Tretakoff Musings

As expected, at the recent Apple WWDC event, Apple announced a major revamp of iOS, with iOS7. Claiming to modernize the user interface, add updated multitasking, and overall a much more modern and elegant experience, iOS7 was released to developers in a beta at the conclusion of the event, with us unwashed masses promised the final version in the fall (most likely with a new addition to the iPhone/iPad family). But this intrepid iOS user was not to be deterred: I wanted iOS7 now.  So, armed with little more than a vague desire, I launched my quest to get. that. damned. beta. This is my story. So, my first challenge: how to get in the rarified air of Apple considering me a developer worthy of the beta. I expected to have to embark on a crash CodeAcademy course, or a torchlit ceremony of Steve Jobs worshipping. Anything Cupertino could throw at me, I was ready. I'd fool these high priests of code, and escape with the beta prize, with none the wiser. So steeled, I launched my que...

As I mentioned in my post on the iPhone 5 unveiling , I am underwhelmed by the newest iToy. I wanted innovation, and instead got evolution: good evolution, but nothing like I expected. With the recent strides made by both Android (with the release of Jelly Bean and Project Butter ) and Windows Phone (with the upcoming Windows Phone 8 ), the market finally has some real alternatives. So, much as I did with my exercise years ago when evaluating switching from my venerable Treo to the iPhone , I decided to take a look at the apps I rely upon on an every day basis and see how the competition stacked up. Before I go too deep on this, I want to point out to the iPhone fanboys that I am well aware of just about all of the new features of both the iPhone 5 and iOS6 . I'm also a certified iDevice household: in my home, there are two iPhones (both iPhone 4, not 4S, granted), an iPad, an Apple TV (which I love), a dedicated NAS for my iTunes collection, and yes, a Mac (not really used th...

I headed to my local Sprint store this morning to get my hungry hands on the new Palm Pre. Eschewing the local Best Buy, whose inventory for my local store was supposed to be a meager 2 units, I opted for the company owned Sprint store about 10 miles up the road. Before you ask, no I did not wait in line or camp out; I meandered in around 11AM. No surprise, the store was sold out of its 30 units (thought they did say they had them until about 10AM), and expected about 30 more on Monday. But to my surprise, they did have two fully functioning demo units for me to play with, as you can see from the god-awful iPhone picture to the left. After reading Engadget's superb Pre walkthrough , I had already decided the phone would have to completely wow me to make me pull out the credit card and make the carrier switch. I played with the Pre uninterrupted for about 30 minutes; here are my impressions, along with my ratings 1-10 (8 being as good as an iPhone; 9 being better; 10 being truly pe...

Oh, yeah: it's on. A week from today, I hope to be holding a brand new Palm Pre. I've been enthralled with the promise of this new phone, but this last piece of news pushed me over the edge: the Palm Pre will sync with iTunes . Yep, I can use that same massive piece of bloated software I use today to manage my podcasts, video, and music with the upcoming Palm Hail Mary. I'm planning on scooping this baby up next week, in hopes it's all I dream it is. If not, I'll take advantage of Sprint's 30 day return policy as a good way to ensure it is not a costly lesson. My only concerns with the Pre at this point: Sprint's network. The maps all say it should be good, but reports in the field are mixed. Of course, the same can and is said about AT&T's coverage (something I get a lot of exposure to on my frequent trips). The Sprint customer service . From everything I hear, it's abysmal. AT&T has actually spoiled me in that way. I imagine a rant in 30 ...

I've made no secret of this summer's epic phone battle for my 3 Franklins: it's going to be either the new version of the iPhone that I have truly loved since purchasing it, or the potentially game-changing Palm Pre, with it's revolutionary OS and nearly psychic assistance. But the word comes today of the latest skirmish: Hulu is coming to the iPhone. Forget the Slingbox, with it's high price to watch my DVR. Forget the lame and buggy Joost app for the iPhone. This makes yet another major reason to stick with the Apple supremacy. Watching streaming episodes of almost all networks, with the service remembering my place? It's like having the world's largest DVR, in the palm of my hand. Now, the counterpunch is up to the Pre: it support Flash, so theoretically, I could watch Hulu right on its browser. Hard to tell for sure, but the secrecy around the Pre is wearing thin: no firm launch date, still no details on how it handles video and music management, and no ...

Apple announced an event this week to discuss the upcoming iPhone 3.0 software. Since the 2.0 version was a major change in the success of the platform, 3.0 is eagerly awaited, and, of course, the speculation has begun. Kevin Rose of Digg, who was dead on in his leaks on what would be in the iPhone 2.0, has come out with his predictions . Among them was this tidbit: "Also, the 3.0 update will have enough new features and additions to bring it up to the Palm Pre levels. Whatever Palm Pre has shown us so far, apparently, the iPhone will have too when 3.0 becomes official." Whoa. That's a pretty major statement. I'm definitely going to change up my phone, and I'm torn between the upcoming Pre and a new iPhone 3G (I'm still on the first generation). If Apple's getting close to parity on the intuition the Pre shows, I know which way I am leaning. By the way, I'm sure you are asking why I would be considering the 3G, if I already have an iPhone. Recent month...

I've always been a huge fan of Doug Flutie. I grew up right down the street from the very stadium he played his college ball (and made his legend). I followed him through both the CFL and the NFL. In fact, I even flew hundreds of miles, just for the chance to see him play. No matter how successful as a pro he was, everyone always remembers Doug Flutie for the play that put him on the national stage: the Hail Mary pass that won the Bowl. Years later, while he was setting record after record in Canada, his team even brought the recipient of that pass, Gerard Phelan, to the team. Was Phelan that great? Not at all. Did Flutie need a great receiver? Absolutely not. But the team wanted the public to recapture their sense of awe and wonder at this display that changed the world by evoking the connection of that Hail Mary. This week, another former champion, known for taking the world by storm, took the stage again for one last Hail Mary pass: Palm . Similarly, it was a desperate situation...

As an iPhone owner, I am one of the thousands waiting anxiously for the June 9th unveiling of iPhone 2.0, and the applications it will bring to the iPhone. Sure, I've enjoyed unlocking my iPhone, and using some interesting apps, but, as the commercial says, ain't nothing like the real thing, baby. However, today brought a new announcement that add even more anticipation. StyleTap will bring it's Palm OS emulator to the iPhone . Why is this good? I have invested literally hundreds of dollars over the years in Palm apps, and some I miss every day. Sure, iPhone 2.0 will open the floodgates for many (eWallet among them), but there's some great Palm OS games and apps I would dearly love to have again, and it looks like WWDC will bring me both new native iPhone apps, and restore some of my beloved Palm ones. Of course, this is wonderful for me, but essentially kills Palm. Why would you spend for a Treo, when you can have an iPhone with a Palm in it, as well? It's already ...

Ok, gadget fans. With the acquisition of the iPhone , and a few days to play with it, it's time to revisit the " What's Stopping Me From An iPhone " post from last year and see what, if anything, has changed. The rules remain the same: rank each of the day to day functions I use(d) my Treo 680 to do on a scale of 1-10 and compare the score with the iPhone. Got it? Great, then let's get ready to rumble! Contacts . My biggest concerns were how the iPhone, with it's lack of search functions, would handle the over 8K contacts I have. Verdict: not a problem. The flick of the finger interface is complimented by an "Add to Favorites" that makes it easy to distill the most important contacts. The speed of finding a contact is roughly the same as using the Treo, as the unreal lag of the Treo in searching such a large contacts database was about the same. I would still prefer a real search, but the elegant browse interface makes it more than tolerable. Old sco...

Yep, it's here. What's in it? This software update provides device enhancements including improved Bluetooth® wireless performance for some headsets and car kits, audio quality, and media file functionality in Messaging. In addition, you'll get brand new features such as Push To Talk, for walkie-talkie functionality, and Microsoft's Direct Push Technology to get your latest email, appointments, and contacts sent directly to you, and more. * Push to Talk – With Push to Talk, you can use your Treo 680 like a walkie-talkie to talk to one person or a group of up to 29. A quick glance at your smartphone shows whether family, friends, and coworkers are available to talk before you call. * Corporate email as it arrives – Have your corporate email delivered to you with Microsoft® Direct Push Technology. Accept or decline meeting invites on the go and have your work calendar updated automatically. With the ability to access your company directory wirelessly, you can qui...

Interesting news, as Nokia has purchased Avvenu . Not familiar with Avvenu? Not surprising, if you weren't a Palm OS user. They make a little program that lives on your PC, making the files available to be accessed with a mobile phone. The revenue model was invisible, so it was always a little headscratching. As to access, well, it was OK, but never amazing. And the idea of having all of your files open to be accessed by anyone hitting a URL and entering a username and password always seemed a bit harebrained to me. On the odder side, Nokia immediately discontinued access outside the US and killed Avvenu's streaming music service in favor of their own. Here's what they had to say: Dear Avvenu Customer, As a registered user of the Avvenu service, we wanted to let you know that Nokia and Avvenu have signed an agreement under which Nokia has acquired Avvenu Inc. Nokia intends to continue the Avvenu Access 'n Share service, and enhance Avvenu's secure remote access and ...

I don't like Mondays. Well, Monday came and went with no Treo update . Sigh. However, in signing up for Palm's MyPalm service, I was alerted to an older update to the Treo, offering improved battery performance and a new camera application. Despite my misgivings, I installed it. While I don't see much change from the update, I was surprised about the process. First, the update took about 30 minutes, with frequent Treo reboots as part of the process, making it more reminiscent of a Windows update than a Palm one. Second, quite annoyingly, the update either wiped out several applications, or lost the registration info on others. Paired Bluetooth headsets? Gone. Serial numbers? Reset. It took over an hour to recreate...argh. If this is what I have to look forward to for the next update, I'll make sure my old Boy Scout motto gets put to use, first.

What the heck is in the water at Palm? After literally years of malaise, first they chuck a product that the market clearly didn't want, then they introduce a $99 smartphone that people actually seem to like, and now comes word that they pushing out a free update to the 680 (my Treo) with actually cool features people want! Is this a signal that Palm is on its way back? According to Treonauts , 10/22 (Monday) will bring us AT&T 680 owners a bevy of new goodies: Maintenance Release for the Treo 680 Available 10/22 (current record) * Enables PTT feature * Places Stub applications on the devices in support of: o IM clients (Yahoo!, AIM, Windows Live) o TeleNav o MobiTV * Ability for a MP3 or any sort of music file to be translated as a Ringtone * Will be available as free download for all AT&T Treo 680 customers o SMS blast from AT&T will alert customers in addition to traditional channel and Customer Care messagin...

So…the obvious question I get, being both a big fan of Apple's design, and my obvious lust for the ultimate mobile convergence device is: will I buy the iPhone? Obviously, with the recent price cut, I continue to get these questions in ever increasing frequency. Instead of giving my regular "Well..." answer, I've decided to take a critical look if I can be an iPhone user by looking at the applications and functions I use every day in my Palm Treo 680, and see how my current solution set stacks up. I'm going to score each of these, and, at the end, if the iPhone has a high score, I'm headed to the Apple store for a test drive. Contacts. I have over 6000 contacts in my phone. I know, it seems insane, but I'm like the packrat of all time when it comes to contacts. Plus, I keep notes on each, photos, etc. Finding a contact in the Palm is easy: just start typing. With 6K+ contacts, it can be a little laggy, but generally not an issue. With the iPhone, while yo...