Well, I finally plunked down my plastic and picked up a Tungsten T3. Now what? I have already downloaded:
- “Eudora Internet Suite”:http://www.eudora.com/internetsuite/download/ so I can sync my Palm with my Eudora email and
- “Avantgo”:http://www.avantgo.com/ for content on the move
I’ve also bookmarked:
- “Palminfocenter”:http://www.palminfocenter.com/
- “Handheldnews”:http://www.handheldnews.com/ and
- “Brighthand”:http://www.brighthand.com/morenews.php?site=Palm
for news about what new stuff is coming up. Where should I be looking to find lists and reviews of the best freeware and shareware apps for my Palm? Are there any must-have applications I should run and get right away? Any I should shy away from? Where should I look for the most up-to-date news about Palm-related stuff? And where should I go for good Palm-related peer tech support?
Later: This article suggesting that there may be “no upgrade path to PalmOS 6”:http://www.brighthand.com/article/palmOne_Refuses_to_Confirm_OS_6_Upgrade for existing models has me nervous. Should I cancel my order (I ordered online and it hasn’t arrived yet)? I don’t want to be stuck with the last incarnation of a dead-end OS. On the other hand, if I waited a few months to get a new PalmOS 6 model it might be buggy… What do you think? Do you think they’ll make the top-end models of Palm upgradeable but just don’t want to guarantee anything?
I think you should take a step back for a second, and ask yourself what you actually want/plan to do with the device you end up with, as well as realising that essentially all technology is out-of-date almost as soon as you unwrap it. 😉
To be perfectly honest, I have only ever briefly used a Palm-type device. It was nice, but essentially a disconnected device — I might as well have been carrying a paper notebook with me. Sure, it could do spreadsheet stuff, but how many people really want to do that on a Palm? Only once I connected it via Infra-Red to my phone and got Internet connection, did it really become a useful tool.
If the answer to ‘what will I use it for’ is along the lines of contacts/calendar/tasks/notes and a few other basic things, then go get a Sony Ericsson P900. You effectively get the key things you would do with your T3, but with built-in connectivity possibilities, which *really* makes it a worthwhile item to carry everywhere. Have a look under the SymbianOS section at http://www.handango.com/ to see what kinds of applications are currently available.
Were you based in a major US city, I could potentially see an argument that WiFi is everywhere, so you can stay connected by dropping a card into your T3. But even in London, WiFi is patchy to say the very least — going with a smartphone will give you pretty solid connectivity.
Please feel to drop me a mail if you have any specific questions you’d like to ask and I’ll get back to you ASAP.
Comment by Martin Little — 8 February 2004 @ 2:05 am
I’ve probably tried over 500 apps for my Palm. I’ve had a Palm Pilot (Pro), Palm Vx and now a Sony Clie.
When all is said and done, the basic 4 core apps handle most things I need wonderfully. Every app that I’ve thought would be the next ‘killer app’, in reality, I’ve rarely used.
You may be interested in the stuff over at Pocket Software (pocketsw.com)
All I have on my Palm is Klondike, Freecell (the best versions available from http://www.electronhut.com), Scrabble & Billiards (search for them on PalmGear or Handango).
YAUC is a useful unit converter, but doesn’t support hi-res.
If I had to recommend one piece of software for Palm, Scrabble would be it.
Comment by snowman — 11 February 2004 @ 6:59 am
http://www.pocketsw.com? i meant http://www.splashdata.com
Doh!
Comment by snowman — 11 February 2004 @ 7:58 am