Toshiba e740 Shipping Update
I received an e-mail from Amazon.com today - they’re saying that the Toshiba e740 will now ship sometime between June 8 and June 15. If that’s true, I should have it by June 28 at the latest. They’re still not showing the e740 as an “in stock” item or even as an item for pre-order; those of us who got our orders in around May 9th were apparently very lucky! There are a lot of indications that XScale production is going a little bit slower than anticipated, which is slowing down delivery of the new devices.
In other news, I loved Peter Coffee’s comments in eWeek about HP’s decision to keep the iPaq and kill the Jornada. He brought up one simple item that he loved with the Jornada (a replaceable battery pack) that still isn’t available with the iPaq. He finished by saying that “The new HP had better be looking at the customer of tomorrow, instead of the product successes of the past”. What an eloquent way to say what so many Jornada owners are feeling! Read his great article here.
No Update On The Toshiba e740
Although Amazon.com is still showing that I have an outstanding order for a Toshiba e740 Pocket PC, I haven’t heard anything about when it will actually ship. The ship date shows it could be anywhere from tomorrow to June 7th, but I’m beginning to think that they really jumped the gun on advertising this XScale-powered Pocket PC.
Losing It - Why You Shouldn’t Keep Your Life In Your PDA!
I had a potentially scary event happen over this long weekend that made me do some very serious thinking about PDA security. I thought I’d pass along this story to my readers…
On Thursday afternoon I was in a bit of a hurry trying to get everything finished before I left the office. At one point, I needed to talk to a co-worker for a few seconds and so I just put a file folder on top of my HP Jornada 567, which was sitting on my desktop. I came back a few minutes later and immediately got tied up in phone calls, e-mail, etc… Shortly thereafter, my wife called to tell me she was a few blocks away, my cue to pack everything up, shut down my PC, and leave the office. I actually made it down to the ground floor of the building when I remembered that I had left my cell phone plugged in and sitting on my desktop where I was charging it, so I headed back up, grabbed the phone, did a quick lookaround, and left.
The next morning, we were on our way to Colorado Springs for a convention of the Society for American Baseball Research Rocky Mountain Chapter. I opened my Guide Bag that I carry my various devices in (the i705, its keyboard, the Jornada and other goodies), and was stunned to find that the Jornada wasn’t in the bag. Since many of my co-workers were at work on Friday, I called one of them and asked her to check my desktop to see if my Pocket PC was there, and if it was, to lock it away and let me know that she had found it.
When I checked my voice mail later that day there was no message, so I automatically assumed the worst - the Jornada had “walked away”, probably taken by the cleaning staff. I knew that I was probably safe, since my important data is locked away in Ilium Software’s eWallet. Then it suddenly hit me - since I have to change a huge number of passwords every month, I had put together a list of my monthly passwords (including the current one) in Outlook. That meant that in the unsecured “Notes” application on the Jornada, there was a list that showed my most recent password - one that would easily get anyone into eWallet where they’d have access to my credit card numbers, social security number, and a host of other very important numbers and passwords. I started panicking…
On Saturday night I was able to go by the office to see if I had put the Pocket PC into my desk - I assumed that I had when I walked away from my desk at one point or another on Thursday afternoon. A detailed search of the drawers showed nothing, and there was no indication from my co-worker that she had found the Pocket PC. I spent part of Sunday going through many of my online accounts, feverishly changing passwords, and calculating the probability that someone who picked up the Pocket PC was going to be able to ruin my life. Believe it or not, that probability was rather low — there’s a trick to turning on a Jornada equipped with a Pocket Keyboard, so a lot of people (even many iPaq owners who have used mobile devices for years) weren’t going to be able to figure it out. Then they’d have to find the Notepad file with the password list and pick the current password, then find eWallet (I don’t have it in my menu, you actually have to go to Programs to find it) and start it up, then figure out the keypad to enter the password with all of its upper and lower case letters and numbers.
So I was feeling a little better by the time Tuesday morning rolled around - but not much better! I asked around a bit more, and nobody had seen the Pocket PC. The person I had called on Friday morning was sick, so I wasn’t able to ask her any questions. Dejectedly, I sat down at my PC, turned it on, and began to go through the e-mail that had piled up on Friday. Much to my delight, there was a note from my co-worker telling me that she HAD found the Jornada sitting on my desktop under a file folder, that she had taken it to her desk and locked it away, and that I could pick it up… I felt like I had dodged a huge bullet.
What did this teach me? First, I have removed any items from eWallet that are VERY personal (i.e., my social security number), and I’ve just left the passwords and account names for things that I can change quickly. Second, I got rid of that “cheat sheet” of passwords that I had. If I can’t remember what my password for the month is, I’m stuck - but at least I’m not leaving a huge gaping security hole! Third, I’ve added another layer of security to my Jornada by requiring a power-on password. That way someone will have to enter in a password to get into the device, then another to get into eWallet. That’s probably pretty close to impossible for someone to guess.
It also taught me something about how stupidly most of our tiny devices are designed. I ranted about this last year when I lost my Nokia 8260 phone (it popped off of the belt clip and disappeared). Something that is as lightweight and tiny as most current PDAs or cellphones should not only come with a carrying case that can’t pop off of a belt, but it should have some sort of leash attached. If I had chained my Jornada to my belt, I wouldn’t have just laid it down on the desktop, covered it with a file folder to “hide” it, then walked away. I would have been forced to keep the device with me.
This is making me hope that future mobile devices actually get SO small that they can be worn as watches, so they’re strapped to you 24 hours a day. I’d love something like a Treo 270 - a combo PDA and cell phone - that was even more tiny and lightweight that it could be worn unobtrusively all day. And I sure as hell wouldn’t walk off and just leave it somewhere!
I’m not the only person who has done this. One of my co-workers has lost two Palm devices over the last three years, both times putting it in the seat pocket on an airplane while she went to the bathroom prior to landing, then forgetting to take it out of the seat pocket. In both cases, she was able to get back onto the plane within minutes of realizing that she had lost the device, but the device had already been “liberated” by the aircraft cleaning or flight attendant crews. Nice, huh? Carrying something like a guide bag isn’t much of a help either - I’ve used one of these bags (from Eagle Creek) for years, first carrying my Newtons in the bag, then a procession of Palms and Pocket PCs. I once left it in a hotel restaurant after I draped the shoulder strap over the arm of a chair. Unfortunately, I was about 300 miles away before I realized it was gone. The hotel shipped it to me FedEx (at my expense, of course).
I’m beginning to think that the answer lies in one of two directions; either make the devices very small and lightweight (as described above), or make them larger and heavy enough that you realize when you’re no longer carrying them! In all the years I was carrying around the various incarnations of Newton MessagePads, I never left one behind somewhere. Why? It was just plain heavy and big, and it stuck out like a sore thumb! When I didn’t have it with me, I knew something was missing!
Handspring Treo 90 Organizer and Treo 270 Communicator Shipping!
As expected, the Handspring Treo 90 and Treo 270
were released yesterday. Since Blogger Pro was hosing up today and wasn’t accepting e-mail updates, I wasn’t able to get this posted immediately. Sorry about that!
The Treo 90 (at left) looks just like a Treo Communicator, with a mini-keyboard and flip-top, but does NOT have built-in wireless capabilities and therefore no antenna. The Treo 90 is also the only Handspring product at this point that supports expansion through an SD slot (no, SDIO is not supported). It has a 33 MHz Dragonball processor, 16MB of RAM, a 160 x 160 pixel 12-bit color display, and is running PalmOS 4.1H. This is a tiny device - only 4.2″ x 2.8″ x .65″ and weighing a lightweight 4 ounces. It will sell for $299, although you may have to wait up to three weeks until demand for the new device is met.
The Treo 270 (at right) is the long-awaited color Treo Communicator! It is a true Communicator, featuring all of the wireless capabilities of the Treo 180. It measures 4.2″ x 2.8″ x 0.82″, and weighs in at 5.4 ounces. You can order one now for $499 with a wireless contract or for $699 without a contract. Like the 90, it also runs on the 33 MHz Dragonball processor, has 16 MB of RAM, and features a bright color display.
I’ve got to admit that I’m impressed with what Handspring is doing, and Wall Street seems to think that they’re making some good decisions as well. At one point today, Handspring’s stock was up over 10% - not too hard to do considering the abysmally low price it has reached lately but still a good sign. The color displays will probably get a lot of flack from hardcore PDA geeks, as they are only 12-bit displays instead of full 16-bit. My guess is that in the fight for display brightness, bit depth and battery life, bit depth was the one thing Handspring’s engineers felt they could compromise on.
In my estimation, the best thing about the Treo 270 is the weight. I currently carry around a Nokia 8260 cell phone that weighs about 3.4 ounces. Add just 2 ounces of weight to that device and a little size, and you have the Treo 270. I’d gladly give up the 10 - 12 ounces I’m carrying right now when I have my Palm i705 in one pocket and my Nokia phone in the other, and replace that weight with a Treo 270.
The built-in keyboards on the new Treos and on the recently released Sony NR-70/70V PalmOS PDAs, as well as the thumboards that have sprung up for just about every PDA on the market, seem to mark the doom of handwriting recognition. I’ll be perfectly honest - since I got my pocket keyboard for my HP Jornada 567, I haven’t used any handwriting recognition, nor do I use Graffiti on my Palm i705. I use the Pocket Keyboard for that device as well!
PRESS RELEASE: HandStory Releases Clip Editor for Creating Custom Web Page Clips
New Features Enable HandStory Suite 2.1 Users and Webmasters to Create Optimized Custom Clips from Any Web Site for Viewing on Palm OS Devices
Boston, Massachusetts - May 9, 2002 - HandStory, a leading developer of mobile software and services for the Palm/Windows platform, today announced the immediate availability of HandStory Suite 2.1, the first version of its award-winning productivity tool to include user-accessible scripting features for customized retrieval of standard Web content. The new HandStory Clip Editor, included in HandStory Suite 2.1, is the first commercial software to offer Web site operators and end users the ability to create custom clipping scripts to extract useful content from any Web site for viewing on Palm OS devices.
With the Clip Editor, HandStory users can now choose exactly the content they want from any ordinary, non-PDA-optimized Web site, download it on demand or on a regular basis, and view it with optimal formatting on their handheld devices. HandStory Clip Editor exposes to end users the scripting capability built into HandStory Suite 2, which was previously accessible only in the form of pre-designed, downloadable scripts for selected Web sites.
The new capability also affords Web content providers a powerful alternative to creating separate PDA-optimized versions of Web sites. Instead of expending costly resources developing and maintaining a separate site for handheld users, content providers can simply create a HandStory Script Clip-a one-time task-and distribute it to their mobile audience, allowing those users to access optimized content directly from the main Web site.
“With HandStory Suite 2.1 and the Clip Editor, we’re continuing to remove the barriers that have made access to standard Web content unnecessarily difficult or costly for both providers and handheld users,” said J.C. Park, HandStory’s director of product development. “Our ultimate goal is to foster a model where users access Web content from a single source, regardless of their client platform. HandScript is the first big step in that direction.”
The scripting language, called HandScript, is an easy-to-use, tightly-focused language developed by HandStory specifically for the task of extracting desired content from the HTML documents underlying all Web sites. With a syntax similar to HTML itself, HandScript allows users and content providers to write clipping scripts with minimal time investment. Scripts can be easily distributed or shared among users in the form of HandStory Script Clips.
HandStory Suite 2.1 builds upon the highly-acclaimed features of the 2.0 version, which include direct (non-scripted) clipping of arbitrary Web content, Windows text/image conversion, and a multifunction information browser for Palm OS devices.
HandStory Suite 2.1 is available for immediate purchase at online software retailers Handango.com and PalmGear.com at $19.95 for a single-user license. HandStory Clip Editor is available separately as a free download for users of HandStory Suite 2.0. Users of pre-2.0 versions of HandStory can upgrade to HandStory Suite 2.1 for $5. A thirty-day trial version of HandStory Suite 2.1 is also available for download from the HandStory Web site at http://www.handstory.com.
About HandStory
Based in Stoneham, Massachusetts, HandStory is a leading developer of software and services for the handheld and mobile economy. The company focuses on providing best-of-class tools for business and private users to access the information they need on the go, from any source. HandStory is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Internet software developer Namo Interactive Inc.
About Namo Interactive
Headquartered in Seoul, Korea, Namo Interactive Inc. is a leading developer and global supplier of software solutions for the World Wide Web. The company’s focus is on creating easy-to-use, yet powerful products that help Web developers of all stripes build exciting, cutting-edge content for the Web. Namo Interactive’s North American offices in Boston serve as a focal point for next-generation development and worldwide marketing operations.
Palm Digital Media Releases Palm eBook Studio
If you’ve been itching for a way to easily publish your own eBooks, Palm Digital Media has just released their Palm eBook Studio product. There are versions for both Windows PCs and Macintosh, and the product creates output that can be read by Palm Reader / Palm Reader Pro software for both Palm OS and Pocket PC devices. If you order before August 19, 2002, Palm eBook Studio is only $29.95 - after that time it will be available for $39.95.
Palm eBook Studio provides the capability of adding formatting, inserting images, creating chapters and a table of contents, or even add hyperlinks within documents. While there are other publishing tools available, Palm eBook Studio is one of the least expensive and it is certainly the only one that runs on Windows and Mac PCs and can create content for virtually any handheld device.
Handspring Treo 90 and Treo 270 To Be Released on May 28, 2002
It’s official - the color screen wireless Treo 270 will be released by Handspring this Tuesday, while the monochrome and non-wireless Treo 90 will be released the same day. While many have been fascinated by the color screen of the Treo 270, I frankly find the Treo 90 to be the more interesting product because it seems to be ringing the death knell for the Handspring Visor line of handhelds! The Treo 90 has a built-in SD slot, which seems to indicate that Springboards are on their way out and since the Treo 90 isn’t a wireless device, it appears that this device is perfectly positioned to take over for the recently discounted Visor line.
More later as the products are announced!
AIM Productions Releases World Cup Today For Pocket PC
AIM Productions has released “World Cup Today”, a Today Screen add-in for Pocket PCs. When added to your Pocket PC, this $4.99 program (available from Handango and other online retailers) adds daily reminders of World Cup Soccer 2002 matches in your local time, so you know exactly when a game is about to begin. It also adds a list of games to a special section of the Today Screen, which you can customize to show only certain teams. Soccer fans will want to get this one SOON!
Rumors From Around The World - What’s Happening In iPaq-Land?
Since HP decided to drop the Jornada line, a lot of people have been wondering what they were going to do to not only replace the Jornada devices but also improve on the existing iPaq family. Some recent rumors are shedding a little light on the subject (thanks for Pete D. for his research and willingness to send me good juicy e-mails from time to time!).
First, Toshiba’s new low-cost and very slender e310 line has attracted a lot of attention. HP is supposed to be coming out with an iPaq 2200 line that will be available for less than $300. The biggest problem with this is that it will make the current Expansion Pack line completely worthless! Expect the 2200 to be the first iPaq to use a new Expansion Pack design.
Next, within the next three months HP is going to release their XScale iPaqs - the 3935 (non-Bluetooth) and 3970 (Bluetooth) series. In addition to the HP logo on the outside of the box, they’ll also feature better color screens, support SDIO in the SD slots, and will run at 400 MHz. Expect an announcement very soon!
Third, HP is going to go for the highly competitive and VERY lucrative enterprise market with the XScale-based 5000 series iPaq sometime in August or September. This will have integrated wireless (GSM, CDMA, and GPRS models expected), biometric security (a fingerprint reader built in!), and a removable lithium polymer battery.
Lastly, expect to see iPaq screens in the next year that will actually provide VGA (480 x 640) resolution in a handheld form factor.
The iPaq 3600, 3700 and 3800 lines are expected to disappear by the end of 2002, which will not upset me in the least. I sincerely hope that the new designs feature some of the ergonomic and style features that the Jornadas had…
Press Release: ThunderHawk delivers full-featured Web pages on mobile devices
Cambridge, MA ? May 20, 2002 ? Bitstream Inc. (Nasdaq: BITS) announced today it is releasing ThunderHawk ? Bitstream’s wireless Web browsing technology. ThunderHawk brings full-featured Web browsing to mobile devices, enabling users to view the full text and images of any Web page. Users get complete wireless access to real Web pages that maintain full text legibility.
The product release of ThunderHawk for the Pocket PC is now available for purchase and for a free 30-day trial. Customers who have a Pocket PC can download, test drive, and purchase ThunderHawk from this Web site.
System requirements for ThunderHawk:
A Pocket PC running Windows CE 3.0 or Pocket PC 2002 OS
or higher, such as:
HP Jornada, 540 or 560 series *
Compaq iPAQ
Casio Cassiopeia
(Pocket PC devices other than the Jornada, iPAQ, or Cassiopeia may require additional configuration.)
USB (cradle), serial (COM port), or IR (infrared) connection
CompactFlash Type 1 or Type 1 extended modem or network interface card (NIC)
Internet Service Provider account or network connection with Internet access **
* Although ThunderHawk may install on some 520 series of Jornadas, the 520 series does not support ThunderHawk.
** Wireless Internet use requires a separately purchased modem and service contract. Check with service providers for coverage and availability in your area. Not all Web content is available.
“ThunderHawk makes Web browsing more intuitive. You don’t have to learn anything new to use it on mobile devices. It just works. You connect to your ISP, start ThunderHawk, and surf Web pages as you normally would. The only difference is you use a stylus instead of a mouse,” said Anna Chagnon, President of Bitstream. “Companies developing new wireless and handheld gadgets now have a solution that will give them a great looking browser on their displays. ThunderHawk enables people to stay connected. We are very pleased to announce the product release of ThunderHawk, the first step in making access to the wireless Web a reality.”
About
ThunderHawk
ThunderHawk brings the desktop Web browsing experience to mobile device users. It allows a Pocket PC, which typically has a 320×240 color LCD screen, to display a legible VGA screen (640×480) of a Web page. Side-by-side comparisons of ThunderHawk and today’s browsing experience on Pocket PC devices can be viewed here. Bitstream has filed 13 preliminary patents in the U.S. on ThunderHawk and its underlying technologies.
Bitstream has relied on its 20 years’ of font experience in creating its first wireless Web browser. ThunderHawk renders text using the Wireless Font Set, which is made up of high-quality fonts that render well at small point sizes on any display. The fonts are designed specifically for handheld and wireless devices and produce high-quality output for color LCD, anti-aliased, and black-and-white displays.
Bitstream assembled the Wireless Font Set using the Kaasila font family. This family of fonts is designed specifically for wireless devices, and is named in honor of ThunderHawk’s chief software architect, Sampo Kaasila. These fonts have been fine-tuned and are specifically designed to fit as much text as possible onto a small screen, as well as provide maximum legibility at small sizes. The fonts are all new designs and are delta-hinted, which involves fine-tuning fonts so that they are easy to read at small sizes.
If your company is interested in Bitstream ThunderHawk, contact Bitstream at 800.522.3668 or 617.497.6222, e-mail us at thunderhawk@bitstream.com, or on the Web at http://www.bitstream.com. Bitstream is working with key strategic partners who wish to license ThunderHawk.
Bitstream Inc.
Bitstream Inc. (Nasdaq:BITS) is the leading developer of font technology, digital fonts, and custom font designs. Bitstream licenses its award-winning TrueDoc and Font Fusion technologies to Web and application developers, and to manufacturers of information appliances, wireless and handheld devices, set-top boxes, embedded systems, and printers. Setting the standard for excellence in font technology, Bitstream holds numerous key patents that cover the creation of portable fonts for the Internet. Building on this experience, Bitstream is currently developing ThunderHawk, a full-featured browser for the wireless Web.
Founded in 1981, Bitstream is the first digital font foundry. In 1999, Bitstream created MyFonts.com, Inc. (http://www.myfonts.com), the Web site for finding, trying, and buying fonts on line. Bitstream is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Bitstream and TrueDoc are registered trademarks, and Font Fusion, Kaasila, ThunderHawk, and Wireless Font Set are trademarks of Bitstream Inc. Other technologies and brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
New Lower Prices on Handspring Visor Neo, Edge and Pro
Handspring announced new lower prices on the Visor Neo (now $149), Visor Edge (now $169) and Visor Pro (now $199). This price drop of $20 on the Neo and Edge and $30 on the Pro makes me wonder if Handspring is looking at clearing out their stock of all Visors. That would make the Treo line, made up of the monochrome 180, soon-to-be-released color 270, and rumored non-cellphone 90, the sole product line for Handspring. It would also mark the death of the Springboard expansion platform, which was never highly successful anyway. The 90 is rumored to have a SD slot, which will truly hammer another nail into the coffin of the Springboard module line.
Anyway, it’s a great time to buy a Visor for a graduation present, wedding gift, or for a PDA-less friend!
Mazingo Beta-Testing PalmOS Client
Mazingo, the chief competitor to AvantGo, currently has a PalmOS beta test going on. Mazingo has been getting some press lately since they’re not charging publishers to create channels for their service, which is something that AvantGo recently did for small publishers who really can’t afford a “pay for publish” scheme. Mazingo also has a leg up on AvantGo with their inclusion of Applian’s PicturePerfect image viewer in their free application, as well as the ability to play sound and video files. They have a good amount of free content available, and also have some premium content that is available with a subscription.
If you’re interested in the free client and content, a subscription to the premium service, or trying out the PalmOS client, click the link above or the button on the left-hand side of the page for more details.
New “Entry-Level” iPaq 3800 Series Pocket PC
HP/Compaq has released a new, lower-priced iPaq called the H3830. It’s basically the same as the non-Bluetooth H3850, but with 32MB of RAM instead of 64MB and with a price that’s $100 less. At the new $499 price point, the iPaq H3830 appears to be the new entry-level Pocket PC from HP/Compaq. There’s still no word on when the company expects to release an XScale-based Pocket PC…
Press Release: Astraware and Trixiam Studios Team to Offer Titles for Palm OS Devices
The Midlands, England (May 16, 2002)–Astraware today announced their partnership with Trixiam Studios to bring Abysma and Elixir, two of Trixiam’s popular PC puzzle-style games, to Palm Powered handheld computers. Both games are fast-paced games that require quick thinking and offer addictive game-play.
In Abysma, players are opposed by both time and a descending “bar of doom.” A bar descends downward across a screen of multi-sized blocks. Energy is lost when the bar of doom comes across a blank space, causing players to race to fill in the gaps with adjoining blocks before the bar hits the empty spots and saps all of their energy.
Elixir pits the player against the clock in a race to, literally, pop as many pills as possible. As iridescent capsules descend down the screen, the player must explode as many pills as possible, but only those that are not supporting the capsules above them.
“We’re glad to be working with Trixiam Studios, a team that takes a very refreshing approach to the development of online and PC games, to put the most popular games in the hands of PDA users,” said Howard Tomlinson, Astraware’s CEO. “I knew from the moment I first encountered Abysma that it had the magic formula that works so well for handheld and Web games - eyecatching graphics, simple but challenging game-play, and completely absorbing.”
“When the idea of creating handheld versions of our games came about, it wasn’t a tough decision to decide to partner with Astraware,” said Sylvain Dufour, Trixiam Studio’s CEO. “Astraware has an excellent track record of creating blockbuster versions of online and PC games for handhelds. The ability to expand our customer base to potentially millions of PDA users through our relationship with Astraware is very exciting to us.”
About Astraware Ltd.
Founded in 1994, Astraware Ltd. develops quality shareware games and utilities. The company provides a range of products available for Palm OS handhelds, including the popular Bejeweled and Zap!2000. Palm enthusiasts have downloaded more than a million copies of Astraware’s products, and the company has customers in nearly 100 countries. For more information, visit www.astraware.com.
About Trixiam Studios, Inc.
Based in Miami Beach, Florida, Trixiam Studios, Inc. is a game development company that focuses on producing original games for all major platforms. All games can be played directly from Web browsers, and enhanced download versions are also available. Trixiam Studios currently licenses its games to major game portals. For more information, visit www.gameplate.com.
Press Release: DreamQuest Software Releases First Cross-Platform Wireless Card Games for Palm OS and Pocket PC Handhelds
Three-game bundles now available for handhelds and Windows PCs for anytime, anywhere fun
Boulder, CO (May 15, 2002)–DreamQuest Software today announces its “Championship” card games, popular on Windows PCs and the Internet, are now available as a three-game bundle for Palm OS and Pocket PC handhelds. Championship Hearts, Championship Spades and Championship Euchre each provide PDA users with playful artwork and challenging card game action. Since the company’s games are the first truly cross-platform wireless games in the industry, players are able to enjoy a fun and challenging game — anytime, anywhere, and on any device. Players can challenge the computer on a PC, PDA, or cell phone, and engage their friends over a local or wireless network, or compete and chat in DreamQuest Software’s free Internet lobby.
“We have been thrilled with the reception our games have been receiving as we have been introducing them to handheld device users,” said Christopher Williamson, DreamQuest Software’s president and CEO. “It is exciting to deliver on the promise of the latest wireless technologies. PDA gamers can now dump that stale Solitaire game they’ve been playing on their PDAs and enjoy lively competition from their friends or our intensely competitive computerized players.”
Each of DreamQuest Software’s games allow players to choose from five difficulty levels, dozens of variations, and eight customizable players to sharpen their skills. The Championship card games are highly regarded for the strength of their design, the challenge of their game-play, and the enjoyment customers get from being able to play the games on a multitude of platforms.
The Championship card games for handhelds retain the features of the Windows versions, which are also available in a three-game bundle. Beginners will enjoy hint, undo, replay, and other practice features along with the introductory tutorials. Expert players will appreciate all the statistics and be amazed at how the eight different opponents will adapt and use advanced strategies. Each game includes over 200 polished deck and table combinations along with hundreds of sounds. Custom skins allow players to share favorite themes. Customers can choose from three different versions of each game, depending on the level of features they would like: a “100% Free” version offering an entry-level game; a “Classic” version featuring full offline and online support; and a “Pro” version with features designed specifically for hardcore players, such as statistics and customization.
The three-game bundles of the “Championship” card games for Palm OS or Pocket PC handhelds retail for US$39.99 and are currently available as a downloadable free trial or full version at www.dq.com. The Windows version of the three-game bundle retails for US$49.99.
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Joy of Tech!
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MacLevelTen
