I finally took the plunge and bought a Treo 600.
I'd been using AT&T for many years as my mobile phone service provider, despite the fact the reception in my house has always been less than marginal. I discovered that friends with Verizon service in S.F. actually had great reception in my house and elsewhere. When Verizon, the last major carrier to get on board, finally came out with Treo support last month, I took the plunge.
As soon as I get everything working, I will give up my four year old black and white Blackberry.
Now I'm facing the problem of getting up to speed on a new platform and I'm turning to you for help. Basic phone usage is no problem, but I have a short wish list of other things which none of the material which you get with the Treo shed any light on as far as I could tell. So if you have tips, favorite web sites, or specific recommendations please let me know either in a comment or via email. I trust you can figure out or get my email address.
I want to sync my calendar and contacts with iCal and the Macintosh address book, not using the Palm desktop, which is what the supplied software seems to do. to be honest, I haven't even put either of the CD's which came with it in the drive yet.
I'd like to get a good IMAP client for checking mail. Willing to pay if there is not a good free one.
Any recommendations on great headsets, car charger, other cool accessories, or sources of accessories.
An AIM client which will let me use my .Mac IM address on the Treo. The Treo AOL client doesn't like an ID like mkapor@mac.com , even though the AOL client for the Mac thinks it's ok.
Now we get more exotic.
What about ways to sync bookmarks with the Mac?
What about RSS readers?
Many, many thanks in advance.
Posted by mitch@osafoundation.org at August 07, 2004 10:26 AMiCal, etc:
iSync might sync your Treo on its own - using the Palm conduit, in tandem with Palm Desktop.
http://www.apple.com/isync/download/
(right hand side for the Palm conduit)
If iSync will not accept the Treo 600 - I have to highly recommend Missing Sync by Markspace -
http://www.markspace.com/missingsync_palmos.html
IMAP: I've been using the Snappermail beta, excellent product - haven't found any free secure IMAP clients. http://www.snappermail.com/palm/email/
RSS reader: Highly recommend Hand/RSS by Standalone: http://standalone.com/palmos/hand_rss/
Hope this helps - glad you've been posting a little more recently. Look forward to reading more.
Any questions - feel free to fire me an e-mail.
Ryan Kabir
rkabir@mit.edu
SSP class of 2000 ;)
Posted by: Ryan Kabir at August 7, 2004 01:59 PM
re: great headsets, car charger, other cool accessories, or sources of accessories:
http://www.pc-mobile.net/treo600.htm
They usually ship within days anywhere in the world. Highly recommended!
Posted by: Hannes Wolf (CyBear) at August 7, 2004 04:04 PM
The best Treo software site I've seen is http://www.mytreo.net/
There's a great browsable archive, from which I'd recommend Butler (adds all kinds of useful little tweaks, such as using the volume buttons to scroll lists/pages), KeyCaps600, Progect (not sure if it's on mytreo.net, but Google for it - it's a fantastic free outliner/project tool) and Xiino (not used it, but looks like a much better browser than Blazer).
Posted by: Yoz at August 7, 2004 07:07 PM
I've only tried each very cursorily, but I liked Basejet (http://basejet.com/home/index.html) more than SnapperMail. Unfortunately, it seems that Basejet is shutting down due to lack of funding. Their site says they will be running through the end of the year, though, so you might still give them a try.
For RSS reading, I like Bloggo.net (http://www.bloggo.net). It is server-based and not at all Treo-specific, but I find it very usable. Bloglines should work, too, but I like Bloggo better on wireless devices.
Posted by: Coty Rosenblath at August 7, 2004 09:03 PM
Hi Mitch,
Welcome to the Treo workstyle! I find that my Treo is indispensable for my work in the venture capital industry. Here are some excellent applications that are on my Treo:
Snappermail - best POP/IMAP client
LauncherX - a great launcher
WebPro V - PalmOne's fast replacement for Blazer
Bonsai - great outliner/notetaker
Butler - great utility
Zagats To Go - mobile version of Zagats for those client meals
QuickOffice - great Office clone
IMChatter - great for IMAP realtime email alerts and multi-protocol IM.
Enjoy!
Joe Fung
Managing Director
Burgiss Group
www.burgiss.com
Posted by: Joseph Fung at August 8, 2004 04:00 AM
I've been extremely happy with my Seidio headset. It has two earbuds and a button for switching between music and the phone. When you get an incoming call, it automatically switches audio from the music player on your Treo (e.g., PocketTunes) over to the phone. It has a volume control dial and a button for accepting and dropping calls.
http://www.seidioonline.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=HMESVOT-SL
If you decide to use the camera, read my post here
http://www.wombatnation.com/2004/02/treo-600-camera-tips
and be sure to go to the site I linked to for more tips.
http://www.wireless-doc.com/treophototips.htm
I also recommend Butler. It's a very handy utility.
Posted by: Robert Stewart at August 8, 2004 10:06 PM
Mitch:
The Treo is great, and the very best headset on the plant for the Treo is from www.etymotic.com.
Posted by: Buzz Bruggeman at August 8, 2004 11:26 PM
Has anyone heard anything about when Sprint might bring "push-to-talk" to the Treo600?
Posted by: Dan Miller at August 9, 2004 04:28 AM
Partial proof that palm really is a platform that you can waste a lot of time customizing your software and hardware. The real proof is that your can easily spend as much money on accessories as you have on basic machine.
I find that most questions about the treo can be quickly answered at the discussion boards at treo central http://discussion.treocentral.com/ via the search function. Beware though that the threads tend to start way back when nothing worked so you often need to read the last 80% to see how to address your need. MyTreo's good too.
More aggregated hive mind: http://del.icio.us/tag/treo
Posted by: Ben Hyde at August 9, 2004 05:19 AM
Mitch, for RSS, you might give NewsGator Mobile Edition a try (part of NewsGator Online Services at http://services.newsgator.com). We have lots of customers using a Treo 600, and they all say it works great...
Posted by: Greg Reinacker at August 9, 2004 10:33 AM
You might also try mNews which is a nice RSS reader. It's not as full featured as Hand/RSS, but I've found it's better for reading more news sites with RSS than blogs. For blog sites I like the Hand/RSS.
SnapperMail is the only IMAP client that currently lets you sync more than your inbox, but it gets slow if you deal with a great many messages. VersaMail works well for the inbox, and IMChatter is also a nice way to get always on connectivity (no attachments) as well as IM account connections. It even works while the unit is sleeping.
Posted by: Jonathan Greene at August 9, 2004 08:46 PM
mitch
i would recommend snappermail for your palm imap client. i'm using the lastest beta and it is very good. i can finally go into a wifi cybercafe with my palm tungsten c and not only send/recieve email but access my whole imap archive.
--
rgds
mark
Posted by: Mark Goodson at August 10, 2004 08:05 AM
As an IMAP client, you may want to have a look to Iambic Mail, http://www.iambic.com/email/palmos/details.asp.
or emobilmail
http://palminfocenter.palmgear.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=software.showsoftware&SID=4A90EA8E-7E95-2C26-204E1436ECE3FD40&PartnerREF=&catid=19&area=software.category&searchtitle=Internet&searchterm=&step=1&orderby=modificationdate&direction=asc&userid=0&prodid=68327
Regards
Piero Giuseppe Goletto
Posted by: Piero Giuseppe Goletto at August 10, 2004 02:21 PM
Mitch,
Welcome to the world of Treo. I certainly love my 600!
Here are the core applications on my Treo, not including KeySuites (which I think is only applicable for Outlook sync):
Good luck!
SnapperMail is my email client of choice http://www.snappermail.com/palm/email/specs.cfm
BackupMan from www.bitsnbolts.com
DayNotez http://www.natara.com/ is my choice for a journal although I am really getting into Note Studio www.dogmelon.com.au. This could end up replacing several applications. I really like the HTML output.
FileZ from www.nosleep.net
snapDates freeware at www.palmgear.com
SmartList from www.dataviz.com
SoundRec from http://www.infinityball.com/soundrec.aspx
Stopwatch from http://www.copseystrain.com/palmstopwatch/index.html
Uninstall Manager and Cleanup from www.northglide.com
Posted by: Marshall Huwe at August 10, 2004 08:40 PM
Could you get your Palm desktop installed on the Mac?
I have an iMac running OS 10.3.4 and just got the Treo 600 with Verizon. However when I tried to install I get the error message "sorry, the operation could not be completed due to a system error:(access denied)" - I cannot get help from PalmOne because the Treo is supported directly by the wireless vendors (Verizon, Sprint, AT&T etc...); when I tried to get help from Verizon Wireless I was informed that they don't support the Mac platform and sorry. And that was it...:(
Don't know what to do...:(
I checked all the Knowledge libraries in Palm and Apple, followed the advice "The palmOne Permission Fixer will reset the permissions on two folders modified by the iSync 1.2 installer." - nothing - same problem still; even downloaded the latest Mac?palm desktop (4.2.1) and again same problem:( :(
now, not sure what to do!!!!
Any advice, suggestions? Thanks, :)
Posted by: Carlos Pegado at August 11, 2004 09:30 PM
I am particularly enamored with Agendus from Iambic Software. It is a calendar/address book for the Palm that is a huge, huge improvement over the built-in address and calendar functions in Palm OS.
You can download a fully functional 30-day demo.
As for syncing, you will need the Palm Desktop and the HotSync freely downloadable from Palm, but you can set the conduits to bypass all of them and go straight to iSync, iCal, Address Book, etc. on the Mac.
In other words, you need to download and install the whole Palm package for the Mac, followed by installing iSync, followed by installing the special iSync Conduit for Palm from apple.com. Then you won't ever actually use the Palm Desktop, but you will use the Palm Hotsync software every time you sync. That creates the "transport layer" between the Palm and the Mac.
The only alternative is to purchase Mark/Space's Missing Sync 4.0, which costs $30 but bypasses all the Palm software entirely for synchronization (Missing Sync was originally developed for PDAs that were not very Mac-compatible, such as Sony Clies (RIP)). This would not give you any real advantages in your setup, however.
Agendus works on the Palm with the native Palm data formats and therefore works regardless of whatever programs you use on the Mac side (iSync, iCal or Palm Desktop or whatever) or PC side.
You must install and try out Agendus. Its user interface is very elegant and displays a huge amount of information in minimal space with minimal confusion, which is very important on a Palm! You might get some inspiring ideas!
Posted by: Wheat Williams at August 16, 2004 11:41 AM
Thanks for all the great suggestions. I'm using Snappermail, have ordered a bunch of accessories, and am starting to enjoy my Treo.
I'll be experimenting with other cool software you've recommended in my free time.
Posted by: Mitch Kapor at August 18, 2004 01:19 PM
Ebay is a great place to buy retractable synch cable + car/wall charger. I got one for about $20!
enjoy it!
Posted by: treo 600 at August 21, 2004 10:57 PM
Rick Whitt's Directory Assistant is the most useful program for me. It not only pulls the number and address from www.yp.com, it will pull a map from Mapquest and directions.
http://home.triad.rr.com/rlwhitt/palm/#da
Mapquest also has a PDA friendly URL.
http://wireless.mapquest.com/Palm/v3.0/index.html
Just program this as a bookmark.
United offers a notification system called EasyUpdate. Just enter your messaging address and they will send you an update complete with any delays, gate numbers etc automatically. You can also download a PDA schedule application and database.
Andrew Faber has a flight status program
http://www.freewarepalm.com/travel/flightstatus.shtml
ipedia and inoah from arsLexis are both useful to have.
http://www.arslexis.com/download.html
Have fun.
Daniel
Posted by: Daniel Chen at September 3, 2004 05:19 PM
VeriChat is a great IM tool! I have a Treo 600 and i'm using it myself. Actually paid for it..
Posted by: Eyal Hertzog at September 5, 2004 11:36 AM
I have a Treo 180 that ran perfectly with MS 98.
When I switched to MS Home XP my Treo 180 would not sync. Handspring then sent to me an updated CD for XP. I still can not sync with Outlook. I'm thinking of now getting a 600. Wnat do you advise?
Posted by: Erwin Edelman at September 8, 2004 03:01 PM
Here are a few useful pieces of software for Treo 600. Rick Whitt wrote the most useful utility I used on several occassions in a pinch:
http://home.triad.rr.com/rlwhitt/palm/#da
Good references on the go:
http://www.arslexis.com/
United has a service called EasyUpdate that will send flight updates to your phone:
http://www.united.com/page/article/0,6722,1974,00.html
Just register your phone in this format
408nnnnnnn@messaging.sprintpcs.com
They also have a flight schedule book in the Palm format.
Mapquest has a PDA friendly web page:
http://wireless.mapquest.com/Palm/v3.0/index.html
Have fun,
Daniel
Posted by: Daniel Chen at September 9, 2004 10:08 AM
Gee, I've been on the cusp of buying the Treo 600; now I'm concerned I'll have to customize the software to get it to operate well. Any word of WiFi being available soon for the 600?
Posted by: Ken Murray at September 22, 2004 06:49 PM
Software for Treo
http://software.palmone.com/Star.jsp?siteId=291&CKey=291_TreoLaunch
Accessories for treo
http://www.palmone.com/us/products/smartphones/treo600/addons.epl
Posted by: sasha at October 5, 2004 08:00 AM
Thanks for all the great suggestions. I'm using Snappermail, have ordered a bunch of accessories, and am starting to enjoy my Treo.
movie poster
wav mp3 converter
Office products
Posted by: space poster at October 10, 2004 10:27 PM
Hey...really super great suggestions and sites
to go and check out! I am a disgruntled 7135 user (4 of 'em) and now I am giving it a whirl with my 600! As a MAC'ster my choices are limited and so I hope this is the answer to most of my
prayers...my expectations are not too high as I feel 'smart phone' tehcnology still is aways from being 'super' reliable!
Thanks to everyone for your time and good words!
Tony
WiseAcres
"We've been harvesting fresh ideas for decades!"
Posted by: ewebet at October 12, 2004 11:12 AM