I’ve been a business smartphone user since the category was invented.  I started with Palm and have been loyal to them through the years as the market has developed from a niche geek market to the fastest growing segment of mobile communications.  Analysts say it will easily overtake conventional cell phones in developed countries very soon.

As a business user, I’ve always assumed the ‘next’ new device would be better than the previous device at getting the job done.  That job being primarily communicating with colleagues via voice or text.  Originally email was the exclusive text method, but of course today we have SMS, IM, Twitter, Facebook etc.

So why am I upset with what Palm has done in their latest ‘comeback kid’ device, the Palm Pre?

Read on to find out.

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Are you a Palm loyalist, still clutching your Centro, Treo, or T|X tightly in your fingers, not yet ready to surrender your trusted device, but perhaps looking for something to give your Palm OS device a little boost and add a little excitement?  If so, Handmark may just make your day.

Through its gaming group, Astraware, Handmark makes a great range of games for the Palm OS, Windows Mobile, Symbian, BlackBerry, iPhone, and PC platforms.  For a limited time, they are offering their Palm OS games at a 50% discount, including such well known titles as Tetris, Tradewinds 2, Bejeweled, Text Twist, GTS World Racing, and Astraware Casino.

To get your discount, use promo code PALM50 during checkout when shopping on the Astraware, Handmark, or Pocket Express websites.

Yesterday Iambic released the new update to the Agendus Standard, Professional and Premium Editions, reaching version 13.05.
From the producer site a long awaited bug fix.

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Shhhhh – don’t tell Clinton but his 20% off all software sale that he Twittered about this morning and claims will start Friday — seems to have started early. I just picked up DataViz Documents to go for 20% off using his BLACKFRIDAY coupon code (Yes, BlackBerry’s latest OS includes the software but you can’t create documents with it). Head on over to his store and steal him blind while he doesn’t notice that the word is out.

Clinton Fitch Software – 20% off (use BLACKFRIDAY coupon code)

The lovely Alison graced my inbox this morning with the latest from Club Astraware; this month’s special is one you won’t want to miss!

Club Astraware offers for September 2008

The Club Astraware Member-only discount offer for September 2008 is Astraware Solitaire for just $9.95, that’s a huge saving of $10 off the regular price!

In addition to our regular offers for Palm OS(R) and Windows Mobile(R) device owners, this discount is also available to Club Astraware members who own Symbian(R) S60(R), and UIQ(R) smartphones.

Astraware Solitaire features 12 of the most well-known and best-loved single player card games, chosen based on direct feedback and suggestions from Astraware customers.

The games included in Astraware Solitaire are Klondike, Pyramid, Spider, Clock, Yukon, Canfield, Four Seasons, Sultan’s Harem, Idiot’s Delight, Golf, Calculation, and Freecell, and to make the playing experience both familiar and fun, each game has custom gameplay options so everyone can enjoy the games using their favorite variation on the standard rules.

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MobileHeist is on a roll – providing our readers with amazing deals on great products for a very limited time! This time the Gear Diary Store has teamed up with our software partner, iambic, for a fantastic offer:  giving away, for two days only, Propel – Standard Edition for Palm-based phones.  Propel for Palm OS Standard Edition is the ultimate launcher for your palm smartphone, you’ll be amazed at how snappy and straightforward launching applications will be.  This popular application normally sells for $14.95 but for two days only, this Thursday & Friday, June 19th & 20th we’re going to give away a free copy with any purchase over $4.99 from our store.

To get the deal, you’ll simply have to add Propel – Palm OS Standard Edition to your shopping cart, along with other products totaling $4.99 or more, and then enter the coupon code PropelFree on checkout.

Link: Propel – Standard Edition for Palm-based phones

The lovely Alison knows how much I love word puzzles, and she has been teasing me with the idea that something was coming from them soon that would be right up my alley, and now here it is: Astraware’s new brain-teasing word game Bubble Babble.

Challenge – create a set number of words against the clock,
Target – reconstruct the separated word from the letter bubbles,
Mystery – try different permutations of letters to find the hidden word,
Freeplay – just enjoy making words to boost your points score.

This game is available for the Palm OS, Pocket PC, and Smartphones; I’ve just loaded it to my MWg Zinc II, and I’ll give it a try later today. You can give it a try, too – just hit the Astraware site and download the trial.

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The Ilium Software anniversary party I mentioned the other day has started; here are the details!

It’s been another great year for us, and we want to celebrate our 11th anniversary with you! One day just isn’t enough, so we’ll be stretching this party out all week.

From June 2 – June 6, we’re offering BIG savings on our software. Scroll down to find the programs you want, add them to your cart, and get 55% off your entire order! That’s right – all week long, you can buy a little or you can buy a lot, and it’s all 55% off! We told you the savings were big.

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Kevin Doel forwarded some information that should come in handy for anyone with a Palm OS, Windows Mobile or BlackBerry device. There is a new collection of fun SMS “blips and bloops” available which he says will “make great message alert sounds and increase the choices available from the “default” options that come with phones.” Looking at the product description, it appears that Ringo will give you a bit more than just “blips and bloops”, though; it might be worth a look.

The purpose of Ringo is to make it really easy to change your ringtones on your smartphone:
1.      Easily turn your favorite music and sound clips into ringtones & alerts.
2.      Jazz up your phonebook by setting tones and pictures for friends & contacts.
3.      Group business and personal contacts, then silence one group with a tap.

Link: Ringo

Can you believe that it has been ten years since HanDBase came out? This was one of the first business tools I bought to run on my Palm, and it was also an application that I eagerly added to my Pocket PC once they crossed platforms. Modern versions of HanDBase will seamlessly sync between Palm OS, Windows Mobile (for Pocket PC and Smartphone), Symbian Series 60 and UIQ, and BlackBerry smartphones, and can be run from either a Windows or Mac computer. Pretty slick, right?

So what is HanDBase and why should you care?

HanDBase is a light and fast relational database manager for desktops, PDAs, and smartphones which offers data entry, searching, sorting, filtering, printing and synchronization across a wide variety of desktop computers, handheld computing devices and smartphones.

With HanDBase, you can create database forms to keep track of everything and anything. If you aren’t up to creating your own personalized forms, you can also download ones that others have created from DDH Software’s extensive database repository – which currently has over 2,000 titles!

That’s where the competition comes into play:

To mark their 10th Anniversary, DDH is “reviving its “HanDBase Applet of the Year” contest, seeking the most innovative uses for its popular HanDBase mobile database program for PDAs and smartphones. The goal for this year’s contest is to demonstrate how easy it is for anyone to develop a mobile solution for either work or personal use. The company will reward the Best Commercial Applet and Best Personal Applet with “HanDBase Runtime” licenses (a US $1,000.00 value) which will enable the winners to turn their entries into commercially-available standalone mobile applications.”

Are you up to the challenge? Read on…

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Here’s our newest MobileHeist special! This time around, our partner, ShSh Software, has agreed to offer a huge discount on their award-winning TAKEphONE for Palm OS.  TAKEphONE v7.55 is a utility that greatly enhances the capabilities of Treo and Centro address books. TAKEphONE has been extensively reviewed and consistently receives accolades for improving search, dialing, emailing, and SMS on Palm-based smartphones.

This application is a perennial best-seller that normally retails for $19.95 but for two days, this Thursday and Friday, April 24 & 25th, we’re going to sell it for only $4.95.  That’s 75% off the retail price!

To get the special savings, all you need to do is add TAKEphONE to your shopping cart – no coupon code is required. 

Astraware has just released their latest game, Platypus, which is based on the cult classic for PC and Mac. According to Astraware, “Platypus is a fast, frantic and fun side-scrolling arcade shooter with a difference – the entire game is made from clay!”

What’s the back-story? Astraware’s site says that the “vast continent-spanning city of Collosatropolis has finally reached the limits of its expansion, and tall buildings cover every available space. The Collosotropolan leaders have decided the simplest solution is to invade the neighbouring country of Mungola. They don’t anticipate much of a struggle – Mungolans are simple, earthy types without much love for industry. In fact, Mungola’s entire defence force consists of a single squadron of fighter planes – the venerable F-27 ‘Platypus’. Your mission is to pilot your trusty Platypus and save peaceful Mungola! Fly across the squashy fields and trees, avoid the snowy mountains and protect your planet. Shoot down the enemy ships and marvel as they disappear in a splat! Collect fruit bonuses and a range of power-ups to aid you in your quest!”

Our own Doug Goldring has already got it covered at My Today Screen, where he says:

The game is divided into four worlds, with five levels in each world, for a total of 20 levels. Once you have unlocked a world, you can always start a new game from the beginning of that world. The game starts off relatively easy with smaller fighters flying toward you in waves, and larger attack cruisers coming in from behind (these are your primary targets).

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I like handheld games. I spend a good bit of time playing games on my Windows Mobile handheld and on my Nintendo DS. There have never been, for me, enough good games written for the Windows mobile platform. For all the potential there, the selections have too frequently been knockoffs of each other.

A while back, I bought and played the original Bejeweled, and although I enjoyed it, it didn’t exactly “wow” me. It’s gameplay was basically that of match 3-or-more to remove objects. The variation, however, is that more pieces fall into place, and there are special objects that perform more effective removals. The gameplay was a little choppy, but still playable. So, while Bejeweled was a fun, and certainly popular game, I wasn’t overly impressed.

Now now some time goes by and I’m presented with the opportunity to try out the new Bejeweled 2. I started it up expecting a small variation on the original. What I got was a much improved display, smoother gameplay, and more play options.

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The lovely (and always ready to interrupt work with fun new games) Alison from Astraware has just sent notice that the dangerously addictive Bejeweled 2 has been updated to include 240 x 240 and 320 x 320 support for WM Professional (touchscreen) devices, and also…drum roll please…support for WM Standard (non-touchscreen) devices.

There are some other tweaks, but those alone are pretty darn cool.

Let’s look…

 
here’s the 240 x 240 version

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Try your luck with 11 of the best known casino games in one pack!

• Blackjack, Texas Hold ‘Em No Limit Poker, Video Poker, Video Derby, 3 Card Poker, Roulette, Craps, Baccarat, Slots, Video Keno and Texas Hold ‘Em Limit Poker in one easy-to-use pack
• Instructions on how to play each game
• Low stakes games to begin, with higher stakes games unlocked as you play
• Earn rewards for special achievements to put in your ‘Souvenir Suitcase’
• $1000 dollars in your virtual wallet to play with

If you’re looking for an all in one casino game for your mobile device, look no further. Astraware has you covered with Casino. With 11 different games, the value is hard to beat. Check it out!