It’s definitely an exciting time to be a smartphone user!  First the Palm Pre and the iPhone 3GS and now a brand new Android device from HTC.  It will initially be available in Europe next month, later to follow in Asia and North America.

Here is the official press release from HTC.  The Hero will feature a new UI that HTC dubs “Sense” which looks great and somewhat Pre-like.  Engadget Mobile has a good write-up that discusses the phone itself as well as the Sense UI, including pictures and some enlightening videos.

Here are some of the specs:

• Qualcom 7200A 528 MHz Processor
• 512 MB ROM, 288 MB RAM
• 4.41 x 2.21 x 0.57 inches, 4.76 ounces
• 3.2 inch TFT screen, 320×480 HVGA resolution
• 5.0 megapixel camera with autofocus
• Internal GPS, G-sensor and digital compass
• 3.5 mm audio jack
• Anti-fingerprint screen coating and outer Teflon coating

I thought that the Teflon coating seemed like an interesting change that may go a long way towards getting away from the typical smudge-prone phones that I have seen from many smartphones in the past.  The Hero is also the second phone, after the iPhone 3GS, to tout an anti-fingerprint screen coating, a potentially good industry trend to nurture.  I do like the use of widgets in the phone’s new UI, much better, in my opinion, than a home page that is simply a list of applications.

One thing that definitely intrigued me was the brief blurb that mentioned porting Sense back over to Windows Mobile on HTC products in the future.  It seems to be a major step forward over TouchFlo 3D which is currently on my TouchPro and I’d love to see it come over to WM.  I’ll anxiously watch this phone as well as future releases from HTC!

Shameless plug of the JAMM Store coming right up!

With the launch of the Pre and the Classic emulator from MotionApps it’s possible to load many of the older Palm OS apps right on your spanking new Web OS device. However, on that same note: you’d be running Palm OS apps right on your Pre – and a lot of them are really showing their age. The Palm OS was a stylus-oriented platform that ran on screens with a much lower resolution than the Pre’s, and it just looks a little awkward to me to see such old-fashioned software running on such a shiny new finger-friendly device. I’m not knocking old software, I’m just knocking older UI’s that clash with the slick new look of the Web OS.

However, I can see some merit in running old Palm OS apps. The Pre’s relatively new App Store isn’t as rich as the iPhone’s in terms of selection, so there might be something like a style of converter or some sort of file explorer that just isn’t available for the Pre yet. If you are interested or are just nostalgic for some of the apps from earlier Palm days, you can check them out now on the JAMM Classic Store. There’s even a 10% discount until July 4th – just enter the word “CLASSIC” upon checkout.

Just watch out for the difference between the certified working apps and the ones that are only proven to work. There are some apps that will work 100% with Classic, but others haven’t been as thoroughly tested. There will always be a disclaimer above the app to show you which kind you’re looking at.

Ok, so I am back from my fishing vacation! I freely admit I did lousy at catching fish – and neither of those ever happen! I always catch fish and never admit it when I don’t! I came back with enough trout to feed the Magic Cats breakfast!

Anyway, onto the contest…….

Stealth and Bomber were true to form tonight, especially after their fishy feast – so much on form that they’re still swiping at the screen as I type.

And the winners are:

Darkcorner
Ken
jd_denver

Well done guys! Check your emails tomorrow for the information I need from you!

But wait…..there’s more – as promised last week!
If you use the discount code “JAMMOtter” between now and June 30th, you will get a 10% discount off any Otterbox products. Many, many thanks to Otterbox for sponsoring this contest and giving away a great discount code!

SPB Software, the developers responsible for bring Windows Mobile users the likes of SPB Mobile Shell 3 and SPB Pocket Plus, has just introduced a new game, SPB Geo Game.  The premise of this one is to integrate world geography into a game environment.  As a high school teacher, I applaud their efforts to integrate education and fun, two words that aren’t always synonomous with each other.  SPB Software graciously provided a copy to JAMM to review, so Louis “Tekipaq” Lieberman and I decided to put the program to the test.  Grab yourself a glass of iced tea and read on to see how SPB Geo Game fares in it’s attempts to equate world geography with fun.

The gameplay of Geo Game proves to be relatively straight forward and simple.  Two vertical buttons, wrapped in SPB’s new touch friendly UI (if you’re familiar with SPB’s Mobile Shell 3, Weather, etc., you’ve experienced the quality and visual aesthetic) present the user with the option to start the game, answering questions about either countries’ capital cities or flags of the world.

SPB Geo Game

Choosing the Capitals option takes the user into a series of questions, each essentially asking for a country and capital city to be paired.  Four choices are presented under the question, each positioned on large, touch friendly buttons.  Press the wrong answer, and the choice is “grayed” out.  Choose the correct answer, and you are taken to a 3-dimensional globe that illustrates the location of the city / country.  If you are familiar with SPB’s Weather 2 application, you’ve likely seen the globe in action.  In my opinion, it’s nice to have a familiar user interface from program to program, and I commend SPB for trying to achieve this.  Use enough of SPB’s programs, and you’ll have a very consistent UI experience!

Capital Cities

Globe

Playing the Flags portion of Geo Game uses the same format as Capitals, with the obvious exception of providing the user with a sample flag graphic instead of a city name.  For the displayed flag, choose the correct country and you will be taken to the globe once again, illustrating it’s location.

Flags

SPB Software has put together and interesting game in Geo Game, as it does it’s job in educating the user about the world.  With geographical boundaries changing quite a bit since I was in school, the game was a bit of a challenge to me at first, however after a bit of play the challenge quickly starts to fade.  With the flash card nature of the program starting to rear it’s head, the user might find themselves looking for additional features, wanting a bit more to test their intellect.  Hopefully SPB will integrate the ability to have more information about the countries displayed, perhaps as a fun fact.  With the design of Geo Game, it is also very easy to imaging how SPB could integrate various geography “packs”, with each providing a different type of question.  Some interesting possibilities might include questions on population, ethnic food dishes, and unique customs or norms.  Again, I commend SPB Software for trying to marry the idea of education and fun in Geo Game and hope that they do consider taking the program’s functionality a step further in the next release!

You can download the 14 day trial from SPB Software here.

Highlights:

• SPB’s touch friendly UI shines in Geo Game.
• Marrying education and fun isn’t always easy, and SPB is to be commended for this.  Being no stranger to this with Brain Trainer, I can only hope that they continue this trend.
• Reasonable price of $4.95 with the usual trial period to see if the game is your preferred type.

Areas of Concern:

• As with any game, one type will appeal to a specific set of gamers, another to a different set.  SPB Geo Game doesn’t provide a big challenge and IS NOT going to appeal to everyone.  I recommend giving the trial a chance to make sure it suits your interests.

Specifications:

• Platforms:  Windows Mobile 5, 6, 6.1 (touch screen required)
• Version:  1.0
• Price:  $4.95
• Size:  3.7 MB (installs nicely to a secure digital card)

SplashTravel Main Screen

As we noted on JAMM the other day, SplashData has recently released SplashTravel for the iPhone and iPod Touch.  Generously provided with a free copy from SplashData, the opportunity to review SplashTravel on my iPod Touch really excited me for two reasons.

First, the purpose of the application would prove to very useful to me if it worked well.  SplashTravel promises to provide an interface to commonly used and needed information for the traveler.  Second,  SplashData has been a company providing quality software for mobiles for a long time.  Several of their apps were staples on my various Palm devices, so it was like revisiting an old friend to see what features SplashTravel would provide.  So, grab a glass of iced tea (my choice of beverage) and read about all of the goodies that SplashData has served up for us in SplashTravel!

What Does SplashTravel Actually DO?:

SplashTravel promises to provide an assortment of tools for the traveler.  In my experience with the program, I’ve found that it delivers on the feature set SplashData promised, including support for organizing trip information, tracking flight information, unit and currency convertors, various calculators, a packing list, an expense report tool and an assortment of handy reference charts.

SplashTravel‘s Feature Set

The feature set is, in my opinion, the most important aspect of a program.  What am I going to be able to do with the program?  Can I do X?  Does the program provide duplicate functionality compared to another program I’m already using?  Does the application provide the potential to replace any smaller, more specialized apps on my device?  In regards to SplashTravel‘s feature set, we are going to examine each of the five screens.  Read on to see how SplashData has combined myriad features into SplashTravel for your iPhone / iPod Touch.

Screen One:  Home

Home

Upon first launching SplashTravel, you will be greeted with the Home Screen.  The Home Screen provides you with a quick look at the time related aspects of SplashTravel.  Home and Current clocks are present.  At first, the purpose of two clocks confused me, but after experimenting (what one should do when trying out a new program) their intent made perfect sense.  Actually, their intent is quite logical.  Set the Home clock for your home time zone.  Makes sense, right   Now, let’s imagine that you’re suddenly in Tokyo, Japan.  Set the Current clock to reflect your location and the Home automatically reflects what time it is for your loved ones left at home.  Great way to know if you should call home… don’t want to waked the little ones!  The Home screen also provides a small world map and a shortcut to SplashTravel‘s settings options.

Screen Two:  Time

Time

At first glance, the Time screen seems a bit redundant.  After all, it shows the same Home and Current Clocks from the Home screen.  It also shows the same time zone map.  However, looking closer it isn’t difficult to see that there are some differences between the two.

First, the world map provides a shortcut to a full screen, horizontal view.  The Home and Current locations are already marked on the map with flags.  You can also tap anywhere on the map to quickly find the time.

The second useful feature here is the Time Calculator.  This is a great feature for comparing the time in your current location with other cities.

Finally, the Day Calculator comes in quite handy for checking how many days there are until an event.  Gentleman, take note here… great way to keep tabs on how many shopping days you have until Christmas, the upcoming anniversary or the birthday.  Better to stay out of the dog house, guys!

Screen Three:  Calculators

Calculators

On the third screen, there are four specialized calculators.  The first, the currency calculator, allows you to bi-directionally convert one currency to another.  You can even download current exchange rates via your phone’s data connection to help ensure accuracy.  The second calculator, aimed at unit conversions, serves to be a handy reference tool.  You can use this to convert units of measurement between different formats in case you don’t happen to recall the formulas you were taught in school!  Additionally, SplashData has included a tip calculator for determining how the bill should be split and finally, a chart of very interesting clothing comparisons.  The charts are grouped according to gender and clothing type, providing comparisons of measurements from the US, Europe, the UK and Japan.  Feeling a bit dangerous the other night, I felt obliged to tell my wife that in Europe her size 9 shoe would be a 40!

Chart

Screen Four:  Trips

Trips

SplashTravel‘s Trips screen serves as an information repository for your trip.  Allowing the user to define the basics of the trip (where, when), the user is then able to include additional information pertaining to the hotel reservations, events that will occur on the trip, car rental information and restaurant details, to name a few.  This should prove very useful for even the most organized of travelers, as it provides all of the pertinent information in a central location.

Screen Five:  Lists

Lists

Screen five contains the previously mentioned packing list, along with a simple expense reports tool and some additional reference information.  The report tool allows the user to define a expense report for a specific trip and then enter expenditures.  SplashData has thoughtfully incorporated an option to email the report as a means of submitting it or transferring it to a desktop computer for further editing.  SplashTravel doesn’t fail to provide tons of useful reference information, with even more found on the Lists screen.  Lists abound, containing area codes, zip codes and contact information for major hotels and car rental agencies.

So, Why Would I Need or Want SplashTravel on my iPhone?

In conclusion, let’s look at the question of why SplashTravel might be a good choice for you from two aspects:  one being the frequent traveler, the other being the reference interested individual.  Up front, I’m not the world traveler my wife hopes that I would be (leaving my home time zone rarely happens), but it doesn’t take a stretch to see how useful SplashTravel would be to a person who is routinely on the road for business or pleasure.

There are several features that make SplashTravel a “no brainer” if you travel.  The time tools are convenient, providing means for comparing the time in your current location to the time at home.  Great so that you don’t call in the middle of the night, waking the newborn baby!  Currencies and units can be converted on the fly, using the most recent exchange rates.  Very helpful so that you know exactly how much you are paying for that glass of iced tea.  Additionally, the packing list, already populated with the most common items, can be tailored to specific needs.

Finally, let’s take a quick look at why a person like me (the travel challenged) would find SplashTravel a worthwhile addition to their iPhone or iPod Touch.  SplashTravel serves as an excellent reference tool, providing information about time zones, currency and format conversions, time and date calculators and packing lists in one package.

First, the ability to easily check different time zones is very handy.  Since I routinely collaborate with people in various parts of the United States and different countries, this gives me a way to easily determine when would be the best time to contact them, or when to expect a potential reply.  From the screen below, you can see how easy it is to check the time in other cities compared to your home.

SplashTravel also provides a number of useful of specialized calculators.  Included are calculators for currency and unit conversion, as well has a handy date calculator, allowing a user to check the amount of days between two events.  Finally, SplashTravel provides a very useful packing list tool.  As I noted, I’m not the world traveler that is constantly toting items from one town to another, but with a newborn at home, having a list of the items to check off for daycare or Grandma’s is a must have!

Overall, if you are looking for a package of utilities geared towards time management, whether you are a world traveler or simply need a reference tool, I recommend that you check out SplashData’s SplashTravel.  For $4.99 in the iTunes App Store, you’re sure to find that the program incorporates a lot of functionality into a well presented interface.

Highlights

• SplashTravel is presented with a great user interface, with controls placed in logical order.
• It’s geared towards the person on-the-go, but has a number of reference features that still make SplashTravel useful for the more “travel challenged”.
• The program has lot’s of functionality for a very reasonable price of $4.99.

Areas of Concern

• It would be nice if there wasn’t a delay when showing the splash screen upon first launch.  Maybe SplashData could incorporate an option to turn this off, unless, of course, there is a technical reason it exists.
• Integration of alarms would be nice.  Since SplashTravel overlaps so much of the built in clock’s functionality, referring to one program regularly for time and alarm needs would be great.

Specifications:

• Price: $4.99
• Size: 1.54 MB
• Compatibility: Version 3.0 Compatible
• Version: 1.0.1
• Where to Buy: As usual, available for purchase via the iTunes App Store