03:48 PM by sUnShInE in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

We've all been there. With over 20k software titles available for the Palm OS, finding just the right application for your handheld or smartphone can often be a challenge. So palmOne has developed "Expert Guides", a directory of Palm OS applications, online resources, e-books and user testimonials to help give you recommendations.

The interesting thing is that the reviews are written by users, who claim to have "expertise" in the topics covered. From astronomy to blogging, each Expert Guide includes select software applications, references to relevant eBooks and Web sites and first-person user testimonials on the specific subject area.

While I applaud the efforts of palmOne to build an online community of 'just regular users' to evangelize for their hardware, some of the software recs seem to leave things out or pimp biasly for their own faves. Case in point: this eBooks guide, which leaves out iSilo. (gasp) Oddly, iSilo is in the web browser section, where they compare it to Avantgo... but don't recommend Avantgo.

On the bright side: PalmSource seems to be committed to the 'guide leading the blind' model, and are actively seeking experts. The downside? They're looking to influence their "economy", not their "community":

You will be our designated expert on your particular topic. You'll get private contact with PalmSource (to give us advice and ask questions), and as a thank-you you'll each receive $200 gift certificates to an online store that sells handheld gear. But most importantly, you'll get the recognition and gratitude of everyone in the Palm economy.

Click here to sign-up and promote your own interests and improve the Palm economy. They can obviously use your help.

Editor Note: I just realized, with a helpful email, that I incorrectly sourced palmOne for this instead of PalmSource. My apologies, I have corrected the post.

06:22 AM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

ATP Electronics announced that it has developed a 2GB Secure Digital card, which is now ready for mass production by OEMs.

The new cards will be the highest capacity SD cards on the market, doubling the current 1GB record, and offering a good performance of up to 10MB/s (that's fast, but not the fastest on the market).

ATP's 2GB SD cards will be priced at a MSRP of $249 (though the price might vary depending on the OEM).

I guess that means finally more room for my digital photos, medical records, MP3s, and Divx videos!

06:12 AM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | iSilo/X

Darren released the second V4.2 Beta of iSilo and iSiloX today.

V4.2 Beta 2 includes bug-fixes for Beta 1.

New V4.2 highlights of the reader iSilo:
- Added image map support.
- Beta of iSilo on the Symbian UIQ platform, to lead to the first release of iSilo on that platform.
- Addressing of miscellaneous issues.
Detailed list of changes.

New V4.2 highlights of the the convertor iSiloX:
- Added RSS conversion capability
- Added handling of image maps.
- Addressing of miscellaneous issues
Detailed list of changes.

10:28 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Portable Audio/Video

A user at iPod Hacks describes how he managed to extract fonts and graphics from the iPod's firmware.

It didn't take long for a hack to show up: iPodWizard allows you to replace fonts and graphics in the firmware and also correct the firmware's checksum accordingly. You must

1. download the iPod Updater
2. open the Updater executable in iPodWizard
3. select the applicable firmware for your iPod model
4. modify to your liking
5. write back to the firmware.
6. run the iPod Updater!

08:59 AM by Alexander Turcic in More E-Book Readers | Legacy E-Book Devices

Sony has released four free addon programs for MS Windows, the first time the company is handing out tools that allow you to convert your own text material to Librie format!

1. Newspaper for LIBRIe converts Internet articles and news to a format readable by the Librie. In addition, since it is RSS compliant, one can select the most recent news from various web sites and create an original information magazine.

2. Toolbar for LIBRIe converts in one click a web page from Internet explorer into a format readable by the Librie.

3. Myclip for LIBRIe allows the user to drag and drop into a single ebook readable on the Librie text portions of websites which the users whishes to keep for further reference.

4. Printer for LIBRIe allows the user to print data stored on a pc in word, excel or pdf format into a file readable by the Librie. Possible usages include proof reading, text checking, or paperless document carrying.

[Via Librie Wiki and Sony Downloads]

07:04 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Lounge

PC Magazine has come out with a list of "two handfuls of devices to avoid at any cost this holiday season, culled from the worst-scoring products we tested this year."

Among the list you find the "fundamentally flawed iPAQ rz1715", which "lacks any of the redeeming qualities" of Dell or Palm's low-end PDAs.

I leave it up to you if you agree with their assessment or not

06:44 AM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | Deals and Resources (No...

Jeff Kirvin from Writing On Your Palm is asking for our support. He is currently broke; if you enjoy reading his excellent blog on writing on PDAs, you could help him out with a small Paypal donation.

06:37 AM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | News

NYT's Sunday Book Review features an interesting essay on how the negative trend in e-books has finally reversed its momentum:

[I]t turns out the e-book market has been changing course and, though still tiny, has been growing at double-digit rates. It is, in fact, the fastest-growing segment of the comparatively static publishing world. Between 2002 and 2003, the number of e-books sold rose 71 percent, according to the industry's trade association, the Open eBook Forum. The industry posted record sales in the first quarter of 2004, a 46 percent increase compared with the same period last year.

Author Sarah Glazer argues that main driver of the positive shift in the e-book market is the immense growth in cellphones and handheld devices sold. She doesn't neglect to speak also about the convience of e-books:

Fans of cellphone reading tell me they quickly forget about the size of the screen once they get absorbed in a good plot; moreover, they can increase the type size to make it easier on the eyes. And the convenience is unbeatable. A friend of mine, who had forgotten to bring reading matter to the dentist, recently read Kitty Kelley's book ''The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty'' on his Treo smart phone, then text-messaged a particularly damning paragraph about the Bush family to my cell.

In one aspect I strongly disagree with Mrs Glazer: E-books are not "significantly cheaper" than paper books. It may be true that a few bestsellers such as the Dan Browns' "Da Vinci Code" sell for a few cents less, but the overall picture is still bleak. There is no justification for selling e-books on a price-level that is just/or almost on par with paper books. E-books can be easily reproduced, they greatly reduce deliver costs, and they don't require any expensive store space. Similar like it is the case with audio cds vs. downloadable MP3, the publishing industry should reconsider its pricing policy in order to make e-books more attractive.

Overall this is a good essay that clearly depicts how e-books are slowly, but unstoppable integrating into mainstream.