11:39 AM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

The Tungsten T5 is a disappointment for most of us. It didn't meet even our most cautious expectations - like integrating WiFi (which isn't too much to ask for, nowaday) and PalmOS 6.1.

But that is only half the story why some of us, including myself, are mostly fed up with palmOne. What has the company really been doing over the last year? Well, today I stumbled over this note, explaining in frighteningly obvious numbers how palmOne is using its shareholder money:

You'd think that companies would stop playing games with their options expenses, given all the attention stock options have gotten recently. But you'd be wrong. Take Palm One (PLMO), for example. In the company's recent Q, it reported quarterly earnings of 41 cents a share, a significant turnaround from the 74 cent loss they reported for the same quarter last year. News accounts, like this one by Reuters hailed the solid results. But the Q tells a slightly different story. Once options expenses are factored in, the company only made 29 cents a share, which (of course) is still better than a loss. But digging even deeper into the numbers, you see that to get to that 29 cent figure, the company monkeyed around with the options assumptions it was using. The moral here? Many companies are still betting on investors turning a blind eye to the things they try to bury in their SEC filings.

In my mind, I already made the switch from PalmOS to PocketPC. I will definitely not buy the T5, and I won't give palmOne yet another year time to release yet another refurbished TE. How about you?

11:27 AM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Serious problems with the new PalmOne T5 are being reported .

So bad that changing the default view in the built-in calendar app can force a hard reset. And a hard reset apparently clears all the internal flash memory also. That also means backup files better be kept on an external card.

One T5 tester there was very frustrated after over 11 hard resets. (Don't know if they were all related to this one bug or not.)

Hard to tell if it's a sign of big problems or if it will be fixed with a simple software patch, but there are some other signs that the device was rushed out. For example it seems to indicate vibration alarms, which are not available on the T5. Even the marketing papers said it had a voice recorder, which it doesn't.

Have they rushed this out too fast and created some junk? Or maybe they planned to use Cobalt and had to pull back to Garnet late in the game?

If they don't resolve the complaints, I'll have to consider passing on the T5 (even though I'm a buyer desperate to upgrade.)

Seems like my alternatives are:
* Buy a Zodiac2. Only problem is that it doesn't have a slim case that fits in my pocket. Plus other little annoyances like the clips to hold the sylus.
* Wait for the next round of PalmOne devices or Zodiacs next year.
* Buy a Dell Axiom X50 PPC when it comes out.

To be honest, as much as I love the Palm platform, I'm seriously considering PPC if these T5 problems don't go away. I see only signs of danger ahead -- cutbacks at PalmSource, delays in Cobalt, problems with T5, focus on smartphones not traditional PDAs I want, signs that programmers think PPC is easier to code for, many more apps on PPC like ReplayRadio player and emulators and games and VOIP phone, etc etc.

I like PalmOS. I'm excited about up and coming stuff like Sunrise. I want Palm companies to succeed, and I think it's the better platform with a better philosophy. I'm even willing to stick with them even if they're a product cycle or two behind on price and hardware. But if they just can't get their act together, I'll have to look elsewhere until they do.

Of course, to add some balance, we don't know if this is a big problem or not. They might be able to fix it soon and make the T5 stable, Then all my other concerns are not show stoppers because I like PalmOS enough to bear with some deficiencies or concerns about the future.

Gee, just when I thought my waiting was almost over for a new PDA. Now I have to wait not just for availablility of a T5, but to see if it's any good. If an x50 comes out soon, I might get it because I'm sick of waiting. It would at least hold me over until I find out if PalmOne or Zodiac has anything for us in the future.

I'm very, very frustrated and impatient!....

07:15 AM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

BenQ is finishing touches on the Treo for PocketPC: the BenQ P50. With an integrated mini-QWERTY keyboard, a 240x320 display, and built-in WiFi & Bluetooth, this little gadget could become a true nightmare for palmOne!

Taiwan-based Mobile01 features some nice pictures of the new BenQ.

06:16 AM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Portable Audio/Video

According to "highly reliable sources" close to Think Secret, Apple is going to release a new 4th generation iPod within the next 30 to 60 days: the new iPod, which will sit at the top of Apple's fourth-generation line-up, will pack Toshiba's new 60GB 1.8-inch hard drive, a 2-inch color liquid crystal display, iPhoto synchronization, audio/video-out capabilities, and will sell for $499.

$499 is a hefty price tag for a MP3 player, don't you think? But then again, a 60Gb harddrive of that minimal size doesn't come cheap either. Perhaps I am just jealous because I only bought a "normal" 4G iPod.

05:01 AM by Colin Dunstan in Miscellaneous | Lounge

All over the place it was reported that Gmail now supports ATOM feed, a nice way to be alerted via an ATOM capable reader client of incoming mail.

Unfortunately, the link is only shown to a few selected accounts.

Here is how everyone can access his or her Gmail account via ATOM feed:

Use this link: https://gmail.google.com/gmail/feed/atom

You'll be prompted for your Gmail user name and password. That's all!

If you don't have your own Gmail account yet, make sure to visit Alex's thread for an invite!

Btw, does anyone know any Palm- or PPC-based readers supporting ATOM?

04:40 AM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Another video leaked depicting the T5. You can find it here at the Czech site PAjDA.cz:

http://www.pajda.cz/t5.avi

It shows (in its own words):
1. Tungsten T5 allows man to carry and use documents anywhere
2. Female uses Tungsten T5 to review PowerPoint and show presentation
3. Tungsten T5 and new wireless keyboard
4. Tungsten T5 product shots
5. palmOne product family
6. palmOne corporate headquaters
7. palmOne logo

Thanks to PDA247 and Pajda.cz for bringing the link.

04:29 AM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Firstloox reviews Acky’s XP Breakout, the first full VGA supporting PocketPC game out there.

I am not really an Arkanoid-clone fan, but simply for demonstrating the VGA capabilities this game rocks! Aren't you convinced yet to buy a VGA-PPC next?

02:04 AM by cbarnett in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

HP have finally released what looks like the final PPC from them for the year, the hx2000 series. The trend for providing different spec'd units at different prices within a product range seems to be continuing, with low, middle and high end models available. This series looks like it's being aimed at the business user, and should be another welcome addition to the ipaq range, hopefully. It's certainly the most different looking ipaq released so far.

Full specs from PDAGold are here

Craig.