Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Thoughts on Palm handhelds?
I used to use a Palm handheld all the time back in my school system days. It was out of necessity more than anything; my schedule was different each day, and often changed repeatedly as the day went on. I can't say that I enjoyed using my Palm, but it certainly beat the alternative of carrying around a day planner or ending up with a bunch of scribbled notes in my pocket. When I left the school system for my current career, I found it easier to simply use whiteboards for both my calendar and my brainstorming (a trick I picked up, oddly enough, from my time in the school system). Even being left-handed, it's always seemed more natural to write on a large board with a full-size marker than to "write" stuff directly into my Palm, or even to type it into something like iCal or Palm Desktop. I guess it's a quirk of mine, but when I want to glance at my calendar, I don't care to stop what I'm doing on the computer just to bring up calendar software. And as far as brainstorming, I spend so much time each day on the computer that when I'm working on new ideas, I like to be (briefly) away from it.
The whiteboard approach could never have worked back in my school system days, because I worked out of half a dozen different campus locations per day, never the same ones, and my office was merely some mythical place that I got to visit a few times per month if I was lucky. But my whiteboard system has worked so well over the past year or two that I've become quite dependent on it. When I travel, I type the salient stuff into iCal before I hit the road. But most of my trips have been of the non-business variety, the kind of stuff you don't need a whiteboard to remind you about. So the whole system has worked well.
Until I realized (just now) that not only will I be spending all next week on a business trip in the name of Macworld Expo, I've got seemingly a hundred different items on the week's schedule, and I fully expect my schedule to change a hundred times once I'm out there. I actually thought about setting up a chart tablet in the hotel room, but I realized that it's not going to do me any good, as I'm unlikely to see my hotel room while the sun is shining, coming or going, if you know what I mean. The bottom line is that, for the next week at least, I need a Palm.
And I have one. Except I don't, because even after I remembered where I stored it, I've come to find that it has no intention of coming back from its two-year hibernation. I've reset it, but it simply won't turn on. Not unexpected, as it's close to four years old at this point (still, it would be perfect for my needs if it were still functional). So I suppose it's time to buy one. Not a big deal, as I see that I can buy one for about a hundred bucks, and when I get back I can probably eBay it and recoup the majority of my investment (or maybe I'll keep it around for future business trips).
My concern is that I went to the Palm website to take a look at the current models (the Z22 is the low-end $100 model), and it turns out that the current models don't seem to look too much like a Palm, at least not how I remember them. I don't care at all about physical styling, but I'm looking at the buttons and some of the screenshots, and it doesn't look quite like the Palm I remember. I was wondering if any long-time Palm users could clue me in as to whether the PalmOS is still similar enough to what it was two years ago that I won't have any learning curve.
My only real criteria is that it's similar enough to what I already know so that I don't have to learn anything new. I don't have time to learn a new interface this week, and I certainly don't want to be learning the new PalmOS on the fly while I'm at Macworld Expo. I also don't plan on putting it to any real use beyond the one week, as it just doesn't fit my current career day in and day out. So any suggestions that I should take a look at some other mobile computing platform, or that I should make a major investment in one of the more expensive Palm models, aren't going to do me any good. I've turned on the "comments" section below for you to share your thoughts.
I used to use a Palm handheld all the time back in my school system days. It was out of necessity more than anything; my schedule was different each day, and often changed repeatedly as the day went on. I can't say that I enjoyed using my Palm, but it certainly beat the alternative of carrying around a day planner or ending up with a bunch of scribbled notes in my pocket. When I left the school system for my current career, I found it easier to simply use whiteboards for both my calendar and my brainstorming (a trick I picked up, oddly enough, from my time in the school system). Even being left-handed, it's always seemed more natural to write on a large board with a full-size marker than to "write" stuff directly into my Palm, or even to type it into something like iCal or Palm Desktop. I guess it's a quirk of mine, but when I want to glance at my calendar, I don't care to stop what I'm doing on the computer just to bring up calendar software. And as far as brainstorming, I spend so much time each day on the computer that when I'm working on new ideas, I like to be (briefly) away from it.
The whiteboard approach could never have worked back in my school system days, because I worked out of half a dozen different campus locations per day, never the same ones, and my office was merely some mythical place that I got to visit a few times per month if I was lucky. But my whiteboard system has worked so well over the past year or two that I've become quite dependent on it. When I travel, I type the salient stuff into iCal before I hit the road. But most of my trips have been of the non-business variety, the kind of stuff you don't need a whiteboard to remind you about. So the whole system has worked well.
Until I realized (just now) that not only will I be spending all next week on a business trip in the name of Macworld Expo, I've got seemingly a hundred different items on the week's schedule, and I fully expect my schedule to change a hundred times once I'm out there. I actually thought about setting up a chart tablet in the hotel room, but I realized that it's not going to do me any good, as I'm unlikely to see my hotel room while the sun is shining, coming or going, if you know what I mean. The bottom line is that, for the next week at least, I need a Palm.
And I have one. Except I don't, because even after I remembered where I stored it, I've come to find that it has no intention of coming back from its two-year hibernation. I've reset it, but it simply won't turn on. Not unexpected, as it's close to four years old at this point (still, it would be perfect for my needs if it were still functional). So I suppose it's time to buy one. Not a big deal, as I see that I can buy one for about a hundred bucks, and when I get back I can probably eBay it and recoup the majority of my investment (or maybe I'll keep it around for future business trips).
My concern is that I went to the Palm website to take a look at the current models (the Z22 is the low-end $100 model), and it turns out that the current models don't seem to look too much like a Palm, at least not how I remember them. I don't care at all about physical styling, but I'm looking at the buttons and some of the screenshots, and it doesn't look quite like the Palm I remember. I was wondering if any long-time Palm users could clue me in as to whether the PalmOS is still similar enough to what it was two years ago that I won't have any learning curve.
My only real criteria is that it's similar enough to what I already know so that I don't have to learn anything new. I don't have time to learn a new interface this week, and I certainly don't want to be learning the new PalmOS on the fly while I'm at Macworld Expo. I also don't plan on putting it to any real use beyond the one week, as it just doesn't fit my current career day in and day out. So any suggestions that I should take a look at some other mobile computing platform, or that I should make a major investment in one of the more expensive Palm models, aren't going to do me any good. I've turned on the "comments" section below for you to share your thoughts.
Comments:
I have an old Palm, too. I used a few of the new Palms with the new updates and whatnot. It's basically the same kinda stuff except it's in color now and a bit better. Hope that helps.
Graffiti is changed, and NOT for the better. That might be an annoyance for you.
I suggest just getting some index cards to stick in your pocket. If it's worth keeping type it into iCal, If not...pitch it! Much cheaper.
I suggest just getting some index cards to stick in your pocket. If it's worth keeping type it into iCal, If not...pitch it! Much cheaper.
Why dont you buy an older model on ebay?
no learning curve, no lost investment, and if you need it fast you can pay the seller to overnight it
no learning curve, no lost investment, and if you need it fast you can pay the seller to overnight it
# posted by 
: 7:23 PM
: 7:23 PM
To anonymous: I considered it, but several factors steered me away: I don't like to buy years-old electronics from strangers, because even if the seller knows the device is on its last legs, they can easily hide that fact from you. Then I'm out in California with a dead Palm. Also, my tight timeframe would A) limit me solely to "Buy It Now" auctions, and B) force me to pay quite a bit for quick shipping. Unde the cicrumstances I'd rather just drop $100 on a new one...if it's similar enough. I might go to a Best Buy or CompUSA and try to play with a display model...
I still have my Vx (replacement of crushed V) plugged into my Mac. But if I were you, I'd bite the bullet and go for the T/X. While the interface is a bit different the speed, Bluetooth, and WiFi could prove usefull in other ways.
I've had a Palm Tungsten C since they came out and I had a Palm 3 before that. The OS hasn't changed much. I have to say that I've really grown to hate Palm. I almost never use the Tungsten but it has all my notes, etc. If Apple comes out with anything half-good, that Palm is on eBay in a heartbeat.
# posted by : 7:29 AM
: 7:29 AM
As an ongoing Newton user, I have to say that the Palm T|X sounds rather appealing. Sure, it's more money than the Z series, but the Z is just the same old (and not really usable, for me) Palm that I tried once. I went back to the Newton. The T|X has WiFi and Bluetooth, a decent browser and email contacts, and so on. I've gotten so used to that kind of contact that I've considered a Blackberry - but I live my life in WiFi enabled spots, so why bother? The only reason I keep my Newton (which, ahem, has WiFi as well) is that the writing recognition is excellent, the gesture driven writing system (tap and drag, scribble, etc.) is totally intuitive, the Notepad software is phenomenal, and I can link all pieces of information to each other very easily, creating complicated "wiki" like information nets that exist outside of a file structure. Okay, looking at that list, I see why there's a reason I don't have a T|X yet. But were I to get a Palm, it's the one I'd look for.
# posted by : 7:48 AM
: 7:48 AM
What do you use for a mobile phone? The Treo 650 makes a great mobile PIM without the Graffiti 2 annoyances, just no Wi-Fi. The new version of MissingSync does a good job of OS X PIM data integration. Palm has an EVDO Windows Mobile edition coming Any Day Now from Verizon.
# posted by : 11:57 AM
: 11:57 AM
I previously had a Visor Deluxe circa 199x-2000, and just received a Palm Z22 as a gift. I don't think you'll really have many issues getting used to it. Grafitti isn't that different, there are actually things to like about (some) of the changes, and if you haven't been using it that much, you may not even notice the difference. Also, the new "Notepad" app lets you scribble notes down (graphically) without going through any sort of handwriting recognition - a real timesaver if you're not the fastest at Griffiti. I have had one issue with Syncing to Entourage, caused by an update to a few of the PIM apps in the most recent Palms. The Entourage conduit is *supposed* to be compatible, but it's not yet working right (for me). I haven't attempted syncing with Palm Desktop or MissingSync yet.
# posted by : 12:36 PM
: 12:36 PM
I'm a Tungsten C owner, and can't imagine going a day without it. Not only does it track all my appointments and meetings and whatever, but between Documents to Go and iSilo, I can take copious notes and bring along web pages and articles to read. I've never bothered with Graffiti, preferring instead to just thumb-type with the keyboard.
I have a Tungsten E that I keep trying to use more, but it just never happens. You really can't look at your whole schedule at a glance on a Palm no matter what the marketing material tells you. The screen is too small to display a meaningful week-long schedule (and forget about months or multiple months). I love it for just about everything else, but I can never get my calendar on there in any satisfactory way.
So I use paper instead. I keep a two-week schedule, among other things, in a simple ruled notebook (okay, pocket-sized moleskine. Yes, I'm that vain) handy at all times. Anything scheduled beyond two weeks goes on my whiteboard and sometimes into my remind file (yes, the command line utility).
If you want something a little more calendarish than that, try http://pocketmod.com/ for a simple, portable, easy to use and slightly configurable solution. Oh, and it's free too, that's always a bonus. And all you have to do is print one up and fold it and you're good to go. No futzing around with configuration and setting up a new device before your big trip.
So I use paper instead. I keep a two-week schedule, among other things, in a simple ruled notebook (okay, pocket-sized moleskine. Yes, I'm that vain) handy at all times. Anything scheduled beyond two weeks goes on my whiteboard and sometimes into my remind file (yes, the command line utility).
If you want something a little more calendarish than that, try http://pocketmod.com/ for a simple, portable, easy to use and slightly configurable solution. Oh, and it's free too, that's always a bonus. And all you have to do is print one up and fold it and you're good to go. No futzing around with configuration and setting up a new device before your big trip.
# posted by : 8:07 PM
: 8:07 PM
I'm pleased with my new Z22. It's much simpler than either of my previous handhelds and I consider that a plus. The novelty of "full-featured" models has long since worn off. I like the low price, small size and non-volatile memory.
The Mac side of the connection hasn't been good. I don't like or use iCal/Address Book and the Entourage 2004 conduit seems to be broken. Palm Desktop does work but I find it lacking compared to its Windows counterpart. The interface feels dated, the note and to-do functions are very clunky, the calendar has no yearly view and I've found no way to move the Palm's built-in Expense data to the Mac.
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The Mac side of the connection hasn't been good. I don't like or use iCal/Address Book and the Entourage 2004 conduit seems to be broken. Palm Desktop does work but I find it lacking compared to its Windows counterpart. The interface feels dated, the note and to-do functions are very clunky, the calendar has no yearly view and I've found no way to move the Palm's built-in Expense data to the Mac.
# posted by : 4:33 PM
: 4:33 PM
