The Official Palm Blog

Information overload? Would a free Treo help?

Information has become the lifeblood of the business world. But in many workplaces, that lifeblood isn’t just circulating -- it’s hemorrhaging. Palm is participating in a comprehensive survey being conducted by the research firm Basex that’s analyzing just how much information we all try to manage every day -- and how people deal with it.

Everybody who completes the ten-minute survey will be eligible to win one of five Treos. (And if you need even more data in your life, you can also choose to get a copy of the survey results.) Click here to participate in the survey.

Ted H, Senior Marketing Manager

Instant camera's gonna get you

How do you use the camera and video built into your Centro?  How about snapping a photo to remind you where you parked in the airport's long-term parking lot four days ago? Here are a few clever ideas shared by visitors to our Facebook page:

Chad: I take photos of whiteboards in meetings to capture its contents.

Natalie: Don't forget hotel room numbers!

Kaushik: I use the Centro's camera to take pictures of lab-practicals data. Useful when there is no photocopier in sight. And my friends go crazy when I mail the pictures to them, telling me that they cannot believe that this was taken by a 1.3 megapixel camera! :D

We'd love to hear your tips and tricks -- click on over to Facebook and post your ideas on our discussion board.

Jon Zilber

Treo Pro now available in U.S.

Palm’s latest Windows Mobile smartphone is now available in the U.S.. The unlocked Treo Pro blends Palm ease of use, Windows Mobile 6.1, and enterprise support in a sleek new design. It's designed to help businesses streamline IT and lower costs, and to provide users with everything they want and need -- email, Wi-Fi, GPS, web and UMTS/HSDPA network capabilities -- in an easy-to-use package.

Treo Pro is unlocked, so you can just insert an active SIM card and immediately start using your Treo Pro anywhere there is GSM coverage. You can order one at Palm's online store or find more information at www.palm.com/TreoPro.
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Jon Zilber

Are the stars out tonight?

Oh, yeah. The stars were out in full force backstage at the Emmy Awards when Palm showcased some bedazzling Centros sporting glittery designs by Ed Hardy Icing and others in the Presenters Gift Lounge. You can catch the full photo album over on our new Facebook page. Meanwhile, here are a few highlights:

Tom Bergeron (shown here) was dancing with this star-spangled Centro. America Ferrera, clearly someone who knows what's ugly and what's not, went home with a Verizon Centro and Plantronics Bluetooth headset.

Kristin Chenoweth's Blackberry may be pushing daisies now that she discovered the Centro has a touchscreen, and Lauren Conrad figured her Blackberry was over the hill when she saw the Centro's built-in video camera. Laurence Fishburne seemed ready to leave his iPhone behind in the matrix when he caught a glimpse of the new Treo Pro ("Can I have one of these?" he asked. Of course. Like we could say "no" to Morpheus….)

More? Nicollette Sheridan, Christina Applegate, Hayden Panettiere, Sarah Paulson, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Christian Siriano, Jeff Probst, Jennifer Love Hewitt, David Boreanaz, Betty White, Dana Delany, Wayne Brady, Ruth Buzzi, Jo Anne Worley, Shaun Robinson, Kevin Dillon, and Neal McDonough all went home with Centros. But we have to confess, not everybody was a fan. When asked if she'd like one, Mary Tyler Moore told us: "I don't have a cell phone. I have an assistant!"

Lynn Fox

Centros go glam on Facebook

Some especially dazzling Centro smartphones (featuring designs by Ed Hardy, hand-crafted by Ed Hardy Icing) will make their debut this weekend. You can get a sneak peek of them on our new Facebook page here.

Not only can you check out more images of these bejeweled Centros (they're hella-blingy, according to my daughter), but you can also catch up on celebrity Centro sightings, get advance word about upcoming Palm events and promotions, take in a video or two, join the discussion, and more.

Jon Zilber

TreePeople are Treo people

When you’re the head of an environmental organization, you’re bound to come under scrutiny when it comes to reducing your own carbon footprint. Eco-activist Andy Lipkis shared his story with us to let us know how he relies on his Treo to do just that:

“As an environmental leader (I am Founder and President of TreePeople in Los Angeles), I'm increasingly asked by media if I'm walking my own talk in encouraging people to begin making more effective lifestyle changes.  As you may know, I'm one of the experts who starred in Leonardo diCaprio's recent movie about global warming, The 11th Hour, and that has pushed me to push others that much deeper. As a result, I personally committed to being car-free at least two days a week. So I'm taking the bus.

This is no easy feat in LA, but I'm using my Treo 680 to facilitate and it is FANTASTIC. I use our MTA's trip planner  and can find a bus, a route and a schedule within walking distance from wherever I happen to be in the city proper.  So now I'm having a very fun time and experiencing so much more freedom than with a car.

I'm also able to do a bunch of work while riding the bus, using my Treo for staying online with text, email and browsing (and MP3s and games).  This trip-planning tool combined with Google Maps makes everything accessible. So my carbon footprint has decreased and my productivity has increased: What could be better? It's just one way we can vote with our feet and our dollars to make our cities more sustainable.”

 

Or as the poet Joyce Kilmer might have summed up Andy’s story:

 

I think that I shall never see

A Palm lovely as a Treo.

Jon Zilber

This Treo takes the cake!

Lisa Aiken, who runs a pretty awesome artisan soap business out of Santa Barbara, sent us a particularly short and...um...sweet tale about her beloved Treo 755p:

"I love my Palm Treo so much I made a cake out of it."

We're flattered -- and impressed. And we'd love to hear about the Treo or Centro in your life -- click here to share your story. 

Jon Zilber

The Revolution Will Be Mobilized

Although the U.S. presidential election is still two months away, there’s already a clear winner: mobile technology.

For starters, mobile technology is proving to be a far more cost-effective approach to mobilize voters, according to a study conducted by the New Voters’ Project, Princeton, and the University of Michigan. The cost to political organizers working to get voters to the polls using text messaging was just over $1.50 each, compared with $20 to $30 apiece using more traditional methods (such as door-to-door canvassing and leafletting).

And while the Obama campaign’s much-publicized decision to announce its VP selection directly to supporters via text message got mixed reviews, it was a sure sign of growing importance of mobile communications in the political process. (For a more in-depth dissection of the Obama campaign’s social media strategy, check out this feature in Technology Review, registration required.)

BTW, you can watch a public service video encouraging voter registration that Palm helped to make possible at MobilizeTheVote2008.com.

Jon Zilber

You use your smartphone like a girl

Walk into a junior high gym class and you’re likely to hear the boys taunting each other with: “You throw like a girl.” (As if that was a bad thing.) But is it possible to use your mobile phone like a girl?

Some research says yes.

A recent article on Forbes.com highlighted distinct differences in how men and women use their mobile devices. Women, it says, see their phones as extensions of their personalities, while men rely on their phones as a functional device that keeps them connected to news and mobile internet services.

In particular, the study notes that Palm’s Centro appeals to what they call “Cylon Moms” while the Treo Pro appeals to “Ultimate Work Warriors.”

So if science has indeed established that there is such a thing as phoning like a girl, what about throwing like a girl? We’re not going to weigh in on that one, but we will point you to the results of the recent annual Mobile Phone Throwing World Championships, where you can see for yourself. (And special shout-outs to the Estonian team, who took both the men’s and women’s titles, and to Cara the dog who swept the “freestyle” category.)

Kelly Kirkpatrick

Thrilled to be ticked off

Telstra, Australia's largest mobile phone carrier, has awarded the new Treo Pro with its coveted Blue Tick of approval. The Treo Pro is the first smartphone (and only the ninth device) to receive the Blue Tick, which is based on Telstra's own comprehensive testing on its Next G network. The award is an indication of the Treo Pro's suitability across the varied Australian geography, from urban areas to sparse rural terrain.

Jon Zilber