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Articulation - VoIP on your Palm PDA

Palm users have been clamoring for VoIP on their Palm devices for quite some time. I've mentioned VoIP on Palm (including the Treo) in the past. mobiVoIP was the first to offer VoIP on a Palm device.  However, mobiVoIP only works with their VoIP service plan. Many Palm users simply want a SIP softphone client that works with any SIP-based termination service provider. I also wrote about Talkplus, but they don't support SIP either and they too use their own phone service plan.

Well, today, Hampton Software Limited announced the release of a new Palm VoIP product called Articulation for PalmOS, that supports the SIP standard and therefore works with any VoIP service provider that supports the SIP standard. I should mention that it only works with Palm OS 5. Alas, the software doesn't yet work on the Treo 700p mobile phone, but should work on the Treo 650. It is connectivity-agnostic supporting WiFi, Bluetooth, EVDO, and EDGE/GPRS Internet connectivity.

Palm Articulation VoIP app
Screenshot of Articulation for PalmOS

Palm Articulation VoIP app settings

It isn't the prettiest interface in the world, but hey, if I can get my SIP on, I'm a happy man!

Features:
- Ability to make PSTN calls with your PDA
- Select the SIP VoIP provider of your choice
- Lookup phone numbers direct from you contacts
- Touch-tones (DTMF) for 'phone menus'
- Supports WiFi, Bluetooth and EVDO connections
- Call timer
- Silence suppression (only transmit your voice)
- Echo cancellation for 'speakerphone' use

Technical Features:
- Secure account authentication with SIP MD5 Authentication
- Supports GSM and G711 codecs (GSM is suited to low bandwidth connections)
- NAT support through RFC 3581 and ability to fix ports for symmetric NATs
- Symmetric RTP support
- Low latency
- Low memory usage

Good stuff! You can download and try it out for free. Still wish it supported the Treo 700p though.

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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on August 23rd, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on VoIP and Mobile Phones and SIP and palm and treo 650 and treo 700p.

Palm GPS Navigator Smartphone Edition for Treo phones

Palm GPS Navigator Smartphone Edition for TreoPalm Treo smartphone users and GPS enthusiasts rejoice! Palm today announced the Palm GPS Navigator Smartphone Edition, featuring the new TomTom NAVIGATOR 6 software, which is one of the most popular GPS navigation software packages. With the new GPS Navigator installed on your Treo smartphone, you can get voice-guided, turn-by-turn directions to find your destination, including millions of points of interest, including gas stations, restaurants, parks, airports and more. TomTom NAVIGATOR 6 is available today exclusively for Palm's GPS Navigator Smartphone Edition. Sweet! TomTom 6 is a long awaited upgrade from the popular TomTom 5 Navigator software. Although, I'm not sure how or why Treo users will "exclusively" get TomTom 6 when there are many other PDA and smartphone models with users clamoring for TomTom 6. Perhaps this news today just means that Treo users are "first" and therefore currently "exclusive". Well, TomTom corporate must really love Treo users to give them some lovin' first!

Palm's new Bluetooth enabled SiRFstarIII GPS receiver seamlessly pairs with the Palm Treo 650, Treo 700w and Treo 700p smartphones. Palm went the extra mile by preloading a 1GB memory card with maps.  Just pop the memory card into your Treo smartphone and pair the Bluetooth GPS receiver and voila' you can instantly access highway and street-level maps covering the United States and Canada. No desktop syncing or downloading of maps is required.

Palm's GPS Navigator Smartphone Edition will run your $299, and it includes a Bluetooth enabled SiRFstarIII GPS receiver, TomTom NAVIGATOR 6 software featuring the latest Tele Atlas maps, a 1GB memory card with preloaded maps of the continental United States and Canada, a vehicle device cradle with windshield mount and a charging system. You can buy this Treo bundle at the Palm online store, however, I just checked their site and it doesn't look like they updated the store yet.

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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on August 15th, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on GPS and palm and treo 650 and treo 700p and treo 700w and tomtom navigator 6.

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Now You’re Taking Desktop Audio (As in Treo)

Yes, you could call this a Treo owner's dream -- and you would be speaking the truth!

Spefically designed for the Palm family of products, Altec Lansing's inMotion iMT1 is an amplified extension of my Palm Treo 650, serving as both a speaker phone (not that important, but nice to have) and a high-quality way to hear music stored on the Treo 650. (Now that's what I'm talking about!)

It looks sharp on my desk -- doesn't take up a lot of room -- while delivering great sound, whether I'm listening to rock, jazz or classic (and any other type of music for that matter, too!).

What's particularly nice is that it replaces the Treo's power/sync cable so I don't have that flopping all around my desk.

Here's some highlights from the feature set:

It also works with the Palm LifeDriveTreo 700P (CDMA models only) and Tungsten T5, E2.

MSRP: $179.95

www.alteclansing.com

 

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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on July 27th, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Uncategorized and PDAs & Handhelds and palm and treo 650 and inmotion imt1.

Palm rewards loyal Palm Treo owners

I just received this email offer from Palm which offers a free 1GB SD card i($99 value) f you are already a current Palm handheld or smartphone (Treo) owner. Wonder if they'll give me the $99 value SD card for an old Palm III? They're even offering for a limited time, $150 by mail when you trade in any Treo 650 smartphone in working condition. Cool!

Check it out.

The new Treo(TM) 700p smartphone for Sprint and Verizon Wireless

Be one of the first to own the new Treo(TM) 700p smartphone on the Sprint and Verizon Wireless networks! The Treo 700p smartphone delivers all the great Treo 650 smartphone features you love, plus broadband-like speed(1), enhanced features, and more memory for the Palm OS(R) than ever before.

Palm(R) News Special Offer -- FREE 1GB SD card ($99.99 value)!

Already own a Palm handheld or smartphone? You're eligible for a FREE 1GB SD card when you order a new Treo 700p smartphone through this special newsletter by June 11, 2006.
Just click here and be ready to enter the serial number of your old handheld or smartphone. Plus you'll also get FREE overnight shipping.

It's our way of saying thanks for being a loyal Palm customer!

Palm Trade-in Offer

Once you buy your new Treo 700p smartphone, be sure to check out our special offer for the Palm Trade-in Program. For a limited time, we'll send you $150 by mail when you trade in any Treo 650 smartphone in working condition. Don't wait -- take advantage of this Palm Trade-in Special Offer before it expires on June 4, 2006!

Trade-in Offer

1 GB SD card offer

Order or Learn more

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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on May 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
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Palm Treo goes VoIP

VoIP for the Treo is now available. With the recent launch of the new Treo 700p, MantraGroup's timing to launch their VoIP client called mobiVoIP for the Palm-based OS couldn't be better. They claim to be the first VoIP solution targeted for Palm OS Devices. “We are the first company to release a VoIP solution for Palm OS. We are confident that mobiVoIP will truly change the way we use our Palm devices.” says Manohar Chapalamadugu, CEO of MantraGroup.

mobiVoIP works over all Treo's Internet connectivity methords, including Bluetooth, WiFi (Treo 650 only), or EVDO (Treo 700p). It allows the user to place telephone calls directly from the PDA. mobiVoIP is offered as a monthly service with various calling plans designed for North America and other countries.

Here is one of their plans:
Residential Calling Plan to anywhere in North America and Canada product
- 2.99c per minute [325 mins]
- Setup Fee $9.95 but currently waving the setup fee
- Valid for 1 month

Check them out

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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on May 19th, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on VoIP and palm and treo and treo 650 and treo 700p and mobivoip.

Palm Treo 700p review

Palm Treo 700pPalm's Treo 700p, the heavily anticipated successor to the popular Palm Treo 650, launched on Monday. Speculation and rumors has surrounded the Palm Treo 700p as far as which features it would and would not support. For instance, speculation was running rampant as far as whether Sprint or Verizon would be the exclusive carrier or if both would support it. Let me put one bit of speculation to rest - both Sprint and Verizon will carry the Treo 700p. I spoke with Palm on a conference call on May 9th to learn about the specs and features of the Palm Treo 700p. I plan on acquiring a Palm Treo 700p for a full-fledged review, so this is mini-review analyzing the features Palm told me about, along with some photos I acquired.

The Treo 700p runs on the Palm operating system unlike its sister the Palm Treo 700w which runs on Windows Mobille 5. This is music to the ears of Palm-based Treo loyalists that were dreading having to switch to the Treo's Windows Mobile version (700w). The Windows-based Palm 700w is already out, making the wait for the Palm-based Treo fans excruciatingly long. While the wait is over, one highly anticipated feature was not included, namely GSM support, the prevalent standard used by most countries except the U.S.  Fear not Treo fans - when asked about GSM support in the future, Palm replied "So the answer to that question is we don't talk about future products. [nervous laughter]" They didn't outright deny they were working on it, so there is still hope, but GSM users will have to wait..

What the Treo 700p does support is EvDO, a standard that supports from 400Kbps-700Kbps data transfer speeds and the Treo 700p is backwards compatible with 1xRTT. Of course Sprint is still mostly on CDMA2000 1xRTT which has a maximum speed of only 144Kbps. Sprint is migrating to EvDO and they have some coverage, but not nearly as widespread as Verizon's coverage at the moment.

Ironically, the Palm conference call utilized the Windows Live online presentation system. There is something sadistically wrong with that. You won't catch Apple giving a briefing on Windows Live! In any event, the new Treo 700p has a 312MHz processor, Palm OS 5.4.9, EV-DO, 1.3 megapixel digital camera, a 320 x 320 pixel display, and Bluetooth 1.2. Too tell you the truth, I'm a bit disappointed they used the same 312MHz speed processor on the 700p as the Treo 650. I'd gladly sacrifice a little bit of battery life for a speedier Treo. Speaking of battery life, the Treo 700p has 4.5 hour talk time (30 minutes less than Treo 650) and 12 days standby (1/2 day less than Treo 650).

One nice advantage of the Treo 700p vs. the Windows-based Treo 700w is that the Treo 700p supports the larger 320x320 resolution. This is a better resolution than Windows Mobile 5.0 phones, which currently only support 240x240. Though I should mention the Windows Mobile OS will support 480x480 when the cost of these screens goes down. The Treo 700w, based on Windows Mobile 5.0 is of course 240x240.

The form factor is essentially the same as the Palm Treo 700w which is based on Windows Mobile. So from a hardware perspective these two products are nearly identical. Really the big difference between them is that the Palm OS of this product supports up to 320x320 high-resolution screen which Palm claims "makes pictures and videos pop out at you". Also the button layout is slightly different on the Palm OS-based product.

Treo 700p appsTreo 700p supports DUN
You can use the 700p as a Dial-Up Networking adaptor. Using a USB cable to your laptop or Bluetooth connectivity, you can have high-speed browsing using your "unlimited EvDO data plan".  This way you can avoid hotel or hotspot charges. Verizon  blocked the dial-up networking capability on the Treo 700w causing a huge customer uproar. Verizon claimed it wasn't compatible with their equipment (uh huh) but that they planned on supporting DUN mid-year. This meant subscribers who bought the Treo 700w and a $50 monthly subscription for EvDO service on that device must also purchase a second subscription for $60 monthly, plus an EvDO card to access the Internet using a laptop.

Fortunately, Verizon has deviced to support DUN on the Treo 700p. My guess is Verizon decided to support DUN on the Treo 700p or risk losing customers to Sprint who has never blocked Bluetooth DUN. Of course, as previously mentioned, Sprint's data connection maxes out at 144Kbps since they just recently started adding EvDO nationwide in select metro areas, so Verizon would still be my carrier of choice should I buy a Treo 700w.

I should mention that the nice thing about using the USB cable for DUN is that it features a 500mA trickle charger so your Treo doesn't lose juice and in fact charges while connected over USB (albeit slowly).

One great thing about EvDO on CDMA networks is you don't have to worry about missing calls. The Treo 700p will suspend the data session, the call will come through and then you can resume the data connection. This is especially important if using the DUN feature for an extended period of time and you don't want to miss any calls.

Palm Treo 750p Ignore Text

Palm Treo 700p Ignore Text Feature

Another nice usability feature is that if an incoming call comes in, you can see who is calling and then click the "Ignore with Text" button which will send them to voicemail but simultaneously pre-popular an SMS message with their phone number and type out a quick message such as "I'm busy right now, will call you back in 10 min." (see screenshot)

Palm added more feature-rich ringtones that allows you to assign ringtones not to just contacts in your favorites list, but to any contact in your address book. You can even assign a ringtone to a "category" if you have organized your contacts into categories.

Multimedia Features
The Treo 700p can send photos on the fly – no need to switch from the camera to the MMS or email application. You can also associate a photo to a contact directly from an album so the person's photo displays on an incoming call. While displaying a slideshow, you can add music or a voice recording and transitions to the slideshow.

The Treo 700p comes with its own multimedia application that supports both streaming audio and video called Pocket Tunes. The Treo 700p sports a new Pocket Tunes UI from Normsoft, however you will have to pay for an upgrade to Pocket Tunes Deluxe for "licensed" WMA/PlaysForSuresupport. Of course, the most interesting multimedia feature is support for streaming audio and video (Windows Media Player format including MPEG4, H.264, and others) which the Treo 650 lacked. Although I should point out that there are third-party video players for the Treo 650 such as the Core Pocket Media Player (TCPMP) The Core Pocket Media Player (TCPMP), but even this video player doesn't do streaming as far as I know. No word on whether the Treo 700p dropped the RealPlayer "lite" version included with the Treo 650, but there was no mention of it during my conference call.

Treo 700p Features: Enhanced Messaging and Email
Palm made some UI improvements to MMS and improved addressing for SMS and MMS. More importantly it can connect to Exchange Server 2003 and Exchange ActiveSync includes contact sync for keeping your Outlook email client contacts in sync with the Treo. It has out-of-the-box support for Yahoo!, AOL, and Gmail and includes VersaMail 3.5. They've also added improved Smart Addressing which remembers recently used email addresses, a sort button on main inbox page, and improved Scrolling – simply press and hold down button to page-scroll.

It is important to note that even with the Windows-based Treo, Palm stressed their commitment to the Palm operating system. According to Steve Sinclair, Senior Product Manager for the Treo, "It’s really important for people to understand that Palm is a company that has a very strong relationship with PalmSource and plans to support the Palm OS and this (Palm 700p) and is evidence of that. That we continue to work on Palm-OS-based products and the Palm OS platform has such a strong installed base and the expectations of that installed base that we continue to innovate on usability and simplicity for our products." Steve Sinclair added, "But we want to make sure that people understand our commitment to the Palm OS. Our message at Palm is one of choice. Some people prefer Palm OS and some that have an affinity for Windows Mobile and we can offer both of those. We can put the Palm name it because we have the ability to innovative on top of both of those and make sure that they have our signature usability built into the product."

They pointed out their market growth and loyal customer support for the Palm operating system as reasons to continue to support the Palm operating system. In fact, according to a 2005 Canalys report, Palm's year-over-year smartphone growth from 2004 to 2005 was 111%. Their market share in 2004 was 26% and in 2005 grey to 33% or one-third of the smartphone market. The overall smartphone growth was 65%, however RIM, a Palm competitor saw its market share dip from 57% to 53%.

Shockingly, it does not support the WiFi card and it does not have WiFi embedded. Palm stated that it wasn't worth the hit to battery life to operate two radios (cellular + WiFi). I inquired about VoIP, such as supporting the Skype client and Palm replied, "That's related to the WiFi question. Because we're not supporting WiFi, we're not supporting VoIP. It's not to say it's not something we wouldn't look into in the future. Usability and being able to use your phone at the end of the day is probably the most important thing we consider." Bummer. But this doesn't preclude a third-party from developing a VoIP application for the Treo. Alas, the most popular VoIP client, Skype, has no plans to support the Palm operating system.

With the 700w, if you combine it with Exchange SP2 you you get additional administrative security features, such as remotely wiping a phone. Unfortunately, as far as I can tell the 700p doesn't support the IT administrative features.

Pros: Cons Conclusion:
It's worth pointing out that the Treo 650 (Palm-based) was plagued with stability problems and many reboots, so let's hope the Palm 700w with its newly updated Palm OS 5.4.9 Garnet operating system solves most of those issues. I like the additional memory on the Treo 700p and the streaming audio & video support, as well as the added EvDO and PDF support. In some ways the Treo 700p looks more like an incremental upgrade to the Treo 650, especially since they are using the same 312 Mhz XScale processor. However, Treo fans will certainly love the new multimedia capabilities which will quiet the Windows Mobile users that taunted this as a key advantage over the Treo. Add in the fact that the Treo 700p supports EvDO there is no doubt that Palm will sell many Treo 700p's in the near future.

Pricing: Pricing will be announced later by Sprint and Verizon

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Comments on this Entry:

(F on May 15, 2006 6:42 AM) "Cons:* Kept same 312Mhz Intel XScale processor. They should have went with the newer Intel PXA27x XScale processor which can be clocked as high as 624Mhz." Why? To reduce battery life?

(Sorin on May 15, 2006 8:11 AM) Any word on: - FAT32 SD card support? - does the new Blazer v4.5 support frames?

Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on May 14th, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Mobile Phones and palm and treo and treo 650 and treo 700p and treo 700w.

Handhelds a dying breed?

IDC put out a report a week two weeks ago about handheld shipments continuing their decline, which is something that I've been predicting for quite some time. Handheld PDAs such as PocketPCs and Palm Pilots are superceded by Windows Mobile and Palm Treo mobile devices. Why carry two devices when you can have one that does the functionality of both?

An interesting summary of the IDC report's findings:

Following a holiday quarter in which worldwide shipments of handheld devices topped two million units, the worldwide market for handheld devices began 2006 with its ninth consecutive quarter of year-over-year decline. According to IDC's Worldwide Handheld QView, worldwide shipments of handheld devices totaled 1.5 million units, down 22.3% from the same quarter a year ago.

Despite the incorporation of features like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, expandable memory, and integrated GPS solutions, the handheld market continues to shrink. Many of these same features can be found on mobile phones, and the inclusion of telephony extends the usability of mobile phones beyond that of handheld devices. Still, vendors continue to search for ways to keep their products viable within this space by appealing to first-time and core users, or even joining the converged mobile device (i.e. smartphone) space altogether.
"A decline in shipments following the holiday quarter is expected of mature markets, and the handheld devices market is no different. After nine consecutive quarters of year-over-year decline, many are wondering how long this trend will continue, and whether the market will see a reverse," says Ramon Llamas, research analyst with IDC's Mobile Markets team. "IDC believes that the market will eventually hit a size where the rate of year-over-year decline will slow to a sustainable level. That size has yet to be determined, but will be sustained by the core users of handheld devices as well as the enhancements found on these devices."

Vendor Highlights

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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on May 8th, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on PDAs & Handhelds and handheld and palm and pda and treo and windows mobile.

New Treo 680 Smartphone for ‘Mobile Accomplishers’

Here they are in all of their startling multi-colored glory -- the new Treo 680 from Palm.  The official launch was yesterday at DigitalLife in New York City.

The target audience was very clearly defined during the press conference -- people who are ready to move up to a full-featured mobile phone that includes everything needed to stay organized, aka "mobile accomplishers" rather than "mobile professionals." 

Palm is targeting new users in the rapidly growing smartphone and feature-phone markets, a market that will be 25% of all wireless handsets worldwide will be smartphones by 2011.

A GSM/GPRS/EDGE quad-band world phone, the 680 is slimmer and and more compact than older Treos, but still packs such features as email, web browsing, messaging, multimedia, calendar and contacts.

What's most noticeable about the new Treo is the absence of the antenna (no antenna!) -- besides the choice of colors: arctic, copper, crimson and graphite.

(They are trying to make my Treo 650 look corporate ...)

Here's what Palm president and CEO Ed Colligan had to say about it:

"The Treo 680 is the smartphone for everyone. It's small, sleek, fast and comes in a variety of fun colors. It's a great phone design, great for messaging and email and provides users easy and fast access to the Internet and to their favorite music and pictures, and makes it easy for people to manage and balance their business and personal lives while on the go."

If you want to know all of the details, click here for the Palm press release.

 

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Comments on this Entry:

(Richard Barker on Oct 15, 2006 7:27 PM) Palm have gone up in my esimation over the last few models - I look forward to these hitting the shops.

(Randy Savicky on Oct 17, 2006 4:10 PM) Yes, indeed! Really getting it right.

Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on January 1st, 1970 with no comments.
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Much Ado at DigitalLife

Well it wasn't a disappointed kickoff to DigitalLife 2006 at all yesterday!

(And didnt' really expect it to be either; wore outs lots of shoe leather walking the floor of the Javits Center -- but walking is good for you, isn't it?)

We started with the launch of the Treo 680 from Palm (more about that later -- blog, blog, blog) and moved a whole bunch of wideranging topics of interest:

There's still time to take in the whole show (running through Sunday).

www.digitallife.com

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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on January 1st, 1970 with no comments.
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NTP Says ‘Hands Up’ Palm

Not too surprising to see that NTP, the same company that got a bunch of millions from Research in Motion (RIM), the company behind the oh-so-popular Blackberry, is now going after Palm in the same manner.

The Blackberry story was hot earlier this year, and I'm sure the NTP/Palm face-off will be hot this tiime.

Wonder if Palm has learned anything from the earlier suit?

And now I have wonder about whether my Treo 650 will still be able to do what it's supposed to do?

It's always something ...

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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on January 1st, 1970 with no comments.
Read more articles on Mobile Phones and BlackBerry and ntp and rim and palm and treo 650 and Research in Motion.

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