Palm's new strategy

Well I have all but given up on my Zire 72. I allowed the battery to run out again (before trying the backup software) and it got completely reset. Since I've stopped using it, I haven't really missed it. Especially all the time it took to keep it running and in sync.

My wife Fran has the Treo 650. It has several improvements over the Zire like a QWERTY keyboard, more memory and wireless HotSync. But it crashes alot and she sounds like she's calling from Sealab 2021 most of the time.

I've been a long time fan of PalmOS, and I hate to abandon it. There aren't any good alternatives either. Windows Mobile is okay, but people say it's lowsy for the phone part of the smart-phone. Nokia now has the E62, which is a decent contender with the Symbian OS.

I just read this article on TreoCentral about Palm's upcoming Treo 680. It's not a more advanced model, but a more stylish and user-friendly one. The article's author believes that Palm is not just trying to get a bigger slice of the smartphone pie, it's trying to make a bigger pie by attracting new users. I hope he's right.

In the meantime, I'll hold on to my Nokia 6820.

Can't talk while driving, but flying is okay.

From Yahoo News:

California on Friday banned motorists from talking on cell phones unless they use a headset or speakerphone, although the law will not take effect until July 1, 2008, to allow time to educate the public.

Violators will be fined $20 the first time they are caught and $50 the second time. The new law makes exemptions for those placing emergency calls while driving.

Several other states, including New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, have similar bans. California, with 37 million people, is the most populous U.S. state.

But then on The Economist:

Last week Ryanair, a European low-cost carrier, announced that it would equip its entire fleet of Boeing 737s with small base stations, called picocells, provided by OnAir, a technology company backed by Airbus, Europe's aviation giant. The picocells will use satellite links to allow mobile phones to be used during flight without interfering with ground-based networks. (Such interference, rather than safety concerns, is the primary reason that in-flight use of mobile phones is banned at the moment.) Taking a cut of the resulting revenues will help Ryanair to keep its ticket prices down, according to Michael O'Leary, the firm's boss.

According to the latest survey, released by OnAir this week, 80% of airline passengers approve of the idea of being able to use telephones on aircraft, even if they do not plan to do so themselves. Indeed, only 54% of business travellers and 41% of leisure travellers said they would switch their phones on during a flight. One reason is cost: George Cooper, the boss of OnAir, says that at prices above $3 per minute, “demand drops off considerably”, according to the firm's research. He expects $2.50 per minute to be the norm when services based on his firm's technology are launched by Air France, Ryanair, bmi and TAP Portugal. But OnAir will then cut its prices by 10% a year for five years, he says.

Previous surveys have painted a less rosy picture. One survey of young mobile-phone users, carried out last year by IDC and SMS.ac, a mobile portal, found that 64% of young people favoured in-flight texting, and only 11% liked the idea of making calls. And 82% of respondents agreed with the statement “I don't want people talking on their phones during flights.”

I'm part of that 82%.

New Dell Battery

Monday this week I got a new Dell Battery for my Inspiron 9300. It came with a return-shipping label, so I put the old battery in and sent it back. Done. Couldn't have been easier. Didn't cost anything either. Thanks Dell!!!!