Google Listen - Android's Answer to Kinoma Player?

It looks like the PalmOS legacy may be one step closer to being overtaken by the iPhone, WebOS and Android tri-fecta. With the October 11th release of the HTC Hero, it seems like I will finally make the jump into the modern era of smartphones. I really, really wanted to like the Palm Pre, but there is too much Apple influence and it is growing too slowly for my tastes at the moment, I may check back with Palm WebOS in a year or so, but the HTC Hero with the Sense UI have me really intrigued right now. What did Palm do in anticipation of the Hero launch? They served up the Pixi with a fantastic form factor, but dumbed it down by omitting WiFi and an external memory slot.

I have been a hold-out Treo 700P user for over 3 years. I wanted to like the iPhone when it was introduced. I went to the Apple store the day after it was launched and played with the stunning GUI for over 30 minutes before admitting it was definitely not for me. Simple? Yes. Easy to use? Check. Useful? Not Quite.

I am so accustomed to:

Kinoma Player- I listen to podcasts literally every day. NPR hourly news multiple times, TED talks on occasion, Adam Carolla, This Week in Google. I don't have a set listening schedule and I can't be bothered with subscribing to podcasts in iTunes and downloading them to my phone. I want to find and listen to casts instantaneously. Kinoma player allows me to do this on my Treo 700P. The user interface is tired, yet functional after all these years.

-----> Google Listen and DoggCatcher both seem to offer the functionality of Kinoma on a modern platform. I am VERY enouraged by this.

Documents to Go- Creating and editing real MS Office documents and syncing them with my laptop. Rarely does a day go by that I don't jot a business idea or blog post into a word file. I could use a "cloud" version of google docs, but I do find myself on planes enough that I am much more comfortable with native files. For all you sneering about my comments regarding audio streaming above, calm down. When I am preparing for a trip, I may stream & download a few podcasts to the phone in the airport lounge prior to boarding. I like to keep my options open all the time.

----->Available for $29.99 in the Android Market! I paid $30 for Kinoma player and a similar amount for Docs 2 Go several Palm OS devices ago.

SlingPlayer- This is the tricky one. iPhone has a useless version of this that restricts use to WiFi networks only. If I have access to a WiFi network, there is a good chance that:
A. I am at Home and can watch my own TV
B. I am in a public location that does not lend itself to uninterrupted TV viewing.

Sling seems unwilling to develop an app for Android. Orb seems like it may be a convoluted option.

Kinoma Player, Slingbox, Pandora & Documents to Go, PALM PRE is Ready to ROLL!

The Palm Pre release is rapidly approaching and I am excited to put my Treo 700P behind me. I have resisted temptation to migrate to the iPhone's walled garden and it seems I will be rewarded for the wait.

The 700P is closing in on three years old and was essetially the last innovation Palm offered up before going dark (aside from the lower priced Centro line). The once vaunted Palm OS was left for dead years before it even hit the 700P. Developers kludged together great applications for the Palm platform before users had been exposed to Apple's "App" marketing speak.

Today I can watch my home TV with SlingPlayer, STREAM podcasts with Kinoma Player and create MS Office documents with DataViz Documents to Go. The iPhone can't really do any of the above. You can stream select podcasts if there is an App associated with them and Pandora is a great way to stream music, but that's it. No SlingPlayer and no native MS Office Docs. I forgot to mention I can take videos on the 700P as well.

Enter The Pre




Kinoma was the must-have for me to move to the Pre. I literally use this to stream several podcasts everyday. UPDATE 6.17.09- Motion Apps does not support sound at this time. From the Motion Apps Blog: "Classic v1.0 does not support sound but Classic v1.1 will provide a level of support for streaming audio. Classic v1.1 will be released very soon after the initial launch of v1.0 and will be available as a free upgrade to all existing users of Classic v1.0"





Not sure how sync will work.








Note Graphics are hyperlinked.


What is the Pre Missing?
Graffiti 1 Input was the most satisfying method of input for PDAs/Phones. Xerox sued over its use and forced the similar, but crappy, Graffiti 2 on future Palm users. Graffiti 2 and Americans unwillingness to learn new things sealed Graffiti's fate. You could use it with all Palm OS systems with the touch screen, but my understanding is the iPhone and the Pre screens are not capable of stylus input. A true shame and I hope Graffiti will make a comeback. Chinese character input practically dictates the use of a stylus and Asian demand may bring back Graffiti in some form in the future.


VIDEO- I have literally taken less than 20 videos over the 3 years with my 700P, but it seems like a step back giving up this functionality. Rumors claim video will be available at, or shortly after launch.

SD Card- Teal Backup was a lifesaver on my 700P. Say I am in a foreign country without cell access and I am using my Treo as a PDA with trip information. If the phone crashes and wipes all my data, I simply have to go to the backup and restore EVERYTHING (aside from a few custom settings). This scenario happened to me in China, and somewhere else. It is not uncommon and the SD card is the perfect solution, not the CLOUD!

Hey Brother! Welcome Back Palm!

Michael Bluth, (Jason Bateman) from Arrested Development, made a surprise appearance today during Palm's CES keynote.

Palm appeared to rise from the ashes today with their take on the iPhone form factor with a slick, sliding keyboard. You may have heard a small wimper at 11:30AM PST when Windows Mobile Officially became irrelevant.

My Quick Take:
I am so glad I stuck it out with my tattered 700P for all these years. I wanted to jump headfirst into the walled garden of the iPhone, but Apple's arrogance prevented me.

The GREAT:

• Not APPLE!
  
• Gestures under the screen!- cool idea
  
• Form factor. Same weight as the iPhone + physical keyboard.
  
• Replaceable battery (I actually don't care that the iPhone's battery is not removable, but this is a plus for the Pre)
• Re-charge, Cable Free!
• DataViz Sponsorship=Documents to Go= NATIVE MS FILES on device
• Wi-Fi
  

Questions:

• Why no SD Card?
• 8GB? why not 32GB?
• 3MP Camera?
• What is the battery life?
• Track ball :(
  
• MobiTV sponsorship? Will SlingBox still work?
• Will current Palm aps work?
• Desktop Sync? So much emphasis on the cloud, will it still sync native files with my laptop? I NEED native files to work on when I am on a plane and outside Wi-Fi/Cell coverage.
  
• Push Email? Corporate Email Support?- Will Corp Email be left to WinMo? (see WinMo comment above)
• No Stylus- Handwriting Recognition seems to be a thing of the past with smart phones. I miss Grafitti I.
  

We will obviously learn much more about this device in the coming months. Release is for the first half of 2009, but it has yet to be certified at this point so anything sooner than June seems unlikely.