NYT on 10 Greatest Gadget Ideas of '05, Including the Treo 700w's Voicemail

[Janak Parekh]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/29/technology/circuits/29pogue.html' target='_blank'>http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/29/t...ts/29pogue.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"...some of the year's greatest joys weren't new products, but aspects of new products. Here and there, you could find tiny touches of brilliance:...Voice mail is a delightful invention. But trying to remember which keys to press - for replay, skip, delete and so on - is not so delightful, especially if you have more than one voice mail system to learn. Thanks to Palm, then, for adding VCR-style buttons on the touch screen of its coming Treo 700W cellphone. You just tap Skip, Play, Delete, or whatever. The phone remembers which touch tones to play so you don't have to."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/parekh-20051229-NYTTreoVMail.jpg" /><br /><br />David Pogue, technology columnist for the New York Times, has penned a great little end-of-year article on some of the neatest "gadget ideas", including Sandisk's USB-enabled SD card, Apple's TV show download model on iTunes, and others. You need a login to read the whole article, but the above mention was particularly interesting from a PPCT perspective, and is one of the reasons why the 700w's release, while unimpressive hardware spec-wise, is impressive from a usability perspective: it really looks like Palm will be the first WM OEM to actually do some innovative things with the WM5 OS. Along with the nifty Today screen shortcuts, this simple yet brilliant idea shows that they're not just "another OEM". Alas, I'm not sure it's enough for me to overcome the 240x240 screen and price, and yet I wouldn't be surprised if the Treo becomes the most usable Pocket PC Phone yet.

[Raphael Salgado]

I was initially wondering how that works, thinking that its a data call or something to send controls, but I think I get the concept now...

The phone (or an applet) determines if you're calling your voicemail number, and if so, it shows up a special interface where the buttons correspond to the numerical entries you have (1 to repeat, 2 to save, 3 to delete, etc.)

If they wanted to get fancy, the voicemail system can send back a tone or signal and change the UI according to what "mode" the voicemail system is in.

Very clever. Now, all we need is someone to replicate that feature on other Pocket PC Phone Edition devices, though a 700w owner will likely try to rip the program/driver out and try it on other devices.

[Ed Hansberry]

it really looks like Palm will be the first WM OEM to actually do some innovative things with the WM5 OS.
People keep saying this as if Palm was given the source code to Windows Mobile and "zennified" it. Besides some today plugins and this voice mail app, which are just applications what are these changes to the OS that MS supposedly opened up for Palm? Or, did MS just relax how much control it exerted and allowed Palm to ship the Today Screen with customizations?

[Janak Parekh]

People keep saying this as if Palm was given the source code to Windows Mobile and "zennified" it. Besides some today plugins and this voice mail app, which are just applications what are these changes to the OS that MS supposedly opened up for Palm? Or, did MS just relax how much control it exerted and allowed Palm to ship the Today Screen with customizations?
We'll see when it comes out, but I didn't mean source changes. It just looks like the app bundles, be they today screens or custom dialers, are designed to make the Treo a better phone device than most Pocket PC Phones.

Are you saying I should take out the word "innovate"? ;) In all honesty, I just whipped up a quick post, because this was a nifty little idea, and didn't pay too much attention to its implied meaning. Maybe I should say "first WM OEM to bundle nifty little programs".

--janak

[Ed Hansberry]

Are you saying I should take out the word "innovate"? ;) In all honesty, I just whipped up a quick post, because this was a nifty little idea, and didn't pay too much attention to its implied meaning. Maybe I should say "first WM OEM to bundle nifty little programs".
Nah, I understand where you are coming from, I just see posts here and other places that imply that Palm got the source, fiddled with it and recompiled it to remove "WinCE bloat" and make WM a useable OS. :roll:

As far as I can tell, they didn't do much beyond adding some custom apps. Kudos to them for what they did as it seems it will be a great feature, but from a technical standpoint, big whup. It is just today plugins and a voicemail UI.

[whydidnt]

I'm going to be a krumudgeon here - the little applet is certainly nifty, as noted previously, but we are seriously low on new technology ideas if it's one of the 10 best tech ideas for 2005. How many people have a big problem in operating thier voice mail systems?

The ability to download videos via iTunes isn't really a new idea either, it's just that Apple was finally able to convince Hollywood that this was a good idea. But we've had video downloads already for many years. I still don't understand why we have to "pay" to see episodes of shows that are freely available over the air, and why anyone thinks THAT is a good idea.

Admittedly, I didn't read the whole article so maybe I'm missing some context. I try to avoid sites that require me to register to view their content.

Regarding the success of the WM Treo; it doesn't have to be the most powerful, best equipped device available to be successful. However, if it is too seriously crippled to be functional it will be roundly regarded as a flop. Hopefully we'll find out within the next couple weeks if they pulled a MPX on us or not.

[ctmagnus]

:confused totally:

I clicked the link just for kicks, and I was able to read the article without logging on.

[shindullin]

Perhaps you are already a registered member of the NY Times. When I clicked on the link, it went to a registration window.

[lapchinj]

... Alas, I'm not sure it's enough for me to overcome the 240x240 screen and price, and yet I wouldn't be surprised if the Treo becomes the most usable Pocket PC Phone yet.
I have friends with Treo's and I've played with it enough that I could get used to the 240x240 screen. Remember that it's a phone and besides the other VGA based phones look and handle like a size 13 shoe. The price although is a little hard to swallow and it looks like the only reason I might not be able to get one (for now :wink: ). But the Treo will still be a hit. It's compact, fits any size hand and the whole phone is just laid out really beautifully. Bottom line - not too big, not too small, not too fat - just right. The only problem that it ever had that I know about was the OS and now that's also been fixed :mrgreen: .

Jeff-

[galt]

The today screen plugin for google search is a great idea, hope someone creates a little app for this for the rest of the WM5 devices to use.

[Phillip Dyson]

To be honest, I think the only things that could truly kill the treo is if the plugins jeopardize the devices stability and performance.

All the little add-ons are good idea, but will the about of ram and processor be able to handle them.

[BevHoward]

Agree that the concept of this app is brilliant at filling a long standing need... I can never remember the keys on the different systems.

Continuing with the "Kiss" principal in mind, if it is possible to "skin" the keypad, it would seem to be simple to add the icons to the appropriate phonepad keys... i.e. different skins for different voice mail apps' playback buttons.

Beverly Howard [MS MVP-Mobile Devices]

[ctmagnus]

Perhaps you are already a registered member of the NY Times. When I clicked on the link, it went to a registration window.

Nope. I believe I've been to their site three times before today and every time it's asked me to log in, at which point I politely close the window and continue on my way. But it's worked for me every time I've gone to that article today, and I tend to religiously clean out my cookies, cache and history.

[JonMisurda]

The today screen plugin for google search is a great idea, hope someone creates a little app for this for the rest of the WM5 devices to use.

I did. See my blog at http://www.cs.pitt.edu/~jmisurda/ppc/blog/index.php?entry=entry051211-125524

to download.

Jon

[ianbjor]

How many people have a big problem in operating thier voice mail systems?

It's not so much that it's a problem, but I (for example), routinely work with 5 different VM systems between work, home, cell, and some customer sites. None of the commands are common from one VM system to the next, so remembering whether "delete message" is 7 or 2,5 or 3, etc. can be a pain.

Now, if there was just a standard for these commands it wouldn't be a problem!

[spinedoc]

You know, this has been done before. I dont know how many of you remember a contacts/dialer program by the name of Potala Telly. It was a program with a HUGE potential that was never quite ready for prime time. One of the functions was a screen which had pause, rewind, ffd, etc etc for use with voicemail. This was probably a couple of years ago.

It is amazing how many of the things on the Treo devices, like caller ID and voicemail functions, should be basic features included in WM5. Shame on HTC for not customizing the OS at all on my 6700. If the TreoW had a nicer screen resolution and had a hidden keyboard I would certainly throw my 6700 away.

[aroma]

I still don't understand why we have to "pay" to see episodes of shows that are freely available over the air, and why anyone thinks THAT is a good idea.

Because those "free" shows aren't free. They're paid for by the advertisers (commercials). If you want to download copies of these shows to watch commercial free, then you have to pay.

[mpaque]

The only problem that it ever had that I know about was the OS and now that's also been fixed.

Exactly!

The tweaks that Palm has made may not be ground breaking, but they are the type of thing that average joe consumer is going to find useful. Verizon is going to sell a trainload of the 700w.