This month, it was announced that Sprint and Verizon were planning to offer Electronic Arts games for mobile phones and Madden NFL ‘06 is included in the games that will be released. I was visiting the newly released Madden site, and happened to see a couple of screenshots from the Madden mobile game .

Some of the key features of the game include:

Even though Palm users have been able to play Madden games on their PDAs for some time now, I wonder how enjoyable it is on a small screen. Are you interested in playing this on your Treo 600/650 or do you play any of the current Madden games on your Treo? How’s the gameplay?

Technorati Tags: Madden NFL ‘06, Treo, Treo 650, games

…I am huddled in a corner trying not to answer the voices in my head.

I recently took on the task of installing the newest Cingular ROM/firmware update (1.15) to, hopefully, “improve” my Treo experience. What I actually got were more questions than answers.

I began the process just as Palm suggests: I backed up my info, hard reset the Treo, installed the new 1.15 firmware, then hard reset again…voila, right? Wrong. I immediately noticed a few glaring issues that I could not explain. First, I noticed that the Treo would turn on by itself for no apparent reason. The screen would show whatever application I was in last, and I would shut it off. I noticed this several times (but who knows how many times it happens when I’m not looking at the screen), but I never did notice a significant amount of battery life drain.

Second, and easily the most irritating of the issues, the Treo’s sound has diminished DRASTICALLY. I mean, unless I’m in a completely silent room, I can barely hear the outgoing ring when I’m calling somebody, and I have an equal amount of difficulty hearing the person once they pick up, even on speakerphone. This volume problem occurs no matter how high I set the volume with the side buttons or in the preferences. Thank goodness I have Volume Care ($9.00USD) to remedy this problem.

Third, my sound preferences don’t seem to “stick”. Here’s an example: I always set my Palms to have no sound when buttons are pressed or the stylus taps the screen. When I set my Treo, that pref might stick temporarily, but then BOOM! The annoying beeps and tap sounds are back. I can’t seem to get them to just leave me alone!

The last thing that has gone awry since the new “update” is when the Treo is off, and I press the phone key, not only does the phone app come up, but the recent call log comes up as well. Now, prior to the firmware hack job, I’d have to press the phone key TWICE to get the call log to come up. Now, however, it comes up with just the one press, which makes for an extra key press on the five-way to get it to disappear. The only exception is when I have the keyguard active…then and only then does the call log NOT come up (but, still another key press is required EVERY time I bring up the phone app or the launcher).

Now, the screen turning on actually happened a couple of times before the upgrade, so it might not be as reliable an indicator as the rest. The others, though, had never been issues before. So, if you haven’t yet slapped the 1.15 ROM onto your Treo, you might wait. Yeah, sure, you get DUN, some memory gets freed up, you get the carkit and voicemail updaters and Palm CLAIMS that they improved the sound, but geez, other stuff gets broken in the meantime. I think it is funny that the sound was supposed to be improved, yet they really goofed there!

So far, I’ve been able to work around the sound issue (except getting rid of the screen taps and five way navigation sounds), I haven’t really noticed the screen turning on again and I can live with the call log bug for the time being, but I am still very disappointed. It seems my Treo works worse than before. We’ll see if these problems get fixed, ignored or otherwise as time goes on!

Post your experiences if you have already upgraded!

Alison from Astraware sent me a press release this morning announcing a new partnership between Astraware and Revolution Software. Astraware will be using their expertice in the mobile gaming realm to help Revolution Software bring some of their popular games to the PDA market.

First to come is the widely popular - Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars. Previously produced for PC, PSOne, Mac and GBA - PDA users will be able to enjoy this game within a couple months.

The story opens in Paris with an explosion in a cafe, and unfolds as American tourist George Stobbart and photo-journalist Nico Collard set about investigating the explosion and are drawn into a globe-trotting adventure involving conspiracies, cults and murder, all revolving around the Knights Templar.

I am enthusiastic to see this game when its released - I may just have to try to find a older copy to try it out ahead of time. Time to dust of my PS1 or fire up my PC.

Read on for the full press release:
Read the rest of this entry »

Eric sent this in -

I’m a Treo user and software author and I use this simple “gvcard” program all the time: http://gvcard.sf.net

Of course, I wrote it to scratch an itch: that you can’t import 411 results directly into your address book. I guess that makes me a bit biased.

Thought it might be of interest to you.

Eric

Thanks Eric! I tried it out at http://tinyurl.com/6arfw - very useful and it works great! I may have to include this on our mobile site.

Technorati Tags: Google, mobile web, Yahoo, Treo

Smart Box Design, the makers of the popular game, Word Pop, just announced a new game today and were kind enough to send us a couple of copies of what’s sure to be their next hit! Word Watch, is a word game that pits the player against the clock as you have to unjumble the letters to make a word.

I installed Word Watch to my SD card and immediately got down to business. I started with the practice screen to get the hang of the game. After a minute or two, I felt I had a handle on Word Watch. The purpose of the game is to try and make a word out of the letters presented. After you create a word, just check the box to move to the next round. If you can’t create a word using all of the letters, try and use as many as possible. Any leftover letters will turn red and if you accumulate eight or more red letters…you’re FINISHED. You do have the opportunity to get rid of the red letters in the bonus round when you can use them to create a word.

I have to admit that this game is rather addictive…While writing this review, I kept picking up my Treo and trying to beat my high score. My first full game I got to Level 3, Round 17. Graphically, the game looks great on the Treo 650. The colors are clear, bright and easy on the eyes. The instructions on how to play the game were fairly simple to understand and the practice round is great for getting the full grasp of the game. There’s also little tips for you as you move up to higher levels. Another great feature of the game that increases its replay value are the three games that you can play. You opt for Unlimited, Word Watch, or Practice and you can also change the word lengths for more or less difficulty. I thought it was clever the way the Practice, Unlimited, and Word Watch rounds were featured on a watch…get it? Word Watch?

I definitely recommend downloading Word Watch, especially if you’re a fan of games such as Word Pop or BookWorm. I will warn you though……you shouldn’t let anyone else play this game or you’ll have a hard time getting your Treo back!

cyberhomie’s 2¢ - I also got a chance to play this game, and I agree - very addictive. In the practice area I got to Level P5 - Round 35. Great graphics, fun, challenging and educational - what more could you ask for? Angel was right about letting other people play this game - I showed it to my wife and I couldn’t get my treo back from her! Although its a hefty 1.7 mb, it runs great off of my SD card. This is a game that is definitely staying on my Treo.

Be sure to check out some of Smart Box Design’s other great games at their site and on our software store.

treo Addicts | Smart Box Design Launches Word Watch Game for Palm OS

Technorati Tags: Treo, Treo 650, games

The folks at Smart Box Design have done it again with another great game for the Palm! Today they announced a second in a series of word games - Word Watch. In this game you race against the clock to unscamble all of the letters provided to make a word. The game is available for $14.95 and a trial is available. If you head over to PalmAddict, you can get a code coupon for $3.00 off the game at PalmGear until August 31.

We were fortunate to get a couple copies of this game to try out before the release - its a great game! Be sure to read our full review here:

treo Addicts | Word Watch by Smart Box Design

You can get more information, including screenshots and download a trial version at Smart Box Design’s site:

Smart Box Design | Word Watch

Read on for the full press release :
Read the rest of this entry »

I updated my Cingular Treo 650 using the 1.15 updater last night. Went great. I was on 1.04 prior. Sure is nice to be all squared away. Now I have some elbow room!

First, I backed up with Resco Explorer (I really like it) to my SD card. That extra backup sure helps when you are going to be doing a hard reset. Then I did a final sync with Missing Sync.

Then I continued to just follow the detailed instructions on Palm’s Cingular 1.15 Updater page without a hitch. I got more than 6 megs of extra space out of it! I did, as warned, lose preference settings for third party apps. But I can restore those from my Resco backup. At least that is the plan in any case where it is a hassle to reset them. The main one I’m probably going to recover is Zlauncher which I had just the way I wanted.

Total time elapsed was about 45 minutes.

Technorati Tags: Cingular, treo, treo 650

Email apps and instant messaging apps for the Treo - I have pretty much tried them all. When I had my Sony Clie UX-50, SnapperMail was an easy winner for me - but a year later when I got my Treo, I had a few more options. VersaMail, Snappermail, and a few others. The one that one me over on my Treo was Agendus Mail. It integrated well with my favorite PIM, Agendus Pro, and it managed all my email accounts pretty much the way I wanted them to be. It also includes a SMS client! When the Mail SSL upgrade came out, I was quick to buy it. Gmail (SSL POP3), POP3, IMAP, and SMS - All in one app and all with separate sending profiles! Between Agendus Pro and Agendus Mail SSL, I was pretty much covered with a big portion of what I do on my Treo.

Verichat - a program that was love at first sight! I have used this app very actively since I first got my Sony Clie UX-50. Great interface, awesome features and actively updated. I am always quick to shout that Verichat is the best IM for the Treo. Problem is lately - I have somewhat disappointed in the recent builds of Verichat. The most recent one seems to crash my Treo just about every time I use it. I know, I know - its a beta version, but I’m not sure if I want to give up the great new features of the beta versions to go back to a stable version - if I can even find an older copy of it.

Although I’m scared to let my death-grip on Verichat and Angendus Mail go, I’m opening the door on trying some different apps out. Since I noticed Mundu had recently released a big update, I am starting out with that. Right now, I don’t know what I really think of it. The interface is beautiful and the features are ok. But the big thing that is bothering me at this point, is the lack of support for my .Mac account. I can’t seem to log into AIM with it although I can with Verichat. This is a big deal for me - I do most of my messaging using my .Mac account. If I can’t get it to work - I’m gonna have to move on. Next on the list is probably Causerie. Along with my IM change, I got to thinking about changing my email app. I always liked the built in SMS “Messaging” app and if I ever found a better email app, I would switch from Agendus Mail. Since I have received a few emails from various people with a “ChatterEmail” signature on the bottom lately, I decided to start there. Although I have briefly played with this before, I have been really working it out this time. I may have found an email client that I may be willing to give up Agendus Mail. I am also thinking about trying SnapperMail again.

I’ll be sure to post what I wind up choosing - whether I keep my favorites or move to something else.

Technorati Tags: Treo, IM, instant messaging, email, SMS

From Blue Nomad Software

July 26, 2005
Blue Nomad announces a new Mac OS X beta version of BackupBuddy available now! Please note it is only compatible with MissingSync users at this time. If you use Palm Desktop Software to hotsync, you won’t be able test the beta just yet.

A Treonauts article mentions that Yahoo! is committed to enhancing services provided to mobile devices like the Treo. No specifics are mentioned though.

Following my earlier post about the general lack of Treo-optimized websites, I was particularly glad to read news that Yahoo! is actively working to expand its presence “beyond the desktop.”

In partnership with Motorola, Yahoo! SVP of the Connected Life business unit Marco Boerries states that the company “is focused on providing its millions of users with the opportunity to connect to their Yahoo! services on the devices they use.”

Disclaimer: I work for Yahoo. I can tell you that Treos are quite popular here, but this of course doesn’t mean that it makes good business sense to support it externally.

Treonauts | Yahoo Pursues Mobility

Technorati Tags: Treo, Yahoo, Motorola, mobile sites