About Palms
The purpose of this topic is to provide a general introduction to
Palm OS handhelds, the applications which are included with the hardware
and the way in which these invaluable devices are used.
Introduction
Palm OS® handhelds are neat devices, designed to slip into a shirt pocket
or a belt clip case for instant availability. They set the standard for
handheld computing, a new form of computing focussed on helping people
manage and access information at any time, anywhere. A standard part of every
Palm OS handheld is an infrared port: this can be used to connect to a mobile
phone or a printer.
As at October 2006, well over 30 million have been sold worldwide
The term Palm OS® handhelds refers to devices from a number of
manufacturers which use the Palm OS operating system. In addition to Palm,
handhelds using this operating system are manufactured by IBM,
Sony and others. Since they use a common operating system, a program which runs on
one model should also run on all other models - rather like Windows, which
provides software authors with a common base, irrespective of a computer's
manufacturer.
Software (applications)
The applications supplied as part of Palm OS include Address Book,
Date Book and Memo Pad. These can be configured to synchronise
their data with Microsoft Outlook on a PC so that the two computers hold
identical copies. For details of just some of the thousands
of applications available NOW pop into the Palm, Inc web site by
clicking here.
Synchronizing data in PC and handheld
The exchange of information between PC and handheld is called synchronisation
and is carried out by a program called HotSync. This is supplied as part of
Palm OS. For details of the ways in which the PC and handheld
can be connected for HotSync, please refer to About tap-it software in the panel on the left of the screen
Data entry on the handheld
In addition to selections from drop-down lists and tapping check boxes, both
standard facilities on PCs, handhelds have three methods of data entry. These
are the use of Graffiti shorthand, the use of on-screen keyboards and the connection
of the handheld to a collapsible keyboard. These methods are described in About tap-it software in the panel on the left of the screen
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