PalmSource Day 1: Sony Prototype Pics

It seems to make sense. WHY waste the Screen "Cover" space with just useless leather? Why not make it a folding screen. BRILLIANT!!!

THe keyboard also appears to be oriented horizontally, posibly a qwerty layout. THe Yopy is a nonstandard layout and takes much more of the keyboard side than this pic

"...many have said the Yopy's design is stupid!"

says who? you?

you should learn some manners, more if you are promoting your site.

http://www.davespda.com/rumors.htm#sony

I like how you crop out the "palminfocenter" and give no credit

The small image doesn't say PalmInfoCenter on it, so there was nothing to crop out. I am sorry if you have a problem with me posting, I was simply trying to make a point that some people had said they didn't like the Yopy because of its desgin, and that design is very similar to the future Sony.

Dave

I remember back in 3rd grade when the combacks were things like "Yeah well post all you want.. your site sucks anyway." It's nice to know we're all grown up now, isn't it?
;)

"I agree. These things _look_ cool, but how usable will they be? It seems to me that the thumbboard will be too narrow and it will be top-heavy as a result of the display."

..don''t underestimate the japanese, their market
(electronic gadgets) is much much more demanding and competitive than this one, so expect a really cool pda..
In Tokyo's electronic district (Akibahara) I've seen AMAZING gadgets (cell phones, laptops, MDplayers, pdas..) from Sharp, Sanyo, Toshiba, Sony, Panasonic, etc) that they don't even bother to release in the States becouse "they're too advanced" i was told!

Never say never

"It's no different to the PalmOS 4.1 interface."

WTF? Is what you said for real?

They worked on this for 2+ years and we still have the exact same GUI as in OS 1.

I am getting the sinking feeling that OS 5 is basically OS 4.1 ported to ARM with additional security and support in the OS for 320x320. I simply can not accept that there is no GUI change (NO I AM NOT asking for PocketPC clutter, but classy looking modern GUIs on a 320x320 color screen should be possible) and no change to the built in apps from what I hear. Can it really be possible that the big OS 5 will arrive with a contact and scheduling app that still won't allow you to assign multiple categories nor have options for multiple emails, home phones etc.?

Dave

ah come on, I am not demanding PPC 2002. the reality is Palm has some well know weaknesses in the OS and native apps that have been around for years. we can name a few that come to mind and are not "power user" or "multimedia" oriented, nor do they sacrifice simplicity.

1. assigning contacts to multiple categories.
2. adding more fields to contact data, ie. 2 addresses, 2 emails, etc.
3. using color effectively in the GUI which right now uses next to non.

these are just some of the problems and it seems clear non are addressed by OS 5. i use actionnames 5 but even that can't overcome some of the native problems with the structuring of the contact and scheduling facilities built into Palm. we are talking core PIM functions here NOT MP3s or video etc. also why we can't have a GUI that uses carefully themed shading of buttons, menus, hi-res icons, etc. ALL NATIVE is amazing. while i love the 16,000 apps for the Palm some things we deserve native after all these years. the reality... i love my Pilot 5000, PalmPilot Pro, Palm V, Palm IIIc, and now Palm m505... and yes I will buy the ARM 320x320 res Palm m505 replacement whenever it comes out but I am stunned that the much touted OS 5 will look and feel no different than the OS I had back on my Pilot 5000 and the same frustrating "easy fixes" to native apps will continue to burn me on basic PIM functions.

'nuff said.

When you think about it, it makes sense for Palm to put all their effort into getting the migration to ARM right first. The 'staged' development allows them to bring the new OS online faster so that the new ARM models can be produced more quickly. Don't forget, with flash ROM we can upgrade later, even if it means that we have to fork out an extra say $20 to get the enhanced UI (when that comes out). I think this staged development is much better than putting off the release of the new OS.

Thanks to Ed and all the others who are giving us the 'live' coverage.

Question: I read somewhere once that there is a US law which prohibits the export of certain encryption software. Does anyone know if the 128 bit encryption (mentioned in Ed's first report) complies with that law? Is there a lawyer in the house?