Quickies: Treo 300, OS 5, T-Blaster, SplashShopper, Australia

Posted By: As Listed Monday, June 17, 2002 8:06:16 AM

Handspring's CDMA version of its smartphone will be called the Treo 300 and will be available sometime in July, according to an article in Fortune. The article goes on the describe it as "a slightly thicker version of the Treo 270". Read more about the Treo 300 here. -Roel van der Vegte

Impress Japan has a video comparing Quickchart running under Palm OS 5 on an Xscale chip to the same app running under OS 4. -Anon

Handspring and Astraware are giving away T-Blaster, a game similar to Giraffe that helps teach people to use the built-in keyboard on some of the Treo series. -Larry

SplashData has released SplashShopper 2.1, an update for its its shopping list manager. The new version includes support for multiple stores, beaming, sharing customized lists, converting HandyShopper files and more. -PR

The Australian Palm User Group has cleared up the problems they were having with their site. They are also looking into local PUG meetings in Sydney, Perth, and Melbourne and wondering if there is interest in meetings in Brisbane, Adelaide, Darwin or Hobart. -Sandro Hogan

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OS5, X-Scale

big_raji @ 6/17/2002 8:32:54 AM #
Damn, I'm impressed! I had no idea there would be such a speed difference!

Are those Quickapps native OS5? or are they running in the emulator?

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

RE: OS5, X-Scale
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/17/2002 8:56:50 AM #
The video is truely impressive. It makes one want to wait to get the fast machines instead of lunkering through with another slow device. The current PDA's are fast for looking up addresses but slow when dealing with workbooks and databases.
RE: OS5, X-Scale
JimBob @ 6/17/2002 10:05:15 AM #
Looks like the PalmOS will be able to take advantage of the Xscale processors, which the PocketPC won't until maybe 2004.

"Microsoft's current PDA operating system, Pocket PC 2002, is based on a Windows CE 3.0 kernel, which is optimised for a class of processors which includes StrongARM, but not Xscale.
So the rumours that the first Xscale products don't run any faster than StrongARM are almost certainly true."
http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?j40212430

RE: OS5, X-Scale
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/17/2002 11:32:18 AM #
As PalmSource has laid out to us thus far, you can't do full native ARM apps in OS5 yet. You *can* have small portions use ARM code for those for routines you want to speed up. ARMlets if you will.
ED - this is the story
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/17/2002 1:37:23 PM #
>>>Looks like the PalmOS will be able to take advantage of the Xscale processors, which the PocketPC won't until maybe 2004.

Yes! I was just reading about this myself. For all the complaints we've heard here in PIC about OS 5 not taking full advantage of ARM processor technology (it uses PACE emulation) - at least Palm plans to have native ARM support with the next version which they plan to release quite soon after OS 5 (OS 5 units with flash ROM will be upgradable).

MS on the other hand - does not plan to optimize PPC 2002 for use with X-scale - prompting analysts and MS employees to state that there will basically be no performance gains when moving to higher speed x-scale devices! But the truly incredible part, is that the next version of PPC - built around the CE.net kernal - is also not optimized for x-scale! EVEN MORE AMAZING - the version after that will only be 'somewhat' optimized to take advantage of x-scale - but that won't be until 2004!! It looks like Palm is set to leap frog MS in terms of performance!

There is a lot of confusion out there in the press - I have seen articles on both WIRED and PDABuzz that mistakenly claim that Palm OS 5 uses StringARM - it does not! A PDABuzz article claimed that although PPC is not optimized for x-scale, that OS 5 was a geration behind because it was just starting to use StrongARM and was a long way from being optimizwed for x-scale. This is completley off the mark. StrongARM is a particular design (ARM technologies Type 4 architecture) manufactured by Intel and running only at 206mhz. Palm OS 5 runs on ARM Type 4T architecture - also designed by ARM, BUT licensed to Motorola, Intel, TI and others. This class of processor already supports 18mhz to 1Ghz!! I have written letters to the above mentioned news sources explaining their mistakes - i encourage everyone to do the same - let's make sure OS 5 does not get killed by eroneous bad press.

The next 2 yrs should be exciting as OS 5 is set to take the lead over PPC. If anyone knows different or sees some flaw in my logic here - please comment.

RE: OS5, X-Scale
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/17/2002 3:57:51 PM #
Time will tell. As soon as the actual machines get on the market people will be able to see the improvements. I think OS 5 will be a winner and OS 6 will simply finish of Win/CE.
Greetings, Roel.
RE: OS5, X-Scale
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/17/2002 4:25:16 PM #
High end OS 5 units will use Xscale devices at the 300 - 400 MHz range. This will compete with Pocket PC's next gen's. Low end OS 5's with have Strong ARMs as low as 66 MHz. Very impressive. I think this should shut up those people complaining about OS 5. ;)
QUICKchart !?
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/17/2002 8:48:06 PM #
LOL, QuickChart !
If that's quick on a m515, i'm a camel.
I've made PieCharts appear faster on an old III than they appear on that PalmOS5 testing machine.
This is poor programming.


RE: OS5, X-Scale
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/17/2002 11:37:50 PM #
Are you looking at the same thing I am? The m515 is running OS 4.1 and the other is Intel's OS5 simulator running an XScale processor, looks damn quick to me!

SONY!

I.M. Anonymous @ 6/17/2002 10:11:34 AM #
I would bet a lot that Sony will come out with an Xscale Palm first... maybe not their first device, but it's certainly in prototype. Look at the grafiti area it is sortof darkened, this is hinting on it being either a virtual grafiti or the regular from Sony!
RE: SONY!
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/17/2002 10:40:09 AM #
All PalmOS prototype devices use this form of "virtual" graffiti area. It allows people to use generic development boards (which include larger displays) to get PalmOS up and running.
RE: SONY! sony troll
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/17/2002 11:21:39 AM #
another sony troll,,, scared lil troll?
RE: SONY!
Scott R @ 6/17/2002 1:55:01 PM #
Can't people carry on intelligent conversations here? Just because someone observes that the darkened Graffiti area looks similar to the NR70's, it doesn't make him a Sony Troll.

Scott

RE: SONY!
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/17/2002 7:22:42 PM #
The only thing stopping me buying a Sony device is the thought that I'll become one of these Sony bigots (yes bigots, not zealots). It scares me...

T-blaster works with all palms not just treo

C @ 6/17/2002 12:27:17 PM #
It looks cool I just downloaded it...

RE: T-blaster works with all palms not just treo
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/17/2002 12:42:30 PM #
Yeha the game is for all Palms
RE: T-blaster works with all palms not just treo
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/18/2002 4:48:04 AM #
Yeah!
And it is played using the graffiti strokes.
Cool game!
Thanks so much Astraware!

Treo 300 competition...

I.M. Anonymous @ 6/17/2002 10:12:45 PM #
Here's a picture of Treo 300 competitor and something else being cooked up from somewhere

www.kpug.net/ez2000/ezboard.cgi?db=photo&action=read&dbf=5055

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