Loo-Lee.com

Noah gets hands-on with HTC's new Snap, a super thin Windows Mobile smartphone with a QWERTY board, track ball, and the new Inner Circle feature. And he does it in front of a giant green light!

Not all the news these days surrounds CTIA. San Francisco's Web 2.0 Expo unveiled some Palm Pre joy for app developers yesterday.

Palm announced the webOS Early Access Program, which lets developers access its software developers' kit (awesomely named Mojo). Previously, it was only for a select set of partners. Now, interested developers can apply at the Palm Developer Network website (here).

Availability will be limited at first and then opened up later this year. Even so, this is still a great development. Any signs that Palm is getting more developers (and therefore, more apps) on board can only help give Pre a better footing. What would give it a great boost, though, is to actually get released.

 

At this point, I'm a little worried that Palm is lingering too long, squandering the lavish praise that its handset and OS enjoyed initially. And there's still no firm date for release, aside from the rumored April 30 launch date. (It would be nice to actually see this phone before my grandkids have to show me how to use it.)

In addition to the SDK news, Palm also announced plans to integrate cloud services into its webOS platform, and revealed that, thanks to an application from MotionApps, legacy Palm OS programs will be able to run on webOS. That's pretty cool. I do miss some of the apps from my old Palm LifeDrive.

As for a Pre showing at CTIA, Noah got an upclose look at some apps that have been developed so far. Pop over here for a look at what's to come... well, at least someday. 

Those that follow the forums on a regular basis know that I'm absolutely addicted to RIM and their BlackBerry devices.  Throughout my time using them, I've learned random tips and tricks that have made my experience on BlackBerry even better.  With RIM's successful entry into the consumer market as of late, I share them below:

BlackBerry Shortcuts (to display, type them into a message, followed by a space):

• mypin: Displays your BlackBerry PIN.
• mynumber: Displays your telephone number
• myver: Displays the model number of your BlackBerry device, as well as the build number (i.e. 8830/4.5.0.127)
• lt: Current time
  
• ld: Current date

Additionally, navigate to Options -> AutoText.  From there, you can create your own customized shortcuts.

How to tell what technology you/your friend's BlackBerry is using:

• If the device's PIN begins with a "2," it is a GSM BlackBerry
• If the device's PIN begins with a "3," it is a CDMA BlackBerry
• If the device's PIN begins with a "4," it is an iDEN BlackBerry

Note that this applies to the technology that the BlackBerry is intended for (i.e. the BlackBerry Storm 9530 is intended for CDMA use, but if it is unlocked via GSM, the PIN will stay the same).

I'm always open for any tips, tricks, suggestions, and questions relating to BlackBerry devices - feel free to send them over via my Twitter page.

For those who haven't been following Android Market news, it was widely reported over the last week that Google was pulling an app from the marketplace that allowed users to connect their computers and other Internet devices to a G1 for surfing on their cell carrier's bandwidth. Of course the first question that popped up was, "Who's bandwidth?" You paid for unlimited data, right? Well, you were still violating T-Mobile's terms of service, and Google felt obliged to remove the offending app from the Market.

I am happy to report, however, that Google has allowed the program to return for users outside of the States. Still (and this is the question everyone seems to be asking), is it Google's place to enforce T-Mobile's TOS here in the States? And more importantly, should we lay down and let a multinational corporation dominate and suppress community-driven technology?

Well, I don't think so. So here's a post with the app, which requires a root access. There's a link in there for another root-required app called aNetshare. PdaNet is a non-root solution.

I should say that I don't officially recommend modding your phone. You could end up with a pretty strange-looking paper-weight. Having said that, please resume learning, exploring, and creating the software that drives the industry. Have fun!

Via ars technica and Droid Developer