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One of my favorite aspects of Palm’s WebOS is Synergy Sync.  This is the component which allows you to drag data off of the cloud and plunk it into your Palm Pre (or soon to be Pixi).  It is a fantastic option for syncing email, contacts, and calendars…as long as you are a fan of Google.  Until now, Google’s suite of apps was really the only thing which was fully supported by Synergy Sync (other than Exchange).  Well, it look like that is about to change as Palm will be adding Yahoo and LinkedIn sync to Synergy Sync, giving you full access to these services.  LinkedIn is expected to sync all of your contacts’ information, including job title; while Yahoo will sync all Yahoo services, including email, contacts, instant messenger, and calendar.

Noticeably absent from this announcement, however, is any word on syncing with Microsoft’s MSN or Live services, an absence which has been felt by many in the Palm Pre community, or sync with task managers such as Toodledo or Remember the Milk.  Hopefully those remaining services will be added soon.

Additionally, while we are on the subject of connecting with the Cloud, it also looks like Palm is getting ready to unveil their own Facebook app for WebOS.  Many Palm Pre users (myself included) were pretty disappointed by the meager offerings available through the mobile WebOS Facebook site.  Pretty much anything Palm slaps together is bound to be an improvement over that (though we should not forget about the Homebrew Facebook app, FriendsFlow, which is not yet available in the App Catalog).

No word on whether the new Facebook app or the upgrades to Synergy Sync will be available in the upcoming WebOS 1.2 upgrade.

[via PreCentral]

Alright, so the overall reaction from my household and from my chair was: meh. Well, okay, Jobs was back! Here are some of the highlights:

• iPod Classic same price at $249, now 160 GB up from 80 GB
• iPod Nano, starting at $149,   same size, now with video camera
• iPod Touch lowered price starting at $199, in 8/32/64 GB capacities, and a 50% speed boost for the 32 and 64GB models
• iTunes 9 : now with iTunes LP, better syncing, sharing media across home network, app home screen organization, kills Palm Pre syncing
• iPhone 3.1 is free, featuring a Genius DJ, refined App and iTunes Store, and bug fixes and minor UI changes. Update via iTunes.

I haven’t had much time to play with the new updates, as I’ve only just gotten iTunes 9 and iPhone 3.1 installed. Here are a few quick impressions, though:

iTunes 9

Definitely looks fancy pants-ier, and it even includes a Welcome video. The buttons are now 3D and the volume slider has a shadow on it. The iTunes Store has really been re-organized and is definitely much easier to navigate, and you’ll spend more time looking at content than waiting for new pages to load. I have also heard about a way to see iPhone apps by revenue, which should help non $0.99 apps get some loving…but I still haven’t found this magical list yet.

I also appreciate the extra syncing options with my iPhone. I can re-organize apps on my home screen from within iTunes now, and music, video, tv shows, and photo syncing have improved as well. They’re all now more compact, but feature more options than before. I like!

iPhone 3.1

There aren’t really any features here that I’m excited about. Voice control can now be called upon via Bluetooth, but I’d really much rather have AVRCP to control iPod volume remotely.  The App Store changed and can now do promo codes and gift cards (but I’ve also been doing this in 3.0 — eh?), and then there’s the ridiculous ringtone price of $1.29 within the iTunes Store app.

I think that this update really missed out in terms of possible updates to Spotlight and Voice Control. Those two features are really missing out on a lot of possibilities. I’d love for Spotlight to let me google things or look up map locations, and Voice Control could really use the ability to play a specific song instead of just an album or artist.

Anyway, those are all the impressions I’ve got for now. I’ll be playing with these updates for a while to come, so I’ll update this post if I see anything more worth mentioning. Chime in in the comments section if you’ve got something to add!

[in the rush to publish, forgot to credit great liveblogs of Engadget and Gdgt for the awesome, easy scrolling coverage]

[Brett] It’s that time of year again. Summer is over, the kids are in school, and football is back in full swing. I never played any organized football growing up. Sure, I played some neighborhood football and flag football, but I never wore the pads and helmet. Of course, I also played any football video game I could get my hands on. I guess for me, this was the next best thing to playing for real and it was even better when you could play head-to-head against a friend. So, when I found out that Gameloft released NFL 2010, the first real console-style football game, on the iPhone, it took me all of 5 seconds to buy it.

[Doug] LOL, Brett.  I was exactly the same.  I never played football, but I have always enjoyed watching it as a fan.  As for video games, I have been playing football games since the LED handheld Football game of the late 1970′s and early 1980′s.  I still remember when Football II game out, adding the ability to throw a pass.  We sure have come a long way since then.

[Brett] So, how well did the team at Gameloft do taking NFL football and squeezing it into the iPhone? Read on to find out.

[Brett] The presentation of NFL 2010 is very well done. When you launch the game, you are greeted by a short video highlighting some of the top teams and players. This really reminds me of the openings you see in the Madden or NCAA Football franchise games.

[Brett] NFL 2010 even has announcers that will add some more realism to the game. Of course, I think this may be a bit buggy still. All I know is when I, playing as the NY Giants, intercepted a pass against the 49ers and ran it back for a touchdown, the announcers called out “TOUCHDOWN 49ers”. At least it gave me the touchdown on the scoreboard!

[Doug] I did not have any problems with bugginess.  Maybe the game just does not like the Giants.  I will say, though, that the audio really helps immerse you into the game.  Talk about bringing the whole experience.

[Brett] I am a fan of options. In NFL 2010, when calling a play, most of the time you can choose either Basic Plays or Advanced Plays. If you choose Basic, it gives you easy-to-understand play selections like “Man-to-Man Zone”. If you select Advanced Plays, you can select your formation and plays. This is a lot like the “Easy Play” feature on the Nintendo Wii that allows pretty much anyone to pick up a controller and just start playing Madden or NCAA Football. This also gives the flexibility to target some of the more advanced gamers that enjoy to select from the entire playbook.

[Doug]  I love these options.  What it means is that you do not have to possess an advanced degree in football theory in order to enjoy the game.  don’t know the difference between a dime defense and a nickel.  Don’t worry.  Just head over the Basic and select zone coverage or man-to-man.   Same thing on offense.  All you need to know if whether you want to run or pass.   On the other hand, if you are one of those people who knows every play in the book, then Advanced is where you want to play.  This gives you considerably more control over gameplay.  Like Brett said, this makes the game available to players of all levels, which I thought was fantastic.

[Brett] The on-screen controls are about as good as you can get on the iPhone. There is a virtual joystick on the bottom-left that you use to steer the player you are controlling. Depending on the situation, there are also some “buttons” on the bottom-right that allow you to quickly perform actions such as swat a ball on D and juke or do a spin move while running with the ball. A great feature that Gameloft adds here is when the game expects you to use one of these “buttons”, it will slow the game down, which gives you time to hit the correct one. At first, I thought this was lag, but I quickly realized the genius behind this feature.

[Doug]  I agree, the controls worked well, especially the “joystick”.  Though I will say that some of the other buttons took some time to learn.  There are a number of buttons which appear or disappear depending on the situation, and on more than one occasions I reached for a button, only to find that it had disappeared or changed to something else.   Still, I thought Gameloft did a nice job of not cluttering the screen with buttons you do not need.

[Brett] One of my favorite things about NFL 2010 is the fact that it is an actively developed game. Unlike games on older consoles (I have a Wii at home), Gameloft can add content. Shortly after Michael Vick’s return to the NFL, they announced that they were going to update the Eagle’s roster to include him.

[Doug] This is a fantastic feature, which may go unnoticed by many users.  One of my big complaints with a lot of these sports games is that you are always stuck playing last year’s roster, so it has an out of date feel out of the box.  With this active update system, you will always be able to access the latest roster for your favorite team…even if that is Michael Vick’s Eagles.

[Brett] The main missing element to NFL 2010 is multiplayer. I always get bored of playing the computer eventually. It is much more fun when you can play a live person and trash talk back and forth about the play you just pulled off.

[Doug] I noticed this as well.  In fact, in preparation for this review, I was going to suggest a head-to-head game, but quickly realized that would not work.

[Brett] Luckily, according to Gameloft, they are adding in multiplayer, via online, Bluetooth, or Wifi, in the next update. They are also taking it social and adding an option to upload your replays directly to YouTube. So, not only can you give you buddies a hard time in person, you can then post a replay up on YouTube for all of your friends to see.

[Doug] That is great news.  Though I wonder how many people will actually take the time to upload their highlights to YouTube and show them off to their friends.  Then again, I am sure I am underestimating today’s youth by simply asking that question.

[Brett] After playing NFL 2010, I am really hoping that a college football game gets released in the near future. I am a much bigger college fan, so I would love to see a game with this quality take on the NCAA and BCS.

[Doug] Not me.  I love the NFL.  The simple playoff system alone blows away the confusion of the BCS any day.  But we are not here to debate the NFL vs. NCAA or the merits of the BCS system.  We are here to discuss Gameloft’s NFL 2010, and I have to say that I absolutely loved this game.  The attention to detail, both in the graphics and animation, as well as the audio and announcers, gave the game a realistic feel, truly immersing you into the action.  The options and play calling also serve to put you in charge, taking on the role of head coach, as well as on the field players.   What better way to get ready for some FOOTBALL!

What We liked:

• Excellent graphics, even on a first-gen iPhone
• Controls were much better than expected
• Audio and announcers add realism and immerse you into the game
• Play selection options (Basic & Advanced)
• Slow-mode to give time to use the controls
• Continual updates, unlike some console games

What needs improvement:

• Needs multiplayer (this is coming)
• Clean up the minor bugs in the announcer commentary

Where to buy: The one and only iTunes App Store for $4.99 (as of this review)

Palm Pixi with Touchstone

Palm introduced the newest member of the webOS family, the Pixi.  I have to say that this new phone is just de-lici-ous.  Its the advanced cousin of the Centro.  I do love my little Centro, but the Pixi has me drooling.  It will be available from Sprint in time for the holidays.  No word on when it will hit the other networks, but I am sure it will.  If Palm wants to be successful, they need to get as many people on board as possible.

As for what makes the new Pixi tick, it has a 2.63 inch screen with 18 bit color and a 320×400 pixel multi-touch screen.  The processor is a brand new chip set from Qualcomm,  ‘high-performance’ MSM7627 chipset.  Palm worked with Qualcomm to design this set, so the Pixi will be the first device to use it.  The new phone will also have 8Gb of storage, but no card slot of any kind.  I still think no room for additional storage is a mistake.  The Pixi is only 10.85mm (0.43 inches) thick, which is thinner than the iPhone and Pre. Its also lighter than both phones at 3.51oz.  No wi-fi on the phone, but you can still use Sprint’s 3G network.  Plus, in the age of customization, you have the option of buying some designer artistic backplates for your phone.   

Here is a laundry list of all of the other included hardware items:  EVDO Rev. A, the touch sensitive gesture area, a full QWERTY keyboard, GPS, 2 megapixel camera with flash, 3.5 mm headset jack, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, a MicroUSB port, proximity sensor, light sensor, accelerometer, ringer switch, and the same 1150 mAh battery.

I know I am looking forward to seeing this phone in the wild, and how it performs.

Via:  Pre Central.net