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View Full Version : After many years of using Pocket PCs I decided to switch to Palm!!! Read on...


petvas
10-03-2006, 03:22 PM
The last months I couldnt find any joy in using my Pocket Loox 720. I wanted something new, something that would make me go wow, like the original iPaq did! Looking at the market I couldnt find a single device that had this effect on me. Everything seemed mediocre to me. Nothing special...
So, I didnt buy anything at that time but I also stopped using my Loox. After a couple of months I saw the Sony Ericsson M600i device! What a design! I bought it immediately and tried using it as my main PDA. Well, nothing is what it seems. The Symbian OS is so slow! The lack of third party applications also stroke me, where is Pocket Informant, Agenda Fusion, Codewallet?

The installed PIM applications were a joke and the device in general was also very instable. Syncing was another issue since I have a MAC, so now after two months I am selling my Sony Ericsson. Symbian? No, thank you!

Last week, I saw the Palm TX device: 4" screen, looks nice, Wifi, Bluetooth. I decided to give it a try, so I bought it and I am using it since Friday. Today I put it on eBay for sale! Why? Well, read on!

This is my first (and probably last) Palm OS device. The OS is really very bad compared to Windows Mobile! I thought that Windows Mobile was nothing special but now I can say that it is by far the best PDA OS!

Palm OS doesnt support multitasking, so I was surprised to see that I couldnt use my Calendar apps while syncing. What? Palm, u have to be kidding!

Then, I wanted to set a recurring alarm to wake me up every day at 6:30. Yeah right...After some digging I found the alarm feature but there u can set only an alarm for the next day. There is also a nice explanation, saying that the Alarm application mimics a normal Alarm Clock! Well, Palm ,its the 21st century! Why have a computer then?

I then set up my email account. Versa Mail worked very well, better than Pocket Inbox. Here is Palm clearly the winner!

The Palm Internet browser was also very good, the only irritating thing was the level of Fonts Size. You dont really have an option in points, u r being offered specific sizes to choose from. This is the case with most apps in the OS!!! I think the fonts are generally too large and look clumsy!

Then, I went out to test the "best" PIM: Agendus...

What a piece of c*"§!

Its not as customisable as PI or Agenda Fusion, the interface sucks, the available views are not customizable and the contact view is really a disappointment. I dont even understand people that like it so much!

Just have a look at Pocket Informant or Agenda Fusion and you will see the difference!

Palm OS is also very instable. I got many random restarts while working with the system!

In the end, I started thinking why I bought this device! Its really very limited, the available software on the market isnt so great and its really a step backward!

I just ordered the iPaq 6915 and I cant wait! I will never get a palm again!!!

applejosh
10-03-2006, 03:52 PM
Then, I went out to test the "best" PIM: Agendus...

What a piece of c*"§!


Well, that Agendus is the "best" PIM is a matter of speculation at best. I find it to be just about the most unstable app for the PalmOS platform. DateBk has always served me well, and it is still my favorite PIM app on any platform.

I like Windows Mobile because it has better connectivity, Bluetooth file transfer is easy, the browser selection is much better, and I think FlexMail is a great email client. Plus the PocketWeather today plugin is nice to have.

I like Palm because alarms work reliably for tasks and appointments, HotSync is more flexible for my needs as it is possible to completely overwrite the desktop with the handheld data, DocsToGo is a great Office app editor with a syncing tool that doesn't require me to copy/move documents to a special folder on the desktop just so they get uploaded to the handheld, and resets take less than 45 seconds.

So I guess I'm going to have to wait for the micro-PC stuff to become more affordable before I'll be close to happy with any platform. :)

BoxWave
10-03-2006, 07:21 PM
Some interesting gripes in here :). The alarm clock one made me chuckle. :lol:

petvas
10-03-2006, 09:53 PM
I also installed Datebk and I found the lack of Contact Management a no go...

isajoo
10-04-2006, 06:25 AM
its kinda of funny...if i take the 1st post and change palm to wm2002...it sounds about the same...wm has grown from all the headaches..but it still isnt a perfect machine. soon maybe in a years time.

Lex
10-11-2006, 12:41 PM
I'm in a slightly similar dilemma. My aging iPAQ 2215 has its battery door glued on and I can't decide what device to switch to. I almost put a paper pocket diary into service but transcribing the contacts are the killer. Not to mention, ListPro, Resco Recorder, Pocket Bible, apMemo, Pocket Excel & Word, yadda. I'd need a suitcase instead of a belt clip !

ppcinfo
10-11-2006, 03:30 PM
I also looked at moving from a Dell Axim to a Palm TX device a few months ago. My motivation, was that fact that the battery in my Axim x50v would routinely drain completely in my travel bag and I was stuck without my contact phone numbers while on a business trip. Even with just using the device the battery life was terrible. Also, I had problems maintaining WiFi and Bluetooth settings and hand to reenter the info on a weekly basis. So, I decided to buy a Palm TX on a trial basis and give myself two weeks for examination and comparison.

There was a lot of things I really did like about the Palm TX (it seemed to work easily and didn't require as many soft-resets as my x50v, had a good VGA screen, I liked the fonts on the display), however, the lack of multitasking support and an obscure file system was a killer in the deal. You can't have a simple sync folder and have Word docs, Excel spreadsheets, text files, etc. be synced easily and automatically. The Palm does have a syncing manager for files, but it is a very manual process and the files aren't stored in a conventional tree-folder structure.

So, I determined that the old, aged Palm OS with it's single-task function and non-existent file syncing system was too much for me to switch over to the Palm TX. The battery life was great, but it wasn't worth giving up other needed features.

So for now, I always carrry along a 2nd charged battery in my travel bag in case my x50v goes dead and I make lots of backups.

ppcinfo

Lex
10-11-2006, 07:30 PM
ppcinfo did you mean to say the Axim battery drains to zero -without-using the unit? I was considering one of those.

Cybrid
10-12-2006, 05:35 PM
ppcinfo did you mean to say the Axim battery drains to zero -without-using the unit? I was considering one of those.He's got his settings wrong and not using his button lock consistently.
On first getting the device, I had the same problem and then after disabling a few things that forced it to turn on such as...
weather/email updating services, unmapping or button locking, Setting powersave to turn device off in X min if unused. No problems.