Google Maps My Location Feature Available Tomorrow

Google Maps Mobile Palm OSPalm has sent out a press release today jointly announcing the new unlocked GSM Centro as well as a new version of Google Maps with the My Location feature enabled. The "My Location" functionality on Palm OS will only be compatible with the Palm Centro according to Palm.

Google's My Location feature is a GPS SatNav like feature for Google Maps Mobile that automatically displays your approximate location. It works by triangulating your position based on the feedback from nearby cell towers that you are connected to. The feature originally debuted in beta for Windows Mobile devices late last year, and Palm pledged to support it on "newer Palm phones."

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gmm on cdma?

naterza @ 6/23/2008 4:08:24 PM # Q
man i hope this works on cdma centros.... so far it seems only gsm phones are supported. anyone have any info on whether sprint centros will work with my location?

Google Maps on CDMA?
Gekko @ 6/23/2008 6:07:05 PM # Q

great question. press release is clear as mud.

ryan - do you know the answer?


RE: gmm on cdma?
Gekko @ 6/23/2008 6:07:39 PM # Q

(MY LOCATION on CDMA?)

RE: gmm on cdma?
Ryan @ 6/23/2008 6:22:18 PM # Q
The two people at Palm I spoke with just said Centro and did not make a distinction between the different phone flavors. So I would assume with good confidence that both CDMA and GSM Centro's will work.

I also wouldn't rule out some Treo's until we are able to test them out tomorrow.

Curiously, Palm said before that a rom software update would be needed to add this functionality, however it seems we are getting it in a new version of Gmaps so who knows?

RE: gmm on cdma?
LiveFaith @ 6/23/2008 7:08:27 PM # Q
Dude, this would be killer if we can get this ported to the Treos.

Pat Horne
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Just like the facebook app

bigredgpk @ 6/23/2008 4:42:57 PM # Q
Just like the facebook app wouldn't work on the Treo 700p?

They say just the Centro, but i'll try it out on my 755p.

RE: Just like the facebook app
Redhawk_01 @ 6/24/2008 8:56:23 AM # Q
Hell, the Facebook app wouldn't work on my 700p. I'm still trying to figure out why when others say they've gotten it to work. Like I said yesterday, in October I will dump this damn thing and go with either a Blackberry or the HTC Touch Pro (likely the former since the Touch Pro likely won't make it out until early-mid '09, even though it's been said it'll be out this fall... We'll see).
Reply to this comment

Bullsh*t

Redhawk_01 @ 6/23/2008 5:28:12 PM # Q
F*** PALM!!!!!!! I can't wait to dump this brick in October.....

-One Disgruntled Treo 700p User

RE: Bullsh*t
amflores @ 6/23/2008 6:14:52 PM # Q
It beats me... how come I can have "my location" program as an add-on to Google Maps on my Treo680 -which btw locates me at about 100m from my house, very nice if you ask me- and Google only can make it work on a Centro? Or is it Palm who doesnīt want it? Who knows...

RE: Bullsh*t
asiayeah @ 6/23/2008 7:42:57 PM # Q
It's indeed a bit disappointed that this feature isn't available on a Treo 680 Unlocked GSM.

On the other hand, it's one of the tiny reasons that would make me to switch to Centro (apart from when my Treo breaks).

-
With great power comes great responsiblity.

RE: Bullsh*t
amflores @ 6/23/2008 8:12:06 PM # Q
Well, I donīt think Iīll upgrade to a Centro. No matter I like itīs form and looks, I find it really small -it has been introduced here in Costa Rica about two weeks ago-, already having issues with the size of the Treo keyboard!

So, it seems Iīll keep using the razix program for a while...

RE: Bullsh*t
hkklife @ 6/23/2008 11:07:07 PM # Q
As you can see from my signature, I've been a 12 year+ user of the Palm OS and I've seen a lot of blatant disregard for customer loyalty but THIS is about the lowest of the low tricks Palm (or anyone) has tried over the years.

There is *ZERO* technical reason (and if there is, then someone PLEASE tell us here in abundant detail!) that I can see for leaving Treo users out in the cold as far as the GMM location feature update.

Palm should be used as a case study of how to turn what was once one of the valley's brightest, freshest, firms into a steaming pile of, yes, bullshiit in a protracted death spiral in the span of a decade.

First, PDA users get the short end of the stick from Palm. Now, Treo users are getting it from both Palm and the carriers. Case in point if the Google Maps fiasco isn't enough evidence: the Verizon Centro, nearly identical to the Verizon Treo 755p in every way, can have the $29.99 data plan but the Treo cannot. Palm is *ONLY* giving us this My Location feature (much like how they turned off BT DUN on CDMA handsets for the TX & lifeDrive to push users to Treos) to artifically create reasons for existing Treo (and PDA!) users to see the Centro as an "upgrade path".

Folks, this is the prime example of a company so engulfed in GREEG that they abandon any and all shred of customer appreciation & goodwill. Unless there is a VERY sound technical reason for this (and once this Centro-only patch is rightfully hacked & distributed across every Palm-related site & forum you'll see that there is not), everyone employee of Palm should be flogged. Better to just never release this update than to give Treo users a kick to the groin like this.

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: Bullsh*t
Rastick @ 6/24/2008 1:38:11 AM # Q
Looking at the analysis on PalmAddict, they are saying the My Location option in Google Maps will work on the GSM Centro and the Verizon Centro but not the current Sprint Centro, though an upcoming maintenance release for the Sprint Centro will add support for it. I presume Palm had to add some capability to the OS needed by My Location.

Since whatever needed capability wasn't even available in the initial Centro, it isn't surprising earlier Treo devices also don't have it.

By all means kick-up a stink and see if you can get this capability added to the 755p! But ease up on the conspiracy theories. :)

RE: Bullsh*t
Rastick @ 6/24/2008 1:46:06 AM # Q
RE: Bullsh*t
SeldomVisitor @ 6/24/2008 7:55:10 AM # Q
If OS mods were needed to "enable" the My Location ability on the Centro, then that totally explains why Palm doesn't support the same ability on the other Treos it doesn't support the ability on.


RE: Bullsh*t
LiveFaith @ 6/24/2008 8:31:38 AM # Q
I'm with your Kris, but let's not forget we still have Motorola to thank for not being the absolute worst disaster. Nova may change even that tho. :-0

Pat Horne
RE: Bullsh*t
hkklife @ 6/24/2008 9:44:03 AM # Q
Bah, it's still nothing that couldn't be enabled if Palm *WANTED* to.

Garnet 5.4.9 is still Garnet 5.4.9, plain & simple.

Pat, good point on Moto, but for the most part, Moto produces dumbphones & feature-laden WinMob handsets. They are not the "keepers" of any particular flame, unlike Palm as THE final Palm OS licensee.

If you don't like Moto's Q, go to any of the gazillion other WinMob handsets on the market. If you don't like the endless stream of RAZR-derived dumbphones from Moto, go to another dumbphone manufacturer.

But if you enjoy the brilliance of the Palm OS PIM apps, UI, & library of legacy apps.....you're stuck. It's Centro or nothin' at all at this stage of the game (if you want even a sliver of support from Palm). No wi-fi, no 320x480, no Graffiti, no Treos. Just Centro.

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: Bullsh*t
Gekko @ 6/24/2008 9:52:21 AM # Q

"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence." - Robert J. Hanlon

RE: Bullsh*t
Gekko @ 6/24/2008 9:55:43 AM # Q

i hope you all appreciate that i didn't jump ship to iphone or blackberry or other and i stuck with palm and got a centro. what would you do without me?

RE: Bullsh*t
LiveFaith @ 6/24/2008 1:33:37 PM # Q
... that's some kind of setup!

Pat Horne
Reply to this comment

found the early download link here!

Gekko @ 6/23/2008 8:21:34 PM # Q
RE: found the early download link here!
LiveFaith @ 6/23/2008 9:49:37 PM # Q
My gosh Mekk!

Pat Horne
RE: found the early download link here!
palmit @ 6/23/2008 11:33:25 PM # Q
isnt that old news.

Reply to this comment

version 1.2.0.9 to version 2.0.2.0

Gekko @ 6/24/2008 6:18:04 AM # Q

"The My Location feature is not available for this version of the centro. please go to www.palm.com/centroupdate for more information."

(sprint centro)

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'My Location' does not function on Verizon Treo 755p

hgoldner @ 6/24/2008 10:48:13 AM # Q
I downloaded the applet this morning to my Verizon Wireless Treo 755p. While the application runs, the 'my location' produces the prompt that the feature does not run on my phone.

Why, is anyone's guess, since I certainly can neither purchase nor run any of the applications which Verizon Wireless sells on most of its other phones.

Harold

RE: 'My Location' does not function on Verizon Treo 755p
amflores @ 6/24/2008 11:09:06 AM # Q
Well, it doesnīt work on my Treo 680 neither... anyone interested in another full-working -and free- option can go here:

http://www.razix.net/mloc/



RE: 'My Location' does not function on Verizon Treo 755p
hkklife @ 6/24/2008 11:55:41 AM # Q
Again, a perfectly good example showing that Palm *COULD* enable official GMM Location functionality for Treo users but doesn't want to (out of arrogange, spite, greed, incompetence, & laziness).

From the location screen on GMM 2.0.2.0 on my 755p:

"The MyLocation feature is not available for this device. It is available for Palm Centro phones". Well, it COULd always be worse. They could lock Treo owners out of even downloading & installing the latest GMM. I'm noticing 2.0.2.0 to be generally more responsive than 1.2.0.9.

Typical Palm mismanagement: push your "cooler" lower-margin device at the expense of your flagship, higher-margin device.

Aside from the software bundle (which users can always buy for their Treos), Palm KNOWS that the Treo is a superior device in every way to the Centro for serious PIM/data purposes (larger screen, larger keyboard, better battery life, better stylus etc) aside from some minor lag improvements and a few of very tiny OS enhancements. So, it stands to reason to reason that a device with a larger screen & longer battery life would make a superior GMM platform, right? If nothing else, Palm could've added this to the 755p as an additional way to differentiate it from the 700p (ala the Facebook app).

But it's not just this app that is endemic of the problems plaguing this company. Palm's a rudderless ship nowadays. Let's just look at a handful of mishaps SINCE the Fooleo & 700p ROM update debacles of 2007:

-The continued sorry state of Palm Desktop under Vista (mostly Access/PalmSource's fault but this is Palm's problem too).
-The inexplicable Verizon 755p & Centro delays.
-Failing to use the much-ballyhooed Palm Blog to make any kind of meaningful interaction with their customers or address some of the pressing issues facing their customer base
-Doing nothing to stop the rapidly constricting Palm OS software market and/or the concerns of POS developers
-The intermidable 800w & 850 delays.
-Failure to move beyond increasingly smaller, square screens. No new formfactors etc, even with their WM devices that are not constrained in the same manner as their Garnet-based devices. And no, taking potshots at RIM's service outages in WSJ ads does not count!
-Announce Centro extended battery then immediately EOLing the extended battery.
-Supposedly locking out Seidio & others from releasing OEM-sized high capacity batteries yet failing to release their own branded version.
-Make a Facebook app available for download for a handful of select devices with no explanation why others with nearly identical (if not superior) capabilities are not supported.
-Release GMM Location for the Centro with no explanation for why the Treos aren't supported or even offering a Location-enabled version of GMM for Treo owners to purchase.
-Releasing various versions of VersaMail for different data plans on different carriers.
-Rumors of WM 6.0 for the VZW 700wx but not the Sprint versions (To be fair: this could be a carrier decision and/or a mutual carrier/Palm decision).
-ZERO indication that Nova actually exists and that work is in progress
-ZERO clarification of their plans to support legacy Palm OS apps under Nova.
-ZERO clarification of their plans for their handheld line.

This company's just as big of a mess as every and Rubinstein doesn't appear to be doing anything and/or has given up already. All that's happened is another minor hit of a mediocre product (Centro) ala the Zire, Tungsten E & Treo 650 that'll keep them in business that much longer to let a select few suck the company dry while refusing to innovate, much less give a serious effort to compete with the leaders in the industry.

I'd so love to see a deep-pocketd Asian firm (Asus, Lenovo, Acer, Foxconn etc) buy Palm, retain Rob Haitani in whatever capacity he desires, send EVERYONE else that joined the company after 1999 packing. Oh yeah, and appoint Pat Horne to head up the R&D department! ;-)

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: 'My Location' does not function on Verizon Treo 755p
LiveFaith @ 6/24/2008 1:43:19 PM # Q
Yoodaman!

Actually, they've already hired me and I'm fixing things ...
http://tinyurl.com/5b599l
... right now I'm working on doubling the 1K clipboard limit. Wow!


Pat Horne

RE: 'My Location' does not function on Verizon Treo 755p
relyons @ 6/24/2008 2:00:41 PM # Q
hkklife,

Your stance is clear.

* Palm continually disappoints you.
* Palm isn't listening or acting on your advice.

However, your behavior based on your stance confuses me.

* You continue to buy Palm devices even though Palm continually disappoints you.
* You write rant after rant about Palm even though Palm isn't listening or acting on your advice.

I would love a thoughtful, honest answer to the following question.

* Why do you continue to invest your time and money on Palm products?

RE: 'My Location' does not function on Verizon Treo 755p
hkklife @ 6/24/2008 2:32:20 PM # Q
Reylons;

Thanks for the reply. I will give you my honest, 100% sincere response.

I continue to buy Palm products because the Palm OS is STILL, in my oh-so humble opinion, the BEST, most efficient mobile platform for quickly/easily inputting & recalling data. The BEST. Not the flashiest, most stable, or the hippest, simply the BEST overall platform for personal information management.

First and foremost, I have come to rely on use the Palm OS PIM features (not Agendus, DocsToGo, Datebk etc--the bone stock, classic Palm OS PIM apps) on a daily basis over the past 10-12 years. While I *COULD* change to another platform but, as Gekko said the other day, why bother learning/exporting an entirely new OS? I can flip through nearly any Palm OS device release over the past 12 years and instantly recall anything I need to. If the need arises, I can tell you what I was doing on THIS day in 1996 or my phone number was two residences ago. That kind of capability is nice and hard to wean yourself off of. As a developer, you can likely appreciate the fact that some users (whether an individual like myself or

I've tried the iPhone, various WinMob/PPC models & a few BlackBerries. They are all more powerful at this stage than POS but because I value simplicity & ease-of-use over gee-whiz multimedia features, I stick with POS. iPhone is still too limiting, WinMob is improved but still too cluky and BB is still too e-mail-centric.

Now, I want to see Palm advance the platform as much as anyone else here. I want to have a big iPhone-style screen coupled with BB-style GPS & wi-fi and WinMob high resolution support and full 3G capabilities etc etc. But on top of all of that bleeding-edge innovation I want Palm to maintain the unique combination of flexibility, ease of use, familiarity, and dependability of the classic Palm OS PIM apps & UI (basically, what Cobalt could've/should've been). At this stage of the game I'm fine with abandoning backwards compatibility with Garnet if it means getting Nova out in a timely, stable manner. I'd rather have to rebuy a dozen apps & games than spend time fooling with exporting/tweaking/manually re-entering a dozen years worth of contacts & calendar events.

There's a difference with being a Palm-bashing day trader or platform-agnostic Palm Pessimist versus a concerned Palm OS fan in it since '96. I'm a die-hard Palm OS fan who is hellbent on seeing both the platform and the company change for the better, not hop willy-nilly from one agenda to the next while shedding loyal users in the process. I have a vested interest from the perspective of both a USER and a FAN (not anyone affiliated in any way with Palm's stock price or the tech industry) in seeing the company & the platform succeed. And it irritates me to no end to see Palm squandering opportunity after oppotunity to revitalize what was THE premiere mobile platform less than a decade ago. Users and developers alike flee the platform, yet Palm continues to stride right along oblivious to it all, chest puffed out, head held high and tossing us a few scraps like Facebook & GMM here and there.

Unfortunately, as of this precise moment, I sadly see ZERO signs of change on the horizon, aside from the nice aesthetics of the Treo 850 and the solid specs of the 800w/850. But of right now, my 755p still functions and Palm are still in business...and I have a new TX stashed away in my closet for a worst-case scenario. I'm going to stay here contributing to PIC & the community and keep calling it like it is for at least the next year and give them a fair shot at finishing up Nova.

I hope this is thoughtful, honest, and sincere enough for everyone.

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: 'My Location' does not function on Verizon Treo 755p
relyons @ 6/24/2008 3:42:00 PM # Q
hkklife, "I hope this is thoughtful, honest, and sincere enough for everyone."

It certainly was. Thank you. :)

I completed the five stages of loss about six months ago. Palm is now just another technology company that makes handhelds and smartphones. They used to mean something more to me.

Good luck progressing through the five stages, hkklife. :)

RE: 'My Location' does not function on Verizon Treo 755p
LiveFaith @ 6/24/2008 3:44:34 PM # Q
Pretty good synopsis Kris. But, I think she says it better ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9peqtstOaHs

... even if he is a womanizing, drunken, slosh.

Pat Horne

RE: 'My Location' does not function on Verizon Treo 755p
hkklife @ 6/24/2008 4:40:28 PM # Q
@ relyons;

I got sidetracked (sentimental!?!) midway through the above post and was trying to say "As a developer, you can likely appreciate the fact that some users (whether from the standpoint of an individual like myself or a corporate IT purchasing standpoint just like to stick with what works, and the Palm OS still (mostly) best fits my needs. "

I suppose my first "loss" stage occured when Graffiti 1 was dumped back in '03 and I've had a stage a year ever since....so, yeah, I've got another year to go!

Do you still use a POS device in any way, shape or form?

@Pat;

Don't go bringin' none of dat twangin' honky tonk stuff in 'ere, pardner. No one here's from the south 'cept for you'n me! ;-)



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: 'My Location' does not function on Verizon Treo 755p
JackG @ 6/24/2008 4:40:29 PM # Q
hkklife:

While I understand your complaints with Palm, having endured the 700p MR debacle myself, I wonder if you've ever used the Centro. I still own my 700p, but I can tell you that hands down my Centro is a better device overall. Although the screen is smaller, it remains sharp and vivid, but obviously not as large as the Treo. The keyboard, while smaller, has keys with a sticky feel to them, so I find that I make less mistakes in typing on the Centro, because the fingers don't slip. The external speaker is way better on the Centro than the one on my higher dollared Treo; just no comparison at all here. You've already mentioned the built in programs as being better, so I need not make that point. I don't know if my Centro could stand a drop as well as my Treo or not, as I've fortunately not had to try that aspect out. However, with identical programs on my Centro that my Treo holds, my Centro is far more stable. I don't suffer the resets that my Treo went through. It makes me wonder if the Centro really is the same inside as the Treos, or if something has changed. There is just no comparison in the stability factor.

Battery life is the only complaint you register that I can agree upon. You have to be more careful with the Centro and ensure regular charging as it won't get the mileage that the Treo will.

Oh, and we have about a dozen employees who use either the 755p or the Centro, here locally, depending upon which network they choose. In just a few short months, two Treo users have had to get replacements due to early life failure. Make that zero for the Centro users. Again, there seems to be something different in the internals with the Centro, and perhaps that is at least part of the reason why Palm doesn't update the Treo along with the Centro. Just a thought anyway.

I hope as I'm sure you do that the Nova does have backwards compatibility, and that it measures up to the expectations we all have for the future OS of Palm!

RE: 'My Location' does not function on Verizon Treo 755p
relyons @ 6/25/2008 9:50:42 AM # Q
I use an unlocked Treo 680 daily. My contract with T-Mobile ends in September. I'll probably take a new contract with AT&T once I confirm that AT&T has improved its coverage in my home. There's 2:1 odds I'll purchase an iPhone when I sign the contract.

I am prototyping a handheld application on the Palm OS to sell in the future. Once the prototype is complete, I'll evaluate iPhone, Android, Blackberry, etc. and choose a platform for release. I doubt it'll be the Palm OS...

BTW, I live in the South, too, y'all. Atlanta, Georgia.

RE: 'My Location' does not function on Verizon Treo 755p
hkklife @ 6/25/2008 3:19:12 PM # Q
JackG;

I've used the Centro at length (borrowed/played with one, not owned it). While there is nothing inherently wrong with its specs/performance relative to other Palm OS devices, it's just the physical attributes that I find so off-putting. Tiny keyboard (I have fat thumbs), small square screen (by far its worst point-and I have 20/20 vision), weak battery life (a definite deal-breaker for me), and a flimsy stylus and marginal aesthetics/build quality compared to my 755p make it a no-go.

Now, the Centro does have its positive attributes, as I've stated several times here and over at TC. It has a brighter/whiter LCD, louder earpiece & speaker volume, marginally (IMO) better voice quality, a slightly newer OS & improved software bundle and, of course, GMM functionality, with the AT&T version also getting PTT to somewhat mitigate its lack of 3G.

If I currently had, say, a GSM 650 and needed a cheap interim device, I'd probably buy an unlocked Centro. But being firmly entrenched in Verizon, the 755p fits my needs (big keyboard, bigger LCD, larger capacity battery) far better than any Centro.

According to various sources, Palm did redesign the 755p/700p innards in-house and miniaturized everything for the Centro. And the Palm OS Treos definitely use a different Qualcomm chipset vs. the Centro, so some subtle differences are to be expected, as are the inevitable NVFS performance optimizations.

Of course, my gripe is that the cell tower triangulation for GMM isn't using any kind of aGPS chip and therefore, should work on any modern Palm OS 5 smartphone. That's like my 2 year old Lexmark printer not having a dedicated driver for Windows Vista. Lexmark COULD support it but they'd rather me just buy a new printer. Same goes with Palm. The "fixed" 755p was in stores and for sale PRIOR to the availability of the first 700p ROM update, y'know...and the TX was in stores prior to the availability of the LifeDrive 2.0 update that made the device semi-usable.


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

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