Handheld that works well with Macs
Jumping Arne
previously used different Palms but for various reasons I've decided that
they are a dead end.
What I'm looking for is something that syncs the address book, the calendars,
simple notetaking, have WLAN, works well with email and web. Note that the
address book, calendar, notes, reading/writing emails (but not
sending/receiving) has to work off-line. It should also have a decent battery
life.
Any suggestions/advice for a device?
Jeffrey Goldberg
At the risk of stating the obvious, have you looked at the iPhone?
The iPod Touch might also do much of what you list, but I'm not certain.
-j
--
Jeffrey Goldberg http://www.goldmark.org/jeff/
I rarely read top-posted, over-quoting or HTML postings.
http://improve-usenet.org/
Jumping Arne
(in article <alpine.OSX.0.99999...@Hagrid.local>):
> At the risk of stating the obvious, have you looked at the iPhone?
Unfortunately it doesn't "exist" where I live and there have been no
announcements of when (if?) it's going to be sold
Jolly Roger
Jumping Arne <arn...@mac.com> wrote:
I don't know why you'd consider Palm devices a dead end. I use my Treo
700p with Mac OS X and it's terrific IMO.
--
Note: Please send all responses to the relevant news group. If you
must contact me through e-mail, let me know when you send email to
this address so that your email doesn't get eaten by my SPAM filter.
JR
Jumping Arne
(in article
<jollyroger-295D2...@70-3-168-216.area5.spcsdns.net>):
> I use my Treo 700p with Mac OS X and it's terrific IMO.
Unfortunately it didn't really work for my anymore (perhaps my requirements
changed over time). I've owned a Palm 1000, a Palm III, a Palm m505, a Palm
T3 and a Palm TX but at the moment I'm not using a handheld at all.
Mike Rosenberg
> > I use my Treo 700p with Mac OS X and it's terrific IMO.
>
> Unfortunately it didn't really work for my anymore (perhaps my
> requirements changed over time). I've owned a Palm 1000, a Palm III, a
> Palm m505, a Palm T3 and a Palm TX but at the moment I'm not using a
> handheld at all.
Well, it would help us to understand your needs if you could explain why
a Palm doesn't work for you anymore since, to many of us who currently
use one, it sounds like it fits the bill for you.
--
<http://designsbymike.info/shop/mac.cgi> Mac and geek T-shirts & gifts
<http://designsbymike.info/shop/musings.cgi> Muckraking T-shirts
<http://designsbymike.info/shop/prius.cgi> Prius shirts/bumper stickers
<http://bogart-tribute.net> Tribute to Humphrey Bogart
Tim Streater
<jollyroger-295D2...@70-3-168-216.area5.spcsdns.net>,
Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:
> In article <0001HW.C3806755...@news.individual.de>,
> Jumping Arne <arn...@mac.com> wrote:
>
> > I've started to look for a handheld that works well with Macs. I've
> > previously used different Palms but for various reasons I've decided that
> > they are a dead end.
> >
> > What I'm looking for is something that syncs the address book, the
> > calendars,
> > simple notetaking, have WLAN, works well with email and web. Note that the
> > address book, calendar, notes, reading/writing emails (but not
> > sending/receiving) has to work off-line. It should also have a decent
> > battery
> > life.
> >
> > Any suggestions/advice for a device?
>
> I don't know why you'd consider Palm devices a dead end. I use my Treo
> 700p with Mac OS X and it's terrific IMO.
I'm inclined to think so. I've had a Tungsten T, an E, and now an E2. In
all cases there have been screen problems. The E2 was a free replacement
for the E after John Lewis made 3 attempts to fix it without success.
Jumping Arne
(in article <1i8t3mh.1j5o4xseogh5wN%mike...@TOGROUPmacconsult.com>):
>
> Well, it would help us to understand your needs if you could explain why
> a Palm doesn't work for you anymore since, to many of us who currently
> use one, it sounds like it fits the bill for you.
It's the combination of several things:
+ I'm going to buy some kind of handheld and I'm pretty sure that Palm is
more or less dead, there hasn't been any real invention from Palm in a long
time and I can't see that something interesting is going to happen.
+ The Palm OS has always had its glitches and I got tired of them
+ I've had digitizer problems with but my T3 and my TX so I don't really
trust the hardware anymore.
+ Syncing of data have always been a problem, while basic information has
transferred (most of the time) I've always had problem with getting all
information to transfer (and yes I've used MissingSync ... which have had
it's own set of problems)
+ Software - no real improvement of the built-in software in a long time and
it looks like many Palm developers has lost interest in the platform (not
surprising considering the problems the OS have had and how Palm have handled
these problems).
So while various Palm devices works for many people it's not something I want
to spend money on (unless they come up with something really nice in the near
future). And I'm not that interested in getting a smart phone - unless the
non-phone things are really good.
What do I want?
Nr 1 is very good syncing with address book and ical data, I want to have all
data synced and I should be able to make changes on both sides without any
side effects (this for example didn't always work with my Palm)
Nr 2 is wlan access. My TX handled this fairly well.
Nr 3 email. With some 3-party software my TX handled this (3 out of 5 points)
Nr 4 Web access. My TX didn't handle this that well.
Nr 5 Syncing of notes.
Then I would like to have a number of 3rd party programs but that's something
else. I wouldn't mind a built-in hardware keyboard, phone is OK but not
vital. A decent built-in camera would be nice but not vital.
Devices I've been looking at are iPhone (doesn't exist here ... yet), iPod
Touch, Nokia N800, various smart phones from Sony Ericsson and Nokia. The
iPhone/iPod are interesting but not until they let 3rd party developers write
programs for it.
Madwen
I wonder if there's any truth to the rumor that Apple may come out with
a PDA in 2008.
Jumping Arne
(in article <wyvern-9E69E8....@sn-indi.vsrv-sjc.supernews.net>):
> I wonder if there's any truth to the rumor that Apple may come out with
> a PDA in 2008.
I've missed that rumor but I wouldn't be surprised ... I mean iPhone/iPod
touch is pretty close.
Robert Haar
> I wonder if there's any truth to the rumor that Apple may come out with
> a PDA in 2008.
Seems to me that all they are pretty close with either the iPhone or the
iPod Touch. All some client apps and data input. When the predicted 3G
network capabilities appear, either of these could become true handheld
computers, not just PDAs.
Phil Stripling
<wyvern-9E69E8....@sn-indi.vsrv-sjc.supernews.net>, Madwen
<wyv...@nospam.invalid> wrote:
> I wonder if there's any truth to the rumor that Apple may come out with
> a PDA in 2008.
Cringely's prediction is a tablet computer:
http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/2007/pulpit_20071207_003573.html
--
Phil Stripling | email to the replyto address is presumed
The Civilized Explorer | spam and read later. email from this URL
http://www.cieux.com/ | http://www.civex.com/ is read daily.
Jeff Wiseman
Maybe an iNewton?
:-)
--
Jeff Wiseman
to reply, just remove ALLTHESPAM
Lawrence Leichtman
<wyvern-9E69E8....@sn-indi.vsrv-sjc.supernews.net>,
Madwen <wyv...@nospam.invalid> wrote:
Yeah a Newton
Eric Lindsay
The 1997 Psion 5 running Epoc did all the above syncing perfectly
(except WLAN), provided that your computer was Windows (back then, I
wasn't using a Macintosh). It linked perfectly via infra red to a cell
phone for sending and receiving email and SMS, and web browsing (at
ruinous expense I must admit). It also included a very nice word
processor, reasonable spreadsheet, great database, and a drawing
package, and had a 640 x 200 touch screen display (in 16 shades of
impossible to read grey). Plus it ran for 24 hours on a pair of AA
batteries, and would sit in a drawer for 6 weeks without the batteries
running out. It was an incredible machine, that I used instead of
Windows very often. I even ran my Postscript printer from it (wirelessly
via infra red).
The NetBook version added the WLAN, if you could find a Cisco Aironet
340 wireless adaptor. But despite the 640 x 480 colour display, that
variation was too large and heavy to be a PDA.
Hardware is now far faster (the Psion ARM started at 16 MHz). Memory is
way larger (Psion started at 8 MB, plus CF card). It constantly
astonishes me that a decade later, I can't find anything that comes even
close as a replacement. The problem is mostly the software. I know a few
of the Psion people ended up working for Apple. I always sort of hoped
that Apple would come up with something that fixed the (many) errors
Psion made, and took the PDA forward. The Symbian smart phones were
going to be the way forward. Now I don't think that will ever happen.
The iPod Touch (and presumably the iPhone that isn't - legally - sold
here) have the hardware mostly solved. I am enjoying playing with an
iPod Touch. But Apple are limiting it to being a media player. There is
no indication Apple have any real interest as yet in adding a PDA
replacement to their software. I don't believe third party applications
that rely upon cracks are going to open either as a viable handheld
replacement.
Derryck Croker
> On 12/8/07 3:54 PM, "Madwen" <wyv...@nospam.invalid> wrote:
>> I wonder if there's any truth to the rumor that Apple may come out with
>> a PDA in 2008.
>
> Seems to me that all they are pretty close with either the iPhone or the
> iPod Touch. All some client apps and data input.
Beware that the Touch's calendar is read-only.
--
Cheers
Derryck
Derryck Croker
>> Beware that the Touch's calendar is read-only.
>>
>>
>
> Does now. Update software.
Interesting. That was one of the points that the Apple employee
mentioned was lacking compared to the iPhone when I attended the local
mug meeting in Brent Cross recently. Makes a more compelling reason for
buying a Touch now :-)
Thanks for the info.
--
Cheers
Derryck
Shawn Hirn
If you want to reconsider Palms, I have a Palm Treo 700p and it works
great with Leopard and Tiger. I use Missing Sync to synchronize the data
between my Treo and Apple's apps. Missing Sync is available at
http://www.markspace.com
Shawn Hirn
<wyvern-9E69E8....@sn-indi.vsrv-sjc.supernews.net>,
Madwen <wyv...@nospam.invalid> wrote:
Apple already did, the iPod touch, which does 99% of what a conventional
PDA does.
BreadW...@fractious.net
Um, not really. The apps are mainly still webapps, not local.
When I can keep *local* encrypted notes on the thing and have
it useful when not within wi-fi range, I'd say you're at 99%.
Right now, maybe 20%. But it's got awesome potential and I
very much look forward to what comes out once third party
developers start working with the SDK (to come out in
Feb 2008).
--
Plain Bread alone for e-mail, thanks. The rest gets trashed.
No HTML in E-Mail! -- http://www.expita.com/nomime.html
Are you posting responses that are easy for others to follow?
http://www.greenend.org.uk/rjk/2000/06/14/quoting
Jumping Arne
(in article <0001HW.C3806755...@news.individual.de>):
I'm going to try avoid buying anything before late february, it's going to be
interesting to see what happens when the SDK is released - I'm somewhat
tempted by the iPod Touch and the iPhone.
But I need to decide before early march ...
Jolly Roger
Shawn Hirn <sr...@comcast.net> wrote:
I have a Palm Treo 700p as well. I use Palm Desktop and Microsoft Office
to synchronize my data with Microsoft Entourage's address book,
calendar, and so on. Works great!
Robert Haar
> On Sat, 8 Dec 2007 15:23:01 +0100, Jumping Arne wrote
> (in article <0001HW.C3806755...@news.individual.de>):
>
> I'm going to try avoid buying anything before late february, it's going to be
> interesting to see what happens when the SDK is released - I'm somewhat
> tempted by the iPod Touch and the iPhone.
I am waiting for the v3G iPhone that is expected mid year. Hopefully, there
will be higher capacity units available as well. I have my 60 GB iPod 75%
full and want a single unit that would replace the iPod, a cell phone and my
Palm TX.
Eric Lindsay
Shawn Hirn <sr...@comcast.net> wrote:
> In article
> <wyvern-9E69E8....@sn-indi.vsrv-sjc.supernews.net>,
> Madwen <wyv...@nospam.invalid> wrote:
>
> > In article <0001HW.C3806755...@news.individual.de>,
> > Jumping Arne <arn...@mac.com> wrote:
> >
> > > I've started to look for a handheld that works well with Macs.
> > > Any suggestions/advice for a device?
> >
> > I wonder if there's any truth to the rumor that Apple may come out with
> > a PDA in 2008.
>
> Apple already did, the iPod touch, which does 99% of what a conventional
> PDA does.
The iPod Touch does maybe 1% of what a conventional PDA does, not 99%.
The Safari browser is incredible. However Contacts and iCal are
essentially read only.
I bought my PDA in 1997. Decade old technology now. It has a touch
screen (which is hard to read), a decent keyboard, does 24 hours
non-stop use on 2 AA batteries (6 weeks in sleep - and it wakes way
faster than an iPod Touch), accepts CF memory cards (so it has unlimited
storage), synced to Microsoft (and other) Office applications, and
connected to the internet via a cell phone (via IrDA).
It had email, SMS, web browser, fax, voice memos, a sketch program, a
word processor, a spreadsheet, a database, contacts, a calendar that is
still competitive with iCal, built in programming language, and a wide
range of third party programs.
Sorry, but iPod Touch isn't even close as yet, despite the neat
hardware. However new versions of WebKit (Safari is based on WebKit)
have some enhanced rich text editing facilities
http://webkit.org/demos/editingToolbar/ , and advanced CSS styling
http://webkit.org/blog/122/webkit-3-10-new-things/ . This makes web apps
much more capable. Plus WebKit is adding HTML5 local database storage
facilities
http://webkit.org/blog/126/webkit-does-html5-client-side-database-storage
/
(You will need a recent version of Safari to see most of these in their
correct form).
Frédérique & Hervé Sainct
> The iPod Touch does maybe 1% of what a conventional PDA does, not 99%.
> The Safari browser is incredible. However Contacts and iCal are
> essentially read only.
The Touch now is read/write for contacts and ical
> I bought my PDA in 1997. Decade old technology now. It has a touch
> screen (which is hard to read), a decent keyboard, does 24 hours
> non-stop use on 2 AA batteries (6 weeks in sleep - and it wakes way
> faster than an iPod Touch), accepts CF memory cards (so it has unlimited
> storage), synced to Microsoft (and other) Office applications, and
> connected to the internet via a cell phone (via IrDA).
From this I recognize you have a Psion, like me ;-)
But mine's screen failed twice already, and the second time I hesitated
to pay again because Psion had subcontracted the repairs. I then dared
buy a *much* poorer machine from the guys that killed Psions, Palm. I
used it two years with an external folding bluetooth keyboard; now, the
battery doesn't recharge anymore; I ordered a spare one and managed to
solder it in place: it happens the charging circuit indeed is at fault,
not the battery. I trashed the Psion with some pleasure I must say, and
finally accepted to be offered an iPod Touch.
I knew the touch wouldn't accept any keyboard, which basically kills the
notetaking capability (at least when by "notes" you mean one full page
of actions taken real-time during a meeting), but nowadays nobody is
shocked anymore in a meeting when you unfold a big computer on you
knees, which was not the case 5 years ago. so... notes will come from
elsewhere.
but other than the noteTAKING capability, the Touch is much more
impressive than what Apple's ad let think. Unlocking it is very easy,
and then there are lots of extra applications, of which for instance a
"search" function that's indispensable if like me you transported your
fossil 2000 pages of notes and 1500 contacts inherited from the previous
machines.
There is a pdf viewer, a (fragile) .doc viewer, multistandard chatters,
dictionaries, the mail is almost perfect -believe it or not, for us
fossils here there is even an usenet newsreader (a very poor one for
now, but a beta version).
Even without unlocking the machine there are tricks, for instance, I
managed to sync my 2000-pages notes by importing them in a dedicated
categories in Contacts, which I now can search easily on the Touch.
I'm still vaguely hoping for someone building a small keyboard that
would plug on the iPod, but other than that I'm reasonably satisfied for
now.
--
Frédérique & Hervé Sainct, h.sa...@laposte.net [fr,es,en,it]
Frédérique's initial is missing in front of the above address
l'initiale de Frédérique manque devant l'adresse email ci-dessus