Mobile Tech News -- Gnome Whacking Game, Shout Postcard, and More

Astraware Introduces Gnome Whacking Game

Astraware has introduced its latest in a long series of games: Hammer Heads.

As the gnomes rise from their holes, just tap the screen to bash them with a hammer. Meet several types of gnome, each with their own unique quirks, collect power-ups, and earn special speed bonuses. A visit to the Tower of Gold can earn the player extra cash to spend on special hammer and life upgrades available at the in-game Shiny Shop.

Hammer Heads is available now for Palm OS and Windows Mobile for Pocket PC on Astraware's web site.

Shout Postcard Released for Palm Treo Devices

One of the most lauded features of the Palm Treo smartphones has been their ease in handling text (SMS) and multimedia (MMS) messages . Until now, there have not been many programs to take that ease of use beyond the Treo device, though. SCO's release of Shout Postcard for Palm Treo devices aims to do just that.

Created to be an enhanced messaging program, Shout Post card is an application that combines the ease of use familiar to Palm OS devices with Web integration that makes the message content available over web browsers for anyone to view.

Shout Postcards are sent either to a recipient's email in-box or to their phone. Postcards can consist of photos, music and audio, in addition to just plain text. The web version will also keep a log of all sent Shout Postcards, whether sent from the web or smart phone.

Shout Postcard can be used with any mobile service provider and is currently available for Palm Treo smart phones based on the Palm operating system. Visit the Shout Postcard website to download the free version (commerical version to be available later).

Palm Highlights Treos in Vertical Industries

While many people know and understand smartphones as useful tools for email and voice communication, industries such as public saftey and healthcare see and use these devices in ways that enhance performace and safety, while maintaining a pulse on the latest technology. Palm recently highlighted two applications of Treo smartphones in the public safety and healthcare markets.

The San Diego Police Department has begun using Palm's Treo 700w and three custom applications to enchance the performance of field officers. The three applications combine with the wireless abilies and usabilty of the Treo to run licence plates and criminal records, access a central photo database, and view/crossreference booking histories. For more information on the San Diego implementation of the 700w, read this release.

In another report, Palm demonstrates at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Conference the ability for Garnet (Palm OS) and Windows Mobile devices to be used to improve process efficiency, reduce costs, improve the quality of care, and reduce medical errors. In additoin to demoing their line of Treo smartphones, Palm is also giving hands-on demonstrations of mobilization software. This software enables medical professionals to get up-to-date information on patients, access reference materials, access clinical results, and use voice applications to get patient information. For more information on Palm's demonstrations and the software used, read this release.

Microsoft Webcasts on Mobile Devices and Live Services

Microsoft has recently made available a four-part series of webcasts that look at Windows Live services and how they work with mobile devices. The initial sessions cover the developer integration of Windows Live services, while the latter sessions deal with management and user issues that IT managers and corporations would like to know.

Learn more about each of the sessions in this series and then listen to the webcasts.