GPS with multidestination planning--Ask the Editors

With all the iPhone hysteria, I missed last week's Q&A--shame on me. Fortunately, the dust has mostly settled, so I'm getting back on track. And believe it or not, this week's question isn't about the iPhone 3G and its GPS capabilities--mostly because I haven't had the opportunity to try it out yet--but I could also use the iBreak. So let's get on with it, shall we?

Q: I need a unit that I can plug 10 to 15 addresses into and it will map out a route hitting all the addresses in the most efficient and orderly manner. Am I dreaming?--Annette via email

A: 'Tis no dream, Annette. There are quite a number of portable navigation systems that support multidestination routing, even up to 15 stops. All the major manufacturers, including Magellan, TomTom, and Garmin, offer models with this functionality. Typically, there are two methods for creating these multistop itineraries. First, you can plan a trip from point A to point B like you normally would and then go back and add "Via Points" to that route. Alternatively, some models offer a Trip Planner (or Itinerary Planning--the name of the tool differs from brand to brand) where you can input all your stops at once and save and name your trip for use later.
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AMD quitting handheld, TV chips amid more losses

AMD continues to stumble through another down year.

The company announced along with the release of its second-quarter earnings results Thursday that it is getting out of the handheld and digital television businesses. As has been the case for the last several quarters, AMD is continuing to lose bucketloads of money: US$1.2 billion this time around.

The US$1.2 billion isn't as bad as it looks at first glance, but it's still pretty bad. In order to get out of the business of making graphics chips for handhelds and digital TV processors, AMD has to take a one-time charge of US$876 million, which accounts for the majority of the loss.

The charge relates to the amount of goodwill attached to the company's US$5.4 billion purchase of ATI Technologies in 2006: goodwill is an accounting term that in this case, stands for "the amount by which we overpaid." AMD attached US$3.2 billion in goodwill to the ATI merger, and has now written US$2.5 billion of that goodwill off its balance sheet with the divestiture of the former ATI's consumer chip business.
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Palm Centro now in black

Not that it's a big deal, since the Palm Centro comes in many different colors in the US already. But for those who have held off buying one because it comes only in white in our region, this is your chance. Available from July 19 in Singapore and subsequently in Hong Kong, this version will be no different from the original other than color. If you are in India, Malaysia or the Philippines, you might have already seen it in stores.

Don't worry if you find that it looks a little familiar. Two operators in the US have already had black versions for sometime now. The difference is you can have an unlocked one which can be used with most GSM operators. Its price remains at S$598 in Singapore. The cost in your country may be lower, perhaps closer to the more reasonable unlocked price of US$299 (S$403) in the US.

Treo 800w official--but not yet for Asia

US operator Sprint has the Treo 800w for sale now. This is Palm's latest Windows Mobile phone and comes with GPS and Wi-Fi. Yes, you heard right, a Treo with W-Fi. Palm finally managed to put all the required wireless radios into one of its PDA-phones, years behind the competition. That's not going to matter to those who love the Treo keyboard and are used to the form factor, so we expect this new 800w to do all right.

Here's the bad news. Sprint uses a CDMA network, and the 800w that it's selling won't have the W-CDMA and GSM wireless radios we need here in Asia. If we know Palm, a GSM version should already be in the works. Those who want one here will just have to be patient for now. A similar model currently available here is the Samsung SGH-i780. Check that out if you haven't already.

Via Engadget

Is Google's iPhone app all that?

With so much fairy dust in the air over Apple's day-early release of the App Store and iTunes 7.7 (for Windows and Mac), it's easy to get caught up in the excitement. And we are excited. Being the intrepid reviewers we are, we're taking the unofficial iPhone 2.0 firmware for a ride to test out some of these apps. Be forewarned that the firmware has not yet been Apple-approved for wide release and cannot be vouched for.

More than 500 applications are already clustered in the App Store, many of them tiny apps and widgets that have been custom-built to run natively on the upgraded iPhone firmware. Most of these early entrants are nearly identical to the iPhone-optimized versions previously released by publishers to work with the iPhone Classic.

Google's app is a prime example. It opens with a blinking search bar and with the keypad already engaged. Like the optimized Web app version, suggested matches are displayed as the search begins; this time they are listed below the search field. Below the search space is a shortcut bar for seeing the array of Google apps, including Gmail, Maps, Docs, and Reader. These icons are themselves quick links for launching the Web-optimized versions of Gmail and clan.

The app does save a fraction of time in bypassing Safari's initial loading of the iPhone-optimized page and works without a hitch.

Via CNET Crave

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