CDMA, GSM, Nextel, Rumors, Sprint, T-Mobile, news

T-Mobile looking to Purchase Sprint Nextel

September 15th 2009 | Posted by CTL Advance

A tip from jpquezada gently reminds us that we haven’t addressed the reports that Deutsche Telekom is looking to purchase Sprint Nextel. Yes, good ol’ Deutsche Telekom (who also owns T-Mobile USA) has been eyeballing the purchase of Sprint for a while now. But just recently some new information indicates that they have actually been looking to make a move. 

If the deal goes through (and there are many questions about whether it can or will), it’s not entirely clear what Deutsche Telekom will do with Sprint or what it would mean for the industry and Sprint customers. T-Mobile is a GSM carrier while Sprint is CDMA – not to mention Sprint’s Nextel bands. Would T-Mobile and Sprint merge or simply be owned by the same company? Would Sprint move to GSM (a move perhaps eased by the fact that Sprint has been busy virtualizing their company and divesting themselves of pesky physical assets and then leasing them back). Would Catherine Zeta Jones start appearing in commercials next to Dan Hesse? Would Sprint and Palm lost their BFF status, since neither T-Mobile USA nor Deutsche Telekom have been very Palm-friendly in recent memory? Would it also help drive up wireless costs across all carriers?

That’s a lot of questions – and if we were Palm, we’d see the same answer behind all of them: time to diversify and get webOS devices on other networks, pronto.

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Heroes, Palm Pre, Rumors, Sprint, news

Palm Pre featured on new Season of Heroes

September 14th 2009 | Posted by CTL Advance

WhoAmI lets us know that the Palm Pre may be guest starring briefly on the next season of Heroes. We all know that Sprint has a major ad campaign for some tv shows, and apparently this includes the new season of Heroes. WhoAmI notes that the Heroes fan site that has images from the new season starting on the 21st of september. If you are interested about Heroes and aren’t to sure what it is about you can check it here on NBCs Heroes Page.

Longtime readers will remember the days leading up to the Pre’s release, when Sprint’s well-known sponsorship of the show led many-a-reader to believe they were seeing Palm Pre phones on the show (usually screencaps revealed they were Palm Treo Pros or even, *gasp* Samsung Instincts.)

Anyone going to watch for the Pre’s close up?

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Palm Pre, Sprint, Wirefly, news

Palm Pre for $99 on Contract at Wirefly.com

September 11th 2009 | Posted by CTL Advance

Want a Palm Pre but dont want to shell out 250 big ones? Wirefly.com has the Pre for $99 with a new 2 year agreement, that’s after $700 instant savings from their default price of $799 (which is, you know, crazy high). Already existing customers can get the phone for $499, $50 less then Sprint’s regular price.

Either way, the thing to focus on is that Wirefly, who has previously undercut the official MSRP, is following suit again after the Pre’s official price drop to $150. Of course, you’ll have to consider whether buying your phone over the interwebs from a 3rd party is worth the savings to you.

UPDATE: Make sure to read the Terms of Purchase before you get locked into this.

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Palm Pre, Rumors, european palm pre, news

Palm Pre Anouncement for Europe on September 15th?

September 11th 2009 | Posted by CTL Advance

PC Advisor and PalmPre.pl bring word that Palm plans to give the GSM version of the Palm Pre a little show and tell with the press on Sept 15th. This comes among an announcement for the technology event PlayBite, where companies gather to showcase new products. Palm’s definitely on the confirmed exhibitor list, so it’s a safe bet that the GSM Pre will be trotted out once again.

The Pre’s release on Telefonica, O2, and Movistar is still officially "in time for Christmas," but rumors continue to suggest an October release is possible. Hey Palm – an announcement of a more specific date would be peachy, we want to know just how long we have to save our money for the import.

[via: EverythingPre]

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Classic, Motion Apps, Palm Pre, news

VNC on the Palm Pre via Classic

September 3rd 2009 | Posted by CTL Advance

Palm Pre users who have a copy of Motion Apps Classic PalmOS emulator will be happy to hear that you can now use VNC service. Motion Apps has  posted on their site that they have successfully tested Win-Hand VNC to remotely control their windows machine. Motion Apps claim that they were able to easily navigate the remote machine and send emails. The functionality understandably has our forum members jazzed up.

What does this mean for the average user? Basically if you setup your computer with a VNC server, and then run the VNC client on your Pre you will have the ability to work from virtually anywhere. From a small screen of course, but if the difference is being at the office or working from the beach; the answer is clear.

VNC users may also want to try Palm VNC which can be found here. This will run from classic just like win-hand vnc. If you happen to be someone who loves everything about the Pre’s linux insides, you can find instructions for a linux based VNC here. However the linux version doesn’t run inside of classic and requires root access on the device. Finally, if you aren’t picky about true VNC, you can get the same sort of remote PC access with the homebrew app RemoteWIN

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App Catalog, Rumors, news, palm webos, trial

Would You Buy an App With No Trial Version?

September 1st 2009 | Posted by CTL Advance

Yesterday evening I came across a PreCentral forum post on trialware in the app catalog. Member Arcticus asks precentral.net forum members one question "Would You Buy an App With No Trial Version?"

This topic has been discussed in great detail especially over the iPhone AppStore fiasco where many people end up with crapware software that only got used a few times. Since we are now in September, the countdown to paid apps in the Palm App Catalog has begun, so we figured we’d ask you folks on the blog: are you the shoot first and ask questions later type or do you need a sample of the local cuisine before you commit to it? 

Would You Buy an App without a Trial?(answers)

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Palm Eos, Palm Pixie, Palm Pre, Rumors, Sprint, analysts, news

Pixie/EOS Launch for the Holidays? YAAG (Yet Another Analyst Guess)

August 28th 2009 | Posted by CTL Advance

Analyst alert: We have another rumor of an end of year launch for the Palm Eos. A recent article in Barrons Tech Trader Daily cites Macquarie Research analyst Phil Cusick, who suggests that Palm will be shipping the new device in time for shoppers this holiday season. Cusick says that the Pixie/EOS will be aimed at competing with the $99 iPhone.

Now that the Eos has just been rumored for Verizon and we’re already expecting it for Sprint and AT&T, it looks like T-Mobile is the only major US carrier without some rumored webOS loving on the horizon.

We here at PreCentral have previously received anonymous word that the Eos would start landing at Palm HQ in October, so a 2009 launch is starting to feel more likely – whatever the carrier.

If Palm can manage to get the Eos out the door in large numbers, at a small price, and on multiple carriers, do you think it could be a bigger hit than the Pre?

(Ed. Note from Dieter: while you’re commenting on the above, give a big welcome to our newest blogger, CTL Advance!)

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