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DateBk5
v5.1b for Palm OS
Reviewed
by: Mark Goldstein,
October 2004, send
e-mail
Published
by: Pimlico
Software Inc., go
to the web site
Requires: Palm
OS3.5 or higher
MSRP: $39.99
If you
own and regularly use a Palm OS handheld device—a
PDA of any kind really—chances are your primary needs
for the thing include all or some of the following: address
book, calendar, appointment scheduling, recurring event
reminders, gaming. There are lots and lots of other uses
for PDAs, but the highlights for most people are really
quite straightforward. For SOHO owners, small business
owners, salespeople, managers, tradespeople, busy homemakers
and many others, the ability to carry around an enormous
amount of data along with your daily, weekly and monthly
schedules in a device the size of the latest PDAs is a
dream come true. The best of the best programs for PDAs
are designed to provide all of the aforementioned users
with loads of support, and with an array of effective features
and functions that are stable and easy to use. Say hello
to DateBk5.
PalmOne
and all the other PDA makers don't just manufacture devices,
they also design, develop and embed native utility and
productivity software in the devices, and bundle tons of
additional software with every PDA. Classic examples of
embeded software are Date Book, Address Book and the rest
of the rudimentary bunch of tools which are an intrinsic
part of the Palm operating system. The tools function perfectly
well right up to the inherent limitations of their respective
feature sets. Of course PalmOne (and all the other PDA
makers) are interested in supporting third party development
(the more software available for their PDAs, the more likely
you're going to buy one), and that's why PalmOne offers
development kits specifically designed to help independent
developers create new programs. It also makes sense that
the biggest development targets for independent software
vendors are those rudimentary productivity and utility
programs supplied with every device. Say hello again to
DateBk5.
DateBk5
is a robust calendar and scheduler which has been available
for several years. Its popularity is largely
the result of its fundamental superiority to the built-in
Palm OS datebook. In case you're wondering how powerful
DateBk5 really is, here's a partial list of highlights:
- Colors,
fonts, icons, custom alarms and repeats (on both events
and
ToDo's) — being able to quickly identify
certain items or categories of items in your daily
schedule is a huge help.
- Full
integration of ToDos — the
ToDo list appears at the bottom of the datebook
screen (split screen) making
it easy to combine ToDos and scheduling. You can
also set up a split-screen display of any other PalmOS
database
(Memo Pad, etc.). Enhanced Date Picker has pop up
list
of all events and ToDo items.
- Saved
Views — you
can set up customized program views which make
it even easier to look at or refer to only the
information you need.
- Quick
Entry Templates — we
love this one because it helps you insert standard
item entries using the absolute
minimum number of taps.
- Weekly
View — shows
an entire week at a glance, including text
entries, along with the ability to read the appointment
text. Additional views include year, 4 month
and list mode.
- Palm
OS categories — to
separate business from personal use or store
calendars of other people, with the ability
to beam an entire category to another user.
- Icons — colorful
icons (for categories, individual appointments,
etc.) and an icon editor.
- Sony
Clie compatibility — support
for Small and Tiny fonts, jog dial, PCM
Sound Library(OS/4/4.1 only), high
density icons and collapsible graffiti
on all hi-res models including TH55,
NR-70, NX-70/80, NZ-90, etc.
- TimeZone
management — allows
multiple items in different timezones to be displayed
with adjustments in your current
timezone.
- Flexible
purging — separate
history database and undelete functions.
- Anniversaries — feature
shows years for anniversaries or
ages on birthdays.
Link items — an appointment can link to other related
appointments or ToDo items or to contacts associated with
an appointment.
In
use, DateBk5 is superior in many ways. First and foremost,
it's fast.
It flies on my Clie TH55 and the Palm Zire 71 & 72.
I tried the software on an older Sony PEG-S360 and a 760C
and it ran almost as fast as it did on the Zire. A lot
of information is displayed at once, but the interface
is
easy to read.
Data entry
is
a breeze
with
all of the
standard input methods available to you. Alarms are extremely
flexible, multiple reminders come in very handy and the
having the current ToDo list displayed at the top or bottom
of the screen (it's configurable) is a bright ray of sunshine
because it means you no longer have to jump back and forth
between programs in the non-multitasking world of Palm
OS.
I use a PDA
every day—at least twice per hour during
my typical workday; on weekends for a hundred different
reasons; when I'm traveling, for everything from a morning
alarm clock to WiFi Internet access at hotels and meetings.
DateBk5 provides the level of detail and customization
I need to set up and maintain appointments, reminders,
meeting notes, appointment notes and cross references to
people already in my address book.
Cons: Text cursor placement is sometimes finicky, occasionally
making it difficult to place the cursor at the beginning
of a line when making corrections or highlighting a block
of text to copy.
Pros: Handspring's Datebook+ (found in all Handspring
PDAs including the Treo600) incorporates licensed DateBk3
technology and can easily be upgraded to DateBk5. Direct
text entry and display means that lots of text is in plan
view for each calendar event without the need to tap in
order to read it all (a vast improvement over clunky old
Outlook and Sony's terrible Clie Calendar). Extremely versatile
reminders, alarms, and recurring event scheduling. Having
ToDos on the same display page as your daily schedule is
brilliant. Linking calendar events with address book contacts
is also brilliant, well executed and something that really
should be included in Palm OS. All major repetitive actions
are accessible on the top level of the program, a great
design with an intuitive interface. I'm a dedicated, registered
DateBk5 user and I don't know what I'd do without it. Highly
recommended.
Letters to the Editor are welcome and occasionally abused in public. Send e-mail to: whine@kickstartnews.com
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