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| USER THOUGHT: Comparing WiFi |
| 09.25.04 (1:19 pm) [edit] |
Back to the Palm Addict Site
  Being a true PalmAddict, I now own both an Enfora WiFi unit and a PalmOne WiFi card for my T3. Each has their own advantage and disadvantage. While not a full review, I thought I would share a few thoughts on each after having used each side by side for a week.
Enfora Pros: Does not use memory card slot, has its own battery, case provides protection in one unit, charger can also charge the T3 PalmOne Pros: Small and portable, very fast, software includes VPN client
Enfora Cons: Big, not "pocketable", a bit slow by comparison PalmOne Cons: Takes memory card slot, power hungry (but easily used with Power To Go sled)
In actual use with VersaMail and WebPro each works nicely for me. I've used both in my office WiFi and home WiFi network with ease. The PalmOne card connection is really quick, probably because it is not going via the Universal Connector. There is sufficient memory on the T3 should I wish to download something with the PalmOne card then move it to a memory card later.
I am now seeking more networking software to make the use of my T3 wireless more versatile. I am using WiFi and this opens up an entirely new form of portability in my office setting. I've yet to put the VPN to use, but hope to try that this week. I would really be interested in trying to work with webpages on the Palm and FTP using the free software available for this purpose. I may try some things in Native Word and see how that works out.
Any suggestions from other PalmAddicts on how to maximize my WiFi experiences would be welcome. PA is THE place to share. Thanks Sammy and everyone else for the great work here.
- Kraig (Deposit, NY, US)
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| SOFTWARE: Always On |
| 09.11.04 (2:35 am) [edit] |
 If your tierd of your Palm device switching itself off all of the time after 3 minutes or so, then you should get yourself a copy of the freeware Always On. You decide when your Palm device switches off. You can download it from www.persicke.de.
Now you can determine when your Palm device swiches itself off whether its 10 minutes, 15 mins, 30 mins or 1 hour. Additionally you can also set it to remain "always on"
Now here is the warning. Remember that if you choose the "Always On" option then it will drain your battery and it warns you of this when you choose this option. It's a great application that I use and change the settings depending on my daily useage.
- Sammy (Manchester, UK)
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| SAMMY'S EDITORIAL: Nokia Communicator |
| 09.11.04 (2:26 am) [edit] |
I was talking yesterday about the Nokia Communicvator yesterday and last night I was playing around with it and I thought that I would share my experiences.The Communicator is pictured below.
It has a qwerty keyboard, a wide screen [color], and a full suite of applications including internet and email applications.
Now it runs Symbian and its also a mobile cell phone too. The device is a little thick when closed and I would not be able to carry it in a pocket. Open the clamshell device to reveal the keyboard. The keys are raised slighly allowing you to type quite quickly. The keys are not illuminated. The screen is bright and crisp and its a great feature of the device.
Now running the device is fine but I found memory to be the biggest problem. It would run slow if multiple applications were open and Opera web browser would not run if I had more than two other applications open. It does not come with Wifi and it is not bluetooth enabled. As I am used to WiFi it was quite slow at opening web pages as I had to use my BT internet account to surf web pages and download email. Frustrating when compared to a WioFi device.
So to conclude what would I give this out of ten? 3.5 out of ten. Why? Well the good points are that its a great clamshell device although a little thick. The keys are good for typing on but could be improved. I would like to see WiFi and Bluetooth intergrated [and of course Palm OS  ].
Now I see Nokia are introducing a Nokia Communicator 9500 which will have WiFi and Bluetooth built in. It also has an improved keyboard too. It looks good and I will try and get my hands on it when it is introduced towards the end of the year.
[Link - Nokia]
- Sammy (Manchester, UK)
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| SAMMY'S EDITORIAL: Netchaser |
| 09.11.04 (2:24 am) [edit] |
I wanted to talk about Netchaser for all those with a WiFi enabled Palm device. What can I say about Netchaser? Well its a great application that runs well on my Tungsten C that is used to track WiFi hotspots.
Now this is not intended for users to steal bandwidth from other users, although it does little to prevent you from doing so, however the way I look at it is that it helps you detect public access wifi hotspots. I also like driving to and from the office and picking up hotspots from the various networks across Manchester.
In New York the city is like one large blanket of WiFi hotspots. Netchaser does a great job of 'sniffing' out the various hotspots so you can take advantage of them. An example will be Bryrant Park, in Midtown, which is a public access area where you take your Palm or WiFi laptop and surf to your hearts content.
Netchaser can vibrate, bleep or enable the flashing ED at the top of the Tungsten C when entering a WiFi hotspot. At the same time it will start and scan as soon as you open the application if you so wish.
It's a low cost title priced at $12, available from Palmgear. There is also a free version, although it stipulates its shareware but works just as well called WiFile available from freewarepalm.
- Sammy (Manchester, UK)
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| SAMMY'S EDITORIAL: The Weather and my Palm |
| 09.10.04 (10:39 pm) [edit] |
 
I was always interested in the weather since as far I can remember. Living in the country with no building structures for miles and with views over the Atlantic Sea and facing west from Ireland gave me magnificent views and allowed me to see what weather fronts and cloud systems were destined to be passing over us. You could see at least 30 miles into the distance and I used to be able to time the weather fronts from the high cirrus clouds 12 hours before the rain to the stratus cumulus when the rains fell. Then you looked North West to see f you could see a clearing meaning the cold front had passed and you had some respite. I used to make weather observations every three hours and write them into a weather diary book, keeping them for years.
It was not until the mid 1990's that I started to back up the data on computer on my Mac at the time. I used a spreadsheet to enter the data. In 1998 I started to use my Palm device to enter the data. I used a spreadsheet and divided it into columns required for the task. It consisted of date, day, time, barometer pressure, trend [is pressure rising or falling, wind direction, wind speed, temperature, trend, low cloud type, cover, medium cloud type, cover, upper cloud type, cover. It then went onto Weather, visibility, and predicted forecast, which allowed me to predict using the conditions in the sky, ie cloud type and pressure observations and I merged this with the data on my Palm to make an educated guess. I wrote down every three hours, on the dot except for the 3am reading, the exact weather observations. As I am mostly busy I try to keep up with readings and enter them into my TC, backing it up with my Mac Powerbook.
The weather in the UK is nothing compared to that of other parts of the world. This year in the UK the weather has been terrible and it has only been the last few weeks were we have seen some sun. Now I have started to entering the data onto my Treo 600. It's small enough to fit in my pocket and I can go out and just with one thumb enter the data. Most of the data I collect consist of short words or numbers.
I have four or so years worth of data that I have collected on my Palm device that I have about weather observations for Southern Ireland and of course Manchester which is protected to a degree by the Pennine hills that dominate the spine of the UK. Little did I ever think 10 years or so ago that I would be able to computerize all my weather data onto a computer the size of one's hand, but guess what I have managed to do thanks to my Tungsten C and Treo 600.
- Sammy (Manchester, UK)
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| REVIEW: ClearScreen Protector Boxwave |
| 09.10.04 (10:37 pm) [edit] |
 Boxwave has sent us the ClearScreen Protector for the Palm. It helps to keep clean and undamaged the screen of the Palm. The screen protector comes in a small package, covered with plastic. In the back side it has the instructions, explained with photos on how to install de screen protector.
Before installing it, we must thoroughly clean the Palm Screen. By this, we will ensure that the screen will be free of hair, or any other small particle that can leave bubbles in the screen. It is recommended to clean the screen with a humid franel, specially in the sides, to ensure that the screen stas dust-free before installing the ClearTouch.
 Now, we open the package, and find that the protector comes with a plastic so as to protect the sticky side. Simply we remove the protection plastic, and begin to place the ClearTouch in the Palm, slowly so that we ensure that it is bubble free. For this we can use a credit card or something like it to remove any bubbles that form. The ClearTouch is really good, because it is not so flexible, so it is really difficult for bubles to form. The stylus moves easily thrugh the screen. It is worth of note that the touch of the protector and the stylus gives the 'feel' of paper nad pen. Also, the ClearTouch is specially made so as to not reflect light, and reduce in 90% UV rays reflected in the screen, says Boxwave's Website.
 To resume the review:
Reduces reflection.
Improves the rate of text input.
It is washable and reusable.
In case that it is not straight in the screen, it can be easily removed and placed again.
Instructions are easy and complete.
Without doubt, a must have for your Palm, and at 12.95 each, it SURE is worth it!!
- Jesus Vargas, Associate Writer, Mexico
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| REVIEW: Thumboard |
| 09.10.04 (2:56 am) [edit] |
 I’ve been getting to know Thumboard from Boris Raicheff. If positive support and friendly attitude is anything to go by, the product should be successful. Described as “the original Tungsten|T3 thumb keyboard”, it looks and sounds like a real qwerty keyboard and since I don’t own a portable keyboard, or even one of those new laser virtual keyboards from ibiz, maybe thumboard is what I need?
After uninstalling some conflicting hard key hacks on my T3 (for vmswich), I found thumboard very easy to use. You just go into any app where you want to type and activate keyboard using a hard key. Thumboard pops up and you can type away with a running screen above the keyboard to check on your way along. IT’s a bit like the very early wordprocessors where you had a single line of characters with a LCD to check your work. A nice touch is the return character that looks just like the one in a word processing document so there is real familiarity here. Interestingly, the screen orientation threw me the first time. Not only does it run in landscape mode, but it is the upside down landscape mode! I put that down to meaning that the keyboard would face the screen just like a regular set up.
The evaluation version is not crippled in any way except for a 21-day time-limitation. The program works as advertised although as an input utility, $14.95 might be a wee bit expensive but Release 1.1 is already in the works with new features and compatibility improvements free to registered users.
[Link - Palmgear]
- Paul Australia
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| SAMMY'S EDITORIAL: Treo 600 |
| 09.10.04 (1:28 am) [edit] |
Ten yars ago I never gave thought to a mobile cell phone. I was just starting the PDA path with a Psion device. Just over five years ago I started on the Palm trail [hence the start of Palm Addict in 1999], but still no consideration for a mobile phone. Today 2004 my cell phone comes everywhere with me and what is it? The Treo 600. A year ago, Palm Addict readers will vouch that I was confident I would never walk around with a Palm / cell phone combination. Even six months, the view was the same. Then a month ago, I was given the opportunity to loan a Treo 600 and I agreed with some hesitation. A week later I took the Treo 600 after using it for a week as a cell phone / Palm combination and gave it a permanent home thanks to PalmOne.
So how have I used the device since? Well just before I get onto that let me say, and you need to bear this in mind before reading on that ther Treo 600 is only used as a mobile Palm solution for me. It is a phone by nature and a Palm as a secondary device afterwards in regards to how I use the device.
The design is slick, and slim. When I opened the box on a Friday four weeks ago I never realized how slim it was. I expected it to be quite thick and I was happy to be wrong. I was shocked at how small the keyboard was but I had to accept that it was a phone, "Sammy how large do you want the keyboard to be?" was all that I kep thinking to myself. ell I got onto getting used to the device, put my sim card in, allowed it to charge. Got a handful of case and accesories and started playing with the thing.
I like the silver finish to the design. Yes the screen is slightly off centered but its brilliantly lit and the ketys are great to use especially in dim light.
The device is easily handled and can be carried around quite easily. It's light and firm at the same time. The camera, well what can I say? It's no where near as good as my Veo for the Tungste C but works out very well for taking the odd snapshot of my cats or taking peoples pictures for my phone book. The ring tones are cool and I like how I can click on a name and start dialing.
So thats just a general overview of my thoughts on the Treo 600. So what would I give this as a score out of ten? Probably 8.5. I need wifi in this pjhone if its ever ghoing to start to compete with the Tungsten C and I need a slight redesign of the keys to allow me to use it as a more conventional Palm device. Everything else on the device rocks. It's a solid investment, a great device and works well. It;s a pleasure to use and I have the unlocked version so that I could use my Orange sim card. By the way internet and email is great on this. Email is downloaded mighty quick and although it is slightly slower than wifi after time you tend not to notice.
- Sammy (Manchester, UK)
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| SAMMY'S EDITORIAL: Launcher III |
| 09.10.04 (12:58 am) [edit] |
 Now I wanted to write and talk about a very simple but elegant program in my opinion that I use as a Launcher. Normally I never use Lauchers, I'm do not dislike them but I do not download every laucher I can find, so if a piece of software grabs my attention and I find myself using it then I will want to write about it, and thats what happened to me when I discovered Launceher III.
It is not a recent program but it is well one that has served me well. It's a launcher and a launcher that I would not trade in for any other. Let me say that I find it so useful.
Like with many lauchers you can define the tabs and their pecking order. The tab I use daily is called "main"and it has my most common used applications in there such as Agendus, theives and Kings the game and Mo:Blog for updating PA on the go and when I am wireless. Xiino, the web browser are also there and of course Versamail as an email client.
At the bottom of the laucher are graphical information displaying Battery and Memory. I presently have 44% of my battery used up and lots of memort free. The battery dislay is very very important to me because it keeps me posted of how much power I have. There is of course the Date and Time display which periodically rotates at a predefined chosen time lap between date, day and of course the time. I have my alternating every nine seconds or so.
To the right of this bar of graphical buttons and information, I have a trash can allowing me to drag applications from the main launcher space into the trashbin for applications I no longer use. I have an infra red beam button next, which I tend to find that I do not use that often. There is also a file manager button next to the beam icon which dispplays my files from the largest applications to the smallest database files. Next we have a Power Off button. Tapping it automatically turns the device off, and finally we have the security button bringing up your devices security settings.
So why do I use quite an old Launcher program on my TC? Because it is simple, looks good and allows me to work the way I want to. I have to give this application 10 out of 10 for ease of use, and simplicity. Officially Launcher III has been discontinues its now Laucher X, but this is still my favourite, its also free and I personally find this easier to use
[Link - freewarepalm]
- Sammy (Manchester, UK)
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| SAMMY'S EDITORIAL: Tungsten C |
| 09.10.04 (12:33 am) [edit] |
 I thought I would touch upon why I like the Tungsten C and I have no doubt that it will start a series of posts referring to I want what Sammy has .
Needless to say that [IMHO] the Tungsten C is the best PDA device that I have ever used and this is a short and brief review to why. Lets start with shape. Firstly its good to hold in the hand. The stylus, of course slides into the right hand slider groove.The left hand side also has the slider groove for attaching to cases. The top has the IR port and the boottom has the serial connector. The keyboard is well designed with the keys spaciously apart from each other. The screen is well backlit and the circular button at the bottom of front is joined with four other buttons for Datebook, Contacts, Mail and Web. I still like the old Palm logo button which sits at the top of the front section of the device.
The reverse of the device houses the speaker. The speaker is not the best with music etc sounding "tinny" at best, but it serves well.. You also find the reset button too. The stylus is quite thick and has a screw off end which houses a pin to use for resets. Very well thought.
Now onto the operating of the device. The On/Off switch is on the right hand side of the device, close to the stylus and unfortunatly can be accidently switched on or off. You have to get used to that. So after powering on the device, I am met by launcher screen where in my "Main" tab I have my most commonly used applications which are Calc, hbloggr, Memo Pad, NetChaser, NotePad, Photos, Prefs, pTunes Pyramid, Spell5, TealScript, Veo 130s, VeriChat, VersaMail, Wi-Fi Setup and the web browser Xiino.
The screen is beautifully lit in my opinion and I never have any problems using it in outdoor light thank goodness.
Web surfing and checking email is fast on this thing when used with a WiFi hotspot of which I have two, one in my apartment and one in my office. I use the Xiino web browser because too me and again in my opinion I find it somewhat faster that web pro or Blazer however I used to be a massive Blazer fan.
Regarding the use of the Tungsten C, well it comes with me everywhere. I carry it in a Proporta case book style which has served me well over the last 12 months. It's protected there and I have room for credit cards and SD cards should I need to use them. I will say that the processor speed on the TC is blazing fast and the devices comes with generous amounts of memory. Personally I have never had a memory problem with the TC.
As I was saying this device comes everywhere with me, whether its to my office or out on the town. I have listed all my contacts in there and of course Agendus which I touched upon yesterday houses all my appointments and more importantly my to-do's.
So there you have it, just the reasons why I love my Tungsten C and if I have to give this a score out of 10 I would give it 9.5, with it letting itself down on sound. Apart from that its the best PDA that I have ever used.
- Sammy (Manchester, UK)
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| SAMMY'S EDITORIAL: Countdown |
| 09.09.04 (4:16 am) [edit] |
I thought I would just write a few thoughts about a fun game that I downloaded off PalmGear last week called Countdown. Now Countdown is a Palm variation of the UK TV programme coincidentally called Countdown. As regular Palm Addict readers will know over the years I am a sucker for word games. In fact probably about two years ago Palm Addict readers will remember my addiction to the scrabble variation for Palm and its predecessor called Wiggle. Obviously I have phases of playing games, text twist is a big favourite and I know it is a big favourite with Lindsey who uses it on her own Palm device and steals my Tungsten C to play the game and now I have been playing recently the Palm game Countdown.
So just a run down on what Countdown is you have to choose a series of nine letters consisting of consonant and vowels. It is down to you to choose the selection and the computer named in this case is after Carole Vorderman off Countdown selects the letters. The letters are chosen at random however as I say you chose whether you want a consonant or a vowel. You then get 30 seconds to make the longest word out of the letters selected. You compete against the Palm device and whoever gets the longest word obviously wins points for that particular game. It is fun and actually very realistic. The developer has put a lot of time into to graphics and because the graphics are high extreme this game really runs better on Palm devices with higher processing speeds.
Once your 30 seconds are up you are then asked to display your word and the Palm computer device does the same too. Whoever has the longest word that's within the dictionary obviously wins that round.
Countdown also consists of a number game which is a mathematical equation where you chose a series of numbers the computer randomly picks the number and you have to use the numbers that you have chosen to come up with a sum that equals the number chosen by the computer. Sounds confusing it really isn't it is probably just the way that I have written it.
Countdown is a very good game, it is trivial it only costs something like $5 available from PalmGear. And I have been playing it now for two weeks and I have successfully beat the computer on ..... one occasion sounds rubbish yes it probably is but it is a good game it is one of those games that you play on a quiet moment. What would I give this out of ten well I would give this game ten out of ten. This games doesn't have any short comings, it is fun it is $5 which I think is definitely worth the money and most of all it is a fun fun game.
[Link - Palmgear
- Sammy (Manchester, UK)
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| SAMMY'S THOUGHT: Agendus for Palm thoughts |
| 09.09.04 (1:44 am) [edit] |
I wanted to do a very quick review of Agendus for Palm, the standard addition that I have been using for the last couple of weeks. I have been used to in the past Datebk5 and I am not going to start doing a comparison between the two but I just want to initially get my thoughts down on paper of what I think of Agendus for Palm for Palm. Initial impressions make me think that this is a great application with powerful functions. I have been comfortably able to use this without any problems running my day to day diary. Lindsey uses it too because she updates my diary on a daily basis and takes my Tungsten C and actually updates it or syncs it with her PC which then syncs automatically to my Tungsten C and she double checks to make sure that my diary events are in my Agendus. When you look at the view bar at the bottom of the Palm screen is divided up and I will go through these one by one in a moment but lets start on the daily view, the daily view is split into times which you can change accordingly, I have mine set from 8am through to 8pm with the majority of things that I need to do, and appointments can then be updated in the bottom of the screen there is a to do panel which can help you customise to fit whatever amount of the screen you desire. With this I can add new to do's with categories or I can select appointments add to them, create or delete accordingly again all in a daily view so having your to do's in the same screen on your daily view as the rest of your appointments to me is essential. I am not one of those people who likes to go into a different to do application and then back into their main diary application. Second view that I wanted to touch on is the weekly view again this is divided up into seven blocks I have Sunday starting off as my first day of the week ending obviously with a Saturday and this obviously shows a breakdown of the appointments that you have for the week ahead. A very good view that you can also select to having a list view, a grid view as I said that is divided up into seven blocks, a two week grid view where you get two weeks on the same screen at a glance again which is excellent or my favourite screen which is the hourly seven day week grid screen which has the seven days a week horizontally and with the times of the day going down the page. This is my favourite because then you see a block out of appointments that you have for the week so you can navigate around your free time accordingly. The third tab I wanted to touch is the month view. The month view is excellent because we have the days of the week at the top and obviously your appointments, dates of notice are all marked on the month grid view very easy on the eye and it is good to have as a calendar you can also have standard icons or clocks fitted into each day which shows you what times you are busy during the day. Again the month view can be customised accordingly. The next view is the quarter view which gives three months glance. Even though this is a good view, call me a little slow, it doesn't have the days of the week on the top. I know it is pretty easy by saying Sunday is going to the be the first number and then common sense would dictate the next day would be a Monday etc. I am one of those people who likes to have the days of the week on the top of the screen so it is easy to navigate. That is my only disappointment with the screen. You go along to the next tab and it lists your to do's for the next seven days or if you wish or you can select at the top and define how many to do's you want to fit on the screen as well as another ore-defined tab which tells you the appointments that you have and significant events forthcoming. The last tab along is one of my favourites which is of course the contacts. The contacts are all defined in letter form or grouped in alphabetical order which you can find the tab at the top of the page. And you can just select the letter that you want accordingly, alternatively you can just type or write in the first couple of letters and obviously the name that corresponds to those letters will appear on the screen.
So finally what do I think for Agendus for Palm standard addition. I think it is excellent. It is not as powerful as Datebk however that can be a disadvantage because it has so many features that for me I just want something that is powerful but is easy to navigate and use and Agendus for Palm fits the bill for me. Would I pay the money for it? Yes without a shadow of a doubt it is a great application it is something that I use daily and has not let me down. I recommend this application just add in days of the week for the month view and this application will be complete for me. If I had to rate it out of ten then I give Agendus for Palm 9 out of ten it losses just the one mark obviously for missing the days of the week because I am one of those people who uses the yearly and quarterly view on a frequent basis. However remember this is my opinion and my opinion is going to be different from everybody else's so just bear that in mind if you are considering Agendus for Palm.
[Link - Agendus]
- Sammy (Manchester, UK)
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| REVIEW: SysInfo |
| 09.08.04 (9:17 am) [edit] |
 I would like to talk about an application that I have on my Palm device called SysInfo. SysInfo gives you a general over view of what is happening on your Palm device there are six categories that you can press and reference. They are Device, Battery, Memory, Palm OS, Off Time and Files. So lets click on Device, Device brings up the processor that you have for your Palm device and on my Tungsten C it is the Xscale. It tells me what the performance is which is 385mhz and also tells me what the clock speed is which reads at 100% in the top right hand corner there is a little eye symbol for information on that page which you can very easily refer to but it's a good general reference as to the process and speed on your Palm device. Then clicking onto to Battery it gives a graphical battery image of how much power you have in your Palm device and at the moment mine is around about 20% full, mainly because Lindsey has been playing Test Twist this morning. It also gives a warning voltage and a critical voltage symbol as well. This is good obviously just for checking the battery status for your Palm device at the present time. Clicking on Memory does exactly what you think it does and just tells you your memory capacity on your Palm device I have 22.8 megabites free on my Palm device which is quite good considering I have a lot of programs on there I also have an SD card as well which has and contains both MP3 tunes and photographs as well. Again there is an information icon at the top right hand side in case you want to know more about that particular tab and what it means. Palm OS is the next tab which shows you the other version of the Palm Operating System you have on your Palm as well as whether you have a security password on the device too, a useful tab built in SysInfo is Off Time which allows you to set whether you want your Palm to switch itself off, on my Palm device I have always on and then I manually configure it if I need to, you have the options of anywhere between 30 seconds and a continuous always on. Last but not least is the Files tab which tells you roughly what your files are made up off 25% of my files are persistent files whilst it contains a good graphical brake down of the files that you have on your Palm device and what percentage they make up.
In all SysInfo is a good application it tells me what is going on underneath the hood of the device whilst at the same time it lets me monitor how much battery and memory I have. I am sure that there are Freeware options available however this is a shareware application and allows you a free trial to test the program to test whether or not you like it. You can download the trial and use the program by downloading from PalmGear in all if I had to give a percentage out of ten I would give it eight out of ten its weaknesses are the fact that I would like it to give a warning symbol and display a graphical time and display a percentage of how much battery you have left in your Palm at the top of the screen. This gets eight out of ten and it would be ten out of ten if it was free. However I think for the power user this is a good application and anything that allows you to keep an eye on the way your Palm works is certainly a good thing.
[Link - Palmgear]
- Sammy (Manchester, UK)
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| Proporta cases and a trip to the dentist |
| 09.08.04 (6:43 am) [edit] |
Okay, I'll admit it. I have been drooling this evening, but it's not due to my trip to the dentist for a regular cleaning that made me do it... ;-) I credit this problem entirely to a much anticipated package I found when arriving home tonight. It contained not one, but two new cases for my Tungsten E. I was so excited! I spent the next hour trying them both out, reading the literature...and salivating over them. :-) Today I'll share my first review with you, and I'll save the other for later this week (so keep your eye out for it). I'm including a few pictures so you can see how cool it is...but they just don't do justice to it -- ya just gotta get your hands on it!
Case #1: Proporta's Alu-Leather Flip Case
What I Like Most
I was immediately impressed with the beauty of this case. It has a really classic look, and is crafted from very nice, soft black leather with white stitching. The magnetic clasp makes it so easy to close (even if you aren't looking at it, so it would work great in the dark too). I slid my TE onto the hinge and popped my extra SD card into one of the two SD card slots -- in which it fit very nicely.
One of the most unique features of the Alu-Leather case is it's "Screen Saver" system. The cover protects your PDA using layers. Layer 1 is leather, layer 2 is aluminum, layer 3 is Plastic, layer 4 is foam and the final layer is leather. The case is amazingly compact and offers the beauty of leather combined with the "rigid protection of aluminum." A bonus is a space between the aluminum layer and the outside leather cover where you can store a credit or business card.
Another nice feature is the fully removable belt clip. On the back of the case is a little screw that I was able to easily remove using a fingernail (a ladies favorite tool :-)). Then I just as quickly screwed in the belt clip stud, put on the clip and was good to go...
The features of the Alu-Leather Flip Case
+ A beautiful, classic leather case with elegant contrast overstitching
+ Advanced “Screen Saver” system -- a traditional leather case with the rigid protection of aluminum
+ In-case access to PDA functions including synchronisation port, infrared port, stylus and stereo output
+ MMC/SD card storage slots for two (2) cards
+ Secure magnetic clasp closure
+ Removable credit card module
+ A fully removable belt clip
 + Vehicle mountable -- attaches to the "Magnetic Vehicle Docking Mount" (a lever-activated suction mounting system that will attach securely to your vehicle windshield without tools or screws -- read more info. HERE)
Alu-Leather Case Options
+ The Alu-Leather case is available as a flip-case, or as a book-style case
+ The Alu-Leather case is available for the following PalmOne PDAs: Zire 71/72/31, Tungsten C/E/W/T/T2/T3, m5xx/m1xx
Personally, I think Proporta makes wonderful, quality products for PDAs. They offer many different products, including a great selection of cases. I highly recommend their products, based on my personal experience! (And they are great supporters of Palm Addict as well.)
- Cindy Aten, Associate Writer (Dorr, MI, US)
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| USER REVIEW: GoSync |
| 09.08.04 (6:42 am) [edit] |
What it is:
This program is a companion to your HotSync manager. Sometimes you may not want to sync everything you have. For example do you really want to synch Avantgo every time or maybe you just updated a document in word and you want to update it on your Palm without going through the whole sync process. Well GoSync is a program that allows you to choose which programs will sync much quicker than opening the HotSync manager
What I like about it:
1. Easy to use: GoSync allows you to turn off a program's conduit with the simple click of a button. It sits in your system tray, one click brings up a list of the conduits with the active ones have a mark in a circle beside them. Want to turn off Avantgo? Just click the circle beside its name and it's off, click ok and sync. Easy!
2. Saved Profiles: There may be a few different types of synchronization you want to do. For example I have a Quickoffice only setup that syncs, obviously, only Quickoffice. I also have a Handbase only setup a none setup and an all. You can setup any type of profile you want and save it so one click will activate or deactivate many conduits at once.
3. Set up: This program is easy to install. I have Windows 98 and XP and it works perfectly on both and the setup program runs flawlessly. To install., all you have to do is run the program, it handles the rest.
4. Overall time saving: I love that I don't have to go through syncing everything all the time. This program is quick and makes me quick...well at least less slow :-)
What I don't like:
1. The Look: Okay it doesn't have to be pretty and well, it's not
2. Error in XP: My wife and I use the same computer for our office work. When she logs on GoSync gives an Out Of Memory reading and closes. This is not a big deal, just annoying and she always thinks she's done something to the computer.
Conclusion:
This is a really good solid program. It does what it says it will, nothing fancy but dependable. And it saves me going into the HotSync Manager and turning each conduit off...I hate doing that!
Dave
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| USER REVIEW: Songbook 1.4 |
| 09.08.04 (6:41 am) [edit] |
 USER REVIEW: Songbook 1.4
What is it:
This is a great piece of software for guitar players who want to carry the lyrics and chords for their favourite songs wherever they go. It is a very well designed programs and in my case, essential to my songwriting. The developer is very responsive and is always looking to develop his program. You can find Songbook here http://www.linkesoft.com/songbook/" title="http://www.linkesoft.com/songbook/" target="_blank"http://www.linkesoft.com/song....
What I like about it:
1. Ease of use: One of my main uses for this program is to enter the songs I write into it. It's very easy to insert chords with very few strokes and you can place in exactly the right place above a word to make playback more accurate
2. The Look: Though there is nothing spectacular about the look it is very uncluttered and it's easy to see the lyrics and the chords
3. Customization: You can customize a lot of things in this program. You can change the font size of the lyrics, the chords, and the tabs as well as the color of any of them. What is really cool is that you can change the tuning...see the next point
4. Tuning: So you don't play the standard tuning? Play in Open G instead? Songbook can adjust to other tunings as well as slight altering of the pitch. Now here is the cool part. Once you change to another tuning, Songbook adjusts the chord diagrams to reflect that tuning. It's a great way to learn chords in alternative tunings.
5. Chord database: Recently LinkeSoft increased and already extensive chord database even more. There are tons of versions of each chord and you can add your own into the database as well.
6. Transpose: Don't like the key the song is in? Easy transpose it to another key and voila, Songbook changes the chords to reflect the transposition and now you know how to play Tutti Fruitti when Aunt Bertha has had a bit too much wine and forces you to get your guitar...oops to much disclosure :-)
7. Auto Scroll: I have not had a lot of time to try this but it's a cool feature. It's a pain in the but to have to reach over and press the down button in the middle of a song. Kind of like having to turn the page to see the rest of the chords. Well in Songbook you don't have to do that they added Auto Scroll and it works great. There is even a way to add the tempo of auto scroll you use into the song so it scrolls at that speed the next time you play it.
8. Expansion card Support: This program handles cards extremely well. It is very easy to move them back and forth between the card and RAM
9. Chord Pro friendly: Chordpro is an now industry standard form of putting chords and lyrics together. Songbook can accept Chordpro
formatted songs in as well saving them onto your desktop in Chordpro ready form (need the free desktop add in form LinkeSoft).
10. Song Display: The songlist area is simple and great. It shows the name of the song, the band who performed it and whether it's on the card or not.
What I don't Like:
1. Slight card handling issue: This is very minor but if you edit a song that is on your card, it moves it into RAM and leaves it there after you have finished editing. I'd like it to just move it back onto the card
Conclusion:
There really isn't much to not like about this program. It is great for just learning to play songs and it's also fabulous as a writing tool. I highly recommend this program.
- Dave
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| REVIEW: Rayman Expansion Card |
| 09.08.04 (6:40 am) [edit] |
Summary: I give this game an optimistic 7. It's a fun and simple game, but it sorely needs to be in hi-res. Also, the packaging doesn't make much sense for most users.
The good:
1. Well, it's a good game. The little guy runs around hitting, jumping, avoiding, etc. It's simple to learn, challenging to master. I kinda like the character, too.
2. The interface is simple and helpful. It's all game, and not much preparation. The SD card works as a plug-and-play device, launching itself automatically when it is inserted into the Palm's slot.
3. The handling is decent, and the game has its own clock, so it runs at the same speed on a T615C as on a T3.
The bad:
1. Low-resolution. This is an insult to the past two years of PalmOS advances. How could PalmOne market a game that makes the best new screens look, well...old? This takes a fun game down 3 points in this review. And I'm being generous.
2. Poor marketing. I don't know if this makes any sense from a marketing perspective, but to sell a Palm game as an SD card is both logistically silly and unnecessarily expensive. You pay more because you have to buy the card itself and then pay for its shipment, but you don't get any more product. And the card has just enough flash memory to support the game, with only about 600 Kb left over. So you can't use the card for anything other than playing the game. Why anyone would want a Palm game that has to be shipped and takes up physical space is beyond me. To have more than one SD card means that you can't travel with just one inside your device. And all that work just to play a low-res game! Anyway, it doesn't make sense to me.
Conclusion:
For Treo 600 users, or those with old m515 devices and the like, this isn't such a bad idea. It takes up no RAM memory, and looks great for a low-res game. Kids with the parent's old device will like this game in particular. It appealed to the kid in me. :) It's just that, well...it would be amazing in hires.
- Haviv, Associate Writer
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| USER REVIEW: Colorize |
| 09.08.04 (6:39 am) [edit] |
 Want more color choices on your Palm? Want to get them for free? You should try Colorize!
Overview:
Colorize, created by Christopher Antos, is available for free from FreewarePalm.com. It works on any color device using Palm OS v.3.5 or higher, including Tungsten T devices. Last update was March 2, 2003 (v3.1a).
What I like about Colorize
- It gives me the ability to change the look of my Palm quickly
- The ability to edit/create color themes based on my personal color preferences
- Small size, only 29k
Features/Configurability:
- Colorize (drop-down menu) -- choose from a large set of preset color themes
- Default -- choose 8 bits or 16 bits
- Import/Export -- color themes from memopad, edit them, or beam to other people
- Edit -- edit the current color theme to create your own version, you can set colors for specific areas using the following tabs...
- Forms: form frame and background, dialog frame and background, alert frame and background
- Menu: frame, background, text, selected background (bkgrd) and selected text
- Object: frame background, text, selected background (bkgrd) and selected text
- Field: background, text, selected background (bkgrd), selected text, lines and Caret
- Misc.: FEPRawBack, FEPRawText, FEPCvtBack, FEPCvtText, FEPLines,
- Okay, Caution and Warning (not sure what this category relates to)
- i (info box) at top left of the edit menu gives some tips
What I DON'T like about Colorize
- No explanation of some options in edit mode (see note under Misc. above)
- Lacks clear direction for import/export options
- Export causes my T|E to display a fatal alert and need a reset
I don't use import/export since I am perfectly happy with all the color options built in to Colorize. Here's to a more colorful Palm!
- Cindy A.
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| USER REVIEW: Legacy |
| 09.08.04 (6:38 am) [edit] |
 Legacy 1.03 by Redshift
http://www.redshift.hu/legacypalmfr.htm" title="http://www.redshift.hu/legacypalmfr.htm" target="_blank"http://www.redshift.hu/legacy...
Summary:
I give this game an 8. It's a good implementation of the classic turn-based role-playing game. Unfortunately, besides the graphics, there's nothing to distinguish it from every other such game.
Good:
1. The graphics, for a Palm, are pretty cool. Although many other companies are also pushing the envelope in graphics on PDAs, Legacy can stand with the best of them.
2. The beginning of the game serves as an excellent tutorial. Many RPG games drop you off somewhere assuming you'll know what to do. This game doesn't.
3. The beginning is easy, but don't let that fool you...
4. Some extras are pretty neat, such as the card game in the inns...that could sell as a game all on its own.
5. Like Warfare Incorporated, this game makes excellent use of larger screens, even in landscape mode. In fact, it loses something on the 320x320 screen on my wife's Clie.
The bad:
1. You can't customize the original character. This includes picking profession, gender or name. Nothing. You can hire specific characters later on, thus choosing the professions in your party, but still not names or specialties.
2. Battery drain is horrendous. This is both because the game is absorbing and can be played for a long time without noticing, and because it is so graphics-intense.
3. There's no diary or log to record things you need to remember. The characters say important things, but you can't write it anywhere. This should be added to the game.
4. In actual gameplay, it's just plain ordinary.
This is the prettiest RPG out there. But so what? Dragon Bane and Kyle's Quest already existed...this is just a better-looking Dragon Bane. To get a 10 in my review, you'd have to add real puzzles, not just hiding things behind moving panels. And you'd have to incorporate something along the lines of the battle sequences in Medieval Heroes. Or add a three-dimensional component to the game (i.e., up). Or maybe set it in a historically accurate world (a la Darklands). For a game that falls under the category of "newest and greatest," it just isn't all that new, or all that much better.
For a game to sell (especially at $20), and to be truly "great," it has to be original. The card game in the inn, for instance, made this game a lot better...it's just new. Why is the final score so low? Because this game is a repeat. Why so high? Because within the limited scope of a first-person turn-based RPG, it is excellent.
Score 8/10
- Haviv
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| ESCAPE = total addictive |
| 09.08.04 (6:37 am) [edit] |
INITIAL THOUGHT: If your wanting a game that is sickly addictive such as Bejeweled or another game which pulls you into just constant playing then I am going to tell you now that you do not want to buy Escape, because its simply ADDICTIVE .
OBJECTIVE: Shaun sent me a copy of Escape over the weekend and I tried it yesterday and I have to admit that I could not put it down. I know that sounds quite corny but it is a game which naturally becomes addictive after you have played it after a certain amount of time. You are constantly trying to beat your high score which is good thing because I like games which let you know your time, speed or high score enabling you to try harder. Escape is a very simple concept where you have to click and navigate a red block carefully moving it around the screen whilst avoiding all the blue blocks on display. Your time is then tracked. It could very easily be a MENSA test but is simple to grasp but equally addictive. Your time is then recorded and as soon as you hit a blue block, your time is then displayed.
CONCLUSION: An addictive game, with a simple design and concept. This will keep you playing for hours. Your mind thinks that Escape is a simple game however after playing for some time you will find that the concept is a little more difficult. I am going to naturally gives this 10 out of 10, because I am not allowed to mark it down for the amount of hours that were wasted yesterday by playing this game ;-) To conclude, simply addictive, extremely inexpensive, at just $2.95, with a percentage going to the running of PDA247 and Save There Children, well worth the money.
Escape is available from http://www.clieuk.co.uk/escape.htm" title="http://www.clieuk.co.uk/escape.htm" target="_blank"http://www.clieuk.co.uk/escap...
- Sammy
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| USER REVIEW: NoviiAnimator |
| 09.08.04 (6:36 am) [edit] |
 Summary: I give this program a 5. It does its job well enough, but who needs it? I got this program for free in a once-in-a-blue-moon giveaway, along with MobileDB. So obviously I was very excited at first. The program retails at $20, so it must be pretty cool, right? Sort of.
The good:
1. Well, it's a decent, um...animating program. It does the minimum that such a program might need to do.
2. It's good for a Palm-based presentation. Think: cartoon PowerPoint on your Palm. I guess someone might use it that way if they're trying to sell their idea to their parents. Don't try it in a board room. And if you need serious professional sketching ability on your Palm, try the CAD clones.
3. New frames have the picture of the last frame, so that editing them across several frames is easy.
The bad:
1. Honestly, I think this counts as silly-ware. I'm sure someone out there needs the ability to draw a cartoon frame-by-frame, but who?
2. It doesn't help you much in drawing the cartoon. The
interface is simple...too simple. This program would be a thousand times more efficient with an "automated motion" feature. You could draw a line, designate a spin or other motion, and it would happen automatically as you create more frames.
Conclusion: It's not terrible, but it's not that great, either. There are no serious graphical tools in here, and not too many basic drawing tools, either. In other words, to really use this program, you have to be a naturally talented sketcher, and to like drawing on a 2-inch screen. All this program really does is create the frame effect. Who will buy this program? Grandparents might put it on their Palms for their grandkids to leave them cute cartoons. Parents might put it on their children's Palms to inspire their creativity. In other words, it's for kids and possibly the rare gadgeteer sketch artist. If you're not one of these, you probably won't use it.
NoviiAnimator is available at http://www.novii.com/animator/" title="http://www.novii.com/animator/" target="_blank"http://www.novii.com/animator...
- Haviv
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| Mobile DB.com |
| 09.08.04 (6:35 am) [edit] |
If you like lists, trivia, sports, history, etc. or are a database-user -- you should take a look at MobileDB.com. It's pretty amazing, and downloads are free! MobileDB is a software by Handmark, and a free trial is available. It is available at most major Palm software sites -- see earlier review.
What I like about MobileDB.com
- Handmark offers a free trial, so you can use it to take a look at the database lists that most interest you!
- The remarkable number of database lists (1600+)
- The diversity/variety -- sports schedules (including the 2004 Olympics schedule), zipcodes, pantry list,
- baby needs, train schedules, windchill charts... the lists just keeps on going.
I personally have used: Food Nutrition Database, (3) 800# lists for Hotels, Rental Cars and CC/Travelers Chks, Anniversary gifts, Month Information (flowers, stones, etc.), AAA Auto Club Discount Database, It's A Wonderful Life Trivia.... and more.
Overview
Database lists can be viewed by: Title, Rating, Downloads, Most popular, the search library...
Or from a list of categories which include:
- All categories (1634 items)
- Business (65 items)
- Career (6 items)
- Community (70 items)
- Computer (109 items)
- Engineering (41 items)
- Entertainment (139 items)
- Food & Nutrition (42 items)
- History (35 items)
- Language (9 items)
- Law and Government (29 items)
- Math & Science (56 items)
- Medicine (50 items)
- Miscellaneous (102 items)
- Palm-Related (7 items)
- Philosophy (0 items)
- Religion (39 items)
- Sports (662 items)
- Travel (167 items)
What I don't like...
Too many items are categorized as miscellaneous. I would like to see them add a category for home-related database lists. Other than that, I think it's wonderful!
- Cindy A.
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| Hearts |
| 09.08.04 (6:34 am) [edit] |
 Matching Hearts is a free game for Valentines Day from Absolutist.com (Pocketroom.com), a website that has games for several different platforms, including Palm. The game works on PalmOS 5 and Sony Clie devices and has high-resolution graphics (320x320). Important: see the download page for the correct version to download for your device. http://pocketroom.com/palm/hearts/" title="http://pocketroom.com/palm/hearts/" target="_blank"http://pocketroom.com/palm/he...
What I like about Matching Hearts
- Its free, and if you register play is unlimited
- Its fun for people of all ages (different skill levels)
- The sound, volume, interface and game effects are fabulous -- and I like all the options!
- Top player online contest -- not that I'll ever use it, but I like to see their scores (~:
Overview
When the game starts, the board is filled with different colored hearts. The goal is to get a high score by removing as many hearts as possible from the board. Click on a group of at least two hearts of a certain color -- this will cause all neighboring hearts of that color to burst. The remaining hearts shift upwards or to the center to fill the gap (if possible). The more hearts that explode, the more points you get.
Configurability options
- Skill levels: Novice, Expert, Master
- Sound Volume: Low, Medium, High
- Interface Effects: Off, Low, High
- Gameplay Effects: Off, Low, High
- Autorun (starts the game when you open the program/skips menu)
- Effect reminder -- if you don't use Autorun, this reminds you of your effects settings
What I DON'T like about Matching Hearts
What's not to like? Free, cool, animated interface, fun! Seriously, the only thing I would be an option to turn the sound completely off. That way I could play it whenever, and wherever...
- Cindy A.
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| POP |
| 09.08.04 (6:33 am) [edit] |
 In a nutshell:
This is an cool program that allows you to instantly paste words or phrases into whatever program you are in. It is made by http://www.digitalglyph.com/pop.html" title="http://www.digitalglyph.com/pop.html" target="_blank"http://www.digitalglyph.com/p... and there is a version for OS5. I've used this program for years though since I stopped opening the slider often I don't use it as much. Basically you make lists of often used words and phrases and then with a certain pen gesture (e.g. stroke from the home button to the graffiti area) the list gets called up, you select the word and it pastes in at the cursor. It can even do commands like name lookup or insert a date in a variety of formats.
What I like about it:
1. Organization of lists: You can make subfolders which contain words of specific types. For example I have a music folder which has often used musical terms and phrases.
2. Ease of editing lists: You can export your list as a Doc file, edit it and then import it back in. This is a very fast way of expanding and organizing your list
3. Inserting the time and/or Date: Pop! Allows you to insert the date or time or both very quickly I use it if I need to log something into the note section of an address, it's a real quick way to do a time stamp.
4. Seamless Use: The program is very unobtrusive and as soon as you activate it, it pops up and immediately pastes the word in once you've clicked it. I've never had an error using this program.
What I don't like:
1. I wish there was a good way to activate this program with the slider closed but I haven't found a way yet, still looking though
Conclusion:
This a great little program to speed up entry of common phrases. I love using it at work because I have all the names of the people I work with and it makes it very easy to enter their name in. I rarely see anything written about and it surprises me because I always felt it was one of the most useful programs I've ever bought.
- Dave
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| Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide |
| 09.08.04 (6:32 am) [edit] |
 In A Nutshell: This a pretty good movie guide for your Palm. I originally bought it because my wife and I really love foreign films and there is a pretty extensive list of them in this guide. It has some really great features and some things I don't like. But there has been a number of times when I've been in the middle of Blockbuster trying to figure out what to rent, suddenly remember the movie guide, problem solved.
What I like about the program:
1. Comprehensive movie info: Like the paperback, the book has tons of reviews and ratings of movies. It also has info on the film stock, the stars, the director etc. You can jump from a particular movie to the director's filmography or the cast's or even the country's
2. List options: You have a lot of different list options, by year, by rating. You can select the most popular movies by genre (as determined by users of the Internet Movie Database www.imdb.com). You can select 'My Movies' which shows the movies you say you want to rent or buy.
3. Film Finder: There are a variety of parameters you can use to find a film; title, year, rating, genre, starring, director, awards, attributes or any combination of them. I use this if I'm looking for films from a particular country.
4. Events: LMMG comes with a conduit that will download the latest (with internet connection)DVD release dates, film premieres and film festivals, a great way to keep up with what's coming up.
5. My Movies: I like that I have the ability to keep a list of the movies I want to buy or rent. I can even keep track of when a movie is due back. And you can set a reminder alarm to tell you to return the movie.
6. Five way button usage: The program is pretty good at allowing you to control a lot through the 5 way. It's not perfect but you can easily choose a movie to view a synopsis then go back and chose another or skip to the next one on the list.
7. Memory card usage: You can put a most of the program, including the data, onto a memory card, the program manages movement back and forth from the card. This means the program takes up very little space in RAM.
What I don't like:
1. Almost too much: There is a lot to look at in this program and sometimes it's difficult to keep track of what you do where. If you don't use this program a lot, it's easy to forget some of the features.
2. Five way button: I know I just said I like it and I do, the only thing is that when you select a movie to read the synopsis, there is no way to view the stars without using your other hand, it would be nice if when you scroll to he bottom of the synopses, it goes to the list of stars instead of the next film. Pressing the right rocker take you to the next movie anyway.
3. Updating movie status: I would like to see an easier way to update the status of the films in the 'My Movies' category. Now you have to go all the way to the 'Edit Movies' section just to change the status to rented, or whatever. Would be nice if you could alter the status on the main screen.
4. Events: Even though I like the Events feature, it doesn't seem to be all that up to date. I just synced my Palm and the DVD release dates and Film Premieres only go up to last week, I would expect they should go a little bit ahead of time (at least a month)
5. Visually speaking: It's rather dull in the way it looks, not that it has to be super colorful but it does seem dull.
Conclusion: This program packs a lot of information and manages that information very well. I love the way they designed it to go on the card. There is a lot to this program so some features you may never use but it is a great resource to have if you rent or buy videos.
- Dave
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| Today 2.1 |
| 09.08.04 (6:31 am) [edit] |
 Today is an easy to use freeware program that was created by Jonas Lindsfelt for his own use, he then decided to share with other PalmOS users via Palmgear.com. It has a 4star rating, and 98,000+ copies have been downloaded from Palmgear.com as of today
What I like about Today 2.1:
- A quick view of all the information I need for the day, and easy to use
- A launcher for 5 of my most-used applications.
- Nice selection of skins available -- my favorites include Notepaper, Have a Nice Day and Peanuts
- Size: 285k (not bad considering all it does!)
Overview:
- Day -- by day of week, month, day and year, time of day and week of year
- Appointments - lists by appointment text, and start to finish time
- Messages - lists unread and unsent messages
- Tasks -- lists number of active tasks, number of high priority and number overdue
Configurability options (Menu/Preferences):
- Categories -- choose from Owner Info., Date, Calendar, Inbox, Tasks and System Info
- Move up/Move down -- list your choices in the order you prefer
- Options (select) for each category, relate to the action taken when selected from the Today screen
- Always run Today -- starts Today when you turn on your Palm
- Show title-bar system info -- a bar at the top of the screen to show memory and battery status
- Map to Date Book-button -- links Today to your datebook button
Note: click once to start Today, click twice to open Date Book
Launcher options (Menu/Preferences):
- Choose up to 5 application buttons to list for quick launch from Today
Note: you can choose not too show the Launcher toolbar if you don't want to use it
Skin options (Menu/Skins):
- Choose from standard skins included, or one of 22 other skins available Palmgear.com
- Choose the text color
- separators between categories - show/don't show
- Background - show/don't show
- Opaque clock - show/don't show (I haven't had much success using this)
- You can create your own skins (I haven't tried to do this, but I understand it can be done)
What I DON'T like about Today 2.1:
Not much to say here... I pretty much like everything about it. If I could ask for something else, I would like the ability to have more buttons on the launcher.
- Cindy A.
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| PROPORTA TUNGSTEN BOOK STYLE LEATHER CASE |
| 09.08.04 (6:29 am) [edit] |
I thought I would tackle a review of Proporta's leather case. It's a book style, made of quality leather with roon for both credit cards and SD cards.
Observation: The first thing you observe is the Proporta emblem on the front of the book case, and although this is nice, I wished that it was just plain. Open the case up and you can smell the leather and know that it of quality. The left hand side of the case has slots for credit card or business cards. The centre of the case holds your Palm through the integrated slot and firm into position mechanism whilst the right hand side of the case holds four SD cards.
My Opinion: I find that with the credit cards in place and room for SD cards also with your Palm device being in place it can get a little bulky. Just my opinion. I have also read somewhere that you should not keep your credit cards in the same case as your Palm device because of the magnetic strip. Not too sure whether this is true or not or whether it is an 'old wives tale'. I will leave that down to you.
Conclusion: Closing the case is done with a close button catch. It seems to lock my Palm device nicely into place and it can be kept closed securly. So what do I give Proporta's leather book style case? Well 8 out of 10 for me. Lose the emblem and somehow make it a little less bulky with your possesions in then it will score 10. However its good value and worth the money.
- Sammy
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| QLAUNCH |
| 09.08.04 (6:20 am) [edit] |
 Summary: I love this program. As I mentioned in another post it is one of the primary programs I use to avoid opening the slider. The program launches other programs according to how long you press a hardware button down. I would score it a 9/10. You can find it here http://www.digitsense.com/palmos/qlaunch/" title="http://www.digitsense.com/palmos/qlaunch/" target="_blank"http://www.digitsense.com/pal... I know I score everything that, but so far all I've reviewed are the programs I really really like, I'll have to review one I don't...except they're not on my Palm long enough to do a decent review.
What I liked:
1. Multiple programs per button: This is the core of the program. You can set up your buttons to launch up to 4 programs each. For example I have my datebook button set to launch Datebk5(default), MegaClock(short press), Songbook(long press) and MSDict(longer press). Note that a quick press and release means the Palm goes to whatever program you have in your default buttons selection
2. Button press indicators: Now you might wonder 'how do you know how long to press the button for each program. Well easy, you can Qlaunch to tell you how long your pressing in a number of ways. Personally I have the power indicator flash. One flash is a short hold, 2 flashes is long and 3 is longer. You can choose between the power light flashing, the screen flashing, the unit vibrating, the unit beeping or none at all.
3. Customization: Aside from the above there are a lot of other options to customize this to your own needs. You can set how long each press is. Right now I have it set to a half second between each press but you can go as low as a quarter second or as high as a whole second.
4. Stay off function: They have function that allows you to set the Palm to stay off if a button is held a long time (if for example a case presses on a button for a while) or you can set it to ignore some buttons if pressed even quickly.
5. All buttons customizable; Qlaunch allows you to customize all the hardware buttons, date, address, todo, notes, voice memo, 5 way, and power
6. Program selection: Every program can be launched from a button. It's very easy to set a program to a button and every program you have is available to be mapped to a button. The only issue may be that some programs don't show up in the list. As far as I can see it depends on the program. I have Launcher X and can create a shortcut which Qlaunch will see and allow me to launch programs on cards.
7. Specials: In addition to launching programs, Qlaunch can launch some special items. This includes the keyboard, the menu, toggle Bluetooth, toggle private and the Pocket Tunes (or Aeroplayer) popup.
8. Set auto silence: One of the cool launchable specials is setting auto silence. I set this for a short press on the left part of the 5way. A menu pops up and I can set the sound off on my Palm for up to 10 hours. Great for when I'm going into a meeting.
What I don't like:
1. There is not really anything I don't like about the program, in fact I'd be stretching it to say there is anything, it really is a great little program.
Conclusion: This is a great program even if you don't have the slider concern. It makes it really easy to use the Palm with one hand. There is a trial period so give it a try.
- Dave
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| CITY TIME |
| 09.08.04 (6:19 am) [edit] |
 This review takes a look at City Time.
Description: City Time maps the lunar sun / moon and states the time in most cities of the world. The front screen is simple enough because it shows the Sun and Moon shadow. Point your cursor to any location on the map and it will show both the city name and the time of the day followed by AM or PM. This is a nice feature and you can play find the city without trying.
Your choice of cities: The bottom of the screen allows you four cities for you to keep track of the time. So it is easy to follow the time in Paris if you live in Tuscon, Arizona. Again, this is a very nice feature.
Your Time: The top right hand corner shows your location and the time that it should be. You can set alarms, I call these my travel alarms because they allow me to choose and change alarms no matter where I am (most of the time at home).
Preferences: Preferences allow me how I want my map displayed. Where I want the center of my map to be and if I wish seconds to be displayed amongst other preferences.
Conclusion: I give City Time 10 out of 10 because there is nothing more than I want from this program. It really does what I require it to do.
- Denzel (edited by Sammy)
Bejeweled
I am going to try and review what I consider to be one of the best Palm games available. Bejeweled. For a start I am going to say that this game is addicting.
Objective: You are met with a grid of diamond gems. They are all muddled up and you have to move one gem to make three in a row. Sounds easy? Well it may just sound that but you need an eye for detail. The problem with this game is that once you have played one game you are basically hooked. The sound effects, graphics and craving for more makes this an essential game. Once you have three in a row, those diamonds are then removed with a satisfying clunk. If by reconfiguring the screen once you have removed your matching diamonds more can be removed it will inform you.
Art Work: One of the nice attractions to this game is the art work involved, ut is dazzling (sorry about the pun). There are also hints incase you get a little stuck. If you are looking for the next available diamond to pair up and remove then a diamond will give a subtle sparkle. You can also switch off the hints if you so wish.
Preferences: The great thing about this game is that you can play it for hours on end whilst switching back to another Palm application and then go back to the game exactly where you left it. There is a high score table. Continuous game mode is also supported. There are many preference settings including, three speeds, slow, medium and fast. Enhanced gems if you wish and of course hints. The game can also show you your battery strength and clock of you wish too.
Conclusion: As I say this game easily receives ten out of ten in my eyes. In fact if I could give it more then I would.
- Denzel (edited by Lindsey and Sammy)
Datebk 5
 I wanted to review another great software title and thats Datebk 5. This is the calendar application that I use daily. Let me give you a brief review. If I wanted to give a full review then I would be writing forever.
Full integration of ToDo's. To do screen can be split in half. You can also assign categories to all to do's and color assign them with icons for each of the categories. Very handy. You can also cross out your to do's and display them at the same time.
Views: This is my favourite view. You can tweak it to your hearts content. Weekly View with text shows a week-at-a-glance with the ability to read the appointment text. Its handy and do not forget that in the preferences you can tweak the way you read Weekly View. The Day View is great. As I said the To Do screen can also be visable. Have all your daily appointments, again with featured categories on display, color coded.
Graphical Weekly View: This allows you to view blocked out time slots. Good if you want to see what free time you have for the current week.
Monthly View: Monthly view can show you assigned categories, color coded once again so you can see exactly what you have. Imagine this as a birds eye view of your month ahead. This is the window I use the least.
Monthly Views: Very handy, good for seeing days and dates. Incredible feature which would be made better if it mapped six months rather than four months.
Yearly View: In my opinion the worst screen. It does not show days, just dates. I never personally use this view because it does not list days. I realize that on smaller screens this is impossible but a six month window would be better, as I said
Preferences: There are so many settings that you can tweak, change and make work for you. Datebk has a detailed manual which you can download as a PDF from their site.
Conclusion: A power run program, however, personally, there are too many features for me and it can be complex. A six month planner and better designed annual planner would be better for this program. However Datebk is worth the money and those with a Tungsten T3/E, Clie UX-50,Treo600 or Garmin iQue3600 should check out a seperate version of Datebk. To conclude I give Datebk 8.5/10
- Denzel
Pyramid Solitaire
 I wanted to put together a review of Pyramid Solitaire from Seahorse Software. James Lee is the author and this has to be a thrilling game.
Objective: Where do I start well you are dealt with 28 cards in a pyramid formation. Deal the first card, and say for example it is the 8 of diamonds, see whether you can select from the first layer of cards either a nine or a seven, no matter whether its diamonds, hearts or whatever. Once you select, say the 7 of hearts, see if you can find a six or another eight, again it does not matter whether its a diamond, heart or whatever. You then follow this along iuntil you are unable to find any more cards and then you can choose another card from the dealers pack. Jokers act as any wild card so thats good. The aim is to clear the pyramid.
Clear the Pyramid: Once you have cleared the pyramid you are then dealt with another pyramid and you continue to play the card until you have no more cards to play or you cannot deal any further. Once this has been achieved the game is up. There is a high score table that allows you to enter both your name and high score. It also tells you how many Cards you have left and you can also choose the difficulty level.
Conclusion: This game gets 10 out of 10. Total addictive, nice graphics, designed for any Palm Operating System and freeware. Undo features are a must and you can choose the design of cards. Available from Seahorse Software - http://www.seahorsesoft.com" title="http://www.seahorsesoft.com" target="_blank"http://www.seahorsesoft.com
- Denzel
AOL for Palm
 I wanted to give a very basic review of AOL for Palm. This is not my normal internet service provider but one that I use in an emergency or when I am away from home. I forward my Yahoo mail to AOL when I am traveling and I pick up my email using the AOL client. I have found AOL to be pretty reliable but email can be a little slow in delivery.
Start Up: immediately you are met with the AOL opening page which lists Mailbox, AutoAOL, File Cabinet, Write, Buddy List and Send IM. If you have mail the Mailbox icon will appear with letters appearing out of the Mailbox icon to inform you. You just tap on the Mailbox icon to read your email. If you are not signed on at the time AOL will promp you to sign on.
Once the AOL Mail screen has opened you are met with three tabs illustrating, New Mail, Old Mail and Sent Mail. This is very handy because you can save mail that you have read and read up on old mail that you may have received some time ago. Very handy.
Mail: Writing Mail is like what it says on the label. You simply insert recipient (choose from your address book, which is neat), CC if you wish and then enter a subject. There is no ability for signatures or attachments which is a shame as many of the modern day email programs allow for both. However write up a signature in your Memo Pad and then copy and paste into your email, this is a good way of getting around the signature problem. Once your email has been written up, save it to be sent later or simply send now. It's up to you.
Buddy List:Going to your Buddy List is easy because you just navigate to the main screen and choose your Buddy List. Double click on a name and chat away. Wherever you are you will always receive prompt alerts when someone sends you a IM. You can just click on it and go straight to the message and reply back to them. You can also use the set up facility and add buddies in any group that you wish. Your choice.
Auto AOL: Finally for this review Auto AOL is a nice feature although not something which I use frequently. This enables you to send Mail you have ready to be sent. Place unread Mail into your saved folder and keep all Mail you receive as new.
Preferences: There are many Preferences to this program including the ability to save a copy of all Mail received and sent. Instruct your Palm to confirm before you delete everything and sort everything by date.
Conclusion: I give AOL for Palm 8 out of 10 because it works for me. I rely on it for email when I am away from home and it does the job. It would score ten if it could upload attachments and add signatures to emails
- Denzel
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