If your life revolves around making video games, then you would be in San Francisco this week.  The annual Game Developers Conference in San Francisco (http://www.gdconf.com/) is THE major event for the game development industry.  GDC is five days of educational sessions, specialized summits, networking events, and expo & career pavilions.

We will be roaming the show to bring you tidbits of news that will affect the technology and games you will be playing soon.  Many of the news stories we will bring you will become product reviews in the futures as new products announced at GDC reach your local retail store.

The first two days of GDC are specialized summits including Outsourcing and Mobile.  These summits allow the attendees to get focused instruction on specific areas of the game industry.

Some things that caught our attention today were:

Palm today introduced Treo Pro, with its streamlined design and Palm shortcuts layered on Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, Treo Pro is brings email, Wi-Fi and GPS capabilities for all. Treo Pro, which will be available from Vodafone and O2 in Europe and from Telstra in Australia, also will be available in an unlocked version in the United States, Europe and Asia Pacific.

The Treo Pro smartphone, based on the Windows Mobile 6.1 platform with:

* One-touch Wi-Fi button—Easy, fast Wi-Fi connection experience (802.11b/g).(1)
* Today screen enhancements—Web search directly from the Today screen.
* Ringer switch—Silences the device immediately.
* Screen saver—Lets users know at a glance - without turning on the device - what time it is and whether you’ve missed a call or have a new SMS/MMS message.
* New voicemail indicator—The center button flashes to let users know that a voicemail is waiting.
* Dedicated email and calendar buttons—Fast one-button access.
* World phone—With high-speed UMTS/HSDPA network capabilities.
* Integrated GPS—Users can access maps, turn-by-turn directions and point-of-interest (POI) searches.

It will be available in the United States in the fall through the Palm online store (http://www.palm.com/store) as well as select Internet, retail and enterprise resellers for a suggested retail price of $549. The U.S. version is unlocked and unsubsidized, simply insert your existing active SIM card and immediately start using their Treo Pro without a new contract.

Palm, Inc. today said it has sold its two-millionth Centro smartphone, confirming the $99 product’s growing momentum with traditional mobile phone users who want to move up to a phone that offers more functionality. Hmmm, OK.

Quote:

Recent data released by AdMob, the largest advertising network on the mobile web, further echoes the momentum of Palm’s smallest, lightest and most affordable smartphone. According to the company’s Mobile Metrics report (http://www.admob.com/s/solutions/metrics), Palm Centro leapt onto the list of mobile phones worldwide in May as the No. 8 device, and moved up in June to No. 7. AdMob cites the growth of inexpensive phones, such as Palm Centro, as a primary driver in mobile Internet usage.

Our comment: “Meh…”

http://www.palm.com/centro

Remember the PDA, the “personal digital assistant” that was literally held out as the ultimate in portable technology? Even as PDA’s fade from the technology horizon, another currently hot “P” device - the PND, or “personal navigation device” - may soon follow, says an MIT Sloan School of Management expert on business strategy, technology, and innovation.

PND products, such as Tom Tom and Garmin, may remain popular for a few years, “but life is getting tough very quickly” for PND makers, according to MIT Sloan Senior Lecturer Michael A. M. Davies. PND’s face a growing challenge not only from cell phones, which are increasingly equipped with high-end navigation programs, but from a less obvious competitor: automobile makers. As software expands the capabilities of PND’s, car manufacturers are in a unique position to make their use both practical and safe, he says.

MIT Prof says three-way battle looms over navigation wars CONTUNUED…

I am not sure this is new but Clem over at Magnifoca just informed me that they have version 0.8 of Snap2Face ready for download. Here are the deets:

***Snap2Face Features***

* Sleek, graphic-rich user interface
* Set your status while on-the-go
* View friends’ status and detailed information
* View friends’ friends and send friendship requests
* Get notified of events like wall post, message, poke, or friend request
* View your pokes, wall, inbox, and friend requests, all in full text
* Poke friends, send message to friends, and post on friends’ wall
* Access you and your friends’ photo albums
* Upload photos from built-in camera or file folder
* Import friends’ profile photos to Outlook Contacts (photo Call ID)

Simply put, Snap2Face is a full-featured client for Facebook for the WM platform. And to our knowledge it is the only client out there. With photo upload/download and caller-ID features, it is much more powerful than what the iphone Facebook portal does for iphone users.

Check is out here: http://www.magnifoca.com/download_snap2face.html

Myvu Corporation’s myvu personal media viewer, crystal 701 allows viewers to experience their videos up close and personal from various portable media players, DVD players, mobile phones and game consoles.  The elegant eyewear brings traditional head-mounted displays out of the world of the techno-geek and into the world of the techno-chic.  Crystal provides VGA resolution and a significant increase in virtual screen size over current myvu models for true DVD-quality viewing experience. Complete with noise-reducing in-ear earbuds by Ultimate Ears for stereo sound and a rechargeable battery for up to 4 hours of viewing time, crystal provides a relaxing way for users to watch their favorite videos on-the-go. 

Macworld’s buying advice:

For $300 you’re going to be paying $100 more for the Crystal than for Myvu’s least-expensive video headset for the iPod, but you’re going to get better-quality video and a sleeker design. While it’s not perfect, Myvu’s Crystal provides you with quality, private video viewing on your iPod and iPhone—and these days, that’s about all you can ask for in the belly of coach class on most airlines.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,147504-pg,1/article.html

I will be updating the website with news and more reviews soon.

Thanks!

Bill

This place has it all: more than 5,000 square feet; home entertainment; music, video and games; more than three dozen screens; and the latest, coolest, hottest wireless phones. This place also lets customers look at, touch and experience everything in the store.

The more than 5,000-square-foot store will feature several new retail concepts, including six integrated “customer experience” stations that encourage customer interaction with cutting-edge wireline, wireless and converged services. In addition, knowledgeable store personnel will be on hand throughout the store and within each of the stations to guide consumers through product trials and purchasing decisions.

In addition, a centrally located Personal Style Studio will showcase high-end accessories and will allow customers to purchase external wireless features, such as ringtones, crystal handset designs and phone “tattoos”, or pictures that customers can download to a laptop in-store, print on a sticker and apply to wireless phones.

Other unique features include more than three-dozen screens located throughout the store. On these screens, visitors can learn about and experience a variety of AT&T products and services, including broadband, wireless, voice and video. Digital messages that inform customers about the variety of lifestyle, product and feature benefits will be displayed throughout the store on 32-inch LCD screens. A series of “Guided Selling Kiosks” also provide valuable information to assist employees and customers during the sales process.

http://www.att.com/newsroom

The Foleo mobile companion turns on and off instantly and features fast navigation, a compact design at only 2.5 pounds, and a battery that lasts up to 5 hours of use. Its applications include email, full-screen web browser, and editors or viewers for common business documents such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF files. The Foleo stays synchronized via Bluetooth wireless technology and uses the smartphone’s radio or the Foleo’s built-in Wi-Fi radio for general Internet connectivity.

Foleo mobile companions work with Palm’s Treo smartphones (Palm OS and Windows Mobile versions). However, Palm believes that most smartphones based on Windows Mobile should work with little or no modification. Smartphones based on operating systems from Research in Motion, Apple, and Symbian likely can be supported with a modest software effort. The Foleo’s synchronization architecture is open, and Palm expects to work with third-party developers to support as many smartphones as possible.

U.S. availability for the Palm Foleo mobile companion will begin this summer. The price of the Foleo mobile companion is expected to be $499 after an introductory $100 rebate. http://www.palm.com/seefoleo

Microsoft Corp. unveiled Windows Mobile 6, the newest version of its mobile software platform. Improving usability and adding support for Microsoft Office features previously available only on PCs. Microsoft Windows Mobile 6 looks to meet the needs of work and life while on the go, all with a single device. Yeah; But I was getting that already with my Windows Moble 5 device I thought. This looks a lot better.

However they do claim Better-looking e-mail, Ease of viewing and editing of Office system documents, E-mail management and setup with fewer clicks, Synchronization with Windows Vista, Smart calendar bar,
Web search, e-mail, instant messaging (IM) and blogging all together, and Contacts with context.

MobileTechReview has published an in-depth review of the Palm Treo 750 Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC Phone.

“No, it’s not an earth-shattering Treo, but it’s by no means a re-warmed Treo 700wx either. The Treo 750 offers very good performance, an improved camera, enhanced video playback, a more solid Bluetooth implementation in a lighter, slimmer, antenna-less casing. And best of all for Cingular customers, a Windows Mobile Treo is finally available for GSM! While we found some Treo models too quiet (i.e.: the Treo 650) and only average on call quality, the Treo 750 is both loud and land line clear.”

Read the full review at: http://www.mobiletechreview.com/phones/Treo-750.htm

Tim Nicholson of Palmzone.net wrote this editorial recently; while it talks about a Windows Mobile device, the point of the article really is why can’t Palm make a Motorola RAZR that runs the Palm
OS??

Blurb:

Ever since the initial release of the Motorola RAZR, I’ve been jealous of the slim design, large screen, and the overall style of it. Of course, I never purchased one because I’m a Palm OS fan! However, pretty much everyone else on the planet has since gotten one of these pieces of artwork that functions as a phone. Sure, I’m a big fan of the Treo as are millions of other folks, but the Treo fans are in love with the phone’s capabilities, while the RAZR fans are in love with its design. See the Motorola RAZR in our Amazon.com Store. The big downside to the RAZR, in my opinion, is that Motorola refuses to produce a full suite of usable Personal Information Management (PIM) applications.

Now comes the Cingular 3125, otherwise known as the Qtek 8500 and other brands throughout the world. Its a Windows Mobile smartphone that’s a flip-phone style. Its thin and black, like the RAZR. Without a dedicated keyboard, its certainly not as easy to respond to emails, but its a fully-functional smartphone. It has a 1.2 MPx camera, email, internet, and just about everything else you’d need in a smartphone.

http://www.palmzone.net/article.php?sid=954

This morning Palm is announcing its strong support for California SB-1613 (Senator Joe Simitian’s D-Palo Alto), the hands-free cell phone bill that Governor Schwarzenegger will sign into law today. The law will require California drivers who choose to use a cell phone while driving to use a hands-free device.

Palm believes that SB-1613 responsibly addresses evidence that handheld cell phone use increases the risk of accidents, while preserving the benefits associated with cell phone usage by California drivers.  Palm also believes that while this bill is not the first in the United States, its passage in California could be instrumental in leading other states to follow suit and improve driving safety.

California’s largest producer of cell phones, Palm is the first and only cell-phone manufacturer to publicly support the bill.

I give them credit for being Johny-on-the-spot however what manufacturer will not be endorsing SB-1613?

Mobility Electronics announced the launch of the Stowaway Sierra, a next generation portable Bluetooth keyboard designed specifically for smartphone users. The Stowaway Sierra portable keyboard includes five rows and full-size keys, providing the closest replication of a traditional desktop keyboard available on the market.

We reviewed the Think Outside Stowaway Bluetooth Keyboard last November.

Key Features: Over-the-air driver installation-no PC needed. Quickly type email, memos, or surf the web in optimum comfort. Works with almost all Bluetooth-enabled devices. 100% full size keyboard for touch-typing. Includes a fifth row of keys for dedicated numerical entry. User programmable shortcut and command keys for fast access to other applications. Power saving - auto sleep mode . Stainless steel and ABS plastic construction - built to withstand the harshest environments. Includes carrying case & detachable smartphone/PDA stand. Weighs less than 11 oz.

http://www.thinkoutside.com/products/sbt5e/sbt5e_product.html