12:00 PM by ignatz in Miscellaneous | Lounge

I'm in the process of converting from Palm to Pocket PC, and it got me wondering what the spread is here. It's plain that the majority here are Palm users, but it seems that that may be changing. So let us know: what do you use?

11:43 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Skype has just released Skype for PocketPC v1.0, a free software to let PocketPC users make free unlimited Skype calls over any Wi-Fi network. Minimum requirements arePocketPC 2003 OS, obviously WiFi, and a 400 MHz processor.

Skype for PocketPC and regular Skype accounts are linked, so you can be logged on both devices at the same time and receive on both a ring if someone calls you.

As for the headset, Skype recommends Plantronics headsets for optimal quality.

08:54 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Lounge

Bob posted about Gmail-lite before, a Perl-based PHP script that provides Gmail access to mobile browser.

Now there is another tool called Gmail-mobile 0.1, also PHP-based, which allows you to access your GMail account with any WAP phone (WML format).

It seems to be very trivial to rewrite this script to have it output mobile-friendly html instead of WML. Any volunteers? (edit: Gmail-lite does that, plus it is also in PHP. Thanks to rclodfelter for correcting me).

08:44 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Lounge

If you visit PalmGear or PocketGear, you are swamped with thousands of applications and games that you can download and install on your PDA. The secret is to find the jewels and leave the crap behind (trust me, there is more crap than jewels). Especially if you are a newbie, this task can be daunting. Heh, but before you give up, you should check out what other users can recommend!

cbarnett started a list of his recommended PocketPC tools and games.

And I started a list of my installed PalmOS application and toys.

I recommend that you visit one of those two threads and post the content of your PDA. I am sure we will all be surprised about the one or other game we have missed all the time

08:09 AM by Alexander Turcic in More E-Book Readers | Legacy E-Book Devices

No, this is not something you put on your morning eggs. What exactly is the Pepper Pad?

The Pepper Pad's new invisible, simplified operating system is based on MontaVista Linux and Java, which are both enhanced and optimized for the Intel XScale processor. The Pepper Pad also utilizes Intel's new 2700G companion chip for speedy 2D/3D multimedia handling. The system features 256 MB of SDRAM, 32 MB of flash memory, and a 20-gigabyte hard drive. It has a rechargeable lithium polymer battery with power management, plus an AC power supply. The Pepper Pad turns on instantly and charges quickly.

Plus the Pepper Pad 2 has an 8.4-inch color touchscreen and 802.11b+g Wi-Fi. Doesn't that sound like a great solution for reading e-books? I think so too. If you cannot wait and want to be one of the first to have it for January 2005 deliever, you can pre-order it now (for a heavy price tag of USD 800).

07:45 AM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book Software | Reading and Management

Brad from ePublishing Blog has just published an interesting review of Plucker (you should also check out Brad's earlier review on iSilo and iSiloX). It is worth checking out. We definitely agree with him:

Plucker does not spend enough time trumpeting how good of an ebook compiler and reader they have. The reader, on the Palm has one of the most elegant interfaces I have seen. The compiler is not quite as straight forward but if you play with it you will figure it out rather quickly. Both reader and compiler are absolutely free and without any royalties for publishing in the format.

Btw, we added ePublishing Blog newsfeeds to our Frontpage. You can disable/enable it in your control panel.

06:29 AM by Mobipocket in E-Book General | Deals and Resources (No...

Only few days to save up to 40% on eBooks for your PDA in Mobipocket format.

Tess Gerritsen: Body Double, The Surgeon, The Apprentice, The Sinner

Julie Garwood: Muder List

Karen Harbaugh: Night Fires

Key Hooper: Hunting Fear

Greg Keyes: The Charnel Prince (Book Two of the The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone)

Brian Tracy: Maximum Achievement: Strategies and Skills That Will Unlock Your Hidden Powers to Succeed, Something for Nothing: The Causes and Cures of All Our Problems and What You Can Do to Save the American Dream

... and many others.

see http://www.mobipocket.com/en/eBooks/SpecialOffers.asp

05:45 AM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book Software | Reading and Management

Mobipocket Reader is something like the insiders' tip of PDA readers. Perhaps not so often in the news, yet with a lot of features and a most promising product pipeline!

The latest addition to the Mobipocket Reader family is Mobipocket Creator Home Edition, replacing the older product Mobipocket Publisher. Mobipocket Creator allows you to

• create rich content with one of the 10+ predefined built-in templates : Photo Album, Travel guides and more
• create custom searchable databases: dictionaries, cooking recipes, shopping list, wine database and more
• create custom eBooks from TXT, RTF or Microsoft Word documents

We hope we can give you a small review in the next couple of days. In the meantime, why don't you have a look at the beta yourself. You can download it here and test it until October 1, 2004.