Posts Tagged ‘Palm’

There are a relatively small number of apps that determine whether or not a mobile platform is “feature complete” from the end user’s point of view. Some of these defining apps are Dropbox, Evernote, Facebook and Twitter. If these apps are missing from a mobile platform, the platform feels incomplete. I would also add Amazon’s Kindle ebook reader app to the list of apps that define a platform. And, HP announced this week that a beta for its webOS based HP TouchPad tablet is now available.

Now you can curl up with a good book (or two, or three, or 950,000) on your TouchPad (HP Palm Blog)

I found it interesting that HP did not provide any screenshots of the app and that Amazon does not even mention it in their Kindle mobile app list or in a press release.

A person commenting in the blog notes that PreCentral.net notes that the app is geo-locked to the U.S. This means that the app is only available to TouchPads in the U.S.

Photos and comments can now be added to check-ins on location based mobile app foursquare via the iPhone and foursquare.com, with an update for the Android operating system to be released later this week, the company announced on its blog. From the post:

Comments make meeting up and exploring so much easier. Improve your day by telling a friend that you’re around the corner and they should swing by. And getting a last-minute comment reminding you to order the best dish saves your meal. (You can even comment on the Web site and from check-in links posted to Facebook and Twitter!)

Tips with photos change everything. See dishes before ordering them, figure out if a venue looks fun, or easily identify a hard-to-find spot. More info = better exploration.

The past comes to life. You can visit your history page on foursquare.com to see all the places you’ve been, with photos and comments preserved. Remembering is more fun than ever.

Be sure your iPhone has foursquare push notifications turned on so you’ll know when your friends leave you a comment.

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Palm, Inc., obviously has a rough road ahead of them and there are some things they could do to increases the chances of survival. Some change is a necessity, given that potential buyers like HTC are dropping out, some competitors are offering sexy new handsets, and others are dominating markets. Palm has been good with niches before, and they could pull that off again.

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What will happen to beleaguered Palm, Inc., maker of the webOS-based Pixi and Pre Plus phones? Does it have any hope of survival, or will rockstar Bono of U2 and his Elevation Partners buddies who put money into Palm lose it all?
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Palm is trying to regain some dominance in the smartphone market with a new Treo model designed to take on RIM’s market-leading BlackBerry line and, of course, the new iPhone 3G, the AP reports.

Offered by Sprint, the Treo 800w is the first major release from Palm this year and features Wi-Fi, GPS and the latest version of the Windows Mobile OS.

Even though the Treo 800w is launching only three days after the iPhone 3G, Palm already has some serious catching up to do, say a million units’ worth. The PDA maker has been faltering for years, but its real undoing came from Apple, which managed to take the number-two smartphone spot from Palm within months of the iPhone hitting the market last year.

Will this new Treo do the trick to get Palm back on track? Use our comments feature to share your opinion.