by John Calian |
Topics: Palm | Palm Pre | Smartphone

Palm's lineup of smartphones is pretty sweet looking.

Everyone is ready for the Pre to launch, of course, but I would argue that the other phones in the lineup are solid, and the firm is poised to bust out of the cellar. Apple, for one, is making us even more anxious as rumors of a fight brewing over patents is in the air.

Palm was the king of smartphones before RIM jumped into the game. The RIM phones are #1 in their category of business devices, and Apple is #1 in consumer smartphone. Palm now has a chance to use the excitement of the Pre to reinvigorate the business market as well.

And Sprint is getting ready:
...Although only just announced this month, employees both acknowledge having been given formal tutorials and are being told to expect the Pre in June...(Electonista)

by John Calian |
Topics: Application Stores | Blackberry | RIM

David Meyer (ZDNet) chatted with the Mike Kirkup, RIM's head of developer relations, about the Application Store that Blackberry is going to offer.

On Monday, the firm announced that application developers can now submit applications to RIM.Old Press release here from October.

In response to a question about 'gatekeeping' the submittals, and in comparison to the different ways in which Apple and Google tackle this, said:

...we have the ability today for people to write apps for our platform, and we put no restrictions on when where or how they can distribute those apps — it could be through the BlackBerry site, or something like Handango....What we're trying to do is build up a catalogue of apps that are easy for customers to find and use. If somebody builds a better calendar app than the one that's natively on the device, we don't have a problem with that, and they are welcome to sell it through existing channels. However, we want to make sure no-one is violating any agreements, and their applications don't use excessive network bandwidth or lewd content...

Full article here from ZDNet

I think the part about how RIM wont stop application developers from duplicating their native apps is very interesting, as Apple is very controlling in terms of letting others build apps that compete with theirs.

Good stuff here, and I am also really excited about what Palm is going to be doing.

by John Calian |
Topics: Admob | Smartphone Advertising

iPhone developers in Seattle are very concerned that Admob's system for iPhone may have some fatal flaws.

by John Calian |
Topics: Apple | Blackberry | Nokia | RIM | Symbian

Zach Epstein, on the BoyGeniusReport blog, notes that Nokia/Symbian has a lot of catching up to do with Apple, despite the fact that Symbian is the world's dominant smartphone OS.

...Despite the fact that Symbian has gotten pretty gray up top over the past few years, it is still the world’s most popular smartphone operating system by a huge margin. S60 is incredibly capable and versatile, and Nokia has consistently pumped out solid hardware to carry it. That being said, it is hardly the most exciting mobile OS on the block these days...

by John Calian |
Topics: Blackberry | Social Networking

For those of you who love Skype, SHAPE Services GmbH brings you IM+ for Skype, which enables voice and text communication with other Skype users and provides cost-effective calling to landlines and mobiles.

… For international travel, this is the BlackBerry killer app. If you already have international unlimited roaming on your blackberry account through your carrier, IM+ for Skype is all you need to solve the problem with killer voice roaming charges…

Purchase : IM+: AIM/iChat, MSN/Live Messenger, Yahoo!, ICQ, Jabber and Google Talk for Nokia 9300/9500

Read all Handango reviews

by John Calian |
Topics: Apple | iPhone | Palm Pre

by John Calian |
Topics: iPhone | Palm | Palm Pre

Michael Mace makes a ton of good points on his round up of the Pre and how it compares to the iPhone, including this:

The Pre does not look like the Treo or any previous Palm product. If anything, it looks like an iPhone with some of its limitations fixed. The design of the hardware, graphics, the fonts, the way things move on screen, and the touchscreen gestures are all elegant, and reminded me intensely of the iPhone.

Read the whole article here.

There is lot of buzz out there about the Pre and the potential that Apple will be suing Palm shortly for all kinds of patent infringements. All this buzz couldnt be better PR for the Pre. Apple should keep a tight lid on anything official, or they will only be fueling the buzz fire.

The device 'looks' cool, and I am certain that the loyal Palm users out there (yes, they are there and in waiting) are barely containing themselves to get their hands on the device.

Certainly the device is very similar, in both look and feature set, but there are key differences, MOST notably the slider keyboard.

My guess is the Apple lets it all slide, and comes out and praises it.

I'm definitely going to buy one, and I'll be giving full feedback on the comparison.

by John Calian |
Topics: Agora | Android | Apple | Windows Mobile

Blogger Kontra picked up on the news that Australian (by way of Russia) device maker Agora's smartphone running Android will not be launching, mere days before its purported debut (customers were evern able to pre-order). The blog piece digs into the merits of open OS systems versus closed ones, and how Android may be set up for failure by the sheer fact that its open system will be too option-filled to offer up compelling devices. This may be, and he writes a nice piece talking about Apple, Windows and Google in the smartphone OS arms race, finishes with this:

Similarly, Win32 API was proprietary but resulted in the largest app platform ever. Apple’s FairPlay DRM is proprietary but created the largest legal media ecosystem to date. So while the power of proprietary platforms to create large markets has been demonstrated, the ability of open source to create large and lucrative markets coherent enough to attract commercial developers in the consumer markets is yet to be proven.

Ironically, if the iPhone platform can fail to dominate the smartphone market because it’s too closed, the Android platform may fail because it’s too open.

by John Calian | Link to this article
Topics: Apple | NAS | ReadyNas | Time Machine

Since installing Leopard on our three Macs, we have been using the Time Machine software made by Apple to create a backup system for each computer. For the most part, Time Machine is great, and we have had all three Macs using a local, external hard drive for the backup. This works fine, but we have a 1TB+ NAS in our house (ReadyNas NV+) and using that for Time Machine for all 3 machines would be ideal. But wouldn't you know, Apple does not support that; they support Time Machine over IP, but you need to purchase their product Time Capsule.

A quick search on Google brought me to the ReadyNas community website, and an article on how to use our ReadyNas device with Time Machine. In order to accomplish this, you need a decent level of comfort using the Terminal app on your Mac, but really you just copy and paste the commands into Terminal with a bit of editing and you are good to go.

The following intructions worked PERFECTLY for me, without a catch. Email me with any questions.

From the ReadyNas Community site:

Making Time Machine work with the ReadyNAS

The following is a summary of how to make Time Machine work with the ReadyNAS by DavidB based on initial contribution by btaroli and refinements by sirozha and a host of others on the ReadyNAS Mac/OSX Forum. We are thankful of the Mac enthusiasts who frequent and contribute to the ReadyNAS forum.

—

Ok I’ve just converted a second machine to use the NAS for networked Time Machine backups, and this time things went straight through without any mistakes. Here’s the run-down:

This example was done using a Mac Mini with a hostname of “magpie”, running OS X 10.5.2 and connected via 802.11g to a ReadyNAS NV+ (RAIDiator 4.01c1-p1 [1.00a041] with AFP patch loaded). I’ve created separate AFP shares for each machine (”TMmagpie” in this case) and set them to be accessible just to the “owner” of the machine. I could have set up one share to contain Time Machine backups for all clients, but then it could be possible for a user to access someone else’s private data within the backups.

Do make sure to keep the hostname simple — i.e. don’t have quotes in it like “Maggie’s Mac”, or the process will fail.

With the share set up on the NAS already, everything else we do is local to the client (magpie in this case). Some of the commands I list here are run within Terminal.app, although there are alternate (GUI) ways of accessing some of the functions.

This machine had previously been doing Time Machine backups to a local Firewire disk, and part of the process outlined here is to copy the contents of that disk to the NAS so that further backups build on top of the existing ones. No need to throw away the old backups!

1. In System Preferences, turn Time Machine off.

2. Find the MAC address of the machine’s internal Ethernet port:
$ ifconfig en0 | grep ether

This should produce a single line of output, such as:

ether 00:16:cb:af:91:d7

Even if the network backups will be done using a different port (e.g. AirPort: usually “en1″) the system will use the address of en0 as part of the system identifier.

In this case the identifier that Time Machine will use is “magpie_0016cbaf91d7″.

3. Make a new “sparsebundle” on a local disk (NOT the Time Machine disk!). This sparsebundle is a virtual filesystem image which we’ll copy to the NAS, and Time Machine will then access it remotely (that way Time Machine’s not limited by the filesystem features of whatever NAS it’s using: all the funky stuff happens within the sparsebundle). By default sparsebundles can keep growing until they fill up the NAS, but in this scenario we keep other things on the NAS as well as backups, and we’re going to limit the sparsebundle size to 140 GB. We called this one “Backup of magpie” as that’s the default name created by Time Machine, but in fact you can call the volume anything you like.
$ hdiutil create -size 140g -fs HFS+J -volname "Backup of magpie" magpie_0016cbaf91d7.sparsebundle

After you hit ENTER, this will print out:
created: /Users/david/magpie_0016cbaf91d7.sparsebundle $

This Mac Mini hasn’t had things like developer tools loaded: hdiutil comes with the OS. We make the sparsebundle manually so we can impose the size limit, and we do it on a local disk because of a bug that prevents creation of a sparsebundle remotely on the NAS (although they can be used when in place). The sparsebundle doesn’t start at 140 GB: it grows as more data is put in the filesystem inside it, up to a maximum of 140 GB.

4. If you’re not going to copy the contents of an existing Time Machine disk, skip ahead to step 9. 

by John Calian |
Topics: Nokia

When I first saw the title of some blog posts on this phone (out of the UK of course; Nokia doesnt garner a lot of blog coverage here in the states), I was instantly thinking of a phone with a solar panel built in, green in color, and running out of juice every 10 minutes.

But, ha ha, its not really a 'green' phone, but rather a 'green' concept: phones shipping without chargers because you should be able to use the charger of your LAST phone. And, I like it. Cheers to Nokia for introducing a dead simple concept to the marketplace, and really, what is their profit margin on those chargers? Probably not much, and certainly outweighed by being able to make some nice PR spin out of the launch of the phone. And, Nokia is asking consumers what they think (survey here).

From All About Symbian (www.allaboutsymbian.com):
Following in the footsteps of the N79 Active comes another N79 variant, the N79 Eco, which is available for pre-order through Nokia's UK online shop and ships without a charger. Customers are expected to retain the charger from their previous Nokia device. The concept is part of a trial to save energy and reduce waste and is part of Nokia's power of we: strategy. Read on for stats and the full scoop.

From Nokia:
We understand you don't always need another charger. So, when you buy this Nokia N79 online, it comes without one. All we're asking is that you keep hold of your old Nokia charger, and use it again. It's part of a trial to save energy and reduce waste, so it comes in a smaller box too, and for each one we sell we'll donate £4 to WWF, the global conservation organisation.

by John Calian |
Topics: Android | Dual Boot Smartphone | Smartphone | Windows Mobile

Interesting for gadget geeks and hackors, and good PR for the 'no one has heard of them' firm that makes it. But a dual boot phone is not that big of a deal to 98% of US consumers. Smartphones are not being used for long, extended periods of time (like a laptop). Rather, they are the companion device that has all the quick answers for the user (and makes phone calls). Having multiple OS' just seems impractical, though I am a bit on the geeky side and would love to play around with one.

Specification round-up from Coolsmartphone:
Packing a 3.5" VGA touch-screen and a full QWERTY and capacitive touchpad for mouse control it's also connected to the world with quad-band GSM / GPRS and 3G plus WiFi. Not only that but you also get two USB ports, ethernet (through a connector) and SDIO. Blimey. You also get microSD with SDHC support, 2 megapixel camera, a stonking 3000mAh battery, more memory than you can shake a stick at and a Marvell PXA270 CPU powering the whole thing.

Read about the device here (exediamobile.com)

One aspect about the device, though, is that it will be a great tool for developers, as you can write code for two OS' whilst purchasing one device.

From the (really simple) website:

Software developers will appreciate exeda's special development platform. exeda offers to developers -

• Open source u-boot bootloader
• Detailed hardware and software documentation
• Full BSP's
• 10/100Base-T Ethernet port
• JTAG interface
• RS-232
• Unlocked SIM

by John Calian |
Topics: Android | Smartphone Marketplace

Here is my prediction: global Android market share (of smartphone market) will reach 7% by end of 2009. That will be based on the installations of the OS on any type of device (including netbooks).

by John Calian |
Topics: Smartphone | Windows Mobile

Being a Seattle-ite, press about Microsoft is pervasive in the local media, and there is never a day where a big story about the software giant is not plastered everywhere, talked about, etc. Layoff rumors? Yahoo purchase? Ballmer drove his car 5 MPH over the speed limit (over 9,000 results for 'steve ballmer' in the last month alone for news). Everything is covered by a wide range of media outlets (papers, TV news, bloggers, coffee shop MCs).

One bit of news missing the past few years, though, is any super-relevant information on Microsoft making a big play in mobile. It seems to me that everything in mobile these days is about Apple, Blackberry, Google and even that old timer, Palm. And MS is lagging. Where is the Zune phone???

But nowhere are there stories of the latest and greatest in the mobile marketplace concerning Windows Mobile. I don't mean to say there is nothing; but there is nothing earth shattering (think Palm Pre announcement at CES 2009). And if the news existed, I certainly would be aware of it. It begsthe question: when is MS going to make that long awaited big splash?

20,000,000 smartphones were sold in 2008 running windows (more than Apple) and that number is not touted much. After spending 10 years listening to countless people go on and on about the greatness of Windows/Office/SQL Server/Xbox...I have been expecting something grand for mobile.

by John Calian |
Topics: iPhone | iPhone Hacking

A non-exhaustive list of resources for those seeking to start a career as an iPhone coder (or anyone who wants a list of resources and already knows they have a career as a coder)

by John Calian |
Topics: iPhone | Smartphone | Windows Mobile

by John Calian |
Topics: Blackberry | Blackberry Storm | Smartphone

Now that the Blackberry Storm smartphone has been out for a couple months, its time to really consider if even going down this road of producing a multi-media, touchscreen device is really in RIMs best interest.

by John Calian |
Topics: Andriod App Review | Android | Utilities

SMobile VirusGuard for Android is the first antivirus application available to protect Google's revolutionary new mobile device operating system. VirusGuard provides users with protection against over 400 instances and variants of mobile malware. These viruses, worms and trojans can infect and cross-over between mobile devices via the memory card, web-browser and by the installation of open source applications.

Apps for the T-Mobile G1: Now available at Handango

VirusGuard secures mobile devices by scanning for malicious content on-demand and on-access. The on-access feature is continuously monitoring the device and scans all data received by the device. Once harmful content is detected, it alerts the user and offers the option to delete the data or save it. The user may also initiate a scan, using the on-demand feature.

by John Calian |
Topics: 5 Star | Photography | Symbian

This is a high-quality photo album you can take on the go, perfect for family reunions, the holidays, and to show everyone Junior?s 2.34th birthday celebration. The app includes slideshow capabilities, folder management, and color editing.

Read the full description of Resco Photo Viewer for your Symbian device - Download now at Handango

Works like a charm

by Max Vlasovfrom Moscow, Russia

Absolutely the best, one of the softwares that works just like one expected. If you think about the feature, you will find it there. Very fast (probably uses the specific Jpeg features for speeding up decoding to smaller sizes). And in the world of S60 software, when developers usually charges more money for less features (comparing to PalmOS for instance), it's a noticeable exception.

The latest version is excellent

by Ant Yeungfrom Hong Kong

The latest version can now fully support multi-page tif (fax) which is great. I use the Nokia E61i and this program is a godsend.

by John Calian |
Topics: Blackberry | Blackberry App Review | Business

For those of us in states like Washington, its now mandatory to have headsets to talk while driving. And, of course, emailing while driving is perhaps more dangerous (and impractical).

Voice on the Go allows you to have 'voice' activated email, meaning you can listen in while driving.

...I like the service, but it's definitely a "luxury," concierge type of deal. It's really a great service for those who need to listen to their e-mails when something vital comes up while you're driving down the road, cooking, typing, or just feeling lazy. Definitely a handy tool for somebody who stays on the go...

Read all Handango reviews

Save 15% on all productivity apps including themes and email at Handango with code TOOLS15%

by John Calian |
Topics: 4 Star | Palm | Palm App Review | Productivity

Advanced Outlook synchronization with select devices that include the palmOne applications for personal information management. Up to 15 Outlook folders or categories.

User Review from Handango.com:

"As an avid user of Outlook, I was worried I wouldn't be able to use it when my Pocket PC died and I took over my wife's Palm V. I thought I would have to go out and buy a new Pocket PC. NOT SO! This product worked flawlessly between my Palm and Outlook! Thank you for saving me a lot of money!

by John Calian |

Skype, software that makes communicating with people around the world easy and fun, announced that is has delivered a 'lite' version of its VoIP client for the Android platform, and a more open java for mobile version as well.

I have to say, though, after reading the release, I am saying 'what the hell Skype people?' This version of Skype does NOT use WiFi; instead it uses your carrier network (both voice and data) and so you are charged both voice and data rates while using the software. Seriously, who cares? We want Skype on our phones so we can make FREE calls in the US, and CHEAP calls to folks over the seas.

From the release:
This launch builds on successful public testing last year and the incorporation of user feedback to an earlier beta version which was only available on a limited number of mobile devices. The updated beta now makes Skype software broadly available to millions of mobile users worldwide, including for the first time, mobile users in the U.S. The lite version delivers core Skype capabilities including:

• Make Skype-to-Skype calls to other Skype users anywhere in the world
• Send/receive instant messages to/from individuals or groups
• Make Skype calls at low rates to people on landline or mobile phones
• Receive calls to your online personal phone number on Skype
• See when your Skype contacts are online/available to chat

by John Calian |
Topics: Smartphone | Windows Mobile

According to an article by Matt Richtel published in the NYTimes today, Microsoft desires to cut the total number of devices that run its flagship mobile operating system (Windows Mobile) down in size, thus better preserving its brand strength.

Todd Peters, the vice president of marketing for the Windows Mobile division, said "he was clear that one way in which Microsoft plans to become more competitive is by limiting the number of devices built with the Windows Mobile operating system. At present, there are around 140 such devices, from a range of cell phone makers, from Samsung to Palm and many in between."

“We’re going to pump more value into the license,” he said....

• HTC, Motorola, Samsung are going big on Android;
  
• Palm is introducing a new OS;
  
• HP, do they really count?

by John Calian |
Topics: 3 Star | iPhone | iPhone App Review | Productivity

A nice productivity application from Apple was released last month that allows you to 'control a Keynote Presentation (Keynote is the presentation software from Apple, in the iWorks package) from an iPhone or iPod Touch (as long as both your iPhone and Mac are on the same WiFi network). Setup for Keynote Remote works much like the Apple Remote app for iTunes and Apple TV.' (Macworld, 01/07/09).

The idea is really straight forward, though after checking it out, its not much more useful than the small remote that comes with your Macbook Pro. And based on this comment from Macworld, it seems to really miss the real WOW killer functionality in terms of Keynote:

"This is pretty lame, actually. I don't want to have a remote on the iPhone/Touch. I've got a remote that works fine. I want to be able to load the presentation on the iP/T and deliver it wirelessly to the data projector (need to have a wireless transceiver dongle for the projector until the companies start making them with wireless interfaces). I don't want to carry the laptop to class any more. This is a no brainer. And it's the kind of thing I expect from Apple. No new technology required. Just implement it for crying out loud. You'll sell an iP/T to every prof in the country."

Read full Macworld article here

Purchase Keynote Remote

by John Calian |
Topics: Application Stores | Palm

Apple has its App Store, Google has its Market and RIM has a lot of convincing to do in selling its store for applications. And here comes Palm, announcing its all new platform for developing smartphone applications for its new OS and devices: The Palm App Catalog ~ Palm will provide an on-device application catalog to deliver your apps directly to users.

The announcement covers all bases, but of particular note is this:

...And good news for Palm OS developers! There are a number of ways to migrate data from a an existing PDB file to your new webOS app. Stay tuned for more information for developers with Palm OS applications who want to build webOS applications...

This indicates that all old-school Palm work can be easily converted. Nice touch Palm.

by John Calian |
Topics: Palm

Yes, prediction 1 of 10 is coming true (unless Plam blows up in the next half year), the new Palm device was seen and touched today. The team at MobileCrunch spent time in a 'closed door' session with the new Palm today:

...It’s straight up gorgeous, but it’s not perfect - yet. During our demonstration, a few things went on the fritz: there was a bit of lag, certain menus wouldn’t open no matter how many times they were poked. With Palm only promising “by the end of the first half of 2009″, they’ve still got nearly a full 6 months to crack out the bugs, so we won’t judge them too much...

Read full post here

Nearly all pundits are saying the same thing: this is Palm's last shot at solidifying a spot in the smartphone hierarchy. Now or never. By the looks of this device, and the reaction of blogger Greg Kumparak, Palm has the makings of a winner. Do not underestimate the love affair people have with their Palm devices.

by John Calian |
Topics: iPhone | iPhone Hacking

A blog post was brought to my attention today that led me off into a journey I had been putting off for a while: studying the process of jailbreaking your iPhone. The post is here, and it chronicles an iPhone application developers conversation with an iPhone application cracker. Fascinating read, especially the comments section.

I have been an AT&T customer for a long time, many years before the iPhone came out, so I never had the desire to crack my iPhone (nor spend the time to do it). In the past, I have wiled away hours and hours hacking my TiVo (which was an extremely worthwhile endeavor) and I have a lot of respect for all the folks who contributed to the community of TiVo hackers, especially the ones who wrote up all the 'how-to' articles I utilized.

Needless to say, I have no issue with jailbreaking an iPhone, and in fact would argue for its propigation. The blog post above brings up the issue of pirated software, and in particular pirated iPhone applications. And what it led me to was Appulo.us, Hackulo.us and Installulo.us.

And that led me to reading all about Jailbreaking your iPhone in depth for the first time. Good stuff.

Update: the above instructions for jailbreaking your iPhone are for the 3G version. Check out these instructions for Jailbreaking your 2G iPhone (the original iPhone)

by John Calian |
Topics: Blackberry | Blackberry App Review | Photography

From the folks at Blackberry Home Page comes a review of a nice utility that allows BB users to use their cameras to read bar codes and get info about an item.

...one thing I mentioned was a barcode scanner. A commenter was kind enough to point me to NeoReader, a comparable but not well known application for the BlackBerry. Excited, I decided to test out the application right away. So for those of you wanting to know a bit more about this application, read on...

From the website:
The NeoReader is a universal barcode scanning application that transforms your mobile phone into a barcode scanner and allows you to access mobile web content by scanning codes from print ads, publication, packaging, billboards, retail display, broadcast media, or any other medium. Universal means that the NeoReader scans all the standard code types (Data Matrix, QR codes, Aztec Codes, EAN, UPC, and Code 128), so NeoReader is the only scanning software you’ll need.

The software is available on numerous devices:

by John Calian |
Topics: 5 Star | iPhone App Review | Productivity

Simple, easy to use application that makes life easier. That is my 2 cents on Evernote, an application that is a companion to a desktop application for note taking- all device sync goodness.

From the website:
Evernote allows you to easily capture information in any environment using whatever device or platform you find most convenient, and makes this information accessible and searchable at any time, from anywhere.

In practice, it means you can create notes (and attach a file to them) like you create a Word doc, and tag it with keywords and organize the file structure like email folders. Finally, the notes you take are then made available for access by any device that has Evernote software running on it. Plus, you can log in via a web interface from anywhere.

The point of this review is to address the fact that one device you can access these notes from is your iPhone (there is a Windows Mobile version as well).

For my personal needs, I take a lot of notes, and have been using the native Notes application on the phone, emailing the notes to myself, and then acting on them. With Evernote, the notes are instantly added to my profile as I type on the iPhone, and then accessible on the laptop I use to actually make use of my notes. Better yet, the Mac client works just like Word, but is far better suited for note taking. The ability to TAG notes is sweet, as is the ability to have a hierarchal view of all notes right there to view and access with a click of a button.

Highly recommended by this user.

by John Calian |
Topics: Nokia | Symbian

by John Calian |
Topics: Nokia | Symbian

by John Calian |
Topics: Blackberry | Research in Motion | RIM

Research In Motion (RIM) is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market.

Through the development of integrated hardware, software and services that support multiple wireless network standards, RIM provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to time-sensitive information including email, phone, text messaging (SMS and MMS), Internet and intranet-based applications.

RIM technology also enables a broad array of third party developers and manufacturers to enhance their products and services with wireless connectivity to data.

RIM was founded in 1984. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, we have offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

About RIM

• Contact Information
• Maps and Locations
• Corporate Philanthropy
• Executive Biographies
• RIM Press Releases
• Investor Relations Events

by John Calian |
Topics: Blackberry | Research in Motion | RIM

Research In Motion (RIM) is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market.

Through the development of integrated hardware, software and services that support multiple wireless network standards, RIM provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to time-sensitive information including email, phone, text messaging (SMS and MMS), Internet and intranet-based applications.

RIM technology also enables a broad array of third party developers and manufacturers to enhance their products and services with wireless connectivity to data.

RIM was founded in 1984. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, we have offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

About RIM

• Contact Information
• Maps and Locations
• Corporate Philanthropy
• Executive Biographies
• RIM Press Releases
• Investor Relations Events

by John Calian |
Topics: Palm

About Palm, Inc.

Palm, Inc. is a leading mobile products company, creating instinctive yet powerful mobile products that enable people to better manage their lives on the go. The company’s products for consumers, mobile professionals and businesses include Palm^® Treo™ and Centro™ smartphones and Palm handheld computers, as well as software, services and accessories.

Palm products are sold through select Internet, retail, reseller and wireless operator channels throughout the world, and at Palm online stores. www.palm.com/store

More information about Palm, Inc. is available at www.palm.com.

Palm® Products

Palm® Treo™ and Centro™ Smartphones

Palm's vision is that the future of personal computing is mobile computing. Today Palm smartphones — comprising the Treo and Centro brands — are available with the Palm OS® and Windows Mobile® operating systems, providing a great range of choices to help consumers, mobile professionals and businesses stay competitive in a continually changing market. But mobile computing isn't all about work, and Palm smartphones provide just the right mix of work/life balance to fit any lifestyle.

With carrier activation, Palm smartphones seamlessly combine a full-featured mobile phone with email, an organizer, messaging and web access capabilities in a compact yet easy-to-use device. In addition, Palm smartphones feature a built-in QWERTY keyboard for fast and efficient data input. The keyboard, five-way navigation button and other design features make it possible for you to get more done-in fewer steps and with just one hand. Palm smartphones are lightweight and small enough to fit in your pocket.

Palm smartphones are compatible with GSM and CDMA networks, giving customers a choice in mobile operators worldwide.

More information about Palm smartphones can be found at www.palm.com/us/products/smartphones/.

Palm® Handheld Computers

Palm offers a wide range of handheld computers that are powerful tools, whether you're managing your appointments, addresses and to-do lists or using your handheld computer as your office on the go. Palm has a handheld to fit every user's needs and help them get the most out of their day. Palm handhelds enable users to better manage their schedules, carry MP3s, digital photos and video clips or create and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint compatible files.

More information about Palm handhelds can be found at www.palm.com/handhelds.

by John Calian |
Topics: Palm

About Palm, Inc.

Palm, Inc. is a leading mobile products company, creating instinctive yet powerful mobile products that enable people to better manage their lives on the go. The company’s products for consumers, mobile professionals and businesses include Palm^® Treo™ and Centro™ smartphones and Palm handheld computers, as well as software, services and accessories.

Palm products are sold through select Internet, retail, reseller and wireless operator channels throughout the world, and at Palm online stores. www.palm.com/store

More information about Palm, Inc. is available at www.palm.com.

Palm® Products

Palm® Treo™ and Centro™ Smartphones

Palm's vision is that the future of personal computing is mobile computing. Today Palm smartphones — comprising the Treo and Centro brands — are available with the Palm OS® and Windows Mobile® operating systems, providing a great range of choices to help consumers, mobile professionals and businesses stay competitive in a continually changing market. But mobile computing isn't all about work, and Palm smartphones provide just the right mix of work/life balance to fit any lifestyle.

With carrier activation, Palm smartphones seamlessly combine a full-featured mobile phone with email, an organizer, messaging and web access capabilities in a compact yet easy-to-use device. In addition, Palm smartphones feature a built-in QWERTY keyboard for fast and efficient data input. The keyboard, five-way navigation button and other design features make it possible for you to get more done-in fewer steps and with just one hand. Palm smartphones are lightweight and small enough to fit in your pocket.

Palm smartphones are compatible with GSM and CDMA networks, giving customers a choice in mobile operators worldwide.

More information about Palm smartphones can be found at www.palm.com/us/products/smartphones/.

Palm® Handheld Computers

Palm offers a wide range of handheld computers that are powerful tools, whether you're managing your appointments, addresses and to-do lists or using your handheld computer as your office on the go. Palm has a handheld to fit every user's needs and help them get the most out of their day. Palm handhelds enable users to better manage their schedules, carry MP3s, digital photos and video clips or create and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint compatible files.

More information about Palm handhelds can be found at www.palm.com/handhelds.

by John Calian | Link to this article
Topics: GMail | Google Email Services | Hosted Email

If you have your own domain name and use it for email, and like myself have more than one device (Laptop, Smartphone, iPhone, Blackberry, etc.) where you check email, I recommend using Google's email service, the same service that powers GMail. Further, start using the IMAP service, and you will be in sync on all your devices

I have now moved email service over to Google Apps 10+ times, and have a solid method for doing so, one that ensures mail will not be lost and downtime negated. Previously, I have used POP email at eNom, 1and1.com, GoDaddy and other places.

There are two big tasks: setting up the new Google Apps account, backing up your old email in case things go wrong.

Steps to move your email services to Google. These instructions will of course work fine if you are starting from scratch. It will be obvious which steps to skip.

1. Backup email. Go to your current email client, and make an archive of your email. If you use a Mac + Time Machine, you are already set up. If you are on Mac and have no Time Machine, open Mail or Entourage, and make an archive of your mail. If you are on Windows, do the same. Make a backup. Reversing out of this is a whole post unto itself. Email me if you run into a big problem.
   
2. Create an account at Google Apps. It used to be easy to sign up for a free account, but now you have to navigate through some links to do so. Google is trying to funnel you into a paid account, but I argue you do not need one to start out. If you find there are functions you need that only the paid version has, go for it.
   
   1. Go here: http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/business/index.html, and find the link at the bottom that says 'non-profits'. Click it.
      
   2. On the next page, click the big blue button that says : Compare Editions
      and Sign Up.
      
   3. On the next page, click Get Started. You will now be at the page where you fill out the form for your account.
      
   4. Make sure you say you are an Administrator, and enter in your domain name (without www.).
      
3. Important: You will be creating the first email user when you go through the set up process. Your user name will be an email name as well, and might as well be your main email address. Example: joesmith@smith.com. Setup 'joesmith' as the first user name.
   
4. Verify Domain Ownership. You can do this two different ways, by either creating an HTML file and uploading it to your website (website that is using hte domain name you working on) OR setting up a host record on your domain name, which is the method I use and I find is easier and faster.
   • Log into your domain name registrar website (eNom, GoDaddy, NetworkSolutions, etc.), as you will be creating many records here in the coming steps.
   For this one, follow the instructions on the set up page, and create your first CNAME record. If this does not makes sense to you, contaact a friend who understands this and get a quick tutorial, or email me!
5. Create users. Set up a user for each email address you will be needing. Hint #1: Set up a standard naming process for each user, create a generic password and then use the feature where the user needs to update the password the first time they log into Google's service. Hint #2: If you have a large group of users, create a spreadsheet and import it. Instructions are available on the site.
   
6. Prepare to have your old email ready to move into new email system. Do NOT delete your current 'account' in your email client that uses the old email system. Keep it, you may need to go back! Plus, while the new service is being updated (next step) email will still be flowing to the old account. Do not simply update the account with your soon-to-be-new Google info. Your email should already be backed up (Step #1), so you are safe at this point. The key here is that once you have the new Google email account set up, you can simply drag and drop your email from your old account into the new one, and Voila!, you are all set.
7. Set up the Email settings on Google. From the Google Apps Dashboard, click the Activate Email link. Choose your domain name registrar from the only drop down on the page. Follow the instructions for creating MX Host records, and when that is done, click the button on the bottom of the page. This step can be difficult if you do not know what MX records are; but do not be intimidated. Go to your registrar website, and they should have instructions there. If all else fails, contact me and Ill try to help.
8. Create a unique domain name for your Webmail. By default, Google sets up your domain for webmail, which is the exact same webmail GMail users have. Though, yours is custom because it uses your domain name. The default is : http://mail.google.com/a/yourDomainName.com. You can set a custom name up, like mail.yourdomainname.com. To do so, from the Dashboard,
   
   1. click on Email.
      
   2. On the next page, click 'Change URL'.
      
   3. On the next page, Choose the second radio button
   4. enter in the name you want.
      
   5. By default it has 'mail', but you can put in anything you want.
      
   Follow the instructions, you will be creating one more CNAME host record at your registrar website.
   
9. Important: At this point, you will now have switched your mail to the new service, and routers all over the world will need to be updated to send mail to the new place. Mail will continue to be routed to the old service while this phase takes place. The best thing to do here is to have access to webmail for your old service and monitor the situation, i.e. monitor if mail is still fowing to the old system or not.
   
10. Activate your new email accounts. Email is now activated in the Google Apps account, so each user can now go to the webmail site (see step #8) and activate mail and turn on IMAP (or POP). IMAP is ideal if you check email from mulitple devices/locations, as it will always present the user with a synchronized view of mail.
    1. Log into Webmail (http://mail.yourdomainname.com for example, see step #8)
       
    2. Create your new password (if needed)
    3. Click on Settings in the top right corner
    4. Click on Forwarding and POP/IMAP
    5. Enable IMAP (or POP)
    6. Click Save Changes
11. Set up your new account in your email client. Open up your email client (Mail, Entoruage, Outlook) and set up a new IMAP (or POP) account.
    
1. Go back to the IMAP settings page
2. Click Configuration Instructions
3. Follow the instructions for your email cleint
12. Wait for your new mail service with Google to become active. This means we are waiting for all the routers around the world to update your new MX records and start sending mail addressed to you to the new service at Google.
13. Move email from old account to new. Go to your mail client. Once mail is flowing into the Google account, you can now drag and drop mail from your old account into the new, including your inbox, sent mail, trash, drafts. You can also move whole folders if you had previously set up a hierarchy of folders (if your email client allows it. Otherwise, create new folders in the new account, and drag and drop mail folder to folder).
14. Send yourself test emails. You can do this to test if the new email system is up and running.
    
15. Add more devices. If you have a smartphone, like an iPhone or Blackberry, follow the instructions from the Google setup page to add your account to these devices. I strongly recommend IMAP because of this. Email me for more details on this.

by John Calian |
Topics: Palm

Over at MobileCrunch they posted about a new Palm (NSDQ: PALM) device today, and the new OS powering it. Apparently the new device has a large touchscreen and a slider keyboard. Hope they are on to something here, as 1 out of ten ain't too shabby to kick off the year. And in case you were wondering, I didnt know this existed 4 days ago, though it was the most 'no-brainer' of my 10 predictions.

Palm will ONLY stay relevant if they come out with a WOW device. They have a large following of Treo users and fanatics. I hope they do not disappoint. Jack Gold, analyst for J.Gold Associates, said: "The bottom line is this is Palm's last gasp. They have to come out with a new OS to make themselves relevant again. Their old OS is a geriatric case. It's been around for a long time and has been marginally improved, but it hasn't kept pace with the iPhone or (Google) Androids of the world." (From Chronicle article)

From CrunchGear (sister site to MobileCrunch):
...We have information from a trusted source that the latest Palm smartphone running the Nova operating system will be launched Thursday. The new phone will have a full QWERTY keyboard that will slide down under a portrait-oriented touchscreen. We’ll have a mock-up shortly...The new operating system is described as “amazing” and there will be a full software bazaar on launch. It will have media playback functions along with standard Palm calendar, email, and contact functionality...

Read full story here about new Palm device (2009)

by John Calian |
Topics: Blackberry | Blackberry App Review | RIM | Weather

One of the most written about free applications for the Blackberry Storm is WeatherBug, which promises that users will be ready for all occasions with up to date weather information.

Over at LockerGnome, they have reviewed the application for Blackberry, iPhone and more.

Read full review of WeatherBug @ LockerGnome

From the Developer website:

Features of the new free application for Blackberry Storm include:

• Live neighborhood weather from over 8,000 weather stations in the U.S.
• Current weather, forecast and NWS alerts for your GPS location.
• Current conditions icon and outdoors temp on your Blackberry desktop.
• "Always on" NWS weather alerts such as Tornado warnings even when the WeatherBug app is turned off.
• 7-day forecast and hourly forecast.
• Detailed radar and maps.
• Check the weather on Blackberry Maps by simply touching any area on the map for two (2) seconds.
• Daily National Weather Outlook broadcast provided by WeatherBug meteorologists.
• View snapshots and time-lapse animation from more than 2,000 weather cameras in the U.S.
• Set-up new locations by pulling the location information from your contact list.
• Share the current weather information, forecast, alerts and photographs with friends and family.

by John Calian |
Topics: Symbian | Symbian App Review | Utilities

PhoNetInfo is free software. It retrieves detailed phone and network information and runs on all Symbian S60 3rd edition mobile phones.

Read full review at Daily Mobile

Not sure how much value this application provides, since the Symbian OS and systems already provide the user with much of this information.

Let us know what you think in the Comments

by John Calian |
Topics: iPhone Hacking | iPhone Unlock | iPod Touch

By now, most folks know that Apple has partnered with a limited number of wireless carriers to sell and support the iPhone. For those that like the partners offered, or already use the service where the iPhone is working, no problems. For everyone else, you are shut out of official support of the world's coolest Smartphone. There is an answer, however, if you would like to have an iPhone and run it on a non supported wireless carrier: unlock your iPhone (or iPod Touch) and use it on the service of your choice (even pay-as-you-go services). A dedicated group of software engineers has created a sweet set of software to do this.

Yellowsn0w
The software used to unlock your iPhone or Touch comes from the good folks at the iPhone Dev Team. You could certainly head over to their website for the code, but the Crunch folks do a better job of step by step instructions on how to install this.

The Team:
asap18, bgm, Bugout, bushing, c1de0x, chris, dinopio, drudge, Fred_, ghost_000, gray, iZsh, jim–, MuscleNerd, netkas, np101137, penisbird, planetbeing, pr3d4t0r, pumpkin, pytey, roxfan, sam, saurik, Turbo, w___, wizdaz, Zf

Instructions:
Perfect instructions for unlocking your iPhone (original or 3G) or iPod Touch were written up at CrunchGear, including step by step how-to and picture instructions.

Full iPhone Unlock Instructions here (CrunchGear)

by John Calian | Link to this article
Topics: GMail | Google Email Services | Mac Mail

I have set up all my hosted email with Google's email services, including email that resolves at calian.net. Incoming mail is setup with IMAP (I check mail on both my Macbook Pro and my iPhone) and of course SMTP for outgoing, using Google's services.

Now, when you use this combination of Mac Mail and Google email services, you inherently have to double up on folders: Mail creates Inbox, Sent, Draft, Trash; Google has a top level folder called 'GMAIL' and inside are folders All Mail, Drafts, Sent Mail, Spam, Starred and Trash (see image #1).

Issue #1: When does Sent mail get put into the Mac Mail Sent folder, and when does it stuck in the Google/Gmail Sent folder? Same goes for Drafts, Trash, etc.

Issue #2: A persistent issue that either the Mail program or the Google services is somehow there is something randomly creating mailbox folders.See Image. You can see that a 3rd Sent folder was created, and then a 4th called Sent Messages.

And, folders that were created before I used Google services for calian.net keep reappearing. I'm guessing this is a bug in the Mac Mail Program.

Suggestions?

by John Calian |
Topics: iPhone | iPhone App Review | Lifestyle

...While there are other grocery list apps, and plenty of generic task list apps, that can help you remember to bring home milk and eggs, Grocery IQ has a unique method of helping you select from an internal database of over 130,000 items including brand names that you can find in US grocery stores....


Full review from the AppleBlog

Purchase Grocery iQ on iTunes

From the Application Publisher (Free State Labs):
Save time and money while avoiding the headaches of grocery shopping. Grocery iQ includes all the features you expect from an intuitive and powerful shopping list application along with the convenience of a 130,000+ item database. Use your shopping history and favorites list to quickly build new lists. Never buy the wrong item again.

Features Include:
- Build lists fast with 130,000+ item database
- Pick your favorites and add them to your list
- Add quantity, container size, and notes
- Add, delete, and rename custom aisles
- Custom item sizes
- Automatically organize the list by aisle
- Email list so someone else does the shopping!

With the polished touch you expect, Grocery iQ is the most feature-rich grocery shopping application for the iPhone and iPod touch. Use the application to quickly pull together your shopping list. Add items whenever you like.

Use the predictive search feature to quickly add specific items. Review your history and build a favorites list to save you time and hassle. When you visit the store the list is automatically in the right order and all you have to do is check off items as you go. We know you'll agree Grocery iQ is grocery shopping made sensible.

by John Calian |
Topics: Microsoft | Windows Mobile