TCS - FAQ's for Palm and Pocket PC devices
FAQ's for Palm and Pocket PC devices
This article is going to be devoted to answering some of the typical questions I
get on the Pocket PC and Palm Pilot PDA's. I have compiled a list of questions I
have received from the Alamo PC PDA Special Interest Group and many of my
clients over the past year. Please use this article to help you get more out of
your PDA and please send me any questions you may have about your Palm or Pocket
PC device.
Which PDA should I buy?
That is the ultimate question. In my opinion it is best to stay with a PDA that
is using the Palm OS or Pocket PC OS. There are many choices available, the best
place to start would be with people you know and trust. Ask your friends and
relatives what PDA they use and how their PDA's have worked for them. There used
to be a big price difference between the Palm and Pocket PC PDA's but that is no
longer the case. To give you an example the least expensive Palm color PDA
retails for about $199, where Dell has a Pocket PC at $249 and has been
advertising rebates that make the price $199. I do not know how long these
rebates will last but you can see how close in price these two competing systems
are today. The important thing is for you to do your research, there are many
things to consider before you buy so don't purchase one on impulse.
Where can I get software for my PDA?
The majority of the software for PDA's is available on-line. Many of the
consumer electronics stores offer software but they only offer a small portion
of what is actually available for PDA's. You should search the web for the type
of software you are looking for, a few good sites to look at are
www.handango.com, www.pocketgear.com, and www.palmgear.com. Handango is a site
that sells software for the Palm and Pocket PC as well as other portable
devices. It is probably the most popular site for PDA software; it claims to
have over 20,000 applications. It is well organized and easy to find the
software you need. The two gear sites are the same company but use two sites to
separate the Palm and Pocket PC software. These sites also have a very good
selection of software as well as other information about the Pocket PC and Palm
products.
What are the best sights for information on PDA's?
To keep up with the PDA market there are many sites you can go to, a few of the
sites I have found that are great for keeping you up to date are
www.pdabuzz.com, www.brighthand.com.
Can I read books on my PDA?
Yes, they are called E-books. The Palm OS has not typically come with an e-book
reader so one has to be installed to read books. The best site for this is
www.palmdigitalmedia.com. You can download a free E-book reader as well as many
of the E-book titles available online. The Pocket PC comes with an E-book
reader, MS Reader and if you go to the MS Reader site www.microsoft.com/reader
you will find links to sites that have E-books in the MS reader format. There is
more than one format for E-books, Pocket PC has one and Palm has others. The
Palm E-book site has a reader for the Pocket PC and you will probably want to
install it because you will find more E-books in the Palm format than in the MS
Reader format.
How do I clean my PDA screen?
To clean the PDA screens use a soft cloth moistened with rubbing alcohol or use
one of the cleaning kits for PDA's. It is not recommended to use glass cleaner
as it could damage the screens over time.
Are there ever any software patches for the Palm and Pocket PC operating
systems?
Yes, you should check your manufactures site. You may be surprised at how many
patches or fixes for PDAs have been released. Palm and Microsoft have also
upgraded their syncing software, so check their sites for these upgrades.
How come when I use the keyboard on my PDA the letter I tap on does not
display, another letter is displayed?
In some cases your PDA becomes out of alignment and when you tap in one place
another place is actually activated. On the Palm all you have to do is go to the
Preferences application and in the top right hand corner tap on the digitizer,
then follow the instructions on the screen. On the Pocket PC go to settings on
the start button and then go to the system tab at the bottom of the screen. You
will see an icon called Align Screen, tap on it and follow the instructions.
After these steps your screen tapping should be back to normal, if not you may
have more serious problems with your unit.
Can a Palm OS device beam to a Pocket PC and vise versa?
Yes, as long as the Pocket PC device has the Pocket PC 2002 operating system.
You can beam contacts, calendar events, to do items, and notes. Just use the
beaming feature on either device to send to one of the other devices.
Can I read Adobe acrobat files on my PDA?
Yes, the Adobe Acrobat file format is one of the most popular file formats on
the internet. Adobe has an Acrobat Reader for the Palm and Pocket PC on its
site. These readers are free for the download.
Can I read MS Word and MS Excel on my PDA?
The Pocket PC has a Pocket version of Word and Excel that allows the transfer of
these documents to and from the Pocket PC. One important thing to note is that
there is some conversion done when the files are moved from the desktop to the
Pocket PC and you may loose some of your formatting.
Many of the Palm devices come with a software product called Documents-To-Go.
This allows you to read and write Word and Excel documents on a Palm device.
Check you installation CD for this software.
Can I read web pages on my PDA?
There are many solutions to get web page information to a PDA. One of the
simplest ways is a free solution that comes with most all Palm and Pocket PC
devices. Avantgo is an application that works with its web site to reformat web
sites or preformatted web site information to your PDA in a layout that is
convenient to read. For the Palm you have to check the installation CD for the
software or go to the www.avantgo.com web site to get the software and set up
the service. For the Pocket PC, it is already on the device, all you do is go
the Pocket IE application and tap on Avantgo and follow the instructions.
Do I have to learn graffiti to use the Pocket PC?
No, the Pocket PC has multiple input methods, one method actually lets you write
in your normal handwriting as a way to get information into the Pocket PC. Note
there is a input method called Block recognizer that allows you to use graffiti
to input data into the Pocket PC, this is great for Palm users moving over to
the Pocket PC.
Can I upgrade my older Pocket PC (Pocket PC 3.0) to the new Pocket PC 2002
operating system?
Most of the older Pocket PC's are not upgradeable. The exception was the Compaq
IPAQ; Compaq (now HP) has an upgrade you can purchase on the HP web site that
will upgrade the older IPAQ models to the new operating system.
When I tap the X in the top right hand corner of an application in my Pocket
PC why does it disappear but still stay open?
When you use the X in the top right corner of an application, unlike in The
Windows desktop operating system the program is not closed. You must close the
application using an exit command or use the stop application command under
settings. Depending on your Pocket PC manufacture you probably have another
method to stop programs. Check your manual for details.
Can I synchronize with both Microsoft Outlook and Palm Desktop?
If you have PocketMirror from Chapura (included with certain Palm handhelds),
you are asked during installation if you would like to synchronize with MS
Outlook, and this will synchronize the Date Book, Address Book, To Do List, and
Memo Pad. You can choose to synchronize these applications with either Palm
Desktop or Microsoft Outlook, but not both. If you need to synchronize with
Microsoft Outlook after you have installed you Palm software, run the
PocketMirror setup from the CD that came with your handheld, follow the
instructions on the screen. The Pocket PC comes with MS Outlook so this question
is not relevant to the Pocket PC.
Can I read E-mail on my Palm OS device?
Yes, but you have to do a separate installation of the mail software. The
software that moves the E-mails to you Palm device is not installed
automatically. If you go to the folder that has the Palm software, Palm Desktop,
and click on mail setup. This setup allows you to set up the E-mail solution
that Palm offers.
These tips a brought to you by Michael Espinoza of Technology Coaching,
tci@technologycoaching.com 210-261-4051, a private coaching, group training and
solution provider for the Palm and Pocket PC handheld computer industry.
For more information on the Tulsa Computer Society click here
Tulsa Computer Society 6/02/2003
Don Singleton, President