02:44 PM by sUnShInE in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

The folks over at Blackberry RIM have had a very exciting week.

First they unveiled details regarding the next server version of BlackBerry Enterprise (BE4), which will offer "cradle-less" functionality, eliminating the need to install BlackBerry Desktop Manager on individual client machines. The functionality will also allow two-way wireless synchronization of e-mail and organizer info. Users will be able to control things like e-mail filters and out-of-office replies directly from the handheld. They also improved browsing and attachment viewing. Security for the handheld has also improved as well. They've also introduced new developer tools, JavaScript support, and XML optimization. Read more on BE4 on their website.

Next up is that lingering RIM/PalmSource agreement that was inked back in December. As part of the agreement Palm Powered smart mobile devices will have "seamless connectivity" with a BlackBerry Enterprise Server and the BlackBerry Web Client. Other features include the ability to do a global address look-up. The Palm OS Mail Client that will support BlackBerry connectivity will be available to Palm OS customers in the second half of 2004. Read all about it from the company's press release.

Speaking of platform technology and the future, check out today's piece in Technology News entitled, "Is True Mobility at Hand?"

And when you're done with all that, head over to the new BlackBerry Stuff online store and pick up software, accessories, or even a new toy.

08:32 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Announcements

MobileRead Networks is interested in expanding its circle of editors. Editors are people who can make connections between ideas, notice interesting topics and post them or invite others to post.

Ideas and topics can be related to anything that shapes our mobile world: handhelds, cellphones, portable audio/video, tablet pcs, wireless, ebooks, and of course - on a broader level - the Net itself.

Members of the editorial team have the ability to post illustrated stories directly to the frontpage.

In future we hope to work more closely with software and hardware companies. This would allow our editors to participate in writing hands-on reviews.

What do you also get as a contributing editor:
- your own mobileread[dot]com email,
- access to the editor control panel (to upload and manage your article images),
- an editor signature,
- a link from the home page

If you are interested, simply drop a quick message.

Feel free to spread this news. We are counting on your help!

Our core team consists of: Gary (gvtexas/admin), Lynn (sUnShInE/super-mod) and Alex (Alexander/admin)

07:15 AM by Colin Dunstan in Miscellaneous | Lounge

"As heretical as this may seem to some PC users, Google doesn't know it all." Funny, and true.

PC World has compiled a comprehensive list of specialty search sites which deliver shopping advice, reference databases, leisure-time ideas, and more.

It also lists tools and services that were recently added in various major search engines.

Great resource!

04:16 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Lounge

Nearly 100 million PCs are likely to be replaced this year, with 120 million being swapped out in 2005, according to data research firm Gartner released Thursday.

Gartner analysts said more than 30 percent of installed PCs are now at least three years old. Many of those machines run older versions of Windows operating systems, for which full technical support may not be available. This, they said, will play a major role in pushing sales of replacements. Strong economic growth in the United States, the Asia-Pacific region and Japan is also likely to boost sales of new PCs.

Time to invest more in Tech stocks?

Read the full story here.

03:59 AM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book Software | Reading and Management

Palm Digital Media's PalmReader Pro has been renamed to eReader Pro.

What is the marketing strategy behind this name change by PDM's mother company PowerByHand?

PowerByHand owns PalmGear.com, Palm Digital Media.com, PocketGear.com, and Power Training, and - this one is new - eReader.com. eReader.com is a web-based store, which leads me to believe that Palm Digital Media is soon no more.

eReader.com V2.5.0 changelog:
- The application name has changed from Palm Reader to eReader (obviously)
- The default toolbar uses large icons, in color on Palm OS 5 handhelds. Note that this will cause books to be repaginated when first opened after the upgrade.
- Support additional screen orientations on TapWave Zodiac handhelds.
- Fix a bug where soft hyphens were not drawn if full justification was on.
- After selecting text in a book, choose the "Copy Quote" item to copy the selection to the clipboard [Pro only].
- Fix a bug that could cause highlights to be placed on the wrong page [Pro only].
- Requires 400K free memory.

A trial is available (2) until July 1, 2004.

11:05 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Portable Audio/Video

After the first details came out on Sony's potential iPod killer, Guardian Unlimited has an exclusive hands-on review.

Our prime question: Is Sony's new music player good enough to trump the iconic Apple iPod?

What I personally dislike most: You have to convert your MP3s to Atrac 3 first before porting them to the device. Since both formats are based on lousy-compression, you can expect some loss in sound quality when transferring from one to the other.

10:30 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Yesterday Iambic released the final version of Agenus Pro V8.0. Lot's of changes since V7.x.

From my experience, though, I recommend that you wait a couple of builds longer, because Iambic likes to release buggy software.

You can download Agendus Pro directly from here.

07:16 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

According to a British survey carried out in March and April of 2004 questining more than 1,600 people, 72% of business travellers asked said onboard wi-fi web access would make them more likely to choose trains over cars or planes. It also found that the longer the journey that people took, the more interested they became in using web access on trains to get some work done.