Comments on: Salling Media Sync Adds Palm Pre Support

salling media sync palm preSalling Software has released a new version of its Salling Media Sync software which allows phones, such as the Palm Pre, to sync with iTunes. The new sync application gives users the ability to sync photos, podcasts, music and iTunes playlists. It even works with the recently updated iTunes v8.2.1, which has blocked the Palm Pre's built in media sync functionality.

Salling Media Sync v1.1 is available now for Mac OS X and Windows XP at no cost for the basic use version. A paid version is also available for $22/€15 per user license, which offers faster syncing.

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so after all that fuss

ssid12 @ 7/16/2009 11:28:09 AM # Q
there! all those doom mongers crying the Pre is dead! it can't sync with iTunes!... can crawl back into their little holes and wait for something else to complain about...

Palm and its partners appear to be on the ball, this is in effect a new company, I think with the changing of the guard, ie Colligan and his buddies cleared out and Ruby in, we have to drop this I hate Palm because they messed about for 5 years... Move on

RE: so after all that fuss
Ironhide @ 7/16/2009 12:03:54 PM # Q
So your point is...

'because other companies can step up and save Palm's bacon by deploying features the right way without infringing on other companies intellectual property, that there is nothing to worry about.'

The problem you have is that the Palm I knew would have never gotten into this mess in the first place. They would have innovated a better solution themselves.

The burnt out shell of a company that continues to call itself Palm has made a nice little device that is way three years too late to the party and way too buggy for my tastes. I expected great things from the Pre. But it is high time to realize that the Pre is no Palm m505. and shenanigans like this are a big part of the reason.
PDAs:
Sorry, can't reveal the whole list cause my wife will kill me for not being able to settle on one for very long. Suffice it to say that the list is long, and goes back 14 years.

Current Iphone user.

RE: so after all that fuss
hkklife @ 7/16/2009 12:52:27 PM # Q
Considering that the m505 suffered from a drought of OS4-native (or even compatible) software at launch, and had horrendous problems in regard to US vs. Hungary-made units as well as the infamou SUDS issues (remember the cradle replacement mess?), I'd say that that is probably a good thing.

But I see your point--Palm got cheap/lazy/arrogant/complacent and assumed that their half-assed media sync support that relied on a COMPETITOR'S software solution would work ad infinitum.

They should have just left it out completely and/or left it as an "overlooked but unsupported" thing completely up to users to do for themselves instead of touting it as an actual feature.

OR, do like they should've done with Graffiti 1 years ago with Xerox--pay a royalty to Apple for each Pre sold and/or partner with Apple to sell a $5 plugin module (with the lion's share of that revenue going to Apple) that gives "official" iTunes synchronization with the Pre.

Personally, it's not an issue at ALL for me, seeing as I don't have a Pre and I detest iTunes and avoid using it whenever possible. USB drag'n drop mass storage functionality is a flawless solution (other than not being able to take phone calls while in drive mode) that is far easier than fumbling with iTunes and dealing with its glacial speeds.
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p->?

RE: so after all that fuss
Ironhide @ 7/16/2009 12:59:38 PM # Q
Hkklife,

I meant the Palm Vx. I had a 515 right after that because I got suckered by the color screen. But that was a long time ago...

I understand that if you are in the desert long enough, eventually you will be so desperate for water that you will drink the sand. I wonder when people are going to come to the realization that we really don't have to drink the sand.

So, the question is, in a market where Apple will have an installed base of over 100 million iphone/touch devices, what is Palm's claim to fame anymore? Just what does Palm do better than anyone else?


PDAs:
Sorry, can't reveal the whole list cause my wife will kill me for not being able to settle on one for very long. Suffice it to say that the list is long, and goes back 14 years.

Current Iphone user.

RE: so after all that fuss
SeldomVisitor @ 7/16/2009 1:33:57 PM # Q
Just as a now-irrelevant aside...I seriously doubt that =Palm= decided to come up with a way to bypass Apple restrictions on iTunes. Instead, I sincerely believe some non-management programmer simply said "Oh! This looks doable!" and implemented a quick hack which got around to other staff and then some manager then flew up the corporate ladder with. Maybe it was simply shown to Brodie Keast who flew with it; we know where he isn't now, huh?

But I seriously doubt this hack had the corporate Seal of Approval until WELL after it had been conceived and implemented.


RE: so after all that fuss
ssid12 @ 7/16/2009 5:10:47 PM # Q
Ironhide, I agree that the Palm Pre is not the finished product and touting iTunes sync capability without permission was not the cleverest idea, but Palm is on the cusp. If they want to be successful they needed to get as much hype and advertising out as possible. Touting iTunes sync even for a short time did just that. Palm is tiny compared to Apple and for a small company they made a big splash and got their device noticed...

Give it a year to mature and I think by the time the App Store is up and running and GSM units are floating around we will all be singing another tune. For the record I am an iphone user, it was frustrating at times to know that there are things I could do on my old Palm TX that I couldn't do on the iphone... While OS3.0 has addressed some things, heck there are still some things the iphone can't do.

I am of the opinion that webOS will be a gamechanger given the right support. I also think its healthy for the smartphone market. Lets see what a year holds..

RE: so after all that fuss
treo007 @ 7/16/2009 5:18:21 PM # Q
I must be in the Twilight Zone.....Some people you can never please. If you mean to tell me the Pre isn't a hit and Palm isn't once again a viable company, then your head is so obviously and completely planted in your ass, or you are just being sarcastic.

It's a hit. Palm's back. The m505 isn't coming back (do you also complain that the iPod touch just isn't as good as your trusty 1st gen iPod model?). Deal with it. Wow.

I figured even the most dyed in the wool of the 'Palm is Dead' crowd that seems to live here and no where else would have to have already seen the light by now. Go start a site dedicated to the m505, Commodore 64, Colecovision, whatever. Spare us though, please.

RE: so after all that fuss
SeldomVisitor @ 7/16/2009 5:53:07 PM # Q
I admit to being confused by your words, treo-etc.

Why do you think the Pre is any more successful than, say, the Treo 750? [or pick the Treo of your choice]

Thus, why is Palm "back"?

Until we see outstanding sales numbers, numbers we won't be seeing anytime soon, of course, otherwise we already would have seen them, the Pre is Just Another Palm Phone that's...well...meh w.r.t. sales.

RE: so after all that fuss
hkklife @ 7/16/2009 6:24:16 PM # Q
SV;

Why is the Pre more successful than the past half-dozen or so Treos (both WM & Garnet-powreed)?

It's a lot better on paper for many reasons. It's also a lot worse on paper for many other reasons but I'll just focus on the positives here:

1. New from-the-ground-up-OS with room for growth/expansion. Garnet was stretched past its breaking point. Please note that i am stressing what WebOS can offer over the next decade, NOT with what it offers now (WebOS lacks MUCH in comparison to even the original Pilot--onscreen keyboard, anyone?)

2. Decent (not great, but passable) hardware/industrial design. Finally breaking the SSS (small square screen) limit is the biggie, sure, but it's also got wi-fi & GPS. And it's comfortable to hold and a nice size and the keyboard is nowhere near as bad as the Centro's or many other competing devices. I'd still like to see a d-pad or a few hard app buttons but that's never gonna happen.

3. Mass media coverage, populist buzz, and more non-Palm-oriented online coverage (CNET etc). Palm released a number of nice handhelds over the past decade. The m505 was the paradigm of sleek handheld design, the Treo 650 made the rest of the industry sit up and take smartphones seriously, the T|C had specs that are still strong even today, the Zire 31 offered unparalleled value & flexibility for its time, and the Palm TX was a tremendous bang for the buck upon its release. Yet none of these devices got more than a brief mention in mobile tech circles, much less in the mainstream press. But now we have the Pre and Ruby and McNamee all over CNN/MSNCB/Bloomberg etc. There's definitely something alluring about covering everyone as they fall over themselves to ape Apple's success.

Look, in this day & age it doesn't matter anymore how good a product is or isn't or what it has or doesn't have feature-wise.It's all about moving units by getting the buzz/chatter going and whipping the masses into a "gotta have it" frenzy. There are plenty of companies that sold great products with one or both feet in the grave...ReplayTV, Commodore, GRiD, 3dfx Psion, oqo, Carver etc etc. And at one time, Apple was nearly among those numbers before they came back from the brink (remember the 25th anniversary Mac?)

SV is basically right--it doesn't matter how GOOD the Pre is or isn't. Palm could release the greatest device in the history of mankind and there's no guarantee it'll find an audience and rescue Palm from oblivion.

So while I have very little enthusiasm over the Pre "as is", I still think WebOS has a bright future ahead of it, IF Palm doesn't get lazy & complacent and keeps plugging away at WebOS to make it as efficient and functional as Garnet was while also adding modern features.
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p->?

RE: so after all that fuss
treo007 @ 7/16/2009 9:12:07 PM # Q
Seldom Visitor:

Why is Palm back? Why is the Pre a success?

Not necessarily because of the great reviews it's gotten (which it has), but the fact that anyone even wants to review it at all. Name a recent Palm phone, Pre excluded, that anyone has even cared about.

You can't tell me the sales haven't been brisk. In spite of the fact that it's exclusively offered for the moment on a small, struggling carrier in one country. You think the stock's ascent is an anomaly?

The difference is that you and a couple of the other over-thinkers around here have decided that it doesn't necessarily work in THEIR eyes. If it makes you feel better, my old man thinks they don't make Porsches like they used to either...I sincerely hope you don't really think of yourselves as the norm in this.

Enough already. The hater opinions, while you're all entitled to them, have become tiresome and boring in how obviously contrived they are.


RE: so after all that fuss
Ironhide @ 7/16/2009 10:08:18 PM # M Q
Poppycock. I want to see numbers. Apple has 100 million iPhones in the field. I can see a lot of them on any walk to the bathroom on any airplane in the developed world.

That my friends is a hit.

Reviews, speculation, word of mouth mean Dont mean diddly. Devices walking out the door do.

And haven't we learned that you cannot trust investors to determine if a company is doing well? The stock went up because people were speculating.

But as of now, Palm still is bleeding out as of the last quarter. IF and only IF they make a profit can we justifiably call Palm a success. We will see in October when their quarterly report comes out.

RE: so after all that fuss
treo007 @ 7/16/2009 10:38:49 PM # Q
People get stock investing wrong in bubbles, not on long out of favor companies in what was at that time a decidedly bear market.

Do you really think the Pre is supposed to have as many units as a phone that's been out for as long as the iPhone has? Jesus....And Palm doesn't have to sell as many units as Apple to be a hit.

By the way, would you like to buy my Palm i705?

RE: so after all that fuss
pmjoe @ 7/17/2009 1:18:36 PM # Q
ssid12 wrote:
there! all those doom mongers crying the Pre is dead! it can't sync with iTunes!... can crawl back into their little holes and wait for something else to complain about...

Palm and its partners appear to be on the ball, [...]


I'm not paying $22 and relying on some 3rd party to sync my phone. This still doesn't resolve contact/calendar syncing either.

If Palm can't provide a reasonable sync solution with their phone, screw them. This is the same crap that caused me to bail on Palm 5 years ago. Definitely not the way to win back a customer.

RE: so after all that fuss
jteesy @ 7/23/2009 11:28:31 AM # Q
Let me preface what I'm about to say with a short history: I've never owned an iPhone (though I've used many). I have owned quite a few Palm and "Palm-like" devices, and I do think the iPhone line (and by FAR the 3G S) to be a quality, intuitive product with a lot going for it.

Neither device is anywhere near perfect...in life, precious few things are. But they are both very good. To stay on topic here, one of the biggest drawbacks of the Pre/WebOS plan is obviously a lack of syncing and managing that data from a computer. My hope is that this mysterious daily backup will be opened up to at least allow web-based management from a PC and be expanded to include settings, memos, or whatever isn't synced now.

Now to comment on some of the other knocks I'm reading here. As is already mentioned here, the Pre need not out-sell the iPhone for Palm to be successful any more than Hyundai needs to sell more cars than Ford to be successful. Certainly they're not where they'd like to be, but I think it's fair to say that they're not on death's door as they were a year or two ago. Obviously, they need to maintain their drive and hunger to avoid slipping back into that condition. And while a few hundred thousand isn't close to the million or two 3G S's sold since launch, it's still quite a lot in comparison to the vast majority of other devices out there on their launch days. And where are you guys getting 100 million iPhones sold from??? It's more like 18-20 (http://www.mobilewhack.com/17-million-iphones-sold/). Around 30 if you're counting iPod touches, but what do those have to do with this topic? Also, it was a single-carrier launch, and other carriers are already confirmed. The iPhone launched on multiple carriers in multiple countries, if I'm not mistaken. All things being equal, it would've out-sold the Pre on foothold and name recognition alone, but these other things do factor in.

Another knock I'm hearing is that the Pre can't do anything the iPhone can't. Both devices have essentially the same guts, so it's not really a hardware advantage there for either as I understand it. Just two different form factors. The iPhone has an obvious advantage in available 3rd party software. A little less so if you consider the Classic program. I know it's not free, but it is a useful option, especially if you've moved over from previous Palm devices. Give Palm some time. The beta SDK was just released. About a month after the phone, and about 11 months earlier than Apple did with the 1st gen iPhone. Where the Pre holds an obvious advantage to me right now is in the combination of a physical keyboard, gestures, and universal search (I know...it's not fully "universal"...yet). I can move around a lot faster on the Pre than on an iPhone. Pressing a button or two immediately pulls up the contact or program you need. I rarely bother opening the browser. Type the address and hit enter. Full swipe the gesture area to move between open cards. Wireless settings which are one tap away, at all times except for during landscape video playback...and even then, only adding one button press. Another advantage (to me) is the implementation of the calendar, mail, and contact syncing. Perfect? No, but still very useful and very powerful.

So what we have here is a free option to sync (paid to do it faster) more stuff than you could before. Perfect? No. Something Palm should've included from go? Sure. But an option still, and one that can be updated to include more sorts of things synced in the future. Though Palm should've had this in recipe already, both Palm and Apple can't include everything that everyone could ever want in a device (I agree this should've been high on the want list). That's what app stores are for. Adding functionality you didn't have before. If you recall, Palm OS Treo's can sync, but don't have true backup. You have to buy a program for that, even though the sometimes crashy nature of the device should've made it an included thing.

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itunes sync was done just to make Apple look bad

jimn367 @ 7/17/2009 5:33:24 AM # Q
I agree with the comment that the itunes sync was a developer hack that found it's way into the final release.

I also feel [and I may be alone at this] that Palm knew darn well that Apple would block sync with itunes. It was done just to make Apple look bad, and get a ton of free publicity. This itunes sync issue was on my local TV news, Fox news, and the Fox News web sight.

Free advertising for Palm that makes Apple look bad.

My friends, this was done on purpose.

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What happened syncing Palm to Rhapsody?

buckeyetex315 @ 7/17/2009 7:49:10 AM # Q
I haven't been able to follow all the Pre / webOS stuff as closely as I'd like due to work pressures. With all the hype over syncing with iTunes, what happened with syncing Palm Pre with Rhapsody? Is there something about the Pre that won't let it?

I don't buy much music so I don't know what are the shortcomings of using Rhapsody in that regard, but it always worked really well for me with my TX.

Can anyone comment, please?

BTW, I HATE iTunes. It is one of the crappiest pieces of software I've ever seen (right after most of Microsoft's stuff, but that's a post for another time...).

Brent

Palm Vx -> Long wait -> Palm T|X -> iPhone (sigh)
Come on Pre / webOS on AT&T!

RE: What happened syncing Palm to Rhapsody?
jeffhoward001 @ 7/17/2009 11:09:06 AM # Q
Great question... Not just Rhapsody though, any WMA DRM-based content service. That's a huge reason I'd never buy an iPhone.

I predict:

- Palm is working with Normsoft on this
- Palm will release a ROM update that will include linux libs that developers can call for WMA control & DRM functionality (this will be open to all developers, not just Normsoft)
- Not surprisingly, Normsoft will be the first to use this technology, which will be released in a version of "Pocket Tunes for WebOS"

Then I'm sure other developers will figure it out shortly thereafter.
Tungsten T -> Palm TX -> TX & Centro (Good combo so far!)

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