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Google unveils its multilingual, code-generating PaLM 2 language model
Google's latest and greatest large language model, PaLM 2, comes in four sizes, able to run locally on everything from mobile devices to server farms.
The Internet Archive’s PalmPilot Emulation project lets you relive tech history
The Internet Archive’s Jason Scott uploaded more than 560 Palm OS apps to create the PalmPilot Emulation project.
Palm pivots to audio with $129 ANC true wireless earbuds
Palm Buds Pro have three mics in each earbud, and you can save $30 if you pre-order a set.
Twitter has been plugged into a Handspring Visor for some reason
A 'working' Twitter client exists for the PDA from 1999.
Mark Hurd, former HP CEO, has died at 62
Mark Hurd, the now-former co-CEO of Oracle has died, according to CNBC. Oracle has yet to comment on Hurd's death, and the email that the company sent to employees provides few clues. However, just last month, Hurd announced a medical leave of absence from the company. He was 62.
Palm is selling an unlocked version of its tiny smartphone
As much as Palm's tiny phone has improved over the past several months, there's still been one glaring limitation: you've had to use it on Verizon (Engadget's parent company) in the US. You won't have to be quite so picky after today. Palm has opened pre-orders for an unlocked version of the minuscule Android device that will work as a stand-alone phone on most major US carriers, including AT&T, T-Mobile and the prepaid Metro brand. No, there's no mention of Sprint -- ironically, the home of the original Palm Pre won't get this device a decade later.
The tiny Palm phone is no longer just a sidekick
Whatever particular complaints you have about the Palm phone, there's one that people can generally agree on: it's that you have to use it as a secondary handset. Thankfully, you won't have to buy a larger device if you don't want to. Palm's pint-sized phone is now available as a stand-alone product through Verizon (Engadget's parent company) for $199 after a $150 discount that ends May 1st. It'll have its own number and data plan, just like its many bigger counterparts. The company pitches it as an option for athletes who want an unintrusive communicator, a first phone for kids or just an everyday carry for minimalists.
Palm's tiny (pointless) phone gets its own battery case
The new Palm is a tiny smartphone for occasions when your regular device is just too overwhelming.There's now a battery pack that will address the bite-size phone's short battery life. Mophie has released a battery case and power station keychain for the Palm.
Palm phone review: A tiny 'second phone' no one needs
The only phone I've ever waited in line for in my life was the original Palm Pre. What can I say? I believed in the company's approach to design, webOS seemed to have a lot of potential and I thought the market could use some more competition. I bought in, and I was crushed when HP acquired Palm and ran webOS into the ground. Now, years later, the Palm brand is back, and its new stewards are asking us to buy in once again. The pitch this time is highly unusual though. The company is selling a tiny, $350 Verizon-exclusive smartphone that's supposed to be a companion to your regular phone for when you want to disconnect... but not completely. There's little argument that we all probably spend too much time on our phones, and the former Samsung design execs who crafted the Palm did so to bring people out of their bubbles and back into the real world. The problem Palm is trying to tackle is a real one, and people deserve a solution. I'm just not sure Palm's first attempt is one that'll actually work for most people. Sure, it has its charms. In most cases, though, it's such a pain to live with that you'll wish you never decided to leave your main phone at home.
Palm's tiny companion phone goes on sale next week
If you're intrigued by the new Palm mini smartphone, then you don't have to wait much longer to pick it up. The Verizon-exclusive phone will be available from the mobile carrier starting on November 2nd. The full retail price will be $350, or you can snag it with a two-year contract at a discount for $300. If you want to pay monthly, it will cost you $14.58 per month for 24 months.
Kyocera releases tiny e-paper companion phone in Japan
If you've been curious as to what Instagram might look like on an e-paper screen and happen to live in Japan, the Kyocera Card Keitai KY-01L might be of interest. It's a companion device that's supposed to be a sidekick to a beefier mobile phone. The KY-01L is really small -- not too much larger than a credit card. It's about 9 centimeters tall, 5 centimeters wide, 5 millimeters thick and weights in at a miniscule 47 grams. It has a standby time of 100 hours and a continuous talk time of 110 minutes.
Palm is back (sort of), and it built a tiny smartphone sidekick
When HP unceremoniously shut down Palm in 2011, it felt like the end of an era. The PDA and smartphone maker's glory days were in the past by then, but it developed a string of hits in the late 90s and early 2000s, and few names in the industry inspired as much zeal and loyalty as Palm Inc. did. To a die-hard community, losing the company was a blow.
Photos leak of a 3.3-inch Palm-branded Android phone
After releasing some well-received BlackBerry Android devices, TCL's next mobile brand reclamation project is Palm. Now Android Police has pictures of a phone apparently codenamed "Pepito" that it says could be released on Verizon later this year. Eschewing the "bigger is better" and notch trends, the tiny 3.3-inch device reportedly has a 720p screen, Snapdragon 435 CPU, no headphone jack, 3 GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and a small 800mAh battery.
Samsung envisions phones that read your palm
There's a good possibility that you've forgotten a password and had to get hints or recover it. But the process for that isn't very trustworthy. Intruders can guess security questions, for one thing. Samsung might soon have a subtler way of helping you remember your password, though: it would give you a palm reading. A recently published patent application shows that Samsung has been exploring a system that would scan the unique lines on your palm and use them to display hints in the form of incomplete characters. You'd get a nudge in the right direction, but nothing so obvious that a thief could guess it (even if they could use your hand).
TCL is reportedly reviving Palm with new devices in 2018
Chinese electronics company TCL boldly claimed it would release devices under the BlackBerry name to revive the brand, and its recently-released KEYone smartphone proved them right. But according to Android Planet, the company is eyeing another classic tech name to resurrect: Palm. And they could have new devices under its name by 2018.
Chinese TV giant TCL brings Palm Inc. back to life
Prepare to be transported back to 2005. Chinese electronics maker TCL (which sells smartphones around the world as Alcatel OneTouch) announced earlier today that it's reviving the venerated Palm brand in the form of a new US subsidiary. That's right, folks: It might not be long until you've got a shiny new Palm smartphone in your pocket. To be clear, though, this new/old venture retains basically none of the original's DNA. Palm's giant vault of patents? It's been hacked apart and sold off in bits and pieces to big-time bidders. And webOS, the platform a naïve company banked its smartphone future on? It was open-sourced and eventually acquired by LG, who's now throwing it on smart TVs and maybe a smartwatch if we're lucky.
HP calls time, will shut down webOS support on January 15th, 2015
Still hauling that Palm Pre around without a care in the world? Sorry to say but there's a nasty surprise coming your way just after the holidays. HP has quietly announced that it'll pull the plug on the catalog and cloud services that support webOS devices from January 15th of next year. That doesn't mean that your hardware will shut down, but living with the gear is going to get considerably harder. Firstly, you won't be able to purchase, download and restore apps, and you won't be able to restore your phone from a backup either. Setting up a new device has also gone the way of all things, and if you lose your password, you won't be getting it back. This is probably the excuse you need to buy a new phone, but don't worry, because as long as we remember webOS in our hearts, it'll never truly die, okay?
From beginning to breakup: a history of HP's highs and lows
HP's recent decision to split into two companies is undoubtedly a big deal. It's a cornerstone of Silicon Valley, and it has been synonymous with PCs for much of its lifetime. However, this is really just the latest chapter for a technology legend that has witnessed plenty of triumphs and disasters throughout its 75-year history. We've rounded up some of its greatest and lowest moments in a gallery, ranging from its humble beginnings in a garage to the webOS era and a series of scandals -- check them out if you want to know how HP reached yet another turning point. [Image credit: Kimihiro Hoshino/AFP/Getty Images]
Switched On: Return of the digital hub
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. In the heyday of Palm organizers, when even the speeds of 3G data seemed like a distant fantasy, a debate raged as to whether the future of pocket devices could belong to one or two devices. Those who favored two devices argued that you didn't really want all the bulk and battery consumption of a pocket computer in a small device that you wanted to use primarily to make calls. They failed to anticipate that technology's relentless integration would enable these "pocket computers" to become the minimal-millimeter smartphones of today and that data networks would support access to apps ranging from social networking to mobile video that would trump voice for many users.
Fujitsu's palm-scanning laptops won't be fooled by severed limbs
For all the popularity of fingerprint scanners, Fujitsu believes that it can go one better. The Japanese company has been working on palm-based systems for the last few years, and we've already seen turnstiles, wallets and tablets that are accessed from your hand. Fujitsu believes that palm vein sensing is around a thousand times more secure than conventional biometric methods and it's implementing the technology in its next range of business-focused laptops due out this week. We've been shown around some of these models, which have the new sensor fitted into an area that is roughly the same size and position as the company's existing fingerprint scanners, just below the bottom right corner of the keyboard. Using it is simple: Hold your hand a few inches above the sensor and the hardware will quickly scan the unique arrangement of your veins. If it judges you to be the real deal, it'll open up its secrets for your enjoyment.
