If you own a Palm OS based handheld, you can now send handwritten and photo messages thanks to version 2.0 of BugMe! Messenger from Electric Pocket.
BugMe! Messenger enables users to e-mail handwritten BugMe! notes, images and digital photographs directly from their handheld devices. Users can take notes with their own handwriting by drawing directly on the screens of their Palm OS devices. Notes can also be made from annotated digital photographs. Any BugMe! note can be used as alarmed reminders or sent as email messages to colleagues.
Version 2.0 offers users of all Palm powered handhelds the benefits of handwritten and photo messaging by providing a conduit that will automatically send BugMe! messages upon synchronization with the users’ desktop computers. Other new features include support for Kodak’s PalmPix digital camera and the capability for users to create “Buddy Lists” to simplify the task of selecting recipients for BugMe! messages.
The BugMe! note appears as a small graphic in the message. The BugMe! Messenger conduit also checks for incoming messages addressed to the user and delivers them to his or her handheld. A notification of incoming messages is generated upon the completion of the HotSync process.
Earlier this year, Electric Pocket announced that BugMe! Messenger would support IDEO’s eyemodule camera for Handspring Visor handheld computers. Now, with new integration with Kodak’s PalmPix series cameras, Electric Pocket has greatly expanded the market for photo messaging services by opening up the application to users of the two major digital cameras for Palm Powered handhelds, according to Iain Barclay, co-founder and chief products officer of Electric Pocket.
Photographs can be imported directly into the BugMe! Messenger application at the time they’re taken with either camera — or the image files can be imported from the camera’s database at a later time. The user can then annotate the photograph directly on the screen of his or her handheld and send it as an email message to any e-mail address. BugMe! Messenger also enables users to send the original 640 x 480 jpeg image directly from their Palm handheld.
BugMe! Messenger’s photo messages are screen-sized renderings of digital images with optional handwritten annotation. While suitable for informal sharing of images from a mobile device, if you need to send a higher quality image from a remote location. BugMe! Messenger 2.0 enables wireless handheld users to send “full sized” JPEG photographs taken with a Kodak PalmPix or IDEO eyemodule camera directly from their handheld to any e-mail address.
BugMe! Messenger is available in two editions, Personal and Business. The former costs US$29.95 per user. The latter is $29.95, plus $4.95 per month, and includes free upgrades and priority support. Both editions come with a free BugMe.net email address.