Press Release: Cutting Edges Software Enables Wireless Access To PC Files From Palm OS Devices
New Mobilefile Application Creates Virtually Unlimited Memory For Palm Powered Handhelds, Allowing Mobile Professionals to Access, Transfer and Edit Files Stored on Desktop PCs
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., (October 30, 2002) - - Mobility Electronics, Inc. (Nasdaq/NMS: MOBE), a leading provider of innovative portable computing solutions for the mobile computer user, announced that its Cutting Edge Software subsidiary has released Mobilefile, a new application that enables anywhere, anytime access to files, loading and removal of applications, and retrieval of editable documents stored on PCs. Whether users are equipped with a Palm OS(r) device with a snap-on modem or a wireless modem “sled,” or are using one of the latest Handspring, Kyocera or Samsung smartphones, Mobilefile changes the way mobile professionals work with files on their Palm Powered(tm) handhelds.
“Adding Mobilefile to a wireless Palm Powered handheld provides mobile customers with an incredibly flexible capability,” said Albert Chu, PalmSource, Inc.’s vice president of business development and wireless strategy. “The business advantage of having remote access to Word, Excel and PowerPoint files is a significant example of how the Palm OS is fostering the leading innovative solutions in the handheld realm.”
Mobilefile creates virtually unlimited memory capacity for users by enabling access to any pre-designated folder on a desktop PC and allowing navigation of subfolders and folder and file shortcuts. Mobilefile lists the files or applications stored in any accessible folder, allowing users to transfer files of interest directly to their handheld. Additionally, Mobilefile seamlessly converts Word, Excel and PowerPoint files into the proper format for review and further editing in Cutting Edge Software’s Quickoffice Pro Office-style suite. Mobilefile makes it possible to browse, transfer, view and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint files remotely without a HotSync.
Users whose wireless-capable devices lack expansion card storage can use Mobilefile to retrieve and install applications to their device that may only need to be used on occasion. Applications may also be offloaded to the PC remotely to free additional space on the device. Mobilefile enables mobile professionals to transfer virtually any file back and forth between their handheld and their PC. This new capability provides Palm Powered device users with equal access to the files that office-based colleagues utilize directly on the company network, resulting in faster, more efficient collaboration among workgroups.
Among those who closely monitor the mobile computing industry, Mobilefile is viewed as a much-needed means of working with data while on-the-go.
“Mobilefile is an elegant tool that any mobile professional with a need for mobile files will find truly indispensable,” said Steve Bush, publisher of Brighthand.com, one of the top resources for information on mobile computing.
“For busy travelers, Mobilefile’s brand of connectivity is priceless,” said Rick Broida, editorial director of Handheld Computing Magazine. “It affords anytime, anywhere access to every Word, Excel and PowerPoint file on your PC, and provides real-time conversion of those files for viewing and editing on your handheld . . . Mobilefile is the next big thing in practical travel.”
Enterprise users have also found Mobilefile to be a very powerful tool for working with data in the field and collaborating among workgroups.
“Early reactions to Mobilefile from corporate users have been profound –they tell us they are thrilled to find liberation from needing to always anticipate which files they may need to access, and they love Mobilefile’s unique ability to help them overcome the memory constraints of their handhelds,” said Michael Compeau, Cutting Edge Software’s vice president of business development and planning. “Think of Mobilefile as a ‘virtual expansion card slot’ by providing your Handspring Treo, Kyocera or Samsung device with expansion memory the size of your PC’s hard drive. The ability to exchange data with your PC while on-the-go, whenever and wherever you may be, means we have moved even closer to the day in which we can all be completely unencumbered by laptops and sync cables when we travel.”
In addition to offering an ideal solution for enterprise customers, Mobilefile can also be used for personal entertainment purposes. For example, users of the latest models of handhelds can use Mobilefile as a virtual media jukebox; users can retrieve MP3 or MPEG4 files stored on a PC, play them on the handheld, then push the files back to the PC when finished.
Mobilefile requires Palm OS 3.5 or later, a Palm Powered device capable of making a TCP/IP connection, and a PC with broadband Internet access to provide persistent access to desktop files. Corporate and individual router firewalls can be accommodated, and secure connections may also be made using virtual private network clients offered by third parties. Mobilefile retails for $49.95 and includes free upgrades for one year as well as free technical support.
System Outage - Sorry About That…
My web hosting provider, Infopop, did some server upgrades on Sunday night that turned into a two-day nightmare. As a result, I haven’t been able to update the blog, the PDAntic Portal pages will need to be reloaded (provided I can ever ftp to the site again!), and I’ve seen other odd little things happening. It should straighten out in the next day or so; Blogger uses ftp to move files to my site and it’s been working properly, so I would expect that I will soon be able to fix the oddities and stop the madness…
A Free Food Nutrient Information Database from the USDA
If you’re tired of eating the usual slacker/hacker food and would like to start eating healthier food, you can now grab a copy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture ((USDA) National Nutrient Database for free. The database lists more than 6,000 food items and is available for PalmOS devices only. A searchable nutrient database for personal computers will be available soon for download; hopefully they’ll make a version for Pocket PCs as well.
The package is a joint venture of HealtheTech, Inc. of Golden, CO and the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service. The searchable program allows users to browse a given category (by food grouping) by scrolling through foods listed alphabetically. If you need information on larger or smaller portions of food than the standards listed, there is a “portion modifier” feature available. There are about 30 nutrients listed for each food. You’ll need to have about 2MB of free RAM on your PalmOS device to load the package. It can be downloaded here.
If you have a wireless PDA, you can access and search the database using this link: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/cgi-bin/nut_search.pl. I just gave it a try from the ol’ Pocket PC Phone and it worked great!
Palm Tungsten Series Announced - Palm Tungsten T Now Available
As expected, the recent silence from Palm was broken today as the company announced their new Tungsten series PalmOS 5.0 devices. There are two units - the Palm Tungsten T (US$499) and the Palm Tungsten W (US$549). While the Tungsten T is available today from the Palm online store and many retailers, the Tungsten W will not be released until early 2003.
First, let’s talk about the Tungsten T. At $499, it’s right up there price-wise with the top of the line Sony Clie models, although I think the Sony devices have an edge in terms of capabilities. While the Tungsten T “collapses” to a compact 3″ wide x 4″ tall x .6″ thick box when you slide the screen down over the Graffiti area, it’s not the lightest PDA on the market by a long shot. The Tungsten T weighs in at 5.6 ounces, which is heavier than even most of the new Pocket PCs on the market. The T comes with a TI OMAP 1510 ARM processor running at 174 MHz, a reflective TFT 320 x 320 pixel display capable of showing 65,536 colors, and built-in Bluetooth. It’s the first device from Palm to feature voice recording capabilities (something that Pocket PCs and Sony Clies have had for years), and it has an SDIO capabile SD/MMC slot. There’s a five way (four plus select) joypad built into the front of the device in between the classic function buttons, a stereo headphone jack (although Palm says you’ll have to supply software and headphones to be able to listen to music…), and a snap-on clear plastic cover. Finally, the Tungsten T is running (finally!) PalmOS 5.0. One thing I was totally surprised with is that the T only comes with 16MB of RAM! What the heck were they thinking? You can download a PDF data sheet for the Tungsten T by clicking here.
You can tell that Palm is definitely aiming this device at the corporate market. First, most consumers aren’t going to spend $499 on a color PDA if they have to spend more money for the ability to listen to MP3 files, and that 16MB of RAM isn’t going to thrill most PDA-savvy consumers. Another hint that Palm is pointing at corporate buyers is the “Total Cost of Ownership” study you can download from the Tungsten T overview page. Consumers don’t give a rip about TCO, corporations do. I think Sony is going to be the beneficiary of a lot of business soon, as all of the Palm fans who have waited for the Tungsten devices give up and go buy a brand new NX-70V…
Somebody at Palm must have decided to hire someone from Apple to create the packaging for the Tungsten T, as the photo at left shows the very “iPod-ish” box that the T comes in. The software that comes with the device in that handy box includes Adobe Acrobat Reader for PalmOS, DataViz Documents To Go, Handmark’s Mobile DB, and the powerOne Personal Calculator. There’s a LOT available for communications; Palm apparently thinks that everyone is going to run out and buy a Sony-Ericsson t68i Bluetooth GSM/GPRS phone immediately so that they can use it as a modem for the Tungsten T! You get Blueboard (a collaboration app that lets you draw on the screen; others in your vicinity immediately see your jottings), BlueChat (a Bluetooth chat package), CopyTalk, a dialer telephone keypad, Palm WAP Browser, Palm Web Browser Pro, Phone Link Updater, SMS, and VersaMail 2.0. And of course, those corporate folks who will be purchasing the Tungsten T won’t be able to survive without the entertainment packages that come with it; ArcSoft PhotoBase, Palm Reader, Handmark MagicDogs Playing Cards, and trial versions of Handmark’s Monopoly and Scrabble games…
As I noted earlier, I really have to wonder about the pricing scheme for the Tungsten T. There are much more capable Pocket PCs that are available now for about half the price of the Tungsten T, with much more memory and over double the processor speed. Maybe they don’t have built-in Bluetooth, but you can buy a Bluetooth CF or SD card and still come in below the price point of the Tungsten T. I know that a lot of Palm afficionados will jump on the Tungsten T immediately, simply because it is the latest and greatest from Palm. But just because it’s novel and new doesn’t mean that the regular buying public is going to cough up nearly $500 for a PDA! I think that you’re going to see rebates for the Tungsten T coming out before Christmas. There will be an initial rush of people grabbing up the “T” for the purpose of evaluating it for their companies, the Palm geeks out there will snap ‘em up quickly, but after that point there may still be a lot of those nice boxes (see below) sitting on shelves… For people who have never purchased a PDA before, the $99 Zire is going to make a lot more sense as a “stocking stuffer” for Christmas than a $500 Tungsten T!
The Tungsten W (spring 2003) is Palm’s answer to the Pocket PC Phone and the Handspring Treo. This device will be co-marketed with AT&T Wireless in the US, no word on who the carriers will be in Europe or the Far East. In terms of specifications the Tungsten W doesn’t even hold a candle to the Tungsten T, running a 33-MHz DragonBall processor and PalmOS 4.1.1. It does share the same screen, adds a built-in keyboard (a la Treo), has the handy 5-way navigation pad, and has a handsfree headset jack. Once again, Palm has chosen to stick only 16MB of RAM in the device… The size of the device is fairly trim; 4.8 (5.43 including antenna) inches tall by 3.07 inches wide by .65 inches thick, and weighing 6.5 ounces. There is no Bluetooth, but the GSM cell-phone service and Class 10 GPRS radio built in will provide the wireless capabilities for this device. Both the Tungsten T and Tungsten W can notify you of alerts and/or incoming calls through the traditional sounds, through vibration, or through flashing LEDs. There aren’t any details yet on what software will ship with the Tungsten W, but you can expect that it will be similar (if not identical) to the packages that come with the “T” (without the Bluetooth apps, of course).
The US$549 cost for the Tungsten W is estimated street price without service activation with AT&T Wireless. I’d expect that by the time the Tungsten W actually makes it to market, you’ll see these going for less than US$299 when you buy service. They’re going to have to come in at that price point or below to even start to compete with the other devices that are currently on the market or that will be coming to market in the next few months. For example, the Handspring Treo 300 is now selling for $449 (overpriced in my opinion), the Treo 270 is $499, and the Treo 180 is actually reasonably priced at $249. I’ve got to admit that I find the price of the Pocket PC Phone to be way over what it should be at $549.99! If the SmartPhones hit the US marketplace at approximately the same price they’re at in the UK (about US$276), they’re going to be very popular. The next 6 months should be very exciting as we watch the various competitors in the Phone/PDA market slugging it out and cutting prices to see if they can hook the public on a particular type of device.
Friday Afternoon News Bits
T-Mobile Reduces Internet Plan Rates
I was thrilled to see that a little over a week after I signed up for a 10MB/$39.99 per month GPRS internet plan from T-Mobile that they’re now offering twice that data at $5 less! I called and changed over my plan so I’m now getting 20MB per month for only $34.99. They also offer 50 and 200 MB mobile internet plans, but supposedly those are not available for devices like the Pocket PC Phone - you can only use these on data-only devices… This rate change requires a phone call to T-Mobile’s customer support folks, but it’s well worth the time and effort if you own a Handspring Treo 270 or Pocket PC Phone with T-Mobile service.
Good Review Of SmartPhone (Orange SPV)
The awesome InfoSync website has the first review of the Orange SPV SmartPhone. While J?rgen Sundgot has some criticism for some of the glitches in the first SmartPhone, his review is overall very positive. Read his review here.
Pocket LOOX Available In US In November?
Sources have told PDAntic.com that you can expect to see the Fujitsu Pocket LOOX Pocket PC make it to the US in mid-November. I’ve been very interested in this device, as it not only offers both CF Type II and SD expansion in a sexy little case, but there’s also a GSM/GPRS “sled” available to turn it into a phone.
You Talk About Your Pocket PC, I Wish You Could See Mine…
(Title with apologies to The Who’s “Tommy” and the song “Eyesight to the Blind”)
Microsoft and Freedom Scientific today jointly announced the availability of a Pocket PC designed for people who are blind. The PAC Mate is designed to help out mobile people with sight disabilities by providing a verbal/sound-based Pocket PC that can not only do all of the things that we love to do with our Pocket PCs (i.e., organize e-mail, contacts and appointments) but also run some interesting third-party applications.
Some of the applications that are either available or currently in testing include a personal GPS system that will give blind users a verbal reading of where they are in relation to locations they’re trying to find and a bar-code scanner that allows users to determine the price, contents and characteristics of canned goods and other products, whether they’re shopping at the grocery store or preparing dinner in their own kitchen.
There will be two versions of the PAC Mate coming out soon: the PAC Mate BNS with Braille in and speech out capabilities and the PAC Mate TNS with a QWERTY-style keyboard with speech output. The price of the PAC Mate models is a bit high; $2,595 (US) without a modem or ethernet card. However, many companies that are equipping sighted employees with Pocket PCs or other PDAs would probably purchase these devices for their vision-impaired employees for ADA compliance. For more information about the PAC Mate, visit the Freedom Scientific link listed above or read the Microsoft press release here.
ActiveSync 3.6 Is Now “Officially” Available From Microsoft
Over the last month or two there have been links available which pointed to a location somewhere in the bowels of Microsoft where you could install ActiveSync 3.6. However, you couldn’t just go to the Pocket PC downloads page and grab it - ActiveSync 3.5 was the “official” version of ActiveSync that was available from Microsoft.
As of today, you can get ActiveSync 3.6 off of the Microsoft site! The following link will take you right there:
http://www.microsoft.com/mobile/pocketpc/downloads/activesync36.asp
According to Microsoft, the big changes are:
* The New Partnership Wizard makes it easier to configure the device to synchronize with a server.
* For clients already synchronizing with the server, the options to configure server synchronization settings are improved
* Bug fixes that increase performance and reliability of ActiveSync communications the device.
ActiveSync 3.6 comes on the CD-ROMs shipping with the new SmartPhones, so if you’re in the UK and happen to be one of the lucky souls to have the Orange SPV, you’re ready to roll!
Review of Pocket PC Phone Edition Now Available!
If you’d like to see what my opinion of the T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition is, check out the new review! As you’ll find by reading the article, I have a few complaints but for the most part I like this device. I like it so much that it took me no time to sell my Toshiba e740 and cancel my Palm.net wireless data service!
Discuss the review in the PDAntic.com Discussion Forums!
Orange SPV: The first Microsoft-powered SmartPhone
As expected, mobile carrier Orange and Microsoft today jointly announced the availability of Orange’s SPV SmartPhone 2002 device. This is the first SmartPhone powered by Windows, and it’s been long-awaited by many of us in the PDA world. The unit was built by HTC (the same folks who created the reference design for the Pocket PC Phone) and it looks like quite a nice unit. During the webcast today, there were demonstrations of news service from the Ananova “talking head”, taking / e-mailing photos with a small detachable camera, and other services (including the Mobile2Market catalog service to purchase software, themes, etc… from the SmartPhone itself). The phone is rather inexpensive, only about $276.00 US. Of course, you won’t be able to purchase the phone or service unless you’re in an area served by Orange.
Don’t despair, however! Microsoft has promised that this device or similar models will be available “by the end of the year” in the US market. It will surprise me if we don’t see an announcement within the next couple of weeks from some of the US carriers, as I’m sure they’d like to get one of these sweet little devices on the market prior to the prime holiday buying season.
If you’re interested in seeing more about the Orange SPV, you can download the press release from the Orange website (PDF formatted file):
http://www.orange.com/English/communicate/orangeandmicrosoft.asp?bhcp=1
(Click on the link for downloading the press release)
Press Release: Bachmann Software’s FilePoint Pro, PrintBoy Anywhere and InfraReady Adapter All Now Available at The Palm Store
Palm, Inc. now offers utilities for Palm OS handhelds at its own Web site
Sparta, NJ (October 21, 2002) - -Bachmann Software is pleased to announce that its FilePoint Pro and PrintBoy Anywhere applications, as well as its InfraReady Adapter, are all now available at Palm, Inc.’s Palm Store Web site (http://store.palm.com). Users of Palm OS(r) handheld computers can now find Bachmann Software’s acclaimed utility software for printing and file management, and the device that made it easier than ever to wirelessly print handheld data to virtually any printer, at the Web site of the top producer of handheld computers in the world.
PrintBoy Anywhere allows Palm OS users to print their business-critical information by selecting their wireless method of choice, and sending their data to the printer. Whether the users work in an environment supporting a network, Bluetooth, 802.11b (also known as Wi-Fi), have modem access, or infrared, PrintBoy Anywhere allows them to produce their data to the printer of their choice.
FilePoint(tm) Pro is a versatile file management tool that allows Palm Powered(tm) device users to manage their data from their PCs. FilePoint Pro takes all the features of Bachmann Software’s popular handheld version, FilePoint, and makes them available on the desktop as well. In short, FilePoint Pro enables users to organize their device’s data on their desktop PCs, and all changes to the file organization will take place during synchronization with the handheld.
Bachmann Software’s InfraReady Adapter is a pocket-sized device that enables users to convert any printer to accept infrared beaming of documents from handheld computers. Mobile workers can connect the adapter to the parallel port on any printer that does not already have infrared capabilities, and create IR printing access on the spot. The adapter can be used in conjunction with any PrintBoy application to produce hard copies of documents, spreadsheets, forms, sketches, etc. without the need to perform synchronization between a Palm OS handheld and a desktop PC.
“As handheld computers continue to infiltrate the workplace, and more and more are being used as portable computers rather than mere organizers, mobile professionals are realizing their need for the critical functions of printing and data organization in a familiar folder-tree format,” said Glenn Bachmann, Bachmann Software’s president and author of Palm Programming; The Authoritative Solution. “When these users begin looking for an enhancement to their device, the first place they often turn is The Palm Store, and we are thrilled to be among the solutions selected by Palm, Inc. for inclusion in their online store.”
About Bachmann Software & Services
Bachmann Software & Services is a leading provider of software products and development services for handheld computing and wireless applications. Based in Sparta, N.J., the company primarily develops applications for the Palm OS platform. Its premier products include PrintBoy, a suite of applets that allows users to wirelessly print highly readable output of most information stored on a Palm OS based device. Bachmann also produces the InfraReady adapter, designed to convert virtually any printer’s parallel port to accept an infrared beam. The company’s newest product line, FilePoint, extends many of the “Windows-style” file management conveniences to Palm Powered devices that desktop users have long enjoyed.
Bachmann has also been a leading contributor to the overall Palm Economy by producing over 50 products on the platform. The company has been engaged by many Fortune 500 companies to develop mobile computing solutions. The company’s president, Glenn Bachmann is also the author of the book “Palm Programming; The Authoritative Solution,” published by Sams Publishing.
For more information, visit www.bachmannsoftware.com.
Press Release: SYWARE Adds GPS Support and Picture Control to Visual CE? Version 7
Hollywood, CA (October 21, 2002) SYWARE, Inc., a leading developer of intuitive database tools for business and personal productivity, today announced at the Pocket PC Summit Version 7 of Visual CE?, the award-winning database and forms development toolset designed specifically for building customized databases on Windows CE and Pocket PC handheld computers. The new release expands the range of functions built into the software and enhances the ease-of-use features that enable both business professionals and developers to easily create database applications without programming. Visual CE Version 7 features a more flexible array of development tools, including full support for GPS devices, complete picture control, multi-device synchronization, and support for a wide range of numeric, string, and date functions.
“As the handheld market grows and wireless computing becomes an integral part of standard business communications, it is clear that the markets are only being selectively served,” said Sy Danberg, President of SYWARE. “The largest software developers focus exclusively on Fortune 500 deployments, leaving the bulk of the business market ,the small and medium enterprises (SMEs), to fend for themselves. Visual CE continues to fill this void and, as a result, dominates the handheld development tools market, providing small and medium businesses with easy-to-use software that cost-effectively increases productivity, whether for one device or one thousand.”
GPS Support
New functionality in Visual CE Version 7 provides complete support for Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) devices. More than just a data entry function, Visual CE can open the serial port on the handheld device; read the NMEA (National Marine Electronics Association) standard statements containing positioning data; extract the latitude, longitude, and altitude coordinates; and close the serial port. This allows Visual CE to read and store positioning information for a variety of field applications that have traditionally relied on slow, paper-based communication.
Forestry rangers and agricultural firms, for instance, are now using GPS-enabled handhelds to mark plant and animal locations, from nests of rare bald eagles to crops in need of rotation. Visual CE now allows park rangers and seed companies to integrate these coordinates into a comprehensivedatabase of environmental information. Municipalities and manufacturers of remote instrumentation can also use Visual CE to more easily transmit and track information regarding the maintenance status of equipment in the field.
Powerful and Easy-to-Use
With Visual CE Version 7, complete control of images is only a click away now that pictures can be integrated into any Visual CE database. This means business professionals can carry portable electronic showrooms into the field. Antique dealers or real estate professionals, for instance, can quickly create portable databases that integrate various views of a property with details regarding its condition and value. Visual CE also helps business teams stay closely aligned by allowing multiple handhelds to be synchronized to the same desktop table; this makes it easy to keep the latest product catalog or maintenance data in the hands of the field force.
With Visual CE Version 7, strings can be written to or read from the serial port. This provides quick and easy access to a broad range of external devices, including scanners, test equipment, and medical devices. In addition, button colors can be set to prompt users visually and grids can be ordered by specific values. For those with SYMBOL? devices, a scan can now automatically launch a macro program.
New Development Functions
Visual CE Version 7 provides an expanded set of development features. Global variables allow for more flexible handling of data and new command buttons support easier integration of wireless interfaces using SYWARE?s mEnable? software.
The new release of Visual CE also expands the range of numeric, string, and date functions. Calculated controls can now handle scalar functions in addition to the previously supported basics of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Twenty four (24) new numeric functions include sine, cosine, tangent, degrees, exponents, square root, and truncation. Fifteen (15) new string functions allow for more flexible handling of page real estate and include such capabilities as removal of leading blank spaces, search and replace, conversion of upper case to lower case, and repeat of character strings. Nine (9) new date and time functions include
name of day, name of month, day of week, hour, minute, month, quarter, week, and year.
Macros, Wireless Connectivity, Report Writing, Royalty-free Distribution
Visual CE Version 7 continues to offer an advanced feature set to the Windows CE and Pocket PC community. Macro programming allows for the easy creation of multi-step sequences. Integration with mEnable, SYWARE?s breakthrough wireless architecture, extends handheld applications with real-time, interactive access to server data allowing mobile devices to be easily integrated with enterprise business processes. Visual CE also works in conjunction with Report CE?, the world?s only report writing tool for Windows CE and Pocket PC handhelds. In addition, royalty-free distribution of Visual CE applications means developers can quickly deploy their programs
throughout the company at a fraction of the cost of any other database program on the market.
Pricing & Delivery
Visual CE Version 7 applications can be created on any Windows CE or Pocket PC handheld, as well as on any Windows-based desktop system. Visual CE Lite Edition is priced at $19.99, quantity one. Visual CE Personal Edition, with full forms design, relational database, and synchronization capabilities, is priced at $129, quantity one. Visual CE Professional Edition includes all the features of Personal Edition and royalty-free distribution rights; it is available for $399. Visual CE Enterprise Edition includes all the features of the Professional Edition plus SYWARE’s Report CE software; it is priced at $599.
Voluntary Recall For Toshiba e740
Wow, I may have to stop my eBay auction for my Toshiba e740. There’s a voluntary recall for Pocket PC e740 units bearing serial numbers 7201464L through 92041620L (any serial number beginning with an alpha character is not impacted by the recall). According to the notice on the Toshiba website, a loss of data can occur if the battery is allowed to fully discharge or if the battery is disconnected from the product for any reason. Since this data loss problem happened to me twice in a two-week period a couple of months ago, I would be willing to bet that my serial number is somewhere in that range…
If your e740 does have one of the affected serial numbers, all you need to do is call Toshiba Customer Care at 800-788-1653 and they will send you a pre-paid postage package with instructions on where to send the unit for repairs. They suggest that you back up all stored data to a PC or CF memory card prior to sending the device to Toshiba.
Toshiba emphasizes that “although you are urged to immediately return your product for repair, you may continue to use the product without loss of data if you: 1) neve rlet the battery fully discharge; 2) never disconnect the battery from the product; 3) regularly back-up stored data; and 4) always connect the product to an external power supply before changing the battery.”
More information on the voluntary recall for the e740 is available at http://www.csd.toshiba.com .
Looking For A Toshiba e740?
In case you’re in the market for a lightly used Toshiba e740 and 64MB CF memory card, I’m selling mine. I always have to reduce my pile of PDAs a couple of times a year, and in this case I’ve got 3 Pocket PCs…so I decided to drop one. Click here to see the eBay auction and bid on this device.
Links to M?bius Redmond 2002 Coverage
Since I’ve reduced the number of postings shown on this system to speed up loading, the coverage of last week’s M?bius Redmond 2002 conference has already scrolled off the screen. If you missed those articles, please feel free to read them at the following links:
The BIG article –> http://www.pdantic.com/blog/2002_10_01_arc.htm#85573065
A short overview of the conference –> http://www.pdantic.com/blog/2002_10_01_arc.htm#85558450
Comments when I had just returned –> http://www.pdantic.com/blog/2002_10_01_arc.htm#85557852
Comment System Updated
For those of you who have tried leaving comments here on PDAntic.com but haven’t been able to, rejoice! I have finally taken the time to update the comment system and it should work properly now. All you have to do is click that little “Comments” link below and you’ll be able to leave feedback about anything you see on this system. Note that any previous comment threads have been deleted, unfortunately…
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Joy of Tech!
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MacLevelTen
