Quickies: Ringo 2.0, Petition, eBook, Good, Jornada

Posted By: As Listed Monday, May 13, 2002 9:11:56 AM

Electric Pocket has released of Ringo 2.0, a new version of its ringtone manager for the Treo. The key new feature is the ability to set personal ringtones for specific callers or groups of callers. -PR

An online petition has been posted to persuade websites that distribute Palm OS software to display developers' URLs on their product pages. -Yeo Feng

Qvadis, makers of Express Reader, have picked Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress as the handheld eBook-of-the-Month for May 2002. This short work won both the Hugo and Nebula awards. -PR

Good Technologies, who made the discontinued Sounds Good Springboard module, is now developing the G100 , a wireless communication device designed to compete with the Palm i705 and Blackberry pager. -Jon Wagner

In the wake of H-P buying Compaq, it has been announced that H-P's Jornada line will be dropped and the iPaq line will be renamed the HP iPaq. -Zan Hecht

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BFD

I.M. Anonymous @ 5/13/2002 9:33:35 AM #
Wow,
they can market devices made by RIM. I'm so impressed... Not.


RE: BFD
lynuhx @ 5/13/2002 1:52:15 PM #
Your assertion is incorrect. They are not repackaging RIM devices. The G100 is a wholly new device and platform that competes with the Blackberry directly, and on a similar level with the Palm i705. There's more information
www.pdahandyman.com/archives/cat_gadget_news.html#000024

online petition... nice, but

I.M. Anonymous @ 5/13/2002 9:39:17 AM #
I completely understand the desire to have the web address for the author on sites that sell Palm software that way you can go get more information on the product.
The reason they have stopped having the link is that with the net as it is, when someone jumped away from those sites they may buy directly or from another vendor and lower the income per view.
An interesting tid bit of information would be to hear if Handango and PalmGear has had an increase in income since they did this. Or at least a higher percent of buyers per view/download. The of course woudn't release that information.
The reality has it that no matter how much you complain, they have to keep it the way it is now to try and get that income stream so they can offer theri services tomorrow. These are not high profit center businesses.
Maybe we could come up with a happy middle ground rather than draw a line in the sand.
RE: online petition... nice, but
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/13/2002 9:44:54 AM #
it's like palmgear screening reviews. they dont want negative reviews on products since it will affect their sales.

its's all about sales. i find it greedy.

RE: online petition... nice, but
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/13/2002 9:49:56 AM #
I signed the petition. My idea for a solution is very simple: when a user clicks on a developer's homepage, PG/Handango etc. open up the page in two frames the top frame contains PG/Handango branding, link back to the originating page, a 'buy now' and 'download now' button the main frame contains the developer's page. Here's my post on petitiononline:

I can see why PalmGear etc. wish to concel the URL, so as to increase the likelihood of a purchase directly through their site (and hence commission) and are afraid of being just a free listing's service (which is what happens if the user buys through the developer and not PalmGear etc. However, a moment's thought reveals that small developer's don't have credit card processing facilities - so in fact, PG etc. are not losing out. A simple solution to keep everyone happy is to provide URLs, but to have a frame at the top of the opened page, with the developer's site in the main frame. The top frame could include 'download now' and 'buy now' buttons to make it less necessary/likely for the user to click on a buy button on the actual main developer's site. The top frame would have PG etc. branding and links back to the page where the user pressed the link.

RE: online petition... nice, but
big_raji @ 5/13/2002 9:51:11 AM #
"it's like palmgear screening reviews. they dont want negative reviews on products since it will affect their sales.

its's all about sales. i find it greedy."

The next time you go to work, and your boss hands you your paycheck, you better tell him you don't want it... You'll work for free for the rest of your life.

---
What's Wrong With This Picture?
http://raj.phangureh.com/picture.html

RE: online petition... nice, but
Moosecat @ 5/13/2002 9:51:26 AM #
It's no more greedy than retailers not providing you with a phone number where you can obtain the same product at wholesale prices.

I agree that it's irritating, but it is a sensible and common business decision to restrict your customers' access to information about cheaper alternative sources.

Besides, it is awfully easy to run a Google search and find the websites on your own.

One alternative would be for the download sites to offer developers the option of linking to their websites, but only on the condition that the developer's website refer the customer back to the download site for actual downloading. If a developer did not want to abide by that condition, there would be no link to his/her website.

RE: online petition... nice, but
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/13/2002 10:12:46 AM #
"You'll work for free for the rest of your life"

Working is one thing, being greedy is another.

RE: online petition... nice, but
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/13/2002 10:18:31 AM #
No, it's exactly the same thing. You don't want to give your work away for free. Well, surprise, neither does PalmGear?

That said, I wish that PalmGear would provide more information about the products they offer for sale. If they force me to go find the developer's site myself just so I can see a feature list and some screen shots, then what's my incentive to come back to PalmGear to buy the product?

Palmgear Screening Reviews
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/13/2002 11:01:00 AM #
Palmgear *does* screen its reviews. I posted a balanced review of a program I purchased & gave it 4 stars. Palmgear conveniently left out my last sentence which justified the 4rather than 5 stars.

If they simply don't post the truly bad reviews (I don't know, I haven't posted a bad one), no one will trust the customer comments one finds there. Over time, Palmgear will lose its credibility as a site where customers honestly rate software.

RE: online petition... nice, but
Phil @ 5/13/2002 11:05:34 AM #
Actually that is not so much of a problem. Just hold the mouse-pointer on the eMail-link and you will see the complete eMail adress in the lower frame of the browser. In most cases you can type in the mail-domain with "www." in front (e.g. info@palmsoft.com = www.palmsoft.com) and voila - you are on the developers homepage. (Sorry Palmgear)

Phil

RE: online petition... nice, but
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/13/2002 11:07:18 AM #
I don't understand the petition. Whenever I want to find the developer's site, I do a little Googling and find it, no problem (then, since I'm a Clie owner, I find out the site is in Japanese :D ). Then, if I decide to buy the product, I go back to PalmGear, because I think it's important to support such a valuable company/service. While it would be convenient to have the developers URL on a mass vendor's site, I think it's fairly understandable why they don't, although as I say, it's not that hard to find a workaround.
RE: online petition... nice, but
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/13/2002 12:16:02 PM #
Although some pple disagree with the petition, I can see that the response has been quite good since it was first posted.
RE: online petition... nice, but
seanhennessy @ 5/13/2002 12:18:29 PM #
"In most cases you can type in the mail-domain with "www." in front (e.g. info@palmsoft.com = www.palmsoft.com) and voila - you are on the developers homepage."

True, but most users won't do this sort of thing. The only way most people would ever go to the developer's site would be to follow a link.

Even so, I don't think the developers have a case. PalmGear and Handango are shops. They exist to sell stuff, not to tell you where you can get it cheaper. This is just the price you pay for the greater exposure of these well-known sites. Get over it.

RE: online petition... nice, but
nategall @ 5/13/2002 12:45:11 PM #
> The next time you go to work, and your boss hands you
> your paycheck, you better tell him you don't want it... You'll
> work for free for the rest of your life.

uh... ditto (damn you big_raji, you took my rant!)

and from now on, I want ALL information on each page. If you are going to host ANY information you must host "ALL" the information. (yeah, that'll work).

If you really want to affect palmgear, send them an email requesting more information on a product before you buy. If they recieved a ton of requests for information, it might be easier to give the information than to supply it each time somebody asks. Of course, don't bother asking if you are not interested in a product, that is just a waste of time.

nategall says "blah!"

RE: online petition... nice, but
escobar @ 5/13/2002 12:48:41 PM #
I don't believe that Palmgear never displays bad reviews of the products they distribute! I tried out Iambic Office a while ago and I thought that it didn't work well for me at all, so I posted a two-stars review of it. They didn't censor it at all, and if you go to Palmgear and look at Iambic Office you'll find my review!

So they don't always remove or censor reviews that give a product bad publicity!

RE: online petition... nice, but
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/13/2002 1:50:02 PM #
Why not URL ?

Before I download any software, I would like to investigate a little bit more on how good of their support is. The format provided by PalmGear or Handango are limited, you may be able to provide sales information but can't see overall picture.

Increasing sales ? I doubt it! They may push more buyers away than get more business from their daily viewers. If I am not sure the credential of the software developer, I am not so sure I will get any support if any issue on software comes up.

RE: online petition... nice, but
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/14/2002 9:05:39 PM #
I have a couple of PQA's that I developed on PalmGear. While they have removed the FIELD specifically for the developer's URL, they allow you to post anything you want in the description. So I just put the link to my website there. The description supports simple HTML tags so it shows as an underlined link you can click to go directly to my site.

Tim@PalmZone.net
http://www.palmzone.net

RE: online petition... nice, but
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/15/2002 1:51:34 AM #
PalmGear is not just store. We also use it to distribute our freeware stuff (in fact almost all our production). So they sales will not increase even if they removed link to our site :-). I believe they profit from offering the free software, as people will often find also commercial software while looking for the free one. They also know, thet they can find ALL the software on PalmGear (or almost all), so they do not need to go to different site. Why not allow links from the free software? If they don't give us links back, I will consider the possibility of publishing my next freeware on other sites, but not PalmGear.

Wow the Treo is getting better

I.M. Anonymous @ 5/13/2002 9:49:34 AM #
With all of the third party companies creating software for the Treo, its feature set is improving by the day. Now there seem to be applications addressing most of the shortcomings from the reviews I've read. I think the software phone model may become a popular if not cheaper method to get more features in a mobile phone.
RE: Wow the Treo is getting better
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/13/2002 11:06:06 AM #
yeah.. but they promised GPRS.. without GPRS.. they have failed.

Look for GPRS to finally hit ina buggy format in 2003

RE: Wow the Treo is getting better
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/13/2002 11:13:45 AM #
BZZZZZ! Sorry, wrong answer but thanks for playing. Handspring is telling people who ask that the GPRS update patch for the Treo will be out around the end of the summer.

Jornada?

seinman @ 5/13/2002 12:20:37 PM #
I thought this was PALMinfocenter... what's up with this pocket pc news???

RE: Jornada?
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/13/2002 12:29:36 PM #
Know thy enemy.

--Sun Tzu
--The Art of War

RE: Jornada?
Kaitou @ 5/13/2002 2:38:17 PM #
I'd imagine because this would affect the PDA market in general

RE: Jornada?
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/13/2002 3:46:37 PM #
anything bad about PPC would be a news in PIC.

Wonder why PIC hasn't posted the intel Xscale cache debalce which caused all Xscale handheld to be delayed until late summer.

RE: Jornada?
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/13/2002 5:44:55 PM #
if HP & compaq goes for the iPaq only then the PPC market will lose because people wants variety! I am a m515 user who also owns a T625 and I can understand, though both are sleek and sexy, some might prefer the 'European' business like look of the m515, and some might prefer the Japanese techie look of the T625.
RE: Jornada?
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/13/2002 7:07:25 PM #
Strickly "look", toshiba is business-like, replacing the Jornada. There are plenty of alternative out there, plus for fashion concious people, expensive elather cases would be the answer for personal expression.
RE: Jornada!
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/13/2002 8:42:00 PM #
I've used a Pilot 1000, Pilot 5000, Palm III, Palm IIIxe, and a Sony Clie s300. My wife uses a Palm V. I love Palm OS! It's very elegant.

But none of my palms had a CF slot where I could plug in a 256mb card full of MP3's and listen with the built in player. I also love my Jornada.

This is very distressing news.

RE: Jornada?
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/14/2002 1:07:00 AM #
Probably the clossest thing to Jornada round look and spec would be that next LOOX. Who knows, just have to wait.
RE: Jornada?
TDS Computer @ 5/14/2002 1:18:32 AM #
I was reading the other day that the merger will place the HP/Ipaq Hybrid firmly into second place. Right behind Palm... The Ipaq has already surpassed Handspring globally, and this new transistion will surpass them in the States, too.
Get off your Hiney, Handspring, and refresh your Visor line... Maybe you can still recover a few lost points...

Visit us at www.tdscomputer.com
Why Jornada news?
PIC mobile user @ 5/14/2002 5:32:35 PM #
Just a belated comment about the Jornada news in a recent Quickie. Why? Did someone forget that this is PALM Infocenter, not Pocket PC Infocenter? Please stick to news and info on Palm OS handhelds. I think you are the best AvantGo channel for Palm users who want their Palm OS news updated every weekday, not just two or three times a week like some of the other channels with Palm news. Thanks!

Off Topic, but No Forum for This Question....

GeauxVols @ 5/13/2002 11:54:19 PM #
Did anyone read the sidebar RE: the "world's smallest USB IrDA" adapter? I visited the website, which says "Now available"... However, there are no links to any sort of e-commerce site. Can someone post where this item can be purchased? I would be interested in trying one.

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