... to the
summer edition of our user and developer PDA tips newsletter.
This issue has a heavy focus on communication tools -- walkie-talkie applications, voice recorders as well as utilities for the Treo. But as always, there is a little of everything else too.
50%
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Newsletter Survey
Help us to better help you. Our current format is to cover the PalmOS, the Pocket PC/WinMobile5 OS, and some smart phone-related items. We include information for both Users and Developers. This issue contains a simple survey, to gauge what your current interests are; and to make sure that we remain on the right path ourselves.
To help us by answering 4 multiple choice questions, please .
Please feel free to submit requests or ideas
through the links at the bottom
of this page. This is also where you will find subscription and
removal information.
Each item in our newsletter is marked with the
icons shown to the right, so that you can focus on your own areas of
interest.
PalmOS
Pocket PC/WinCE items
Phone-related PDA tips
Wi-Fi items
Please note: This
newsletter contains tips and tools that can alter your PDA. These
items are offered here "as is" and without any warranty or support
from FO. Please consider them carefully before using or trying them
(and as always ... backup, backup, backup first -- before
making any changes).
Thank
you, Bill
Shadish, Principal
News Items
VAIO® UX180P Micro PC
Sony Micro PC
Ok, so it's not a "P.D.A". But this is a development of interest to hand held users. A 4.5" (1024x600!) touch screen, 30 GB disk, 512MB RAM, ultra-low voltage Core 1.20 GHz processor, Windows XP Professional PC. Also includes 802.11a/b/g Wireless LAN & Edge Wireless WAN. Just another example of things creeping down into the PDA market from the top end, as well as up from the bottom (like from iPods & phones).
Micro Keyboard
Palm 700p Review http://www.palminfocenter.com/news/8645/palm-treo-700p-review/
Here is a pretty nice review of the new EVDO Palmsource (Access-powered) 700p. The biggest news is a keyboard with flatter (almost Blackberry-ish) keys and the 320x320 screen now provides better white color and chromaticity than the 650.
PDA Wiki focuses on Palm and uses the same hyperlink definition techniques as Wikipedia, where words that are defined in the Wiki show up as links to these definitions.
Anyone can enter new information into this Wiki in a manner similar to Wikipedia.
The PDA Wiki
Vito Audio notes, v 1.1 ($19.95USD) http://www.vitotechnology.com/en/products/audionotes.html
A nice PPC tool that allows you to [capture, and] save audio voice clips as MP3 or WAV files. You choose low, middle or high compression of these files and you can save them right to a storage card.
Vito also uses VAS (Voice Activation System) -- much like a standard handheld tape or digital voice recorder -- meaning that long pauses between thoughts will be stripped out of the resulting audio files.
Requires Windows Mobile 5.0
Vito voice recorder
EVDO Forums
EVDO information (freeware) http://www.evdoforums.com/
These are information sites about EVDO (Evolution Data Optimized) -- the 3G broadband standard used in the Verizon & Sprint Treo 700w and 700p PDAs. EVDO is always on, much like DSL and sits on top of CDMA. EVDO speeds are comparable to DSL, at 512Kbps per second and frees you from the 300ft range of cell towers.
TCPMP, 0.71 (donationware) (and Win32) http://tcpmp.corecodec.org/download
The Core Pocket Media Player (TCPMP) is an open source app that plays most of the popular formats -- as well as legacy MPEG1 and MP3 files.
See the install.htm file in the .71 distribution. For the PalmOS, install BOTH tcpmp.prc and then any of the separate plugins that are provided
for the different file formats.
This application helps you to bypass the [vastly annoying] series of automated menu prompts that are placed between you, a customer and a living, breathing, company representative.
You have likely heard about this type of application, as it has been on the Today show and there are websites set up to do this as well. But this one can be downloaded and run from your PDA.
Partial company list
• American Express • Sony • Apple
• Bank of America • Amazon • Microsoft
• Citi Card • eBay • Cellular One
• Discover • Home Depot • Sprint PCS
• MasterCard • Ikea • T-Mobile
• Visa • Target • American Airlines
• Wells Fargo • Wal-Mart • Southwest Airlines
• GEICO • FedEx • United Airlines
• Netflix • UPS • Comcast
Lyma (Hidden freeware) http://www.lymadesign.com/freesamples.htm
Lyma Design has a number of free PPC desktop themes available, although hidden, on their site; including Fish, Earth, Sunset, Highway and many others. They sell a wide variety of desktop themes as well.
As a side thought, see the "Pocket PC Theme Installation Guide.mht" file for both decent install instructions and a nice user explanation of where things are when installing PPC apps.
Finally, Lyma also has Windows-based freeware tool to help in installing themes to your PPC. See this page for more
http://www.lymadesign.com/themecopy.htm.
WhineHack is for the Tungsten T3, T5, LifeDrive and Palm TX.
WiFiTalkie 1.0 ($14.95USD) http://www.palmgear.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=software.showsoftware&prodID=123814
This utility gives you most walkie-talkie features over a broadband WiFi, or internet connection. There is a push-to-talk switch; noise if no transmission; and even the little beep that is so common with Nextel phones. You can talk to more than one user/device at the same time (depending upon network speeds).
This is a useful tool for construction/maintenance teams or as an inexpensive way to collaborate during walkthrough building inspections or audits.
Do you need this update? (from a slightly buried spot on the Palm site), use this procedure to check:
Press Phone/Send
Press Menu
From the Options menu, select Phone Info.
On the Phone Info screen, look for the Software item. If both of the following are
true, you need this update:
The version number is lower than 1.20. If it says 1.20, your smartphone is already updated.
The end of the string says ROW or ENA. If you see something else, click
the above link to get to the right Treo 650 Updater.
Note: This updater changes the end of the string from ROW to ENA.
When updated with the latest version,
your Unlocked GSM smartphone will display "Treo650-1.20-ENA."
VolumeCare v 5.46 ($14.95USD) http://mytreo.net/downloads/details-685.html?VolumeCare
Recommended on most Treo forums as a Must-Have utility, VolumeCare goes a long way to resolve the sound volume issues related to the Treo 650 (and Treo 600). Sound levels can be set for the speakerphone, the headset and the handset phone speaker; as well as for individual applications.
When you drop the VolumeCare PRC into your device it is immediately ready
to go. Pressing the Treo's volume rocker will pop-up VolumeCare and you will be working with that directly.
NOTE: Turn down the phone's volume before installing and working with VolumeCare the first time; so as not to start off by blasting the speaker itself into non-existence. Just begin with everything turned down to start and work your way back up.
VolumeCare
CallRec v3.0 ($19.99USD) http://software.palminfocenter.com/product.asp?id=1962
This is an interesting, albeit alarming one.
CallRec allows you to voice record phone conversations on the 650 and 700p. You can turn on this recording During a phone call with the side button; and save the result to a memory card. CallRec can be setup to automatically record ALL phone calls made from or to your Treo.
Survey
Help us to help you.
Every so often, we check to make sure that we are on track with you, our readers.
Current Results
What is your 1st choice of platform to cover?
72%
Palm
10%
Other
10%
PPC
2%
Ipod
2%
BlackBerry
2%
Phone
What other platforms would you like to see covered?
30%
Palm
24%
Ipod
24%
PPC
12%
Blackberry
6%
Phone
3%
Other
Would you prefer more tips & sites in the mix, or more of the utilities?
75%
Current Mix OK
18%
Tips
8%
Apps
Do you use the Developer section?
28%
Yes
72%
No
Sticky section
Included here will be PalmOS; WinCe/Pocket PC/Windows Mobile; Smartphones and calling plan comparisons. We will keep and update this set of device lists in future newsletters, as a way to help users in comparing hardware before a purchase.
Development Tips and Tools (Sites with
content most valuable to developers)
Palm OS 5 Group (freeware, requires free Yahoo registration) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Palm_OS_5/
With 5200+ members, this group focuses on OS5 issues and tips. Largely user-oriented, but many OS5 issues and resolutions for common problems can be found here as well.
The PenTile Matrix (hardware information) http://www.clairvoyante.com/pentileOverview.htm
This is more of a research site for PDA display hardware engineers, but includes licensee information as well. The PenTile Matrix is a technology to greatly increase the resolution and brightness of LCD panels.
ezyUnZIP
ezyUnZIP (freeware) http://www.cnetx.com/ezyunzip/
ezyUnZIP is a zip extraction tool for Pocket PC, allowing you to work with .ZIP files on the PPC itself. Highly useful when downloading zipped PPC programs from the web, when on the road. You can test zip files for errors and easily pick a few files to remove from a zip instead of them all.
This company sells a higher end, Windows Mobile capable tool to both Zip and Extract from ZIP files on WinMob5, PPC and WinCE. See http://www.cnetx.com/HandyZIP/require.asp.
And last, but not least -- is iziBasic ($25USD) http://www.aldweb.com/articles.php?lng=en&pg=5350
iziBasic is a Basic compiler which runs right on a Palm device. This is great for just noodle-ing through some concepts when on the road, or prototyping a user interface to discuss with others. Code can be stored in a memo and compiled on the PDA.
There is support for Buttons, Calendar, CheckBoxes, ComboBoxes, Forms, Images, Labels, ListBox,
MenuItems, NumericUpDown Controls, Open / Save FileDialog, Panels, RadioButtons, TextBoxes and Timers.
A page showing examples of data synced from a PDA and the level of what can be captured during a sync process, is shown here:
http://www.fo.com/nsdemo.asp
Reader
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