Palm Touchstone For Pre In Your Car

Options To Charge Your Pre With The Palm Touchstone Charging Dock In Your Car

There’s no doubt that one of the very coolest accessories for any smartphone in the world today is the Palm Touchstone Charging Dock pictured above – a small base and battery cover that allows you to charge your new Palm Pre wirelessly (without the need to have a physical cable directly plugged into your device) and which even iPhoniacs crave.

Strong magnets on the Touchstone Dock combined with small metal plates built into the Palm Touchstone Back Cover (included as part of the kit) ensure that your Pre is securely attached to the base at all times (you can turn your Touchstone upside down and the Pre will still hold on).

As I found out to my delight, the Touchstone Dock is also an ideal solution to hold and charge your Palm Pre in the car (I tested with both the Palm Vehicle Power Charger and Motorola MicroUSB Car Charger).  As some Preonauts have discovered however, the Touchstone will unfortunately not work in all car models – some 12–Volt car adapters such as the one found in my Infinity FX35 and many BMW’s work fine but others simply don’t appear to deliver enough power…

I haven’t decided exactly where I’ll position the Touchstone in my car yet but it will be either on the dashboard (using velcro or industrial strength double sided tape) or somewhere in my center console (where my 12–Volt adapter is actually located).  Ideally though, I would like to see Palm come out with a specially designed Touchstone for the car at some point in the future.

Another determined Preonaut actually wanted an even “cleaner” in-car Pre charging solution – one that would show no wires and that would fit seamlessly in his center console so he mounted a Touchstone on the center console of his BMW (2008 335 convertible pictured above) and ran a Sprint car charger with a mini-USB connector from the Touchstone to the car's electrical system.

The above setup will clearly not work well if you’re planning to rely on the built-in GPS navigation capabilities of your Palm Pre (where you need to have the device in front of you) but if all you want to is to have an elegant and discrete solution to simply charge your smartphone without having to regularly plug and unplug wires then I can’t think of a better option.

Separately, please note that the Palm Touchstone kit will be available in four flavours:

1. The first one provides you with one Charging Dock + one Back Cover but no wall charger (MSRP $69.99)
2. The second provides you with one Charging Dock only with no Back Cover to use as a secondary unit in your car or at the office (MSRP $49.99)
3. The third provides you with one Charging Dock + one International Wall Charger (MSRP $79.99)
4. The fourth provides you two Charging Docks + one Back Cover + one International Wall Charger (MSRP $139.99)

Also, if you have already tested the Touchstone in your car and it works please let your fellow Preonauts know what car and model you have via the comments link below.

[BMW Touchstone image via ismashphone]

Preonauts are always fully charged…

Palm Pre Battery Life Tips

Battery Optimization Tips & Accessories To Keep Your Palm Pre At Maximum Power

Now that over 100,000 Preonauts already have a Palm Pre in their hands it’s clear that one of the first things on their minds is ensuring not only that they learn as much as possible about their new smartphone but also that they get as much as they can out of it.  One particular area – maximizing Palm Pre battery life and performance – appears to have grown to be that of most concern. 

Although the Palm Pre delivers a healthy 5 hours of Talk Time under normal conditions, it appears that in some circumstances – particularly for 1) Power Users who want all functionality and features to be ON all the time and 2) people who are within an area that has poor Sprint wireless coverage (one or two bars) – the Palm Pre battery can drain more quickly (within half a day). 

There are undoubtedly things that Palm can and will do to further enhance the Pre battery performance but the fact is nonetheless that, as with many other devices, overall battery life ultimately depends on how you use your phone.  In this respect, you can maximize the life of your battery by following a few easy guidelines and/or buy a variety of power accessories such as the great Touchstone charger or simply a spare battery outlined below.

Maximize Your Palm Pre Battery Life – Software Settings Tips

• Screen Auto-Off & Screen Brightness [Screen & Lock App]
  1. Set your screen to turn off automatically after a shorter period of inactivity (ideally 30 seconds)
  2. Lower the screen brightness (set it at around 40%)
• Email Fetch Interval [Email App > Preferences > Accounts]
  If you set up an email account in the Email application, set the interval to automatically download email to every two hours or less frequently.
• IM [Messaging App > Buddies]
  Avoid excessive use of instant messaging (IM). Frequent use of IM can significantly reduce battery life.

Maximize Your Palm Pre Battery Life – General Tips

• WiFi, Bluetooth & GPS (Location Services)
  Turn off the Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS features when you are not using them.
• Wireless Coverage
  As with any mobile phone, if you are in an area with no wireless coverage, your phone continues to search for a signal, which consumes power. Turn off your phone if you are outside a coverage area.
• Heat & Sunlight
  Keep your battery away from direct sunlight and other sources of heat. Temperatures over 50 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit) can permanently reduce the capacity and life span of any lithium-ion battery.

Please Note:
Overall I have found that one of the single greatest drains on battery life on the Pre is poor wireless coverage (one or two bars).  As outlined above, the issue is that the lower the wireless coverage the greater the power requirements on your Pre is and therefore the faster the battery will get drained.

WiFi Tip
If you are in an area with poor wireless coverage but within reach of a WiFi network then turn on the WiFi on your Palm Pre as this greatly reduces the overall power drain.  This happens because once connected to WiFi your smartphone will stop using Sprint’s wireless data network and instead use your local WiFi – something which proves to be much more efficient from a power usage perspective in poor wireless coverage areas.

Some Battery Life Improvement Ideas For Palm

To be honest with you, I find most of the manual battery optimization tips above to be extremely tedious and overall one of the things that keeps annoying me with increasing frequency about our “Digital Lifestyle” is that so few companies actually enable proactive “smart” software solutions for their customers – solutions that could automatically help aleviate the burden of having to do something manually and/or repetitively.

In the case of the Palm Pre battery optimization, I would envisage that it would be fairly easy to create an application that automatically adjusts all the necessary settings on your smartphone to provide you with maximum battery life.  For example, you could have a setting that automatically sets your phone to Airplane Mode if no wireless coverage is detected within a specific time frame (eg. 10 minutes) – something that would be ideal if you forget to turn off your phone on a plane, have long underground train journeys or happen to be in an area of no coverage for long periods.

Additionally, one of the most frustrating things for me is to suddenly find that my phone is _completely_ dead.  Here Palm could implement an automated setting that again turns off your phone when battery levels reach a certain percentage (eg. 10%) so that you could always have just enough power left should you for example need to make an emergency call – having even 5% of battery power left is a hell of a lot better than 0% and makes a huge difference.

I’m sure that with a little imagination the engineers at Palm could expand on these ideas and deliver even more options to ensure that 1) battery life optimization burdens are kept to a minimum and 2) that you always have just enough power left to make a couple of urgent calls.

Maximize Your Palm Pre Battery Life – Accessories Solutions

Leaving aside any software settings the fact is that, for me at least, the best option to improve, enhance and maximize battery power while on the go is simply to have the right accessories kit.  Thankfully there are more than a few available solutions here:

Charge your phone whenever & wherever you can

• HOME: Charge your Pre overnight using either a wall charger or the great and currently unique Touchstone charging base so that you can have 100% power first thing in the morning.
• HOME & OFFICE: Keep your Pre resting on the Touchstone or plugged into a wall charger when not in use throughout the day (sadly the Touchstone cannot charge from a USB port on your PC).
• CAR: Keep your Pre plugged into its car charger whenever you are driving.

  

Power Accessories Solutions:

1. Palm Touchstone $49.95 (inc. Dock + Back Cover)
2. Palm Touchstone $39.95 (Dock Only): If you already have a Touchstone at home for example then you can simply get a second for the office.
3. Palm Pre Battery $39.95
4. Palm Travel Charger $29.95
5. Palm Car Charger $19.95
6. Palm USB Travel Cable $14.95 – use it to charge your Pre from your PC
7. Palm Pre Wall Chargers
8. Palm Pre Car Chargers
9. Palm Pre Cables

Spare Battery & Battery Charger

  

One of the great advantages of the Pre is that it has a removable battery.  By buying an extra spare battery you’ll be able to quickly and simply double your power while on the go – for example for long plane trips or periods of heavy use.

Additionally, Palm has also just made available a Spare Battery Charger (pictured above right) to make it that much easier to keep your extra battery charging (works with both wall and car chargers) either overnight or while you’re using your primary one.

Note: Your Palm Pre battery has a much longer useful life when it is topped off frequently than when it is charged after it is fully drained.  The Palm Touchstone is therefore a great accessory to have at your desk for example so that you can always keep you Pre docked and charging within reach when not in use.

Preonauts are always full of power…

Palm Pre Sync Solutions

Select The Right Mac or Windows Sync Software Solution For Your Palm Pre Using Google, Facebook, Microsoft Exchange, Outlook, PocketMirror, CompanionLink, Missing Sync, gSyncit, iCal or Address Book

Getting your contacts, calendar events, and tasks onto your Palm Pre is perhaps the first and single most important step to begin exploiting the capabilities of your new smartphone.  In my case, since I have over 3,500 contacts neatly stored in a multitude of Outlook folders with hundreds of categories and sub-categories the whole sync issue has been particularly important to figure out properly.

If more and more of the data you use to keep in touch with people and organize your life is stored on web services such as Facebook and Google then your new Palm Pre, with its unique Palm Synergy feature, is designed to give you access to this personal information when you’re on the go.

You can take advantage of Synergy to get your personal information from these web services and onto your Pre so that you can enjoy an unparalleled mobile experience. Synergy not only brings together your information from Google, Facebook, and Microsoft Exchange, it also displays the information in one simple, integrated view.

Overall, there are currently five options that you can choose to sync PIM (Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, Notes) to your Palm Pre:

Option 1:  I’m already using Google, Facebook, or Microsoft Exchange as my primary PIM solution

If you’re already using Google, Facebook, or Exchange to manage your data you’re pretty much all set as Palm’s Synergy works with all three.

Here’s what you do:
On your Pre, open the Contacts application then select Preferences & Accounts at the top left of your screen and enter your account credentials (username and password) for your Google, Facebook or Exchange account.  (You won’t need to go to Calendar to set up your account there—that’s done automatically using the credentials you entered in Contacts.)

My Experience
Although I have both Google and Facebook accounts I don’t use these to manage my contacts or Calendar.  At the same time, although I have considered setting up a Microsoft Exchange account I don’t have one for now so overall this option really does not apply to me.  Having said this, as Palm states, if you do use Google, Facebook or Exchange for your PIM then it is _extremely_ easy to sync with them.

Option 2:  I want to access the contacts, calendar events, and tasks in my current desktop app (iCal & Address Book for Mac + Outlook & Palm Desktop for Windows) using Synergy (via Google)

Use a third-party app to sync your desktop application to Google, and Synergy takes it from there.

Apps are available to sync:

• Mac: iCal and Address Book
• Windows: Outlook and Palm Desktop by ACCESS

Here’s what you do:

1. On your computer, set up an a Google Mail (Gmail) account if you don’t already have one.
2. On your Pre, open the Contacts application then select Preferences & Accounts at the top left of your screen and enter your account credentials (username and password) for your Gmail account. (You won’t need to go to Calendar to set up your account there—that’s done automatically using the credentials you entered in Contacts.)
3. Install a third-party application on your computer that enables you to sync with Google. Here are some applications that are currently available:
• Windows XP and Vista
• Google Sync (Free)
  Google Sync keeps your Outlook calendar in sync with Google Calendar.
• CompanionLink® for Google (Sold Separately)
  For a variety of PC data sources, including Palm Desktop by ACCESS and Outlook, CompanionLink keeps contacts and calendar events in sync with Google Calendar and Gmail Contacts. Tasks also sync but as calendar entries. 
• Mac OS
• Google Sync (Free)
  Google Sync keeps iCal in sync with Google Calendar. There is also a solution for synchronizing with Address Book.  
• Sync’Em (Sold Separately)
  Sync’Em automatically keeps Mac Address Book in sync with Gmail Contacts. 
4. Follow the instructions of the third-party app to sync the data in your desktop app with Google. The next time Google syncs with your Pre, your data appears on your phone.

My Experience
I use Outlook on Windows and therefore tried CompanionLink (CL) to sync to Google and from there to my Pre but so far with very mixed results.  Although CL managed to properly connect my Outlook with Google and get the data to show up on my Pre, for some bizarre reason which I was unable to resolve, it would only sync some 600 of my 3,500 contacts…  I hope that there will be an update that fixes this issue for me but if you have under 500 contacts then CL seems to be an ideal and very simple solution.

Option 3:  I’d rather just sync directly with my computer (Windows Only)

Would you rather sync your Pre directly to your Windows computer over WiFi without going through the web? For this there’s PocketMirror.

Chapura PocketMirror for Outlook syncs contacts and calendar events between Outlook and your Pre. PocketMirror can sync your Outlook data whether you use Outlook as a standalone application or in conjunction with Microsoft Exchange Server. It works with Outlook 2003 and 2007.

Here’s what you do:

1. On your Pre, open App Catalog and download PocketMirror.
2. On your computer, download PocketMirror software for Outlook on Windows.
3. On your computer, launch the PocketMirror installer and follow the instructions to complete setup.

My Experience
It’s a shame that PocketMirror only works on Windows and that it (currently) only syncs one primary Outlook Contacts folder because this truly is a superb and extremely simple solution.  As long as your Pre and PC are connected to the same WiFi network you can wirelessly sync all of your contacts and calendar items wirelessly – very cool.

One major hassle though is the fact that Chapura provides no telephone support whatsoever (only via email) and you may therefore have to wait quite a while to fix any issues that you may encounter.  Additionally, I really hope that Chapura will soon provide a Premium version of PockeMirror that can sync multiple Outlook Contact folders + that Palm will support Categories in the Contacts app (something that I consider to be quite urgent).

Option 4:  How do I get PIM data from my old phone?

Do you need to get data out of an old phone? Most service providers can transfer contacts from your old phone. An agent in one of your service provider’s stores can help you.

Here’s what you do:

1. On your computer, set up an a Google Mail (Gmail) account if you don’t already have one.
2. On your Pre, open the Contacts application then select Preferences & Accounts at the top left of your screen and enter your account credentials (username and password) for your Gmail account. (You won’t need to go to Calendar to set up your account there—that’s done automatically using the credentials you entered in Contacts.)
3. To transfer data from an old phone to your new Pre, go to one of the stores of your service provider and ask a support agent for help in transferring data from your old phone. When you’re ready to transfer data from your old
   phone, be sure to tell the carrier agent which account to transfer the data to. 

Option 5: How do I get PIM data off my computer using the Palm Data Transfer Assistant (DTA)? (Windows & Mac)

Do you want to sync your personal information between your Pre and Google or Exchange, but first need to get the data out of a desktop app (such as Palm Desktop or Outlook) that you want to stop using? You can do a one-time, one-way transfer of data to your Pre, and then if you choose to, use Synergy to sync the data to Google or Exchange.

To transfer data from a desktop app that you want to stop using, go here for more information about the Data Transfer Assistant (DTA) – it’s a free download. The DTA transfers data from selected desktop apps to your phone through the USB cable included with your phone. You can sync this data with Google or Exchange, or back it up to your Palm profile.

The Palm Data Transfer Assistant (DTA) provides a one-time, one-way transfer of data from your computer to your phone. The DTA transfers contacts, calendar events, tasks, and memos from Outlook and Palm Desktop by ACCESS on Windows, and contacts and calendar events from iCal and Address Book on Mac.

1. Getting ready.
   When you transfer data to your Pre phone, you must assign the data to an account on your phone. You can assign it to one of your online accounts that sync (Google Gmail or Microsoft Exchange), or you can assign it to your Palm profile (this means your data is backed up to a server but can be accessed by you only on your phone).
   
   If you want to sync your data to Gmail or Microsoft Exchange, you might want to set up one of these accounts on your Pre before you use the DTA. Otherwise, you can set up the account from your Pre when you’re asked where you want to store your data (see section 3 for more information).
   
   Note: If you’ve previously been syncing data from another phone, you may want to sync data one more time to make sure that your desktop data is up-to-date before you transfer it over.
   
2. Running the Data Transfer Assistant.
   If you haven’t done so already, put the DTA application on your computer. Use Data_Transfer_Assistant.exe for Windows or DTA.dmg for Mac. Then, launch the DTA.
   
   Follow the onscreen instructions to select your data source and to connect your phone to your computer, using the USB cable that came with your Pre. The DTA transfers your data to your phone.
   
   Windows users: If the DTA finds a valid version of both Palm Desktop and Outlook on your computer, you'll be able to select the one you want to transfer data from. For Palm Desktop, if the DTA finds more than one profile in Palm Desktop, select the profile that is associated with the data you want to transfer. Your profile is in the upper-right corner of Palm Desktop ("User").
   
3. Syncing your data or backing it up to your Palm profile.
   After the data is transferred to your Pre, you’ll be instructed to disconnect your phone from your computer. On your Pre, you will see a screen that asks you where you want to store your data. You can select a Google or Exchange account or back the data up to your Palm profile.
   
   After you assign the data to an account on your phone, the transfer begins immediately.
   
   Note: It may take a little while for the data transfer to complete. If you’re syncing with an online account for the first time, it may take additional time.
   
4. What happens to my data after the transfer is complete?
   If you transfer data to an online account, changes you make to the data on your phone are synchronized with the online account.
   
   If you back up data to your Palm profile account, the data is stored on your phone and backed up to your Palm profile. This data is not available through any online account.

More about the Data Transfer Assistant
These are the PIM apps that the DTA works with, and what data the DTA transfers to your phone:

Windows XP or Vista®
– Outlook 2003 or 2007 (syncs Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, Memos/Notes)
– Palm Desktop v6.2 (syncs Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, Memos/Notes)
Mac OS 10.5
– Address Book (syncs Contacts)
– iCal (syncs Calendar)

My Experience
I downloaded and installed the Data Transfer Assistant application to my PC and from there was able to very quickly and simply transfer all the data to my Pre.  From there I selected to sync this data to my Gmail account.  As Palm notes in the above instructions though, the full data transfer over-the-air may take quite a while to complete – particularly if you have a large PIM database like mine.

Also, I have to admit that I found it mildly annoying that there is no “Progress Notification” on your Pre to determine how much of your data remains to be transferred nor how long this may take.  In my case, after one hour I still did not have the data properly synched to Google…

Conclusion

Overall I have not yet found the “ideal” solution for my (arguably somewhat unique) PIM needs – which requires synching to multiple Outlook folders with hundreds of Categories/Sub-Categories and literally thousands of contacts – but I have still managed to put the basic PIM information that I need on my Pre.

I very much hope that Palm, Chapura, CompanionLink or another third-party solution will eventually come out to meet my needs.  In the meantime, I believe that if you have under 500 contacts in your address book then any one of the five options outlined above will prove to be more than adequate.

If like me you’re on Windows and prefer to sync via your desktop, then I think that you’ll find Chapura’s PocketMirror an excellent solution.  CompanionLink follows closely behind as my second choice but this requires that you keep your data in the “cloud” via Google – something that I don’t personally mind but that others may not be too convinced about. 

Lastly, if you do choose to sync between your Pre and Google as your preferred solution then Palm’s Data Transfer Assistant will at least ensure that you don’t have to manually re-enter all of your data there – it does however mean that both your Pre and Google become the only places to manage all your PIM data. 

Update 1
It appears that mark/space is getting ready to release The Missing Sync for Palm Pre which will allow you to sync directly with your computer to manage contacts, music, photos, ringtones, docs & files, calendars, video & home movies, safari bookmarks as well as podcasts.  The great news is also that the Missing Sync for Palm Pre will be available in two separate versions for both the Mac and Windows.

The Missing Sync for Mac works with applications you already know and use — Address Book, iTunes, iCal, Entourage, Safari and iPhoto — to let you transfer and sync information and files between your Mac and Pre.

Update 2
There is apparently another solution [thanks Palmdoc] to sync between Outlook and your Pre via Google called gSyncit – a Microsoft Outlook add-in that allows for synchronization of calendars and contacts between Google and Outlook.  I haven’t tried it yet but it looks very promising.

Update 3 – Media Sync for Palm Pre
As you may already know, your Palm Pre can actually work with Apple’s iTunes to sync your music and photos (it treats your Pre as if it were an iPod).  Another very good solution for media sync is also offered by a company called doubleTwist.

Preonauts are always in sync…

Palm Pre Review

Review of the Sprint Palm Pre – Don’t Just Think Different But Think Very, Very Different

Over the coming days, weeks, months and quite possibly years you will likely see a rather heated and passionate debate between those who absolutely love the new Palm Pre and those who, well, don’t love it quite as much – particularly devoted iPhone, BlackBerry and Android fans.

I have to admit that I’m a man of many passions and I deeply respect those who have their own.  Whether these passions overlap with mine or not is not relevant and I certainly will not disparage people who have chosen an iPhone, BlackBerry, Android or other device as their smartphone of choice – we’re all entitled to make mistakes…

Joking aside, as I have repeated many times before, every smartphone on the market today is the result of some carefully crafted compromises which delivers a particular solution that may or may not be quite right for you.  No single smartphone today can claim to be the absolute best at everything and so you will end up making your choice based on those criteria that best satisfy your needs.

I am stating all this because, like its competitors, the Palm Pre is not (yet) perfect but I have nonetheless today personally made the rather exciting commitment to switch to this latest smartphone from Palm.  This decision will in my opinion be as important, fun and special as the one I made when choosing the Treo 600 some five years ago – something which in hindsight proved to be one of the smartest moves I’ve made in my entire life…

If you’re reading this post I guess that I can safely assume that you’re seriously considering getting a Palm Pre of your own and will thus naturally be curious to know what criteria I have used to reach my decision and what you can expect to experience when you finally get one in your own hands.

For starters pretty much everything that I outlined in my original Top 10 Reasons to Love the Palm Pre Smartphone still holds true and forms the core of the attributes that have attracted me to the Pre:

1. Multitouch Portrait Screen + Slide-Down Keyboard
2. Superb Design, Size & Form-Factor
3. Ultra Speed
4. Best-In-Class Multitasking
5. Built-In WiFi, GPS, 8GB Storage
6. Intuitive & Beautiful User Interface
7. Awesome Digital Life Integration
8. 3.0 Megapixel Camera with Built-In LED Flash + Back Speaker
9. 3.5mm Stereo Headphone Jack + Removable Battery
10. Ambient Light, Accelerometer & Proximity Sensors

At the same time, for me at least, the Palm Pre has already proven to be so much more than just the sum of its features and specifications.  The most important thing is that at long last the Palm Pre is a device that can truly inject a strong dose of passion into your digital life – one that touches your emotions as well as your intellect and lets you enjoy the entire process.

For example, while I can certainly appreciate some particular features of my iPhone, my BlackBerry Bold and even my Windows Mobile Treo Pro (I own all three) the fact now is nonetheless that it’s the rather unique overall package of the Palm Pre that has won me over.

From a hardware perspective, the combination of the organic pebble-like form-factor which feels great in both your hand or pocket, the large, solid and extremely crisp rotating portrait capacitive touchscreen, full physical slide-out QWERTY keyboard with its rubbery keys, high quality 3.0 megapixel camera with built-in LED flash as well as the removable battery plus the now standard WiFi, GPS, 8GB of storage and ringer switch place the Palm Pre at the very top of smartphone designs.  If to all of this you add the truly innovative Touchstone wireless charger there’s no doubt that the Palm Pre is well ahead of even the iconic iPhone when it comes to hardware and design.

From a software perspective there are three distinct areas to look at.  First there is the new webOS and its so-called “Synergy” which so far very much looks like a real winner – with it Palm finally has a robust, great looking, fluid, fun operating system on which to build a solid future and the fact that developers already love its simplicity further adds to both its potential and appeal.  There are naturally things that can and must be improved – such as the lack of system sounds changes – but overall webOS delivers a more than worthy successor to the old beloved PalmOS.

Secondly we have the standard applications developed by Palm – probably the current weakest link.  Here the company has built a good set of v1.0 solutions but it’s nonetheless the area that still needs the most attention in the immediate future.  For example, while the browser is absolutely world-class and offers superb and ultra-fast rendering (many tests show a 4x speed improvement over competing browsers) other apps such as Calendar, Photos and eMail nonetheless clearly suffer from lack of speed optimization and/or usability in their first interation.

After many discussions with Palm about my poor speed/usability experiences with some of the standard applications I nonetheless came away reassured that not only is the company fully aware of the issues but also that 1) these can be fixed and 2) that, along with Sprint, it is committed to releasing quick and frequent updates to both individual apps as well as the entire webOS if and when required.  The great thing with the Pre is that these updates will all be available over-the-air, free of charge and pain-free at the press of just one button – you really can’t come up with a simpler or faster system for updating your smartphone.

Finally we have the area of third-party applications which, although still extremely limited in number (about two dozen are available at launch either preinstalled or via Palm’s App Catalog), already clearly help to demonstrate the new realm of possibilities that thanks to smart, skilled and innovative third-party developers both the webOS and Palm Pre are opening. 

I have to say that, even at this early stage, developers have already done an incredible job with rich, beautiful, fun and for the most part completely free apps of all sorts including: Google Maps, YouTube, Amazon MP3, Doc View (for MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint), PDF View, Pandora, Fandango, AccuWeather, Flixster, Express Stocks, NYTimes, WHERE, LinkedIn as well as two great Twitter apps called Spaz and Tweed.  I’m sure that there will be a LOT more coming very soon. 

Considering that the Palm Pre is the work of a company that many have repeatedly suggested is “on its last breath” you really have to wonder about their diagnosis skills because right now, writing this review at my desk while getting beeps on my Pre alerting me to incoming email and listening to streaming music via Pandora in the background, I can tell you quite categorically that there’s quite a bit more life and energy left in this company! 

After a long streak of losses, Palm has finally managed to hit a home run with the Pre and rejoined the major league at the top of the smartphone game – not a small achievement when you consider that many of its competitors are 20+ times its size.

Overall, the Palm Pre is without a doubt one of the finest examples of a next-generation smartphone – one that pushes the boundaries of your imagination and takes it to a Wireless 2.0 world filled with exciting new possibilities.  The Pre is a device that allows you not only to Think Different but to Think Very, Very Different... 

Preonauts are always uniquely different…

Plantronics Voyager Pro

Next Generation Plantronics Voyager Pro Bluetooth Headset – Not Pretty, Not Small, But Delivers Best-In-Class Sound Quality

CNet has already given the new Plantronics Voyager Pro (pictured above) its coveted “Editor’s Choice” blessing, rating it as “Excellent” and claiming that “…it has the best sound quality of any Bluetooth headset we’ve ever tried”.  Additionally, PCMag is equally generous with its Editor’s Choice and a note that “…its the best Bluetooth headset you can find for all-day chatter”.

With these rather strong credentials I’m delighted to say that the Plantronics Voyager Pro is available as of today in all our stores (find your headset for Treo, Palm Pre, Centro, iPhone, BlackBerry and G1) priced at only $89.95 (one of the best prices online today and available before Amazon, Best Buy or Newegg even have it in stock).

According to Plantronics, the Voyager PRO is the most advanced noise-canceling Bluetooth headset available. Two noise-canceling mics on a boom, AudioIQ² technology with its adaptive 20-band equalizer, and three layers of WindSmart technology ensure that you hear every word and that your voice is heard clearly despite the noise around you. This extremely comfortable, behind-the-ear headset is further proof of Plantronics' 40-plus years of commitment to headset engineering excellence.

Key Plantronics Voyager Pro Features:

• Always-on dual-mic AudioIQ² technology cancels noise while retaining the unique, natural sound of your voice
• Three layers of WindSmart technology – stainless steel mic screens, acoustic fabrics, and an electronic filter – block intrusive wind noise
• Pivoting mic boom lets you wear headset on either ear and optimize the position of the two microphones
• Automatic voice prompts alert battery and mute status
• Up to six hours of continuous talk time, five days of standby from single charge
• Micro USB Charging connector
• One-year warranty

Engineered for Sound Quality
No other headset has the combination of two noise-canceling mics on a boom to best capture your voice, three layers of WindSmart technology to outsmart the wind, and an adaptive 20-band equalizer tuned to maintain rich, balanced audio at comfortable listening volumes despite the noise around you.

The advanced AudioIQ² noise-canceling technology in the Voyager PRO, with its finely tuned adaptive 20-band equalizer, makes you sound like you're in the same room as your caller, not miles apart. To achieve this, AudioIQ² makes use of two microphones--one that's focused on your speech and the other that picks out distracting background sounds, such as road hum and construction noise--then compares data from the two mics and eliminates the unwanted sounds, leaving your unique voice free to be heard clearly and naturally, as it was meant to be.

The dual microphones are also stacked with three layers of WindSmart technology--stainless steel mic screens, acoustic fabrics, and an electronic filter in the mic circuitry--that aggressively block intrusive wind noise. The adjustable boom, which allows you to wear the headset on either ear, positions the mics where they can best capture your voice, further enhancing the sound quality. So regardless of whether it's the din of traffic or the whipping wind that you're up against, the Voyager PRO will ensure that you and your caller will be heard clearly and sound natural.

Extremely Comfortable, Durable Design
The Plantronics engineers involved in the design of the Voyager PRO were arguably a bit obsessive. After all, in designing the Voyager PRO, they conducted no less than two dozen rounds of intensive human-comfort tests, a relentless study of skin sensitivity, and repeated drop-tests.

The result of this obsession is a soft and flexible, extremely comfortable headset that is durable enough to withstand the wear and tear of today's mobile professional.

QuickPair and Multipoint Technologies: Easy to Set Up, Easy to Use
Thanks to Plantronics' QuickPair technology, setting up the headset is quick and intuitive. The Voyager PRO supports Bluetooth 2.1 and EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) and Secure Simple Pairing (SSP), making it compatible with Bluetooth-enabled devices, including phones, PDAs, and laptop computers.

The headset also features Plantronics' multipoint technology, which lets you pair and answer calls on two different Bluetooth devices. This means you can quickly and easily connect the headset to two phones, such as a Smartphone and a personal phone, or a phone and a Bluetooth-enabled device, such as a laptop that you use to make Internet calls. Just choose the combination that best complements your workflow and pair both devices with your headset.

Extended Talk Time
The Voyager PRO includes a fast-charging, long-lasting battery that provides up to six hours of continuous talk time and five days of standby time on a single charge. Convenient voice prompts even alert you to battery and mute status.

The Voyager PRO is also backed by a one-year limited warranty and includes an A/C charger, three soft gel eartips, foam eartip covers, and a user's guide.

Overall, although I have not yet had the opportunity to personally test this new Plantronics Voyager Pro nor compare it to the equally highly rated Jawbone PRIME which I have been using for the last couple of weeks I have to admit that I’m extremely taken by the Voyager Pro even if its design is a little bit more retro than I would like. 

Additionally, one also has to consider the monetary factor with the Voyager Pro priced at a very competitive $89.95 compared to the Jawbone Prime at $119.95.  Slightly lower in the rank, I’m also a huge fan of the very good Jabra SP530 (I actually own two) which I can highly recommend and is priced at only $59.95.

Sources:
Plantronics Voyager Pro [PCMag & cnet]

Treonauts always have the best pro gear…