Starting to plan for life in a post-Palm OS world

Posted by Ken
Feb 17, 2009 at 11:14 PM

While it was nice to see that Palm has announed their new Web OS, I was sad that they pulled the plug on their current OS. And while I use Ecco and several other desktop programs on my PC’s, I relied very heavily on my old Sony Clie with DateBk5, Bonsai, and HanDBase. In light of the Clie’s age, I am now starting to think about how I will replace it at some point in the future.

I am not really interested in a smartphone because the cost of a data plan for one of these phones is way more than I care to spend. And, as I am PC based, Mac-only software that works in conjunction with Apple’s iPhone/iPod Touch is not an option. WiFi is certainly nice in this day and age for “cloud computing” and two-way synching of data, but I also want applications that will work off-line. So, at present, I am seeing two possible options - an iPod Touch or a Nokia N810 ( I could consider a Windows Mobile PDA, but the few that remain are awfully expensive). You would think that both devices would have good PIM software available, but that is not exactly the case. I have found a few pieces of software for the iPod Touch that could help me try to replicate my current stable of programs, but replacing DateBk is going to be very hard. Take a look at the following at let me know what you think.

Calendar Options:
Google Calendar synching to iPod calendar via NuevaSync; or,
Google Calendar synching to Saisuke calendar via Saisuke

Both options allow me the ability to view my calendar from any device with an internet connection, but also allow me to have my full calendar on the iPod Touch when I am off-line. Also, I am assuming that the iPod can alert me to appointment reminders.

Contact Address Options:
Google Contacts
Plaxo
HanDBase for the iPod

I have no idea if any of these proposed solutions will work and could use some guidance.

Task Options:

There are many web-based task managers, but I could use some recommendations for a program that, like the above programs, will offer two-way synching as well as operate in a stand-alone mode when off-line.

As you can see, I am in the early stages of planning this migration, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

—Ken