The Handheld Librarian: July 2006

Monday, July 31, 2006

PC Magazine reviews the Sony Reader PRS 500

The Sony Reader is the next generation of e-books. It has a crisp, high-contrast electronic display that uses E Ink. The Reader is only half an inch thick and about the length and width of a paperback novel. It also plays music and can display PDF files.

Bottom Line: The Sony Reader could change the way you read everything from books to blogs.
Pros: Easy-to-read display. Long battery life.
Cons: Not available for sale. Not all of the features were activated.

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Emergency Responders Rely on Smartphones and Handhelds to Gain Quick Access to Reference Materials During Hazardous-Materials Incidents (Palm, Inc.)

Palm Products Offer Flexibility to Emergency Responders Through National Library of Medicine's WISER Mobile Application

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Jul 26, 2006 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq:PALM) today announced that the National Library of Medicine (NLM), the largest medical library in the world and an organization within the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has created a free application for emergency responders called Wireless Information System for Emergency Responders (WISER) that runs on Palm(R) Treo(TM) smartphones and handhelds. Emergency responders use Palm products paired with the WISER application as wireless or stand-alone reference tools for gathering information on hazardous substances and supporting comprehensive decision support. The solution serves as a reliable alternative to the current paper-based systems or outdated technology that emergency responders often contend with on a scene.

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Saturday, July 29, 2006

Questions for Sony regarding the Reader (PRS-500) ebook reading device (Make)

Sony's PR folks sent us a note, Bennett from Goodman Media International writes - "I am part of the PR team working with Sony on the launch of the Reader (PRS-500) ebook reading device. As I am sure you are aware, a great deal of information and misinformation has been floating around the internet about the product since its announcement at CES in January 2006. To help clear up some of the confusion, we would like to offer you and your readers an opportunity to speak with Sony directly about the Reader to dispel some of the myth that has surrounded its rollout. As a first step, we would like to suggest compiling questions from your readers about the device. I will then share them directly with a senior member of Sony's product team for response. Hopefully, if all works well, we can work together to separate fact from fiction about the Reader."

This is a smart move, good work Sony. So Makers - here are my questions - post yours!

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Be sure and read this - there were a huge number of comments (331) when I looked at this post.

Thursday, July 20, 2006

The Li-ion, the (s)Witch, and the Wardrobe: I Review the Treo 700p (Palm Addicts)

With profuse apologies to C.S. Lewis, I submit that my prosaic title is an honest summary of what the new Palm Treo 700p represents:

> Keeping something good (the removable Li-ion battery)

> Improving something good (the Treo ringer switch)

> Adding something good (clothing the device in a sleeker external wardrobe, and an internal power-suit of applications & EvDO network connectivity)

Up front, I liked the Treo 700p enough to buy it as an upgrade to my irreplaceable Treo 650. However, that’s not to say that its perfect (it isn’t), or that Palm doesn’t owe us a firmware update (they do).

It keeps (almost) everything that made the Treo 650 such a pleasure to use (after 2 major firmware upgrades) and adds a lot that was lacking. The combination provides for a powerhouse device that redefines converged. The Treo 700p is fast. Fast at email, fast at browsing (even in non EvDO areas), fast at handling phone calls and PIM functionality.

However...no matter how 1st-rate a device the 700p is, Palm still left a few things undone, or improperly tuned.