Welcome to palmsolo’s Refresh. For the past 16.5 years I have been writing for ZDNET, but was placed on a mandatory “six month break” for some unique IRS guidelines and company policy. I have a passion for mobile technology and couldn’t just give up a major part of my life so I am launching this newsletter/Substack site so that I can continue to post reviews and opinion pieces on the world of mobile technology, as seen through the eyes of a person who has been using mobile tech for 25 years.
I love swiping down on my smartphone display to see content refresh and after nearly two decades of writing on ZDNET, it’s about time for me to offer readers a refresh so that’s my intent here. I will be posting long form, and short, video content on my YouTube channel. I hope to have this Substack serve as a companion to the video content and also a place I can cover other tech news that might not fit into video form.
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Tune in for unique and detailed coverage on everything from smartwatches and phones to ebikes and action cameras. I'll be covering the classics and exploring tech's latest frontiers.
Who is palmsolo?
Back in 1997, Matt Miller started using a 3COM/US Robotics Pilot 1000 on marine salvage response cases while an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard and the power and allure of this palm-based handheld computer was all he needed to make him a mobile tech addict for life.
Matt started visiting websites covering Palm computers and setup his online profile with the name “palmsolo”. This name came from his fascination with Palm PDAs mixed with his favorite Star Wars character, Han Solo. Matt spent the 80s in theaters watching Star Wars and has a home office loaded with Star Wars memorabilia.
With his passion for mobile technology and active participation in online discussion forums in the late 90s, Matt applied for a position to write for Geek.com and serve as the PDA Geek. He wrote reviews, news, and opinion pieces on Geek.com with Joel Evans from 2001 to 2006. In 2006, Matt pitched the idea of a mobile tech focused technology blog on ZDNET and launched the ZDNET Mobile Gadgeteer site in May of 2006. He expanded and launched the ZDNET Smartphones and Cell Phones blog a few years later. At the end of 2022, Matt was told he would have to take a six month “break” from ZDNET due to some unique IRS guidance for subcontractors.
Over the past 25 years of using mobile technology, Matt has purchased, sold, traded, and reviewed hundreds of PDAs, smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, headphones, electric bikes, accessories, and more.
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