Do You Use AvantGo?

[Ed Hansberry]

I was wondering how many of you use AvantGo? I've used it since 1998 or 1999 and it has always been one of my staple applications that goes on the device. Lately though it has become more of a hassle than it is worth. First, there is one channel in my lineup that is just dog slow, and I suspect it is the CNet channel, the one I probably read the most of. :? It has missing images and can take 4-5 minutes to sync over broadband. It hangs for the longest time at the "Now searching for updated pages" section.<br /><br />Also, as I travel, I often leave my laptop at work and ActiveSync remotely via VPN. AvantGo is just brutal over GPRS when it starts to sync. So, I've uncheck it in ActiveSync and for now just remember to sync manually when it is in the cradle or I have access to a broadband connection. I'm not sure how much longer I'll fool with it.

[Paul]

I stopped using it about a year ago. Long sync times killed it for me. Before it was a great way to get web sites on your pda; but now with the popularity of WiFi, GPRS, etc... one can access the web via those means in many locations.

I used to be a user of Mazingo too, anyone remember them? That stopped cause Mazingo had a tendency to destroy (i.e. corrupt) my SanDisk SD cards.

[Kevin Jackson]

I've been using AG since my (gasp) Palm days.

I've pared my subs down to four of my favorites and if I start having trouble syncing one I toss it (CNet is one that I used to sync, but gave me problems).

One thing I have found that I like is using my WiFi setup to "sync via modem" so I don't have to rely on AS and the "conduit" it uses. I don't know if you've tried this or if it would work for your GPRS setup, but it may be worth a try.

Cheers

[Gerard]

Since Activesync doesn't work for me with Contacts or Calendar (not one phone number nor appointment on my PC) or Favourites (this one's especially fun, seeing 600+ links disappear on the iPAQ) or anything else but installations, I have no reason to suspect that Avantgo would work any better. Anyway, my dialup connection works just fine on my iPAQ, so why bother grabbing things over the less reliable PC modem to dump into the iPAQ? Of course, many users have better luck and better equipment, so that's just my situation.

I like browsing in realtime, and will soon go over to GSM/GPRS to have this mobile not just at home. A wireless CF card for use in cafe's and such is due here this week, further making it easy to browse forums and news sites from my iPAQ. I'd rather be able to interact with websites in realtime, not have 'dead' pages, isolated to internal memory. Seems to me that a large part of the point of the internet is interaction, and being able to browse at will without a lot of planning or scheduling. Now, if I had a 2 hour daily commute on public transite every day, that'd be a little different. It would be nice to have content dumped to my device for reading, I suppose.... then again, I like reading novels on transit, and would probably just do more of that if I spent a lot more time on the bus. Working at home, with my iPAQ online much of the time in my shop, it's just more practical to check up on news and deal with forum stuff whenever I don't feel like working.

[LucasMX]

I do not have much need (anxiety?) for on-line information, so I get to use AvantGo a lot. But I agree it could be a headache.
I like it a lot, although it has taken me some time to figure out which channels are really worth to sync.

On the road, when you cannot get to a Hot Spot, using a Sony Ericsson t68i to sync, and get the news is very cool.

[MaximumPDA]

Ever since having my XDA I check out news LIVE! I doubt I will ever go back to static synced news...except for my SPOT watch.

--Bill

[Perry Reed]

I don't use it anymore for a couple of reasons:

1. It no longer will sync over ActiveSync. I just get an error message that says "Device components are missing or out of date." And this appears even after a hard-reset and after downloading the latest code from the AvantGo website.

2. It takes FOREVER to load the main page. I click on the AvantGo link on my homepage (the default homepage on the Jornada 568) and then wait 5-10 minutes for the page to appear!

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

I gave up on AvantGo long long ago. I don't even remember the specific reasons anymore. I just remember that it was becoming a headache to use.

[mountainguy]

I've used it with just about five sites, two of them foreign language. I don't access it everyday, but it is nice to have while waiting for a doctor's appointment, waiting for the wife to finish shopping or just killing five minutes.

However, I would caution against reading The Onion while waiting for church to start. The two don't usually go together very well and it is generally considered bad form to burst out laughing when they are starting to light the candles!

[backpackerx]

I sync manually over WiFi since the active sync funtion never worked for me. I go to settings>connections>avatgo connect>sync all and I get my 8 channels including Cnet loaded in less than a minute.

[eustts]

It seems lately that AG is just too wishy washy(highly technical term) lately. Plus, I can't really seem to find any content that I would read on a daily basis, I still have it sync, mostly for getting directions from Mapquest.

Other than the weather and directions, I rarely use it..

[Pat Logsdon]

I actually purchased an 8 mb account a year ago, but I doubt that I'll renew. My use of it has decreased to the point where I now only have 4 or 5 channels that I really read.

These days (and with the decreased ROM in my 4150 vs my X5), I find myself wanting to reserve memory for programs, instead of content that I may or may not read.

[l0o5er]

I used Avantgo & then Mazingo until I found www.isilo.com & ohh.. what a treat! Fabulous off-line reader. Heaps of customisation features & the most feature-packed reader product on the market. Also one of the most dedicated development teams to keeping their product at the leading edge.

[Jason Dunn]

WiFi/GPRS killed AvantGo for me...buh-bye! :byebye:

[David Prahl]

I left AG by the roadside with my Palm about two years ago. Now that I have a fast desktop right in my room and a wireless PPC always with me I'm usually checking the news and weather every few hours anyway.

[Pony99CA]

I was wondering how many of you use AvantGo? I've used it since 1998 or 1999 and it has always been one of my staple applications that goes on the device. Lately though it has become more of a hassle than it is worth. First, there is one channel in my lineup that is just dog slow, and I suspect it is the CNet channel, the one I probably read the most of. :? It has missing images and can take 4-5 minutes to sync over broadband. It hangs for the longest time at the "Now searching for updated pages" section.
Have you tried deactivating C|Net and seeing if that helps? I sync with C|Net (and a few other channels) automatically, and have never experienced a 4-5 minute delay.

I have noticed ActiveSync hanging up in other places for what I consider an excessive time, so I might blame ActiveSync, not AvantGo.

Steve

[Pony99CA]

I used to be a user of Mazingo too, anyone remember them? That stopped cause Mazingo had a tendency to destroy (i.e. corrupt) my SanDisk SD cards.
Maybe that's one reason they went out of business. :twisted:

Steve

[jlong4]

I still use AG thru my wifi also, but have recently been rather pleased with MobiPocket's new reader and enews...I had stopped using that awhile back but tried it recently and the list of sites has increased quite a bit which is nice. You might consider giving it a try.

[James Fee]

To me it seems most "newbies" start out with Avantgo, but soon run into its limitations. I as with many, have used it for years on my Palm/PPC, but ever since ESPN was dropped (or ESPN dropped Avantogo) I've no longer used it.

Seems like the company has been "passed around" with mergers and such over the past few years. I can only expect it to get worse.

[Pony99CA]

I like browsing in realtime, and will soon go over to GSM/GPRS to have this mobile not just at home. A wireless CF card for use in cafe's and such is due here this week, further making it easy to browse forums and news sites from my iPAQ. I'd rather be able to interact with websites in realtime, not have 'dead' pages, isolated to internal memory. Seems to me that a large part of the point of the internet is interaction, and being able to browse at will without a lot of planning or scheduling.
Yes, the whole point of the Web is linking, but AvantGo was likely created to solve three main problems:

Availability. When AvantGo was created, there weren't many wireless devices for browsing the Web. AvantGo allowed people to get content from those Web sites that they could read anywhere.

Speed. Even if you had wireless access, downloading a full Web page on those devices was slow (connection speeds were what, 19.2 kbps or maybe even 9600 kbps?). AvantGo strips a lot of unnecessary garbage from the content.

Readability. Even if the first two points aren't issues, most PDA screens aren't big enough to display Web sites well, requiring an annoying amount of horizontal scrolling. AvantGo provided content meant to be viewed on smaller screens.

All of those are still problems, although to lesser degrees.

With Pocket PC Phones and Internet hot spots, content is available in more locations that ever before, but it's still not universal.

Also, with WiFi and GPRS or CDMA 1xRTT, the speeds are faster than ever, but still not up to a real broadband connection for most users. Even if 3G or 4G is faster than a home connection, many data plans are still more expensive than a home broadband connection. (T-Mobile is the exception, with a $30 unlimited plan, $20 if you're on one of their phone plans.)

However, PDA screens are still small, and most Pocket PCs still only support 240x320 regardless of how large a screen they use.

Given that, I think AvantGo still has a place. In fact, I use it, even at home. I download C|Net and PC World to my iPAQ and read the news while I watch TV on the couch. Sure, I could connect to the actual sites via WiFi, but the reading experience isn't as good (check out the PC World articles in both AvantGo and Pocket IE and see), and my battery life would suffer.

Steve

[mattbugz]

AvantGo used to be a must have application for me. However, over time, performance has degraded severely.

It's not worth the time it takes to sync when I have better alternatives. I still use it once in a while, but only with a few channels.

[synrgy]

I've used AG for 3 years and began experiencing lags when sync-ing using the cradle and activesync about 6 months ago.

A couple months ago I took the cradle out of the mix alltogether. I hitched my Outlook to a hosted Echange server and began began syncing AG manually via wi-fi. In short, my PPC now syncs flawlessly.

The quality of channel content offered through AG however in my opinion, is a shadow of what it used to be. Many providers (like ESPN, CNN) now their own handheld formatted web content.

I tend to rely on AG's cached content only when I'm stuck waiting somewhere w/o a wi-fi connection. I'm beginning to drift towards a growing legion of newsworthy sites formatted for the PPC.

[kamikun]

Can't believe no one has mentioned Mobibook! The service is reliable, you can store the program and the downloaded data on a storage card. It has worked for me 97% of the time with little to no tweaking.

Even better they've relased an app that allows you to design your own 'channel' from any website or RSS service... you can roll your own! The channel design allows you to set up anyone's webpage into a content channel with pictures and links (if'n you want them), perfect for blogs and commercial sites.

For those of us outside of the WiFi net this thing is perfect.

/plug

[ombu]

WiFi/GPRS killed AvantGo for me...buh-bye! :byebye:
It was suicide for me, slow to sync and many channels I liked are not available any more, later as you say WiFi/GPRS burried it IMO.

BTW, I'm one of those lucky guys :wink: with an almost perfect performance from Active Sync, just a few small troubles in the past which went away since I don't use Avant Go any more, somebody else? Just curious.

Regards.

[MaximumPDA]

I should note that while in my previous post I stated I no longer sync with AvantGo because I use a Pocket PC Phone we still support our AvantGo channel and from what my web stats tell me it accounted for over 4Gigs of data transferred in January, so they must be doing something right still. The AvantGo service does provide a great service for non connected PDA’s.


--Bill

[bbarker]

I don't use it anymore for a couple of reasons:

1. It no longer will sync over ActiveSync. I just get an error message that says "Device components are missing or out of date." And this appears even after a hard-reset and after downloading the latest code from the AvantGo website.

2. It takes FOREVER to load the main page. I click on the AvantGo link on my homepage (the default homepage on the Jornada 568) and then wait 5-10 minutes for the page to appear!
I am currently experiencing the first problem and I can't figure out a fix. I think it's going to require a hard reset. Ouch! But I don't have the second problem (and I also use a Jornada 568). It can be slow loading but not THAT slow.

A few months ago I upgraded to the 8MB paid version, which cost something like $10 for a year. I just have too many channels I like. The jury is still out on whether I renew (assuming I can make it work again).

BTW, Pocket PC Thoughts has problems over AvantGo. The main one is that I have 3 pages available on my mobile version of the site, but each page is a repeat of the first page. Also, in order to read multiple forum pages I have to set the link level several pages deep, which makes the site HUGE on my PPC (I currently have it set at 3MB!). I wish I could set the forums to display all messages in a thread on a single page.

[Jereboam]

Mobibook, or properly Mobipocket, has been mentioned once already. I have played with their new client quite extensively but I don't like the way that it formats the content - it is immediately apparent that Mobipocket is a book reader rather than a news reader, navigating around multiple new articles is just a pain. For periodicals like The Onion, Economist (which has disappeared off Avantgo grrr) it's great, as that is much more of a reading experience with long articles. For newspapers, Avantgo's optimised formatting is superior.

I'm also transiting across to live news, so suspect that Avantgo hasn't got long to go on my device - especially as I am moving back to Europe proper where wifi hotspots and fast GPRS make it easy. Certainly when I'm at home where I have my own wifi network I rarely read Avantgo synced stuff.

A few of my favourite channels have also dropped off Avantgo. Plus, their policy of now enforcing content providers to pay up (however much that is clearly their right and the only way to sustain their business model) is obviously having an impact.

RSS is also perfect for small devices...now if only someone could release a decent client...not that the current efforts don't work well but I would like to see a commercial grade app.

As has been recently said, it's all about bandwidth. Roll on WiMax and 3G!

J'bm

[Paul]

Along these lines, does anyone use Plus! Sync & Go? (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/plus/dme/portabledevices.asp)

I love this program and use it daily.

[i_spock]

I actually started relying *more* on AvantGo the past couple of weeks. My morning routine (before going to the gym) was to pull out my SD card, put it in a USB reader, and sync mazingo directly to it while I ActiveSync-ed the PDA. I really liked the formatting and speed of viewing content in Mazingo, but now that 4-5 of the sites I synced no longer work, and with no way to manage the syncing, I decided it was time to give up the ghost.

I set up a laptop on my dining room buffet table with WiFi and ActiveSync, as well as pocket backup plus. Now in the morning I just connect the 2215 to the sync cable on the laptop and I get avantgo, a file backup, and a complete sprite backup before I head off to the gym. While the sync is going (which is only a couple of minutes) I feed the dog, etc.. And when I get to the gym I have fresh AvantGo content to read on the excersize bike.

When I went to AvantGo to set up more channels, I also found that a lot of the ones I used to like were no longer available. So I went to http://www.pdaportal.us and searched for all the technology related sites in english, picked the ones I liked, and just made custom channels out of them in AvantGo. Works really nice and syncs fast.

Oh yea and I do have a bluetooth adapter on my main syncing machine but I loathe using it. Super slow, hit and miss as to whether a sync will complete, etc. After bluetooth syncing for a few months I tried the cable/cradle again and I'll never go back to BT. I'm looking for a CF WiFi card. I hear syncing via WiFi works like buttah.

Whoops sorry for the rambling. Hope it made sense- hard to be coherent with a 2.5 yr old underfoot :lol:

[isilver]

I used to use it myself. But ever since it stopped syncing up and a lot of my avantgo channels were demanding money I stopped using it.

[CME2C]

Ed I can confirm that CNET slowed my sync down. It would hang for minutes looking for updated pages at like 349 out of 355. I removed CNET and now it syncs much faster.

[shawnc]

I sync manually over WiFi since the active sync funtion never worked for me. I go to settings>connections>avatgo connect>sync all and I get my 8 channels including Cnet loaded in less than a minute.

What he said (except I've got 10 channels). No problems at all now that I've taken AS out of the mix.

[l0o5er]

RSS is also perfect for small devices...now if only someone could release a decent client...not that the current efforts don't work well but I would like to see a commercial grade app.

Latest RSS kid on the block is this freeware Activesyncing one - http://home.worldonline.dk/viksoe/rsssync.htm

Haven't tried it myself but use viksoe.dk's themesync & playlistsync apps & Find them invaluable

[guinness]

Used to use AG, but then I realizied I didn't use it that much and I needed the RAM space.

[dlinker]

I use AvantGo to read PocketPcThoughts and the local paper (Sydney Morning Herald) on the bus/train on the way home. Have also used it since my (gasp) Palm days 6 yrs ago

Still a good product for me as it is always there - don't have to worry about WiFi or GPRS connections, can read even when going through a tunnel in the train, and it works (for me) without any intervention.

[Russ]

I've just renewed my AvantGo subscription - call it habit - but I'm not happy - as soon as I do this everything crawls to a halt. I've submitted the following to their online support page.

"1. AvantGo seems to have crawled to a stop. Both the web site and the syncing to PDA's
1a. Syncing to my Pocket PC is now glacial.

2. Your web site certificate is out of date

3. The choice of channels seems to be getting smaller and some don't seem to work, at least not consistantly.

4. Check out this thread from Pocket PC Thoughts
http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=25017

Just renewed and not very happy...You are selling a service - but you're not you are selling a dis-service.
Russ"

UPDATE: No you can't submit it - the submit button doesn't work - i'll try emailing them at: [email protected]
I'll let you know if I get any response.

Russ

[tanalasta]

How do you use avantgo to read PPCT?

I love avantgo - although I agree with some other comments that loadup/sync times are frustratingly slow. However, some of the information can be extremely handy, especially as it is free.

I use avantgo to download latest movie times for my favourite cinemas. For all those spontaneous times when you go "Hey, let's see a movie? When's it on!" :)

[Stephen Beesley]

I don't use it anymore for a couple of reasons:

1. It no longer will sync over ActiveSync. I just get an error message that says "Device components are missing or out of date." And this appears even after a hard-reset and after downloading the latest code from the AvantGo website.

2. It takes FOREVER to load the main page. I click on the AvantGo link on my homepage (the default homepage on the Jornada 568) and then wait 5-10 minutes for the page to appear!
I am currently experiencing the first problem and I can't figure out a fix. I think it's going to require a hard reset. Ouch! But I don't have the second problem (and I also use a Jornada 568). It can be slow loading but not THAT slow.



Yep another Jornada 568 user here with the same problem. Started happening a few months ago. Sometimes after a hard reset the problem goes away, but the slow load time is always there even when sycing works. I have now pretty much stopped even trying and rely on Journal bar for quick news and weather etc. When I get the chance I whip out my wifi card and link straight into my favourite sites. I have also been using the Autocruise mode on NetFront for some pages where I do not need to follow any links.

Another thing I have been doing is pulling down stuff on my desktop and then using Word with the MSreader plug-in to convert it to a .lit file and reading it on my Jornada. I find this particularly useful for things like reviews of new devices or long articles etc.

All in all I think Avantgo's days are numbered.

[torgamm]

I am still using AvantGo for some services that are PDA-friendly but are not accessible through the web.

Why don't anyone speak about:
Plucker on a Desktop: http://www.plkr.org/
combined with
Vademecum on the Pocket PC: http://vade-mecum.sourceforge.net/

I use both a lot instead of AvantGo.
Plucker is well-known in Palm OS world
And VadeMecum is a very decent home-made E-books reader
Lastly, useless to say, as one of the webmasters of PocketPCFreewares.com, I would not make advertisement for solutions which are not free ;)

[WirelessJunkie]

Since i only have a ipaq 1915 without any wireless mode (excepted the infrared sync with my mobile phone over gprs...) I use AvantGo daily, with something around 20 channels (yupp i take every bits of my free 2mb account !) without any problem !

But now, i also use the excellent MobileRSS website which allow you to have unlimited RSS feeds fitted into a single page and you have a personal url so you can sync it out as a mobile favorite (just schedule an "available offline" synchronisation on internet explorer) Pretty neat and powerful :idea:

You can check out my (mobile) RSS feeds over there (http://www.mobilerss.net/feedmain.php?i=227&m=705f2172834666788607efbfca35afb3&l=paDLFS.ob13B.)

Hope it will help ! :grouphug:

[Buddha]

I gave up Avantgo and have been using Plucker and Vademecum for some time now. I enjoy having all these options and beeing able to customize my channels to my liking. There is also a scheduler built-in to automate everything. The only thing left is to sync the files to your ppc.

I'm a happy camper! :wink:

[Ed Hansberry]

Ed I can confirm that CNET slowed my sync down. It would hang for minutes looking for updated pages at like 349 out of 355. I removed CNET and now it syncs much faster.
Yeah, the problem for me is if I remove CNET, I might as well just remove Avantgo. I can get everything else I am interetested in just as easily on my cell phone's WAP channels or via GPRS/WiFi.

[Paul Martin]

1. It no longer will sync over ActiveSync. I just get an error message that says "Device components are missing or out of date." And this appears even after a hard-reset and after downloading the latest code from the AvantGo website.


I use a Jornada 568 as well. I occasionally have this problem. I think I've fixed it by either
1. Removing the Avantgo account from Activesync, soft reset, then re-adding it.

2. Remove my Pocket PC profile from my computer, then re-adding it.
I can't remember which one worked, but might be worth a try.

[Evee Ev]

i commute into ny every day and i love using avantgo on the bus. i have 13 channels that i read on a daily basis. i do one last sync before i go home and i'm good. now if you're in a rush avantgo can be a little slow at times, but i've got no complaints.

sometimes some channels become unavailable, which sucks sometimes, but i really can't complain about avantgo. it's definitely one of my must have programs.

now if and when i get a bluetooth phone or a pda with a wi-fi connection i probably will use it a lot less.

[AMR]

My AvantGo is AvantGone.


I was discouraged when I moved to a PPC that I couldn't get it to work over ActiveSync, and as an ex-Palm user I wondering if I made the right choice. It's been a couple years now and I don't miss it at all. OK, maybe I miss The Economist stories a little bit.

[jhayter]

I had a lot of problems using AG when i first switched from Palm to PPC and discovered that the vestigial Palm AG-client was the problem. Found a thread on aximsite that solved the problem for me.

I still use AG but not as much as I used to. There does seem to be less channels available and the AG site makes it very difficult to browse the available channels. I've been using offline Mobile Favorites more often lately with scheduled downloads twice a day.

[Stephen Beesley]

1. It no longer will sync over ActiveSync. I just get an error message that says "Device components are missing or out of date." And this appears even after a hard-reset and after downloading the latest code from the AvantGo website.


I use a Jornada 568 as well. I occasionally have this problem. I think I've fixed it by either
1. Removing the Avantgo account from Activesync, soft reset, then re-adding it.

2. Remove my Pocket PC profile from my computer, then re-adding it.
I can't remember which one worked, but might be worth a try.


Thanks for the tips - I am going to give both of these a go. Even though I was not really using Avantgo as much as in the past (even before this problem) there are a couple of channels that I do really miss.

[Brad Adrian]

I still synch several AvantGo channels every day, but my favorite ones have been dropped by AvantGo, one by one. So, I bet I only read what I've downloaded once a week or so.

[PPCRules]

... I suspect it is the CNet channel, the one I probably read the most of. :? It has missing images and can take 4-5 minutes to sync over broadband. It hangs for the longest time at the "Now searching for updated pages" section.

It's so obvious, I suppose no one else dared mention it, but have you checked 'View your synchronization history' under the 'My Account' tab on your 'my.avantgo.com' page? I can usually find out what's causing the problem by checking there. For me, it's usually been a couple 'sportingnews.com' pages that it can't find and it sits there waiting for a while (reports 'connection timed out'; it's not Avantgo's problem). CNET does seems to exceed my channel size (now 170k) pretty often. The 'synchronization history' also reports your sync time, in case you are exagerating with that "4-5 minutes". :lol:

I have been using Avantgo for years (original Palm Pilot). For me it's been the main reason to tolerate carrying one of these things around all the time. It's generally worked fine for me. Spending about six months using Mazingo gave me a fresh appreciation for the reliability and simplicity of Avantgo.

I find I probably regularly read my custom channels as much or more than I do the AvantGo-set-up ones, as the latter are thinning out. I suspect many people overlook this feature. Of course, that doesn't pay the bills to keep the service going.

[PPCRules]

As for Plus! Sync and Go, I wish they'd relented and opened it up to Windows 2000. I think I could have liked that service. Sorta like what Mazingo could have been if they had finished it.

[nategesner]

I used Avantgo to track movie reviews, play times, weather, and to read the news. I would say I used it several times a week. But then my work put in a stronger firewall and I can't get my Ipaq to sync. Ever since that, I've stopped using it and I don't really miss it.

[Paul]

I guess you mean PPC 2000. Yea it's way better than Mazingo.

[minimage]

I like AG. I like free. I also use HandStory and PocketRSS. I am an information junkie, and I don't always have access to wireless, even though my employer has it deployed in most major locations. If I get the message about out-of-date components, and if I happen to care at the time, I soft-reset, and away it goes. I've also been known to sync wirelessly, but mostly at home.

[Wiggin]

I have been using AvantGo since it started, and it still maintains a "must-have" status on my PPC.

Over the years, I've learned a few tricks to make the experience work better for me:
1) Unless absolutely necessary, do not sync AG info in U.S. AM hours (6-9 EST)...the AG servers are getting slammed by everyone starting their day with a sync and response time is painful
2) Switch to manual control for synching via ActiveSync so you can choose when you hit the AG servers in order to avoid getting in the dreaded "searching" loop during auto sync
3) Update your AG account on their web site, modifying the channel size limits to better match the actual size of content
4) Reduce the number of days of page history IE stores on your PPC
5) Remove channels you don't actually use regularly ( :mrgreen: ...I know, obvious... but I couldn't resist )

Despite having WiFi and BT on my 4150, and a BT Phone for web access when I'm on the move, I still value having 2MB of news/info at my fingertips for those times when I am not connected.
Perfect app? Far from it
Worth the occasional hassle? Absolutely

:way to go:

[minimage]

Here's my thing. It seems I cannot view AG content with NetFront 3.1. Some newsgroup posting I read mentioned a problem with this in 3.0, and it also said that the Access folks would make it viewable in the next version...so wassup? I'm trying to figure out this offline browsing thing native to NF right now, to see if that can be my replacement. Then maybe I'd just use my AG account for my PenCentra, when it arrives (if AG runs on CE 2.11).

[Varrus]

I have to admit that I used to be an AvantGo junkie, even upgrading to the 8 Meg account. My account came due for renewal about a week ago, causing me to revisit whether it's worthwhile.

It's not.

I've been easily able to pare my account down to about 5 channels that I haven't yet been able to find RSS feeds for.

What I don't understand is why more people aren't using their Inbox on their Pocket PC as an RSS reader? I love the fact that I can use NewsGator on my laptop to pull my RSS feeds into Outlook, then synchronize all my RSS feed folders to my Pocket PC. I created an "Old News" folder that is not synchronized (but still appears in Pocket Outlook's Inbox), and as I read my feeds, I just move the read articles into this folder on my Pocket PC. That basically keeps the feeds constantly purging, so I'm not wasting storage space on my Pocket PC. RSS feeds are also generally extremely small, which contributes to the elegance of this technique. If I find something that I want to look into deeper, I move it into my inbox, so that the next time I'm at my computer, and I sync, there it is for me to pay attention to.

I love the fact that this gives me the flexibility to read my feeds wherever makes the most sense. NewsGator's Outlook integration works extremely well for me, since I basically live in Outlook all day, and the ability to take my feeds with me "on the go" is invaluable.

Does anyone else do this?

AvantGo is dying a slow, but inevitable death, and I can't say that I will be all that sad to see it go. Now I just hope that my last few favourite channels will hurry up and get RSS feeds before AvantGo bites it.

[PPCRules]

I guess you mean PPC 2000. Yea it's way better than Mazingo.
I meant Windows 2000. Plus! Sync-and-Go was made to only work on Windows XP. I don't have high speed internet on my Windows XP computer, so it's a painfully slow Sync process.

[SassKwatch]

What I don't understand is why more people aren't using their Inbox on their Pocket PC as an RSS reader? I love the fact that I can use NewsGator on my laptop to pull my RSS feeds into Outlook, then synchronize all my RSS feed folders to my Pocket PC........

I love the fact that this gives me the flexibility to read my feeds wherever makes the most sense. NewsGator's Outlook integration works extremely well for me, since I basically live in Outlook all day, and the ability to take my feeds with me "on the go" is invaluable.

Does anyone else do this?

What a ** GREAT** idea!

Being another Newsgator user, I should be bopped up side da head for not thinking of this.

[emmfan]

I was checking out NewsGator and noticed they have a new online service where you can synchronize newsfeed listings and even view newsfeeds via a web interface designed for mobile devices. Have any of you guys tried this out yet? This would be really convenient on a Pocket PC over wifi, except that most newsfeeds still point to full-size webpages (not necessarily small screen friendly).

Update: Evidently when NewsGator Online Service (NGOS) says "Synchronize", it's in a rather limited context. Meaning, NGOS only keeps track of those newsfeeds that have been downloaded and does not synchronize the status of messages (unread, read, deleted) across machines. This is a pretty limiting implementation, hopefully, they modify the funcionality to more complete and useful synchronization.

At this point, all it does it makes sure you don't repeatedly download the same newsfeeds, but that doesn't help if you haven't read them all yet, before moving on to another machine, or if you haven't completed researching particular articles.

[kookyguy]

I stopped using avantgo, when I discovered, world offline. I had to many issues, with sites, not syncing for one reason or another. I've experienced very few problems, with world offline. I use it to sync, my page of rss feeds, I have set up on http://www.mobilerss.net/ too.

[SassKwatch]

I was checking out NewsGator and noticed they have a new online service where you can synchronize newsfeed listings and even view newsfeeds via a web interface designed for mobile devices. Have any of you guys tried this out yet?
I haven't. Thus far, I'm using it as Varrus described a couple messages back. I just sync a few of my feed folders with Pocket Outlook, and then read offline (generally during lunch at work). Basically, I'm using it in much the same manner I use AvantGo.....as a replacement for a newspaper essentially.

If I worked in an environment with easily accessible WiFi, I'm sure I'd want to do as you suggest.

Update: Evidently when NewsGator Online Service (NGOS) says "Synchronize", it's in a rather limited context. Meaning, NGOS only keeps track of those newsfeeds that have been downloaded and does not synchronize the status of messages (unread, read, deleted) across machines.
You mean if you take the PPC w/ you to Starbucks and dl /read some feeds there, and then later that day when back at the desktop, you dl feeds again, you get some of the same posts you received on the PPC at the caffeine joint earlier in the day? I can see how that might be the case.

FWIW, NG does have a discussion forum if you go to the Support area on their site. As the product is still *somewhat* new, it might be worth dropping a suggestion there.

[emmfan]

You mean if you take the PPC w/ you to Starbucks and dl /read some feeds there, and then later that day when back at the desktop, you dl feeds again, you get some of the same posts you received on the PPC at the caffeine joint earlier in the day? I can see how that might be the case.

Actually, NewsGator would synchronize those feeds previously downloaded (at Starbucks) and would not necessarily be downloaded again. But say that after looking over the feeds, you delete the one's you don't want anymore and leave some for future reference or further research on a bigger screen. That would not be possible w/o having to manually re-download all the previous feeds again, negating the personal filtering that you had done on your mobile device.

FWIW, NG does have a discussion forum if you go to the Support area on their site. As the product is still *somewhat* new, it might be worth dropping a suggestion there.

Yup, been to NewsGator's support forum and got some great (and very quick) responses from Greg at NewsGator.

I've been using NewsGator more and really enjoying its rather intuitive implementation in Outlook, and also in the mobile edition service. Now just hoping for continued development on the synchronization side!

[Pete Wilson]

What I don't understand is why more people aren't using their Inbox on their Pocket PC as an RSS reader? I love the fact that I can use NewsGator on my laptop to pull my RSS feeds into Outlook, then synchronize all my RSS feed folders to my Pocket PC.

After the posts recommending it, I installed NewsGator and tried PPC sync. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem too useful to me. ActiveSync requires I use an Exchange server folder since it won't sync my extra data files. Most of the RSS Feeds I tried were worthless for offline use - a URL for the real story, followed by one line of text (except for the PPC Thoughts feed).

Even though Mazingo sucked, it was better than this.
Back to the drawing board (at least until sites do more with RSS).