I'm on the fence about buying one of these for USA use. I don't want to pay $100 for a monthly cell phone plan, so I probably won't need the 3g for "GPS" or a lot of internet usage.
I will however most likely take advantage of the array of programs available and heavily use a calendar application to schedule appointments, reminders, alarm clock, etc. Can someone comment on how a Touch HD helps to simplify and organize their daily routine and keep appointments?
Also, I had a chance to get one of my hands on one in Malaysia and I have to say that the interface is very slick. Is it possible to use the stylus to scribble notes on a notepad? Is this a popular and quick-to-use feature for on-the-fly note taking? I don't see it mentioned very much in the forums here.
I won't be returning to the States until April, so I'll be keeping my eye on some other up and coming phones that have GPS built into the phone for an annual fee.
ModernMuseum said:
I'm on the fence about buying one of these for USA use. I don't want to pay $100 for a monthly cell phone plan, so I probably won't need the 3g for "GPS" or a lot of internet usage.
I will however most likely take advantage of the array of programs available and heavily use a calendar application to schedule appointments, reminders, alarm clock, etc. Can someone comment on how a Touch HD helps to simplify and organize their daily routine and keep appointments?
Also, I had a chance to get one of my hands on one in Malaysia and I have to say that the interface is very slick. Is it possible to use the stylus to scribble notes on a notepad? Is this a popular and quick-to-use feature for on-the-fly note taking? I don't see it mentioned very much in the forums here.
I won't be returning to the States until April, so I'll be keeping my eye on some other up and coming phones that have GPS built into the phone for an annual fee.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I can definitely say that using a stylus to jot notes will NOT get you far unfortunately :S . The screen is only ~1.8" wide, the screen isn't near sensitive or accurate enough, and devices like this aren't very fast even w/ the latest clean rom, registry tweaks, and drivers. They are still pretty..SLOW. But that is highly a problem of windows mobile and qualcomm driver-less chipsets.
You might try something like:
iPhone
G1
Treo 800w
Treo 850 pro
Palm Centro
for stuff like that I guess...simply because each of those devices is easier snappier or has a better screen.
But if you just want to take notes using a software on screen keyboard on the HD...then you should be good to go. Just keep the notes program minimized (cuz it can take a while to open when you start getting 200+ notes). Then pop it open, hit new, and start typing away when you need to type something down. I would HIGHLY recommend pocketcm keyboard BY FAR for this. Plus its free.
Best of luck to you! (toshiba is also supposed to be producing what looks to be a pretty sick device, and the blackstone / hd should have android up and running hopefully within 2 months or so (which would enhance smoothness and snapiness of device) or perhaps the G2 will become real and be produced by then).
As for calendar / scheduling / alarm capabilites...it isn't anything fantastic by any stretch of the imagination or anything (windows mobile), but it will get the job done well.
Well I find the HD invaluable for keeping track of my appointments and buzzing when one is due. But, any windows mobile device will do that.
I also use apMemo to make quick notes on the fly and alarm them if needed. In the car I have on the HD a button mapped to the Resco Note recorder so I may make a verbal note.
I also have loads of applications, like GPS, a copy of wiki, etc etc.
I find SBSH PocketBreeze the best diary program and have this running with TF3D by using SecondToday.
I like TF3D weather and stocks.
Jim and Dave -
Thanks very much for your response. You definitely answered my questions.
I'm not sure at this point that I need a stylus, but it sure would be a nice asset to have, as with the HD. I guess I will most likely wait around a few more months to see what else comes out. The HD is kind of impractical in the US right now since it can't be integrated into the purchase of a celllular plan.
Deleted. Double post for unknown reason.
For me, it definitely helps organize my life. In fact, I would be crippled without it.
In the morning, I rely on it to wake me up with a fantastic alarm clock application called G-Alarm. It has big button to snooze and stop, and plays my favourite music to wake me up.
I have lousy memory, so I rely on it 100% to remind me to pay me bills, renew my insurance, road tax, etc. There are finger friendly calendar applications that lets you enter text 100% without stylus. Try TouchPal or Tengo as your software keyboard, and Thumbcal as the way to enter new appointment.
Of course, birthdays, contact details are all kept in my HD, together with theri emails, etc.
Most of my emails are compiled using my HD, but since the contact could be sync to desktop, you would find it equally convenient to compile emails there too.
I pay all my bill via internet using my Touch HD. So far, Opera is able to 100% handle all my banks, although you might find some bank's website requiring desktop browser to completely carry out the transaction.
All my user id, passwords, warranty expire dates of stuffs I buy, bank accounts details, insurance details, credit cards details, health cards, library cards, software serial numbers, etc etc are all kept using my HD. There are so many nice applications to organise these informations. I use eWallet, but may others are equally good.
I drive around using Tom Tom 7, even on familiar route. Why? Because I tend to day dream and forget the speed camera, school zone hours (where during certain time of the day we must drive at 40Km/h), red light camera (to remind me NOT to enter the intersection if there is a traffic jam (lest having to pay hefty traffic fines), and to stay within the road speed limit. While in unfamiliar places, I'm 100% relying on it to bring me to the destination. While travelling in Asian countries, Tom Tom and iGO are completely useless, so I use Garmin and Mapking in those countries. All these GPS are installed on my HD at all times. Forget iPhone.
I use the stock information a lot, checking it many times during the day.
Then while coming acrosss words I don't know, I use my favourite Lexisgoo to find out what they mean.
There are times when I need to convert unit of measure from one system to another (for example, from cm to inches). I use Panoramic Calc Pro to help me in such task. The standard winmo or iphone calculator is not going to help here.
I live in Australia, where the price of petrol changes frequently duing the day, and there is always a need to know where I can get the cheapest petrol. I have emails sending such informaiton to me twice a day, but I have also bookmark this website to look up instantly when my petrol runs low.
I keep many other reference information on my HD. I install applications such as Wine Guide, Travel Guide on my HD.
While having time to kill, I amuse myself with ebooks using a fantastic ebook reader called AlReader. It is also 100% finger friendly.
I use youtube a lot. There is also an application that lets you view video from sources other than youtube, called Web Video Downloader. With WVD, you could watch from youtube, liveleak, porkolt, dailymotion, tube8, google, eskimotube, pornhub, bootyfix, and xyxx. I don't know most of them as I use only youtbue, but it works for all in my test. You can watch video in MP4 (higher quality that FLV) format there, so I prefer it over the standard youtube player.
Radio, MP3, videos, picture viewing are some other pastimes.
I own video recorders and good cameras, but these days I don't bring them with me anymore, as I find my HD doing very good job in most situation. The only problem is taking picture is very poor lighting condition.
All my telephone converations are recorded automatically using Audio notes touch. There is no need to fumble for pen and paper while speaking on the phone.
I also use AgePhone for VOIP calls using my HD. Just 8 aussie cents per call anywhere in the world untimed.
While playing golf, I use Mobile Golf Scorer to track our scores, calculates the stapleford points of everyone, and rank us if we want to hold competition against each other. It calculates all our handicaps automatically. It tells me the distance of my postion to the water hazards, to the green, etc.
The screen brightness of HD is just excellent beyond my expectation. It has an automatic sensor. I am able to see things very clearly under the strongest sunlight.
My HD is fast. I'm using standard ROM.
HD has excellent battery life. I used to have to use the car charger everytime I get into my car. Now I don't anymore as its battery is so good. Anyway, I also bought a spare battery, so when I run out of battery before going to bed, I simply swap in the new one. You can't do that with iPhone.
I have lots of spreadsheet models that I had created using my mobile device. I use SoftMaker to give me 100% of the desktop editing capability for word, spreadsheet and presentation. I am able to view all email attachment on my HD, with or without internet connection. No such capability with iPhone.
Okay, this is getting too long, but I hope it helps you get the picture.
ModernMuseum said:
The HD is kind of impractical in the US right now since it can't be integrated into the purchase of a celllular plan.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hey, the hd can be used fine in the us. you just wont get 3g. everything else will work fine. you can use jit with any sim card (at&nt, tmobie)
I find taking notes with the stylus very easy.
There's no lag at all!
In fact I do it all the time, Notes is mapped to my right softkey in the home menu.
like some others here, i would struggle without my winmo fone now.
i use the calendar for all my work appts (can be a dozen a day at various venues with various people for various reasons) i sync the calender with outlook both at work and at home, over the mobile network at times. my personal life is stored on there as well such as parties, hols, birthdays etc etc
i collect my work email on the move and can schedule meetings with it
my whole address book is in it, as well as being able to access the corporate address book
i use tomtom to navigate to meetings at places i dont know via my contacts
i make notes on it during meetings and have no trouble making my own minutes in real time. i even make voice notes if in the car and need to recall something
for me, the term Personal Digital Assistant is the perfect description
@jim..... i fond the stock winmo applications to be all i need, just that you have to set them up to your preferences. i use spb diary and shell for my front end though, preferring that over TF3D
eaglesteve said:
All my user id, passwords, warranty expire dates of stuffs I buy, bank accounts details, insurance details, credit cards details, health cards, library cards, software serial numbers, etc etc are all kept using my HD. There are so many nice applications to organise these informations. I use eWallet, but may others are equally good.
...
Okay, this is getting too long, but I hope it helps you get the picture.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First off, great post for selling Windows Mobile!
One thing that caught my eye is when you mentioned storing software serial numbers. I couldn't tell you how many online purchases I've made of various pieces of software where I've forgotten where I wrote down the serial number, or worse yet what programs I've even purchased.
You use eWallet to track that, or is there something better that you know of?
I could maybe get rid of the tons of user manuals I hang on to only because they have the serial numbers for installation.. lol.
sschrupp said:
First off, great post for selling Windows Mobile!
One thing that caught my eye is when you mentioned storing software serial numbers. I couldn't tell you how many online purchases I've made of various pieces of software where I've forgotten where I wrote down the serial number, or worse yet what programs I've even purchased.
You use eWallet to track that, or is there something better that you know of?
I could maybe get rid of the tons of user manuals I hang on to only because they have the serial numbers for installation.. lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What I use is Ilium Listpro. This is a great list application and comes with a PC app that is exactly the same and produces the same files - so, copy and paste to the HD is childs-play.
I have one list (of many) for applications and I try to update that each time I load something up including the version, password/free, web site. See my post on this in the thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=442663
I have in that listpro lists a set of sub-lists for applications I had on my old Tytn II etc. So, I can always track back to an app I might want to try on the HD.
Here is my listpro entry for listpro !! (minus password):
Ilium Listpro 5.0.0.2016 http://www.iliumsoft.com/site/lp/listpro.htm
ModernMuseum said:
Jim and Dave -
Thanks very much for your response. You definitely answered my questions.
I'm not sure at this point that I need a stylus, but it sure would be a nice asset to have, as with the HD. I guess I will most likely wait around a few more months to see what else comes out. The HD is kind of impractical in the US right now since it can't be integrated into the purchase of a celllular plan.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem. One thing that I wanna mention real quick though is that...w/ winmo, the big problem (and advantage) that I'm sure you have noticed on these forums is...you're not going to get anywhere w/o 3rd party apps. Basically everything kinda sucks :S lol.
But once you get rolling w/ those...you're great. But the problem therein is that so many apps can begin to bog the device down and cause software conflicts.
The great news....both winmo 6.5 and android are soon to be on the HD (I give it 3.5 months guaranteed they are both running well on it).
EDIT: Basically though, the overall simple answer to your base question is: YES. Maybe other devices could do it better, or it will take tweaking, but YES. And even if you do NO tweaking whatsoever the answer would still be: YES...just not nearly as strong a yes.
Thanks for all the replies guys. I really appreciate it.
@eaglesteve-
When you take notes during meetings, do you use the stylus or your finger, and what program do you use?
ModernMuseum said:
Thanks for all the replies guys. I really appreciate it.
@eaglesteve-
When you take notes during meetings, do you use the stylus or your finger, and what program do you use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was another guy's post that talks about note taking. I sometimes take sermon notes in Sunday Church services. I use TextMaker with Tengo Thumb keyboard without stylus. Tengo Thumb is the only keyboard that lets me type fast enough to catch up with the speaker. It has only six hugh keys, requiring very little travelling distance (my thumb concentrates around the tyghbn region only, so your thumb and finger need not move all over the screen). Same concept as TouchPal, but just 6 bigger buttons instead of 14 smaller buttons.
eaglesteve said:
It was another guy's post that talks about note taking. I sometimes take sermon notes in Sunday Church services. I use TextMaker with Tengo Thumb keyboard without stylus. Tengo Thumb is the only keyboard that lets me type fast enough to catch up with the speaker. It has only six hugh keys, requiring very little travelling distance (my thumb concentrates around the tyghbn region only, so your thumb and finger need not move all over the screen). Same concept as TouchPal, but just 6 bigger buttons instead of 14 smaller buttons.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or you could use a sound recorder ? I have Resco which I find works well but I don't use it for long sermons !
Cheesy Dave said:
Or you could use a sound recorder ? I have Resco which I find works well but I don't use it for long sermons !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I suppose we could do that too.
Not in a meeting! Hehe.
**crackle**
Keith, don't forget to send that report to the nazi bossman by the end of the day. Oh, yeah, and buy condoms on the way home.
**crackle**
ModernMuseum said:
I'm on the fence about buying one of these for USA use. I don't want to pay $100 for a monthly cell phone plan, so I probably won't need the 3g for "GPS" or a lot of internet usage.
I will however most likely take advantage of the array of programs available and heavily use a calendar application to schedule appointments, reminders, alarm clock, etc. Can someone comment on how a Touch HD helps to simplify and organize their daily routine and keep appointments?
Also, I had a chance to get one of my hands on one in Malaysia and I have to say that the interface is very slick. Is it possible to use the stylus to scribble notes on a notepad? Is this a popular and quick-to-use feature for on-the-fly note taking? I don't see it mentioned very much in the forums here.
I won't be returning to the States until April, so I'll be keeping my eye on some other up and coming phones that have GPS built into the phone for an annual fee.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me start of to say that I don’t own Blackstone yet. Therefore I can’t tell you much about the device performance itself, but I am using WinMo since some 8-10 years now.
During this time I have used quite few different devices and I can tell you that I never had device that was “perfect”. Somehow you will have always some issues that you not very happy with it. Speed, Size, keyboard, Battery live, Screen Size, stability etc. etc.
Furthermore after while you will start to visit this site more and more. Times will pass then you will find out that you spend more time here on this site then you talking to your wife. You will be addicted!!! You will wait of custom ROM releases like you have been waiting for your first child. You will use your device more for flashing and testing new ROMS then you will actually use your device. You will start to install so many Software’s that you think they are useful but then you will find out you use them actually only first couple of days.
Coming to using your device to Organizing your live.. Well looking back to 8-10 years I would say a PDA did become a must for busy people, especially if you work a lot with Microsoft outlook on your desktop.
The OS WinMo gives you basic application and of course there plenty 3 party software that improves the capability and functionality of the Device. Indeed you may find more than one software company that offers almost same software. Well again same as the hardware there is no perfect software besides everyone has own favorites.. I would say try them and find the best for you.
Here is the list of software that I have installed:
Pocket Informant ( PIM)
PhatNotes ( database Notes)
PhatPad (handwriting notes)
CalliGrapher (Hand writing Input)
HiCalc ( calculator and Unit converter)
PhoneAlarm Pro (this software can do more than one thing..check it out)
SKTools (Utilities)
Resco explorer(file explorer)
Google Maps
TodayAgenda (displays appointments and task on today screen)
LingvoSoft Dictionary’s
Softmaker office (Replacement for Pocket word, excel etc.)
Flexmail ( email client: I use this only for POP and IMAP email accounts)
I am a business user. I have daily 80-150 emails. Many Appointments and Project/Task that I need to remember and follow up.
I work mainly with MS outlook on my desktop. Therefore all my appointments, task, Reminders and Contacts are organized in outlook. After Sync. with my Hand device the Pocket Informant gives me the best tools to keep me Organized for those.
I use PhatNotes for all my information that I need to keep as notes(database) to remember. There is 2 versions for PhatNotes. 1) integrates with outlook notes 2)has own separate desktop application. I personally use the separate desktop version. I can organize my notes under different categories. I can protect sensitive notes with passwords
I found Phatpad is one of the best hand writing Notes.. I use it mostly in the meetings to take handwritten notes ( like on paper) I can with the help of the calligrapher convert my handwriting to text and save it as word document or txt file. Moreover it is a great tool for using it like yellow sticker notes. You can add reminder to your notes as well.
Well I can go on like that for hours for what else I am using my WinMo. In Short I would say I would be lost without it. The only Advice I can give you is to install only the software’s that you really use daily base.
I'm working on a GTD system for Windows Mobile. My thinking is that, since I always have my phone with me, what better place to maintain a "trusted system"? I've seen make-shift systems based on Outlook Tasks, ListPro, etc., but none of them were right for me. They were either too inflexible, not robust enough or too cumbersome.
My goal is to make it as simple as possible - but no simpler. With that design goal in mind, I'm making it tag-based. No need for category, priority, or context fields - just use tags... @Home, @work, ASAP, Wait4, @errands, Business Hours, Home Maintenance, Auto Maintenance, etc.
Planned functionality...
MAIN MENU
Quick-Add Item (description only - auto-tagged with "TagL8r" for subsequent review/edit)
Add Item (including tags, and notes - with an option (future release) to auto-timestamp the creation date in the Notes field)
Quick-Find Item (Enter a search term, see a list of records that include that text anywhere in the record (i.e. in any field). Primarily used when there's something you don't want to forget - but you can't remember if you entered it already.)
View Items by Tag (Future release will include code so multiple tags can be used as a view (and possibly add-items) filter.)
View Untagged Items (Finds items tagged "TagL8r" - select item to add tags)
Mark items complete (one button - optionally including auto date/time stamp in Notes field.)
View Completed Items (Finds items tagged "TagL8r" - select item to add tags)
Manage Tags (future release)
Backup Data (via ActiveSync - database files must reside in \My Documents for this release; additional options planned for future release)
Skinnable (future release)
UPDATE:
I tackled this this using AutoHotkeyCE with a flat-file database. (I'm not a C programmer. And Mortscript's GUI functionality is woefully inadequate.)
This has gone badly. After 6 weeks, 10-12 (and sometimes more) hours per day, 6 (and often 7) days a week, I have an app that gets buggier the more I try to fix it.
While great for simple desktop automation tasks, AutoHotkey is (IMHO) not well-suited to sophisticated, GUI apps. (It has the chops - or at least the desktop version does -but the CE port is buggy and the syntax is incredibly counterintuitive.) In short, it has been an exercise in futility and terribly frustrating. I wish I had chosen any other scripting language (even Perl) for this, but for WM, my options were limited. (If there was a good implementation of php for PPC, I'd have been all over that, but sadly, the only such implementation was abandoned long ago.)
Bottom line, I will still be doing this, but I'll be doing it in C# or C++ (kind of a learn-as-I-go proposition.) When it's done, I'll certainly be posting it here, but after 6 weeks of very hard work, my neglected wife needs some attention. And with nothing to show for all my hard work, I need a bit of a break. Then there's the learning curve of a new language.
For now, though, I'm posting the main help file (PPC friendly) - with screenshots - as a sort of "sneak preview". Your comments and feedback are welcome.
Hi,
I'm waiting for your prog. Please make sure tags are outlook categories: I'm using GTD programs on my PC too, like jello-dashboard, and they relly on category to sync.
Thanks
This is totally separate from Outlook and I had no plans for integration. All data is stored in a flat-file database, but if you keep that file in My Documents, it should sync without problem. The entire app should work on the desktop as well as the PPC, though. And I'll optimize the desktop version to take advantage of the larger screen. This may be a deal breaker for you, I don't know. Then again, maybe you'll like it well enough to switch over. I'll certainly be open to enhancement requests, especially for the desktop version. If there are particular features that you really like in your desktop GTD app that I'm not implementing, I'll definitely consider adding them.
One other thing re: Outlook categories... I'd be glad to implement an import feature but I don't know how to access the system db that contains the Outlook categories. I've asked (on this forum) if there's a commandline util for doing so (and where to find a schema) but no one has ever answered either question.
Have a look at MLO http://www.mylifeorganized.net/products/my-life-organized/how-it-works.htm
I have. I believe my app will be better. Quicker/easier to add to my "Inbox", quicker/easier to sort/organize, quicker/easier to review/set priorities & action items, and in general, a whole lot more flexible. (Not to mention $77.95 cheaper!)
Sorry for the delay!
To those who have been watching/waiting for this, I apologize for the delay. I initially wrote the QuickAdd and QuickFind functions in Mortscript but then decided I wanted all the code in AHKCE, so there's been a bit of a rewrite and some problems with the port to AHKCE (some my fault, one apparently a bug.) And now there may be further delays as life (or maybe I should say "wife") is getting in the way.
Well all my GTD systems are based around outlook/exchange. Not using category, and using your own database to sync with the pc is going way back for me, at a time where I can sync between 7 devices with ease, using the same mail, contact, task and schedule database, and still access this data over internet.
Google might be another repository, but a GTD without any form of MAIN internet sync looks so Pocket pc 2003 to me.
But I'm sure you might reconsidere this, specially if you see that using standard outlook database with tags allow you to communicate with any PC part with ease, without reprograming your own.
This would be fantastic. Like you said, since the flat-file db can be file synced, it's all good. May could even bend it into a format that todo.sh/txt could handle!
Anyway, looking forward to it's release.
I don't really see your point
But I'm sure you might reconsidere this, specially if you see that using standard outlook database with tags allow you to communicate with any PC part with ease, without reprograming your own.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've read about (and tried using) the Outlook method, with categories as tags. Didn't work for me. Outlook is a kludge. It wasn't designed specifically for GTD, isn't extendable, and is lacking in several areas. I found it cumbersome - Not quick to add an item to my inbox (or at least not nearly as quick as my app.) Not quick to add new categories as needed. Not quick to find multiple items with the same tag(s) (which could be items tagged "today" or with a context tag - mine will display such lists very quickly.) And not as quick to change to edit mode for items found via search.
Aside from all that, I don't use Outlook at all. I much prefer Thunderbird on my desktop, and Gmail forwards all mail to my phone via (push) web2mail.
thaihugo said:
at a time where I can sync between 7 devices with ease, using the same mail, contact, task and schedule database, and still access this data over internet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why would you need to sync with 7 devices?! You're placing a lot of emphasis on syncing. I'm not. This is phone-centric because I always have my phone with me. Yet I can still sync to my desktop (for entering long notes, etc.) using ActiveSync - by keeping the db file in \My Documents.
If the syncing issue outweighs the benefits of my app for you, I guess you won't be using my app. If syncing via Outlook Tasks is a priority for you, consider writing something that imports the dbfile into Outlook tasks.
defsquad said:
bend it into a format that todo.sh/txt could handle!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Shouldn't be that hard to support. Does it store it's data in a single text file?
Soon!
Excellent progress so far today. Just a bit of wrap-up to do and then I'll post v0.1 beta 1. But it'll have to wait til tonight - gotta run some errands, and appease the wife by doing some chores that have been put off due to this project!
This sounds great!
The thing i miss about Listpro is, ability to mark some ithems as "outlook tasks", so they show up in other programs, calender, etc. Just at suggestion.
I doubt I can do this from AutoHotkey or Mortscript. I would have to call some sort of commandline utility like
OutlookCreate.exe -item=appointment -subject=[subject] -date=[date] -time=[time] -reminder=[reminder]
As far as I know, this doesn't exist but if anyone knows of one (or wants to write one), I could certainly implement this functionality.
I do plan to implement a reminder function that would optionally set a system alarm for the current item/new items.
Status Update
For those watching this thread/interested in this app, I've posted an update (the news is not good) in the 1st post, along with the main help file (with screenshots) as a sort of "sneak preview". Sorry if this has become vaporware.
Oops. Forgot to include linked images (screenshots) when I uploaded the help file. Reuploaded. See 1st post.
One thing you might try is to Tweak an App like bLADEwiki to do GTD.
Good Luck in your GTD and C programming !
Does it working?
Hi Donny
I tried to install you software but it did not work. Maybe I did not try enough.
Half year ago I had a same dispute. Mortscript or Autohotkey? Morscript was winner, however it has not pretty gui windows, it has better scripting. So I created Plain todo. I use it every day: www.plaintodo.com