Palm Bluetooth SDIO Card Available
boredadmin writes "It looks like Palm have finally released (a few weeks ago) their Bluetooth SDIO card to allow SD-Slot equipped Palms communicate with cellphones, PC's, access-points, etc. Now if only I could find somewhere in this sad little corner of the world that I'm stuck in that actually stocks them."
Try http://www.expansys.com ,who seem to have them in stock in the UK and will ship everywhere.
- Paul
Yep I got mine a month ago from Expansys in the UK.
Next day delivery, ordered on the day they were announced. They were even cheaper than the high street price (now that's its in the high street), despite them being amoung first to market.
Congrats to them!
I mean if the range is that small why not just plug the damn thing in and do it in 1/10 of the time?
I know I'm going to hell, I'm just trying to get good seats.
Here with a link to sales info outside the US here.
they need to start working on wireless recharging. has anyone seen a palm accessory that recharges the battery from kinetic energy of being carried around, like those watches? would this be feasible?
For when the people you chat with are sitting 6 feet away.®
heaven forbid that you're an existing palm user, with, say, a m100, or a IIIex (the cheap model), that were the last models to come out before the SDIO slot was standard. i guess this is the "killer hardware" to get people to upgrade. I'd still like to see a bluetooth "chip" that i can plug into the serial port of my m100.
there's a serial -> USB adaptor.... i'm sure that + a bluetooth card from Apple + lots of time and effort = a usable solution. of course; it won't work with any of palm's new spiffy bluetooth apps, such as "bluechat" (aim over bluetooth, essentially), and blueboard (networked "whiteboard" app)
personally what i'd like to see is a USB bluetooth adaptor like apple's d-link one, that has the driver software on it (linux, mac, windows) on 64k of flash memory, + java aim/jabber chat, lynx web browser, and dhcp built in. plug it into your ipaq, laptop, or school computer.
moox. for a new generation.
and there are some cool applications. For instance, Nokia is planning a Bluetooth headset piece so there will be no wires connecting cell phone to headset. I can't wait to see that in action.
Yes, they theoretically interfere. But every person who's actually tried it with real devices in the real world knows it's not actually a problem.
/non issue/. It's just FUD putting people off for no good reason and it's very disappointing to see - BlueTooth in the US is lagging as it is - it's a great technology and I'm very happy with it (I'm just glad I'm in Europe and can take advantage of greater BlueTooth product avalibility!).
I wish people who've never tried it would stop making such a big deal out of the fact that they happen to cross frequencies - it's REALLY such a
Bluetooth (on my Palm to T39) works very happly with my G4 PowerBook w/ Airport on my lap - neither experience any noticeable problems or cut out.
Both protocals are designed to cope with interference. It's not as if you 'suddenly lose a connection' or 'your bandiwidth suddenly drops' - nothing noticeable happens (network activity is fine and the PDA->Phone interaction is flawless).
Everyone who's actually used them outside of a lab says the same thing. If you had 100 bluetooth devices in the same room, all broadcasting at once, then I wouldn't be too suprised to see a little network slowdown, but even at that extreme, life would be bearable.
I've got a Sharp Zaurus and this would suit me fine (much less power drain than wireless Ethernet, and it could talk to my T38 'phone). Does anyone know any technical reason why this card wouldn't work on the Zaurus apart from lack of software (which can be fixed)? I take it that the Palm SD slot is the same as the Zaurus...
Ericsson have had a BlueTooth hands free for months (maybe even a year now).
:)
:)
:). Steep at 150 UKP though!
They have 3 different models, the first one had technical probs, there is a new one which looks identical but fixes the bugs
There is a third one which looks like a set of stereo headphones, but it attaches to a battery back around your waist (so you may as well just get a normal hands free and stick your phone in your pocket). This one is lame
My boss has one of the new, good kind (and I will two just as soon as my flat mate and my tenant both pay me the rent the are owe
Does anyone else think that $129 is an absurd price for this? I thought the entire idea of Bluetooth was that it was going to be so cheap it could just be integrated into everything. Looks like we're still going to have to wait a while for that.
This space unintentionally left unblank.
Wow, thats wonderful, another linux toy with no apps...
Just download the Bluetooth software from Apple and viola! Palm Desktop will automagically sync with your Palm!
Apple's done a wonderful job with their software, I even got it to pair with my SonyEricsson! No third party drivers required! Cool stuff...
I can tell you
- Remove Linux
- Install Windows
Good to go! P.S. The same instructions work for Dungeon Siege
For you IMDB buffs, the ericsson model was of course featured in the Tomb Raider movie.
---- Den ene knappen er powerknapp, den andre er Bender voice knapp "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass"
To forcibly try to bring this thread (sort of) back towards the topic, it's interesting to note that in the story, the poster comments that he can't find a BlueTooth SDIO card in "this sad little corner of the world."
:)
I understand his feelings entirely: but when we're feeling peeved because we have to wait a bit or pay a bit extra for the latest geek innovation, it is always worth considering how hard it must be to get a BlueTooth SDIO card in Baghdad, or Kabul, or Ramallah.
Of course, this is a tech/science site, and it would be ridiculous if every story had to be approached geopolitically. But we've all had our perceptions shaken up a bit lately. Perhaps the tagline should really be "News for Nerds. Stuff that doesn't matter." Might lend us a little perspective.
Anyway, sorry if this is a bit off-topic. Just wanted to share.
But All I want for my palm is a Bluetooth(TM) charger!
Is it just me, or does this card look fragile? It sure looks like the antenna will protrude beyond the edge of the device. Given how thin MMC/SD/SDIO cards are, this might afford the user considerable opportunity to damage the card and/or device it's installed in. I haven't seen the cards myself, so it's certainly possible that I'm simply incorrect--but it's worth checking out before spending the $130, I imagine...
Phil
I don't care so much of finding a product like this, what I care about is surrounding in a place that actually uses this or any other kool technology so that I may actually NEED a product like this. I almost feel like there is so much kool stuff out there, but it is just that, out there. Somebody please point a finger (not the middle one) and show me the way!
I guess this makes slashdot a love/hate realationship. I get to see all the kool stuff, however I never get to actually use it, I just get to read about people using it!
Desperate in the Middle of Nowhere
"Entertain the Brutes"
They are available and in stock at FranklinCovey of all places!
t mD spRte.jsp?section=19962&item=8387
http://shopping.franklincovey.com/html/ibeCCtpI
There are 20 available as of this posting.
I cant believe this is even news ... I walked in about two weeks ago to Fry's Electronics for a memory stick, when I saw a MMC BlueTooth card by palm sitting there in front of me. I thought to myself ... WOW Palm finally released it, put it down then went on my business. There were lots of them scattered everywhere and the barcode tape even worn a little like its been there for a while. Did someone just stumble apon it like I have and just decide to share it to the rest of the world? If thats the case .... HEY They just released neat trashcans with foot levers to oopen the lid! Check it out, its in the inventory control system of Fry's Marketplace now.
www.widget.co.uk have been shipping a bluetooth module for handspring PDA's for several weeks now.
All things in moderation; including moderation
The Staples in Cambridge had at least one in stock last Friday
OK, so there probably are some bluetooth cell phones out there (I sure don't have one) but why don't cell phone manufacturers/distributors and/or wireless carriers offer a service that downloads a simple CSV phone list to your phone?
Heck, I'd pay $10 per shot to email my phone list to some address that would download it to my phone. OK, so there are some privacy implications, so don't download any numbers you don't want someone else to know.
The antidote for misuse of freedom of speech is more freedom of speech.
-- Molly Ivins
I heard the other day that a company called Pellico Systems has figured out a way to turn the Palm VII and VIIx into always-on devices. Because of the obvious battery drain problem there weren't many people trying to figure this out but since their product already solves the battery problem it makes sense that they figured this out.
There's nothing on their site about how to do this but I heard it will be posted soon. There supposed to be some software involved too and I don't see any software by them....
http://www.pellico.com
This'll be great considering the price of the Palm VIIx is soooo low these days. Palms wireless service still needs improving but if you have coverage, this might be worth a look. It's gotta be cheaper than the $400+ i705 just because the VIIx goes for around $100 and their product is only $40.
I've been syncing Outlook on my PeeCee with an AmbiCom BT combo CF/PCCard and my Palm 505 for a month. And just got my Apple Dlink USB BT device so now I sync also with my G4 Powerbook and Plam Desktop under OSX as of Saturday.
Typical crappy slashdot. Reject real news like the benchmark that shows Althon XPs running at 667Mhz less than the new P4 2+Ghz benchmarks about the same in performance, yet publish someone's discovery of a product that has been out for a month as new. No wonder they want to to start paying for this tripe--they can't give it away.
A good question to ask yourself is why would you want to
give up that SD slot just for BlueTooth connectivity.
I use SD memory cards in my Palm m500 all of the time,
removing them just to insert a bluetooth module would
be too much of a hassle for it to be actually useful.
I think I'll try TDK's BlueM -- it piggybacks on the Palm,
plugging into the expansion port, leaving the SD slot
free for memory cards.
$129 in the US
:(
$131 in the UK
Hmmmmmmmm interesting use of an exchange rate there
I know they often swap the $ for a £, which is a shame already, but increasing it as well?
It works well, but it's a lot to carry around compared to any given small mobile phone -- and keeping two devices charged just to use my mobile phone (which can go for days without being used) is a little on the annoying side. I'm sure if I used my mobile more I'd also use the handsfree kit. Also, winter is just about to arrive so I'll be waering a jacket with more carrying capacity.
It's a shame that I can't use it with my corded MP3 handsfree kit. And it's also a shame that there hasn't been a Bluetooth solution for my TRGpro released yet. At least, not last time I checked.