palmOne Zire 72 and Zire 31 Announced
As expected, palmOne today announced the new Zire 31, which at $149 is the least expensive color PDA on the market. Here are the details:
Size/Weight
? Height: 4.4 in. / 11.17 cm
? Width: 2.9 in. / 7.36 cm
? Thickness: .6 in. / 1.52 cm
? Weight: 4.1 oz. / 116.23 Grams (without protective flip lid)
HotSync? Cable
? Standard Mini-USB HotSync cable and AC adapter included.
Screen
? 160×160 color STN display with contrast and brightness controls.
? Supports thousands of colors.
Processor
? 200Mhz Intel ARM-based processor
Operating System
? Palm OS? 5.2.8
Included Applications
? Contacts, Calendar, World Clock, Memos, Tasks, Calculator, Expense, Prefs, Note Pad. Additional software included: RealOne? Mobile Player3, palmOne? Photos, Audible, Handmark? Splash Money? and Mobile DB?, powerOne? Calculator, Palm? Reader, AddIt, Solitaire.
Stereo Headphone Jack
? Accepts standard 3.5mm stereo headphone plug. Headphones not included.
Expansion Card Slot
? Supports MultiMediaCard, SD and SDIO expansion cards, sold separately.
Battery Type
? Rechargeable Lithium Ion Polymer 900mAh battery
Synchronization with Desktop
? Palm? Desktop 4.1 software for Windows and Mac and palmOne conduits for Microsoft Outlook. (Outlook conduits for Windows only. Email software sold separately.)
Flexible Storage Capacity
? Highly efficient operating system w/ 16MB stores thousands of addresses and years of appointments with room to add software.
But that’s not all! The new Zire 72 was also announced today. At a price of $299, it replaces the Zire 71 and improves on the resolution and capabilities of the 71’s built-in digital camera and adds Bluetooth. Here are the specs for this new model:
Size/Weight
? Height: 4.6 in. / 11.68 cm.
? Width: 2.95 in. / 7.49 cm.
? Thickness: .67 in. / 1.70 cm.
? Weight: 4.8 oz. / 136 grams
Integrated Camera
? Maximum Resolution: Photo: 1280×960; 2X digital zoom; Video: 320×240
? Automatic white balance control
? Capture pictures using special effects such as Sepia, Black and White or Blue.
Screen
? 16-Bit, 320×320 transflective TFT color display with brightness controls. Supports 65,000+ colors.
Built-in Bluetooth? Technology
? Communicate wirelessly and share files, photos and more with nearby Bluetooth technology enabled devices.
Processor
? 312 MHz Intel? PXA270 processor
Operating System
? Palm OS? 5.2.8
Stereo Headphone Jack
? Accepts standard 3.5mm stereo headphone plug. Headphones not included.
Expansion Card Slot
? Supports MultiMediaCard, SD and SDIO expansion cards, sold separately.
Battery Type
? Rechargeable Lithium Polymer battery
Synchronization with Desktop
? Palm? Desktop for Windows and Mac
? Conduits for synchronization with Microsoft Outlook (Windows only)
Flexible Storage Capacity
? Highly efficient operating system w/ 8MB of masked ROM and 32MB of SDRAM stores thousands of addresses, years of appointments, hundreds of to-do items, notes, memos, and more than 50 applications.
Over 3 Million Zire Handhelds Sold So Far
palmOne has announced that in the 18 months since the first Zire handheld was shipped, they’ve sold over 3 million of the low-cost PDAs. Most of the sales have come from the wide acceptance of the low-end Zire ($99 and less) and color Zire 71 (approx. $299) devices. This is very good news for palmOne, since most people tend to become brand-selective after an initial purchase from a vendor. The big question for the company will be whether or not these low-end purchases will result in eventual sales of higher-end devices such as the Tungsten or Treo series.
4 GB “Perfect Size” For MP3 Players? I Don’t Think So…
The BBC (which has proven itself over the last year to be a lot less of an accurate, unbiased news source than they were back in the days of WWII) is running an article that claims that the “perfect size” for an MP3 player is 4 GB. They quote a study by Jupiter Research that claims that “almost all the consumers they questioned were storing no more than 1,000 songs on their MP3 players”.
Well, they must have questioned 3 consumers who were in the employ of one of the Microdrive manufacturers, who just happen to be coming out with drives that peak at 4 GB — right around 1,000 songs. I personally know at least 25 people who own Apple iPods with capacities of 10 - 40 GB, and every one of these people has much more than 4 GB of music files loaded on their box. Frankly, if I digitized every CD that I own today, I could probably fill a 100 GB iPod! Not that I want to “rip” every CD that I own…but the relatively few CDs that I did digitize have pretty well maxed out my 10 GB iPod.
What this BBC article and the “study” appear to be neglecting is the fact that many people are using their MP3 players not only to carry tunes, but also as data transfer and storage devices. In many cases, people are even using them as PDAs! For example, any of the new Apple iPods can be outfitted with a nice Belkin accessory that allows you to take media from your digital camera (SD, CF, MemoryStick, etc…) and transfer your photos to the iPod for storage. This is very useful when you’re on a trip and run out of storage on your 512 MB SD card - you simply dump the data into the iPod, erase the card, and start taking pictures or video again. When you get home, you hook the iPod up to your PC or Mac and transfer all of the picture files via USB 2.0 or FireWire.
In terms of using an iPod or similar MP3 player as a PDA, it’s not that difficult! In fact, Apple advertises the ability to play four games, use your iPod as an alarm clock, or read text files on your iPod. The latter feature is especially useful, since there are third-party applications available that allow you to download news, weather and sports information in text format for transfer to your iPod. These features are in addition to the contact and calendar applications that have been built into the iPod since day one…
Belkin also has a voice recorder accessory for the newer iPods. I have talked to several college students who actually use this accessory to digitally record lectures for future review, and they say that recording 5-6 hours of voice daily for 5 days a week tends to fill up a lot of space on their ‘Pods.
In my opinion, the article and study appear to be industry-sponsored “research” to pump up the sales of smaller capacity MP3 players with Microdrives. There are a lot more things that people are doing with their MP3 players, and most of them take storage capacities well in excess of the measly 4GB the study says is the perfect size.
OneNote SP1 Will Offer Pocket PC Sync
Microsoft released a preview version of Service Pack 1 for OneNote a few days ago. I used a beta version of OneNote when I had my Tablet PC and had mixed emotions about the application. My main complaints were that I couldn’t use it on my PC at work and that the audio note feature didn’t synch with written notes as advertised.
SP1 could make this THE notetaking tool. Some of the new features include picture and document integration, easier export of notes to Word, sharing documents in real time and the ability to copy notes from a Pocket PC into OneNote.
At the present time, you’ll be able to write notes on your Pocket PC and then move them into OneNote for filing and annotation. It doesn’t work in the opposite direction; you can’t move OneNote documents to your Pocket PC (yet…).
The final release of SP1 will most likely hit the streets this summer, which is the same time that the rest of Office 2003 SP1 will be released. You can more about OneNote at this Microsoft link or check out my comments about using OneNote here.
Press Release: Elegant Algorithms Releases FlyBackUp 1.5 for Palm Powered Devices
Ultra fast compression reduces backup time and required backup storage space
RIGA, Latvia, April 21, 2004 ? Elegant Algorithms, a leading provider of innovative data compression solutions for the Palm OS? mobile computer users, announced the release of new product FlyBackUp 1.5 with built-in cutting edge data compression technology.
?
FlyBackUp is a powerful yet easy to use data protection and disaster recovery solution. FlyBackUp makes backing up copies of important files simple and ultra fast. In the event of hard reset, system failure or even just plain-ole’ simple human error, user can then restore the whole PDA in minutes with one easy tap.
FlyBackUp is an intuitive, easy to use solution enabling “set and forget” automated backups of handheld. In the same time it’s highly configurable and loaded with exclusive features like on the fly compression and encryption of the backup file. The backup time is reduced up to two and more times in comparison with current most popular backup software, thanks to patent pending FlyZip? technology.
Among other notable features of FlyBackUp 1.5 are password protection, multiple card support for devices with more than one extension card slot, native Palm OS 5 support, multiple backups on a single card, customized card space usage and scheduler with daily/weekly/monthly and time interval options.
?
?Great! I used another two popular backup softwares in the past… but this is really the best…,? said Eduardo Lopez, user of FlyBackUp beta version. ?I saw the features in the others, all of this are similar, but no one of the others have all in one… speed, simplicity, password protection, schedule and COMPRESSION!?
?
?For some of us personal digital assistants are a piece of equipment without which we cannot lead a normal business life. Nowadays PDA stores valuable information that can be damaged or lost. The best way to protect files from accidental loss is to keep backup copies of them,? said Andris Grikis, CEO of Datoru Drosibas Tehnologijas. ?Our compression technology allows doing this routine operation much faster with significant saving of storage space and power at the same time.?
Pricing and Availability
FlyBackUp 1.5 can be used on all Palm devices with Palm OS 4.0 or higher and memory card. It is free for registered FlyBackUp beta version users. The utility sells for $9.95 only. FlyBackUp 1.5 is available for purchase at FlyZip.com or leading online stores of Palm OS applications, including Handango.com and PalmGear.com. Special pricing is available for OEM arrangements and wholesale traders. For more information, call +371-7805010 or e-mail sales@fly-zip.com.
And speaking of obsolescence…
You probably remember that last September I purchased an Apple 12″ PowerBook G4. I love this little laptop; it has easily taken over the functionality of its predecessor (an HP TC1000 Tablet PC) and is much faster. I’ve reaffirmed my love affair with the Macintosh and often wish that my pocket devices were as easy to use!
Shortly after buying the PowerBook, in fact TWO DAYS after I had purchased it, Apple did a “speed bump” and increased the CPU speed on the box from 800 MHz to 1 GHz. I was kind of disappointed that the folks at the local Apple store hadn’t warned me that a new product was imminent, but took it with a grain of salt since I’ve seen SO many situations where PCs, PDAs and other devices change specs in a matter of weeks. Well, today Apple announced another speed change for the PowerBook line. The 12″ is now crusing at 66% faster CPU speeds than the model I own, about 7 months after I bought mine.
I know that manufacturers need to keep improving their PCs and other devices, but I sure wish that they’d slow down a little bit. Changes like this make me want to sell this PowerBook on eBay and go for one of the new models!
Happy 4th Birthday, Pocket PC!
4 years ago today, Microsoft officially launched the Pocket PC at an event at Grand Central Station in NYC. This wasn’t the first Microsoft pocket device - they had shipped the original Handheld PCs back in 1997 and the Palm-Size PCs in the interim. But the Pocket PC represented the first true push by Microsoft into the mobile device market, with a number of manufacturers and system integrators joining Steve Ballmer to show their support.
It is really amazing where we are now. My first Pocket PC was an Compaq iPAQ 3650 - a huge PDA with that damned sleeve that you needed for any expansion at all. Comparing that to my HP iPAQ 4150 with its speed, memory, expandability and Bluetooth, it is totally impressive to see how things have moved along in just four years.
Later this year we can probably expect to see more VGA Pocket PCs with faster processors and more memory, although without improvements to the core operating system we’ll still see the obnoxious memory problems and crappy built-in apps that we currently have to put up with.
What are you talking about, Steve?
OK, I’ve had my iPAQ for about six months now, and it’s getting to the point that it’s virtually unusable at this point. This has happened with every Pocket PC I’ve owned - after three to six month, I end up having to do a full hard reset to bring the device back to usable condition. Right now, the device does all sorts of fun things - I can’t empty my Pocket IE cache, Pocket IE tends to shut itself off, Inbox no longer connects to one of my email accounts, etc…
On the flip side, I’ve never had problems like that with my Tungsten T3. OK, I haven’t had it as long as the iPAQ, but since day one I’ve had to soft reset the iPAQ 2 - 3 times a week to clear up problems. In the time that I’ve owned the T3, I’ve never reset it.
Microsoft has done a great job with the Windows Mobile Pocket PC 2003 OS, but they still have a lot of improvements they could make. When I referred to those “crappy apps”, I’m talking about the Pocket Office applications — Pocket Word, Pocket Excel, Pocket IE. They are still just as lame as the original 2000 versions, while the perennial competitor Palm has chosen to bundle Desktop To Go to provide much more impressive Office compatibility. In my humble opinion, Microsoft should tie up licensing rights with SoftMaker for their TextMaker word processor and PlanMaker spreadsheet. They should then run over to Bitstream and look at licensing the Thunderhawk browser. There are other applications that could do a much better job than the Microsoft equivalents and there’s no reason why Microsoft or the hardware manufacturers can’t look at bundling these in with the upcoming Pocket PCs.
New Subject Icons
Starting now, we’ll be posting a small icon with each new article on PDAntic.com so you know what type of handheld (Pocket PC, palmOne device, or mobile phone) or other device (Smartphone, Tablet PC, mobile media device) each article is all about. Of course, you’ll have to know your devices! The icon above is an HP iPAQ 4150, representing the Pocket PC world. palmOne devices will be represented by this icon
(a palmOne Tungsten T3) while mobile phones are represented by the popular Nokia 3650
.
Tablet PCs have their own little icon
(an HP TC1100), Smartphones have a Motorola Mpx 200 icon
and the growing mobile media market will have the Apple iPod
as its PDAntic.com icon.
The idea here is to give people a quick idea of what each posting on PDAntic.com is all about. If you see a Pocket PC, you’ll know that the article is all about Pocket PCs. And if you see this little face
you’ll know that one of my rants is about to hit your eyes or that something about the website is going to follow. Press releases don’t have an icon yet…
And Our Final Winner Is…
…Alissa Wong. Alissa will get her choice of one of the Ballshooter games. Thanks to the participants and to the folks at Ballshooter for the prizes.
Ballshooter Game Contest: We Need One More Winner
OK, we have two winners - Susan Bratzel of West Richland, WA and Daniel Swartz from Fargo, ND. We still have one more game to give away (see earlier postings below for details). The first person who sends me an email with “Ballshooter Contest” in the subject line and their email address will win a copy of one of the three games listed below. Send the email to game@pdantic.com . Good luck!
New palmOne Handhelds Expected April 28
A number of sources have let us know that palmOne is expected to release two new devices on April 28th - the Zire 72 and the Zire 31. Although many of the sources were tied to a non-disclosure agreement and couldn’t divulge the details of the two new palmOne handhelds, a quick Google on those model names came up with several sites that had the following info:
The Zire 72 is expected to be a replacement for the Zire 71, with 32MB of RAM (compared to 16MB in the Zire 71), a 320 by 320 pixel screen, a new D-pad replacing the joystick on the original model, and (ta-da!) Bluetooth. Pricing appears to be in the $300 - $325 range. As with the Zire 71, the 72 will have a built-in digital camera. The new model is expected to have 1.2 megapixel capabilities, which will provide much clearer pictures.
The Zire 31 might be a replacement for the Zire 21, although many analysts are speculating that the monochrome Zire 21 will continue to anchor the low end of the palmOne line. It’s expected that the screen on the Zire 31 will be a 160 by 160 pixel color display, that it will feature 16MB of RAM, and that it will have an SD/MMC slot. The pricing for the Zire 31 looks like it will be in the $150 range.
If history is any guide, you’ll probably start seeing these new devices listed in online stores in the next few days and should actually be able to buy one at retail outlets such as Office Depot the weekend before the scheduled release date. Stay tuned to PDAntic.com to get the details as the new palmOne handhelds get closer to stores!
Yes, You Can Win The Contest!
If you are one of those people (like me) who tend to NOT participate in website contests because you think you’ll never win, think differently about our Ballshooter game giveaway (see below). As of 8 PM MT today, I had received NO entries - either that, or they had been stopped by my spam filter.
To enter, just be one of the first three people to send me an email with your name and email address. That’s it! Be sure to put “Ballshooter Contest” in the subject line of your email so it doesn’t get dumped with the other spam. Good luck!
Ballshooter Game Contest!
The folks at Ballshooter Games and here at PDAntic.com have gotten together to give you a chance to win one of the following three great games for Pocket PC - BlackOut, LodeRunner or Bolts&Nuts.
So, how do you get a chance to win one of these three games? Simple - be one of the first three people to send me an email with your name, email address, and the type of Pocket PC you have, and you’ll be the lucky winner of one of the games. That’s it - not too much skill involved, is there? 
While you’re waiting to find out if you’re one of the winners, be sure to take a look at the Ballshooter website for more information about their full line of Pocket PC games.
A New Game from Clickgamer - K&G Arcade
Some of the best games for Pocket PC, Palm and Symbian are coming from our friends at Clickgamer, and they’ve just come out with a new one - K&G Arcade! This game is actually a collection of arcade games that you play in order to release two characters (Krelmac and Gentoo) from their maze-like ship. It’s only $9.99 (for Pocket PC only at this time) and you can buy it here from PDAntic’s Game Store.
To quote Clickgamer, “In K&G Arcade you play the part of Henry Miller. mild-mannered farmer from 17th-century England. You find yourself the captive of two wise-cracking aliens, Krelmac & Gentoo.
Krelmac & Gentoo challenge you to escape their maze-like ship by finding your way through the five levels of play. On each level you must play five mini-games and achieve a given score on each to advance to the next level. All the while, you have to avoid the killer robots, and you will run into other captives that you must talk to in order to get bits of information that you’ll need to make it through.
Some of the features include:
** A cool storyline featuring Krelmac & Gentoo
** 5 ship levels crawling with robots, 5 mini-games per level, 25 in total, many harder than you might think!
** 5 strange captives to interact with
** Two modes of play: Adventure Mode and Mini-Game Melee. As you play through Adventure Mode, the mini-games you beat will be available to you any time in Mini-Game Melee mode, which has two modes available: timed mode and “Play Until I Say Stop” mode.
** Colorful cartoon-style graphics
** Three cinematic cut scenes featuring Krelmac & Gentoo
** Seven different musical scores and tons of sound effects to excite your auditory sense
If you love arcade games for the Pocket PC, you’ll really love K&G Arcade!
PalmInfoCenter: Top-Selling Handhelds and 2003 Market Share
PalmInfoCenter, a wonderful source of PalmOS news, posted an article today that discussed the top 10 handhelds for 2003 in terms of sales as well as the market share achieved by the various manufacturers. palmOne beat all comers with a 40% market share, with HP a distant #2 at 22%. Pocket PCs and PalmOS devices split the next two spots, with #3 Sony weighing in at 14% market share, and #4 and #5 Dell and Toshiba selling enough Pocket PCs to pull in an additional 6% and 3% respectively. PIC cites IDC as their source for this information.
The info on the top-selling handhelds was really interesting. This data was captured in the October - December 2003 timeframe based on US retail sales. PalmOS devices made up 68% of the devices sold during this time - most of which were the inexpensive Tungsten E, Zire 71 and Zire 21. The only two Pocket PC devices in the PIC article were the HP iPAQ 1945 and 2215, which are very powerful color units that compete face to face with the color Palm OS devices.
Be sure to visit PalmInfoCenter.com for the details.
-
Joy of Tech!
-
MacLevelTen
