I’ve never messed with a machine running MacOS, but I’ve read what a headache it can be to try to sync your Mac with your Windows Mobile device/Pocket PC! I’ve even heard some of the paid software that is designed to ease the pain of syncing your Mac with your WM device may or may not run into new problems on machines running Leopard. Well, I read over at PalmAddicts that Eltima Software has released version 1.4 of its SyncMate software!

SyncMate is referred to as the missing link between your Mac and your Pocket PC. With SyncMate, you can synchronize Contacts and Calendar with their analogs Address Book and iCal via USB cable or WiFi. Also, with SyncMate, no matter where you are and what device you are using, your address book will always be synchronized, and your calendar will be always within reach!

And, these features are available in the FREE edition of SyncMate! Let’s check out some of the other great features of SyncMate!

Full Feature List:

Synchronize Favorites, Contacts, Calendar, Notes in mobile device accordingly with their analogues Bookmarks, Address Book, iCal, Stickies on Mac OS
Ability to work with iTunes and iPhoto (Expert Edition)
Simple installation of applications to your mobile device
Synchronize separate folders (Expert Edition)
Resize images while copying (Expert Edition)
Ability to synchronize time in mobile device with TimeSync plugin (Expert Edition)
Easily get device info (type of device, OS, owner’s name, memory status (internal memory and flash card), battery state, time, alarms, etc.)
Examine memory status diagram and its legend
Track all operations which SyncMate handles by actions log
Ability to manage Drafts, Sent and Deleted items, Inbox and Outbox SMS (Expert Edition)
Build-in converter, which compresses video to MPEG4 (Expert Edition)
Synchronization via USB cable and WiFi
Compatibility with Windows Mobile Pocket PC 2005/2006, Windows Mobile Smartphone 2005/2006

Then, there’s the Expert edition of SyncMate, which gives you even more control over what you can sync! Synchronize iTunes and iPhoto to keep all your favorite music and pictures within a click of a button. Manage all text messages without even touching your Pocket PC! Send, receive, create and delete SMS when working at your Mac – that’s what SyncMate Expert gives you.

For a full comparison of features of the free edition versus the expert edition, head over to the SyncMate home page and click on Expert Edition!

By all means, head to the SyncMate page anyway and check out SyncMate for yourself! After all, there is the FREE edition, so what do you have to lose??

by Nilay Patel, posted Apr 13th 2009 at 11:31AM

The shady iPhone component news chatter is starting to heat up as WWDC inches closer — today we’ve got China Times saying that Apple’s already placed an order for four million new iPhones to be delivered by the end of Q2. That’s a whisper that lines up nicely with those earlier reports suggesting Cupertino’s trying to lock down 100 million 8Gb flash chips from Samsung and placing orders for other components in preparation for a June launch, but we’re a little skeptical of this one, since it claims that a new EDGE model is in the works along with a 3G version and a China-only variant potentially running on TD-SCDMA. Not moves we’d ordinarily expect Apple to make, but anything’s possible — we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled.

[Via Slashphone]

by Nilay Patel, posted Apr 13th 2009 at 9:02PM

Sounds like the Bluetooth 3.0 announcement on April 21 is going to finally usher in the era of high-speed short-range data transfers — as previously hinted, the new spec will actually negotiate a quick’n'dirty ad-hoc WiFi connection between devices if it needs to move bits in a hurry, and then turn off the spigot to save power when it’s done. The idea is to leverage the speed of WiFi while keeping power usage low, and we’d say it’s a pretty trick solution, since most Bluetooth-capable devices also have WiFi radios (cough, Storm). Since the ad-hoc WiFi connection is managed over Bluetooth, no actual wireless network is necessary, and the switch will appear seamless to the user — except for the sudden increase in data transfer speeds. Yeah, it’s definitely slick stuff — we’re looking forward to seeing the first devices in action next Tuesday.

[Via MocoNews]

Can Palm Pre Steal iPhone, BlackBerry Thunder?

Latest ChangeWave Research Consumer Smartphone Survey Suggests Palm Pre Faces “Obstacles” But Also Great Opportunity

While Palm’s position at the top of the smartphone heap back in June 2006 (chart above) stands as a reminder of how good the company and its devices once were there is no doubt that its current 8% market share illustrates just how low it sunk over the past three years compared to competitors such as Apple and BlackBerry that have continuously released better devices and increased their own market shares of a constantly growing smartphone market.

However, a recent Consumer Smartphone Survey of 4,292 cell phone owners conducted by ChangeWave Research reveals that the Pre has generated significant new consumer interest in Palm devices with the number of future smartphone buyers selecting Palm increasing by 400% between Dec. ‘08 and Mar. ‘09 thanks to the Palm Pre announcement while interest in BlackBerry declined somewhat and Apple remained equal.

Having said this, the number of consumers who said they were Very or Somewhat Likely to purchase the Palm Pre (1% and 4% respectively) was considerably lower than similar responses for BlackBerry Bold (17%) and Original iPhone (16%) before their releases – perhaps an indication that the Sprint/Palm marketing machine has not yet properly started and that work remains to be done raising awareness of the Pre in the market.

ChangeWave research director Paul Carton however also points out that “while early interest for the Palm Pre is less impressive than the early interest for the Bold or the iPhone, considering the enormous struggles Palm has had in recent years, the Palm Pre appears likely to breathe life back into the company if the new model performs even close to expectations.”

Clearly though Palm will need to overcome some serious obstacles including outperforming two very robust competitors (Apple & RIM) as well as overcoming widespread negative perceptions about the company’s most recent product portfolio and the exclusivity for the first 6 months with Sprint.

Currently, the iPhone tops the satisfaction league (chart above) with a staggering 79% rate while RIM is second with 50% and Palm a distant seventh with only 31%.  Additionally, ChangeWave found that 21 percent of respondents are likely to buy an Apple iPhone 3G in the future.

Sprint’s Palm Pre exclusivity also appears not to be ideal.  Leaving aside the fact that switching carriers just to have access to a particular smartphone always polls badly, the fact is that Sprint lags in carrier market share with just 10% of the US market compared to 31% for AT&T and 30% for Verizon so the immediate potential of the Pre will be more limited than those of other exclusive smarphones such as the iPhone (AT&T) and BlackBerry Storm (Verizon).

Overall though I think that it’s extremely difficult to predict the future performance of a “revolutionary” device such as the Palm Pre compared to just an “evolutionary” device.  There’s no doubt that the Pre has some serious obstacles to overcome but there’s equally no doubt that the Pre will offer one of the most innovative smartphone solutions on the market when it is released in May/June so we could all be in for a very pleasant surprise…

For more information: ChangeWave Research