Treo 650: Error 720B, Error 0x121A

I got these errors out of nowhere. When I tried to launch the web browser, it just stalls and shows Error 720B. When I tried opening my network settings I got Error 0x121A. So here's how I resolved it.


I tried searching for  Error 720B, but i couldn't find any references. I tried looking up Error 0x121A. I found this post in the Palm Forums: http://forums.palm.com/t5/Wireless-Providers/Looking-for-serious-help-here/m-p/199229/highlight/true#M4919. 


If you're a Treo 650 user, you probably know that if you insert a SIM in unlocked Treo, it will get the GPRS settings automatically from the network and just work. Well, as far as I can tell you get this error when that doesn't happen. But mine worked perfectly for almost a year since my last Zero Out reset. So it seems my phone sort of forgot what the network settings were. Bear in mind that when I say network, I only mean the GPRS (internet  and data) network settings, and not the phone network settings. The phone functions, calling and text messaging, were not affected. Well, except for MMS, since that is dependent on the phone's data connection.


Anyway, not wanting to do a hard reset which requires restoring all my apps afterwards, I tried a soft reset first. On Treo's that is done by taking the battery out for 10 seconds. I booted the phone up and it spent a little longer that usual to get a signal from Smart. After that I check on network settings and there were new entries for Smart GPRS, Smart Internet and Smart MMS. The damaged profiles where still there so I had to deleted them to clean it up. After that I tested it by sending an MMS to my wife and it started working again. 


Posting this because this information might come in handy for all you Treo 650 users, who like me still hold on to their tried and tested companion :-)

Update Your Facebook Status With Twitter

The other day I was asked by a friend how I update my Facebook status even if I'm offline. I just said I updated through my mobile. Well, that's half true. I actually set it up so my Facebook status is updated with every tweet I post. I have been using Twitter a lot longer than Facebook and it seemed logical that I should use Twitter status updates to likewise update my Facebook status. Good thing about it is I can update my Twitter status by sending a text message to @tweetitow (more on that in this blog post: Send Twitter Updates Thru SMS).

Here's how I set up Facebook to update with my Twitter updates...

1. Login to Facebook and use Search get to the Twitter application page. It's best to just use Search within Facebook, the URL changes from user to user so I won't link to it directly:

2. Once there, click on Go to Application:



3. Authorize the app by clicking the Allow button:


4. Key-in your Twitter details:

5. After that you'll be redirected to your personal page where you could tweet from within Facebook. Click on the Allow Twitter to Update Your Facebook Status button:

And you are all set. All your tweets will appear in your Facebook as status updates. Happy tweeting!

Unlocked Palm Centro Now Available

Palm, Inc. announced today the availability of an unlocked version of its popular Palm Centro smartphone for the US market. Now offered unlocked for use on Sprint, AT&T and Verizon Wireless (three of the US's largest carriers), Centro gives U.S. customers the ability to choose the mobile phone service that fits their needs. Palm concurrently announced the availability of the Google(TM) Maps service for mobiles with My Location builtin on the unit itself, giving users faster access to local maps and driving directions.

The unlocked Centro will be available in a slightly updated white color with grey accents. Available in 25 countries worldwide, the Centro offers customers flexible ways to keep in touch with friends, family and co-workers through voice, SMS text messaging, email or the web. The Centro is Palm's smallest and lightest smartphone to date. The Centro is now available from the official Palm Store (online) for $299.

Palm Centro Give-away Contest

I received an email from Palm announcing the Palm Centro. I was intrigued, needless to say. So I checked the Palm Philippines site and sure enough it was already there! the email even contained an invite for a contest, and up for grabs is a Palm Centro. Anyone can join. Catch is, you'll need to be sent an email invite by someone who was previously sent an invite. This must be a campaign by Palm to see if word-by-mouth marketing still produces the buzz they need when launching a new product. So post a comment here (with your email) and I'll send you an invite. Don't worry, my comments are moderated, so if you do not wish to have your comment published just say so.

Palm Launches Centro

Palm announced that it will make the Palm Centro smartphone available to StarHub mobile customers in Singapore. This follows an announcement last week of the Centro's availability in Mexico through the mobile services of TelCel and Movistar. So far, the Centro has sold a million units in 6 months.

I'm eagerly awaiting the Centro's launch in the Philippines. The Centro isn't cutting-edge technology anymore, owing to the fact that it's connectivity is limited to EDGE networks and it still uses the now aging Palm OS 5.4 (Garnet). However, I think it still provides excellent value to first-time smartphone buyers and fans of Palm products. I just hope that when they do introduce it in the Philippines, they'll maintain the low price. A low price point will spur wide adoption in the now crowded smartphone market segment.

Treo 500v

Been a while since I've been excited about anything Palm has been releasing. I just found out about the European launch of the Treo 500v. And let me tell you I like the idea. The Palm user community has a healthy mix of opinion. A lot of long-time users decry this as another step towards failure for the company. Others like myself see this as Palm's way of extending it's market share to the bigger niche of traditional mobile phone users.

I think my wife will appreciate this device, however pared down it is. I love my Treo 650 and all, but the fact remains that the wife isn't impressed and she doesn't want a Palm at all. I emailed her about the Treo 500 and after talking to her about how its going to work she told me she would be "OK" with trying one out. Ah, finally! My chance to convert my wife to one of the Palm faithful.

Reading Again.

I've been meaning to do some serious reading while on my day-off, and read I did. You've probably read from my Jaiku page that I had read Blind Shrike (Richard Kadrey), which I really didn't like but still finished as was my habit with fiction. I started reading Halo (Tom Maddox) shortly after that and like the light way the story presented what a future with machine-intelligence would be like. It was a light read and entertaining. I finished Halo late-morning yesterday. I promptly started reading Geek Mafia (Rick Dakan) after that, which is a bit more contemporary and somethign I liked since it was about a comicbook-geek-turned-con-turned-fugitive-turned-redeemed-hero. I just finished Mafia and I went online to briefly update my blogs. And here I am again, searching through ManyBooks.net for any interesting eBooks I might find.

I am reading again, is the good news. I've always loved to read, though my love for books has waned over the last few years. I've only read an occasional book or two each year. Having a Treo650 has changed things a bit. I save all these books on it, and since I always have it with me I just flick it out whenever I feel the urge to read. No more I-want-to-read-but-I-forgot-to-bring-the-book situations. I'm using eReader (and the associated file format) to read these books. I've found it better than PDF , even if I do have PalmPDF on my Treo. I've reserved it for the "need-to" situations when I have no other choice but to view documents in PDF. I hate the fact that its so resource-hungry, especially when loading long books. I simply find it hard to read stuff using PalmPDF. eReader files are small by comparison, so I get to save more stuff to my media card. Who could say no to that?

Anyway, I'll post about more books I read as time goes by. Right now, I need to catch some ZZZ's...

AvantGo on My Treo650

I've started using AvantGo
(http://my.avantgo.com/home/index.html?learn_more=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.avantgo.com%2Ffrontdoor%2Findex.html)
to download webpages ("news channels" in AvantGo lingo) to my Treo.
Its a great convenience to be able to sync your Treo of your PC and
read the pages without having to be tethered to the internet. Useful
when travelling in areas without a decent wireless signal. Or when
you're just trying to save on data charges -- like me! I hate Smart's
metered GPRS (http://www.smart.com.ph/SMART/Value+Added+Services/Data/AV_Text_Gprs.htm).
The only downside was the darn app ate up a huge chunk of my phone's
internal memory. I might just have to find something lighter.
Suggestions, anyone?

Gadgets on a Budget

Clearly the best benefit of the ever-advancing nature of technology is
the development of cheaper devices that enhance our personal
functionality.

A few days ago, I received a parcel containing the Treo650 that an
aunt of my wife had sent me. It was a gift, a very generous gift. And
I would like to thank her publicly. Thank you Aunt Edna! Your
generosity is boundless :-)

The Treo renewed my interest in handhelds and personal computing
devices. I had previously owned a Palm Tungsten T3 and I've been
yearning for another Palm handheld ever since I sold it. The only
thing holding me back was the price. These devices are not cheap. I
have been, in the months in between, content with reading press
releases of Palm, Inc. Can you tell I'm a fan? Anyway, the launch of
Palm's UMPC(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra-Mobile_PC), the Palm
Foleo(http://www.palm.com/us/products/mobilecompanion/foleo/), did not
escape my notice.

With Palm's entry into the UMPC bandwagon, my other dream (owning a
laptop) was slowly coming into reality. The prices, I predicted, would
come down. As Moore's Law (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore's_law)
bears its full weight on the pace of chip development, we see products
coming out of the pipeline a lot more cheaper and smaller. My hopes
died when I saw the $599 price tag. I also chanced upon this article
(http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/05/seven_sexy_alte.html) proposing
alternatives to the Palm Foleo, albeit just as expensive or even more
so.

My hope's were revived when I saw Asus' announcement in Taiwan's
Computex expo that it is launching a spawn of Intel's Classmate PC
program (http://www.intel.com/intel/worldahead/classmatepc/). The Asus
Eee PC701 (http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/technology/archives/2007/06/05/intel_classmate_becomes_199_asus_eee_subnotebook_pc.html)
was unveiled in the midst of spectators' "oohs!" and "aahs!". They
said the units would come to American shores as early as August this
year for $200. That's cheap! It's very barebones (specs here:
http://www.gadgettastic.com/2007/06/09/asus-eee-specs/). However, if
most of your computing time is spent surfing the internet and
retrieving mail, then this PC is for you. It even has built-in WiFi to
boot.

I'm eagerly anticipating it's release in Asia and I sincerely hope
this thing reaches Philippine shores. It would definitely be a great
device for my wife. She thinks she's a technophobe and half the time
she asks me about the computer. A simple connected device like this
could simplify things enough for her to do her extra work at home at a
fast enough pace. I just know she would love something as convenient
as this. I still have to convince my wife about how wonderful it is to
have a small personal device you can take with you all the time. I
love it when technology shrinks technology, the shrinking price tag
being a wonderful side effect of it all. My wife does too, she just
doesn't know it yet.