This page is for links to sites related
to the Palm OS, and any of the palmtop machines that run on
that operating system. That includes the Palm machines (of
course!), Handspring Prism, Visio, and Visor lines,
Handera/TRG, Sony Clie, Treo, Kyocera SmartPhone — just
to name a few. And what's a "PDA"? A Personal Digital
Assistant. You'll see the acronym frequently below. Page
contents include:
This is the company that started it all
in 1996 with the Palm Pilot. The world hasn't been quite the
same since. These sites take you to where it all starts
from.
Palm Canada is the Canadian provider of the Palm
hardware. But if you're just looking for the
Windows-based desktop companion for the Palm, go
here. (And by the way – the Palm
Desktop makes a good PIM for the PC desktop. It
doesn't have to talk to a Palm to do that. It's
free, too.)
PalmSource is the software side of the Palm
system–including the operating system. It's
now a separate company, and was acquired by
ACCESS Co., Ltd. in 2005.
Palm Community provides information and other resources
to the Palm user community.
Palm Knowledge Library
– If it's a known problem, Palm
has probably provided a solution
here.
Palm Support Forums
– Other users will help you out
here. Once in a while, a Palm techie may step in.
Unfortunately, it's not an active board. BrightHand
will probably get you a faster response, but is
not moderated by Palm techies.
Palm model
descriptions
Confused by Palm's model numbers? This page
compares the Palm models currently available in
Canada. (12/05)
Software for
Palm OS PDAs
The sites listed here provide software
for all PDAs that use the Palm OS. Most of them provide a clear
indication of which version of the OS is required for that
particular software package. That information is
important—backwards compatibility doesn't always exist,
and major revisions of the Palm OS sometimes break older
applications. The result? Well, OS 5.x is the current version
of the Palm operating system. Some older programs won't run on
that version; other (newer) programs won't run without
it.
If you need to find what OS version
you're running, go to your Application Launcher, tap the Menu
icon, then on Info in the App menu. When the "memory used" list
comes up, tap "Version" in the box at the bottom of the screen.
In OS 3.5 and later, the Palm OS version number then appears at
the top of the screen, and below are listed the version numbers
of every program you have installed on your PDA.
"The UK’s Premier Website for
Shareware and Freeware Downloads." Nicely organized,
with the information you want to see right where you
can see it. Yes, there is freeware here too.
(12/05)
Suppliers of
BackupBuddy (the leading 3rd-party backup software that
handles backups for all your 3rd-party software that
doesn't look after itself); WordSmith
(full wordprocessing capability with MS Word compatibility
and font support) and
InstallBuddy (translates and installs many popular PC
desktop files into your Palm OS PDA — including HTML,
PowerPoint, and PDF files.) And that's not all.
(12/05)
Makers of QuickOffice,
a competitor to Documents to Go, and much less
expensive. A PC desktop app and plug-in converts MS
Word 97 and MS Excel 97 (and later) files to a form
useable on a Palm PDA, and exports an edited file
back into Word or Excel. Full font support is
provided by FontBucket.
QuickOffice can also convert textfiles and its own
files to the Palm DOC file format. It can do either
on the PC desktop or on the PDA. (12/05)
Another small but interesting collection of
utilities for the Palm O/S. You may have known some
of these products when they were available from
dseifert software production. Check out "Crash"
if you're tired of trying to find a reset pin when
you need it. (12/05)
"Mobile and Wireless Solutions". Publishers
of Bug Me!
Notepad. Somebody was thinking outside the box
when they decided what features to build into this
one. (12/05)
If you can carry it in your hand, Handmark
probably has software for it. MobileDB
is an inexpensive but good flat-file database
program. Also makes available over 2100 free user-contributed
databases for MobileDB. (12/05)
Producers of a suite of productivity
enhancement software. Check out "FontBucket"
if you'd like a larger selection of fonts than what
you get with the Palm OS. And have a look at "Slap"
for quick entry of bits and pieces. Slap it in, then
figure out where to put it. (12/05)
This one has to be one of the best values in
freeware you'll find. My wife won't go shopping
without it. HandyShopper does lists. All kinds
– shopping lists, check lists, to-do lists,
dated lists. You can make up others too. There is an
active users' group (over 13,000 members) on Yahoo!.
(12/05)
Producers of CryptInfo
and the Payoff
Plus loan calculator. Cryptinfo is "a secure
password and information manager for the Palm and the
PC." Works nicely, and is nicely priced. It's a good
way to keep track of all of your Web and other
passwords on your Windows PC even if you don't have a
PDA. (10/05)
Four nice little freeware utilities, for
which sourcecode is available under the GPL. Support
is provided through a users' discussion forum. Check
out
FileZ – it's a much more powerful file manager
than anything provided by Palm. (12/05)
I don't think your Palm will match your
desktop system for gaming, but a Palm is a lot easier
to carry and it's got to be better than your
cellphone for that purpose. There's nearly 100 games
for the Palm here. There are games for other handheld
platforms too, but they don't count here.
(12/05)
One of the most popular Palm sites. Whatever
you want for the Palm, you can probably find it here.
If you register, PalmGear will keep a watchlist for
updates for software on its site, and let you know of
any that become available. No matter where you got
it, PalmGear probably has it too. (12/05)
This site is devoted to putting Palm users
in the best position to take advantage of the Palm's
IR (infra-red) beaming capability – in some
quite suprising ways. (12/05)
Best known for their hacks and for their
document reader. But Teal doesn't stop there. Teal
has an impressive stable of 20 software titles. And
it works well, and is reasonably priced for the
quality they provide. (10/05)
Designed to help you keep your software up
to date, but does allow you to find software you
don't have. Have a look. The reader reviews are often
useful. (12/02)
If it computes, ZDNet probably has something
for it. Here's the Palm section. (12/05)
Documents and
Document Readers
Be aware that the Palm "DOC" file
format is not related to the MS Word .doc file format. While
the DOC file format is something of a de facto standard
in the PalmOS world, it is not universal. There are several
other textfile formats out there. Click here
for a bit more information about the Palm DOC format. And click
here
for a summary of the file formats generally available and links
to the readers that handle them for PalmOS devices.
With a document reader and something to
read, your PDA becomes an e-book. There are some good freeware
DOCfile viewers out there. Shareware offerings generally have
more features — many of which aren't really necessary.
Some of those extra features do a good job of turning a good
reader into bloatware that runs slowly and takes up too much
memory on your PDA. If you need some help deciding which reader
you want to use, The Gadgeteer's comparative
review is an excellent resource, but unfortunately hasn't
been updated since 2001.
When you have some idea of which one(s)
you want to try, you can find a large selection of readers at
MemoWare,
FreewarePalm
and TUCOWS,
among others.
My favourite freeware reader is
CSpotRun
— I like the way it lets you rotate the display so as
to put the scroll buttons in a more convenient location for
"turning" the pages of your e-book. My wife likes
QVadis Express GT Lite for its ability to adjust line
spacing and fonts. You could also check out ReadThemAll for its
interesting approach to auto-scrolling if you use that feature.
(Most readers have it; ReadThemAll just has a novel
approach.)
It's also useful to have a DOC reader
on your PC so you can have a look at a DOC file before you
hotsync it to your PDA. DocReader
does well for that, and will also convert an ASCII text file to
the Palm Doc format. So will the leading word-processor
applications like QuickOffice and
Documents to Go.
A note of caution: when you buy an
e-book, what you're buying is the right to download and read
them as often as you like. The price you pay does not include
the right to make copies to pass on to other readers. This
applies whether you buy the material in an unprotected or
protected format. (12/05)
Now that you have a DOC reader, you'll
want some stuff to read on your PDA. Try these...
Alexandra Digital Literature provides short
stories and other works in a variety of categories in
most e-book formats, including the Palm DOC format.
Many titles are under $2, so you can afford to take a
flyer or two. And if you register and rate the
stories you read, you can get recommendations based
on your ratings and those of many other users as to
what is likely to work for you. (12/05)
Like it says. The titles available here are
offered on the basis that they will boost sales of
other titles by the same author. The selection isn't
large, but there are some good names—if you're
an SF fan. (Jim Baen is a well-known editor and
publisher of SF titles.) The librarian's rants on
copyright are also worth reading in their own right.
Unfortunately, the only Palm format supported is
MobiPocket's XDOC format—and the supplied
Mobibook reader takes up 1MB of a Palm's memory
space. It's also slow. (12/05)
"CyberRead is your place to buy eBooks, Palm
eBooks, thousands of Mobipocket ebooks available
here, up to 13 formats of eBooks and print
books." (12/05)
"The digital bookstore. 45,000 popular,
professional and academic ebooks from the world's
leading publishers". It claims to allow downloads of
parts of a book, and has a wide range of topics to
search. (12/05)
This site is for e-book readers, whether
you're using an e-book or a Palm. The Introduction
to eBooks and eBook Readers is worth reading in
its own right. (12/05)
"The world's largest e-book store". Maybe it
is – and some material is available at
attractive prices. However, the material it provides
can be viewed only with eReader's proprietary
software – which doesn't work with e-books
encoded for other reading software.
(12/05)
"Excellence in eBooks, free eBooks, eBooks
for Palm, Pocket PC, eBookMan, WinCE, and PCs."
Believe it. It's one of the easiest sites to navigate
that you'll find on the Web, and there's an excellent
range of titles here – over 28,000 to choose
from. And the prices are great too — there's no
lack of good titles available for less than a
dollar. (12/05)
Over 17,000 classics, novels, and other
materials are available here as ASCII
textfiles—all collected from public domain
sources by volunteer labour. (Why ASCII text? See
here.)
Anyway, you'll need something like DocReader
or MakeDoc on
your PC to convert the textfiles to a format your
PalmOS PDA can read. (12/05)
"Your PDA Library Card". A large
collection of documents for PDAs. Over 99% are free.
You'll need to be sure that you have the right
document reader for the documents you download
— not all of them are available in the Palm DOC
format. (12/05)
A good selection of fiction and resource
material, but it's not cheap. The Mobipocket reader
may be attractive, but the free version was large and
slow when I tried it a couple of years ago. The "pro"
version has come down in price. The newsreader is an
attractive feature in both versions.
(12/05)
Links to a library of about 6,000 free
titles. Then there's the InterLibrary,
which provides links to a good number of other e-book
sites. (12/05)
Hacks ("systems
extensions", if you prefer)
What are "hacks", you say? This article
will provide some useful information, as well as some
suggestions about how to deal with a hack that seems to be
causing a problem. Anyway, hacks can provide some very useful
functionality with Palm OS 4.1 and earlier. Check the
PalmPilotFiles or PalmSpot sites below for some examples. If
you're running Palm OS 5, check carefully for compatibility,
and read this article
too. Palm OS 5.x doesn't support system extensions, but some
hack managers can deal with that. TealMaster's page
lists a bunch of hacks and their compatibility with OS
5. (10/05)
An update and improvement on the original
Hackmaster hack manager, and is compatible with OS 5.
And the most expensive, at US$9.95. But worth it if
you use more than 3 or 4 hacks or run into conflicts
between them. (12/05)
A well-known free "100% compatible successor
to HackMaster which fixes some bugs and offers
various improvements", as well as providing some
flexibility in the management of your hacks. Not for
Palm OS 5.x. Brought to you by LinkeSOFT, of
Germany. (12/05)
News, User
Information, and Support Groups
More information is a good thing. PDA
manufacturers like to keep their manuals simple – it
reduces production costs and creates the impression that using
the device is simple. Unfortunately, that's not always the
case, even though Palm has obviously put a lot of thought into
making the OS (operating system) as inuitive as possible.
Unfortunately, Palm stopped there. Palm's user support isn't
exactly great. But fear not. There is lots of support out
there, from third-party suppliers and from user groups. Here's
where to find some of it.
Probably the best collection of user groups,
discussion fora, and other such resources for
handheld devices on the Web. Its members are active,
and will often provide answers to problems much
faster than you'll get an answer on Palm's support
fora. (12/05)
"This site is intended as a reference for
the novice Palm OS device user. The site gives some
hints as to using your Palm OS device, and provides
some references to some free software that you might
find useful. This site is by no means
“everything Palm,” and is only
infrequently updated." But there's some good info
here, offered by a contributor whose primary
motivation is admiration for the Palm
platform. (12/05)
This site deals with electronic gadgets of
all kinds. This link takes you to the Palm OS
section, which provides a huge variety of software,
hardware, and accessories reviews, as well as links
to user groups, Palm OS newsgroups, FAQs, and other
Palm OS user resources. Click
here for the Gadgeteer's bulletin boards and discussion
groups. (12/05)
"The leading Palm OS News and Reviews Site.
The latest news, reviews, discussions and more, for
all Palm OS Powered Handhelds and
Smartphones." (12/05)
More than just an information source. Also
provides used parts and repairs at a cost well below
what the manufacturers charge for new. There's also
a Canadian
site. (12/05)
"The PalmPilot Web Ring is a resource for
users of the Palm OS platform. It provides a forum
for developers, enthusiasts, and independent software
vendors to discuss, share, and sell their
materials." (12/05)
"PDABuzz.com began as a simple discussion
forum back in October 1998. The user reviews, daily
news, tips & tricks and the AvantGo channel have
all led to PDABuzz.com quickly becoming a popular
destination for handheld and smartphone device users
from all over the world." (12/05)
Sure, he started with the Palm Pilot. But
he's gone well beyond that. He offers detailed
reviews of a number of more current Palm O/S PDAs,
including some interesting dissections and comments
re the internal hardware. There are also links to
other sites of interest to Palm owners.
Unfortunately, the site does not appear to have been
updated since 2003. (12/05)
I haven't taken this course, but I've seen a
number of Janice's reviews on Epinions, where she is
an advisor and lead reviewer writing under the name
"quasar". I suspect that she can deliver a useful
experience. And the cost is more than
reasonable. (12/05)
Cases and styli for your PDA. And a search
engine that shows you what works for yours, and never
mind all the others that you don't want to see
because they don't fit anyway. (12/05)
Styli for your PDA. Some quite
sophisticated, like combo pens/styli/pencils, etc.
Cases and screen protectors and other stuff too. Nice
navigation system. (12/05)
"Bridging technology and the way you work" A
small selection, more more innovative than
most—and generally favourably-reviewed
elsewhere. Check out the SoloVision screen protector.
And their styli. (12/05)
