Morning Paper

Palm Treo 800w set to launch July 22, 2008

According to WMExperts, Sprint will be releasing the long-rumored Treo 800w on July 22 of this year.  This announcement comes after many months of speculation and a plethora of rumors around the web.

If the specs turn out to be accurate, this will definitely be a sweet device, and by far the best Treo yet.  This new device will replace the aging 700wx.  Once again,  Verizon has missed the boat on a new launch of a smartphone....sigh.

Here are highlighted the specs:

• Threaded SMS (looks to be the Palm type, not Microsoft's)
• WM 6.1
• Autonomous GPS
• KB is larger than the Centro, slightly smaller than the 750/755
• KB keys still light up
• It's very fast with no lag
• 320x320 resolution
• EvDO Rev A (though some tester units are not Rev A active as of now)
• Wifi
• 256/128 Memory
• Official color: Charcoal Black

WMExperts

Poll: Will A Blackberry Clamshell Be The End Of Palm?

This game changer that looks to be introduced to the world by T-Mobile possibly by September 08 is without a doubt going to be a HUGE hit.  It's got WiFi, and the whole Blackberry deal on a flip phone.

The second coming of the iPhone will be 3G and boast a new look and new apps.  There will be a lot happening in the mobile world over the next five months, while Palm has introduced nothing.  Yeah, there's a new Treo out there, but no one really cares.  A new WM Treo is not going to make the earth shatter anywhere.

But this "KickStart" has already made a few buildings tumble.  So here's a little something to consider over the weekend.

Will the Blackberry KickStart be the end of Palm?   Take the Poll in the Sidebar.  We'll talk results Monday.

Update: MissingSync For Palm, v6.0.3

The world famous and completely unbeatable MissingSync for Palm has been updated.  The new version from Mark/Space ads support for pulling those videos you shoot on your Treo's to put them on your "Leopard" running Mac.

Also includes:

Support for Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard
Encodes Video for Palm OS-based Playback
Treo Call Log Support*
Treo SMS Message Support*
Improved Notes Synchronization

Mark/Space

Skinner for Treo - 4.4

It's been awhile since we've heard from 79bmedia and Skinner.  That bit of silence is over with a this update to Skinner 4.4.  The update brings AT&T GSM and European users into the fold.

There have also been a few new skins added.  I like this one for the 680.  Don't forget to check out the Splash screens too.  Start your Palm with something other than your service providers name.

$14.99

79bmedia

Kinoma Player Goes Free With Flowers

Kinoma and Trial pay have teamed up to to make you get some flowers for mom.  You've been wanting to get your hands on possibly the best media player for Palm for awhile now, but you need to put gas in the tank.  Well now is your chance to make mom and your Palm device happy on one day.

All you have to do is buy mom flowers from FTD, and you'll get Kinoma for free.

"What’s the catch?

There’s no catch. Companies pay TrialPay to help get them customers, and in return TrialPay “pays” you with Kinoma Player 4 EX.

In return for completing a TrialPay offer, you’ll get a real copy of Kinoma Player, complete with the excellent customer support that Kinoma is known for.

A post by TreoCentral’s Jay Gross reminded me to note that the qualifying FTD purchase includes things like gift baskets and chocolates, too."

Check my review of Kinoma and Kinoma Producer on the Product Review page.

Get the full details

LaunchThis - 1.0, Stop Your Palm's Launcher In It's Tracks

Palm software developer bitsnbolts is on fire right now with very good and much needed Palm hacks for your Treo or Centro.  Launch this provides a primary feature that will warm the hearts of many a Palm user.  Have you ever been working in an application and accidentally pressed your SDCard?  Will anyone pre 755p knows exactly what happens.  What ever you were doing, your done.  The the Launcher launches and ends your work session.  But even more annoying is in the reverse, while your app is open, you insert your card and the launcher launches, ending whatever you were doing. 

LaunchThis fixes that, and it's free.

Prevent the built-in application launcher from interrupting your workflow.
General Features:
Prevents PalmOS from interrupting your work flow!
Allows you to prevent the Launcher from automatically starting when a card is inserted
Allows you to prevent cards from automatically executing programs on insertion
Full support for PalmOS 4.0 and above, including PalmOS 5!

PalmOS 5

Product Updates: iambic updates Propel Launcher for Palm

iambic has released a maintenance update to their Propel launcher. I've been using this for a long time and it is (IMO) the best launcher for a Palm device with a Qwerty keyboard, but still sweet for those without.  This update adds support for the freaking stupid new dialer that Palm added in the GSM Centros.

Propel brings ease of use, instant retrieval and speedy launches of applications, music, pictures, contacts, and more to your Palm OS-based smartphone or handheld.

As a replacement for the native Palm OS launcher, Propel makes using your mobile companion a truly enjoyable experience. Not only is it fast, but it also provides many opportunities to personalize your Views and functionality through extensive support of User Interface Skins, custom backgrounds, and button assignments. Plus Voice Launching capability is available in the Professional Edition. Once you start using Propel, you'll wonder how you ever did without it.

Improvements and Functionality Refinements

    * Added support for the phone dialer on GSM (AT&T) Palm Centro phones
    * Improved layout of text & icons in List View to better take advantage of the available space
    * Updated Voice Launching capabilities to extend its use when in other applications
    * Resolved a stability issue occurring when more plugins that will fit on the screen are selected
    * Resolved a stability issue occurring if the user pressed the Voice Command key multiple times simultaneously
    * Corrected Voice Commands continuing to work when the Treo Butler keyguard is in use and active

iampowered

UserName for PalmOS, Sync With A Different User Name

It's been a short time since a new TRULY useful Palm app hit the Palm world, this one fits the bill nicely. 
UserName for PalmOS, gives you a feature that I think is very valuable.  Create another username for your Hotsyncing needs, like when you buy a new Palm or if you have two already.

This is freeware, so although it's a great idea and very useful app, user beware, backup before you use.

bitsnbolts

Cool New Palm App, 2Cool4U - 1.0

Watch the video to see what looks like a slick new way to go with your Palm Contacts.  Of course it's not all that new since the app is applying the iPhone/iPod Touch swoosh, but it is new to Palm.  Could look nice with Ultimatephone and or iPhoneimatation.

"2Cool4U is a new kind of contact app. It presents you a list of your contacts. You can scroll this list by a wipe with your thumb. When you lift the thumb, the list will slowly decelerate. It brings a total new feeling of browsing your contact list. If you have a picture assigned to your contact, it will be shown on the right site. To make a fast call, tap on the name/company entry. To select the phone number to call, send an email, open the assigned webpage or open the contact in the standard contact application, tap on the picture on the right. Move the list to the left to access the call log. Open the menu and adjust the settings and colors to your need."

$7

metaviewsoft

Product Updates: Butler 4.85 for Palm

The Swiss Army Knife for Palm OS devices has been updated to 4.85.

"The keyguard has been re-written since the last release, so although it looks the same it is working differently and should fix a few strange bugs.       

• Apr/08 keyguard completely rebuilt
• 15/Apr/08 fixed bug where block hard keys works even when keyguard disabled.
• 16/Apr/08 added asserts to pin down issue with BitmapGetDensity
• 17/Apr/08 fixed issue with attn grabber not working for incoming calls
• 17/Apr/08 fixed issue with keyguard slider not working over modal windows.
• 17/Apr/08 fixed issue with keyguard drawing over low bit applications (like Filez)
• 18/Apr/08 fixed issue with status icons from form beneath keyguard getting drawn
• 21/Apr/08 added additional checking for calls while keyguard is showing
• 21/Apr/08 tweak to code for redrawing/restoring keyguard.
• 28/Apr/08 tweak to keyguard to re-draw over the top of DateBk alarms."

Hobbyist