Archive for December, 2009
In an attempt, a good one at that, to increase the current dismal haul of Palm Pre/Pixi apps, Palm has released Project Ares, a development environment that runs entirely in a web browser. How cool is that. No need to install any software on your computer. It is in public beta. Get it here
It finally happened – happened
It finally happened – ooh woh
It finally happened – I’m slightly mad – oh dear !
This is what Freddie Mercury sang in the Queen song I’m Going Slightly Mad. Well, I’m not mad, but the unthinkable has happened. The iPhone is now copying the Palm Pre! Who would have thought. Everyone has been copying the iPhone, but no longer. The Pre’s multi-tasking card based UI is very good, and if you can’t wait till your contract expires before replacing your aging iPhone with the Pre, get Proswitcher for your iPhone. Together with Backgrounder, another cool app by Cydia, your iPhone will behave just like a Pre, running apps in the background and letting you view them as cards and switch between them. If you don’t know Cydia, think Appstore but with apps you cannot get through iTunes. Read about Cydia here.
To install Proswitcher follow these steps:
Sign up for Seven’s beta program and you can push the corporate email, calendar and contacts of up to 25 people using a single desktop pc. They call it a beta program, but it is really Seven’s way of testing its products before releasing them to its main market, mobile networks who in turn offer Seven in rebranded form to their subscribers. Despite this I have found the “beta” software to be of very good quality. Their support is also excellent, provided via the forums on their website.
Seven supports a number of mobile platforms – Windows Mobile, Symbian, PalmOS (the old one, not the new WebOS) and Android. On the other end of the pipe it supports Microsoft Exchange of course and Lotus Notes. Not that many push email systems out there catering for Lotus Notes, so this is good news for those of us wedded to Lotus Notes for better or for worse. Seven works in always-on mode, so emails come through in real time. Does hit your phone’s battery life, but luckily the software allows you to set quiet times/days during which time email do not get pushed.
Am using it currently on my E90. Have used it on various Windows phones also, as well HTC’s Hero. Only syncs emails on the Hero though. Wish they’d bring out a client for the new Palm Pre, but in the meantime I use Commontime mNotes5 for the Pre. More about that later.
Did I mention that it is completely free? Get it at http://community.seven.com
I still use my Nokia E90 from time to time, and still rate it highly for its big screen and big keyboard. Still the only mobile phone I’ve used that can display most web pages without requiring scrolling left or right or zooming. And yes Symbian is stodgy now, but it works well, especially with the navigational controls of the E90. Pity the phone is heavier than a black hole. Try carry it in your trouser pocket and you will quickly need suspenders for the trousers and need to sit down regularly.
Before the E90 I had a 9300i which was actually the perfect size. Don’t have mine anymore but still see people using it from time to time. It was originally released in 2005. Still available on the internet. Ca-cell (www.cacell.co.za) will sell you one for R4800 lol. Bet you they are not selling many at that price.
So when is Nokia bringing out the next in the Communicator series. I will buy one. Hell, I’d buy two. The Nokia E97 has the right letter and numbers in its name, but is it a Communicator. Check out the pictures below.
Way cool what? A concept only at this stage 
I now get a full day out my Palm Pre, thanks to the energizing effects of my Seidio battery. Unplugged it from its charger at 6am yesterday morning and by 10pm last night still had had 25% juice left. Also getting used to the Pre’s new full figure. I may actually prefer it to the original shape. Less slippery also.
What was Palm thinking when they put that 1150mAh battery into the Pre. It looks like an after-dinner chocolate wafer and generates approximately the same amount of energy. Running your Pre on that battery is like being a dog on a leash. Can’t stray further than the length of the charger cable. Late last night I introduced my Pre to Mr Seidio, all 2800mAh of him. He made a huge impact as you can see from the photos below, and after a long night which involved a cable also, Pre and her new beau can be seen here, very much the happy and expectant couple. When asked Pre confessed that she quite likes Seidio’s rough exterior.
In response to a friend’s comment that my blog seems oddly devoid of iPhone posts, I offer the following bit of news.
WinMo could always do this. Android could do it from the start. Palm WebOS can do it. Symbian has already forgotten that it can also do it. Until now the iPhone couldn’t. What am I talking about?
It is multi-tasking. You know, that thing that women can do and men can’t. Never mind that I am typing this while talking to my 2 year old, and trying to wake my 12 year old for school. And trying not to listen to cbeebies blaring in the background.
Now your jailbroken iPhone can do it, or rather can do more than one it at a time. Thanks to a 3rd party application called multifl0w. Check out the video demo below. Will cost you around US$5. Doubt that my friend’s iPhone is jailbroken. He is very law-abiding.
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