Palm plans to open application store

Palm has launched a new online mobile application storefront stuffed with free and paid versions of applications for over 25 Palm devices.The quiet Software Store debut, which it didn’t announce officially, houses 1,000 free applications and 2,000 games. Users can search through categories for applications for personal productivity, fun and games, to professional. You can browse applications listed by device type and also by mobile platform. There are even sub-storefronts for Windows Mobile and Palm’s OS applications.
Is it enough to keep the legions of Palm device users faithful? Palm did not return a call seeking comment. Applications for the Palm platform have long enjoyed a huge following, and have been a key reason many Palm device users, such as Treo and Centro, are sticking with Palm while others are leaving the device for others. Palm has been offering software through its own Shop MyPalm site which is still active. Palm fans can also go to third-party developer sites, like Handango.com, visit retail stores and download applications from wireless carrier sites as well.

Mobile tech conference kicked off

Mobile tech conference, which is the biggest conference dedicated to mobile technology, kicked off in Barcelona. The Mobile World Congress convenes in Barcelona with the industry undergoing negative growth. The rising stars of the industry are tipped to be in areas surrounding mobile broadband and applications for devices such as cloud computing. But there will also be announcements of new handsets and mobile gadgets. The economic downturn is likely to be a dominant theme of discussion. But the sense of a downturn for the mobile industry was made more tangible when Nokia - the leader among handset manufacturers - recently announced it foresaw a 10% fall in mobile phone sales for the coming year. The Mobile World Congress expects almost 50,000 visitors

Palm’s Pre - new generation of mobile device

New Palm Pre to Challenge iPhone and BlackBerry. The big news at the recent Consumer Electronics Show was Palm’s Pre, a new generation of mobile device from the former market leader. But Palm has a well-earned reputation for making phones that are easy to use. It’s good to see the company strive to maintain that characteristic while reaching for a phone that can do more. The Pre is still in development, but its innovative interface tailored for the Web garnered plenty of interest. The handset itself has sexy, rounded edges and a sharp, bright 3-inch screen. A slide-out hardware Qwerty keyboard gives it a clear advantage over the iPhone. It comes with ample add-ons, including 3G support, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

Linux system on mobile devices

As smart phones continue to grow in market share and importance, here is the list of the latest and most exiting products:

Google Android Dev Phone 1 — Dec. 08, 2008 — The Android Dev Phone 1 is a version of the HTC G1 offered by Google with the SIM- and other hardware unlocked. The Android Dev Phone 1 aims to provide Android developers with real hardware on which to test their applications, and is sold for $400 (or $425 with network member fee).

Ubuntu on mobile devices

Ubuntu open source software foundation has announced an alliance with Mobile phone chip designer. Both companies agreed to work on the operating system for netbooks. So far Arm has been best known for designing the chips inside smartphones and feature phones. The new operating system for Arm-powered machines looks set to be available in April 2009.

Rob Coombs, director of mobile marketing at Arm, said he expected to see the first devices running the version of Ubuntu by the time of the Computex show in June. Small form-factor notebooks have proved hugely popular with many people looking for a small device that they can use to go online while out and about. The interest in the market sector is being driven by devices such as the XO laptop from the One Laptop Per Child project and the Eee machine from Asus.