
 |
|
June 19, 2013
June 12, 2013
Stephanie Hanes: Little girls or little women? The Disney princess effect
Fred Weir: In tweak to US, Russia would 'consider' asylum for Snowden
June 10, 2013
The Kosher Gourmet by Anjali Prasertong: A tart filling so good it might not make it to the crust
June 5, 2013
John Rosemond: Mom, Dad: Talk More and listen less
Kristen Chick: Egypt court sentences 43 pro-democracy workers to prison
June 3, 2013
Molly Hennessy-Fiske: Military judge to consider letting Fort Hood shooting defendant represent himself
May 29, 2013
Andrew Connelly and Helene Bienvenu: The Little Synagogue that Refused to Die
May 24, 2013
Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb: When I didn't so 'humbly disagree'
May 22, 2013
John Thorne:
They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman
May 20, 2013
Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?
Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star
The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting
|
| |
Jewish World Review
Jan. 13, 2006
/ 13 Teves, 5766
Palm's Interesting Flip-Flop
By
Mark Kellner
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
To hear some critics tell it, Palm, Inc., has become the John F. Kerry of
handheld computer makers: abandoning its own, eponymous operating software
for Microsoft's Windows Mobile 5.0, they suggest, was like being "for" the
Palm OS before they "voted" against it.
That's not totally true: Palm assures - swears, even - they will keep
working on the Palm OS and bringing out new devices that use the software.
Right now, I have no reason to doubt them.
Thus the arrival last week of Palm's Treo 700w
phone/personal-digital-assistant combo is a watershed of sorts, but not
yet a Waterloo. The Treo 700w is a capable device, occasionally
frustrating, but not so terrible as to scare off many users. It's
designed, Palm admits, to appeal to corporate buyers who will accept only
Microsoft-compatible products in their purchasing.
The size and layout are surprisingly similar to Palm's latest Treos, such
as the 650. There are some Windows Mobile-specific buttons, but if you've
used the earlier model, you can pick up with the 700w quickly. The new
Treo is designed to work on Verizon's high-speed wireless network, and
this it does well. E-mails zip back and forth rapidly, while Internet Web
pages load super-fast. A "desktop" viewing option will give you a
life-like Internet experience, albeit in quadrants you'll have to maneuver
around due to the 240-by-240-pixel screen. There's no landscape viewing
option, sad to say.
E-mail comes via a handheld version of Microsoft Outlook, and it works
reasonably well. I could set up, though not rename, separate accounts, and
long messages could be retrieved one at a time. Sending e-mail worked
well, too, as did e-mailing photos - the 700w has a very nice 1.3
megapixel camera built in.
Missing are the standard Palm applications, but the Windows Mobile
equivalents are pretty good. The pocket version of Excel comes in handy if
you're playing around with spreadsheets and number-crunching. Ditto for
the mobilized Microsoft Word, although even the Treo 700's nice built-in
keyboard isn't a substitute for the real thing when it comes to writing
more than a very short e-mail.
Phone dialing can be summoned by typing the name, or even initials, of a
contact - numbers pop up for your selection. Speed dial can be done by
name, or even by selecting a picture from the main screen.
What's not to like? It's not the Palm OS, and that will disappoint some
people. You can't sync the 700w with Macintosh computers yet; third party
software will come, at an extra cost, of course. And the Verizon phone is
great in New York but not in New Delhi - for global use, a Treo that
supports the GSM phone system is required.
Still, Palm deserves respect for making an effort. Windows Mobile still
has some growing to do as a handheld operating system, and perhaps Palm
can help nudge this along. The Treo 700w, priced $399 with a service plan
from Verizon, isn't perhaps as great as one might hope, but it isn't as
ghastly as some suggest.
Palm does, however, deserve even more praise for a little accessory
launched alongside the new Treo: the $199 TripKit , which takes $300
worth of Treo accessories - leather holster, Bluetooth headset, travel and
car chargers, an extra battery and a stylus/pen combo - and rolls them up,
literally, in a nice leather case. Road warriors will sing hosannas over
this one: it's stylish and practical. It supports the Treo 650 and 700w;
if you have either phone, it's worth checking out.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Mark Kellner has reported on technology for industry newspapers and magazines since 1983, and has been the computer columnist for The Washington Times since 1991.Comment by clicking here.
Archives
© 2006, News World Communications, Inc. Reprinted with permission of The Washington Times. Visit the paper at http://www.washingtontimes.com
|
|

Arnold Ahlert
Mitch Albom
Jay Ambrose
Michael Barone
Barrywood
Lori Borgman
Stratfor Briefing
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Richard Z. Chesnoff
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Larry Elder
Suzanne Fields
Christine Flowers
Peter Funt
Frank J. Gaffney
Bernie Goldberg
Jonah Goldberg
Julia Gorin
Jonathan Gurwitz
Paul Greenberg
Argus Hamilton
Victor Davis Hanson
Betsy Hart
Ron Hart
Nat Hentoff
A. Barton Hinkle
Jeff Jacoby
Paul Johnson
John Kass
Jack Kelly
Ch. Krauthammer
David Limbaugh
Kathryn Lopez
Rich Lowry
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Ann McFeatters
Dale McFeatters
Dana Milbank
Jeanne Moos
Dick Morris
Jim Mullen
Deroy Murdock
Judge A. Napolitano
Bill O'Reilly
Clarence Page
Kathleen Parker
Star Parker
Dennis Prager
Wesley Pruden
Tom Purcell
Sharon Randall
Michael Reagan
Robert Robb
Cokie & Steve Roberts
Heather Robinson
Debra J. Saunders
Martin Schram
Greg Schwem
Culture Shlock
David Shribman
Roger Simon
Lenore Skenazy
Michael Smerconish
Thomas Sowell
Mark Steyn
John Stossel
Cal Thomas
Dan Thomasson
Bob Tyrrell
Diana West
Dave Weinbaum
George Will
Walter Williams
Byron York
Cathy Young
Mort Zuckerman

Eric Allie
Robert Arial
Chuck Asay
Baloo
Nate Beeler
Lisa Benson
Chip Bok
Dry Bones
John Branch
Daryl Cagle
Patrick Chappatte
John Cole
Paul Combs
J. D. Crowe
John Darkow
Bill Day
John Deering
Sean Delonas
Brian Duffy
Everything's Relative
Randall Enos
Mallard Fillmore
David Fitzsimmons
Glenn Foden
Jake Fuller
Bob Gorrel
Walt Handelsman
Joe Heller
David Hitch
Jerry Holbert
David Horsey
Lee Judge
Steve Kelley
Mike Keefe
Jeff Koterba
Dick Locher
Chan Lowe
Jimmy Margulies
Gary McCoy
Rick McKee
Jack Ohman
Jeff Parker
Milt Priggee
Michael Ramirez
Rob Rogers
Steve Sack
Bill Schorr
Drew Sheneman
Kevin Siers
David Ray Skinner
Jeff Stahler
Scott Stantis
Danna Summers
Gary Varvel
Kirk Walters
Christopher Weyant
Larry Wright
Dan Wasserman
Adam Zyglis

Tech Q&A
Mr. Know-It-All
Ask Doctor K
Richard Lederer
Frugal Living
On Nutrition
Bookmark These
Bruce Williams
|