Mobile Computing: Best Programs for Your Palm

How to track expenses, convert foreign currencies, and more.

James A. Martin

Feature: Favorite Palm Programs

Most Palm users I know don't venture much beyond the basic applications--Date Book and such--that come loaded on their PDAs. But with more than 10,000 applications written for Palm OS devices, confining yourself to the basics is like living in Manhattan and never going anywhere but work and home.

Okay, so that metaphor strains credibility a tad. My point is, there are some worthy but overlooked Palm apps out there. The vast majority are inexpensive (say, $10 to $20), easy to use, and don't take up much memory.

With so many Palm OS programs from which to choose, the only problem is finding the most cool, useful ones. But relax. I've scoured the Web and reviewed the ones that, in my opinion, are particularly helpful for mobile professionals. All the programs reviewed here offer free trials.

By the way, I haven't reviewed my all-time favorite Palm app, Vindigo, in this newsletter because I've mentioned it several times before. Check out my most recent Vindigo rave at "Mobile Computing: Rent Movies for Your Notebook."

Next week I'll report on my favorite Pocket PC add-ons. In the meantime, Pocket PC users take note: Many of the Palm apps reviewed here are also available for your handheld.

Logging Travel Expenses

ExpenseLog Pro 1.0 from TrajectoryLabs.com makes it easy to track your travel expenses like bar bills, airport shoe shines, pay-per-view movies, and so on. (Then again, maybe you shouldn't track those expenses.) You can create expense categories, then enter, view, and calculate expenses in each category, or all expenses combined.

ExpenseLog Pro lets you record automobile mileage and per-mile reimbursement rates. There's also a currency converter, but you have to enter the exchange rates manually; other programs (such as WorldMate, reviewed below) do that work for you. ExpenseLog Pro data is backed up to your PC when you HotSync and can be converted into text files for viewing in Microsoft Word, Excel, and the like, but the conversion requires a separate, free utility.

ExpenseLog Pro 1.0, for Palm only, can be found for $30 at Handango.

Hunting Down Area Codes

Seems like new area codes pop up more frequently these days than Michael Jackson exposés on TV. For instance, where the heck does area code 337 come from, anyway? (Answer: Lafayette, Louisiana)

Pocket Codes 2.0 is a handy utility from Neohand that lets you enter U.S. and Canadian area codes to determine their geographical location and time zone. Conversely, you can enter a location to find its area code. You can also look up country codes, as well as international Internet domain extensions. Pocket Codes 2.0 is easy to use, does well what it purports to do, and has color icons, too.

Pocket Codes 2.0 costs $8 and is available in Palm and Pocket PC versions.

Converting When Abroad

One of my all-time favorite Palm apps, WorldMate takes some of the confusion out of a trip abroad--which is good news for those of you still traveling abroad nowadays. The program includes seven highly useful, integrated utilities.

WorldMap displays your location on a color map, with light and dark areas to indicate day and night. It shows the time and day for any selected location as well as a five-day weather forecast that's as up-to-date as your last HotSync. (You must have an Internet connection active when you HotSync for this to work.) Weather data is supplied by The Weather Channel.

The Clocks screen allows you to view the date and time of five different locations at once, as well as get easy access to weather forecasts for those cities.

WorldMate automatically retrieves the latest exchange rates when you HotSync and updates the program's currency converter. You can convert one currency (such as the euro) into two different currencies at once, too. There's also a converter for lengths, distances, temperatures, and other measurements; a list of country dialing codes; and a utility that converts men's, women's, and baby's clothing sizes. The most recent WorldMate version includes a packing list feature that lets you add categories and descriptions to packed items (you can also check a box to indicate if an item has been packed).

WorldMate 9.1.2 for the Palm OS costs $25 (and is worth every cent). WorldMate 3.0.2 for Pocket PCs is $20.

Tracking Your Time

Because I'm self-employed, I track all of my working hours--even the time spent on projects for which I receive a flat, rather than an hourly, rate. In fact, I strongly recommend that all professionals track their time whenever possible. If for no other reason, knowing how many hours you spent on that last PowerPoint presentation can help you more accurately estimate the time required to put together your the next one.

Several years ago I researched time tracking programs, and the one that best suited my needs then--and now--is Iambic Software's TimeReporter, which runs on Windows and Palm OS. You can easily track time spent away from the office on your handheld using the Palm utility. Then, when you HotSync, the Palm entries are added to the master TimeReporter database on your Windows machine.

Time entries are easy to create and sort, and you can use them to build reports. TimeReporter could stand some improvement; I wish you could create reports directly in the program rather than having to export the data to Excel, for instance. And the program is a bit pricey. But in my experience, this time tracker is the best I've tested.

The Standard Edition of TimeReporter 4.0.2 includes the Palm and Windows apps and costs $150; the Professional Edition, which adds support for Microsoft SQL Servers, is $200. No Pocket PC version is currently available. Go to the Iambic TimeReporter site to purchase the software or download a free trial version.

NOTEBOOKS & ACCESSORIES

News: Shrinking Drives From Samsung

Notebook makers keep looking for ways to make thinner, lighter components and peripherals, and I love 'em for it. Case in point: Samsung Electronics recently announced a new optical drive for notebooks that's 25 percent smaller than existing drives as well as 35 percent lighter, and more power efficient. The drive, now available to notebook PC makers, can write to CD-R and CD-RW discs at 8X speed but can't burn DVDs.

News: Smaller, Faster PC Cards

Speaking of shrinkage, the industry group behind PC Cards is developing a new spec for smaller, faster, cheaper cards that'll work in notebooks and desktops. The specification from PCMCIA should be released later this year, with the first products supporting it out by mid 2004. The card, code-named Newcard, should allow computer makers such as Dell and Hewlett-Packard (backers of the specification) to design sleeker notebooks. If the cards are smaller, so will be the card slots, the thinking goes.

News: Panasonic Talks Tough

Looking for a Tablet PC to slam around? Look no further than Panasonic's new Tablet PC. The Toughbook CF18 is based on Intel's new Centrino architecture, which combines a Pentium M processor with a new chip set and wireless networking support. Like other Tablet PCs, you can use the ruggedized Toughbook as a traditional notebook or swivel the display around and fold it down face out to use it tablet style. What makes the Toughbook so tough? A magnesium alloy case, moisture and dust resistant LCD, a shock-mounted hard drive, and more. Pricing begins at $3200.

HANDHELDS

News: Talk About Tungsten

The rumor mill was cranking overtime recently on Palm's new Tungsten C. Exact specifications weren't available as of this writing, but the C will reportedly cost about $500 and could be a communicator, such as the recently released Tungsten W. The C should be available by the time you read this.

News: Speed Can Kill

Attention speed freaks, there are software applets available that let you jack up the clock speed of your PDA's processor. XScaleCtrl from Wibble-wobble.com and Clear Speed from Revolutionary Software Front let you adjust processor speed from 100 MHz to 500 MHz just by clicking a few buttons. But PDA makers (not surprisingly) and others warn of serious consequences resulting from this performance enhancment. Faster clock speeds increase power consumption, shorten battery life, and add to the heat the PDA emits, which in turn can cause system failure and the loss of critical data. Also, if your handheld breaks while using a speed-increasing program, your warranty will be voided.

News: An Eye for the Axim

Dell Axim owners can now take pictures with their Pocket PC, thanks to the Veo Photo Traveler. The new model for Axim handhelds is priced at $100, fits into the PDA's CompactFlash slot, and lets you take snapshots at 640 by 480 resolution.

WIRELESS

News: T-Mobile Drops Wi-Fi Rates

Wireless Web surfing at Starbucks and other T-Mobile hot spots recently got more affordable. The Unlimited National plan, which requires a 12-month contract, is now $30 per month, down from $50. T-Mobile has streamlined its service options, too: Gone are the Unlimited Local plans and the $20 prepay package for 120 minutes. For more rate information, go to the T-Mobile HotSpot site.

Suggestion Box

Is there a particularly cool mobile computing product or service I've missed? Got a spare story idea in your back pocket? Tell me about it.

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