RIM has applied for a patent on a Sliding design.  I guess I have to ask why?  The first one I guess I ever saw was the HTC Wizard. Now, HTC offers a plethora of designs featuring this design and Nokia, Sony, and others have copied it.  Yet, RIM feels it necessary to patent it? Maybe there is more to this Patent than meets the eyes.  It does feature a trackball, and the screen overlay does look a little larger and maybe offeres some sort of panel behind the screen?  But I am guessing its nothing that we haven't already seen from many mobile phone manufacturers. 

Expect Lawsuits!

Android is looking so very promising!  Remember as you are watching this, that this is functioning on a 300 MHZ processor.  Google is showing off how well it does street view.  Currently not available on any production made mobile!

OK, so after 10 years with various Palm units, I made the switch to WM in an HTC TyTN II.  So what do I like better?  What do I miss in my Trusty and Faithful Palm OS?  Below are the Categories that I have come up with and how everything shakes out!

• Size:  the TyTN is actually smaller than the 680!  It might weigh a little more, but its a smaller phone.  Winner TyTN II
• Operating System: The Palm OS is Simple.  WM is more complicated, but I am learning also that it is much more powerful.  Winner TyTN II
• As a phone: For the ability to make a quick call, WM and yes, even Apple could learn a thing or two from Palm's interface.  There are shortcuts that you can incorporate in WM to bring your favorites a little closer to you, but I am still missing my 680 interface when it comes to pulling or looking up contacts.  Winner: Palm Treo
• Data input: I was very concerned about the lack of a keyboard on the front of the device.  But the TyTN II design is simple to to access, and is a pleasure to type on.  I don't miss the Palm's qwerty at all!  I still say its an excellent design, but the TyTN II is also well designed.  My bet is however, that the Palm's qwerty might be more durable.  Time will tell, but given my experience so far, I am calling this one to the TyTN corner:  Winner: TyTN II
• WiFi: Since the Palm isn't capable: Winner TyTN II
• Camera:  The TyTN II has some video issues.  HTC is said to be working on them.  Even if they don't address them, the video quality as well as the Camera Quality blows the 680's out of the water!  Forget that we are talking 3.2 megs vs VGA quality!  This camera is better at 1.2 megs than any camera phone I have used to date!  Winner: TyTN II
• Flash Support: Again, Palm doesn't support it: Winner TyTN II
• Web Browsing: IE is a pleasure compared Blazer!  And the ability to go from a protrait screen to landscape only adds to the appeal.  Add the fact that you have a qwerty for text input, and well . . . Winner: TyTN II
• Included Software:   The TyTN includes a nice  package to get you started.  To see the list, head here .  Winner: TyN II
• Signal Strength:  The Palm 680 ain't bad, but I believe the TyTN is even better.  Winner TyTN II
• Email: Give this one to the Palm as long as you are adding on Chatteremail:  Even with the highly touted Flexmail for WM, its still not as good as the Palm was with Chatter.  Winner Palm OS.
• SMS: Its hard to beat Palm's out of the box threaded SMS.  Winner Palm OS
• User Interface:  The Palm might be a hair friendlier to use, but WM on a TyTN is sure a lot nicer to look at!  Winner TyTN II
• Price:  Palm is very affordable!  Winner: Palm OS

I still continue to tweak on the TyTN.  I have installed a few items that I just can't seem to grasp.  They either conflict with HTC's "Today" screen or just totally interfere with it.  Anyway, I go back and forth between these colors.  I can't figure out which one I like the best.  I think my two favorites are the Red and the Black.

I never thought I would say it, but I am loving Windows Mobile! Don't get me wrong! I have found out over the last few days that there are still many things that Palm OS does much better! And for a phone first, I still think Palm could teach the others a thing or two . . . But minus some choppy video, Windows Mobile on an HTC TyTN II is rocking my world! Below is the unboxing of the product:

I am on a steep learning curve! I have faced several challenges over the last few days! One is, purchasing a phone meant for Singapore, and not having any kind of AT&T profile for it, led me to searching the internet for a hacked cab file . . . . I thought I could just pick a profile and then manually configure a profile for AT&T MediaNet and I would be fine . . . . WRONG! I  would be on the web and click a video and it would try to load using the carrier in Singapore and tell me that it couldn't be found. Luckily the cab file loaded and suddenly I had an AT&T profile to choose from!

On the other hand, my TyTN came with a 4 gig micro SD, and Tom Tom 6 installed!  So I popped the card in the TyTN, poked the Tom Tom logo and within about two minutes the satelites were syncing up and there was a full blown GPS on the Phone! Now that ROCKS!  Special kudos to a great eBay seller for answering my questions before the purchase and delivering a quality product as promised!  I would buy from again, for sure!

So without further adu, here are my first impressions:

My TyTN came yesterday and i was in the bed with the flu. About all i managed to do was to get it charged and admire it. Today has been a little better and i am now posting this from it. I think i am going to really enjoy the keyboard as it is very nice. I am still not too sure about my mail apps however. Look for very indepth reviews coming soon covering my trials and tribulations, as there have been a few of those already. But I think overall I am going to like this device. The screen is sweet and it feels really nice in my hands. My concern about having the keyboard on the front of the device is being put to rest very quickly.

Posted via an HTC TyTN II

Once upon a time, there was Palm and Access Linux. Palm had them building the new linux operating system for Palm devices. For reasons beyond my comprehension, Palm decided it wanted to do its own thing and this once again delayed any kind of new Palm OS for its loyal but tired and impatient fans.  What about Access?  Well, they decided to continue building a new Linux Operating system for mobile phones!  This OS should see some production before this year is out.

Well, we were supposed to see the Everex in stores yesterday!  Opppssss!  Delayed again!  This time until 2/21/08!  But it really must be close because a few persons are getitng their hands on some units as this video shows an unboxing of the device.