Treonauts and Codie

I just saw where Treonauts is a finalist for a Codie Award in two different catagories:

1. Best Corporate Blog
2. Best Media Blog

Treonauts Answers iPhone "Attack"

I'm a big Palm user. I had the first color Palm and then the full color Palm and I'm ready to switch to a Treo. Then last week I heard the announcement from Mac about the iPhone and I thought how will this affect Palm sells?

Today, on the Treonaut blog, my question has been answered. Read the editorial and come to your conclusion. My conclusion: I'll probably stick to the Treo.

Apple Waves Its Wand at the Phone (NY Times)

...Already, though, one thing is clear: the name iPhone may be doing Apple a disservice. This machine is so packed with possibilities that the cellphone may actually be the least interesting part.

As Mr. Jobs pointed out in his keynote presentation, the iPhone is at least three products merged into one: a phone, a wide-screen iPod and a wireless, touch-screen Internet communicator. That helps to explain its price: $499 or $599 (with four or eight gigabytes of storage).

As you’d expect of Apple, the iPhone is gorgeous. Its face is shiny black, rimmed by mirror-finish stainless steel. The back is textured aluminum, interrupted only by the lens of a two-megapixel camera and a mirrored Apple logo. The phone is slightly taller and wider than a Palm Treo, but much thinner (4.5 by 2.4 by 0.46 inches). (more...)

Bloggers gain press credit (The Editros Weblog)

For the first time in a federal court, during the trial of US Vice President’s former chief of staff set to open next week, journalists won’t be the only ones to occupy the press seats. Two of the 100 press seats will be reserved for bloggers. Another step towards the convergence of bloggers and journalists?

The Media Bloggers Association obtained, after two years of negotiation, that two of its members report on the trial. (more...)

Amazon's NowNow Services

More info http://www.nownow.com/nownow/faq.jsp
"1. What is NowNow? NowNow is a service that mobile users can use to find answers to any question via mobile email. When you post a question to NowNow via email (ask@nownow.com), our NowNow workers will surf the web to find the answer for you. NowNow workers are users who are being paid to search the web on your behalf. NowNow bypasses the need for mobile users to go to the web to find answers to questions as NowNow will send you an email with up to 3 answers to each question you ask. We have not finalized our pricing for each question, however, we expect each question will cost less than $0.25. During this beta-test period all questions asked will be FREE. "

If anyone is an existing user of Amazon's new email answer service NowNow, please send me an invite to try it. I'd love to check it out, but they are only permitting people to register who are invited by an existing user. Please invite me: fox@simmons.edu

Webinar: Delivering Library Content to Mobile Users (Metro)

Registration Fee: $60 members; $80 nonmembers
Location: This workshop takes place online

Description: This webinar will introduce librarians to methods of delivering content and services to mobile users. Models used to deliver content via the Web as well as the creation and repackaging of library content for mobile users will be discussed. Traditional library services that can be adapted for mobile users will be examined. Topics will include, purchasing content for mobile users, designing Web pages for mobile users, and providing traditional library services to mobile users via IR and SMS. Real-life examples will be showcased.

Objectives:

• Understand the different purchasing models for mobile content
• Learn about best practices for developing content for mobile devices
• Take away ideas for providing mobile content in your own library

Presenter: Colleen Cuddy has an M.A. in American and English Literature from New York University and an M.L.S. in Library Service from Rutgers University. She is currently the Assistant Director for Library Systems at the Ehrman Medical Library, New York University where she leads the library in PDA implementation as well as directing the library’s integrated library system. She is the author of Using PDAs in Libraries: A How to Do It Manual (Neal-Schuman, 2005) and the editor of the PDAs @ the Library column, Journal of Electronic Resources in Medical Libraries. Her first PDA was a Handspring Visor.

War for the '4th screen' (International Herald Tribune)

By John Markoff

SAN FRANCISCO: For functions from e-mail and instant messaging to mobile MySpace and ESPN, computer users are increasingly turning to the "fourth screen" — the one on their cellphones — which is evolving to adopt more characteristics of the three previous generations of screens: movie, television and computer.

That shift may well be underscored on Tuesday when Steven Jobs, the chief executive of Apple Computer, is expected to unveil an Apple phone representing his company's new mobile communications strategy — highlighted by a device that may include Jobs-inspired refinements like a sleek ceramic case and a transparent touch screen.

Industry executives and competitors say that Apple has developed the first of the next generation of devices that are closer to personal computers in pocket form, meaning that they will easily handle music, entertainment, productivity tasks and communications on cellular and other wireless networks. (more...)

Catch the Next Chapter on Your iPod (It’s Even Cheaper) (NY Times)

...Unlike onscreen e-books, which never quite caught on, downloadable audiobooks have taken off, driven by the explosive popularity of the iPod.

According to the Audio Publishers Association, downloads have grown sharply, rising to 9 percent of audio book sales in 2005; that is a 50 percent increase over the previous year. Audible .com, which pioneered downloadable audio books nine years ago, also sells them through iTunes and Amazon and has a membership model similar to that of NetFlix; its membership has grown 54 percent over the last year, to 345,200. Going exclusively to a downloadable format saves publishers the expense of duplication, packaging and distribution. And the savings are often passed along. Audible’s full-price version of “The Audacity of Hope” by Barack Obama costs $20.97 (although various discounts are available), while the CD version retails for $29.95;
undiscounted, unabridged versions of Michael Crichton’s “Next” are $34.97 by download and $49.95 on CD.

(more...)

Audible, audiobooks, audio+books, handheld, ipod, mp3, pda, podcasting

Palm looking into Treo 680 battery (PalmAddicts)

[From Ted] Caught over at TreoCentral forum regarding the Treo 680 battery. "I just spoke to Palm support and they admit there is a 'battery problem' with new treo 680s. They claim that engineering is working on the 'fixing the battery' but the date for a battery replacement is not known." Read in full and join in the discussion.