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The new BlackBerry handset is intriguing, but the real news is RIM's new, much faster platform.
"The US' top smartphone maker, Research in Motion, today announced its first major new platform in two years. The BlackBerry Bold 9000 still looks like existing BlackBerrys, but it's packed with new power, most notably a 624-Mhz processor and
The 9000 is only the first of a new line which will come to all major US carriers (both CDMA and GSM— even on T-Mobile's 1700-Mhz band), and will appear in various form factors, much as RIM's existing platform comes in businesslike 8800, casual Curve, and petite Pearl styles, CEO Mike Lazaridis said.
Superficially, the 9000 looks a lot like a streamlined Curve or 8800. The all-important keyboard has the 8800's sculpted keys, but the rows are separated by curved barriers. The screen is higher-contrast and higher-res, at 320 by 480, and the device runs a new version of the BlackBerry OS, 4.6.
We got to play with the Bold a bit during our meeting, and found some interesting tidbits. The device feels solid, with a fake-leather back and metal accents. At 4.5 by 2.6 by 0.55 inches and 4.7 oz, it's wider, longer, and heavier but slightly slimmer than the BlackBerry Curve.
The keyboard feels better than the 8800's tight keyboard, mostly because of the space between the rows.
The new screen is simply gorgeous; it looks flush with the front of the device, and it has an excellent viewing angle.
The UI is familiar to any BlackBerry user, but some elements use 3D effects and translucency. And the thing feels fast—really fast. The camera can now record 480-by-320 videos, and can geotag photos with your GPS location. (Yes, there will be a camera-less version.) You can browse the device's memory and save files into it from e-mail."
Read PC Magazine's Hands-On with the BlackBerry Bold .
Labels: blackberry, review
¶ posted by Jimmie Geddes, Editor @ 5/12/2008 12:53:00 AM 0 comments links to this post
For the past month I have been road testing the new Treo 755p from Verizon Wireless for Gadgets On the Go. The following is my review of the newest Palm Treo smartphone to debut on the Verizon Wireless network.
Body Style
The single biggest improvement that the Treo 755p has to offer over the model it replaces, the Treo 700p, is its redesigned body. The 755p now has an internalized antenna bringing it in line with many of the other competing devices on the market today. For many customers, this will be a welcomed and long awaited change.
Palm has also worked to improve the way the Treo feels when you are holding it in your hand. To achieve these improvements, Palm used soft touch paint and changed the contours along the sides. Rather than a convex edge, the sides of the Treo 755p are concave. As a result, the Treo 755p is much easier to hold as you are rushing about your busy day. The Treo 755p is also slimmer and lighter than the 700p, though it is hard to notice the change even with the two devices sitting side-by-side.
Owners of previous Palm OS devices from the recent past will be happy to learn that the Treo 755p uses the same multi-connector data port as was used on the Treo 650, Treo 700p, and the Palm TX. Customers upgrading from those devices will be able to reuse many of their existing accessories. For example, I was able to use my Treo 650/700p HotSync Cradle kit, spare HotSync cables and chargers, hard and soft carry cases, and vehicle mount with the Treo 755p. Regrettably, some accessories won’t work on the Treo 755p. The Treo 755p includes a miniSD card slot. If you have used full high Secure Digital (SD) or Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) cards with earlier devices from Palm, they won’t work with the 755p. A change in card formats was necessary to accommodate the internalized antenna. The good news is that the miniSD card slot on the 755p does support the newer miniSDHC card formats.
Software Enhancements
The Treo 755p is noticeably more stable than the Treo 700p. During the entire month I was using the 755p, the device did not reset once on me. Google Maps is now bundled on the device and has been integrated with the Contacts application. To use the feature, look up an address in a Contacts records, and tap the Map button. You can now quickly obtain directions to locations that are in your contacts database. (If you plan on using this feature, or others that require a connection to the Internet, you will want to purchase a Verizon Wireless data plan in addition to the voice plan.)
For the most part, the software on the Treo 755p felt snappy and responsive. I was able to quickly jump between the preinstalled and third-party applications that I installed on the device. While over-all performance has been improved over the Treo 700p, the Blazer web browser still had a little bit of a lag starting up and closing down.
There are two changes in the factory default software package that I would liked to have seen Palm make. The first is the inclusion of VersaMail 4.0, rather than VeraMail 3.5.5 with the device. VersaMail is Palm’s email client. (Requires manual installation using the MyPalm application on the Treo.) VersaMail 3.5.5 is functional, however, it would have been nice if Palm had added VersaMail 4.0 to the 755p for it’s background synchronization feature. The Palm representative that I spoke with suggested that Palm was not planning on releasing an upgrade to VersaMail 4.0 for devices that did not ship with it. Disappointing. The second change that I would have made would have been to make the Voice Dial software the full version rather than a 14-day trial. Treo smartphones that are based on the Microsoft Windows Mobile operating system, like the Treo 750, come bundled with a voice dialing application and Palm OS Treo smartphone customers deserve no less. (If you wish to keep using the Voice Dial software after the initial 14-day trial, the cost is an additional $16 dollars.)
During my trial period, there where four applications that I either upgraded or installed to enhance my personal productivity. These items are subjective and will vary from user to user. I started off by installing Treoware’s LEDOff utility to over ride the constant blinking of the Verizon Treo’s LED since I prefer the LED to only blink when I need to be alerted to an event. I also installed Tyler Faux’s LudusP utility; which I used to remap the Menu button to the green send button. For me, it is a more natural movement to press the green send button to open a menu when my thumb is on the 5-way navigator than reaching down to the Menu button located in the lower right of the keyboard. Since I use my Treo for writing and note taking, I upgraded the bundled version of DataViz Documents To Go from version 9 Professional to version 10 Premium for Microsoft Office 2007 compatibility. And lastly, since I like to listen to music while I write, I upgraded Normsoft Pocket Tunes from version 3 to version 4.
In Conclusion
The Treo 755p is a solid device for both business and consumer oriented users alike. Unlike the Sprint edition, the Verizon Treo 755p is only available in an Azure Green. (It looks better in person than it does on the web.) Palm has made some positive changes in the areas of hardware and software. The refined body of the Treo 755p makes it easy to work with through out the day. The software improvements have added a welcome level of functionality and stability to the product.
To use the Treo 755p, you will need at least one free USB port on your computer and be running either Windows 2000 Professional SP4, Windows XP SP2, Windows Vista, or Mac OS X 10.2 or later. At this time, there is no support for 64-bit versions of Windows XP or Windows Vista, which is something I would like to see Palm address before the end of the year.
For more information, including details about how to by the Treo 755p, visit the Palm website.
Labels: palm, review, treo, verizon
¶ posted by Alan Grassia, Staff Writer @ 1/14/2008 12:57:00 AM 0 comments links to this post
Upgrade of Apple's OS Isn't Revolutionary, But It Beats Microsoft'
"The Mac is on a roll. Apple Inc.'s perennially praised but slow-selling Macintosh computers have surged in popularity in the past few years, with sales growing much faster than the overall PC market, especially in the U.S. By some measures, Mac laptops are now approaching a 20% share of U.S. noncorporate sales, up from the low single digits where they once seemed stuck.
Personal Technology columnist Walt Mossberg says the new operating system keeps Apple ahead of Microsoft, but it's not revolutionary, with only a handful of core novelties. (Oct. 25) There are several reasons for this, including the security problems in the dominant Windows platform from Microsoft; spillover from Apple's blistering success with its iPod music players; the fact that Macs can now run Windows programs; and Apple's highly successful chain of company-owned retail stores.
But another key factor has been the Mac operating system, called OS X, which came out in 2001. It has proved to be as powerful and versatile for mainstream consumers as Windows, yet easier to use and more secure. And Apple has upgraded OS X far more rapidly than Microsoft Inc. has upgraded Windows, bringing out major new releases roughly every 18 months, while Microsoft struggled for more than five years to produce the latest Windows iteration, Vista, which came out in January.
On Friday evening, Apple will release yet another new version of OS X, called Leopard, to replace the current version, known as Tiger. I've been testing Leopard, and while it is an evolutionary, not a revolutionary, release, I believe it builds on Apple's quality advantage over Windows. In my view, Leopard is better and faster than Vista, with a set of new features that make Macs even easier to use." To read the whole review click here .
So far all the reviews are looking very good for Leopard. I just checked my order status and my copy of Leopard has just been bumped up to "prepared for shipment" Delivery on October 26th.
¶ posted by Jimmie Geddes, Editor @ 10/25/2007 07:10:00 AM 0 comments links to this post
"If you’re a computer company, what on earth do you add to the sixth annual version of your operating system?
It’s not as though there are any glaring holes left. Nobody is still crying out for a better way to organize photos.
That’s the challenge that Apple faced in developing Mac OS X 10.5, code-named Leopard, which goes on sale tomorrow after a four-month delay. Price: $110 online, $190 for a family pack, or free on a new Mac. As Steve Jobs points out, for that money, “everyone gets the Ultimate version.” (That’s a swipe at Microsoft, which sells Windows Vista in at least five versions costing as much as $330 for the Ultimate).
Microsoft had it a little easier with Vista, because everybody knew what Windows needed: better security. Maybe Mac OS X is harder to hack, or maybe the virus writers consider the Mac’s 8 percent market share too piddling to bother with. But in its six years, Mac OS X hasn’t experienced a single virus outbreak or spyware infestation.
So Apple’s mission in Leopard was to make us aware of needs we never knew we had — something Apple is usually good at.
Leopard maintains all the goodies of previous Mac OS X versions. To the amazement of many Windows refugees, Mac OS X requires no serial number and no “activation”; it’s not copy-protected. It doesn’t clutter the desktop with crippled bits of free-trial software from other companies. There are no nagging balloons or come-ons.
Leopard does well with backward compatibility, too. Thanks to modest minimum requirements (512 megabytes of memory, 867 megahertz), Apple says Leopard runs on three-year-old Macs and even high-end six-year-old machines.
Leopard is powerful, polished and carefully conceived. Happy surprises, and very few disappointments, lie around every corner. This Leopard has more than 300 new spots — and most of them are bright ones." Check out the whole review here
¶ posted by Jimmie Geddes, Editor @ 10/25/2007 06:54:00 AM 0 comments links to this post
USA Today has posted one of the first reviews of Mac OS X Leopard, which will be available to the public in less than 2 days. USA Today is very impresed with Leopard
"When Steve Jobs unleashes Mac OS X Leopard on Friday, Mac fans and others considering an Apple computer for the first time will have questions. Is the new Leopard operating system worth the $129 upgrade price? Is it the reason to splurge for a new Mac?
Long before Leopard pounced onto the scene, I rated OS X superior to Windows for most consumers. With Leopard, Apple's operating system widens its lead aesthetically and technologically. Whether the sixth major release of OS X in as many years puts a dent in Microsoft's dominant market share is another matter entirely." Read the full review here .
¶ posted by Jimmie Geddes, Editor @ 10/24/2007 08:33:00 PM 0 comments links to this post
"Sometimes the tiniest adjustment can make a huge difference. A tenth of a grade-point average could get you into Princeton. A bid $1 higher could win on eBay. And a half-step toward the cliff edge could — well, you know.
That must be what Palm was thinking when it unveiled the Centro, its new keyboard-equipped cellphone. It’s almost identical to the company’s popular Treo smartphone, but a little smaller and cheaper.
Palm hoped that by trimming the Treo’s size and price, it would create a totally different product, a new crossover phone for people who have never before owned phones with alphabet keys. (By Palm’s reckoning, that’s 95 percent of cellphone buyers.)
But here’s the funny thing: the strategy works."
To read the full review and watch the video click here . It looks like a Treo, acts like a Treo, but the best feature is it doesn't cost as much as a Treo;) Palm has created a new product line with the Centro. Stay tuned for a full review of the Palm Centro @ Gadgets On The Go.
¶ posted by Jimmie Geddes, Editor @ 10/10/2007 09:30:00 PM 0 comments links to this post
PCWorld has reviewed the latest iMacs, and they really like what Apple has done to revamp the iMac line.
"Sleeker and thinner than the previous iMac. More recyclable materials. Energy Star 4.0. Still the all-in-one standard. Same reduced number of cables. Powerful, even in Windows Vista with Boot Camp. Up to Core 2 Extreme and 1TB drive available. iLife 08 suite is improved and still standard. Good price."
"Finding any drawbacks to the newest Apple iMac is so hard it's almost like splitting hairs. The new aluminum iMac is a desktop nonpareil in both senses of the word: It is without equal, and (like the candy) it is sweet."
Labels: apple. mac, review
¶ posted by Jimmie Geddes, Editor @ 8/14/2007 10:22:00 AM 0 comments links to this post
Gottabemobile has posted a video review of the HTC Shift, and they couldn't be more impressed. This UMPC runs both Windows Vista and Windows Mobile 6, allowing you to toggle which OS you want to work with. Windows Vista and Windows Mobile 6 can both be running at the same time, just press the toggle button to switch. Here's a run down of the specs:
*Windows Vista Business (3 hrs battery)
*Intel Santa Rosa A110 Processor
*1GB DDR2 RAM
*40GB HDD
*HSDPA (Data only) ready
*Web Cam
*Biometrics
*HTC_Shift_Hugo_Ortega_GBM_slide3Windows Pocket PC (over 5 days battery life when used exclusively)
*Qualcomm 400MHz Processor
*64MB RAM
Check out Gottabemobile for a video review of the HTC Shift.
Labels: htc, review, umpc, vista, windows mobile
¶ posted by Jimmie Geddes, Editor @ 8/13/2007 12:10:00 PM 0 comments links to this post
"We have been testing the iPhone for two weeks, in multiple usage scenarios, in cities across the country. Our verdict is that, despite some flaws and feature omissions, the iPhone is, on balance, a beautiful and breakthrough handheld computer. Its software, especially, sets a new bar for the smart-phone industry, and its clever finger-touch interface, which dispenses with a stylus and most buttons, works well, though it sometimes adds steps to common functions.
The Apple phone combines intelligent voice calling, and a full-blown iPod, with a beautiful new interface for music and video playback. It offers the best Web browser we have seen on a smart phone, and robust email software. And it synchronizes easily and well with both Windows and Macintosh computers using Apple’s iTunes software.
It has the largest and highest-resolution screen of any smart phone we’ve seen, and the most internal memory by far. Yet it is one of the thinnest smart phones available and offers impressive battery life, better than its key competitors claim.
It feels solid and comfortable in the hand and the way it displays photos, videos and Web pages on its gorgeous screen makes other smart phones look primitive.
The iPhone’s most controversial feature, the omission of a physical keyboard in favor of a virtual keyboard on the screen, turned out in our tests to be a nonissue, despite our deep initial skepticism. After five days of use, Walt — who did most of the testing for this review — was able to type on it as quickly and accurately as he could on the Palm Treo he has used for years. This was partly because of smart software that corrects typing errors on the fly." Read the whole review and watch a video of the iPhone in action here .
¶ posted by Jimmie Geddes, Editor @ 6/26/2007 09:11:00 PM 0 comments links to this post
I completely agree with this review. The Treo 755p is definitely a step up in my opinion from the Treo 700p, it's the reason I upgraded. The Treo 755p is the most stable Palm OS Treo I've ever used. Hopefully Palm will re-release the Treo 700p MR update to help out all of the existing Treo 700p users.
Labels: palm. treo, review
¶ posted by Jimmie Geddes, Editor @ 6/21/2007 10:36:00 AM 0 comments links to this post
Contact Jimmie Geddes here: gadgetsonthego at gmail dot com.
