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PALM NEWS
By Pen Computing staff

Palm Pre sales brisk, may top a million for its initial quarter
According to Charter Equity Research analyst Ed Snyder, Palm Pre sales in June 2009 were over 300,000, on top of about 70,000 in May. Palm is making about 15,000 a day, and total shipments to Sprint for the first quarter of the unit may top a million. Anyone betting on Palm has made a lot of money since the beginning of the year when Palm was practically a penny stock. It's now at US$16.50. -- Posted Wednesday, July 1, 2009 by chb

Palm and Windows Mobile and how the iPhone really changed everything
We've covered mobile computing since 1993, and so with all the hoopla over the much anticipated release of the Palm Pre in early June of 2009, here are some thoughts about the ever-changing fortunes of the mobile platforms in our industry [... more] -- Posted Friday, June 12, 2009 by chb

Palm's Ed Colligan steps down after 16 years of leadership
It seems like only yesterday that Ed Colligan showed us the prototype of a new handheld at the A&R Partners offices and asked us what we thought of it. That handheld, the original Palm Pilot, went on to become the foundation of one of the great success stories in mobile computing. As its leader, Ed guided Palm through good times and bad, and now he's passing on the torch of a rejuvenated Palm to Jon Rubinstein. Thanks for all you did, Ed. -- Posted Wednesday, June 10, 2009 by chb

Infoworld: 5 reasons why the Pre won't prevail
Infoworld ran an article entitled, "Five reasons the Palm Pre won't prevail." The reasons suggested are a) that Palm is now essentially just a startup with the old Palm name, b) most others already have multitasking, c) Palm today doesn't have much experience with developers, d) the keyboard is a drag, and e) Palm doesn't have the necessary financing. Someone also published an article listing five reasons why the Pre will kick butt. We'll see. -- Posted Wednesday, June 3, 2009 by chb

Palm Pre to be available June 6
Sprint announced pricing and nationwide availability for the Palm Pre phone, offered exclusively from Sprint. Palm Pre will be available nationwide on June 6 in Sprint stores, Best Buy, Radio Shack, select Wal-Mart stores and online at Sprint.com for $199.99 with a two-year service agreement and after a $100 mail-in rebate. It should be interesting to finally see the long-awaited Pre, but we could have done without an annoying mail-in "rebate" and all the talk of "shortages." -- Posted Thursday, May 21, 2009 by chb

Palm extends webOS Early Access Program for developers
Palm said it is expanding its early access program for the Palm Mojo Software Development Kit (SDK), and discussed the company's plans for integrating Palm-branded cloud services into the new platform. Cloud services are software resources provided over the Internet. Palm also today announced an application from MotionApps that will allow legacy Palm OS applications to run on webOS devices. -- Posted Wednesday, April 1, 2009 by chb

5 Reasons Why Dell Should Buy Palm
The Motley Fool presents "5 Reasons Why Dell Should Buy Palm" and goes, "Some buyout rumors sound so logical that only pride, ignorance, and incompetence could get in their way." [Check it out] -- Posted Wednesday, April 1, 2009 by chb

Palm and Sprint hold Webinar on the Palm Pre
Palm and Sprint presented a one-hour webinar on the upcoming Palm Pre with its always connected WebOS, 320x480 display, 3mp camera, slide-out keyboard and inductive charging. Palm's Matt Crowley did a demo, but no update on pricing and product release, which is still "first half of 2009." The Palm OS is ended, but Palm will continue developing WinMo devices. The webinar was a bit of a Sprint infomercial and light on Palm info, and our question whether Palm founder Jeff Hawkins was involved in the Pre went unanswered. -- Posted Thursday, March 12, 2009 by chb

Treo Pro available with Sprint March 15
Palm announced the upcoming availability of the sleek Windows Mobile 6.1-based Palm Treo Pro smartphone for the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network on March 15. Treo Pro will be available through all Sprint retail channels for $199.99 with most two-year subscriber agreements. It also will be available through the Palm Store and Palm's B2B sales organization. -- Posted Friday, March 6, 2009 by chb

Palm OS officially dead
According to a CNET report on Palm CEO Ed Colligan's investor presentation, the Palm OS is dead and there will be no more Palm OS devices. From now on, Palm will concentrate on WebOS phones such as the upcoming Pre and also on its Windows Mobile-based phones. -- Posted Wednesday, February 11, 2009 by chb

No more PDAS, Treos only
When I checked Palm's webpage this morning, the PDAs were gone. Only three Treos are now listed. Definitely the end of an era. PalmPilot, Palm III, Palm V, Palm VII, m100, m500, Tungsten, Zire, LifeDrive... it shouldn't have ended this way.

-- Posted Wednesday, January 7, 2009 by chb

The sad state of the PDA
Here's what Palm CEO Ed Colligan said about its PDAs at the company's December financial results call: "We will push those out into the marketplace as long as there is sufficient demand … we're not developing new ones, so there's an inevitable end, but I think that right now we're playing it out.... We're going to continue to sell them as long as there is demand for those products." -- That is a very sad ending to what was once the mighty Palm economy, and certainly not what any of the expert prognosticators expected just a few years ago. -- Posted Monday, December 22, 2008 by chb

Palm gets another US$100 million equity investment
Palm announced that Elevation Partners has agreed to make an additional $100 million equity investment in Palm. Under a definitive agreement reached today, Elevation will increase its investment in Palm by acquiring newly issued Series C preferred stock that is convertible into Palm common stock at a price of $3.25 per share, a 31% premium to the closing price of Palm common stock on Dec. 19, 2008. -- Posted Monday, December 22, 2008 by chb

Palm reports sobering financials, hints at new platform
Palm reported total revenue of $191.6 for the second quarter of fiscal 2009, which ended Nov. 28, 2008. Smartphone sell-through for the quarter was 599,000 units, down 13% year over year. Smartphone revenue was $171.0 million, down 39% from the year-ago period. “We’re working through an undeniably difficult period,” said Ed Colligan, Palm president and CEO, “but near-term challenges shouldn’t overshadow the fact that we are on track to deliver a breakthrough new platform and products that will bring a truly differentiated smartphone experience to our customers and reestablish Palm as a leading innovator in the mobile industry.”
-- Posted Thursday, December 18, 2008 by chb

Treo 80w cradle/battery
When Dr. Tim reviewed the Palm 800w a few months ago, he lamented the lack of accessories and the new, non-standard connector. More recently he reviewed several handheld screen control applications as an alternative to cradles, which no longer seem to come in the box as in the days of old. Well, Palm now has a nice cradle available for the 800w, and it’s nice to have a cradle again. [See report on the Treo 80w cradle/battery] -- Posted Wednesday, December 17, 2008 by chb

Unlocked Palm Treo Pro now available in the US
Palm announced that the unlocked Treo Pro smartphone is now available in the United States. The Windows Mobile-based Treo Pro is unlocked, giving end users the flexibility to simply insert their existing active SIM card and immediately start using their Treo Pro anywhere there is GSM coverage, without a new contract. Worldwide travelers using the Treo Pro can cut costs on international roaming charges by popping in a local country SIM card wherever they go. -- Posted Friday, September 26, 2008 by chb

iambic's Health & Diet Manager now on Palm OS
iambic, Inc., a leading provider of innovative productivity-enhancing software, announced the availability of Health & Diet Manager on the Palm OS platform. Now owners of the Palm Centro smartphone and Palm OS-based Treo have access to a convenient way to proactively manage their wellness and nutritional needs. -- Posted Thursday, September 18, 2008 by chb

Handango names iambic Palm OS developer of the year
iambic announced that Handango, the world's leading provider of smartphone content, has named iambic "Developer of the Year" for Palm OS. The award was bestowed during Handango's eighth annual partner summit, the "Handango Future Forum," which took place last week in San Francisco. iambic's portfolio of Palm OS products includes Agendus, a fully-integrated, personal information manager (PIM) that has been optimized for Centro/Treo smartphones, YourCall, a comprehensive, multi-faceted solution for Centro/Treo call management, that provides a selection of actions that can be taken before, during and after a call, and Vehicle Manager, for proactively tracking and managing car-related vitals (gas fill-ups, services performed, etc.). -- Posted Wednesday, September 17, 2008 by chb

Treo software roundup
The folks at TreoCentral.com issued their latest Treo software roundup, both new and updated, both Palm OS and WinMo. Go check it out! -- Posted Friday, September 12, 2008 by chb

Palm introduces unlocked WinMo 6.1-based Treo Pro
Palm introduced the unlocked Treo Pro, a smartphone for businesses that seek to simplify their IT infrastructures and reduce costs. With its streamlined design and Palm shortcuts layered on top of Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, the Treo Pro, powered by a 400MHz Qualcomm MSM7201 processor, supports HSDPA/UMTS/EDGE/GPRS/GSM and includes Wi-Fi and GPS capabilities, a 320 x 320 transflective touchscreen, a 2mp camera, and a microSDHC slot. See description and specs of the Palm Treo Pro. -- Posted Thursday, August 21, 2008 by chb

The mighty Palms
Remember when Palm ruled the mobile world? Peruse Pen Computing's historic reviews of over 60 Palm devices from Palm, Sony, Handspring, TRG, Symbol, Kyocera, AlpaSmart and Samsung. -- Posted Tuesday, July 29, 2008 by chb

Palm: Two million Centros sold
Palm said it has sold its two-millionth Centro smartphone, confirming the $99 product's growing momentum with traditional mobile phone users who want to move up to a phone that offers more functionality. Palm is now offering Centro in more than 25 countries in North America, South America, Europe and Asia Pacific. [See what the Centro is all about. -- Posted Tuesday, July 29, 2008 by chb

Full review: Palm Treo 800w
It has been quite some time since Palm has come to the table with a new Windows Mobile Professional device: enter the Treo 800W, WM 6.1. At first glance it doesn’t appear all that different than its predecessor, the Treo 750W. But there are some subtle and not so subtle differences. Read Tim Hillebraand's comprehensive review of the Palm Treo 800w.
-- Posted Monday, July 28, 2008 by chb

Palm releases handy Windows Mobile-based Treo 800w
Palm introduced the Treo 800w, a Windows Mobile 6.1-based smartphone for the Sprint network. The new Treo measures 4.4x2.2x0.7 inches and weighs five ounces. It has a small 2.5-inch 320 x 320 pixel display, integrated GPS, a thumb-type keyboard, a 2-megapixel camera that can do video and a microSD card slot. The 800w is larger than the Centro, but smaller and handier than the old Treo 700. [Read description of the Palm Treo 800w] -- Posted Wednesday, July 16, 2008 by chb

Palm reports fiscal 2008 financials
Palm was a US$1.3 billion company in fiscal 2008, but suffered a US$111 million loss. Among the good news was that Palm had a sell-through of almost a million smartphones in the 4th quarter of fiscal 2008, up 29% from Q4 2007. "We continue to invest in Palm's future and remain focused on building long-term value," said Ed Colligan, president and chief executive officer for Palm, Inc. "Centro is a tremendous hit, we are gaining market share, and we believe with this momentum, and the launch of new Windows Mobile products, we will turn the corner and return to revenue and margin growth." -- Posted Thursday, June 26, 2008 by chb

CellSpin launches Palm OS Mobile Blogging App
CellSpin Soft announced it is adding support for Palm OS to its mobile blogging software that provides a free, secure, intelligent, one-click GUI-based mobile application for capturing images, audio, video and text, and publishing them to one or many of a user's favorite blogging, social networking, photo sharing and auction sites simultaneously. Sites include MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Pownce, Blogger, YouTube, Picasa, Flickr, Live Journal, Live Spaces and eBay, with more to come. -- Posted Tuesday, June 24, 2008 by chb

Palm Centro: A million sold
Palm has sold its one-millionth Palm Centro smartphone, demonstrating the $99 product's mass appeal. Compared to other Palm smartphones, the small and elegant Centro reaches almost double the number of women, more than double the number of customers under age 35, and nearly three times as many customers with a household income of less than $75,000. -- Posted Monday, March 31, 2008 by chb

Palm reports Q3 FY08 results
Palm reported that total revenue in the third quarter of fiscal year 2008, ended Feb. 29, was $312.1 million. Driven by strong demand for the Palm Centro, smartphone sell-through for the quarter reached a company record high, totaling 833,000 units, up 13 percent year over year. Smartphone revenue was $275.4 million. [see Palm Reports Q3 FY08 Results] -- Posted Thursday, March 20, 2008 by chb

ActiveCaptain Mobile for Palm OS
ActiveCaptain Mobile is the first fully integrated boat navigation system for Palm OS. It's like TomTom for your boat! Users can display real nautical charts, plan and navigate routes, and overlay points of interest from the ActiveCaptain website. It's three applications in one -- a chart archive, a portable chartplotter, and an electronic guidebook. With thousands of NOAA charts provided free of charge and always available, it makes your Palm smartphone a critical part of being on the water. [See ActiveCaptain Mobile for Palm OS release] -- Posted Tuesday, March 18, 2008 by chb

Palm's free Windows Mobile 6 upgrade for the Treo 750
Available since December of 2007, Palm's free Windows Mobile 6 update for the Treo 750 is certainly a good thing, and we want to take this opportunity to congratulate Palm and to express my appreciation for being among the few manufacturers to offer a WM6 upgrade. [Read about Palm's free Windows Mobile 6 upgrade for the Treo 750] -- Posted Friday, February 8, 2008 by chb

Resco releases Resco Suite for Palm OS
Resco announced a new product combining together all its best-selling applications - Resco Suite for Palm OS. Resco Suite consists of five essential applications - Explorer, Viewer, Backup, IDGuard and Neeews - and added bonus - Resco Sudoku. A 14-day trial can be found at http://www.resco.net/palm/suite/. The
cost is $59.95 USD.
-- Posted Monday, January 28, 2008 by chb

Palm closes retail stores, settles Treo 600/650 suit
The news just isn't getting any better for Palm, the undisputed King of the handheld gadgets Hill just a few years ago. Palm announced it will close its eight standalone retail Palm stores and 26 stores in airports. In addition, Palm announced $75 and $50 rebates towards new Palm devices for owners of Treo 600s and 650s that were replaced or repaired at least twice. -- Posted Friday, January 25, 2008 by chb

Windows Mobile 6 update and unlocked Treo 750 available for U.S. customers
Palm announced that an update to Windows Mobile 6 is available as a free download for AT&T Palm Treo 750 smartphone users in the US. The free upgrade brings increased functionality, enhanced user interface and strengthened security and performance to the Treo 750, as well as facilitates HSDPA capability for faster data-download speeds on 3G/UMTS/HSDPA networks. Palm also announced that an unlocked version of the Treo 750 is available with Windows Mobile 6 out of the box, allowing an even broader customer base to immediately enjoy the improved features of the Windows Mobile 6 operating system.
-- Posted Tuesday, December 4, 2007 by chb

Garnet OS apps to run on Nokia Internet Tablets
ACCESS announced that it will make available a beta version of a Garnet VM software for Nokia N770, N800 and N810 Internet Tablets. Garnet VM will make it possible for users of the Nokia N770, N800 and N810 to enjoy thousands of off-the-shelf Garnet OS (formerly Palm OS)-based applications immediately available to enhance their productivity, connectivity and play. Garnet VM is expected to be available by the end of the year free of charge as a download from the ACCESS website. [See info on Garnet apps on Nokia] -- Posted Tuesday, November 13, 2007 by chb

Palm introduces the Centro, its smallest smartphone yet
Palm and Sprint introduced the Palm Centro smart device, aimed at individuals and traditional mobile phone users looking for more in a phone and perhaps a better way to manage their professional and social lives. The Palm OS Centro, available for just $99.99 (with the usual service plan requirements), has voice, text, IM, email, web, contact and calendar capabilities, a full-color touch screen and full thumb-type keyboard, and it comes in onyx black or ruby red. The Centro comes with 64MB of RAM, a microSD slot that can handle 4GB cards, a razor-sharp 320 x 320 pixel display and Bluetooth. [Read our description and commentary on the Palm Centro] -- Posted Thursday, September 27, 2007 by chb

Palm Treo 500V - not what we expected
Yes, it is a long awaited Windows Mobile 6 device, but it is a Windows Mobile Standard product. That means in the old terminology that it is a Smartphone. That means it is not a Pocket PC and does not have a touch screen�how sad. A second disappointment is that it has been released in Europe before the U.S., but I suppose that is the Palm pattern now as we recall the 700s and 750 releases abroad instead of in their own country. Why? Read [first impressions of the Treo 500v] -- Posted Thursday, September 13, 2007 by chb

Palm dumps Foleo
Jeff Hawkins' latest brainchild is dead before it even hit the street. Today Palm CEO Ed Colligan announced they'd pull the plug on the Foleo so because it'd become clear to him "that the right path for Palm is to offer a single, consistent user experience around this new platform design and a single focus for our platform development efforts." That statement also seems to affect Palm's offering of Windows Mobile devices, and to that Colligan said, "We will, of course, continue to deliver products in partnership with Microsoft on the Windows Mobile platform, but from our internal platform development perspective, we will focus on only one." So there. [Read Ed Colligan's blog terminating Foleo] -- Posted Tuesday, September 4, 2007 by chb

Six Apart blogging software to support Foleo
Six Apart, the world's leading independent blogging software and services company, is working with Palm to give Palm Foleo mobile companion customers access to Six Apart's wide range of blogging services, including Vox, LiveJournal, TypePad and Movable Type. With these services available on the Foleo, users can keep blog and journal entries up to date and stay current with their communities while on the go. -- Posted Thursday, July 26, 2007 by chb

TealPoint Software to support Foleo
TealPoint Software -- a leader in mobile software solutions -- will offer Foleo customers a full suite of new security, entertainment and productivity applications, including TealSafe, TealPaint, TealDiet, SudokuAddict and ShortCircuit, with more applications to follow. See the Software for Foleo page on TealPoint's website. -- Posted Monday, July 23, 2007 by chb

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