newbie to WM5, whole list of software questions

[skisteven1]

Hey everybody -- I'm new here, so I appologize if I hit something that's covered pretty often. I hang around Anandtech a lot, if any of you are over there too.

Anyway, just got my 2125 on friday, and I'm pretty happy with it. I do have some questions about what software I need to get for it though....

Is most WMob software pay-for? I used to have a zaurus, and apparently i've been spoiled by the plethora of free software for the platform, but I still feel like all the software that's worth it's storage space is pay-for basis. Is that the case?

I've gleaned that papyrus is the way to go for date planning, and xbar is another must have. I'm demo'ing Tweaks2k2 or something, and it really doesn't seem that exciting...

Are there any other "must have" programs?

Also, I have a whole bunch of contacts stored on my SIM. Is there a way to copy these into the phone's phonebook all at once? I haven't found a program to do that, except one that looked really sketchy.

One other thing i'm working on -- my old phone (siemens S56) used to sync it's contacts to outlook, and as such I have a folder in my contacts that I use for people on my phone. I'd love to be able to sync just a folder from outlook to the phone, but I can't figure out how. I just have too many contacts that I don't care about to want them all on my phone. Any ideas there?

Thanks for any advice you can offer, and sorry for the long post!

[Mike Temporale]

Welcome to the site! I hope you enjoy that new 2125. :D

Is most WMob software pay-for? I used to have a zaurus, and apparently i've been spoiled by the plethora of free software for the platform, but I still feel like all the software that's worth it's storage space is pay-for basis. Is that the case?

No, I think there's a fair amount of both. However, most freeware applications are harder to find. There's no good spot where you can find all the freeware. Smartphone.net (http://www.smartphone.net/smartphonethoughts) (Affiliate link) or Handango are great at listing commercial software. But for whatever reason, the freebie apps don't seem to have 1 place to hang out. So they take more looking to find.

I've gleaned that papyrus is the way to go for date planning, and xbar is another must have. I'm demo'ing Tweaks2k2 or something, and it really doesn't seem that exciting...

Papyrus is a great app, if you need a more powerful calendar. And xbar is popular, but once again, you might feel different. The 2125 should have a task manager built-in. Just add it to the speed dial and then you can launch it pretty quickly from the home page. That's what I do. Works like a charm.

Are there any other "must have" programs?

Plenty. Everyone will have something different on their lists. There are numerous threads about this around here. ;)

Also, I have a whole bunch of contacts stored on my SIM. Is there a way to copy these into the phone's phonebook all at once? I haven't found a program to do that, except one that looked really sketchy.

Isn't there one already on the phone? Check in the accessories folder in the start menu. I think there was a SIM Manager on the 2125.

One other thing i'm working on -- my old phone (siemens S56) used to sync it's contacts to outlook, and as such I have a folder in my contacts that I use for people on my phone. I'd love to be able to sync just a folder from outlook to the phone, but I can't figure out how. I just have too many contacts that I don't care about to want them all on my phone. Any ideas there?

No not really. I think it syncs everything at the root level. So you could put everything you want to sync at the top, and everything else in the folder. However, I sync everything regardless. Have you played with SmartDial? There's no such thing as too many contacts with SmartDial. It's so fast. Basically, from the home screen or from the contacts app, just start entering the contacts name by pushing the button that corresponds to the letter. But do it like T9 - so only push the button once regardless of the letter. It's great and fast !

[skisteven1]

Papyrus is a great app, if you need a more powerful calendar. And xbar is popular, but once again, you might feel different. The 2125 should have a task manager built-in. Just add it to the speed dial and then you can launch it pretty quickly from the home page. That's what I do. Works like a charm.

Would that pretty much take care of the same functions as xbar? Is there a way to do copy/paste w/o xbar?


Also, I have a whole bunch of contacts stored on my SIM. Is there a way to copy these into the phone's phonebook all at once? I haven't found a program to do that, except one that looked really sketchy.

Isn't there one already on the phone? Check in the accessories folder in the start menu. I think there was a SIM Manager on the 2125.

Yeah, I havne't been able to find one. I've looked all through the start menu, as well as accessories. I just have calc, clear storage, download agent, and modem link in accessories.


One other thing i'm working on -- my old phone (siemens S56) used to sync it's contacts to outlook, and as such I have a folder in my contacts that I use for people on my phone. I'd love to be able to sync just a folder from outlook to the phone, but I can't figure out how. I just have too many contacts that I don't care about to want them all on my phone. Any ideas there?

No not really. I think it syncs everything at the root level. So you could put everything you want to sync at the top, and everything else in the folder. However, I sync everything regardless. Have you played with SmartDial? There's no such thing as too many contacts with SmartDial. It's so fast. Basically, from the home screen or from the contacts app, just start entering the contacts name by pushing the button that corresponds to the letter. But do it like T9 - so only push the button once regardless of the letter. It's great and fast !

Yeah, I really LOVE the smartdial, but I still dont' want to carry around 2k contacts with me. I'll try putting them in a different folder -- do you happen to know if it syncs subfolders? or just the top directory? If not, I can play around with it.

Also, anyone know of a good RSS reader? Or something so I can catch up on news on the go? Or at least a news website that's wap compatible?

thanks again!

[Mike Temporale]

Is there a way to do copy/paste w/o xbar?

On the phone, I'm not sure. Do you really need it? I'm not trying to tell you not to buy it. Go for it. There are lots of people that use it and swear by it. I'm just letting you know that there are other options. If you feel that cut and paste is something you're going to do a lot of, then xbar is the number 1 app for that.

Yeah, I havne't been able to find one. I've looked all through the start menu, as well as accessories. I just have calc, clear storage, download agent, and modem link in accessories.

Oh, Maybe it's not there. I don't have teh 2125, but I thought it was there. If you select a SIM contact and then press menu, is there not an option to copy it to the phone?

do you happen to know if it syncs subfolders? or just the top directory?

I think it just sync's the top level, but I've never tested it.

Also, anyone know of a good RSS reader? Or something so I can catch up on news on the go?

There's a number of them. Ilium Software has one called NewsBreak which is pretty good. Search the forums here and I'm sure it will turn up a dozen more. Some might even be free versions.

[dh]

I used to have a zaurus, and apparently i've been spoiled by the plethora of free software for the platform, but I still feel like all the software that's worth it's storage space is pay-for basis. Is that the case?



I came here from a Zaurus as well - the C860. Before the Z I had a Dell Axim PPC with PPC2002 OS.

Although I really like my new phone (SP5) it doesn't seem that Windows Mobile has really changed much from the 2002 version. I had to reset the SP5 more times in the first evening than the total number of times with three years of the Z.

Shame that Sharp wasn't really committed to the Zaurus line, I really believe that the Qtopia based Linux OS is much better than either WM or Palm.

To be fair, having so much connectivity in such a small device as the 2125 or SP5 is pretty cool. Any yes, Papyrus is a really brilliant app - perfect for these devices.

dh

[Mike Temporale]

Although I really like my new phone (SP5) it doesn't seem that Windows Mobile has really changed much from the 2002 version. I had to reset the SP5 more times in the first evening than the total number of times with three years of the Z.

Be careful what you install. I have only hard reset my SP5m once since I got it, and that was due to a broken install for a non-WinMo5 compatible application. Otherwise, I have found WinMo5 to be much more stable than previous versions. :)

[dh]

Be careful what you install. I have only hard reset my SP5m once since I got it, and that was due to a broken install for a non-WinMo5 compatible application. Otherwise, I have found WinMo5 to be much more stable than previous versions. :)

Actually Mike, I meant soft reset. The Cacko ROM for the Zaurus is so stable that I only ever had to reboot it about once a year - usually when installing a new ROM version. So far I'm finding the stability of the SP5 to be about the same as my old Axim. I fully expect things to settle down once I've gotten the set of apps that I need installed and set up.

I still believe the clamshell Zaurus is close to being the perfect PDA. My only issues with it were that the KO/PI PIM can't be synched with Outlook (shame because it's as good as PI on the PPC) and lack of embedded wireless. The Z is soooo close to being a genuine laptop replacement.

Of course, I also believe that the standalone PDA is pretty much dead so it doesn't figure in my plans. So far I'm pleasantly surprised with what I can do with the Smartphone. Having Mobipocket Reader is really good. I'd already converted all my .lit books to Mobipocket format to read using OpieReader on the Zaurus.

David

[gai-jin]

I think what you're looking for, regarding only having some of your contacts on the phone, is accomplished through Categories and Activesync, not thru subfolders

In your activesync options, you can set the sync options for Contacts such that it only syncs' certain categories to the phone. If nothing else, just add a 'phone contacts' category to outlook, add each contact you need syncd into that category, and set AS to only sync that category. That should get what you need.

I use this because I keep old contact info for previous employers and companies I've dealt with in other cities I lived in, in case i need to call for medical records or employment records or such, but there's no need for them to be on my phone. So I have certain categories these tend to fall into that just don't get sync'd.

HTH
Gai-jin

[Sven Johannsen]

I think what you're looking for, regarding only having some of your contacts on the phone, is accomplished through Categories and Activesync, not thru subfolders

Unfortunately sync filtering by catagories is no longer an option in AS4.x, though it was previously. The only option now is to put those things you don't want sync'd in sub folders. AS never has, and still doesn't, sync anything in subfolders.

[gai-jin]

Ouch... I didn't realize this. I just upgraded to a WM 5 device w/ as 4.1 and hadn't messed with the settings in depth yet. :(

Gai-jin

[gai-jin]

Out of curiosity, anyone know why this feature was removed?