Moving from Palm to Windows Mobile

Hi all,

Sadly, after years of running Pleco on various Palms; 'work horse' m505, 'super screened' CLIE PEG-615 'convergence' Treo 650 and now the 'almost perfect' Centro viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1218 )

I am proud to say that all but the Centro were bought 2nd hand and all worn to their grave and beyond, but saldy I think I am going to have to give up the ghost and move to a Windows Mobile as I have moved to 3G only Tokyo and I am sick of carrying a seperate 'PDA' around (my centro)

Although I am used to waiting, it doesn't look like Palm are going to bring out a 3G Centro any time soon.

I have checked and my two most beloved applications, Pleco and the Collins English dictionary seem to be supported, but I am also a heavy user of the built-in apps that palm has, like Contacts and Tasks and Calendar. I am keen to know how other people think Winmob compares.

Is the transition easy? Are there any recommend apps to make it more palm-like in it's operation? Or is it so bad I should just hang on?

I am looking at HTC Touch Dual or the Xperia if it comes soon. Are there any other devices out that are recommended?

Thanks,

Richie
 

sfrrr

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Richie--I was one of the earliest Palm adaptors and one of the earliest PPC (now known as Win Mobile adaptors) and overall I far prefer Windows. Much more powerful, much more flexible. The Palm OS and devices are more elegantly designed (as in simple to use), but it's looking awfully long in the tooth.

You'll find a whole lot more programs for WM than for Palm and they will have many more useful features. As for built-in calendar, tasks, contacts, notes, etc, the Win OS has them too. However, the built-in PIM pps for both OSes are lame--just as I used Datebk on the Palm, I use PocketInformant or AgendaFusion on the PPC. I also couldn't live without SBSH's PocketBreeze and Contact Breeze--they put my calendar, to-dos, notes, etc. right on your Today screen (also called your home page.

If you need Chinese input, CE-Star has always worked the best for me--not that it's perfect. It has made some of my PDAs unstable, sometimes refused to install or got lost after a while or interferred with other aps. And their tech support is practically non-existent.

You can find most WM programs on PocketGear (many of us don't like to shop at Handango because they supposedly want to take a 50% fee for handling each program. And they charge you if you want to re-download your purchases at a later date.

I don't know how long you've been on the Pleco forum, but if you haven't heard of ChinesePod's podcasts, you might find them useful. I keep several at a time on my current PDA. And I find that MortPlayer (free) or the free TCMPC (the free version of Core Player) are the easiest to use for listening to podcasts.

Oh, and the games... And the productivity programs...and the weather reports...and the...........

Hope this helps,
Sandra
 

ipsi

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There will never be a 3G Centro, or any other Palm device from what I've heard, due to limitations in the OS.. There should be some when the new Palm OS hits, but that's a while away.
 
Sandra - thanks for the feedback. It's good to have a quick reference on the best apps, i'll try out those ones you mentioned.

I do kind of hope Palms promised linux OS is good, it'd be worrying if Winmob was the only pen based OS. Microsoft only seem to do anything well when they start well behind.
 

radioman

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If I am not looking for a phone, just a windows based handheld, anyone have a "recent" view of the best kind device? Looking for very good screen, reasonably large, but this does not have to be the best and most recent unit, shall I say "best value"? If this is on the forums already, my apologies. but any direction thoughts welcome. (or should I just stick with my palm???). Ultimately I expect to go with the iphone, but likely only at the point when Pleco is available....
 
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