Musings about my interests, to include: Handheld Computers, Mobile Phones, Home Cinema, other Gadgets, Films and Books

 
Agendus Update v7.01

Agendus has been updated to v7.01, which apparently fixes the alarm issue that I reported previously.
posted by Craig at 2:07 PM

 
Fitaly Virtual Keyboard

I've decided to give Fitaly's Virtual Keyboard for the T3 a try.

I've never used a Fitaly keyboard before, but I know others who have and swear by them.

FitalyVirtual combines the functionality of the Fitaly keyboard with that of a simple launcher working like SwitchHack or McPhling. The image on the right shows the Fitaly Application Bar that pops up at the bottom of the application screen (above Fitaly itself) when doing a 'slide' of the Home key in the south direction. The eight buttons are user-defined and can serve for activation of favorite applications and special actions. The FitalyVirtual keyboard is fully integrated with the Tungsten T3. The keyboard is easily displayed or hidden with a simple tap of the input selector icon on the T3 status bar.




posted by Craig at 2:02 PM

 
Pro Clips

I wrote a little while back about the fact that I was trying out a GPS system for my T3 that's made by a company called KaneGear. In general I love the product but was a little unhappy with the mounting bracket that was supplied, which uses a magnet to hold the Palm in place and requires an adhesive metal pad to be attached to your PDA.

In my search for an alternative I came across ProClip who have kindly sent me some samples for both my T3 and my mobile phone.

ProClips are custom made for both your vehicle and your device, are easy to fit and look brilliant!


posted by Craig at 1:34 PM

 
Update on my Job Situation

Unfortunately I was unsuccessful in securing my existing job going forward, but thankfully was offered an alternative role within my firm almost immediately. As it happens this has worked out really well for me, as it means I'll remain Head Office based (which is 5 mins from home), rather than having to spend 3 nights a week away from the family.

So, after a nightmare few months, I can relax a bit now, which is good news for the kids with Xmas just around the corner!!! This also means that I'll have more time to spend updating this BLOG, so keep your eyes peeled for more regular updates :-)


posted by Craig at 4:44 PM

 
CodeDiver

If you've got a T3 you need CodeDiver!

Originally designed as a program for Clie users, CodeDiver has recently been updated to work with the T3. CodeDiver allows many applications to use the whole of the T3s 320 x 480 screen, even if they haven't been specifically updated to do so.

To see if CodeDiver works with an app simply press Add, choose the AppName, set VirtualSilk to Force/Long/Long and then press AppLaunch.

I've got CodeDiver working with the following apps:

* AlarmList
* Happydays
* ID3
* Radio Times
* ScreenShot
* SMS
* TealMaster
* TomeRaider
* Vagablog

Excellent, and well worth $10.





posted by Craig at 4:43 PM

 
Agendus v7 Update

Iambics PIM replacement Agendus is by far my most used app, so since getting my T3 I've been eagerly awaiting an update that would be compatible with the T3s extendable 320 x 480 screen, landscape view, and Pa1mOne's new PIM apps.

Well, having been in Beta for a few weeks, v7 has just been released, which includes:

* New "Expanded" month view
* Launch maps directly from contact list
* Quick sorting capabilities in contact view
* Wallpaper support on most schedule views
* Widescreen compatibility for
* Tungsten T3, Sony UX50 and others
* Support for multiple icon databases
* Ordering of icons within the database
* Copy/Move of icons between databases
* Most Recently Used icon list
* Multiple Icon databases can be edited and used for meetings, todos, calls, etc. simultaneously
* Categories on icons
* Virtual graffiti support for Tungsten T3, Sony UX series, Tapwave Zodiac, Garmin 3600
* Dpad support for Treo 600
* 5way pad lookup capability in contact view
* Support for new PIM databases on Tungsten T3 and E handhelds (including birthday field)
* Wallpaper cache persistent across soft resets
* Separate filters for each view
* Separate font options for each view (each view can have its own font size, style, etc.)
* Graphical font size selection control
* Preferences for default view on launch
* Preferences for setting the Default category for new Meetings and Contacts
* Preferences for setting the time bar gadget granularity
* Preference for setting the Default icon for each Datebook category
* Multiple Memory Card support
* Date and description for “next alarm” in today view
* Quote of the day feature in the today view (fully customizable)
* Toggle show completed on/off in To Do View
* Auto-fill of City, State and Country
* More shortcut buttons on Contact Card
* "Type" icons for phone and instant message fields
* Refreshed the icons used in most views with new, colorful ones
* High density icon editor now available in the Standard Edition.
* Fixed Tungsten T3 toolbar not repainted after alarm notification
* Fixed Double alarms on the Tungsten T3 and TE (Oh no they haven't!!!)
* Fixed issues with confirmation dialogs when editing certain fields on repeating meetings
* Fixed lockup on NX when going back to launcher with very specific steps
* Fixed private to dos could be opened with dpad when security set to MASK
* Corrected high res option that shouldnÂ’t be allowed on Treo 600
* Corrected font issues in certain views on Treo 600
* Fixed issue with wallpaper on Treo 600
* Fixed optimized wallpaper loading routines

In general v7 is very good, with some excellent views available in both portrait and landscape modes using the bigger T3s excellent 320 x 480 screen.

However, as with most apps, there are some bugs, one of which at least (being the double or no meeting alarm bug) is a real pain in the backside! Unfortunately, while improving things for those users happy to make do with the new built-in PIM apps, the changes that Pa1mOne have implemented in the T3 and TE seem to have caused Iambic no end of problems. When using either v6 or the v7 betas on my T3, I, along with everyone else, received 2 alarm notifications (one from Agendus, 2 mins before the alarm time, and one from Pa1mOne's Calendar app 2 minutes later). For whatever reason, Iambic have now changed things in the final release so that you get no notification at all from Agendus, and worse still, only get a notification from Pa1mOne's Calendar app if you have switched out of Agendus after setting the alarm and are not in Agendus at the time the alarm is due to sound!!!

Unfortunately for Iambic, while I understand that they are working on this and many other issues, and that in general their products are very good, their customer support is not far short of appalling. Take a look at their resonse to a post about the alarm issue on their forum pages here, which I think illustrates my point!

Oh well, I'm sure Iambic will get everything sorted eventually, although in my opinion, charging $9.95 for the upgrade to what is still a beta version at the moment is a bit rich!


posted by Craig at 4:19 PM

 
Satellite Navigation using a Tungsten|T3

Wow! That's all I can say about the excellent Kane Navigation Lux bluetooth GPS system that those nice people at KaneGear.com have loaned me.

For a full review you'll have to read next month's edition of Foxpop, but in the meantime let me wet your appetite by saying that this system looks, sounds and works brilliantly on my T3 (to be honest, although the software will work on any OS5 machine, I don't think it'd look half as good on a 320 x 320 screen).

The Kane Navigation software allows on-board route-mapping that, in conjunction with a GPS, provides turn by turn voice prompts to get you to your desination (it even carries out automatic re-calculations if you take a wrong turn!).


posted by Craig at 5:10 PM

 
Web Pro

The new version of Web Pro that ships with the T3 really does make 'surfing' on a PDA an enjoyable experience (at last!).

The ability to switch between portrait and landscape modes, depending on the layout of the page your viewing, is a big bonus, as is the ability to toggle between 'normal' and 'full-screen' views, thereby allowing you to make best use of the T3s larger screen.





Another thing I like about the new version of Web Pro is the ability to set your Bookmarks list to open at start-up. Once you have a good favourites list set up, this makes going to the page you want straight away much easier.

One tip I have for getting the most out of Web Pro is make sure that you learn some of the 'key' shortcuts, particuarly /V for 'view bookmarks' and /O for 'full-screen' toggle.

posted by Craig at 11:08 AM

 
Pocket Tunes Update

This is turning out to be a great day for T3 owners. Hot on the heels of Snappermail, Pocket Tunes releases a significant update, which includes, among other things, support for the T3's larger screen, ShoutCast streaming audio support, and improved skinning capabilities.

I was also pleased to see that at least one 'skinner' has already come up with a nice 320 x 480 iTunes skin.








posted by Craig at 5:02 PM

 
Snappermail Update

Yippee, Snappermail has just released a beta that supports the T3's 320 x 480 screen in both landscape and portrait modes.

It's amazing how much more convenient to use this app becomes by having the extra screen space. For a start you can view more e-mail headers per page without scrolling, enabling you to choose the one you want far more quickly, and secondly viewing e-mails in landcape mode just seems more natural than in portrait, particuarly if you take advantage of the placement of the d-pad (or should that be thumb-pad?) both for navigation and in order to access some of Snappermail's key functionality.

Brilliant! Well done Will.


posted by Craig at 4:37 PM

 
HandyAid

With it's excellent screen and superfast processor, it's not surprising that the T3s battery life isn't brilliant.

Thank heaven therefore for great utilities such as HandyAid, which provides a plethora of settings for conserving battery life and is T3 compliant.




posted by Craig at 3:41 PM

 
T3 Cases

Now that I've got my T3 set up, pretty much, as I want it, I'm once again on the lookout for a decent case. The main contenders at the moment seem to be the made by the 'usual suspects', being:

Vaja






Covertec




Piel Frama




Innopocket (Proporta)




The Piel Frama is on it's way, and I'm hoping to get hold of samples of the other 3 pretty soon!

posted by Craig at 11:08 AM

 
Best T3 Apps

By this I mean what are those apps that currently make the most of the T3's bigger 320 x 480 display, which, in my opinion, are:

* PalmReader Pro v2.29: Being able to read e-books in both portrait and landscape on the bigger screen is a big advantage. I'm currently reading Digital Fortress by Dan Brown.

* Kinoma Player v2.03 (download the free update which is not supplied with the T3): Widescreen movie trailers look much better in full lanscape mode on the T3.

* Sheet to Go v6.0: Spreadsheets have never looked so good on a Palm!

* AcidImage v2.9: Photos look awesome on the bigger screen.

* MS Dict v5.0: looking up the spelling of words in this excellent dictionary viewer is much easier with a larger screen.

* Tube London Pro: Maps are far easier to navigate.

* Web Pro

* Splash ID

* Warfare Incorporated: I can't wait until more of my favourite games are updated to support the T3's bigger screen.

Almost all of the 3rd party apps detailed above require you to install 2 additional system files into RAM to enable these apps to work in full screen mode (being AppSlipRotate and StatusBarLib). Most apps supply these files as part of the installation .zip file, but make sure you remember to install them. It's probably also worth mentioning that even though versions of these files are included with the Pa1mOne T3 ROM Update, newer versions have been released subsequently which should be installed into RAM.


posted by Craig at 10:26 AM

 
BtToggle Pro

Although the bluetooth icon on the T3's statusbar is a nice edition, I'm still using BtToggle Pro to toggle the BT status automatically each time I need to establish a connection, rather than having to do so manually via the pop-up menu.

I have to admit that it would be nice if Peter Easton could find a way for BtToggle to report the correct BT status in the status bar, rather than having to check the icon in the Command Bar though.


posted by Craig at 10:16 AM