Customer Reviews

Palm Handhelds! I Didn't Know You Could Do That...

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a one of those books that really ought to be bundled with your Paln. I've just upgraded from a Psion 5 to a Palm IIIc. Within just a few minutes with this book I've managed to duplicate most of the software and utilities I'd been using on the S5 with Palm equivalents.

The guide is clear and concise, with loads of options to choose from for different solutions. Need a practical DB solution? There are three or four in the book, and on the CD. Need a simple alarm reminder? There are at least 4 included with the book, and references for many more. There are even recommended replacements for the built-in applications.

At no time is the book patronising, and the information and guidance is always complete. Never do you get the impression that the suggestions have been planted - these are genuine recommendations and examples of some great Palm software. If you a Palm user, new or existing, this book is an excellent resource for the software you need.

To be fair this review is based on the first edition, but, unless there have been MAJOR changes to the format then it's best to give this a miss.

The book is mainly a set of screenshots and for some reason only known to the author - a list of the menu options and the shortcut strokes. I'm sure it put a lot of effort to put together but it doesn't tell you what is possible with an app (and more importantly, whats not possible) - and its not detailed enough to replace a manual for the app. Mind you, if you ever buy the app it may be useful to photocopy and keep with your organiser.

There isn't much else to each review - what little there is seems like a cut and paste of brief advertising by the s/w suppliers.

There is a list of apps in the back of the book but the description is a one-liner leaving you wanting more info - and many of these listings are neither featured in the book nor on the CD. The CD is the same one line .txt file for all apps. One nice thing is that it doesnt insist that you use some "simple" front end interface to navigate the CD and install apps. Unfortunately the filing system requires you to navigate down a blank directory for every app - Hmmm...

All in all save your money and get the PalmOS Bible.

While this book (and the CD that comes with it) has many useful additional aaplications, it does not show you how to use applications already on your PDA as the title leads you to belive. If you are comfortable with your PDA and are looking for additional software however, it does give you a pretty good description of about 80 applications, their cost (if any) and where you can find them if they are not on the CD.

At first I thought I'd lose my time buying this book, since one can find so many books around. But later on I realized it was really worth the price. It's a bargain! I made the mistake of buying it before looking at amazon.com and paid it's original price. Anyway, I learned the lesson. Next time...

The only minus is that wacky promo pictures with an ape ( chimp? ) inside and on both covers. If you can handle it it can be a nice index of interesting programs that will put your handheld more and more useful. Try it! The price is more than OK.
Just that chimp bothers me. Well...

To be fair this review is based on the first edition, but, unless there have been MAJOR changes to the format then it's best to give this a miss.

The book is mainly a set of screenshots and for some reason only known to the author - a list of the menu options and the shortcut strokes. I'm sure it put a lot of effort to put together but it doesn't tell you what is possible with an app (and more importantly, whats not possible) - and its not detailed enough to replace a manual for the app. Mind you, if you ever buy the app it may be useful to photocopy and keep with your organiser.

There isn't much else to each review - what little there is seems like a cut and paste of brief advertising by the s/w suppliers.

There is a list of apps in the back of the book but the description is a one-liner leaving you wanting more info - and many of these listings are neither featured in the book nor on the CD. The CD is the same one line .txt file for all apps. One nice thing is that it doesnt insist that you use some "simple" front end interface to navigate the CD and install apps. Unfortunately the filing system requires you to navigate down a blank directory for every app - Hmmm...

All in all save your money and get the PalmOS Bible.