PDA

 –– an experiment in small friction

The Samsung Omnia II smartphone with Windows Mobile 6.5 on Verizon Wireless is as dependable and exciting as a McDonald's burger.

You know what you're getting, it fills a need and it's sort of tasty if you don't expect too much.

But when you glance over and see your neighbor gorging on a Motorola Droid on the same network, you're going to feel a rumble of indigestion.

Omnia II's failings have nothing to do with its excellent hardware. Rather, the sour taste is due to the clunky and cumbersome Windows Mobile operating system that Samsung tries valiantly to conceal.

It's an unfortunate reality, but attackers can wreak havoc with your cell phone or PDA by taking advantage of the very features that make your life more convenient.

For example, attackers can spam you with text messages that may result in extra charges or infect your devices with malicious code that allows them to use your service. Attackers who gain control of your service may use your device to attack others.

The U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (www.us-cert.gov) recommends the following steps to protect your portable devices:

The eagerly awaited Palm Pre smartphone will be available on Saturday, June 6, in the U.S. for $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate and a two-year service contract with Sprint Nextel.

Besides Sprint stores, the Palm Pre will be sold online and at Best Buy, Radio Shack and Wal-Mart. Buyers will have a choice of Sprint's Simply Everything unlimited plan for $99.99 a month, an $89.99 plan with 900 minutes, or $69.99 for 450 minutes. Palm will also offer a wireless Touchstone charger kit for $69.99.

Longtime PDA manufacturer Palm lost $98 million, or 89 cents a share, in its third fiscal quarter. That's a substantial increase from its $57 million, or 53 cents a share, loss in the same quarter last year.

"We're proceeding through a challenging transitional period," said Ed Colligan, Palm president and chief executive officer. "However, our current results shouldn't overshadow the tremendous progress we've made against our strategic goals. We're poised to usher in a new era at Palm."

Frequent readers of this space may recall I frequently dislike PDA cellular phones, especially ones with terrible battery life. I have tested a dozen phones over the years and carried a half-dozen and really liked none of them much.

Now, I am in love.

There's a Nova in Palm's future. In January, the famed-but-faded mobile-device maker will unveil a new operating system with that code name at the Consumer Electronics Show.

According to Business Week and others, Palm's hiring last year of ex-Apple engineer Jon Rubinstein has led to a new team that hopes to guide the company back to the ranks of mobile innovation.

Falling Behind

As Internet-enabled cell phones, called smart phones, are embraced by the corporate world, users say the devices allow them to be more productive by giving them access to their e-mail, business contacts, and even corporate data anytime, anywhere.

They also, however, represent a security challenge for corporate IT departments, and a "leash" for executives who can't seem to get away from their jobs with such a device hooked to their belts or resting in their purses, observers here say.

Longtime PDA and phone manufacturer Palm had a rough day Friday. Although the stock exchange rose sharply in the wake of news that the U.S. government was stepping in to stabilize the financial markets, Palm's stock fell nearly eight percent, to $7.83.

The drop was driven by the release of Palm's fiscal first quarter results. The company said its revenue rose less than two percent, to $366.9 million, while its quarterly loss rose to $41.9 million, or 39 cents a share.