The Official Palm Blog

Palm OS today - thoughts from PC World

PC World posted an article today taking a well-balanced and comprehensive look at the Palm OS in today's landscape. Calling the Palm Centro one of the best values in smartphones today, PC World says, "Palm's smart phones still offer a mix of features, software, ease of use and affordability."

Check it out!

-Paul Loeffler

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Is the Palm OS Dying? Should You Care?

Some believe Palm OS smart phones are a dying breed--but there are good reasons not to count them out yet.

James A. Martin

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Recently, I was talking to an executive at a smart phone software developer. The company had recently released new versions of its software for RIM BlackBerys, Windows Mobile Smartphones, and other devices--but not for Palm OS smart phones. I asked why.

"It's a dying platform," she replied, matter-of-factly.

Her reaction wasn't surprising, given Palm's long, slow slide from top PDA maker to third-tier smart phone vendor. There's been uncertainty about the Palm OS's future for years. Palm Treos running Windows Mobile became available in January 2006. And Palm has been developing a new, as-of-this-writing-unreleased Linux-based OS for what feels like an eternity.

Still, the software executive's comment aroused mixed feelings.

I've been a Palm loyalist since 1997, when I became hooked on the Palm V. Currently, I use a Treo 755p. I've always found the Palm OS to be easy-to-use and efficient. Palm devices are reliable and sturdy; I've rarely encountered problems with the five I've owned.

And yet.

My Treo has been looking extremely dowdy of late, compared to the Apple iPhone, AT&T Tilt, LG Electronics Voyager, and other slick smart phones. Neither the Palm OS nor devices running it have evolved noticeably in years.

In short, I've got a strong urge to stray from my Treo. I have no doubt many of you have felt similar urges--and even acted upon them.

What You Get

Does that mean it's time to ditch our Palm devices? Not necessarily. Here are four reasons why Palm OS smart phones are still worth owning.

1. The Treo Touch Screen Isn't Too 'Touchy.' The iPhone/iPod Touch screen is gorgeous, bright, and big, by smart phone standards. But it can be a bit too "touchy." For instance, on my iPod Touch I've often clicked accidentally on an e-mail and opened it when I was simply trying to scroll through the list of messages. The more I use the iPod Touch for e-mail, the less it happens, but still, it's annoying. The iPhone/iPod Touch screen also makes it a bit too easy to accidentally click a link on a Web page. I've rarely had these problems with the Treo's touch screen.

By the way, current BlackBerrys don't have touch screens, though there have been rumors that a touch-screen BlackBerry is on the way.

2. Palms Come Fully Loaded. Palm smart phones ship with tons of useful software preinstalled, including Dataviz's Documents To Go (for editing and viewing Microsoft Office files), Voice Memo, Camcorder, Camera, Memos, Tasks, e-mail, instant messaging, text messaging, Web browsing, Calendar, Contacts, and software for playing multimedia files.

Windows Mobile devices offer a similar variety of included software, but I find the Palm OS versions easier to use.

The iPhone currently lacks a camcorder, voice memo, document editing, and other capabilities. BlackBerrys don't include document editing software, though a few third-party options are available, and enterprise models don't have built-in camera or camcorder functions.

3. There are Beaucoup Third-Party Applications. More than 30,000 third-party Palm OS applications are available, according to Palm. It will take the upstart iPhone a while to beat that. Admittedly, some Palm OS apps are junk. But you're bound to find goodies by cruising through sites like PCW Downloads or Handango.

4. The Keyboards Are Actually Usable. My Treo 755p's keyboard keys are nicely spaced, for a smart phone. They're firm but not too stiff, and I rarely hit the wrong key. The Palm Centro's keys are smaller and closer together, however, and aren't as easy to type on as the Treo 755p.

By comparison, I find the iPhone/iPod Touch software-only keyboard frustrating to use. Others I've talked to have expressed wildly diverging iPhone keyboard experiences. One friend says he's able to easily touch type on his iPhone's keyboard using two thumbs. Another says that because of its keyboard, he uses his iPhone primarily for viewing and rarely for input.

What You Don't Get

That said, Treos and Centros lack some features other smart phones offer.

1. Built-in Wi-Fi. Current Palm models lack built-in Wi-Fi, though Palm CEO Ed Colligan said last year it would be added to future Palm devices.

2. Built-in GPS. Given how clueless GPS-based driving directions can be, I don't see this as a terrible loss. Also, Google Maps came preinstalled on my Treo, and it has often served me in a pinch.

3. A Pleasurable Web Browsing Experience. Surfing the Web on my Treo is painful, even using Sprint's fast EVDO network. If a meaningful mobile Web experience is crucial, your best smart phone choice currently is the iPhone.

4. Style and a Large Screen. I'd love to see a sleek new Palm OS handset that combines a large touch screen with the usual sturdy Palm keyboard.

Boiling It All Down

In my opinion, Palm's smart phones still offer a strong mix of features, software, ease of use, and affordability.

People looking to buy their first smart phone or to replace their aging Treo or Windows Mobile Smartphone, might consider the Palm Centro. At $99 (with a two-year AT&T or Sprint contract), it's one of the best values in smart phones today. We gave the phone a PCW rating of 82 (very good).

If it's excitement you crave, however, a Palm smart phone is definitely not for you.

Landline, mobile phone or both?

In the early 90s, it would have been surprising to think that someday a majority of people would use mobile phones as their one and only telephone. But a recent study from Harris Interactive shows that it's starting to happen. In fact, one in seven adults use only a cell phone. This trend is increasing across all age groups, not just in the younger population who grew up using mobile phones.

But there are still a number of reasons people still use landlines, including the annoying fact that mobile phones are more likely to drop calls indoors. Another Harris study shows that 27% of mobile phone users would get rid of their landline and use only their mobile phone if they could get better reception indoors.

A technology that has recently been adopted and considered by cell phone carriers is femtocells, which act like signal boosters for your mobile phone so you can get stronger reception in your home. Sprint and Verizon Wireless have gone as far as offering incentive calling plans to encourage customers to use them. Treonauts and TreoCentral have more insight on some of the advantages and disadvantages of femtocells.

Are you using femtocells? Do they work for you?

-Paul Loeffler

Your Palm Centro - how to get more out of it

As the Palm Centro smartphone's popularity continues to increase, we're seeing sites like TreoCentral host user-education series on topics such as managing personal contacts and customizing Preference settings. The accessibility of this information is valuable to everyone, whether they're newcomers to Palm smartphones or have been using them for years.

For example, a smartphone newbie may want to learn how to assign pictures to their Contacts so that a photo will pop up with incoming calls (covered in part 3), while veteran users may want to better understand Dial Up Networking (covered in part 7). Chances are, there's something out there for everyone.

Below are links to previous topics TreoCentral has discussed. Feel free to share your own tips and links to other useful articles - we'll be sure to do more of the same.

-Paul Loeffler

• The shopping experience - accessories
• What is so hot about HotSync
• Music in your pocket
• Making your phone your own - Preferences

Emergency Alerts via SMS

What a great safety program that puts our easy text messaging features to use for public emergencies! The new Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS) is a nationwide program adopted by the Federal Communications Commission that will generate SMS messages to users' phones in the event of an emergency. Three types of emergencies will be relayed to the public: a disaster (such as a terrorist attack), imminent or ongoing threats (like earthquakes) or child abductions (a.k.a. Amber Alerts).

It's not mandatory for carriers to adopt the program - AT&T, Sprint and Verizon Wireless have announced their willingness to participate, and users can opt out of receiving emergency messages. I don't know about you, but when it's available, I'm opting in!

More information is available here.

Greg A., CPP - Director, Global Safety and Security

CTIA Wireless 2008 - A look at the future

I'm just getting back from the 2008 CTIA Wireless conference, held this week in Las Vegas.

CTIA is always a busy show, especially with the growing number of wireless device users. But even in the midst of announcing the exciting sale of our one-millionth Palm Centro smartphone and our support for Windows Mobile 6.1, CTIA managed to release some information that took my breath away: There were more than 225 million wireless users in the U.S. as of 2007. Together, those 225 million users consumed more than 2 trillion minutes (roughly the equivalent of total traffic on the land-line networks around 1992 - the pre-dial-up days), and more than 360 billion text messages were reported by carriers for 2007. Moreover, data usage continues to see dramatic increases - more and more people are using differentiated wireless data - wireless now accounts for more than 30 percent of the total broadband lines in the U.S.

Just think: Where are we going to be in 10 years from now? The future does look bright and expansive for Palm and the vast wireless community.

-Mark C., senior marketing manager

Moblogging from my Centro at BlogHer

I've been in NYC for the past couple of days attending the BlogHer business conference, where 200+ women (and 10 brave men) are congregating to talk about all things blogging and social media.

This is my second year at BlogHer. Last year when I talked with BlogHer attendees about moblogging, most of them were either unaware they could blog from a mobile phone or they just didn’t really do it that often. This year more and more women are moblogging by starting with tools like Twitter, then transitioning to more complete blogging options like Typepad, WordPress and Google’s Blogger. One of the biggest reasons for the increase in moblogging is that having a mobile phone with a full keyboard (like the Palm Centro) makes it a lot easier. Also, moblogging is often necessary at conferences like this, where it’s sometimes hard to get on a clogged hotel network.

Just for the record, Ruby Red is the runaway favorite Centro color among these women, and no, it wasn’t so bad being one of 10 guys at BlogHer.

-Paul Loeffler

4/1/08