My Treo cell phone recently bit the dust. When I went to swap it in for something new, I took into consideration that the word on the street was that Palm was putting out to pasture its venerable “Palm OS” operating system. Confession: I didn’t want to give up on Palm. It’s just plain *fast*… and *simple*. But I figured it was inevitable. Besides, I’ve been having more and more trouble keeping the Palm conduit “up” and running with Outlook. I don’t think I have *too* many contacts. (Is 3000 a lot?) But for whatever reason, it was *constantly* failing. So I swallowed hard and said “Windows Mobile.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt like a traitor. But I did it. And you know what the crazy thing is? Perish the thought that I’m starting to like it! How ’bout you? What’s your latest ‘take’ on the PALM OS? Have you made a switch? How’s it working out for the kind of mission work you do? To ‘talk back’ to Brigada, just click “Comment” below this particular item on the web. Thanks for any “fellow struggler” reports.
I use Windows mobile, because it allows me to use the Pocket-Bible of Online Bible (www.onlinebible.net), which includes tons of bible versions (including foreign languages), commentaries, books, etc, with a one-time fee of $10 or $15 for everything.
Plus, I use PocketInformant, which is far superior to standard PIM.
If you need to read / edit Word processing files, Textmaker is desktop capability on a pocket-pc. I use an iR folding keyboard, Dell Axim for its VGA screen, and find it extremely workable.
— one begger to another
I switched to Windows Mobile last October. It had some cost implications but I found all my essential applications on the Palm have recently become available on Windows Mobile. All-in-all I find the Palm OS to be a better platform but since Palm is also releasing Windows Mobile devices my sense was that the future for the Palm OS is limited. So I took the plunge.
I regret having to switch to Outlook for calendar and contacts :-)
My favourite PDA apps – both Palm and WinMobile…
Bonsai | Both by Natara
DayNotez |
PocketBible/MyBible – Laridian
SplashID
Andrew
For those that don’t want to give up their Palm, Ebay is your friend. :)
Rather than spend the money on Windows Mobile, one solution is to buy a used phone off EBAY.
My Palm Treo 650 shows no sign of giving up. The upgrades for it remain available at Palm.
IF it goes, I can buy a replacement phone. Currently, the going rate seems to be in the $100 range with NO need to extend the contract.
Of course, for $50, the phone company will send me a replacement.
I will know that PALM is no longer an option when the Cell Phone Company sends me a Windows Mobile replacement device. :)
On a different vein, I keep a backup phone should my Palm fail. I only need change the SIM card to the new phone and keep right on talking.
Happy New Year, Brigaders!
As much as I loved my constant companion Palm, and despite how good I was at writing with Graffiti, I was always aware that the hardware manufacturing quality was very poor and that conceptually the whole hardware-software integration had been very poorly thought through. It died in stages and finally became unworkable, so I too have been looking at what to do next. Here are some transferable principles that are guiding my thinking:
(1) Forget about brand loyalty because this is an age when upstarts who “re-write the book” on this kind of device sometimes create a better new starting point than familiar or established players who have dug a deep rut.
(2) These devices are intentionally designed for a relatively short life as throw-away commodities, so I have to plan for portability of data (e.g. software needs to have a *good* export), so that I can take data from one piece of software to another (e.g. from one flashcard tool to another) rather than just to a new version of the Same Old Thing.
(3) Having a system that uses software that is being actively and aggressively developed usually offers better thought out features.
(4) The up-front cost (which I think tends to be ridiculously high, but that’s a sign of the Information Age) is so relatively small compared to the high monthly service plan cost as to be almost irrelevant, so I don’t want to over-focus on the up-front cost. International communication is very important to me.
(5) I’m looking for the best pieces of software that I can find for my high priority functions, so I’m putting a higher priority on software than hardware. How I interact with the device is basic and very important. (E.g., I hate typing on tiny buttons, so forget those devices.) Also, I have certain non-standard functional goals that are a very high priority, e.g., to have a *great* software tool for flashcard memorization that integrates with my laptop. Another very high priority is note-taking.
(6) Data synchronization with my laptop is a super high priority.
(7) Functions well for international travel.
(8) 1Cor. 7:31.
(9) Given the trade-offs posed by seemingly all PDAs, my goals may be best satisfied by two devices rather than one.
(10) I don’t want to fall into the rut of single solution thinking, so I am willing to learn a new approach if it fits my functional goals well.
These principles deliberately do not lead to a specific solution –that’s for you to figure out– but I hope that they help you think through to a solution that works for you.
I'm both a former Palm & Windows Mobile user. I went iPhone and would have a very difficult time going back to either. As an ex PC now Mac user I'm finally hitting my stride.
We’ll have a much better idea about what is going with Palm after CES this coming weekend. They are supposed to announce Nova, their new OS aimed at the “Prosumer”, which seems to mean anyone not using an Exchange server.
I have been a loyal Palm OS user for 10+ years and have not regretted it. I have kept pace with upgrades and Palm has served me well (current phone is a Treo 680, still supported and upgradeable).
However, I agree with the comments already posted that place more emphasis on software than hardware. If you are using Palm and have configured your sync process well, switching to Windows Mobile (or Nova??) should be fairly painless.
Bottom line: I like my Palm, but I feel no stress about the idea of switching OS because I know my important data is redundant (on my hard drive + SD cards) and could be easily synchronized with a different system. And I should be able to get at least a couple of bucks for my Treo on ebay when the time comes.
Yes 3,000 contacts is too many for a Windows Palm Treo!. When I purchased my Treo 700WX It kept freaking out, the store manager tired of replaceing my phone every three weeks called the techs, they told him the problem was I had more than 1000 contacts. Of course they were making that up because they couldn’t figure out what was wrong. But it started me trying to find and read all the Palm Trea Windows docs on contacts to prove them wrong. Spending a few hours searching for and reading thier Palm docs lead me to discover they were lying, limit is just over 10,000 contacts. In another document I found that trouble develops with more than 3,000 if you use voice dialing. I currently have 3,785, but have been at almost 5,000. Turned off voice dialing, phone no longer freaks out. I still find the phone SLOW to search at times, but not always. As for Online Bible don’t install the Hebrew or it will trash some of your in-call screen fonts. Phone has too many minor glitches to list. Buy a Blackberry…
I’m *so* enjoying reading these comments because I feel such a camaraderie with some of you fellow-strugglers! :-) I also think it’s incredible the way we’ve ended up finding usefulness in some of the same programs. I’ve settled on Pocket-Bible too. There are just a few glitches with my install (not sure if that’s something I did incorrectly or not), but already, the paradigm seems just a tad more advanced than the Laridian Palm Bible I was using before.
And Pocket Informant is *incredible*. I keep finding dimensions… I mean entire *dimensions* of usefulness that I never ever experienced in 15 years of Palm use. Yesterday after a 90-minute lunch with a missions committee, a couple of the participants said, “Shew… he sure packs a lot of information in that little phone of his.” The thing is, I’m still learning the software. (In fact, I carry around the printed manual in my briefcase. I catch snippets of it during take-offs and landings.) So — thanks for sharing your testimonies!!!
Does it make your wife nervous when you make switches like these from things you were once so dedicated to? :-)
My Centro is soooo much more stable in sync’ing than my 650 ever was.
:-) Hilarious. She has asked me about that many times, mostly with tongue in cheek. “Doug, the way you trade laptops, I’m shocked you haven’t tried to trade me in by now!” :-)
The truth is… I really don’t trade that often. Especially in the case of wives. :-) The break-in period would take so long! :-)
I hope you didnt jump board too soon! I, too, have been a Palm person for years, starting with the IIIe, but now with a Treo 680. I have had no problems really with Synching, no more than I have with Windows. Windows Mobilte has some advantages over the current Palm OS, but is not considered good by the professional evaluators. I just hope my next phone/PDA can be a Palm since I have so much invested in programs, etc. (Laridian included) I hope we are amazed by the Palm annoucement next week. Their new OS is supposed to be backward compatible as well as future oriented.
lmerlin, I’m with you, hoping I didn’t jump ship too early. But to be honest, I’ll admit — I think I’m enjoying Win Mobile 6.1. Here are a couple of things I like over Palm:
*** The Active Sync/Win Mobile Device Center service is *great* at syncing. I’ll enter an item on my to do list on the phone and within seconds it’s synching to Outlook — or vice versa. I’ll enter a contact in Outlook and instantly, the wheels start turning (syncing it to the phone).
*** To be honest, I kind of like all the control that the Windows Mobile registry is giving me. Palm is… well… Palm. Now that I see how Windows Mobile works, I wonder if Palm folks realize how many custom tweaks are possible on this side of the aisle. I’m *using* my phone … Pocket Informant… PhatNotes, Splash ID, and — I’m loving the faster speed I got, in general, with the HTC Pocket PC device that runs the latest EVDO Revision speeds. I’m now looking up things on Internet Explorer, Opera, and Skyfire probably 10 or 15 times a day. The guy at lunch tells me he’s headed to Togo, I instantly take out the phone and open up a Togo map. He’s so excited because he can show me on the map *exactly* where he’s heading. The guy across the table tells me he worked in the Maldives. I take the phone back out and pull up a Maldives map and he hunts down the little atoll he worked on. I loved Palm… but honestly, I’m *using* WinMobile, these speeds, this software, and this paradigm.
I might regret it later — but not yet.
I felt the same angst about losing Palm, and only got hooked on it 6 months ago. Windows Mobile was "kludgy" to me by comparison, so I bought the Centro. Couldn't make the *$&#! Palm sync software work, did some research and Missing Sync [ms] is working perfectly with Apple OSX, iCal and address book. Photos sync well, too, but haven’t figured out music yet. [ms] seems to be the sync tool that Palm should have written and included. I synced for 6 months with Windows XP and Palm software with no problem. Why the new stuff didn’t work is a mystery to me.
Cheers, fellow beggars…
iPod Touch! No fees and works like a Palm.
I have been a loyal palm user for many years now, but just made the switch when my palm would not stay digitized. There are so many functions my Ipaq does that I never dreamed of doing with my palm. Moving files between my desktop and IPAQ is super simple and extremely fast.
I have been using Fitaly for inputting info on my palm. It is available for pocket pc and works even better than before. Consider this if you hate qwerty with a stylus or those tiny buttons. It is very fast and easy to learn.