SAMSUNG's New Palm OS Phone

RUMOR has it that SAMSUNG will be releasing a new Palm-Powered phone, the SGH-i530. It's supposed to be the upgraded version to their SGH-i500. Details from an Italian website says that it will run Palm OS Garnet 5.2. Its processor isn't known at this time, but the i500 uses a 300 MHz Intel processor. The i530 will have 32 MB of RAM and an SD/MMC slot for extra storage.

The i530 will supposedly have a 324-by-352-pixel, 16-bit, TFT, touchscreen as its primary display. It will also include a smaller 96-by-128-pixel, full-color, OLED display on its exterior to display time- and phone-related information.

This will be a tri-band GSM/GPRS (900/1800/1900) device. It won't support EDGE but its current data capabilities will allow users to send and receive emails and SMS and MMS messages. It will also allow web surfing and WAP.

Reportedly, the i530 won't have built-in Bluetooth short-range wireless networking.

The smart phone will, of course, run most Palm OS applications and it will support playback of MPEG-4 and MP3 files.

The resolution of its built-in camera is not yet known, but it is expected to be better than that offered by the i500.

The Samsung SGH-i530 will be available in late spring or early summer. The company plans to give one of these to over 22,000 VIPs, athletes, and officials at the Olympic games in Athens, Greece this summer.

If you will examine the pictures, the Olympic logo can be seen

New SAMSUNG phone SGH-V500

SAMSUNG has released a new phone. This time, it has a swivel screen but on a horizontal axis. Unfortunately it uses the CDMA technology so RP peeps will have to wait for the GSM version.

Skyscape Palm Applications

I recently installed applications from Skyscape in my Palm, and I found out that they may be eye candy than the other Medical applications for the Palm, but may not have the functionality of the others in it. Just for example the Archimedes Medical calculator. Compared to MedCalc (probably the most comprehensive Medical Calculator I've seen sofar), it lacks some of the important Formulas needed in my daily rounds/clinics (e.g. Pregnancy Calculator). With regards to books, i.e. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, I would say I liked the Skyscape version than the iSilo format.

Treo 650 pictures out!

Pictures of the much-awaited successor to the Treo 600 is out. The Treo 650 or Treo Ace sports a lot of enhancements from the previous model. Looks like the XDA will have an equal competition on this one. It is supposed to have said to have built-in Bluetooth, a faster 312MHz processor, 32MB of RAM, a higher-resolution 320x320 LCD screen, dedicated answer and disconnect buttons, and a one megapixel digital camera. More details are sure to come. A removable battery, a mirror next to the camera lens for taking self-portraits, a definite Bluetooth icon on one of the screens, a bigger speaker, and a more recessed SD memory card slot. Possibly also push-to-talk.

NOKIA Offers Re-Flashing of Infected Phones

NOKIA has offered to re-flash phones that have been infected by the CABIR/CARIBE Bluetooth Virus.

Nokia is alert to the existence of a laboratory-recognized concept worm, which attempts to replicate itself over Bluetooth. The worm sends a copy of itself to “visible” Bluetooth devices. However, the worm will not affect the device unless the user takes the active step of accepting it. Additionally, the worm cannot find devices in which Bluetooth is switched to “hidden” mode, or those in which Bluetooth is switched off. The worm is not spread over mobile networks.

The worm is coded to run under Symbian OS. According to Nokia’s tests, the on-market devices that could be affected include those Nokia models that run the Series 60 smart phone platform.

Since Bluetooth is essentially a means of sharing data, the best precaution is to exercise caution when accepting files from unknown or untrusted sources. If the worm is accepted to a device, it can be deleted without causing any harm to the device.

Nokia is monitoring the situation and will take active measures to address the issue of mobile malware including the Cabir worm. When potential issues come to our attention, we analyze them and take appropriate measures. Based on the analyses to date, Nokia believes the current security threat is relatively small and unlikely to mirror the risk profile of the fixed Internet.

K700i Firmware Upgrade

It's been four days now after I had my phone's firmware upgraded to R2L. So far the changes that I noticed are: bigger hour glass, new deleted icon, connection prompt now has an animated icon, slower refresh rate in the Pictures folder, bigger Operator fonts. SESS claims that the upgrade solves the battery problems, but I've yet to find out.

UIQ Phone from Benq

Taiwan based Benq will soon release their own Symbian OS UIQ phone the P30. Based on initial pictures and specs on the web, this phone has great potential. The most distinct difference from its cousins from SonyEricsson and Motorola is its size. This one is way thinner than the two. According to reports, the keypads are similar to the P900 in tactile feedback, which is good! Although, initial impression on the user interface says that it's not much as like that of the P900. It offers almost the same features as the other UIQ devices such as VGA camera, and high-resolution color touch-screen, this one offers SDIO capable SD/MMC card slot. Let's wait and see if Benq will be thru to it's promise.

palmOne Launches Wi-Fi Card

At last, the much awaited Wi-Fi card from palmOne has been launched. Out in stores by September 3, 2004 at $125.00. Unfortunately, it can only be used on Tungsten T3 and Zire 72. PalmOne's explanation why only two of their handhelds can use the card sounds as if, there are hardware incompatabilities with the other handhelds. SanDisk was first to release a WiFi SD Card, which is compatible with PPC and Zire 71, the only palmOne handheld that can use the said product. The palmOne WiFi card comes with a whopping 4MB installer which should be installed into the Palm and will extract itself but fortunately will leave only 1MB of footprint and is hardware specific.



Now I wonder if SanDisk will comeout with their own version/revision of the product since the palOne virtually released the driver for the other handhelds.

GLOBELINES NET EXPRESS

I find it odd, that after Globelines announced a more aggressive marketing for their Globelines DSL, my Globelines NX (Net Express) Dial-up internet started to FUCK up! At first I ignored it, but after sometime of blaming the rains and the "increasing" dial-up users, I finally came into the conclusion that DSL is already available in our area and by disrupting the dial-up process, one will be FORCED to apply for Globelines DSL.

Multi-Tasking?

Whew, it's been a long time since I've updated and posted. That's because I was in Tanay, Rizal. Yup, just across Joseph Estrada's Tanay Villa. The view there was breath taking, it's Baguio Jr. but nearer the city. To get there you have to pass thru Antipolo, Teresa/Binangonan, Angono then Tanay. But we didn't stop there, we were at the top of Tanay Rizal.

Enough of that, my query is that, I'm wondering why palmOne is bragging about "multi-tasking" in it's upcoming Palm OS 6, which they say boasts of Multimedia capabilities and is already capable of Multitasking. I find this very confusing. Why, would a very big and famous company, respected in the electronics and software communities for it's innovations, be so fussy with Multitasking? I know previous, up to the present Palm OS versions are not capable of multi-tasking, but I beg to disagree and I will elaborate later.

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I'm confused because, for a PDA/handheld computer, this should be a standard (one big plus for PocketPC). Now, what's multi-tasking? As the word says, it should be able to process two (2) or more things at the same time. this is evident on one's Desktop PC (Apple or Windows). You can do word processing on MS Word while printing a picture and birning a CD all at the same time. Again, what's bothering me? Well, I have this new phone, it's a Sony Ericsson K700i.

Now this phone, again it's a phone. It can play MP3's, MIDI's and WAV's and FM radio signals, while I am texting or using WAP and looking at photos. Isn't that "multi-tasking"? I wonder?

IMX Mobile

On my way home today, I passed through Shangri-la Plaza Mall, and in there I passed by Wireless Connections, a mobile phone outlet. There I saw ads for IMX Mobile, the local version of NEXTEL of the USA and got me asking, why is NEXTEL so popular in Corporate America.

I realized that Americans are used to voice calls, they don't like anything much on their things, expecially if it will complicate it. So, it's obvious that they're just catching up on the "texting craze". They're too much into voice calls that even in the middle of nowhere, there's a telephone booth.

Back to IMX Mobile. I've been reading about this company for some time now, and, it's been since their launching that they're promoting there product. Perhaps they're asking, why are we not catching up with the other TelCos? Perhaps they should look at their coverage! With the leaflet that I got from Wireless Connections, IMX is only limited to Luzon and upto Batangas at the farthest! I don't think they could be proud of that, while with SMART ..."there's no mountain high enough", and with Globe, there's Ate Shaui calling Kiko in God know's where that over-looking house is, with her own cell site at that!

I don't know then what PTT (push-to-talk) technology, which Nokia will be lauching with their 5220, will do with IMX, since it's their field. Let's wait and see.

The Zircon G88

Here's another one from this Singaporean PDA/Phone Manufacturer. The Zircon G88. It's feature packed with one downside. It runs on PalmOS 4.1, not that I'm undermining the capabilities of OS 4.1 but with today's trend, hey we're already waiting for the release for PalmOS 6.0 for goodness sake, they should have at least used PalmOS5.0.



Anyways, this is another option for the PDA/Phone market, it's got what most phones has, with some extras like 260K colors, 48MB memory, video playback (but this one, Palm PDA's has been doing this since Palm OS 3.0). Unfortunately, one has to get the Card Reader Accessory to have the expansion capabilities. One upgrade from the Zircon Z3 was the sliding Nokia 7650-like keypad and the USB capabilities which the Z3 lacked. Still, it's a good-looking phone with tons of features. Another drawback though is the price, more or less this will come out (if it ever does) in the Philippine market at around 33T++ since it's listed at SGD $893.00

The N-Gage QD

Yup, I found the 3rd Nokia that I liked, first it was the 6120, then the 6600, now this. Why do I like the phone? Well, it's the look, I like the color combination then there's the price, IT'S CHEAP! Considering it looks better than the N36xx series. Others that know me would ask, GAN! You're buying that phone for what reasons again?! Well, I'm looking for a phone that I'll be buying next, not that I'm ditching my SE K700i, it's just that, I like to get another one. The price is tempting, that and the fact that I could play games on it (though still expensive)!



It's dual band only. It only has 4068 colors. It doesn't have an MP3 player of radio (so what is Real Player doing?), games are expensive, it can only use MMC cards (so?!), no camera, no USB port (so what?! It's got Bluetooth). But it still looks good! It's still cheap compared to phones in it's class (who said it can only be used as a gaming platform?), it's got Bluetooth (although the connection is yet to be determined), it's got iR (who uses iR these days? Oh, the Nokia people hehehehe) and did I say it's CHEAP!

Now it's either that of the K500, we'll see.

Sony Ericsson Released the P910

So what's new? Nothing much, except for the updated screen colors and thumboard. It still looks the same, the camera resolution is still the same, well some softwares were added. But a friend of mine was wondering in his column (blog.m-ph.com) why SE would release a "new" product when the product it was suppose to replace is still selling like hotcakes. Well, SE is know for this, overlapping products, and instead of launching them all at the same time, they would do a piecemeal launch.

I first noticed this attitude of SE with the T610. After the official launch, they came out with the T616, so what's the difference? Nothing! It's just that the T616 uses the 850mHz frequency while the T610 uses 900mHz. Still Tri-band but works out totally different. I realized this when I got a T616 from the US, after travelling around Manila or the country, it keeps on giving me the No Access alert on the screen. What baffled me was that my friend's T610 got full bars of Network signal on his, considering we're using the same Operator. Then there's the T100 with the T105, the T630 with the T637, the F500 with the K500.

So, I wouldn't be surprised with this move from SE. Besides, just take a look at the separate launch of the S700 from the S710. Basically the same, in fact identical in features, only the location of release is different. 

Buttons on the Sony Ericsson K700i

Looks like the K700 is running behind the T610 when it comes to the design of the buttons. It uses the clear transparent plastic buttons on the number keypads and an opaque rubbery material on the softkeys, made only elegant by the white backlight. As compared to the T610, although using plastic as the base material, the looks is elegant, made more aesthetically pretty by the white backlight.

W@P on the Sony Ericsson K700i

Wap on the K700 is a treat to use. It's refresh and loading rate is fast (as compared to the T610). Launching the W@P borowser though is still the same, just press the Online button at the upper right hand side of the phone and one will immediately be on the home page of his network (or whatever is the preset homepage setting is).

GOODBYE My T610

Today I finally said goodbye to my T610. I'm not that person who sells something to get a new one (there goes the saying...UPGRADE). But this time, for practicality and financial reasons, I really have to go to a trusted phone. What makes it hard to let go is that, I really took care of that phone, being carefull everytime just to make sure that it will not get scratched from every surface that I will bump into. Besides, even though my new phone (SE K700i) gets all praises from me (except for the tone output), the T610 has the looks one will always respect. It's got that "high-up-there" look, where just by merely looking at it, one would say..."now that's a phone I would love to have!" But then again, everybody has to move one, and for my T610, it's to another owner and for me...Hello K700i!

ENJOYING MY K700i

I must admit, I'm enjoying my new phone. Although I can't say that I did not enjoy my T610, but this time, the multimedia capabilities of the K700i exceeds that of the T610 except for one thing, the Polytones. In this area, I have yet to see a phone that will beat the T610's abilities to output a sound and all it's details can be heard. But other than that, I'm NOT at all disappointed that I got the K700i as an upgrade phone. The pictures are now clearer, which gives me the confort of not worrying that I was not able to bring my Digital Camera with me when something worthwhile comes out. Since I never leave home without my phone (who does?) I can always pop it out of my pocket and there goes that "Kodak" moment. True, before, I told myself that a camera on a phone is not that important, it's just an add-on. Now I see and appreciate it't importance.

Topee's Wedding

Tomorrow, 10 July 2004 Saturday, Topee Carlos will be married at Paco Catholic Church at 4pm

My New Phone

I got my new phone today, it's a Sony Ericsson K700i. So excited I was that I couldn't wait 'til the end of the day to buy it. It's more than I expected it to be. But I'm having some trouble with some of it's Bluetooth properties, hopefully I'll be able to make it work.