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| HOTKEYS |
| HotKeys
is one of those programs which lives on my Psion and is open all of the
time. So what does it do that makes it deserve the first review on
FileGrabber? Well, if a Psion organises your life then HotKeys can
organise your Psion. |
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| The
above picture is a screen shot of my main page which holds all of the
files which I use most frequently. When the Psion is turned on this
screen is the first to appear- to launch a file/application all I have
to do is either double tap an icon or press the corresponding letter.
The icons marked with letters e.g. Games (A-M) will take me to another
HotKeys page holding all of my Games beginning with those letters-
pressing one more key will take me back to the main page above- simple!
I am sure you will agree it's a damn sight easier than messing around
wading through folder after folder just to get to a file. HotKeys has
many other useful attributes including Macro support etc. If you want to
find out more about these features visit Neuon
where
you can download a fully working shareware version. Trust me- use this
program for a week and you will wonder how you lived without it.
(back to the top) |
| Rating-
94% for a near perfect program. |
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| MERLIN |
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| The
icons at the top of the screen shot in the HotKeys review are from
Merlin- another program from
Neuon
which
compliments HotKeys perfectly. |
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| It
allows you to control the remote link, monitor battery usage and free
memory all within HotKeys. There are many add-ons to freely download for
Merlin which enable you to have custom icons/shortcuts within any
application you like. While you are trying HotKeys give Merlin a go at
the same time- what have you got to lose? (back
to the top) |
| Rating-
89% for an excellent customisation tool. |
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| PALM
m100 |
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| You may
be wondering why I am reviewing a Palm m100- well, I have been tinkering
with the idea of setting up a PALM FileGrabber so I thought I would give
one a try. I have been using it for 3 days and must say I am slightly
impressed- it's main advantages over a Psion are it's size and weight
and it's incredible battery life. It is nice to be able to take a
machine anywhere and it's even nicer to be able to read a book on a
packed train when you have to stand up- something I could not do with a
Psion. It's strange how people seem to be drawn to it- often I have
heard people ask someone else 'what's that?'- this would never happen
with a Psion. |
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| It's
main downside is the slowness of data entry due, obviously, to the lack
of a keyboard. If you want a 'very' portable organiser for basic use go
for a Palm m100- otherwise stick to the best PDA on the market (still)-
a series 5 or Revo. (back
to the top) |
| Rating
78%- it does what it says on the box. |
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| VREADER5 |
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| So- what
does VReader5 do that makes it worth a mention. Well, it doesn't do a
lot actually except that what it wants to do it does very well. It
allows you to read books on your Psion either horizontal or vertically,
it allows you to place bookmarks when you want to stop reading and it
will also automatically save the position you last read up to. The main
benefit is that it will display a large variety of ebook formats such as
plain text, Palm format and TCR. It has no fancy menus or graphics which
is just as well because it's here to let the words shine through- and it
does. (back
to the top) |
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| Rating
86%- who's needs a paperback? |
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| PALM
Vx |
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| I
have used Psions ever since I bought my first Series 3 in 1991 and
gradually upgraded through 2 3a's, a 3c, a Sienna, a series 5 and now a
series 5mx. I have also flirted with other PDA's over the past few years
such as an early Cannon Windows CE machine, a Palm Pilot, an HP Jornada
Pocket PC and a Palm m100- all of which lasted barely a week because I
could not use them like my beloved Psions. I am a firm believer that
most people will stick to the first type of PDA they owned forever- it
does not matter what dazzling new features another make will have
because we get used to what we know and do not want to rely on something
different- this is the only explanation I can see for Palm's worldwide
dominance apart from Psion's lack of marketing in the USA. So- I was
given a Palm Vx to try out a couple of weeks ago and I got one hell of a
shock! |
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We
all know it's small, sleek and lovely to look at but how could it
possibly live up to a Psion 5mx? Well I have used it for 2 weeks and
have only used my Psion a handful of times and that was to transfer data
to the Palm. I spent a good few hours looking for programs on the Web to
enable me to do what I did with the 5mx and I actually managed to find
everything I needed e.g. my bank accounts, photos, ebooks and
spreadsheets are all now on the Palm as well as some very nice extras-
AvantGo (daily news, weather etc.), Race Fever (incredible racing game)
and Teal Movie (video player). Don't get me wrong, my Psion will never
be sold and I will always use it (especially for FileGrabber) but at the
moment the Palm travels with me. I will update this review in a month or
so to let you know how I have got on- who knows, I may be back with my
Psion after all.
Well, after a
few weeks of fun with the Palm- I have returned to a Psion Revo Plus. I
just could not cope with the data entry and small screen. I guess once a
Psion user- always a Psion user. Don't get me wrong the Palm keeps it's
5/5 rating as it is a fantastic machine- if only they would make a
PsiPalm with a keyboard and switchable operating systems- nice thought
but I don't see it happening. |
| Rating
91%- incredible that a machine this small can do what it does. |
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| HANDSPRING
VISOR PRISM |
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It's
quite think and heavy and is difficult to carry in your pocket without
leaving a bulge (could be embarrasing I suppose!) BUT it's quick, has a
fantastic screen (and I mean fantastic!) and does the job very well
indeed. Using the Springboard slot you can add extra memory for hundreds
of applications, video clips etc. and even an MP3 player, a mobile
phone, vibrating alert, ebooks and the list goes on and on and will no
doubt grow quite quickly. |
| There
is still the age old problem of having to enter text via a stylus due to
no keyboard which can be quite slow but this does have the advantage of
making you jot down 'quick' reminders and not over-organising yourself
which I always do with a Psion. At the moment, it's probably the best
'Palm OS' device available (pending the new Palm m505). Once you use
colour this vibrant you will find it difficult to return to greyscale-
be warned! |
| Rating
92%- superb! enough said. |
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| PALM
m505 |
I
said the Visor Prism was the best Palm OS PDA available- not anymore!
I have been playing with this
machine for a week and for the first time since the Psion series 3a I
had that old feeling of 'it's not possible for a machine to do this!'.
In an age where ever more sophisticated technology is taken for granted
it's nice to see a ground breaking PDA being released. There is a
massive range of PDA's available now but this has too many advantages
over the competition not to be a success. For one it's lovely to look at
and the colour screen is an obvious advantage (even if it is a little
dim). The SD/MMC expansion slot is what makes this machine so ground
breaking. You can now carry around large reference works, video clips,
some excellent games in addition to all of your contact details and
diary without even knowing the machine is in your pocket. Of course, it
will not be to everyone's taste but it does make me wonder if keyboarded
devices are the way forward- they were up to a year ago but with the
ever expanding range of accessories available- folding keyboards, MP3
players etc. for these machines it will only move more people over to
this form factor. PSION- wake up and give us what we want - a colour
screen, full PC connectivity and ground breaking hardware to add to the
best OS out there- EPOC. |
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| Rating
97%- amazing! |
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| SONY
CLIE 770C/U |
|
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Now his PDA has a
lot to live up to considering I felt the need to give the Palm m505 a
97% rating. I admit I purchased this on a whim because PC World offered
me an unconditional 7 day return if I did not like it so I thought I
could play with a new gadget for a few days and get my money back.
Needless to say they kept my money and I don't mind one bit. Yes, it's
bigger and heavier than the m505 but it also packs quite a few
advantages in to a form much smaller that the current line up of Pocket
PC's. It runs Palm OS 4.1 and includes extra software such as an MP3
player, Photo application and various utilities to manage Sony memory
sticks. I was not particularly interested in the MP3 player because I
use mini-disc and am a bit of a snob when it comes to sound quality but
when I eventually worked out how to transfer files over to the Clie I
was 'very' surprised with the sound quality- suffice to say I have not
used mini-disc since I purchased the Clie- I can say now the sound
quality is very impressive! |
| Photos
look stunning with the hi-res screen which is 320x320 pixels
(compared to a standard Palm's 160x160) and more and more programs are
being developed to take advantage of this feature which enhances the
Palm OS greatly. The battery life is also very good- easily comparible
to the m505 even when playing the odd MP3. I have a couple of minor
complaints- the flip cover has become useless after only a few weeks and
falls off almost as soon as it is attached and the cradle is not heavy
enough to use the stylus on the screen whilst charging. So, all in all a
fantastic Palm powered PDA- looks like Sony are Palm's best bet for a
future in this industry. |
| Rating
98%- superb compromise between a Palm and a Pocket PC |