Another review of the Treo 600

on BroadbandReports.com from February of this year (2004) I think... I missed seeing a date on the article. (I gleaned the date from the reply post at the bottom.) His basic take on it is that the Treo is not the ultimate PDA phone combo. I tend to agree, but I also think that it has more potential than the others out there and given my experience with Handspring (and we won't go into my feelings about Palm in their previous incarnation at this time... I'll make a decision on palmOne sometime in the future -stay tuned, kiddies!) that Handspring folk are innovative, clever and tend to know what I want before I can articulate it. If only waiters could do that, I would be a happy camper.

[REVIEW] Pattern Recognition

Pattern Recognition (Unabridged) Author: William Gibson
Narrator: Shelly Frasier
Unabridged Fiction Audio Length: 10 hours and 7 min. I actually read this book before I got it on Audible (and I still have it on my bookshelf in hardback). I've read a bunch of good and bad reviews (they seem to be polarized-its either really good or really bad) and I can identify with most of their points. Yes, there are plot holes, yes there are issues that normally wouldn't magically work themselves out like they do here and some splintering of the story takes place with characters that normally would have been more important... normally, I say, because your average novelist follows an established framework. Gibson does not. His splinter characters do contribute to the mood, and to the aura of Cayce and her unreal labors. It worked for me. But, continuing in its defense, there are also avalanches of words that are beautifully written (the first paragraph knocked my sock off); their reading hypnotic. On a personal level, there were so many references that trigger things which instantly made me sympathetic to this book and Cayce. The whole discussion of jetlag resonates with me and my own travels. Cayce continues to deal with her father's disappearance in the Sept. 11 attacks, and while I am far removed from New York, I have special people in New York City who's loss would have simply devastated me. So many little coalescences that make me sympathetic to this character. Publisher's Summary: Cayce Pollard is an expensive, spookily intuitive market-research consultant. In London on a job, she is offered a secret assignment: to investigate some intriguing snippets of video that have been appearing on the Internet. An entire subculture of people is obsessed with these bits of footage, and anybody who can create that kind of brand loyalty would be a gold mine for Cayce's client. But when her borrowed apartment is burgled and her computer hacked, she realizes there's more to this project than she had expected. Still, Cayce is her father's daughter, and the danger makes her stubborn. Win Pollard, ex-security expert, probably ex-CIA, took a taxi in the direction of the World Trade Center on September 11 one year ago, and is presumed dead. Win taught Cayce a bit about the way agents work. She is still numb at his loss, and, as much for him as for any other reason, she refuses to give up this newly weird job, which will take her to Tokyo and on to Russia. With help and betrayal from equally unlikely quarters, Cayce will follow the trail of the mysterious film to its source, and in the process will learn something about her father's life and death. 2003 William Gibson; (P)2004 Tantor Media, Inc.

Audible Book Reviews

So, since I am listening to the books on my Treo, I figure that I can sneak in a few book reviews in here. I just finished listening to the unabridged version of Pattern Recognition by William Gibson and I'm moving to Angels and Demons by Dan Brown (of Da Vinci Code fame, which I also listened to, but before I had my Treo so it doesn't count. (Unless someone asks me to do it, then I will.)) I have a plan with Audible (the Premium Listener) where I get 2 audio books for a set price. ANY audio book I want, or paper or radio show... etc. I tend toward the unabridged books and I end up getting a book for free essentially... on month's fee is usually less than the unabridged book's cost. I like it. There's also a cheaper plan that lets you get any one book and a radio, newspaper or magazine subscription. Click here to sign up yourself...

An WiFi SD expansion card from palmOne?

An WiFi SD expansion card from palmOne? - Engadget - www.engadget.com and palmOne Readying Wi-Fi SD Card for Two Recent Models Our sources in the industry tell us that there isn’t a technical problem causing the holdup, rather palmOne’s intransigence and insistence on squeezing a ridiculously one-sided deal out of the companies that make these expansion cards. Those boogerheads. We may have to start doing a grassroots movement a la "I want my MTv!" to get this moving.

Treo External Battery

TreoCentral Store : Accessories : Cables & Power : Treo External Battery I'm interested in this external battery. So far, my Treo hasn't gotten down to a point where it asks to be plugged in, but I haven't traveled with it yet. My current routine consists of: -->wake up to Treo alarm -->drive to work in the morning (about an hour) listening to Audible.com stuff -->sync and charge during the day with occasional forays into meetings where I take a few notes (mostly to do items and edits to other docs I have on my Treo already-I'd get the keyboard if I needed to take serious notes. Jot will suffice for small things, but the tiny built in keyboard just doesn't do it for me.) -->more charging back at the desk -->get about 30 text messages during the course of the day -->chat on the phone some (10-15 minutes tops) -->occasional listening to music with PTunes -->drive home (about an hour) listening to Audible.com stuff -->get home and occasionnally pay Vegas Slots while half watching TV. The stats for the battery (via TreoCentral's site) are: Get additional battery life and talk time for your Treo 600. * 1250 mAh Lithium Ion battery for long lasting power * Adds 3 hours of extra talk time or up to 180 hours of standby time to your Treo 600 smartphone* * Lightweight and compact--weighs only 2.4 oz. (68 g.) * Snaps securely on to your Treo 600 * Charge using your Treo 600 AC charger or Travel Charger accessory * HotSync® your data with the External Battery attached *Actual talk and standby times may vary depending on carrier networks, settings, signal strength, and features selected. So, really I don't need the external now, but I suppose I should test drive vacation-like circumstances to see how it would do. Maybe I'll share one with mom and her Treo. Has anyone else had specific thoughts about their Treo's battery life? Let me know via comments or the mailform.

Haven't lost my earphone adaptor....

yet. But have faith in me.

USB Emergency Charger Using Standard AA Batteries

BoxWave - Battery Adapter for miniSync - USB Emergency Charger Utilizing Standard AA Batteries Swank. In addition to the already infintely useful charging sync cable, the battery driven charger is something that I had for my Nokia (found in an airport shop while traveling) and am very glad to have found again. Sometimes you just don't have any other charging options.

Treo 660 rumors and WiFi

From Gizmodo... nothing more than speculation on their part, but the whole 'losing the antenna' thing seems like the most reasonable thing to do. And OOOOHHHH! Yay!!! Is WiFi for the Treo on the horizon? I found out recently (because no one ever bothered to write in their articles before) that the reason that there were no WiFi options on SD for the Palm was a lack of power, and not issues with designing the software drivers as I had jumped to conclusions about. The lack of Wifi was one of the reasons I was on the fence about choosing between the Sony Clie and the Treo. Eventually, my final rationale was that while there was the outside possibility of them getting their arses in gear and making WiFi work for the Treo, there was only a very minute chance of them creating a cell phone add-on for the Clie. SanDisk expects to release their 256M SD card optimized for low power draw Wifi for about $130, but there's still no mention of the Palm OS in the press release. Gizmodo's article C|Net's article SanDisk's Press Release

Got the case in the mail...

just the other day. I like it so far. I got the Covertec red side case and mom got the brown one. I'm not nuts about brown leather (well, any leather that is dyed-save red or black.) and this brown is not a good color. Its about the same color as a walnut wood stain and less interesting that puppy poo. The red, on the other hand, is fantastic! I am partial to red, but this isn't the irritating bright red. It has a bit of texture, but not overtly like it was stamped. Functionally, I had to form the case to the Treo the first several times I put it in the case and I had my doubts. But by the end of the day it was fine. The treo fits in the case two ways (antenna being the primary indicator of how it should be placed). I found that the best way for it to sit was to have the screen face the back of the case (same side as the beltclip) to protect it more and to not hit the screen buttons when the phone rang (as mom found out when I called her that evening). So far so good. I like it.

I also got the stereo headphone adapter for the regular headphones to listen to audible or mp3's and it isn't noteworthy except that I am totally paranoid about losing it. =;) The Treo USB Laptop Travel Cable with the optional 12V car adaptor is briliant. I don't know why PalmOne didn't just ship these from the outset. Their OEM cables are nasty and tremendously unwieldy.

Treo sighting

...via Craigslist dude extraordinaire, Craig Newmark. Treo shootout at journalism conference

Visor mount

I have this idea for a car holder (its not really a case) for the car. You attach a form fit case for the treo and attach it to the sun visor. I have an organizer up there now with a mesh pocket that I slide the Treo in while I drive to listen to my Audible.com books. Its actually easier to see the display there (though the mesh is irritating, but that's why I'd modify it to have the screen visible) than on the vent mounted mounts that they sell. I don't have to look away from the road much, and the way I have my seat adjusted, its easy to glance at the Treo and actually read whats on there without concerted effort. Ideally, the custom visor would have a outer holster for the Treo so that you could tap a button if a call came through, a connect-y for the earphone/headset and possibly some tie backs or velcro things for holding the cables out of the way.

Treo 600 Keyboard Lust.

I so very drool over the keyboard for the Treo. I don't know why... but I suppose its an offshoot of the whole wanting the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" machine (though actually I don't recall there being an exceptional input option on that.)

Treo Links

Vikram's Treo600 blog Palm Addicts TreoCentral Handango PalmGear PDA Buzz Treo 600 (AT&T) at Amazon.com

Infinityball.com - MovieRec v1.1x

Here's the software that requires the upgrade of the firmware (I currently have v1.11) and I'll dutifully wait for the update from palmOne, but this is going to be so very cool! Infinityball.com - MovieRec v1.1x:
MovieRec (v1.13) MovieRec v1.1x, or 'Movie Recorder', is more or less the same version of MovieRec v1.0x, except it contains additional code to support the latest Treo 600 firmware that allows the Treo 600 to record audio. Do NOT use this version if you do not have the firmware or if you are unsure if you have the firmware.

palmOne - Support - Treo 600 Updater

palmOne - Support - Treo 600 Updater So far, all that's here is the Sprint (CDMA Treo 600's) and the carrier outside of North America (though I thought Orange was in Britain... perhaps I am ignorant of the scope of their service.) But you will need to get this update to use the sound recording feature in some of the new apps that are being developed. I'll have a link to those shortly. Here's how you check your firmware version: (from the PalmOne site) Do I need the Treo 600 Updater? (from the palmOne site) Yes, unless you already have the latest software on your device. Here's how to tell: 1. Press Phone. 2. Press Menu. 3. From the Options menu, select Phone Info. 4. In the Phone Info screen read the numbers after "Software." Look at the number after the "Treo 600-." 5. If your software version number is lower than 1.12, this software update is for you.

Just got my Treo 600 a few days ago.

For the record I have AT&T GSM service. I plan to unlock my Treo because AT&T doesn't have a deal with the providers on St Martin (Netherlands Antilles-not that I travel there a lot, but its closer than France and I can get Carte Noir coffee there. I have other sentimental reasons as well.) The thing that really cheesed me off about AT&T, was not that they didn't have a deal with St Martin, but that the operator, in all seriousness said, "We do work in the US Virgin Islands. Why don't you go there?" Guh. So, the guerilla warfare began in earnest. Not with any sort of violence, but a complete and utter disdain for anything that they would have preferred that I do with my phone and service. I stil use AT&T, but it will be on my terms from now on, thankyouverymuch. But, I digress. I have ordered a case, a charging sync cable and a related car charger (more of a 12V adaptor for the sync cable than a separate product.) More news on those when I get them.

About this blog...

Let's face it ... I just don't function without some sort of palm based device in my arsenal. I have used the Palm Desktop since it came out in 1997, I have a disdain for WinCE systems and frankly, I get a bit weird unless I can carry around bits of inane trivia to be called up at a moment's notice. I have a tiny laptop, and its great, don't get me wrong. But, I still need the hefty computing power of an actual computer to carry out my freelance duties and writing on a regular keyboard. Even when I did have the Prism with the wireless Omnisky modem and the fold out keyboard, I couldn't work on websites (even though I could do some writing on my book with WordSmith). But sometimes waiting for the laptop to wake up is just too long to wait. So, I find that my combo of PDA and laptop will cover me for my total computational needs. The fact that the Treo has a phone, MP3 player, a camera (granted, it is low res, but it sort of adds to the retro charm) and my Audible.com content helps.