From Palm OS to Android (Droid)

[Hemorrdrhoid]

Well crap. Turned on my trusty Clie this weekend while on vacation and the screen was dead. Not damaged, just lines on-screen where once there was info. I have another Clie; not used anymore since it's digitizer got wonky in a couple of spots, but it'll do for now. Good old Backup Buddy perfectly restored everything, and now I *have* to get off my ass and choose some Droid apps for my data.

I'd put this off hoping for more robust apps to hit the market and also to avoid paying for apps since I'm unemployed. Ill post here as I pick the "winning" apps for car data, password protection, shopping lists, notes, and checkbook (the lack of this last one nearly cramped my vacation). Sigh. I really wasn't looking forward to wrangling my data around and mapping fields for hours.

 

[kokiangel]

I'd put this off hoping for more robust apps to hit the market and also to avoid paying for apps since I'm unemployed. Ill post here as I pick the "winning" apps for car data, password protection, shopping lists, notes, and checkbook (the lack of this last one nearly cramped my vacation). Sigh. I really wasn't looking forward to wrangling my data around and mapping fields for hours.

I don't know if you have tried these apps but aCar is a great app for keeping up with your mileage and car maintenance schedule. It has a free version and a donate version. The big difference is the frequency of backups. Once a month for the free version. On demand for the donate. Very nice app.

Try hungry! for a shopping list. Nice for the grocery store anyway. Very simplified version of handyshopper. Nowhere near as functional but it does offer an import/export to csv which can save you from redoing your list every time you wipe your data.

As to check books....I am still looking. I have mobile banking now and it almost seems redundant to keep a checkbook on my phone. Almost. I kinda miss being able to see all my transactions at a glance.

 

[twrock]

lobug, looks like we had a lot of similarities to the way we used our Palm device.

The biggest disappointment is from the PIM apps. Was using DateBk6 and loved the Floating Events feature. The Calendar app in Android is just, pity. Entering tasks is tedious. The date/time picker is time-wasting. Resorted to use the online Google Calendar to enter new tasks.

You definitely have that right! After having used Datebk all those years, the Android Calendar app is downright painful to use.

No built-in Notes/Memo app but there are tons of them on Android Market. The problem is that none of the ones I've tried can do custom sorting like Palm's. Anyway using OI Notepad for now (can import CSV files).

I am liking Note Everything. They have nice instructions on how to get all your existing Palm Memos transferred.

No built-in Tasks/Todo app as well. Used to use the floating event in Datebk. Now just use All-Day Event and move them to new day every night (tedious!)

Yeah, another loss without Datebk. I am using gTasks, only because it syncs with Google.

Also missing NVBackup (secure device backup),

MyBackup Pro is working out well for me. (And for the "complete" solution, nandroid guarantees I can revert to a good state.)

KeyCaps (long press capitalize letter).

TouchPal keyboard support swiping up for caps and down for punctuation. Handy

PalmBiblePlus has been replaced by CadreBible.

I'm using Olive Tree BibleReader until Laridian finally gets around to an Android version. I've got way too much invested in Laridian to leave them.
Oh, and, I sincerely hope they release Daily Reader for Android as well.

Yinghan has been replaced by ColorDict. No pronunciation and instant translation through.

I'm happy with Hanping which has both simplified and traditional characters.

Others:
iSilo is definitely worth the money to me. I couldn't live without it on Palm and I was so happy to find it for Android. Simple kicks any other reference reader for speed and flexibility. And with the free iSiloX for personal document creation, it's just perfect for me.
OI Safe replaced SecureIt for a password vault.
My friend swears by Evernote, but I haven't really used it yet. Looks promising but I'm slow to change my patterns.
handyConverter is nice.
All of the widgets from Curvefish are great and look good as a set. Ringer, Bluetooth, Wifi, 2G/3G switch, and Brighness all get some of my home screen space.
Astro has been mentioned plenty of times for a file manager and more.
I just installed WaveSecure. I'm still in the "figure out if it is for me" stage, but I think it will be something I want to keep.
Oh, and this has nothing to do with Palm, but Robo Defense is one of the coolest games of all time.

Still, it's hard not to miss some of the simple functionality of my trust old Palm TX. It was designed to be a PDA and to run PIM apps well. And it did.

 

[DarkTLRrider]

At first I missed my Treo 650 sooo much. I had many complaints about the Android platform, but wanted a new modern phone. The Treo seamed to cover all the bases but Palm hadn't introduced a new phone in years (this was pre Pre days) and everyone was saying that Android was the wave of the future. So I hung in there. As far as syncing to my PC. Don't miss it at all now. Google syncs my contacts and I can manage them anywhere with a PC. Takes a bit of letting go. Sure there are things that palm did really well that android developers haven't even begun to address. Seams android users are more concerned about sound boards and fart apps than serious business solutions. Here are a few suggestions and we'll hope for more.

As far as tracking your mileage on your bike: My Tracks + My Maps Editor + Google Maps.

My Tracks for Android

As for syncing media there are several options.

Pictures and user generated movies - Picasa the google option works great with the phone. In the gallery choose share>Picasa and upload to a web album. Or if you like your old sync cable plug it in and mount choose import in Picasa (make sure you check do not include duplicates) and viola. Better than the palm, any changes you make to an album (edit, delete, add) is automatically synced with the web album (if selected). So in effect you have 3 copies phone, PC, and web. You can even join movie clips and author a movie. Includes a photo editor you don't have to have a degree to operate. Turn on the include location in picture information option in the camera app on the phone and they will be automatically geo tagged and when displayed on the web album a mini map accompanies the photo showing where it was taken. Full control over public and privacy options. FREE. Google supported. Very Nice. My choice.

YouTube - Introducing Picasa 3
Picasa 3: Free download from Google

Music and some movies - Windows media player. At the top there are 4 tabs Library, rip, burn, sync. Plug in your phone, mount. Drag and drop files between PC and Android phone. Click sync.

Music and Movies- Doubletwist. Option to buy at AmazonMP3 or load music and movies to SD card. Plug in and mount select files and sync. This program will convert movies on your pc hard drive to the correct format to play in the media player on your phone. Converted several of my Palm videos with this option and even commercial movies. It does not however rip the movie. But for free what do you want.

Sync Android, PSP, BlackBerry, Pre: doubleTwist with Amazon MP3

Music and Movies- Android Converter is one choice as a paid option. This allows you to rip a dvd convert it and dump it on your phone for playback. Not free but has a 14 day trial. Does music as well. If you are into watching movies on your phone.

Android Converter - convert video, audio and photos for your android the easy way.

And lastly to the person with 3500+ contacts...really? I bet there are people in there that you haven't contacted in so long they have moved and changed their phone numbers. LOL

 

[lobug]

@twrock: I've since moved towards Titanium Backup, which is much closer to NVBackup (just lacks encryption and scheduling) but you need root access.

Also installed Google Calendar Sync and manages my calendar using Outlook.

Cheers.

 

[balpers]

If you're coming from Palm, you will feel like you're coming back home.
Welcome back, Graffiti!
Works beautifully.
I love it!

It's in the Market.

Burt

 

[KlaymenDK]

If you're coming from Palm, you will feel like you're coming back home. Welcome back, Graffiti!

I take it you're referring to Gesture Search? I'll try installing it in the morning, try it out.

But I gotta say, "Welcome back, Graffiti" it ain't!

One of the main reasons I still like my Treo more is that it does handwriting recognition in any app and not just one crummy custom search thingie (that seems to need pre-indexing). Yeah, die-hard TealScript user here, you got me. Sorry, I reeeally want to like Android (don't see much choice otherwise) but this is still simply not good enough.

 

[KlaymenDK]

By the way, someguy9 made a video of Google Gesture, it's posted over here.

 

[KlaymenDK]

FYI,
I just moved an off-topic discussion about PalmOS handwriting recognition. It was getting long enough to deserve its own thread.

 

[balpers]

I take it you're referring to Gesture Search? I'll try installing it in the morning, try it out.

But I gotta say, "Welcome back, Graffiti" it ain't!

One of the main reasons I still like my Treo more is that it does handwriting recognition in any app and not just one crummy custom search thingie (that seems to need pre-indexing). Yeah, die-hard TealScript user here, you got me. Sorry, I reeeally want to like Android (don't see much choice otherwise) but this is still simply not good enough.

You're right. It would be better if it were integrated into the OS.

OTOH, this product meets about 90% of my needs. I have over 1,000 contacts and finding the one I need is a real pain.

I don't text much so that's not a problem.

I do miss graffiti in the browser, but gestures in Dolphin browsers are a big help.

Overall, the product meets my needs pretty well and I'm glad to see it in the market.

Burt

 

[(G)]

One of the main reasons I still like my Treo more is that it does handwriting recognition in any app and not just one crummy custom search thingie

Let me reiterate: MobileWrite for Android (available in the Market) does handwriting recognition in any app -- basically it's a "keyboard" replacement. When the device asks for INPUT METHOD, you choose MobileWrite instead of Android Keyboard.

And it allows you to choose between Palm's old Graffiti1 and Graffiti2 recognition.

I am not affiliated with MobileWrite in any way. I know handwriting recognition was the thing I missed when I gave up my Treo. MobileWrite (which I had on my Treo), is identical and made me 100% more comfortable with my Droid.

 

[lobug]

Off-topic: Oh mine... Agendus is going to web OS....

iambic acquired by SplashData, Agendus coming to webOS and Android | PreCentral.net

 

[grainysand]

MobileWrite seems pretty terrible. Unintuitive interface, and poor recognition compared to Gesture Search.

 

[lobug]

Just would like to know if you guys have any new findings...

 

[Gekko]

are there any great Android Contacts and Calendar apps that mimic the old PalmOS Garnet PIMs for ease of use and functionality?

 

[lobug]

There are some Calendar widgets which help somewhat, but nothing like Agendus or Datebk.

It seems that Google has not released an official API for Calendar, that could explain why development in that field is lacking.

When will Android have a public Calendar API? - Stack Overflow

Hopefully, with Froyo coming, things will change...

Exclusive: Android Froyo to take a serious shot at stemming platform fragmentation -- Engadget

 

[Gekko]

i really just liked the default PalmOS built in Contacts and Calendar Apps. really easy to enter/move/delete/change data.

 

[dbpaddler]

One thing I do like is PureCal or the free CalWidget. I can fill up 2/3's of my home screen with a compact Agenda view that color codes my appts between personal and business. It shows me about two weeks of appts at a glance. As far as deeper functionality, there isn't anything really. At this stage of the game the ability to link contacts to appts and have a contact history (calls, appts, tasks and such) is just abysmal on any of the new OS's. To me, that is synergy before all the other crap. And that is something that is actually productive and not just fluff. But since these OS's are so "open" it seems like no one wants to relinquish any control to let something useful like that happen. As a sales rep, those types of things are so useful. And not being able to sort by certain categories sucks. It would be better if the universal searching would hit more of the contact and calendar info. Would help solve some of the problems as well.

Agendus is being worked on for Android. They just won't give timeframes. They did that for the iPhone, missed the marks, and the little fanboys were ready to string them up with a lynch mob. So they said FU, no more timelines, when there's a beta, we'll let you know. So you just have to suck it up and wait. I do have more faith for Agendus on Android than I do on webOS which is a shame, but it is what it is.

All in all...I took a hit on some PIM functionality to make up for it with the ease of email, a more graphical interface for the calendar, and on Android (not webOS), some of the nice widgets that give me instant access to things that can help me stay on track. It's all a tradeoff. It's which ones can you live with.

are there any great Android Contacts and Calendar apps that mimic the old PalmOS Garnet PIMs for ease of use and functionality?

 

[dbpaddler]

funny...for the month or so I've had the Pixi, maneuvering around the calendar and the way appointments are separated out, the accordian effect for free time and such are actually convenient. I might get a Hero back so I can remember what Sense is like. My one coworker can't stand the on screen keyboard and wants a Moment so I have to shuffle phones around internally.

i really just liked the default PalmOS built in Contacts and Calendar Apps. really easy to enter/move/delete/change data.

 

[dbpaddler]

They've been working on Android for quite awhile, and I'm sure a beta will be available long before it is on webOS. And it still comes down to what information both OS's will allow access and to what degree. If the program is a bit neutered it'll be a waste, but then again, a neutered version of Agendus still has to be more functional than the stock PIM. If I can't link info though, I probably won't waste my money. Integrate all the PIM functions (Calendar, contacts, tasks and emails) then we'll talk. If I can look up a contact and see I shared 10 emails, 3 lunches, 5 surgeries, 2 x-ray reviews and dropped off patient literature twice; then I'll be a happy camper.

Off-topic: Oh mine... Agendus is going to web OS....

iambic acquired by SplashData, Agendus coming to webOS and Android | PreCentral.net

 

[lobug]

Anybody interested in starting a petition and a pool of fund to and for Chris Anto's (The HandyShopper Wiki : HomePage) to develop HandyShopper for Android...?

BTW, it seems Agendus for Android is not arriving anytime soon (http://support.iambic.com/forum/showthread.php?p=159749), I still think that it's because there's isn't one official Android Calendar API - Developers have a hard time coding and even if they know how to, they risk wasting their time should Google happen to change the API significantly later.

 

[(G)]

Anybody interested in starting a petition and a pool of fund to and for Chris Anto's (The HandyShopper Wiki : HomePage) to develop HandyShopper for Android...?

Have you tried "Our Groceries"? I've never used Handy Shopper, but from the description Our Groceries sounds like the same thing, except that if you put it on your significant other's phone, you can both work off the same lists -- they sync up. So when s/he adds something it shows up on your phone's list, when you cross something off it crosses off on his/hers, etc. Plus it works across all platforms, so your sig. other doesn't need an Android phone, too.

My wife and I love it.

 

[twrock]

Just would like to know if you guys have any new findings...

It's not huge, but I finally found that Palmary has an alarm replacement that gave me back the alarm flexibility I had with Mobileclock. I found it on their website, not in the market. (Alarms for Android - The best Alarm program for Android) I was really missing things like auto-snooze and all the other flexibility I had gotten used to. YMMV, but I was willing to pay the $2.99 for the functionality of Alarms.
I use DigiClock widget on my home page, which lets me assign the clock touch to launch Alarms. Works well for me, and I really like the look of DigiClock too (vs. the analog clock).

Edit: I don't know if it was mentioned already, but I just found Calendar Pad this afternoon. It gives me a way better week and month view than the standard Android app does. It actually shows the events in text; what an amazing idea! (Yes, that was a bit of sarcasm.) I'm also checking out Smooth Calendar widget, but I don't know if that is a keeper.

Still, Datebk can not come soon enough. The limitations in the Android Calendar app are just killing me.

 

[Gekko]

hey twrock - no more Palm? when did you take the Android plunge?

 

[twrock]

hey twrock - no more Palm? when did you take the Android plunge?

LOL. You don't remember?! I even made a point of going back to PIC and leaving that "final post" I had promised. I mentioned some stuff comparing the two systems and about my migration path and made a direct link to a thread here in Android Forums for others who wanted to see how the migration from Palm to Android went for some of us. And you were the first to respond to my post there! Slipping in your old age, or just too quick in dismissing what I wrote to pay attention?

I like my Android device more and more all the time. I do slightly regret getting the phone I did (same as the T-Mobile Pulse) instead of an HTC, but I really wanted at least a 3.5" screen at an affordable price, and this was it.

Incidentally, for the record, I will once again draw your attention to just how many "superior" iPhone users are still hanging around PIC, unable to move on. What is the problem with those guys?