olderTechnology
01-09-2009, 01:16 PM
After getting a first generation iPod Touch more than a year ago, as a long-time TH55 user I tried and tried to make it a PDA. But the unrealistic keyboard coupled with no handwriting recognition, the lack of cut and paste, the poor substitute PIMs and lack of support for Microsoft Office killed that idea (although others have made the opposite decision).
In the meantime, the full WiFi support and the new apps like the Stanza e-book reader, pretty much stole some thunder from my good old TH55. I found myself using it less and less for reading and web browsing. I became a three-device user: phone for voice, TH55 for productivity, and iPod for email and reading and Facebook.
The TH55 was nearing the end of life (poor Vista support, etc) and yet I wanted to keep the PalmOS experience for a year or two more while I waited for something to mature. Having just washed a fairly decent phone in the laundry, I hit upon the idea to replace both phone and TH55 with a Centro. My results have been very positive. This is my report of the first three weeks of usage, from a TH55 perspective.
Graffiti and the keyboard
I guess I'm stuck with Graffiti 2 for this new device. I put Graffiti Anywhere on, and it works almost as well as it did on the TH55. The screen draw is much more clunky, for some reason, but the new Graffiti strokes aren't as bad as I thought. I'm learning them pretty quickly.
The surprise is that the system is totally integrated with the keyboard in a way that I didn't expect, never having owned a Treo. All of the Palm screens and most of the third-party screens are carefully crafted so that you never have to use the stylus, much less Graffiti. It's like learning the keyboard shortcuts for Windows instead of always using the mouse. Pretty quickly you pick up the thumb strokes that will get you there (generally the 5 way pad is all you need). This increases productivity, and more than makes up for the lack of a writing area. And Graffiti is still there when I need it.
System issues
There is no reset button, but no surprise, there are still resets. Still, I have only once had to use the "new" reset strategy -- remove the battery and then put it back in. What genius dreamed that up?
Apps compatibility
Most of my apps still work. The older ones aren't optimized for the keyboard, and so you need your stylus or your finger out. A few of them won't run at all correctly. For some reason, no version of Mapopolis seems to work right, which is okay since their maps are getting outdated. AppShelf has some issues with remapping the home button, but otherwise remains a good launcher. Wordsmith is completely hopeless; it won't even use the 5 way navigator to go from letter to letter or line to line. The new Documents To Go will have to suffice, for better AND for worse. (I did spring for the new version of D2G.)
Mostly, I have all my familiar apps installed and PDA life goes on as always. I think I can see why PDAMill discontinued their games; they don't integrate well with this platform and the screen is too small anyway. But there are a lot of games that are still being marketed with Treos and Centros as the main consumers, so game playing will not be a problem soon.
Screen readability
This is a deal breaker for a lot of us. With 320 pixels to work with, everything still looks familiar. But the screen is just too small to try to mess with Fonts4OS5 and cram tiny fonts on the page. Generally the default font size is better and more readable, even if you get to read less in one chunk. The basic reader software all works well, and since the Centro screen is at least twice as bright as the TH55, that helps readability too. Plucker and Bible+, which I consider the classics of Palm reading software, work great, and the new Bible+ is supposed to have Treo and Centro keyboard navigation improvements. I don't see any corresponding Plucker development on their web site, but it's very usable anyway.
Surprising benefits
Let's not minimize the goodness of continuing to have a replaceable battery! When my iPhone brothers are paying Apple big time support dollars in a couple years, I'll be popping in my new over-the-counter battery, just like I've been doing in the TH55.
Bluetooth is another surprising lifestyle addition to the PDA. European TH55 owners already had this, but guess what, Bluetooth beaming works better than IR beaming, and Bluetooth hotsync is great! I can sit in my living room now and hotsync without visiting the bedroom computer.
I didn't buy a data plan, but being able to call up Google Maps from anyplace I have an AT&T connection will save my bacon some time or another, I can guarantee that. Otherwise, I won't really be using this as an Internet device (iPod Touch already stole that function).
Phone integration
I pretty much knew what to expect here. Having a phone INSIDE the PDA is just a wonderful improvement. Obviously, the entire TH55 address book is now the phone contacts list. In fact, there is no separate Contacts program; the Contacts will always throw you into the Phone application. Everything works well here, although the displaying of contacts could be improved. I know there are third party programs out there that do that, but I tried not to spend any extra money yet!
Conclusion
I think this was a home run choice for me. It positions me for the next couple years as a continuing PalmOS user - no reinvestment in apps, no reformatting of data - and hopefully by 2010 or 2011, the iPhone or the Pre will have really shown the way forward and will truly have PDA power the way we're used to it. But nothing will ever be quite like the good old TH55 was. It will always be the greatest of the standalone PDAs.
In the meantime, the full WiFi support and the new apps like the Stanza e-book reader, pretty much stole some thunder from my good old TH55. I found myself using it less and less for reading and web browsing. I became a three-device user: phone for voice, TH55 for productivity, and iPod for email and reading and Facebook.
The TH55 was nearing the end of life (poor Vista support, etc) and yet I wanted to keep the PalmOS experience for a year or two more while I waited for something to mature. Having just washed a fairly decent phone in the laundry, I hit upon the idea to replace both phone and TH55 with a Centro. My results have been very positive. This is my report of the first three weeks of usage, from a TH55 perspective.
Graffiti and the keyboard
I guess I'm stuck with Graffiti 2 for this new device. I put Graffiti Anywhere on, and it works almost as well as it did on the TH55. The screen draw is much more clunky, for some reason, but the new Graffiti strokes aren't as bad as I thought. I'm learning them pretty quickly.
The surprise is that the system is totally integrated with the keyboard in a way that I didn't expect, never having owned a Treo. All of the Palm screens and most of the third-party screens are carefully crafted so that you never have to use the stylus, much less Graffiti. It's like learning the keyboard shortcuts for Windows instead of always using the mouse. Pretty quickly you pick up the thumb strokes that will get you there (generally the 5 way pad is all you need). This increases productivity, and more than makes up for the lack of a writing area. And Graffiti is still there when I need it.
System issues
There is no reset button, but no surprise, there are still resets. Still, I have only once had to use the "new" reset strategy -- remove the battery and then put it back in. What genius dreamed that up?
Apps compatibility
Most of my apps still work. The older ones aren't optimized for the keyboard, and so you need your stylus or your finger out. A few of them won't run at all correctly. For some reason, no version of Mapopolis seems to work right, which is okay since their maps are getting outdated. AppShelf has some issues with remapping the home button, but otherwise remains a good launcher. Wordsmith is completely hopeless; it won't even use the 5 way navigator to go from letter to letter or line to line. The new Documents To Go will have to suffice, for better AND for worse. (I did spring for the new version of D2G.)
Mostly, I have all my familiar apps installed and PDA life goes on as always. I think I can see why PDAMill discontinued their games; they don't integrate well with this platform and the screen is too small anyway. But there are a lot of games that are still being marketed with Treos and Centros as the main consumers, so game playing will not be a problem soon.
Screen readability
This is a deal breaker for a lot of us. With 320 pixels to work with, everything still looks familiar. But the screen is just too small to try to mess with Fonts4OS5 and cram tiny fonts on the page. Generally the default font size is better and more readable, even if you get to read less in one chunk. The basic reader software all works well, and since the Centro screen is at least twice as bright as the TH55, that helps readability too. Plucker and Bible+, which I consider the classics of Palm reading software, work great, and the new Bible+ is supposed to have Treo and Centro keyboard navigation improvements. I don't see any corresponding Plucker development on their web site, but it's very usable anyway.
Surprising benefits
Let's not minimize the goodness of continuing to have a replaceable battery! When my iPhone brothers are paying Apple big time support dollars in a couple years, I'll be popping in my new over-the-counter battery, just like I've been doing in the TH55.
Bluetooth is another surprising lifestyle addition to the PDA. European TH55 owners already had this, but guess what, Bluetooth beaming works better than IR beaming, and Bluetooth hotsync is great! I can sit in my living room now and hotsync without visiting the bedroom computer.
I didn't buy a data plan, but being able to call up Google Maps from anyplace I have an AT&T connection will save my bacon some time or another, I can guarantee that. Otherwise, I won't really be using this as an Internet device (iPod Touch already stole that function).
Phone integration
I pretty much knew what to expect here. Having a phone INSIDE the PDA is just a wonderful improvement. Obviously, the entire TH55 address book is now the phone contacts list. In fact, there is no separate Contacts program; the Contacts will always throw you into the Phone application. Everything works well here, although the displaying of contacts could be improved. I know there are third party programs out there that do that, but I tried not to spend any extra money yet!
Conclusion
I think this was a home run choice for me. It positions me for the next couple years as a continuing PalmOS user - no reinvestment in apps, no reformatting of data - and hopefully by 2010 or 2011, the iPhone or the Pre will have really shown the way forward and will truly have PDA power the way we're used to it. But nothing will ever be quite like the good old TH55 was. It will always be the greatest of the standalone PDAs.