Disqus
It was back in February of 2008 when we first wrote about StyleTap. At that moment, the Palm OS emulator for iPhone was still an experimental thing. Then, at the end of May of the same year, they said the application will be released soon — who knew that by “soon” they meant two years? 
Anyway, StyleTap is out now for jailbroken iPhone users, allowing them to run Palm OS 5.2 (or earlier) apps, often faster than on the native Palm OS devices. Here are the highlights:
- Copy/Paste of text and bitmaps between Palm OS applications and native iPhone apps, as well as between Palm OS programs.
- Audio recording and playback
- Support for a “virtual memory card” – for very large application databases and files that won’t fit in main memory.
- Backwards compatibility – enables both older and newer programs to perform direct screen updates.
- Virtual “function buttons” – to emulate the hardware buttons on Palm devices.
- TCP/IP connectivity, serial connections and Bluetooth over serial (RFCOMM) support
- Support for the iPhone GPS!
- Initiating phone calls (iPhone only)
- Invoking Safari browser
- Exporting vCards into iPhone Contacts
I’m sure hard core Palm OS fans just found a reason to jailbreak their iDevice, in case they already haven’t done so. The tiny problem is StyleTap’s price – it’s $49.95, which is kinda steep in today’s app economy. Then again, if you already have a library of Palm OS apps you love, this shouldn’t come as a problem. Plus you can try out StyleTap for free (14-day trial) and then push the button, only if you like it.
[Via: Engadget]
About The Author
Dusan Belic
Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The "convergence" is what he's most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do. In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it's an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he's there to try it out. He admits though, he's still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which "sings" perfectly with the mobile PIM application. Dusan used to run SymbianWatch.com which later became part of IntoMobile. He lives in Serbia, South-East Europe, from where he edits the site on a daily basis.
