jkOnTheRun

Palm Pre Twitter Client Adds Photo Posting: Spaz

Kevin C. Tofel — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:06:16 +0000

My daily check of the Palm Pre App Catalog didn’t turn up any new software, but there is a notable update today. I’ve been using the Tweed Twitter client, but for now I’m switching over to Spaz. The latest update, version 0.5, adds support for photo posting to TweetPhoto, yfrog, Twitgoo and TwitPic.

I tested the new function, and it worked fine, although it’s not exactly a native feature within the client. Instead, Spaz relies on sending an email to the Twitter photo services: Your text appears as the tweet, while the attached photo receives its own URL. I’d prefer a solution that works within the actual client, but the Pre’s easy-to-use multitasking allows this approach to work effectively.

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Toshiba TG01 Snapdragon Phone Captured on Video

James Kendrick — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:47:44 +0000

Toshiba’s TG01 is the first Snapdragon phone, and even though it is based on Windows Mobile, the Japanese giant has put a nice, striped interface on the phone. Arne Hess of the::unwired shot a video that shows the entire interface in action. Toshiba has done a pretty decent job at hiding the stodgy Windows Mobile interface, although it does sneak through from time to time. Check out Arne’s video for a good look at a new interface. I found the TG01 to look a bit big in the video.

HTC Hears That People Want 3.5mm Headset Jacks

Kevin C. Tofel — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:30:07 +0000

We’ve debated HTC’s headphone solution in the past, and while some don’t mind the mini-USB adapter often found on these handsets, it’s all about to change. MobileCrunch recently got this comment from an HTC representative:

“The vast majority of devices we launch after Hero will have a 3.5mm jack. Devices that we have already announced but that still come out after Hero will not necessarily be a part of this change.”

That news is music to many ears. I’d expect that the HTC mini-USB port won’t be going away on new devices, as it’s used for charging and moving data to a computer. But the inclusion of a standard headset jack means you won’t need that little mini-USB adapter to plug in your headphones. It’s not that the adapters are expensive, since we’ve seen them for as little as $5 in the past. HTC sometimes includes them as well. But adapters are just one more thing to carry or lose. And the current solution forces your headphones to be plugged into the bottom of the device. For some, that doesn’t matter, but I personally prefer a 3.5mm jack at the top of my device.

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Palm Pre Tip of the Day- Open Links in New Browser Window

James Kendrick — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:15:48 +0000

I was playing around with the Palm Pre browser the other day, trying to come up with a way to get links to open in a new window. Sometimes I don’t want to leave the current window but want to click a link. I’m probably the only person on the planet who didn’t know how to do this, but I found a way that works consistently so here it is for those who might also need to know.

With the browser window open (and active), hold down the Orange key and press any other key without a SYM alternative. I just use the space bar for this. While still holding down the Orange key, release the space bar and tap on the link you want to open. Release the Orange key and a new browser window should open with the new link page active. That’s it.

This is a clumsy method, but it works consistently and I’m using it now. If you have a better method that doesn’t require playing Twister with your Pre, please leave it in the comments.

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Missing Sync for Palm Pre Released: Synergy with the Mac

James Kendrick — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:02:24 +0000

The Missing Sync has long been the way for smartphone owners to keep their data synchronized with their Macs. The program has been available for most smartphones and now can add the Palm Pre to the list of supported phones. Version 1.0 of the Missing Sync for the Pre has some interesting features that take advantage of the special Synergy technology on the Pre.

Synergy is the Pre’s ability to have PIM information shared among the various apps on the phone along with info from the web. Missing Sync provides synchronization of iCal, Entourage, Address Book, iTunes and iPhoto on the Mac with the Pre. Using Synergy the Pre will then present Mac Address Book contacts with Google and Facebook contacts pulled from the web. Mac iCal calendars also appear layered into the Pre calendar app.

Proximity syncing is supported with this version of Missing Sync as the program can be configured to automatically sync over Wi-Fi whenever the Pre is near the Mac. The ability to sync Safari bookmarks to the Pre is coming soon via a program update when available.

The Missing Sync for the Pre is $39.95 and can be found on the Missing Sync web site.

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Bluetooth Internet Tethering Just Saved the Day

Kevin C. Tofel — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:56:35 +0000

I met a old colleague and friend this morning at Starbucks before work today. Now that he’s off to his job, I can start mine. At least, that’s what I thought. Since I’m still on the fence about keeping a dedicated EVDO plan, I’ve been leaving the USB adapter at home. I usually use the Boingo Wi-Fi network, which is a much less expensive $10 a month. For some reason, the Boingo client isn’t recognizing the Wi-Fi network at this location. My Wi-Fi adapter can see the attwifi network, but Boingo can’t. I’m sure it’s a one-time glitch, as the Boingo software is usually quite reliable. But when you need connectivity and can’t get it, that one-time glitch can be painful.

Since I do have both my iPhone 3GS and my Palm Pre, I already have two 3G devices with me. Seems a shame that we seem to need different 3G devices for specific purposes, but that’s the way of the cellular world these days. At this point, I’m online using the non-supported iPhone Internet Tethering feature of the 3GS. I enabled it as a backup plan, and I’m so glad I did. It’s perfect in this particular case. I was listening to music over Bluetooth with my iPhone, so switched that function over to the Pre. This way, I have wireless tunes to go with my wireless Internet.

A quick speed test of the Internet Tethering over Bluetooth yielded very usable results. I’m seeing downloads of 1.65MBps and uploads of 310kbps, which is perfectly fine for my web work. I didn’t even need to bring a USB cable with me, either. Personally, I can’t wait for AT&T to nail down its pricing plan for the feature. While I’d love for it to be free, I am willing to pay for a value-add service. The experience has me really reconsidering the entire 3G space, though. Is there really a need to have 3G in multiple devices when the connection can simply be shared or used for another purpose? I’m getting tired of multiple 3G data plans and devices…

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LiveAndroid Turns Your PC Into a Non-Functional Smartphone

James Kendrick — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:45:42 +0000

Google may have dimmed the excitement of a PC running Android with the announcement of the Chrome OS, but there are still those who want to do it. For them, there is the LiveAndroid project, whose developers are constantly working on getting Android 1.5 running on a PC. Version 0.2 of LiveAndroid was released this week and it runs as a LiveCD operating system. This means you burn it to CD and boot your PC into Android without worrying about your existing OS installation.

Android is not fully functional in LiveAndroid yet, but it shows the potential of a Google OS designed for communications. The previous version of LiveAndroid was available in a USB compatible format and one is expected for this new version 0.2 soon. That would let you install it on a USB stick that could then be booted just like a CD. This is the format most compatible with netbooks that lack an optical drive.

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S60 is Going Away- Symbian ^2 & ^3 Emerge

James Kendrick — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:25:24 +0000

Nokia’s affair with Symbian has been a long one, spanning the company’s reach from feature phone to smartphone. The phone platform had different variants, with S60 becoming the one garnering most of the innovation and advances as Nokia entered the smartphone market. Nokia spun Symbian off into its own entity awhile back and made the platform open source, no doubt to get developers onboard. Now it appears that Nokia and the Symbian Foundation have quietly closed the books on S60 as recent blog posts indicate.

The web site at S60.com has been shuttered as the box above indicates, as Nokia moves to get the platform more clearly identified. The “new” platform will be known as Symbian ^2 (the ^ is silent) and Symbian ^3, according to packets given to developers. The Symbian system will be updated twice annually going forward, and all development will be concentrated on the new Symbian system. This is no doubt due to the reputation that S60 had garnered as an outdated smartphone platform when compared with WebOS and Android.

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Kindle 2 Just Got Cheaper

James Kendrick — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:50:43 +0000

Amazon has lowered the Kindle 2 price from $359 to $299, as the company looks to push more of its small e-book readers out the door. The newest Kindle, the larger DX, remains priced at $489, and Amazon expects to start delivering them in three to five weeks. The Kindle 2 is shipping now.

Kindle books now count for a full 35 percent of Amazon’s book sales, which works out to about two Kindle books per device sold per month. It would appear that e-books are here to stay, given these huge sales numbers.

PopCap Games Coming to Palm Pre, Android Handsets

Kevin C. Tofel — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:35:45 +0000

Hello, my name is Kevin, and I’m a Peggle addict. I play it on my PC, my iPhone and my Xbox 360. Soon I might be able to play it on my Palm Pre, and so will you. PreCentral caught wind of an audio interview in which Garth Chouteau, the senior PR director of PopCap Games, said:

“We have plans to support the Pre, as well as Android. There are games in the works for those devices.”

Now I wouldn’t call these definitive plans by any means, but “in the works” sounds pretty promising to me. Of course, if you don’t like Peggle, Chouteau could be referring to Bejeweled, Zuma, Chuzzle or any one of the many games PopCap offers. As far as the timing for any games, Chouteau did say that the installed user base plays a part in planning development strategies. That’s to be expected of course, and doesn’t bode well for Palm Pre owners. There are far more Google Android handsets out there that Palm Pre devices, not to mention a new Android device outed just today. While I wait, I’ll just recite my mantra: I will be a Peggle Master on the Pre… I will be a Peggle Master on the Pre…

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