Shopping for new smartphone - need helps

[StanH]

Hi Dear members:

I am looking for a new smartphone and need some advice on finding one that works for GTD. I am sure this questions has been asked hundreds of times but I've spent the last few month researching and had no real luck. Help

I am using a PC, Outlook 07 with GTD add-on, am loving it and very used to it. My trouble has always been getting that outlook tasks/project/context mapped onto my mobile - what would you recommend?

ps. my data feed is very slow so interent-based solution is out

Thank you

 

[serge]

Good morning,

I'm no expert and the following is only based on my personal experience, but perhaps it helps. I'm in the same situation: Outlook 2007 is standard for email at my workplace, and I also use it (to my satisfaction) for calendar & lists. I recently upgraded my phone, explored various options (iPhone, Symbian, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile) and in the end settled for a recent Windows Mobile phone (HTC Touch Diamond2).

I realize that Windows Mobile 6.1/6.5 is not the most elegant phone operating system available at the moment, but it does have the important virtue of syncing seamlessly with Outlook with minimal effort. In particular, if your provider uses an Exchange server and you have a data plan, the phone syncs email/calendar/tasks in real time with the server (just like your computer). I've found this to be a very liberating experience! I understand that the BlackBerry platform offers a similar (better?) experience, but only if your Exchange server supports their protocol (mine doesn't).

Hope this helps!

Cheers,
Serge

 

[jimboling]

WinMo and GTD:
One bonus there - I think - is that there is a version of Natara Bonsai for WinMo. That is my current GTD tool but I am just using it on Palm OS.

Anyone out there using the WinMo version of Bonsai? Is it really still in Beta after a couple years?

 

[PeterW]

I've used WM phones for years and finally moved over to the iPhone a few months back. The difference is amazing. The iPhone is fast, easy to use, and so much better in terms of apps.

I'm using a PC at home and work and Outlook 2007 is the app I use, but I've given up using Tasks in Outlook - I find it just too light-weight. A dedicated iPhone Todo app that can sync with an online Todo service is the best way to go for me.

 

[WebMarketer]

WinMo and GTD:
One bonus there - I think - is that there is a version of Natara Bonsai for WinMo. That is my current GTD tool but I am just using it on Palm OS.

Anyone out there using the WinMo version of Bonsai? Is it really still in Beta after a couple years?

I recently installed the most recent beta version of Bonsai on my HTC Dash Windows Mobile phone. Unfortunately it runs quite poorly on the phone.

Still has major bugs -- for example, sometimes my list items appear as blank space for no apparent reason. And if I try to delete an item from a list, things get messed up. And it's not always clear what item I'm currently on in my list (there's no indicator of my current selection).

Bonsai need a lot of work on WinMo still. I'm eager to see a better version released for my phone.

 

[clango]

It's amazing how poor it is the availability of PDA in the outlook suites while the MAC alternative is so shared. Omnifocus and Iphone seems to be great tools ( even if I never used them). But we cannot find a great tool on the other side. That is more used than the Mac one.

Mr Gates, where are you?

 

[MijoroJordan]

Hi,

Even though I'm not a GTD user, I consider myself a bit of a phone nut so I'll try to throw my best advice out there.

Of the three major platforms, each has it's own benefits:

iPhone - Has the most options and tools available to you, but you may be overwhelmed with the options before you find the one you like. Reading over impartial blogs reviewing these apps may help.

Android - Phones running android (like the Droid or Nexus One) will integrate with gmail, google docs and google tasks better than any other phone will. These phones are designed to work tightly with all of google's tools, so if you find that your GTD system works inside Google's system to begin with, this may be a good indicator that an Android phone would be best.

Palm's WebOS - Phones like the Pre and Pixi that use the fairly new WebOS have less apps to choose from (a few more than on android, actually, but still not an overwhelming number) which may mean that your favorite option isn't available just yet, but it's under heavy development. New apps are flowing into the less crowded app store, so new options are always coming out, and in 6 months or so, the operating system should be on par with iPhone in terms of quality and 'refinedness'. WebOS also puts apps in "cards" letting you see all of your apps running at the same time, move them around and focus on each as necessary. It sounds like nothing important, but it has a very zen feel to it that makes crunching work on your phone very relaxed, almost at ease.

I just did a quick search in Palm's app store. No apps were tagged with GTD, but my brother and I just released a new note taking / reminder app called Jotter that's gotten several 5-star reviews from users who use it to Collect new items into their GTD system. It works by recording short notes you jot (type) into it, and sending them to your email address, where you can sort them into the system you already have in place. It's available on Android and WebOS, but not iPhone (yet).

I can't make a perfect recommendation, since it's hard to say exactly what you're looking for, but I hope that this post helps in some way, as you try to make your decision.

 

[TesTeq]

Palm is no more... It's dead.

Palm is no more... It's dead.

 

[hikerpa]

Palm is no more... It's dead.

Not true. I love the new palm Webos. I'm using the Palm Pre and really I love it more than my Treo.

Ellen

 

[Oogiem]

Not true. I love the new palm Webos.

A web based OS is not secure nor IMO stable enough to become a trusted system for me. Palm OS was great but as a stand alone it is dead and while there is still support for legacy apps in this rev the handwriting is on the wall for it.

SO I moved over to an iPod touch

 

[kelstarrising]

Oogie--did you set up the Connect podcast feed so you can listen to Connect content on your iTouch? (If you need any help with that, please let us know. We're happy to help.)

 

[StanH]

thanks guys

Thanks guys great info

 

[MijoroJordan]

A web based OS is not secure nor IMO stable enough to become a trusted system for me.

Many of the apps built for iphone and that family of products are actually web-apps running inside of mobile safari, and processed to look like native apps. Google just released ChromeOS, a completely web based operating system where your browser is the operating system and all apps are webapps. WebOS is one of the more secure mobile platforms, and has yet to see any malicious attacks, unlike iphone.

If newer mobile platforms aren't for you, ok, but they still offer valuable options for someone like StanH to consider.

Edit: Many of the apps, not most of the apps. Didn't want to be overreaching my bounds.

 

[Oogiem]

did you set up the Connect podcast feed so you can listen to Connect content on your iTouch?

Not yet, I'm trying to find a decent pair of headphones! (And yes it's a project, turned into a major one as a matter of fact ) I can't wear the little ear pod thingies that come with all the devices now, they fall out or are uncomfortable after a few minutes. I have a pair of headphones that hubby glued foam to that are ok but not for long times listening. My really good old Bose headphones have 2 problems, the first is they are the old style giant phone jacks and don't work in the new devices, the second and most critical is they became mouse houses when in storage and now have the faint odor of mouse. They are going into the trash tomorrow.

I am also really hard on electronics so I'm looking at things that are meant to survive kids. I've found that kids stuff is more likely to survive sheep and me than other types of electronics.

The current next action on the project is to test out some of the kids style headphones when I am next near a Best Buy or other location to test them.

 

[hikerpa]

It seems that most of the phones are going to web based apps. Technology just seems to be evolving. I love the Ipod touch and I agree that many of the apps are web based. We are starting to live more in the cloud.

What I love about my Palm Pre is what palm calls "Synergy". I can sync to my google calendar and gmail with ease, have numerous apps running at the same time all updating in the background.

I've been a Palm user since the original Palm Pilot and I really didn't think I would like the Webos software but more and more apps are becoming available and there are a few GTD apps available in the store. The only app that I'm really missing right now is Docs to Go. I'm hoping that Dataviz will release something soon so we can edit and sync word docs. Other than that I think Palm has a really solid OS and since the OS has been out Palm has updated it numerous times making it better each time. They are supposed to release a big update this month that will allow video and flash on the phone. I'm really excited about that!

Ellen

 

[TesTeq]

Reading New York Times...

WebOS is one of the more secure mobile platforms, and has yet to see any malicious attacks, unlike iphone.

Palm Smartphone Sales Slip as It Struggles to Turn Around, by JENNA WORTHAM, published: December 17, 2009

We can hardly see any WebOS malicious attacks since it is a target not worth attacking. The Palm market share is below 3% (see Gartner Says Grey-Market Sales and Destocking Drive Worldwide Mobile Phone Sales to 309 Million Units; Smartphone Sales Grew 13 Per Cent in Third Quarter of 2009).

 

[Oogiem]

It seems that most of the phones are going to web based apps. Technology just seems to be evolving. I love the Ipod touch and I agree that many of the apps are web based. We are starting to live more in the cloud.

Some people are. In my area it is neither reasonable nor desirable to stay cloud based. Personally I hate it and am working hard to get my system upgraded away from Palm but not in the cloud at all.

Too bad too, I've had Palm machines since the very first US Robotics one.

 

[hikerpa]

Palm Smartphone Sales Slip as It Struggles to Turn Around, by JENNA WORTHAM, published: December 17, 2009

We can hardly see any WebOS malicious attacks since it is a target not worth attacking. The Palm market share is below 3% (see Gartner Says Grey-Market Sales and Destocking Drive Worldwide Mobile Phone Sales to 309 Million Units; Smartphone Sales Grew 13 Per Cent in Third Quarter of 2009).

I'm hoping this will change as Palm Pre and Pixi have been released on the Verizon Network here in the states. I've pretty much used every platform of phone available except the Iphone and that's just because ATT is a horrible provider in my area and the cost of data is just ridiculous on the Iphone. If Palm were to fail I would probably end up with a Blackberry, but until that happens I'm a Palm Fanatic:

Ellen