i've migrated away from palm as the primary source for my address book and calendar scheduling.
i haven't stopped using my handspring visor at all, or synching data with yahoo for online access and remote backup - but previously my palm desktop was the primary source for management. i would then synch one-way to other devices, including my ericsson T39 phone...
actually synching to my phone involved loading the palm data file into yahoo. then downloading a csv file from yahoo (simple way to get a fixed/ordered column list). i then wrote a short perl script to digest the csv file and kick out the AT command statements that ericsson uses to write/upload the phone numbers into my T39. connect over hyperterminal (simple serial terminal interface!), and i dump the commands there.
while a bit roundabout, and took hours to get the script fine tuned - but once completed, pure magic. i could sync the phone, uploading hundreds of numbers - not have to manually punch them in.
this is where bluetooth really shines -- a simple serial connection. controlling your phone using these commands has always been there. but you needed a cable to connect your phone, and for the most part, no one ever has the cable. but if you have bluetooth, you have the wireless connection and can take charge or your phone programmatically. infrared, can do this as well. you can also use your phone as an analog modem or fax machine, but i have the gmrs data service to fuss with those tasks. having bluetooth means you can position your phone any place that's most convenient for you, and use wireless headsets.
more over, having a SIM card means i can swap phones really easily. i think a lot of people don't consider issues like this when they get a phone from 'any old provider' and reach for the cheapest phone, the free one that comes with their plan. get your phone all set up, then you drop it and, doh - if you set your number up manually - you gotta start from scratch.
sure enough i've have phones with problems, or dropped them, just when i needed them - like the day before leaving for europe (true story). having the sim card meant grabbing my spare phone and using that, taking it to europe, no problems. i realize most people don't consider having a spare phone around.
what's all this about sim cards?? well, personal information management really extends into a lot of other areas -- including how to push all your contacts over to a new phone, or archive them on the web.
so i really like the simplicity of the palm system, the user interface. especially since the device interface is incredibly simple, powerful, and quick to use. you can power the thing up and look up numbers or start taking notes in seconds flat. on the desktop, again the palm software was elegant, simple, stable.
but outlook 2003 offered a few features worth taking a look at. i thought i would give it a shot. though, i've never liked how outlook handles email though - so i still don't use that feature. for addresses and contacts it's pretty good. improved searching, having multiple calendars, coloring items offered some appealing features. a third party plug-in covers searching for data in ways outlook seems to overlook (microsoft seems so narrow minded at times) this made switching more appealing, and this may have been the final item to tip things in it's favor. not that the palm desktop was perfect. but i need a good search to make use of my entries when i'm looking things up.
so now, after migrating all my data over, i use outlook at the primary data store. i can still sync with yahoo, and export a csv file for my phone. had to adjust my perl script for the outlook csv format. unfortunately you're stuck with the field definitions as provided, no user defined fields, or any other fields not already included for that matter -- they could really expand on the export process here.
going with outlook means access to more software that supports syncing data. so now, i've re-installed the ericsson communications suite, which includes a version of xtndconnect. rather buggy getting everything in place. i just use xtndconnect to get calendar items into my phone. i *could* sync the the contact/address book - but for now i really like the level of control and simplicity of my scripting approach.
i'm really nervous about synching in general, i'd much rather see and understand when/what records the software decides to change or delete. considering the phone doesn't store as much data, what does synching mean then? without the assurance of manual intervention or user prompts, i won't chance it. my script is definitely one-way, and won't ever threaten outlook data.
the ericsson xtndconnect software really isn't clear when compared to trusync or intellisync (e.g. both feature icons showing how the data will move between devices). i really prefer to set one device as the source, not use bidirectional sync -- and it appears like there is no one-way synch mode using xtndconnect. whoa, in fact it's there, just buried in the "force full synchronization" option (which you have to set every time), at which point it will prompt for how to handle matching/overwriting records. i'd much rather have these things set and confirmed in advanced -- that way i can understand what it's capable of, and what to expect once i start the process. i will give them credit since the software was written for outlook 2000, and still works pretty well.
so, from a few tests i've found that updating a single item in the phone will update that corresponding outlook item. deleting a single item prompts the user confirmation (i have that set). fortunately deleting all the items in the phone, is like starting from scratch as well, and won't delete your all your items in outlook. consider again you have to manually select the 'force full synchronization' mode each time in order to make sure that'd be the case. it will also prompt on how to get a new phone sync'd up the first time (with overwrite options).
anyway, i really only want calendar items in my phone as a way of seeing my schedule when i don't have another device around, to check on things. it's just a perk. i haven't seen another phone with all the features the T39 offers. smartphones might support native outlook support, but are usually big and clunky - haven't found one i actually liked yet.
having a palm device lets me carry around all my notes and phone numbers without having to lug, or bust out my laptop when needed, just to look things up. i can keep it in the car for reference when i'm out and about, or in my bag for easy access at the airport -- wherever. my visor came with a software to sync with the palm desktop, as well as a version to sync with outlook -- i use this (chapura 3rd-party plug-in) software to export data to from outlook to my handspring visor. aside from a quirk it appears to add empty folders to my calendar, contacts, and notes -- it does the trick. this plug-in has a lot of settings you can configure - and that rocks! i've also started to use the 'private' record flag -- not to mark personal items but as an easy way to filter out items i don't want or need to sync with external devices.
i use a separate personal folder for inactive contacts but might want to keep around for reference later on. gets them out of the way, and keeps them from being synched, searched, or even archived (unless you include the folder in those operations). having this -- or by using the 'private' flag let's me put information where i want it. some data gets synched everywhere, some just stays in the address book (laptop), and some data get pushed out of sight. when i want to synch the private records for a full offline backup, well that's easy too.
previously i used a category to flag old items, but using a separate folder in outlook lets me retain the original category designation, rather than lump them all together. this is actually working for me. oh, the palm software includes the private feature too, i just never got around to using it.
for yahoo, i export csv files from outlook, which works for the address book and calendar. yahoo doesn't offer a csv import option for notes - so i use intellisync there. while intellisync can work well for long stretches, i've run into problems with duplicate entries, or dropped connections. by deleting all my yahoo records, then importing the simple data file manually, i've never had a problem. i do this like twice a year.
on the down side outlook 2003 crashes a lot. fortunately, it doesn't seem to corrupt any data. occasionally a prompt suggests it's memory leak issues with a plug-in, but uninstalling all of those didn't work. the latest service pack didn't do much for that either, so i'm stuck with this problem. annoying -- but my data appears safe up to this point. i still back things up now and then for good measure.
so in summary, what does outlook offer over palm desktop?
-pretty colors (event highlighting).
-multiple calendars, side-by-side viewing.
-more sync options, wide support.
-web page exports. (haven't used yet)
-system integration. (telephony support?)
-import appointments over email. (outlook 2003+)
-more stock columns for contact data.
-easy access to view record creation/modified datetimes.
-different displays, views, lists. direct grid editing.
-associate contacts w/ calendar items. useful??
-multiple category assignment (don't use this if you sync)
-more plug-in's (e.g. mappoint, xtndconnect, tablet software)
some of these are more useful than others. and while outlook 2002 is similar i don't like the user interface much.
my complaints about outlook includes the fact you can't set your outgoing reply email -- to just an stock email address. it changes the address to include your first and last name. in fact, it displays all email addresses like this, and doesn't let you edit the them directly once in place (you have to edit using properties). it tends to hide all of the email headers as well, and that just doesn't work for me. all of that is just annoying.
since i don't use outlook for email, i also never worry about virus/scripts that wants to export/worm through my entire address book. seems less of a problem today, with microsoft finally on the case. but i believe this is responsible for a lot of spam i get, since my friend's address books were raided. how many years of this thoughtlessness had to pass, before someone figured this was an issue at microsoft??