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At a moment in time when smart phones are one of the few hot tech products, Palm, the industry’s pioneer, appears to be dying.

This morning, Global Crown Capital analyst Pablo Perez-Fernandez cut his rating on the company to Underweight from Neutral, setting a $1.50 price target, well below the current level.

Perez-Fernandez provides a damaging list of factors now facing the company and the stock, all of which add up to a deteriorating position in a market where competition is heating up considerably.

In the debate over whether to buy an Apple iPhone or a Research in Motion BlackBerry Storm or Bold, does Palm’s name even come up in conversation? Alas, no. 

And that makes me sad as a long time Palm user — back when the Palm Pilot was as hot as the iPhone …

Read more of this sad story about an industry pioneer at Barron’s.

Tags: apple, blackberry bold, blackberry storm, iphone, palm, palm pilot, smart phones

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Original post by nafiz

I was on the phone with TMC’s Verizon representative to discuss changing our mobile phone plans. The Verizon rep told me it was bad timing since their entire intranet ordering system had completely crashed as a result of the Blackberry Storm launch. TMC’s business Verizon rep couldn’t even make changes to our account as a result. Well, it certainly looks like the Storm is having a tremendously successful launch. Should the iPhone be worried?

Heck, hundreds of people lined up at Verizon Wireless stores today across the U.S. to buy the BlackBerry Storm, the first touch-screen phone from Research In Motion.

According to Reuters, more than 200 people had waited at a Verizon store in mid-town Manhattan but were turned away after it ran out of the new phones less than an hour after opening. The angry customers were seen wielding pitchforks and torches until the police came to restore order. No really…

Tags: blackberry storm, crash, mobile phone, Storm, Verizon

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Original post by nafiz

Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds

Ruh roh. Seems that swanky new LCD on Sony’s PSP-3000 could be garnering more complaints than anything else. If you’ll recall, the aforesaid system was touted as having a brighter, better screen than the PSP-2000, but now the PlayStation forums are filling up with irate PSP-3000 buyers who are experiencing unexplained scanlines and totally peculiar interlacing problems. As you can see above, the 3000’s screen looks noticeably worse than that of the 2000, and while we always hope that these issues are contained, we have at least one Engadget staffer and a Joystiq comrade who can attest to this being real. SCEA has been contacted and is currently “looking into” the matter — we won′t dare say that r-word just yet, but this doesn′t look particularly good on the surface. We′ll keep you posted.

[Via Joystiq]

Update: A Japanese Sony Computer Entertainment representative has informed us that the interlacing-like lines are just “features” of the new LCD, and currently, there are no plans to fix it with a future software update since it is in the hardware.

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Original post by Darren Murph

According to a report released last week by Nielsen, nearly one in five American households will not have a home phone line by the end of the year.

To many, I have a feeling that this is a surprising finding, but it shouldn’t be.

Landline home telephones are quickly becoming an unnecessary expense. What can one do on a landline phone that they can’t do with their cell phone?

It’s a little bit like that essential tool of the horse-drawn carriage age — the buggy whip. It used to be a big business, but don’t think you will find too many of them today.

Now what is going to happen to all of those telephone poles and wires some day when everything goes wireless? It will be good that we won’t be foresting new trees to turn into new poles, but what will become of all of the ones left standing? Will they become a ghost town-like image — although one seeming to have no beginning and no end — of a time gone by?

Good food for thought inspired by and article in Insurance &amp Technology.

Tags: cell phone, landline, nielsen

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Original post by nafiz

Filed under: Displays, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Remember that Freestyle Audio player that was supposed to blow folks away with its integrated color mirasol display? Yeah, that one that still hasn′t shipped? Qualcomm is apparently uninterested in that tiny little factoid, as it’s proudly pumping the MFM Pro headphones as the “second color mirasol-enabled design for the US market.” According to Jim Cathey, vice president of business development for Qualcomm MEMS Technologies, the deal with Skullcandy is being made to “move mirasol displays into the hands of more consumers,” but considering just how long we′ve been waiting for the aforementioned DAP, we′d say the burden of proof is squarely in its court. Oh, and the ship date for these cans? There isn’t one.

[Via Slashgear]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Storage

Funny that Toshiba is announcing a 240GB 1.8-inch drive just a day after Microsoft took the Zune to 120GB and the same day Apple dropped the iPod classic’s 160GB SKU — doesn’t seem like very many people need this much storage. Still, that’s a lot of bits in a tiny drive — and we’d bet that shoving one of these things in either an iPod or Zune wouldn’t be too hard, modders. Hint, hint.

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Original post by Nilay Patel

Filed under: Transportation

Compared to the almost universally-embarrassing homebuilt electric vehicles we’ve seen pop up so far, the Bricycle electric recumbant bike is up there with the Tesla Roadster in terms of sex appeal — even though it kind of looks like a futuristic delivery truck. Designed to transport one person as efficiently as possible, the Bricyle (developed by someone named Brian — clever) isn’t completed yet, but it’s got a 48-volt electric-assist motor for when you get tired of pedaling through the 21 bicylce gears, and four-wheel disc brakes for quick stops. Sure, but can you get it in a color besides electric cucumber?

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Original post by Nilay Patel

Filed under: Transportation

General Motors has already gotten a bit of cash from the US Department of Energy to further the development of plug-in hybrids, and it now looks like it’s taking things one step further on another initiative, with it teaming up with the Electric Power Research Institute and 30 utilities in 37 states to produce a charging infrastructure for electric cars. Among other things, they’ll be working to develop an affordable, reliable electricity source that’s weather-proof and child-proof, which they say could be installed in places like public garages, curbside meters, or workplace parking lots. The utility companies, in particular, will also apparently be working to ensure that the grid doesn′t get overwhelmed during peak hours. All that, GM says, will be done by 2010, which just happens to coincide with the launch of its much-touted Volt hybrid.

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Original post by Donald Melanson

Filed under: Home Entertainment

DVD rental kiosks have been lighting up pharmacies and supermarkets across the US, but it seems that UKers and Irish lads / dames will soon have the great, great privilege of interfacing with Movie Booths in the near future. This particular unit doesn’t seem all too different from other variations we’ve seen, boasting a simple touchscreen display and a built-in android tasked with fetching your selected title and spitting it out for a nominal (read: undisclosed) fee. Apparently, trials have been deemed a success in outlets like Tesco, Centra and Applegreen, thus paving the way to see these pop up everywhere by the year’s end. Any chance we’ll see a Blu-ray Disc or two popped in there?

[Via Pocket-lint]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Home Entertainment

If you′re a live event nut but live in the sticks, listen up: Sony is about to bring live performances to digital theaters with its new Hot Ticket program. Sony will broadcast Broadway shows, concerts, and sports events to around 500 digital theaters, live and in HD digital projection for about $20 a seat. The venture will launch with Cirque du Soleil’s final performance of Delirium from London and for the two of you who haven’t seen it yet, Rent‘s final Broadway performance will be shown in September. We have to admit, though, this could create some fun SuperBowl parties with rival factions on either side of the aisle, Congress style.

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Original post by Joshua Fruhlinger

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Well, would you look at that? After a mildly uncomfortable wait, the very first Netflix set-top-box has landed (the Xbox 360 with plug-ins notwithstanding). Thanks to Roku, users can finally tap into (a portion of) the Netflix library without having to wait for physical discs to arrive — and for just $99.99, no less (though unlimited access to online films still requires an $8.95 or higher monthly fee for the traditional service). Better still, the HDD-less Netflix Player can even utilize a wireless signal to pull in streams, though your miles may vary on actual performance. As for ports, you’ll find HDMI, component, composite, Ethernet, S-Video and a Toslink optical audio jack. Initial reports are looking pretty positive from here (save for the glaring lack of HD support), but feel free to dig into the reviews below to get a better feel of what this box really has to offer.

Read - Roku Netflix Player officially introduced
Read - PCMag review (4 out of 5)
Read - CNET review (7.7 out of 10)
Read - Wired review (”…just shy of totally amazing.”)

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Laptops

You know you’re in for a treat any time your favorite gargantuan Texas-based computer company claims to have captured the “downtown art scene” and “youth culture” on a laptop lid, but we’ve gotta give Dell credit for these new designs courtesy of Mike Ming. Unfortunately, the new “Bunch O Surfers” and “Sea Sky” (pictured) looks have been tacked onto Dell’s boring-as-could-be Inspiron 1525 budget laptop. But hey, not bad at all for $699, especially considering the 3GB of RAM that comes standard. Another shot after the break.

Continue reading Dell boils “hip″ down to $699 Mike Ming Inspiron 1525 laptops

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Original post by Paul Miller

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Though not quite as impressive as the idea of toppling Intel and AMD within the next ten years, Hynix Semiconductor still has a decent reason to brag today. The South Korean chip producer has announced that it has just started mailing out the “fastest data transferring advanced dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chip for mobile devices.” Said chip is the one-gigabit LPDD̶ (low-power double-data-rate 2), which was crafted using 66-nanometer technology and features an 800-megabits per second operating speed at 1.2-volts. No word on exactly what devices will see the super-speedy chip packed within, but a company spokesperson did note that it plans on ramping up production during Q4 to meet “growing demand for flat-panel television sets and high-end handheld devices.”

[Via Physorg]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: GPS, Wireless

While Mio was busy propping up its Moov GPS lineup at CeBIT, it has smartly chosen CTIA to unveil a prototype PND that touts wireless connectivity. After teaming up with ATX, which is hailed as “the world’s largest independent telematics services provider to the automotive industry,” Mio has launched a connected navigator based on the Pinnacle platform. Unfortunately, it’s still somewhat unclear what extra features will be found on this linked-in unit — which may or may not have made an early cameo at CES (pictured) — but thankfully, we won’t be waiting long to find out. If all goes to plan, ATX-powered Mio devices will be hitting the streets in the second half of this year, but it better be mighty impressive (or just cheaper, really) if it plans on dethroning the Dash Express.

Read - Mio Technology / ATX partnership
Read - Pinnacle Platform

 

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones

Samsung and Sprint were keeping their cards close all day today but we finally had a chance to check out Samsung’s Instinct up close and personal. The handset’s look and feel is really top notch, materials, finish, and the oh-so-glossy — but hard to shoot — screen is sweet. Haptics for touch feedback are here as well, and aside from some strange behavior while scrolling, was a pretty useful feature for letting you know you’d actually done something — it was most noticeable, and most useful when typing. Not a bad effort, look for this to hit Sprint in June. Follow the link to the gallery on Engadget Mobile.

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Original post by Sean Cooper