JAVOedge has released a new JAVOScreen screen protectors for the TOMTOM ONE XL.  Both Anti Glare and Ultra Clear versions are $10.95 each.

Also available for:  TOMTOM GO 720, Mio Technology Mio C317, Mio Technology Mio C320, Mio Technology Mio C520, Mio Technology Mio C720, Mio Technology Mio C810, Garmin Nuvi 200W, Garmin Nuvi 250W, Garmin Nuvi 650

Earlier this week I asked “What do Hugo Ortega and Steve Ballmer have in common?” and today I share with you the answer - The HTC Shift! I must admit that I have been blessed many times over in the last few years with the devices that have crossed my path. I still remember being the first to showcase the Raon Digital Vega; and first with the Fujitsu P1610. On this occasion however I have yet to feel more honored than by being given the opportunity to look at what is billed as one of the most anticipated releases this year, i.e. The HTC Shift.

Back in March this year I placed my thoughts down about The HTC Shift. This was more of a virtual wrap-up than anything else as very little information was available, let alone a device to feel and touch. So when I was given permission to take the HTC Shift to TechED Australia as part of my UMPC Awareness Presentation (which was a huge success) you can imagine what I said…ummmm…YES!

I had The HTC Shift for a little over 60 hours and was able to play with many of its great features, which include Pocket PC, HSDPA, Vista Business, Tilt Touchscreen, QWERTY keyboard and more. It is an incredible device with HTC_Shift_Hugo_Ortega_GBM_slide2many possibilities, this video will hopefully showcase some of that. I managed to literally squeeze it into a very tight schedule I am running at present and did what I could to cover off some of the burning questions folks might have.

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I spent some time today with Palm’s not-yet-released Foleo at the LinuxWorld conference here in San Francisco. Due out this summer, the $600 not-quite-a-laptop device is small and light and might be of interest for some Treo-using mobile professionals, but most people would likely be much better served by a regular notebook.

The Foleo is the first Linux-based item from Palm, and touts an easy one-button e-mail sync over Bluetooth with Treo smarthones (both Palm OS and Windows Mobile versions). It has a 416Mhz processor, 256MB of flash memory and 128MB of ram, but no hard drive. The 10.2 inch screen has a 1024×600 resolution, and it has 802.11b and Bluetooth 1.2 wireless capabilities.

There’s a single USB port, along with slots that can accept SD or compact flash memory cards (Palm says they’ve tested cards up to 4GB). And you can connect the Foleo to an external display, which will use a 1024×768 resolution.

As the Palm guys at the conference put it, the Foleo is meant to be “what happens when a PDA grows up,” rather than a shrunk-down laptop. The applications are similar in look and feel to what you’d use on a smartphone, but are of course easier to use with the larger screen and full-size keyboard.

But the Foleo is far more limited than any given smartphone in terms of programs. It has 14 programs, including a basic word processor from Dataviz, a Palm calendar and mail program, and a Web browser based on Opera 9.

The browser supports Flash 7, but not Flash video. And you don’t get Opera’s tabbed browsing. Here’s a screen shot taken on the Foleo and e-mailed:

The problem is that you can’t use the large array of Palm OS or Windows Mobile apps on a Foleo, unless the company or person who wrote the app reworks it for the new device.

And you likewise won’t be able to use Linux apps unless someone reworks them for the Foleo. The device uses a Linux kernel (2.4 now, 2.6 is coming) but has a custom GUI interface that means more work than a simple re-compile to get an app to work.

Palm plans to release a software developer’s kit to make this re-development possible for Treo and Linux apps, and some companies are already using it to get their games and remote desktop utilities ready.

Astraware has solitaire and sudoku games ready, and LogMeIn is working on a browser client that will allow you to use its remote desktop access to connect to a desktop from the Foleo. But I have to wonder just how many programs will actually become available in the long run.

At 2.5 pounds, the Foleo is a good deal lighter than most laptops. And it does appear to be a simple, ready-to-go option for working with your smartphone’s e-mail or performing basic tasks. It’s also easy to use your Treo as a Bluetooth modem for Internet access in places with no wireless, though you’d need to check with your service provider to see what their policy is on such access.

But for $600 ($500 with a $100 mail-in-rebate), I’d hunt around for a used laptop, especially if I already had anywhere-access with my Treo. I settle for a limited selection of limited-function apps on a smartphone as a trade-off for it fitting in my pocket. If I’m going to have to carry something around, it may as well be a laptop.

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Palm, Inc. has announced that it will be working with Wind River to improve the version of the Linux operating system that is at the heart of the Foleo Mobile Companion.

During the Foleo’s development, it was based around the Linux 2.4 kernel. However, Palm developers made extensive changes to this make it more appropriate for this upcoming device.

Going forward, Palm and Wind River are going to work together to make these same modifications to the more recent Linux 2.6 kernel, so the Foleo can be based on that.

“Wind River’s open Linux platform gives us the reliability, performance and stability we need to continue driving innovation,” said Mark Bercow, senior vice president, Business Development, Palm, Inc.

Are You Supposed to Salute a Kernel?

Although a significant change, it is not the sort of thing most Foleo users will notice, as it only involves changes to the Linux kernel.

The kernel is the basic foundation of the operating system, and performs many essential tasks. But lying on top of it is the user interface (UI), which is what people interact with. Changes to the kernel don’t have to have any effect on the user interface.

In addition, operating systems include Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that developers use to make their applications capable of exercising both low-level hardware features like graphics and wireless connectivity and higher-level features like UI toolkits and databases.

Like the UI, which users see and interact with, these developer APIs won’t necessarily change when the Foleo kernel is updated. This means that applications written for the initial version of the Foleo shouldn’t be affected by any changes going on behind the scenes.

Development Tools, Too

One group who will notice this change is developers. One of the major effects of the modifications to the Foleo’s kernel will be support Wind River Workbench, an established, Eclipse-based integrated development environment (IDE) for embedded Linux development. Going forward, developers will be able to use this suite to create applications for the Foleo.

“The Wind River Workbench IDE is regarded as being one of the best tools for mobile Linux development in part because of excellent debugging capabilities on either a host PC (emulated hardware) or on the target hardware itself,” said David Beers from Pikesoft Mobile Computing.

Wind River will also be providing customer support to help Palm and developers extend the Foleo’s capabilities.

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