Computing Unplugged - More megapixels and Palm's triple play

[Computing Unplugged]

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October 7, 2003 INSIDE THIS ISSUE Palm's triple play Megapixels and cropping This week's news

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PRODUCT REVIEW
Palm's triple play
By David Gewirtz

Last week, Palm introduced three new Palm OS-based handhelds, the Zire 21, the Tungsten E, and the Tungsten T3, shown in Figure A. We've had all three in-house here at Computing Unplugged for some time, and we're ready to tell you what we think.

FIGURE A

The Tungsten T3 sports a very cool, very large screen. Click picture for a larger image.

In a moment, we'll go into detail about each model. Each model is quite nice, and we were most pleasantly surprised by the pricing, which is in tune with the rest of the handheld industry and provides good value for the money spent.

Did Palm hit a home run with these devices? No. There are still some complaints and issues we have with each unit. But we can say they hit a solid triple. In technology marketing, as in baseball, a good triple is something for which you can be very proud.

We were most impressed by the overall feature set of the Tungsten T3, very impressed at the price/performance of the Tungsten E, and substantially less so by the budget-priced Zire 21. As a result, we'll save the best for last and start our review with the Zire 21.

For the in-depth reviews for each new device, click here to read the rest of this article.

YOUR FIRST DIGITAL CAMERA
Megapixels and cropping
By David Gewirtz

No discussion of digital cameras (or any camera) can really be complete without talking about cropping. In this helpful article, I'm continuing my discussion of digital pixels with tips for how to plan for cropping in your digital camera purchase. This is a continuation of last week's article, "What the heck is a megapixel," at http://www.computingunplugged.com/issues/issue200309/00001105001.html. If you haven't yet read that article, it's probably a good first stop before continuing on here.

Let's talk about cropping. This is best illustrated with a photograph, like that in Figure A.

FIGURE A

This is a raw, unretouched image straight out of a camera. Click picture for a larger image.

http://www.computingunplugged.com/issues/issue200309/00001105001.html I took this image at Mystic Seaport, and it's unretouched, which is why it's got all the scratches and such still on it. As a good photographer, I know that the closer I get to my subject, the better the picture often becomes. It's an easy photographer's trick, and it works.

So, I'm going to want to crop the image down, as shown in Figure B.

FIGURE B

You can see the area I want to crop. Click picture for a larger image.

You can see, in the red square, the area I want to crop. By the way, the actual image you're looking at in the article is 640 pixels wide. If I cropped the image, and then wanted to still display it at 640 pixels wide, you'd get the blurring effect you see on the left side of Figure C.

FIGURE C

You can see the effect of resolution on cropping. Click picture for a larger image.

What happened was there were only so many pixels, so when I enlarged the image to fit into the 640 pixel wide area I'd decided on, the image blurred out. What's really happening is that the computer doesn't have any original data to fill the space, so it "interpolates" the existing pixel data to approximate the pixel color between the two for which there is data.

For more about how cropping relates to megapixels, click here to read the rest of this article.

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COMPUTING UNPLUGGED NEWS CENTER
This week's news
Want to get the very latest mobile and wireless news? The Computing Unplugged News Center is updated every day with news of product releases, industry info, tips, techniques, and pointers to great mobile and wireless resources on the Web. Here's this week's news:

Intel cuts Pentium M chip prices
Intel lowered prices by as much as 34 percent on its Pentium M chip for notebook PCs. According to News.com, Intel also lowered the price of its Centrino bundles, which include the Pentium M processor, a group of helper chips called a chipset, and an 802.11b format wireless networking module. Prices on the Centrino bundle that include the 1.7GHz Pentium M fell the most, dropping 30 percent from $713 to $497.

Defywire Mobility Suite 1.6 available
Defywire announced the general availability of Defywire Mobility Suite release 1.6. With release 1.6, Defywire Mobility Suite introduces new security features, integration with front and back office email systems including Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Domino, and Novell GroupWise, and support for additional wireless mobile devices.

Nokia's N-Gage available this week
RCR Wireless News reports that Nokia will release the industry's first mobile-phone/video-game device, the N-Gage. The N-Gage features GPRS Internet access, multimedia messaging, an FM radio, Java, Bluetooth and an MP3 player. The device also features an MMC slot for thumbnail-sized video game cartridges. A game staring Lara Croft will be available Tuesday, along with about a dozen other titles. Nokia promises more are in the works. The MMC games will sell separately for between $30 and $40.

FirePass Controller available
F5 Networks announced the new FirePass Controller, the first product to market based upon F5's acquisition of uRoam. The FirePass Controller offers support for application access, with complete support for Web hosts, terminal servers, client-server applications, legacy hosts, mobile devices, and Windows desktop -- without pre-installed client software or application updates.

A look at Sprint G1000 by Hitachi
Pocket PC Thoughts takes a look at the Sprint G1000 by Hitachi, an integrated wireless Pocket PC Phone Edition PDA based on Microsoft's Pocket PC 2002 Phone Edition operating system designed to work on Sprint's PCS Vision network.

Source code for Half-Life 2 stolen
The source code for Half-Life 2 was stolen and released over the Internet, developer Valve said Thursday. Valve Managing Director Gabe Newell said the company suspects that around Sept. 11, someone hacked his email account. His PC then began acting weird, crashing when he would right-click on executables. Wired Magazine reports that Newell believes keystroke recorders for collecting passwords were installed remotely. He believes this happened through a hole in Microsoft's Outlook personal-information management application.

Time to add wireless?
This article from InformationWeek asks if it's time to add wireless access to your employees' desktops. The article adds that while some companies have put off wireless deployments because of cost or security concerns, many companies are already realizing gains from the use of cell phones, PDAs, and BlackBerry devices to reach into email, Web sites, and voice-enabled data repositories.

Protect your Internet Explorer
This article from InternetWeek explains how you can protect your Internet Explorer until Microsoft re-releases a patch against new vulnerabilities.

Cezeo Software releases SecureWord 1.3
SecureWord is a new password manager program that uses Advanced Encryption Standard adopted by the US Government in 2002. SecureWord can be placed in the system tray and all you have to do in order to launch it is to click twice on the icon. Each user has his or her own password so that the program can be used by multiple users without any security compromises.

Sync contacts with Pocket PC
Information Appliance Associates announced the new release of PocketMac, a Mac to Pocket PC sync solution. In addition to enhanced support for the existing contact, calendar and tasks sync (with Entourage, iCal & OS X Address Book), version 3.0 changes the look & feel of Pocket PCs with Macintosh buttons & backgrounds. In addition to Pocketmac 3.0, Information Appliance Associates is also announcing special pricing in partnership with KissWorks Inc. for those who would like to sync Lotus Notes on the Mac with their PocketPC.

WebSphere Micro Environment available
In conjunction with the launch of the Palm Tungsten T3 and Tungsten E handhelds, Palm made IBM's WebSphere Micro Environment (WME) Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME) certified runtime environment available for Tungsten handheld users.

Get your calendar on your mobile phone
Verizon Wireless and Xpherix Corporation announced Get It Now customers can now wirelessly link their desktop calendar applications to their mobile phones with iDatebook. iDatebook enables users to access calendar content held in existing Microsoft Outlook or Palm OS software applications from their mobile phones and manage their calendar events while away from the office or home computer.

Backup your data
PanteraSoft releases Careful Backup 1.53 a dependable backup solution that allows you to schedule different backup tasks to be run automatically. You can back up your data to a variety storage media - floppy disks, hard drives, CDs, and external drives. The program supports built-in recording system for CD-R/RWs run under Windows XP.

Palm goes after enterprise market
Palm released three handheld models and software designed to make the devices more useful in a business environment. Information Week also reports that Palm has also revamped its core applications for Tungstens, making them more friendly with enterprise applications and increasing their compatibility with features such as built-in support for Microsoft Outlook. Beginning Oct. 1, Tungsten users also will be able to download an IBM Java Virtual Machine that will let them run all kinds of Java applications developed for a mobile workforce.

Palm releases Palm Zire 21
Palm introduced the Palm Zire 21 handheld, with an estimated U.S. street price of $99. The Palm Zire 21 comes with four times the storage capacity of the original Zire handheld with 8MB of memory; faster access to information with new 126MHz Texas Instruments OMAP processor; the newest versions of Date Book, Address Book, Note Pad and To Do List with the latest Palm OS software, Version 5.2.1; and new Software Essentials now included on the installation CD.

Palm Zire 21 to ship with PocketMirror
Chapura announced that every Palm Zire 21 handheld will ship with PocketMirror Standard software for synchronization with Microsoft Outlook. PocketMirror software connects your desktop with your handheld. Chapura also released PocketMirror 3.1.5 software. Both PocketMirror Standard and PocketMirror Professional are now compatible with Microsoft Outlook 2003 and include an updated progress monitor.

Shifts in Palm's strategy
InternetNews.com looks at Palm's latest devices, the Tungsten T3 (USD$399), Tungsten E (USD$199), and Zire 21 (USD$99) to suit the needs of its business and casual users. Analysts are seeing Palm's shift in strategy as it has signed a comprehensive multi-year, multi-release agreement with IBM to distribute the Websphere Micro Environment (IBM's Java Mobile Information Device Profile runtime) with its future Tungsten handhelds. PalmOne has also stepped-up support for Palm synching to Microsoft Outlook as it says upwards of 50 percent of its user-base synchs to the email application.

Palm announces stockholder meeting
Palm announced that its annual meeting of stockholders will be held on Oct. 28, 2003. Key business of the meeting will be to vote to approve and adopt an agreement and plan of reorganization related to the distribution of Palm's shares of PalmSource common stock to Palm's stockholders as well as the acquisition of Handspring, Inc., and the issuance of shares of Palm common stock to Handspring stockholders. Palm stockholders at the close of business on Sept. 23, 2003, will be entitled to vote on the proposal.

Hard drive utility released
PalickSoft Ltd. announced the new release of Hard Drive Temperature (HDD Temperature) v. 1.2, a disk utility which allows computer users check the temperature of their hard drives and prevent data loss caused by overheating. This utility comes in two versions - regular and pro. The regular version is intended for home users who have only single hard-drive and is totally free.

A look at T3, other devices
Palm has released not one, not two, but three new devices today. Forbes takes a long hard look at the Tungsten T3. The T3 has more significant changes, starting with 64 megabytes of onboard memory versus 32 MB in the T2 and 16 MB in the original T. Inside the case, the T3 is powered by a 400-MHz Intel XScale processor. The article also mentions Palm introduces the Tungsten E, a $199 handheld that Palm is positioning as a direct successor to its classic Palm V handheld. And the Zire 21 rounds out the low end of Palm's lineup at $99. It has a greyscale screen, but runs Palm OS 5.2.1 and has four times the memory of the original Zire.

Samsung introduced new CD-R/RW disc drive
Samsung introduced its new SW-252FRNS CD-R/RW optical disc drive. The drive sports 52X CD Recording, 32X CD Rewriting and 52X CD-ROM Reading. The SW-252FRNS is currently shipping to Samsung's OEM customers and will be available under the Samsung branded name in retail and distribution channels across the nation in October 2003. The suggest retail price of the drive is $79.

NearSpace partners with BSA FM
NearSpace announced that it has partnered with BSA FM, a division of BSA LifeStructures, one of the nation's largest health care design firms. The companies' first joint project is with Clarian Health Partners. NearSpace and BSA FM are collaborating to deliver the interactive-mapping component of an intranet-based Employee Locator. The Employee Locator will soon be available to the 16,000 employees that work at Clarian's Methodist, Indiana University and Riley Hospitals. Plans to extend the Locator to Palm OS and Pocket PC handhelds are underway.

Puss in Boots nominated for Pocket PC Magazine award
Puss in Boots, the popular game for kids, has received industry recognition by being nominated for this year's Pocket PC Magazine's Software Awards. These awards are the result of a five-month process beginning with over 1600 products which are evaluated by 70 expert judges worldwide

New Palm Tungstens and Zire
Palm today introduced the Palm Zire 21, the Tungsten E, and the Tungsten T3. We've had each of these devices in-house for a while and will have a more comprehensive report in our 10/7 issue of Computing Unplugged. Here's the scoop on each of the devices:

The Zire 21 has four times the storage capacity of the original Zire handheld with 7.2MB of user available memory, a new 126MHz Texas Instruments OMAP processor and Palm OS 5.2.1. The Zire 21 is still $99 and is still green and black.

The Tungsten T3 handheld is Palm's first device that supports a high-resolution color screen in landscape, as well as the typical portrait mode. The handheld offers greater input flexibility, streamlined access to key features and optimal viewing in either mode. The screen display is 50 percent larger than on any previous Palm branded device, and the new soft input screen area provides a virtual Graffiti 2 writing area. With faster Bluetooth setup embedded in the handheld, a wireless communications suite, fast XScale processor, 64MB of RAM (52MB user available), and superior office and multimedia capabilities, the Tungsten T3 handheld offers what the company calls "exceptional" performance in a compact design for an estimated U.S. street price of $399. We've been tinkering heavily with this device and have to say it's pretty darned incredible, with a screen that we have to honestly say is simply gorgeous.

The Tungsten E handheld has 32MB of RAM (28.3MB user available), a crisp high-resolution color display, updated core applications, multimedia software and expandability through cards or add-on accessories. It retains the classic Tungsten appearance, with its compact, sleek modern form and improved 5-way navigator for one-handed navigation. This handheld gives professionals an upscale handheld with premium features for an estimated U.S. street price of $199. Amazingly, it's also got the hot display and it's pretty inexpensive.

None of these devices will rock your world, but they're all very impressive and priced substantially less than we'd expected. We congratulate Palm on a very solid product introduction.

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