents the following screen - each button launches one of the subtools contained in the program:

For the purposes of this review, I decided to use the Contact Doctor. Click it, and a wizard-type UI leads you through the setup process:

The product then displays a list of contact fields and how they will be modified. You can pick which contacts to modify and which to leave alone:

Confirm that, and the changes get committed - nothing more to see here….

This review looked at version 1.0 of the program on a Treo 680. ToolboxToGo needs 250KB of memory and didn’t cause any issues in my tests.

In the end, ToolboxToGo is a special-interest application. If you feel that your contact database needs some formatting aid, get the application for 10$ and save yourself countless hours of work. However, people with a disciplined data entry behavior(like yours truly) will not gain much here…