The widely anticipated webOS smartphone be available initially in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Germany on the O2 network, and in Spain on the Movistar network, according to a Palm press release.

Palm’s official blog also carried the announcement.

“Europe continues to be an important region for Palm, and we’re proud to work with O2 and Movistar to spread the excitement Palm Pre has already ignited in North America,” said Jon Rubinstein, chairman and chief executive officer of Palm.

In Canada, Palm Pre will be offered by Bell Mobility “in the second half of 2009.” As of this writing, there is no word yet on its availability in Asia.

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To solve “vanishing load” scam, NTC must lower rates, ban spam — TXTPower

The National Telecommunications Commission must “do more” than extend the expiry of prepaid load to decisively end the issue of “vanishing prepaid load” that is bedeviling the country’s more than 70 million mobile phone subscribers.

In a press conference, consumer advocacy group TXTPower.org Inc. (TXTPower) said that “the absurdly short expiry load, arguably the shortest in the whole world, is the least of consumers’ problems. To solve “vanishing load”, the NTC must exercise its powers to immediately lower rates for cellphone calls, text messaging and other mobile phone services. The NTC must also crack down on telcos and content providers that abuse their licenses by sending millions of spam messages,” said TXTPower president Anthony Ian Cruz.

“Prepaid load quickly gets lost or stolen because of the high cost of placing cellphone calls. The NTC, unfortunately, has not exercised its powers to reduce rates in favor of the public. All it does is to bless the promotional offerings of telcos that may be pulled out whimsically and capriciously,” said Cruz.

Cruz said that Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile’s case illustrates the problems faced by consumers daily.

“The Senate President is lucky. He immediately got a refund even without asking for it,” said Cruz, adding that “but for the rest of us whose prepaid load are stolen by the millions through high prices, spam and short expiry, we don’t have any recourse.”

Cruz said TXTPower is now studying ways for consumers to get refunds from the “vanishing loads”.

Make “unlimited calls, texting” permanent services

According to TXTPower, the NTC should compel telcos to finally offer “unlimited calls” and “unlimited texting” as permanent, not promotional, offers.

“The telcos have recovered the old investments on which the current pricing for calls, text and other services had been based. It is about time the NTC and the government compel these telcos to make the public benefit through ‘unlimited calls’ and ‘unlimited texting’ which are standard offers of many telcos across the world,” said Cruz.

“This should not prejudice moves towards per-six second charging, which has long been demanded by consumers,” said Cruz.

The NTC, Cruz explained, is “so addicted to its false belief that the industry’s deregulation means that it has no powers to champion consumer welfare and that it should only support the telcos.”

“It is thus no surprise that consumers are left to fend for themselves, so much unlike the Senate President, who has mobilized the power of the Senate and his office to lay bare the issues,” said Cruz.

Consult consumers

TXTPower also called on Senate President Enrile and Senator Mar Roxas, whose committee leads the Senate hearings on telco issues, to consult with consumers and to include consumers in the technical working groups that are being formed.

“The NTC, for instance, has routinely failed to adequately inform consumers and end-users of public hearings on its draft circulars, including the latest one on the expiry of prepaid load,” said Cruz.

“Only the telcos were consulted,” said Cruz.

TXTPower Action Center, Kabataan YouTube video

TXTPower vowed to keep the pressure on government to act on consumer demands through various means.

Kabataan partylist congressman Mong Palatino today unveiled a YouTube video encouraging students and youth to report their complaints to the NTC and to TXTPower.

The Computer Professionals Union (CPU) meanwhile also launched today the TXTPower Action Center which aims to receive consumer complaints through the following contact points: Website http://www.cp-union.com/txtpowercenter, Text 0907-1134503 and Landline (02) 4134196.

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On that day, the launch date, price, and the network — which the Guardian reports as O2, the same network that carries the iPhone in the UK — will be revealed.

Tech sites reported last month that the Pre will be in Europe by September this year.

Earlier this week, there were reported sightings of the Pre’s GSM version in London and Vietnam.

The Philippines’ major telcos also use the GSM system.

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I just learned from Migs Mobile and ABS-CBN News that Smart  is bringing HTC Magic, a Google Android-powered smart phone, to the Philippines.

HTC Philippines country manager Mark Sergio reportedly said that Smart will start shipping units of the HTC Magic to the local market by the end of June.

Update from YugaTech: Globe was able to sell HTC Magic starting last week, and will be able to do so until Smart’s exclusive contract with HTC takes effect.

HTC Magic runs on Android, a Google-initiated, Linux-based software platform for mobile devices.

The smart phone gives its users instant access to Gmail, Google Search, YouTube and Maps. It also has Microsoft Outlook synchronization, Smart Dialer, and an onscreen keyboard with predictive text.Its biggest competitor, Apple’s iPhone, is exclusively available in the Philippines to Globe subscribers. Apple recently announced feature upgrades on its new version, the iPhone 3G S.

On the other hand, the Palm Pre, Palm’s newest smart phone and touted as a challenger to the iPhone, was launched in the US last week.

Asked in April if their company will be Palm Pre’s carrier here, a Smart insider replied: “I think Palm is talking to all the carriers. So is Blackberry. No exclusivity required with those brands.”

(Image from www.htc.com)

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However, tech news sites are reporting that Palm Pre may become available in Europe as early as September this year. If this is true, there’s a chance that the Pre will come to the Philippines by the end of the year.

The marketing director of IRIS, a local distributor in Romania, reportedly said that Palm Pre should be available in Eastern Europe, including Romania, by the end of September at a price similar to that in the US — which is estimated to be $550 without subscription.

Mirror.co.uk cited a Softpedia report, which in turn got the news from Romanian site Ziarul Financiar.

Last year, the Palm Centro was launched in the United Kingdom on Valentines Day. Two months later, Palm announced its availability in the Philippines. Philippine cellphone networks use GSM technology, like its European counterparts.

I received Palm’s newsletter announcing the availability of Palm Pre in the United States after midnight last Sunday. That’s afternoon of June 6 in the US. By that time, proud Palm Pre owners were already tweeting or blogging about their first few hours with their new gadget.

By Sunday noon, a former officemate texted me, asking how much Palm Pre is in the Philippines, and if the phone will work here. I told her that while it is available in the US for $200 with contract, the GSM version that will work here has not been announced yet.

But as I said, the latest rumor of its availability in Europe raises hopes that it will also be released in the Philippines soon. Start saving, maka-Palms. :p

Based on MakaPalm’s visitor referrer data, it appears that a  number of Pinoys are still interested in the Palm Pre despite the announcement of iPhone’s new model.

Here are some interesting reports before and after Palm Pre’s US launch:

• New York Times columnist David Pogue’s Palm Pre review
• Excited for the Palm Pre, elderly woman crashes her car into a Sprint store
• Engadget’s coverage of US launch: pinilahan kaya?
• Analysts say launch was a success, but supplies were tight
• 50,000 to 100,000 Palm Pre units sold?
• Apple announces iPhone 3G S
• Engadget’s iPhone 3G S vs Palm Pre poll
• Ex-Apple exec Jon Rubinstein is new CEO of Palm

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I see links to Palm Pre news, reviews, and unboxing videos; countdowns from excited fans (@Hartman: Palm Pre Launches in 4 hours and 22 minutes =) =) ); and updates about Palm Pre apps (@joshh347 Pandora for Palm Pre is now live on the @pandora_radio website! http://www.pandora.com/palm).

At the rate that it’s going, I’m sure Palm Pre will hit Twitter’s Trending Topics a few hours from now — opps, it just entered the trending list.

While browsing the updates, I also found out that there are now at least three Twitter apps for Palm Pre — the good old MoTwit (formerly known as TreoTwit), which will work through the Classic emulator; Spaz, a cross-platform Twitter client; and Tweed, described on its website as “the next-generation Twitter client designed from the ground up for the Palm® Pre™ and Palm webOS™.”

Twitter users here, however, still have to wait as there is no announcement yet about the availability of Palm Pre in the Philippines. The Palm Pre launching in the US today runs on CDMA networks, while Smart, Globe and Sun operate on GSM wireless technology.

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After syncing my Palm Centro earlier this week, I was surprised and saddened to see this message: “Starting June 30, AvantGo will no longer offer mobile Web content.”

The linked announcement page further said: “Subscribers will not be able to sync their AvantGo accounts or update their channels.”

AvantGo is a service that allows PDA and mobile phone users to download mobile Web content for offline reading later on. Whenever I sync my Palm Centro to my Internet-connected desktop or laptop PC, AvantGo gets and stores pages from the New York Times, Inquirer, and Sproule Handheld Cartoons to my mobile device. I am then able to read these content whenever and wherever I want: while in the MRT, on my bed, or even in the bathroom.

But as Internet access became cheaper and more mobile — especially in the US where telcos offer unlimited GPRS or 3G — AvantGo yielded to obsolescence. Why would users want to read this morning’s breaking news which was saved on the device earlier, when they can check the newest updates at this very moment?

AvantGo also offers real-time mobile Web surfing when one’s mobile device is connected to the Internet. However, the same can be done easier and faster with mobile browsers like Opera Mini and Safari for iPhone. In addition, new mobile Web portals such as Yahoo Mobile offer great RSS aggregation smilar to what AvantGo allows. It is therefore not surprising that Sybase, AvantGo’s parent company, arrived at this decision.

AvantGo may still matter to some users in countries like the Philippines, where there is no unlimited Internet access via cellphone and WiFi services are just starting to grow, but it may no longer be as important to the bulk of its subscribers in the US.

AvantGo recommended a similar service called Snac, but the mobile widget application is not available to Palm users.

AvantGo will reportedly transition to a SMS advertising and content delivery system. Read more nostalgic and informative articles on CodeBudo and Mobility Site.

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He also called on bloggers, netizens, texters and concerned youth to register their opposition to the “apparent railroading of the bill in Congress.”

Palatino said that during his interpellation on the Right of Reply Bill, Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante, sponsor of the bill, admitted that HB 3306 would also cover websites, emails, Internet social networking sites, and other electronic devices.

Section 1 of the bill states:

All persons natural or judicial who are accused directly or indirectly of committing, having committed, or are criticized by innuendo, suggestion or rumor for any lapse in behavior in public or private life shall have the right to reply to charges or criticisms published in newspapers, magazines, newsletters or publications circulated commercially or for free, or aired or broadcast over radio, television, websites or through any electronic device.

“Does this mean that whenever a criticism is published in these venues a person can use the Right of Reply to compel a blogger or moderator of a social networking site to publish a space or a reply for that person? Or when an individual decides to copy or re-post an article from a news website in his or her personal blog, and in the future the said article becomes a subject of this Right of Reply, will he or she be sanctioned or fined also?” Palatino asked.

He also questioned the inclusion of ‘any electronic device’ in the bill.

“Again, this would affect more than 60 million mobile phone users and iPod owners in the country. This is totally out of bounds and not to mention virtually impossible to apply. Kung may ka-text ako at nagreklamo siya sa text ko, will I be compelled to publish his reply in my mobile phone? I simply find it incredible and idiotic.”

Palatino said that he would oppose the Right of Reply Bill because it subdues freedom of the press and the general public’s freedom of speech and expression. He said he is not amenable even to a “watered down” version of the bill because it merely “renders the Right of Reply pointless.”

(Photo from Sheenah Tan)

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Access website says release version 1.03b of Garnet VM Beta 4, released on May 29, 2009, has improved stability.

Garnet VM enables users of Nokia tablets — N810, Nokia N800, and Nokia N770 — “to run thousands of Garnet OS (formerly Palm OS®) applications.” These apps include Google Maps™, Snappermail®, DateBk5, as well as games like Bejeweled®, PacMan and Sudoku.

Palm Pre will also have its own Palm OS emulator, the “Classic” emulator, from a different company called MotionApps.

(Via AppScout.com)

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The application — or the update, for those who already have the app on their iPhone — is available for download at the iTunes store.

Here’s an excerpt from Yodel Anecdotal, Yahoo’s corporate blog:

Now you can search for anything — flight numbers, restaurants, gas stations, web sites — by just moving your mouth. You can also customize your “My Interests” tab with your voice — just click on “add anything” and say the topic you want to explore and add to your page.

This makes iPhone the latest device to have OneSearch, Yahoo’s voice-enabled search, which is already available on more than 80 different devices including Blackberry, Nokia, and Windows Mobile phones.

Based on this list, Palm OS devices like Treo and Centro do not have this capability. But Treo 500, Treo 700w, 700wx, and Treo 750 — all running on Windows Mobile — does.

Last February, Yahoo! introduced Yahoo! Mobile, a starting point for the mobile internet, which has three components: the Yahoo! Mobile webpage, the iPhone app, and another application for other smartphones. Earlier this month, Yahoo! announced that it has decided to discontinue the app for non-iPhone smartphones.

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