Docs To Go question

[Blah-Blah]

I'm looking into getting my first PDA and tossing up between a Palm (perhaps T5 or T3) and a PPC (perhaps Dell Axim x30 high). One of the main uses would be viewing a editing Word docs and the contacts/calender stuff. Can anyone share any experiences comparing these two platforms?
I have read that PPC-Word loses some formatting, especially graphics. Is this true?
Does the Docs to Go do anything similar?
What are the limitations of viewing Word documents on a Palm ?

[tanker_bob]

Documents To Go trumps anything for PPC. Pocket Word is really just a text editor with very rudimentary formatting capabilities. It eliminates all formatting in the source desktop document that it doesn't support on the handheld, basically trashing your source document. I have played with Pocket Word for long periods in stores looking for some saving grace and can't believe that MS couldn't do better. There is a very expensive, large and slow third-party word processing app available for PPC. It's called Textmaker, it sells for $49.95 just for a PDA word processor component--no Excel, Powerpoint, or pdf support. By comparison, DTG 7 Premium supports MS Word, Excel w/charting, and Powerpoint all in native or converted format, plus text pdf files and native bmp and jpg images, including desktop support, and wireless support for $49.99 from scratch. Plus, the Pro version comes bundled with virtually every Palm OS device sold these days. Upgrade from Pro to Premium version 7 is $29.99.

Docs to Go does a super job with Word, Excel, and to a lesser extent, Powerpoint files, even using them in their native format (read converts in place) on the Palm. It doesn't interfere with formatting that it doesn't support (like footnotes) in the original desktop document, so you can confidently work with a file w/o fear of it being trashed. And, if you didn't like DTG for some reason, there are at least three other office suited available for Palm OS.

The main limitation of document work on any handheld is the small screen size. This limits the real estate available for the main text plus toolbars, etc. Extended inputing time can be tiresome without a keyboard or special input method like MessagEase or Fitaly. These are true of all PDAs, not just Palms.

I write all my reviews on my Palm T3 in DTG using MessagEase4T3, usually while waiting somewhere for something. DTG syncs them to Word flawlessly, including hyperlinks, images, and tables. Everytime I get tempted by some new PPC, all I have to do is go by the store and try to create a normal document on it. That reinforces just one of the reasons I've been a Palm OS user for all these years. The slow response and tedious menu navigation provide two more reasons while I'm there.

This is probably more than you were looking for, but I hope that it helps.

[Blue Knight]

I concurr. Documents To Go is a fantastic product. The only other thing I have used is Wordsmith and DTG is much better.

[sebring]

I also have a Docs To Go question to those who have upgraded from v6 to v7. Is it worth the $30 upgrade cost?

[tanker_bob]

I also have a Docs To Go question to those who have upgraded from v6 to v7. Is it worth the $30 upgrade cost?
That's highly subjective. I did not at first glance. After trying the competition and using the upgrade for a while, though, I found the new tool bar very handy as well as nice in appearance. I liked the ability to customize it for my style of editing. Overall performance still tops the competition. The Powerpoint and pdf support is better, and the picture/graphics viewing is very nice. The Hosyncs with MS Office files remain flawless. After considerable daily use, I decided to upgrade. $30 still seems pretty steep to me, though. It's a tough call and highly dependent on your requirements and usage patterns. I recommend trying it for the full trial period if you're sitting on the fence.

[jjesusfreak01]

I tried the 7 trial, but I realized that 6 is fine for me. There are not enough new features to justify the 30 upgrade. Would you pay 30$ for a cool bar, spell check, and a few other enhancements. The program is definitely worth that much, but not an upgrade. When they release version 8, I might upgrade, if it is enough of an upgrade, and I still use DTG for the majority for my doc editing (this is if I am not using a laptop).

[sebring]

Thanks TB and jjesusfreak01, I guess I'll try the demo for a while.

[DanT]

I just sync a PowerPoint presentation to my TH55. It looks great. I now can edit it with the TH55 and then load it to the conference room laptop. No need to carry my laptop around to give a presentation. :)

[Blah-Blah]

Thanks tanker_bob, very helpful info. I see that I will need a Palm device and so will focus my research in that area.

I noticed that the Zire 72 ships with DocsToGo "Standard" - any ideas on how this would be different to the Pro version on the E and T3?

[tanker_bob]

Dataviz has a comparison table at http://www.dataviz.com/products/documentstogo/index.html . Standard doesn't do Powerpoint but Pro does.

[Blah-Blah]

Thanks again.
Very helpful.

[sebring]

I went to Dataviz's web site to upgrade to v7 and they are having a special until October 30. They are including Beyond Contacts free. My upgrade was actually from version 4 Standard Edition that came with my NR, so $29.99 to get both Beyond Contacts and Version 7 Premium Edition didn't seem nearly as painful as paying $30 just go from V6 to V7. :D

[sebring]

I tried the 7 trial, but I realized that 6 is fine for me. There are not enough new features to justify the 30 upgrade. Would you pay 30$ for a cool bar, spell check, and a few other enhancements. The program is definitely worth that much, but not an upgrade. When they release version 8, I might upgrade, if it is enough of an upgrade, and I still use DTG for the majority for my doc editing (this is if I am not using a laptop).

Until October 30, you also get Beyond Contacts free if you upgrade to V7 of Docs To Go.

[Jet Jockey]

I went for it and upgraded from the original DTG that came with the NX80V CD disk to version 7. I also installed a trial of Inbox wireless.

It worked great for about a week, then I started having problems when I tried to connect with the modem or WiFi. The screen begins to blink and the light goes off after about 2 or 3 blinks. The PDA operates normally, except it is dark. pushing the on/off button for the light to go back on only shuts down the unit.

Everything else is fine, all other programs operate normally (and with light) except for the CF connection when I try to call out.

Any Ideas? the DTG and Inbox are great and I would like to keep them, but I think they are screwing the PDA up.

Steve