7429495
Tablet PCs vs. PDAs - More Thoughts
I’ve noticed that several other websites and authors have made comments about Microsoft’s plans to hit the market hard late next year with the Tablet PC. My personal feeling is that if Microsoft and the manufacturers can come out with a number of different devices of different sizes and capabilities, they might just knock PDAs out of the market.
My first PDA was a Newton MessagePad - in fact, for many years I kept buying up every new model of Newton that hit the market. Now the MessagePad was not exactly a svelte little device, but I carried it with me everywhere I went. During Comdex, Fujitsu displayed a prototype Tablet PC that was approximately the size of my last Newton, the MessagePad 2100. If some manufacturer, Fujitsu or other, can deliver a device that runs full-blown Windows XP with ink editing, handwriting and voice recognition, with a beautiful color display and blazing speed, and can keep that approximate form factor, I will dump every Palm and Pocket PC device I own.
Why? I won’t be adding all that much weight, but I will be grabbing all the power I need. Instead of scrawling or tapping notes into a Pocket PC (or attaching an external keyboard), then converting those notes from Pocket Word to “real” Word, it would be much more simple just to write and publish my notes on one device in Microsoft Word 2002 (XP). No conversion to a “lite” version of Office required? Great! Able to run all of my applications that run on my current desktop PC (including FrontPage, various Adobe packages, etc…) on a paperback-sized device? Cool! And if the 12 to 14 hour battery life that they’re touting for the Tablet PCs is a minimum life, I’m really going to be happy.
It’s going to be an interesting year and a long wait!
7348500
Is Omnisky About To Tank?
It’s beginning to look like Omnisky might be following the lead of Ricochet and doing the death dance soon… As you’ll recall, Ricochet (Metricom) put a ton of money into a proprietary wireless network that used little cellular pods that hung off of streetlights. They went belly up earlier this year, although there are rumors that their new owner (who bought the assets of the Ricochet network for about $14 million - when it cost over a billion dollars to build!) might try to start up service again.
Anyway, Omnisky is a bit more confusing. They offer their service for a reasonable price (about $40 a month), they use somebody else’s infrastructure, and they just provide good software and try to get content providers lined up. So you’d think they would have a good chance of surviving, huh? Well, rumor has it that they are on their last legs at this point, with only about 42,000 subscribers nationwide. I used to be one of those subscribers and I can tell you why I quit.
First, $40 a month is almost $500 a year. Frankly, I didn’t feel like I was getting $500 worth of benefit from the service. It seemed like wherever I wanted to use the device was out of range of the wireless system or on the fringes, so I was constantly losing signal when I most wanted to send e-mails or surf the web. Secondly, they had some fairly decent content providers lined up when I first started using the service in mid-2000 (having dropped the Palm.net service at that time). By the time I sold my Palm Vx / Omnisky modem combo in mid-2001, a lot of the really good providers had given up. There are only so many times that you want to use your device to hit weather sites, sports scores, etc.. If I tried to hit a regular website, it usually took so long at the 19.2 kbps maximum speed of the modem that I got disgusted and gave up.
I think what the Omnisky and Ricochet stories are telling the industry right now is that data-only wireless providers are not a good idea, and that it should be the wireless voice providers (AT&T Wireless, Verizon, Sprint, etc…) who also bring along the promise of the wireless internet. I won’t be happy until I can have something very close to my current desktop DSL experience with a pocketable wireless device that works EVERYWHERE. If I can’t have the device give me at least minimal service when I’m in Santa Fe, New Mexico or Amarillo, Texas, then what’s the use of having it? Like most Americans, even after 9/11 we’re still traveling to other parts of the country where full digital cell phone service isn’t a given - and we want our service to work everywhere, all the time…
7284027
What’s Not To Like About PDAs? Apparently, A Lot!
There was an interesting CNet article today that was discussing the fact that sales of handhelds and other technology products are flagging, and that experts are starting to believe that the public has had enough…
They had some good points in the article. For instance, what other industry can make people buy equipment and software that is flawed, force them to pay for upgrades or repairs, or even make people test their products in the form of beta updates? I know that until someone makes it very easy for my mother-in-law to set up and use her PC herself, there’s a lot of work to be done in making things more easy to use.
A good example of a product that didn’t really meet my expectations was the Palm VII. For one, it only worked well if I was in a strong signal area, otherwise the “wireless web” was worthless. In many cases content providers gave up after a short time so I was stuck with a few junky “web clippings”, addresses changed without warning, and services that were once free suddenly had a cost associated with them. I tried a Palm Vx with an Omnisky modem for a year and basically got disgusted with that as well for the same reasons. What am I using now? In most cases, if I need “information” I am using a version of the TellMe service provided by AT&T Wireless. I can get to this by punching one button on my cell phone and can talk to let the service know what I want to find. That beats the hell out of tapping away on my screen only to find that I’ve moved out of range and have lost my signal!
Don’t get me wrong - I will never be caught without a PDA, at least until someone comes out with something better. But I find them tremendously frustrating at times and I have worked with the damned things since 1993! Here’s a current example of a couple of Pocket PC 2002 frustrations: 1) I can synch at home, pull my device from the cradle, come back and hour later and drop it back in the dock and synch again, ad infinitum. I cannot do this at work - I can only synch one time. Another co-worker has had the same problems, so it’s not just happening to me! 2) When I synch at work, I end up with all services successfully synched. When I’m at home, it doesn’t understand some of my contact names so it ends up wanting me to “resolve” some items. Why should I have to do this? It should realize that I’m on a different system, that some of the contacts might not be the same and synch ‘em anyway.
I’ve seen many of my coworkers get excited by Palms, Handsprings, Pocket PCs, even Newton MessagePads that they’ve picked up on eBay. And eventually about 80% of them end up getting very frustrated and their usage of the device drops to nothing. My manager surprised the heck out of me - she’s actually been using her Palm m100 for over a year and uses it every day.
Here’s another reason people don’t want to get excited by wireless devices or PDAs - my wife, an actual “rocket scientist”, is a very brilliant person. Yet she can’t see the point in carrying around a little device unless it can provide the same experience as her desktop PC (a 1.4 GHz Dell Pentium 4 with a DSL internet connection). She’s got a point? What’s the use of squinting at a poorly backlit Palm VII screen and waiting for a minute or two for a weather report when she can get the same information in living color with moving maps in seconds from Weather.com?
I’m hoping that the 3G devices that might make it to market in a few years can resolve some of these issues by providing us all with wireless connections that work, that have sufficient bandwidth to keep us entertained and up-to-date, and that these same devices have enough raw power to make them extremely easy to use. Right now, that seems like a dream instead of a plausible future…
It’s not just handheld devices that suck right now. How about this one? I have an 802.11b wireless network that worked just great. Then I went in and made the mistake of putting in a 2.4 GHz wireless phone system, thinking that there was no way that these two systems would ever interfere with each other. Certainly the designers of the cordless phone and the 802.11b manufacturers would work with each other to make their products work well together! Wrong. I was having a lot of dropped connections last night and found out why when I hit the 3Com website tonight - it basically said “Don’t use your 2.4 GHz cordless phone and your 802.11b network at the same time”. Duh! Hey, on occasion I do like to talk on the phone while surfing, and now you’re telling me it’s not going to work? Shit.
Sigh….
7208718
Another Rant About People Using Technology In Inappropriate Situations…
OK, here I go again. Remember a few months ago where I was blowing off steam about assholes who can’t turn their cell phones off during movies, concerts, etc??? Well, I saw another perfect example of this tonight. My wife and I are subscribers to the Colorado Symphony Orchestra in Denver, so we see a lot of great concerts. This season, about one row ahead of us and just across the aisle is this guy who can best be described by paraphrasing a line from “Annie Hall” - “50ish academic, into Mozart, James Joyce and sodomy….”. He looks like a college prof with a 30ish wife (probably the ol’ trophy wife), and only once during the current Symphony season have I seen him really paying attention to the music - most of the time he’s got his head stuck in a book while the musicians are playing their hearts out. Whatta jerk.
Well, tonight topped it all. He’s apparently decided to move into the 21st century and read e-books instead of regular books during the concerts, probably because he has a backlight to help him out in the darkened concert hall. Yep, during most of the concert this dick had some sort of device (kinda looked like a Handspring Prism) that he was reading. He tried to hide it in his suit jacket, which made it look even more like furtive masturbation than anything else. On occasion he’d whip it out (the Prism, not what you’re thinking…) and flip to something else.
Are people in this day and age so shallow that they can’t even put down the ol’ handheld device for more than 20 seconds to enjoy a good concert? Puhleeeeeze turn off those PDAs, pagers and cell phones when you’re at a theatre, concert or any other public event. If your attention span is so short that you can’t be away from your electronic teat for more than a few minutes, then just stop going to cultural events and quit annoying those of us who would like to enjoy our music, cinema, theatre and lectures in peace.
7133592
Press Release: Strip Blackjack (ARM - MIPS - SH3) Coming soon!
Nothing can beat the excitement and suspense of Blackjack. Except for… Strip Blackjack !
It’s not about money, it’s the sexy dealer’s clothes who are at stake in this thrilling casino game. Draw cards as close to 21 as possible without exceeding that number.
From a technical viewpoint, we can tell you that the game features most major casino rules, including splits, doubling down, insurance, and dealer hitting on soft 17. But that’s not the most interesting aspect of it: Play smart and you can win all the clothes of your gorgeous dealer opponent. And… if you’ve undressed her completely, there’s several other dealers you can add to the game. Strip BlackJack is the ultimate adult casino game with great graphics and sound. This game is addicting!
Features:
exciting and addictive gameplay
high quality pictures optimized for each Pocket PC screen
funny and witty comments by the dealer babes
clear helpscreen with game instructions, blackjack rules in seperate html file
buy and install/uninstall dealer girls seperately for memory saving or install all of them on a CF card
Strip Blackjack comes standard with dealer Rebecca. More girls available as add-on.
resume a previously aborted game
game will have background music and speech samples
game will have some undocumented funny features to be discovered by the players.
4 models will be available at time of release
release is planned for the end of November
pricing: $14.99
*All models are 18 or older.
Requirements: PocketPC with ARM, MIPS or SH3 processor, 3 MB free RAM.
7133513
Press Release: Pencel Job Tracker Mobile Field Management Tool
Pencel Releases Job Tracker Mobile Field Management Tool for the AEC Industry
Job Tracker provides powerful project management applications using Palm
Powered handhelds
Pencel Corporation today announces at the Computers for Construction conference
in Philadelphia, PA the launch of Job Tracker, a handheld field management
tool for the AEC industry with applications for time and material entry,
equipment usage, and progress reports. Deployed on Palm(tm) handheld
computers, Job Tracker provides direct integration with back-end accounting
and project management systems and is wireless ready, allowing companies
to leverage existing mobile phone service from wireless service providers
such as Nextel and Sprint PCS. Built upon Pencel’s proven Kinectivity
mobile data application platform, Job Tracker provides a powerful mobile
infrastructure with the flexibility for companies to customize the applications
to suit their own specific requirements in the field.
Job Tracker consists of an integrated database and synchronization engine
that connects mobile devices directly to existing back-end data sources,
such as accounting and project management systems. Construction companies
now have a more efficient means of inputting time, material, equipment
usage and daily reports into back-end databases and generating reports
in the field for more informed decisions where they are often more substantial.
Pencel designed Job Tracker to streamline the process of remotely moving
data back and forth from a job site to back-end database systems. Key
advantages of using Job Tracker include the elimination of paper forms
and the need for subsequent re-entry of data into the corporate database.
Further, the rapid access to data enables workers to more quickly identify
potential problems in the project life cycle. Another benefit is the flexibilit
y to connect with back-end data systems from remote locations via either
wireless or Internet connections.
“The need for remote interaction with project data is especially crucial
in industries such as construction, where timely and well-informed decisions
can have significant impact on the success of a project,” said Dana Book,
Pencel Corporation’s vice president of business development. “Job Tracker
is a complete solution that gives the AEC industry a much more efficient
means of inputting relevant data and tracking the status of projects.”
Job Tracker includes five modules designed to provide an end-to-end mobile
project data solution for construction companies:
“The Daily Reports module enables users to quickly enter weather conditions
and general information on a daily basis for multiple projects and companies
and includes a number of features, such as tabs, pick-lists and editable
comment lists, aimed at facilitating data entry.
“The Timecard Entry module allows users to gather timecard information
for crews and applies that labor information toward projects and even
specific labor codes within a project while applying established billing
rates.
“The Equipment Usage module tracks the hours that specific equipment is
used and applies the hours toward specific individual projects.
“The Installed Quantities module enables users to input the actual quantities
of materials used on a project and apply the materials toward specific
budgeted items.
“The Progress Reports module allows users to view the status of a project,
including actual versus budgeted labor and material quantities, job costs
on a daily basis, and gauge progress based on benchmarking data
7104314
Press Release: Bob The Pipe Fitter For Pocket PC
Hexacto launches Bob the Pipe Fitter, a wacky new game of concentration, skill, and pipe fitting.
Even if you don’t know a socket-weld elbow from a lift-swing valve, Bob the Pipe Fitter will keep you going for hours with this fast-paced connect-the-pipes game for the PocketPC. Bob is your mentor, encouraging you as you try to connect the pipes that drop from above. It’s a crazy race against time to make as much connections as possible.
The more you connect, the more points you score. A four-piece loop makes a pipe bomb that blows away the surrounding pipes for extra points and more room on the playing board. Use your skill to create a chain reaction for monster points that will knock Bob’s socks off!
Forget about butt welding, greasy flanges, and tank nipples. Bob the Pipe Fitter will keep you playing for hours and you won’t even get wet. Will you always be an apprentice? Will Bob ever give you a raise? Keep track of your scores and synch them with others on Hexacto’s Web site. If you’re good enough, maybe Bob will blow a gasket when you show him who’s really the boss!
Hexacto Games is a Montreal-based company that develops compelling and addictive games for the handheld computer market. Considered one of the top handheld game developers in the world, the company plans to release four new games in the coming few weeks, including Tennis Addict, the first game of the new Sports Addict? series.
Special introductory price until December 30th: $12.95.
7104014
Press Release: Bachmann Software Launches FilePoint 2.0 at COMDEX
FilePoint(tm) 2.0 expands Palm OS file management to include enhanced
support for Handspring and Sony handhelds
Today at COMDEX, Bachmann Software announces the release of FilePoint(tm)
2.0, extending the application’s ability to manage Palm OS files on the
external memory cards of both Handspring and Sony CLIE model handheld
computers. By building on FilePoint’s seamless ability to organize data
on Palm brand handhelds, this combination launcher and file manager introduces
a familiar user interface to handheld users, akin to what they’re accustomed
to at their desktop.
FilePoint’s sophisticated folder management system has been improved to
allow users to expand and collapse the folder tree, as well as rename
folders. Other enhancements to FilePoint 2.0 include dramatically faster
program load time, and improved memory management tools, including a warning
that alerts users to low memory on RAM.
PC Magazine is publishing a review of FilePoint in its November 27, 2001
issue. In awarding FilePoint a perfect 5 out of 5 rating, the reviewer
described FilePoint as a “dual-purpose Windows Explorer-like utility that
provides flexible file folder management and an optional alternative applicatio
n launcher for the Palm OS main menu.” The reviewer praised FilePoint’s
ability to “help you take advantage of PDA storage expansion, keep applications
accessible, and set up a customized file folder organization scheme.”
FilePoint, first introduced by Bachmann Software in August 2001, allows
users to organize data in folders. Files created in many of the third-party
applications for Palm OS(r) handhelds can be easily organized using FilePoint’s
drag and drop feature. The ability to organize documents in folders,
along with FilePoint’s browse and search features, allows users to quickly
find data stored either in RAM or a memory expansion card. FilePoint
also offers the ability to sort files, making it easy to decide which
files or applications users may want to move to an expansion card to free
up needed RAM. With the stylus serving as the “mouse,” users can launch,
open, print, beam, file, delete, move or save data by simply tapping the
appropriate icon, avoiding the need to invoke any hidden menus.
“With handhelds taking on the utility of a truly mobile computer, users
appreciate the ability to perform the same basic functions they have come
to expect at their desktop. FilePoint allows users to find, organize
and use their data in a way that is familiar to them”, said Dan Reuvers,
Bachmann Software’s vice president of business development. “We’re helping
to adapt the device to the user, rather than the other way around.”
FilePoint version 2.0 retails for US$19.95 and is available on Bachmann
Software’s Web site, www.bachmannsoftware.com, or any of the Web sites
that sell Palm OS applications, such as PalmGear and Handango.
7076269
Press Release: Cutting Edge Software Quickoffice Conference Announced
Cutting Edge Software Unveils Quickoffice Conference, Real-Time Wireless
Application Conferencing, at COMDEX
First-of-its-kind application enables mobile professionals to collaborate
on projects simultaneously via Palm OS handhelds
Today at COMDEX, Cutting Edge Software, Inc. announces the release of
Quickoffice Conference, a first-of-its-kind wireless application conferencing
solution. Quickoffice Conference combines the power of wireless networking
technologies with Cutting Edge Software’s Quickoffice, a suite of word
processing, spreadsheet and charting applications for Palm OS handheld
computers, enabling participants to simultaneously make edits to the same
spreadsheet and see their changes take effect immediately. By holding
a Quickoffice Conference, team members can collaborate on projects in
real time regardless of location, making mobile professionals more efficient
than ever and speeding the process of conducting business.
Using Quickoffice Conference, workgroups will be able to extend the interactive
, immediate functionality of mobile phones to their wireless Palm Powered
devices. Members of a workgroup will be able to share files directly,
editing spreadsheets and documents simultaneously on their wireless-equipped
Palm Powered handhelds. This technology will include peer-to-peer and
peer-to-multi-peer conferencing capabilities and supports the 802.11b
wireless LAN protocol and CDPD, CDMA, GSM and GPRS wireless wide area
data protocols, enabling users to participate in Quickoffice Conferences
regardless of whether they are “on campus” or on the road.
“When we launched the very first Palm OS spreadsheet back in 1997, our
aim was to provide mobile professionals with a tool for conducting their
business anytime, anyplace,” said Jeff Musa, Cutting Edge Software’s president
and CEO. “We are proud to once again be the first to break new ground
by combining Quickoffice with today’s wireless communications technology.”
The first demonstration of the new Quickoffice Conference technology during
COMDEX will highlight the spreadsheet collaborative capabilities of Quicksheet
Conference Edition, due to the widespread reliance upon spreadsheet information
in critical business decisions where immediate interaction and iteration
enables faster decisions. Quickword Conference Edition is also in development,
enabling workgroups to compose business proposals, contracts, term sheets,
and other critical business communication documents collaboratively.
Workgroups will be able to conduct Quickoffice Conferences in either “Collabora
tion” or “Presenter” mode. In Collaboration Mode, multiple participants
will be able to view, edit and control the files being worked on together.
In Presenter Mode, a single conference participant will control the views
on each of the participants’ devices.
Cutting Edge Software designed Quickoffice Conference to enable participants
to use the wireless modems and WLAN solutions already in use by the vast
majority of “connected” mobile professionals. The application also works
with the latest models of wireless “smart phones” from Samsung, Handspring,
Kyocera, among others.
“This is an exciting announcement for users of our recently introduced
Samsung I300 Palm Powered smart-phone,” said Todd Person, Business Development
Manager for Samsung Telecommunication America. “The Quickoffice Conference
technology provides an incredible platform for our industry leading I300
handset to add appreciable value to individual business customers as well
as corporate implementations.”
Cutting Edge Software will be demonstrating Quickoffice Conference at
the Palm Partners Pavilion, Booth # L6155. The application is scheduled
to be officially released during the first quarter of 2002.
7075433
Press Release: Blue Nomad Unveils WordSmith 2.1 at Comdex
New Version of Word Processor for the Palm(TM) Organizer Features Spell Checker, Thesaurus, Virtual File System Support, and More
LAS VEGAS, Nov. 12 /PRNewswire/ — Comdex, Booth #6155, Palm Pavilion — Blue Nomad, LLC announced today the release of WordSmith 2.1, the latest edition of its award-winning word processor, enhanced memo pad, and electronic book reader for the Palm organizer. Packed with powerful new features, the release of WordSmith 2.1 raises the bar for Palm word processors.
WordSmith 2.1 features several major enhancements, including spell checker, thesaurus, and virtual file system (VFS) support. In addition, WordSmith 2.1 ships with a carbonized Mac OS Wordsmith desktop application that runs natively under OS X, and FineType Manager, which allows users to delete, beam and preview Blue Nomad FineType fonts.
WordSmith also runs in full screen mode (sans title and toolbar) and includes find/replace all, multiple clipboards, unlimited undo, word count, special security options and various go-to features.
This powerful and versatile package not only supports rich text, such as bold, italics and underline but also paragraph formatting and indents, justification, font selection and color. In addition, its unprecedented support for the Palm(TM) Portable and Targus Stowaway(TM) keyboards makes text inputting on the Palm easier and faster than ever.
WordSmith 2.1 is fully compatible with Microsoft Word, includes a bi-directional synchronization conduit for Windows and the Mac OS, and offers a command-line document converter for Linux/Intel users. It is likewise compatible with any word processor capable of reading and writing “RTF” files and allows users to synchronize documents between more than one desktop computer.
WordSmith 2.1 will be available for $29.95 in late November 2001, and will be a free upgrade to all registered users of WordSmith. For more information or to download a free trial version of the software, please visit www.bluenomad.com or contact sales@bluenomad.com .
7075388
Who Needs A PC OR A PDA? Get A Tablet PC
During the Comdex keynote address last night, Bill Gates and Jeff Raikes of Microsoft both talked at length about what the see as the future of PCs for knowledge workers - the Tablet PC. I’ve wanted one of these since the first time I saw 2001: A Space Odyssey back in the late ’60s! Remember the “Newspad”? Well, this is the closest we’ve come to that.
The Tablet PC, coupled with Windows XP Tablet PC Edition and a number of new applications and add-ins designed for the Tablet PC form factor, takes the concepts of the Newton Messagepad and takes them into a new generation of device. For example, there is the concept of the “endless piece of paper” that originated in the Messagepad, now taken to the next logical step in a program called “Microsoft Journal”. You can write a bunch of handwritten notes in ink, move that ink around, then either save it as-is or convert it to computer text. During a Comdex demo, Raikes showed off Journal by highlighting a “to do” item, then adding it to his Outlook task list in both ink and computer text format. Cool. They were also doing instant messaging using XP’s built-in Windows Messenger package, only using handwritten notes to converse.
I’ve always been somewhat underwhelmed with the idea of having to sit in a particular location to work on a PC, and I don’t like notebook PCs (even though my employer makes me use one at work…). That’s part of what I really love about palmtops - you can use ‘em anywhere. Well, here is a full-fledged PC with unbelievable power, and I can literally use it anywhere I want. They showed several different form factors; notebook PCs with screens that swivel around to create a Tablet PC, other devices that are strictly designed as pads, and a full-functioning XP box in a handheld device from Toshiba. I ordinarily don’t like Toshiba PCs, but that could get me VERY excited. A full-blown XP PC running Office XP with the ink extensions in something about the size of a Pocket PC? I love it!
Add a wireless ethernet card to one of these devices and you have an extremely powerful tool. I’ve already been impressed with how the Pocket PC works with wireless 802.11b ethernet - now move that to a high-powered device that can run virtually ANY desktop software that will run under XP, throw away the keyboard, and you’ve got one hell of a great concept.
Unfortunately, not many people share my enthusiasm for pen computing. I frankly think it’s the wave of the future, but if you ask a fair-sized sampling of people they say “I can type faster than I can write” or “Handwriting recognition sucks - look at the Newton!”. OK, but what if you throw in some really good voice recognition (most people can talk much faster than they can type!) or very excellent handwriting recognition? Then this starts looking good… Or what if you dispense with handwriting recognition altogether, except for those circumstances where you really need to have computer text? Of course, then you have to worry about whether or not your handwriting is legible…but once again, the Tablet PC concept starts making much more sense.
Being the geek that I am, I plan on getting one of these devices shortly after they come out. If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to dispense with my desktop PC. If this think is light enough (how about 2 pounds for a 8.5 x 11 inch device?), I’d carry it everywhere instead of my Pocket PC.
7018649
Special Quickoffice for HandEra 330 (Press Release)
Cutting Edge Software Upgrades Quickoffice? Version for HandEra 330 to
Include Formatting Options and HTML Editing
Users of HandEra 330 handhelds can now produce “office quality” documents
in Quickword
DALLAS (November 8, 2001)?Cutting Edge Software, Inc. announces today
the release of a new version of its Quickoffice productivity suite for
Palm Powered(tm) handhelds. The new version expands the recently released
word processing and spreadsheet features to users of HandEra 330(tm) handheld
computers, giving them unequaled ability to view and edit Excel and Word
files while on-the-go. This version of Quickoffice is available to past
purchasers of HandEra 330 handhelds free of charge, and will be included
with future HandEra 330 product shipments.
Quickoffice offers HandEra 330 users a word processor with full-text formatting
and HTML-editing capabilities, in addition to a spreadsheet with over
80 functions. Users can employ a wide range of fonts and the ability to
specify sizes and styles such as bold, italics and underlining for the
various typefaces. Users can also edit documents using standard HTML tags,
providing a growing number of professionals who write content for Internet
and intranet Web pages with a powerful tool for preparing Web-ready materials
while away from the office.
“Our users have applauded our choice of Quickoffice with the HandEra 330,”
said Allen Penkake, HandEra, Inc.’s vice president of sales. “The enhancements
provided in the most recent version of Quickoffice will further expand
the usefulness of the HandEra 330 as the preeminent Palm Powered business
tool. The capabilities of Quickword for editing word processing documents
are unmatched, and the fact that our customers will be able to enjoy these
features without cost provides even greater value to our customers.”
Quickword also supports bookmark synchronization with Word, enabling users
to create hyperlinked bookmarks within either Word or Quickword that retain
their links during synchronization. Advanced users will be able to use
this capability to create a hyperlinked table of contents within Quickword
documents.
Other enhancements include full support for Office XP documents and spreadsheet
s with improved integration between Quickword and MS Word 97 or newer,
including formatting preservation. Quickword also preserves tables, embedded
objects, images, charts, bulleted and numbered lists, and line formatting.
Along with the improvements to Quickword, Quicksheet has many significant
enhancements, adding more than 20 new spreadsheet functions and optimizing
the speed at which Quicksheet recalculates cells. Cutting Edge Software
has also worked to further improve the appearance of spreadsheets on color
Palm Powered devices by enabling users to add cell and text colors which
can be set on the device and synchronized bi-directionally with the Excel
file on the desktop PC.
Quickoffice is included with all HandEra devices and is available for
purchase at Quickoffice.com or any leading online retailer of Palm OS
applications, including PalmGear.com and Handango.com, in addition to
leading office supply and electronics retailers nationwide. It retails
for US$39.95.
7003375
Ding, Dong The Witch Is Dead!!!
Hey, remember my rant a few weeks ago griping about Carl Yankowski, the CEO of Palm? Well, he quit today (or was pushed out the door by Palm’s board of directors). Palm Chairman Eric Benhamou will be taking over the reins for a while until the company can find a new CEO to take the punishment. Palm’s statement says that they are looking for a different CEO due to the fact that the company is in the process of splitting into separate hardware / software businesses. I think they were just tired of the lack of commitment and decision-making capabilities from Mr. Yankowski.
Maybe Palm can actually get a wireless product out the door now!!!
Some HP Jornada 560 Accessories Starting To Show Up
If you own a Jornada 560 series Pocket PC you’re probably anxious to start seeing some of those luscious accessories that HP has been promising. While you still can’t get the really hot items (i.e., the PC Card Sleeve, the battery pack with built-in MMC slot, the thumb-board), you can now buy replacement covers, styluses, the Targus keyboard and HP digital camera.
6957169
A PDA For Your PDA?
Hmmm….this one almost qualifies as one of my Stupid PDA Products Of The Week, but then again it’s kind of cool. The Fossil Watch people have come up with a watch / PDA that you beam information to from your existing Palm or Pocket PC. The idea is that you always have a watch on your wrist, and this way you can at least have your calendar, alarms, tasks, memos and contacts with you, even when you’ve left the iPaq or Treo back in the office. Click here to see the Pocket PC version; there’s also a Palm version coming out and you can see it here.. They will be shipping in early 2002.
1 GB Type I CF On The Way
Sandisk has announced a 1 GB Type I Compact Flash card, which will make it the largest Type 1 card available. That’s roughly equivalent to about 20 hours of music - I guess I could finally fit the entire Wagner Ring Cycle on my Pocket PC now! The price is a little on the ridiculous side, however - the initial price is expected to be about $799. Given the way memory prices have been falling lately, it might be in the price range of the 1 GB Type II IBM Microdrive within a year (you can now buy those for about $365). This storage war will probably continue for a while, since IBM announced that they will start using “pixie dust” (ruthenium powder) on their hard disk drives to increase capacity. They expect to have a 6 GB CF Microdrive soon, although no release date has been set.
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Thin & Sexy Beats Colorful & Brainy Any Day…
I had an interesting experience last night. My 15 year old nephew had recently received some bucks from his grandparents and decided to splurge on a replacement for his defunct Palm III. It came down to a decision between the HP Jornada 525 (which was discounted down to $199) and the Sony Clie PEG-S320 ($169). He was calling to find out which one I would buy, and of course I gave him a lot of info but no decision…
The HP had obvious advantages such as the color screen, built-in Windows Media Player, and Pocket Office, but he ended up buying the Clie. Why? A simple look at the Jornada 525 and the Clie made the decision clear to me. Design of products is always something that people are going to use to make a decision, even when one product might be superior in terms of functionality. In this case, he’s going to have to spend another $130 to get MP3 player capability, buy QuickOffice for $40 to get similar spreadsheet and word processing functions, and he’ll still have a monochrome screen that he can’t do anything about. However, he has one damned good lookin’ device!
I think that’s why the HP Jornada 520 and 540 series could never compete with the iPaq, since they were frankly butt-ugly compared to the curvy Compaq. That’s why the Jornada 560 series is finally starting to get some attention in the Pocket PC field - it’s nice looking!
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Joy of Tech!
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MacLevelTen
