How To: Ditch Palm and Move to Windows Mobile

[Paul Martin]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.smartdevicecentral.com/article/How+To+Ditch+Palm+and+Move+to+Windows+Mobile/208281_1.aspx' target='_blank'>http://www.smartdevicecentral.com/a...e/208281_1.aspx</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Palm OS users account for many of the earliest and most fervent smart device enthusiasts. It was their platform, after all, that first made the jump from PDA to full-on smartphone with the legendary Treo line...Recently, Windows Mobile has exploded in popularity, with slim and sexy devices like the Q, the Dash, and the BlackJack, not to mention touch-screen Pocket PC handsets such as the Cingular 8525. And despite my misgivings, Windows Mobile 6 looks to continue Microsoft's domination of the smartphone market--if only it would show up on some handsets already! With this in mind, here are some tips for the Palm OS faithful who are thinking of buying a Microsoft-based handheld."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/images/Paxton-20070529-windows.jpg" /><br /><br />Anytime you make a switch between OS's and platforms, the transition can be frustrating. For Palm users moving to Windows Mobile, Jamie Lendino at Smart Device Central offers a few tips. For long-time Windows Mobile users, it even offers a suggestion I've not seen: a beta application called <a href="http://www.finchsync.com/">FinchSync</a> that enables synchronization of contacts, appointments and tasks from Mozilla email and calendar products. Check out the article and let us know your own tips for making the transition.

[ricksfiona]

Palm? They still make those?

[dommasters]

"Microsoft's domination of the smartphone market"
Is it April the 1st already ? I LOVE Windows Mobile but its market share is TINY compared to Symbian. Let's not kid ourselves.

[kzemach]

I made the switch last fall from a very old Treo 600 to an HTC TyTn. And, honestly, it was a mistake. Yes, the WM platform is more "powerful," but compared to even an old Treo 600, it's sluggish, poorly laid out, crashes a lot more (even though I'm running about half the apps), and definitely not as easy to use/user friendly. The fact that you can't even search words in your contacts' notes field on the handheld is a joke, and the fact that Outlook Business Contacts _still_ don't sync to the handheld (even though they've released an app for it; doesn't work) is telling. My Palm just worked. Nothing fancy, but nothing sucky either.

Still, I stick with it, as the thought of having to migrate BACK is too much, now that I've reinvested a lot in software. The WM platform certainly has more _promise_ than the PalmOS and I look forward to the day when it works well, but I have yet to be very impressed.

[Kaaeed]

Hi Guys

I made the switch from a Treo 650 2 weeks ago.

I must admit it was a tough decision but basically I have seen that for the past 2 years Palm has not really done anything in terms of Hardware or Operating system development.

Development on the software side has also started to slow down.

Unfortunately the final nail in in the coffin happened this week with the new Foleo as it moves Palm away from the PDA/Phone market into a new direction. Whilst I wish Palm the best for the future it just confirms our parting of the ways going forward.

Yes I find WM5 less stable than Palm OS but learning to live with it and really loving the full size screen that I get with my HTC tyTN/ Orange SPV M3100, T Mobile Vario II.

I do notice how the WM5 software has moved on and feels a lot more contemporary than the Palm OS which feels more dated.

Also loving the build in WiFi and 3G speed on my phone in terms of surfing on the net.

Anyways thats my 2 cents worth...

K

[dmoisan]

I had a chance to get a display model iPaq 2495 for about the cost of a new battery for the TE. The migration was mostly smooth.

I read a lot of ebooks and I was a heavy Plucker user. If you're in the same situation, you'll want Vade Mecum, which is the Plucker-compatible reader for PPC. Mobipocket is also available and it supports offline RSS feeds too. (I had been using Sunrise Desktop, which is not compatible with Vade Mecum.) I've never yet used Windows Reader.

I had Docs to Go 8 but now have no need for it. I found most programs I had--mainly calculators--were more or less available for the iPaq.

Hiccups involved Vista Business and Office 2007; I could not find Windows Mobile Device Center at first. I had to start the HP install disk for Vista to helpfully tell me ActiveSync was not compatible and to get WMDC on the web. (It should be "in the box" for Vista.) That was the most annoying part. (Neither Docs to Go nor Palm Quick Install worked on Vista for me.)

Migrating my contacts wasn't hard; I updated the Palm Outlook conduits first--I'd used Palm Desktop the whole time. Then synced Outlook to the Palm. and then configured WMDC to sync to Outlook. Easy peasy!

My migration time was 2 days to learn WM, find new apps and copy my data!

[Paul Martin]

Thanks Kaaeed and dmoisan for sharing your experiences. Since you are both new members, especially dmoisan for registering to post this as your first reply. welcome to the Pocket PC Thoughts community!

[Kaaeed]

The move from Palm OS to WM was not easy after being a 7yr Palm fanatic.

In the last 2 weeks I have had many friends and colleagues point out my new PDA and comment that they thought I was a die hard Palm devotee!!

A few other pointers on migration:

Migration was relatively straightforward

First of all get your Palm OS device to synch with Outlook rather than the Palm Desktop - this will allow you to then migrate PIM data of Calendar, Tasks &amp; Contacts.

There are some software houses that operate on Palm OS and WM so for example, I used Splash ID for Palm OS to store all my logins and passwords etc so was able to use WM5 version of this software and did not have to re-enter information.

The fun part is then looking for new replacement software so my suggestion is to keep on backing up your device before you add any new software on to allow reversion to older setup in case there are stability or corruption issues.

Hope that helps

Kaaeed