From the monthly archives:

June 2009

Is Palm Throwing In The Towel? One Executive Is Already Cashing Out

by Jason Wilk on June 30, 2009

Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM) Director, Gordon Cambell, disclosed the sale of 106,939 shares of PALM common share on 6/29 at $15.84/share, following the exercising of options on the exact same number of shares at prices from $2.21-$5.46. Cambell’s remaining direct holding in the company following the sale is “zero” shares.
The options had Expiration Dates between 10/28/2013 and 09/12/2014.
Shares of PALM have seen a meteoric rise this year due to the successful development and launch of the new Palm Pre smartphone. The stock is up an amazing 436% YTD. Cambell has been a director of Palm since since September 1999.
Is this the end of the unbelievable ride that Palm has taken it’s investors on for the last 12 months or was this executive jumping the gun? The stock is up another 5% even on this news. [street insider]

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To 3GS Or Not To 3GS. Is That Your Question?

by Jason Wilk on June 30, 2009

This is a great post by MG Siegler from TechCrunch today on those sitting on the fence about upgrading to the iPhone 3GS. I too am on the fence about getting the new phone, and this proved to be very helpful. Will I get the 3GS now however? Yes

“If you have an original iPhone from 2 years ago? Yes.

Yesterday marked the two-year anniversary for the people who bought the original iPhone on day one in 2007. That also means it marks the official end of those people’s contracts with AT&T (though many are eligible to end them, or get upgrades much earlier). If you’ve had your original iPhone this long, chances are that you’re a fan of it. And if you’re a fan of that version, you’re going to love the iPhone 3GS. Not only will its computing speed blow away that version, but since you skipped the iPhone 3G, you haven’t experienced the big increase in data speed that 3G offers over EDGE. I’ve talked to a few people who upgraded from the original iPhone to the iPhone 3GS, and all of them cannot believe how much better then device is in its third iteration.

If you have the iPhone 3G? Maybe.

There are simply too many variables at play here to answer this with a simple “yes” or “no.” I’ll address many of them below. But the biggest one for many users right now will be if you’re eligible to get the full $199 and $299 subsidy on the device. Even after AT&T’s relaxing of the rules a bit, most iPhone 3G owners still are not able to get the subsidy yet. If you cannot, I say wait until you can. If you can get the cheaper price now, the iPhone 3GS is probably worth it — if you don’t mind signing your soul over to AT&T for another 2 years. Which leads me to…

If you have never had an iPhone? Yes.

It’s an easy call if you want an iPhone and have never owned one, as this is the best one yet. Definitely get one, unless you have a strong dislike of AT&T. If so, skip to the next question.

If you hate AT&T? No.

This is a big “no.” If you really dislike AT&T, the iPhone 3GS only gives you more reasons to dislike them. MMS still isn’t working. Tethering still isn’t working. The iPhone 3GS has a chip that can handle data transfer speeds of 7.2 Mbps, but AT&T’s network isn’t ready for that, so that data speed is the same as with the iPhone 3G. And that faster AT&T network won’t fully be ready until 2011 — obviously, there will be at least one, and probably two more iterations of the iPhone by then.

And there will likely be a version of the iPhone that is not exclusive to AT&T by then as well. That possibility alone should be reason for a lot of people not to sign up for a new two year contract with AT&T. And unfortunately, that means no iPhone 3GS.

If you love video? Yes.

This is a big, emphatic “yes.” I truly believe the iPhone 3GS should have been called the iPhone 3GV, for “Video.” The device is simply great at shooting quick videos and giving you one-button publish capabilities to services like YouTube. While there were some video applications that worked on older jailbroken iPhones, like Qik, the quality of the video with the 3GS is leaps and bounds better. And the trimming capabilities on the phone are very simple to use. And playback looks great on the device. I could go on, but as I said already, if you’re really into video and want a great mobile device for doing it, the iPhone 3GS will be worth it for you. The Flip cam should definitely be scared.

If general speed is your only reason? No.

The iPhone 3GS is noticeably faster than the iPhone 3G, but in my opinion, that speed alone is not worth the upgrade price. One problem is that while apps do load faster, you still have to wait for AT&T’s often shoddy network to connect for many of the apps to work. As I noted above, the iPhone 3GS can handle faster wireless data speeds too, but AT&T’s network isn’t yet up to the same task, so it renders that advantage moot.

I have found myself getting frustrated with using the iPhone 3G after using the 3GS for a while due to the speed difference, but that’s only because I have a point of reference. If you haven’t used a 3GS yet, or don’t use it extensively, you shouldn’t have too much of an issue staying with your iPhone 3G (or buying a new one for $99) and still taking advantage of the new features in the 3.0 software upgrade.

If you’re really into iPhone games? Yes.

Having said all of that about speed, if you’re really into gaming on the device, the faster processor and better graphics chip will undoubtedly be worth it for you. I’ve been playing a bunch of games on the 3GS, including some larger ones like Tiger Woods PGA Tour, and the iPhone 3GS performs much, much better than the iPhone 3G does.

If you’re a developer? Yes.

Likewise with the gaming, if you’re a developer making apps on the iPhone, you’ll undoubtedly love the faster speeds the 3GS offers. Plenty of developers, such as Facebook’s Joe Hewitt, are already raving about this.

If battery life is your main reason? No.

The battery life on the 3GS does seem to be better, but it’s hard to know if that’s just due to the fact that this is a fresher battery compared to the one in the year-old iPhone 3G. Apple has stated that the battery in the 3GS does boost times for certain things (like browsing the web on WiFi), but it also apparently is leading to some overheating.

I’ve also noticed that the auto-brightness setting on the iPhone 3GS is much dimmer than on the iPhone 3G. I’ve done a number of tests to make sure I wasn’t just seeing things, or it wasn’t a one-time fluke. For whatever reason, the iPhone 3GS is much dimmer when auto-brightness is turned on, and this undoubtedly saves some battery life too. The dimmer setting doesn’t bother me at all until I look at it side-by-side with the the iPhone 3G.

The iPhone 3GS also has a feature that allows you to tell you the percentage of your battery has left. This is a pretty nice feature, but it does get a bit nerve-racking.

If you have very oily hands? Yes.

This may sound like a joke, but the iPhone 3GS’s new oleophobic (anti-oil) screen coating really is making a noticeable difference on my iPhone’s screen. While you may assume that my iPhone 3G has a dirtier screen simply because it’s older, I had a protective covering on the screen up until the day before I got the iPhone 3GS, so basically the screens were in the same condition a week ago. Now, one is constantly much more dirty.

If you’re excited about voice control? No.

The voice control feature would seem to be a nice touch, but it’s pretty wonky in my experience with it. More than a few times I’ve tried to tell the device to play music by a certain band, and it will end up calling someone — and without fail it is usually someone I really don’t want to be calling.

The “play more songs like this” which kicks in the iTunes Genius features is by far the best part of the whole thing. Otherwise, it’s just a system that is too slow to activate, and too inaccurate.

If you want a better cameraphone? Yes.

While I’ve already raved about the video capabilities, the camera itself is so much nicer than the iPhone 3G’s. This camera is 3.2 megapixels compared to the old version’s 2 megapixels. But the real difference is with the auto-focus, which turns crap pictures, good.

The camera isn’t as nice as some of the ones found in phones by Nokia, but it’s definitely good enough for your average point-and-shooting in good light.

If you want more storage? Yes.

There’s no denying that having 32 GB (on the more expensive model) versus 16 GB is nice. I remember buying my first iPod five years ago — it was a hard-drive based model with 40 GB of storage. The thing was a brick. Now the iPhone has just about as much storage, which is pretty crazy.

And considering you can now not only shoot movies on this device, but can download them from iTunes with the 3.0 software, you might need that extra space.

For the compass? No.

Don’t get me wrong, the compass is interesting, but aside from Google Maps and maybe the GPS apps, I really don’t see the point of it. And for the first few days I had no idea how to activate the compass features in Google Maps — you have to tap the location button (in the lower left corner) twice. I hope some applications arise that do cool things with it, but I certainly wouldn’t buy the device for this.

Overall? Maybe (See Above).

As I said, there’s really no clear-cut answer as to if you should get the device. You really need to look at the functionality and use cases above, and determine where you reside with regards to those things. If you think a bunch of stuff is missing from the list, you’re probably thinking about features that are a part of the iPhone 3.0 software. Most of those work on the older iPhones as well. If something like cut, copy & paste is most important to you, that works on the iPhone 3G, so it probably makes sense to stick with that device. Or if you don’t have one, consider paying $99 to get one — that seems like a hell of a deal.

If you’re a really big fan of the iPhone, you probably already bought this new model. But it’s the fence-sitters that this post is meant to help. Both those who are unsure if the time is right to get their first iPhone, or if it’s worth it to upgrade.

It’s a tough call — but simplified: If video is the feature you most care about, then get it. If not, consider the iPhone 3G for $99. If you’re worried about AT&T, don’t get either — wait to see if Apple renews its exclusive deal with AT&T next year. Even if it does, you can be sure another phone, more advanced than the iPhone 3GS, will be on the verge of being revealed”

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Rackspace Still Down. Shit, Even Justin Timberlake Is Pissed

by Jason Wilk on June 29, 2009

One of the world’s largest hosting providers (not to mention, publicly traded), has fail whaled for the last hour or so and some major sites are still reported to be down. Shit, even Justin Timberlake is mad. May I reccomend to you a new service? TinyComb uses MediaTemple and is quite fond. [TC]

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Apparently The Palm Pre Is Cool For Farmers

by Jason Wilk on June 29, 2009

Probably one of the longest, most comprehensive testimonials I have read to date on the Palm Pre and it comes from a farmer living off the grid. Have fun with this one:

This is my second review on off-grid living with the Palm Pre. My first review was written 3 days after I received the Pre on rollout day June 6th. As of Saturday the 20th I have now had the Palm Pre for 2 weeks. As I said in my first review, I am nowhere near the typical Pre user. My needs are unique and therefore my smartphone has to be unique as well. I live on a completely off-grid 40 acre ranch in Central Texas. We raise Pure Longhorn cattle, a milking Holstein, sheep, rabbits, chickens, and yellow blackmouth curr dogs. We are not anti-technology, but we examine every technology very closely to see if it will actually benefit our simple lifestyle. We live our lives very deliberately, and we know that most supposed “time-saving” technologies have actually created a society of slaves to the machines, and we seriously examine whether a device or technology is actually offering us any benefits or if it just becomes another toy to be serviced by its human slaves.I did a lot of study and comparison shopping before I decided on the Pre. Again, my family lives completely off-grid. What power we do use comes from our small solar array, and we do occasionally run a generator. I am writing this on a small Acer laptop using wireless radio internet from the nearest small town. I am a writer, I edit a few fairly large websites, and I am an Agrarian blogger. I receive a lot of communications and correspondence from people all over the world, and I need to be able to constantly stay on top of my correspondence while still remaining free to work on my ranch and live the life I preach about and love. It had gotten to the point that I generally spent at least 5 and sometimes up to 8 hours a day in our small cabin on the internet. I needed a smartphone tool and not a toy. When you live on a ranch, you appreciate tools and you know tools have a purpose. I wasn’t just out for the newest gadget, I have been looking for a way to accomplish very specific tasks in very specific ways. I needed a tool that would hold up to the rigors of what I do, and that would allow me to do things while I work on the ranch. I know that there are fanboys and tech geeks out there who couldn’t wait to break down the Pre and analyze every line of code, etc. I know that there are folks who just want a great platform on which to run multiple apps and games. I basically needed a mobile internet, email, and texting tool that would also provide mountains of information at my fingertips – instantly. I’m not disparaging other phones or other people, but I needed a tool that would be able to respond to my very unique needs.The Pre has been all that I could have asked for, and more. Here are some snippets of what I do with my phone…*I am able to snap pictures as I work and immediately text or email them to interested parties.

*A couple of days ago I sold a heifer (a young cow that has not yet dropped a calf) to a friend halfway across the country, then he paid me via Paypal and I received payment and notification on my phone – all within a half an hour, and I never had to get on the laptop.

I purchase goods and supplies, on online stores and on ebay, directly from my phone. And I can do this purchasing on regular websites, not just on special “mobile phone enabled” websites. None of this costs me any more money with the Sprint Everything Data program.

I keep in constant contact with my family, the members of our agrarian community here, and many other people via text messaging and email.

We live in tornado alley, and Central Texas is well known for severe weather, tornadoes, and flash floods. I am able to constantly monitor the weather, and even watch up to the minute detailed radar, wherever I am.

Just the other day, a lady from our community was traveling three hours to Austin to go pick her son up at the airport. I was able to track his flight on my pre and provide her up to the minute updates as to his progress and his arrival time.

We don’t have a television, and we rarely watch it, but I am able to sit on my front porch in the summer evening breeze and watch The History Channel, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and dozens of other stations – all via my Wi-Fi or the Sprint Network on Sprint Premier TV – right on my Palm Pre. I know my father’s Iphone won’t do that!

I am able to keep up to date on news that affects my family, and that I need to feature or discuss on my websites and blogs. The Palm Pre also multitasks, so often I am doing all or many of the things I am mentioning here AT THE SAME TIME!

I have often used the Sprint GPS and Locator features for finding the nearest gas (and lowest prices) in our area – since we have four towns near us, all in different directions. My wife has used the GPS services for finding flea markets and yard sales, and we have used it to find other addresses when we have to go to town. My wife and I also both have roadside assistance via the phone, which is great to know.

I use the alarm to remind me of things I need to do, and I use the memos to write down sku numbers of fencing so I won’t forget it before I get up to the register at Tractor Supply.

I have been able to seamlessly sync with Itunes and pull down my music into the phone.

I love the pull out keyboard, and I have to say that this is one of the great selling points to me with the phone. I am 6′3″ and 235 lbs and I find the keyboard easy to use and I can type quite quickly on it.

Oh!, and I use Pandora… almost every day. After a hard, hot day of work, I like to put on some Original Jazz Band, Jim Cullum Jazz Band radio, or Baroque music, or Jerry Jeff Walker, or even Fiddler on the Roof as I relax on the porch.

And here’s another point… I live in Central Texas where it very well might be 104 degrees and high humidity. I might be soaked through to the bone with sweat, and I have yet to have had a single glitch or problem with the Pre. I did purchase the inexpensive replacement insurance in case I drop the Pre in a cattle tank, but I don’t think I will need it. This is one tought phone. After I read all the complainers whining about the flip-open power door, I was worried. But seriously, that was just ridiculous. My main concern is that the dog will chew it up. I think only someone with serious ham hands would break this phone “accidentally”.

Now, I probably don’t use half of the utility of this phone. I don’t know all the secret hacks and I have yet to play any real games on it. I am satisfied with the apps that are available, even if I am looking forward to what new stuff will be coming out in the future. I don’t know how to jailbreak, nor do I know what a “clean ESN” is. I don’t use the calendar, and I don’t use all the fancy syncing features with Google or Facebook. I do Twitter (so check me out on Twitter: mbunker), but I am pretty knew at that.

Ok, so that is my review of the phone. Not much I would change about it. I hope to see some more Apps and some of the fixes that have been proposed/promised in upcoming updates, but I am completely pleased and happy with the phone. You Iphone fanboys, wipe the lotion off your hands and come on out here and work with me for a week and see how your phone holds up. You’ll have to read a book while I’m watching cable TV on the Pre, but after the week we’ll see which phone you would choose!

Michael Bunker (Salty Off-Grid) [PreCentral]

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Micro-USB Coming To iPhone? Not Neccessary

by Jason Wilk on June 29, 2009

Not sure why it took this long, but the top mobile telephone suppliers have agreed to back an EU-wide harmonization of phone chargers. The agreement was signed by Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, LG, NEC, Qualcomm, Research in Motion, Samsung, Texas Instruments and YES, Apple. “People will not have to throw away their charger whenever they buy a new phone,” said EU Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen, estimating that unwanted phone accessories accounted for thousands of tons of waste in Europe each year. an estimated 400 million mobile phones in Europe, with 185 million bought each year.
Was it really necessary for Apple to sign this agreement however? The iPhone charger is compatible with the iPod, a device that over 200 million people have in use today. Combined, they make up for more than 220 million chagers that are compatible with one another. Research In Motion was smart to use a Mini-USB then to Micro-USB to stay compatible with Motorola, reducing the need to get rid of chargers. The real problem lies with companies like Nokia, LG, Samsung and Sony who have blown through dozens of charger types through the last 10 years, causing 90% of the waste that they are now trying to combat. This is not unlike the US telling the world that we have to cut back on emissions due to global warming, when actually we represent 30% of the entire problem. Let’s hope Apple sticks with their current setup and adds the micro-USB as an extra option. I’m not quite sure where it would fit on the phone, but it may be on a hardware update in the next 12 months.

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← Previous Entries

June 2009

Is Palm Throwing In The Towel? One Executive Is Already Cashing Out

To 3GS Or Not To 3GS. Is That Your Question?

Rackspace Still Down. Shit, Even Justin Timberlake Is Pissed

Apparently The Palm Pre Is Cool For Farmers

Micro-USB Coming To iPhone? Not Neccessary

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