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“If you really dig HTC’s hardware, but can’t bear to use Windows Mobile, you’ll be pleased to know that the dedicated HTC hackers at the XDA-developer project have successfully gotten Linux to run on the HTC Universal. They’ve been able to enable a range of functions, including a keyboard driver, USB driver and GUI, so if you want to give this a try, now’s your chance.” Check for more here: via engadgetmobile.com

Vorpalware has released a new utility for Palm TX users. TX tweak is a small application that improves navigational behavior and fixes some minor annoyances on the TX. It will allow you to remap the home hardware button to launch any application in RAM. The utility also lets you set the find icon space on the status bar to launch the applications screens (like it should in the first place), search or launch favorites. TX Tweak costs $6.95 to register and there is a free trial download. via palminfocenter.com

OrigamiPortal received this leaked photo from an online source today and we decided to share it with our visitors.If this is the actual final product, it’s pretty slick. And if it’s not, it’s a very nice mockup. The pic we have received shows a device that looks thinner than the ones shown in the Digital Kitchen video. And the UI is definitely some new handheld OS.In the corner of the window there is the words Alexandria. (The logo kind of looks like the Alexandria library software.) I’m not sure what Alexandria is however.The UI components seem to emulate what has been shown so far with Windows Vista over the last couple beta releases.The one weird component is the word “podcast” on the right side tree. If this is real, would Microsoft include this by default in their menus?And look at that, you can download Law and Order off of it for just $29.99! What a deal!We will be deconstructing what we feel each of these buttons do in our next news post. In the meantime love the pic and comment on it if you know anything about it. via origamiportal.com

Samsung has done it again, announcing an amazon phone, and this time it’s the i310 which comes with a whopping 8GB hard disk, and the following features:
runs on Windows Mobile 5.0
a 2.0 megapixel camera
a microSD memory expansion slot
Bluetooth (w/ A2DP stereo support)
It’s to be officially unveiled during CeBIT, but man, this phone sounds absolutely great, and it has 8 GB of storage! That’s more than 95% of the MP3 players out there, and it even beats most of the iPods. Samsung has a real ability to release some kickass phone.What’s even more amazing is that this phone will be released during the second half of this year, and in Europe. Usually these high-end spectactular phones only get released in places like Korea and China, but this puppy is actually coming to Europe (and probably the US as well). via talkfones.com

The Swedish company Krusell, engaged in making carrying cases for mobile devices, has published its another monthly report of the top 10 mobile phones, smartphones and PDA. The statistics is based on the volume of carrying case orders during the month. In brackets you see the previous rating. Top 10 of smartphones and PDA in February 2006: 1. (2) Qtek 9100/ I-mate K-Jam 2. (3) HP hx2100/24×0/27×0 3. (1) Palm Treo 600/650/700 4. (4) Qtek 9000/SPV M5000/MDA PRO 5. (8) Qtek S100/I-mate JAM 6. (5) HP iPAQ HW 65xx/6700 7. (-) O2 XDA Atom 8. (7) HP iPAQ hx4700/4705 9. (-) Fujitsu Siemens Pocket Loox N500/N520 10. (-) PalmOne Tungsten E2/EIn February we can see some dramatic changes. Palm Treo 600/650/700 communicators, the 7-months leaders, have eventually yielded their position and dropped to the 3rd place. Now we have new leaders Qtek 9100 and I-mate K-Jam followed by the hx2100/24×0/27×0. There appeared a newbie – O2 XDA Atom, which soared high enough for the first time to be ranked the 7th. The fact reveals the growing popularity of compact devices. Top 10 of mobile phones in February 2006: 1. Sony Ericsson K750i/D750i/W800i 2. (2) Motorola RAZR V3/ V3i /V3c 3. (4) Nokia N70 4. (-) Motorola SLVR L7 5. (3) Nokia 6230/6230i 6. (6) Qtek 9100/ I-mate K-Jam 7. (5) PalmOne Treo 600/650/700 8. (7) Nokia 6680/6681/6682 9. (-) Qtek S100/I-mate JAM 10. (9) Sony Ericsson K700i/K700cNothing special has happened in the first lines of the rating. The leader is the same – Sony Ericsson K750i/D750i/W800i, the second position is still occupied by Motorola Motorola RAZR V3/V3i/V3c. Nokia N70 switched its 4th position to the 3rd. An impressive soar to the 4th place has been made by Motorola SLVR L7. According to Krussel, this model has good prospects – this ultra slim candy bar in the RAZR style has gain popularity at once.

“After many years working with the same basic touchscreen technology we’ve always had, we may be in for an upgrade in the not too distant future. Existing touchscreens can only register one point of contact–a single fingertip or stylus press. Any additional contact just causes the digitizer to glitch.New touchscreens currently in development are capable of tracking many different points of contact, allowing for new and interesting interface options. This demonstration video shows off just such a screen. While it’s likely to be quite some time before we see these in handheld devices, they could become an interesting asset for a variety of applications.” Check it here: via bargainpda.com

BlackBerry maker Research in Motion said Friday it agreed to pay $612.5 million to patent holding company NTP to settle a long-running dispute that had threatened to shut down the popular wireless e-mail service for its 3 million users.Canadian-based Research in Motion (Research) announced the settlement late Friday ahead of a U.S. judge’s expected ruling on damages in the case.Under the settlement, NTP granted RIM the right to keep running its BlackBerry business, the company said in a statement.”The agreement has been finalized and NTP’s lawsuit against RIM has been dismissed by a court order,” the Canadian company said. “The settlement means no further court proceedings or decisions about damages are necessary.”RIM also issued a warning Friday, lowering its 4th-quarter revenue projections.”This is an extremely positive development for RIM. The settlement basically makes the pre-warning irrelevant,” said Peter Misek, an analyst with Canaccord Capital. “There’s a lot of pent-up demand for RIM products, and competitors have not been able to capitalize on this.””This settlement was less than Wall Street expected,” he said.Steve Maebius, an intellectual property lawyer with Foley & Lardner, said that recent developments at the patent office may have influenced the suit to be settled for less than the $1 billion that NTP had once demanded.”The patent office just issued its second final rejection on NTP’s patents — meaning that it was almost to point where the patents were ruled invalid,” he said. “But that development just came about too late to be relevant to the district court proceedings.”However, he said the development may have given RIM more leverage in its bargaining.”NTP wanted a one-time payment for the whole life of these patents, not just current sales — and the patents last until 2012,” he said. “$612 million is a big number, but when you look at overall life of patent, this ends up being a relatively normal size settlement.”RIM had negotiated a 2004 settlement with NTP of $450 million, but the deal fell apart before it was completed.”The settlement was a hair higher than we had expected,” said Barry Richards of Paradigm Capital. “But this was the first time that the lawsuit had tangibly affected business.”Richards said the higher price of this settlement was mitigated by ushering in an end to the negative effect the NTP lawsuit was having on RIM’s business.Richards said Microsoft and Motorola could have capitalized on RIM’s situation by introducing major wireless products, but that they had not done so.”Microsoft and Motorola missed a gigantic opportunity,” he said.Palm will benefit somewhat in the current quarter from the lawsuit, Richards believes.”But RIM’s shortfall — around 100,000 subscribers — is only two weeks worth of business for them. They can claw their way back either in the current quarter or Q2,” he said.The price of RIM’s shares was halted at $72.00 at 4:37 p.m. in anticipation of the announcement.RIM’s stock price soared after shares began trading after-hours, reaching as high as $86.30 in after-hours trade.Palm (Research) shares fell after news of the RIM settlement.

Many Palm users have been praying for a good VoIP program, and your prayers may soon be answered. MobiVoIP is a new program currently in beta. I happen to be one of the lucky beta testers, and I’ll be happy to pass my findings onto you now.MobiVoIP requires your Palm to be able to connect to the internet through Bluetooth, Wifi, or EVDO. When you place a call, it sends your call through the internet and connects you to whoever you’re calling…FREE*! Check for more here:

“Ever since HTC Magician owners were denied an upgrade path to Windows Mobile 5.0, I took it upon myself to find the next great compact Pocket PC Phone Edition (PPCPE) device that would try to last into the next generation of devices. A number of PPCPEs came out, and HTC finally released a successor, the Prophet. However, another device did make it out the door with wild initial speculation that it came from HTC. It was the XDA Atom, but was actually manufactured by Quanta and released by O2.I asked my good friend and reseller MadMonkeyBoy to obtain an Atom for me through his connections, and he practically did it with his eyes closed. When the box arrived, I discovered that the device’s packaging was obviously designed with a little style, using a glossy finish and a magnetic flap. Read this nice review here:

When Garmin announced the new iQue 3000 gps navigational handheld in the beginning of this year they stated it would be available in February. February has now come and gone and one can still not order this PDA. A Garmin spokesperson has told PalmInfocenter that the iQue 3000 will now be available in “mid to late March.” No reason was given for the delay. Some specifications of the Garmin iQue 3000: Operating system: Palm OS 5 (Garnet) Processor: Bravo 2.0 200 MHz with built-in GPS correlator Unit size (WxHxD)/Weight: 2.8″ x 4.7″ x 0.7″ inches / 5.2 oz Display information: 320×320-pixel; 54×54 mm screen size; dedicated Graffiti writing area; and usable screen area of 3.0″ (diagonal) Internal Memory: 32 MB RAM and 32 MB ROM Expandable Memory: microSD card included (128 MB microSD card for North America, or 256 MB preprogrammed microSD card for Europe and Australia) Rechargeable 1050 mAh lithium-ion battery Estimated retail price of $399 via palminfocenter.com