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View Full Version : Handhelds For Doctors Reviews Picsel, A Powerful Document Viewer


Ed Hansberry
09-09-2003, 10:00 AM
<a href="http://www.handheldsfordoctors.com/learn/wireless/browsers/picsel.htm">http://www.handheldsfordoctors.com/learn/wireless/browsers/picsel.htm</a><br /><br />"The company designed software [Picsel] that <b>allows you to view almost any content </b>on most handheld devices. The talent shows in the incredible efficiency and versatility of the software. By <i>any</i> content, I mean a list that includes Acrobat's PDF, Microsoft's Word and Macromedia's Flash. Nor does it need any conversion process to open a document. In fact, it opens Acrobat PDF files open faster on my humble Pocket PC than Acrobat's own reader does on my fully-featured PC. And in web browser mode, it handles most websites beautifully. I have almost stopped using my desktop computer because Picsel on my handheld computer is so elegant."<br /><br />The downside is this software is only available in an OEM bundle. No Pocket PCs have it yet, but the article author, Mohammad Al-Ubaydli, claims that Pocket PCs with it preinstalled are coming.

bjornkeizers
09-09-2003, 10:10 AM
So this is like the babelfish of the document-viewing world? Neat!

I'd pay top dollar for a piece of software that'd let me view all my formats in a single program.

Timothy Rapson
09-09-2003, 01:23 PM
The guy who runs the hottest Clie site around (PDANews, formerly CliePlanet) commented just yesterday that he had not figured out a good use for the clumsy Pixsel that came with his latest Clie. So, it is ironic that you post on this today.

I have not read much that differentiated Picsel and Repligo from Acrobat. The MD review shows considerable difference. Most significantly Picsel does not need a desktop to convert files.

The downside to all three is that one cannot edit anything. The bottom line for myself is that my older Clie doesn't have Piscel.

I smiled when I was sent to this review by Ed at PPCT to read this: "The company that most understood Picsel's potential is Sony. Their Palm-compatible devices takes full advantage of the software, thanks to their large screens (320x480 pixels vs 320x320 on other Palm-compatibles, or 240x320 pixels on a Pocket PC)"

Irony.

Timothy Rapson
09-09-2003, 01:41 PM
In the interest of full accuracy, this is what PDA News said "If you own an NX60 or NX70 then you may be pleased to know that Piscel Viewer will be available for both machines on 23rd September (links to Japanese page). It's good to see Sony supporting older models but I have to say that I have found this application not only underwhelming but also impracticle. Maybe I have completely missed the point of it- please drop me a line if you think I am talking rubbish:)"


from this site: http://www.clieuk.co.uk/index.shtml

MikeUnwired
09-09-2003, 03:03 PM
Well, from the article, it looks like at least one Pocket PC somewhere has the elusive product -- because the Doctor is evaluating it and posting screen shots in his article.

Picsel is an "interesting" program that I haven't really paid much attention to since looking at it out of the box on my Sony Clie TG50. It is wicked fast at opening files for viewing, I'll give it that. You can't edit the files, but that's not always a bad thing if you're looking at reference materials. It's a browser, not a document editor.

The one downside, if you can call it that, is that there is no converter needed, so the files retain the bloat that will fill a handheld's memory super fast.

PeteTh
09-09-2003, 03:12 PM
Yes I've been watching the Picsel Website for months, I emailed Jason about Picsel Browser earlier in the year.

But the last press release looks like you will soon be able to get Picsel Browser pre-installed on an SD card as Picsel are partnering Panasonic http://www.picsel.com/press20030707.html

I'm suprised the author of the article did not get told about the SD cards ?

isilver
09-09-2003, 06:17 PM
I must be missing something. Where do I buy this and how much does it cost? This seems like a really cool application but not if it is not sold to the general public.

jimski
09-10-2003, 06:05 AM
I have not read much that differentiated Picsel and Repligo from Acrobat. The MD review shows considerable difference. Most significantly Picsel does not need a desktop to convert files.

Irony.

My Repligo files are, on average, about half the size of Acrobat conversions. Size does matter :way to go:

PeteTh
09-10-2003, 09:42 AM
I would buy Picsel Browser just to replace PIE with a decent browsing experience. Picsel Browser looks great and I'm told by Picsel that it can work both online and offline (like avantgo)

See http://www.picsel.com/picselbrowser.pdf for more info