PassPorter PDA Wish List About This Page:

[GFHoneymoon1194]

As I've been planning the final details of this trip (6 days and counting), I keep going back to the "PalmPorter" or a PDA version/companion. My whole trip is winding up in my Palm m505.

To that end, I've been playing with the Palm Reader (has bookmarks, notes, table of contents, search). I also work with a database called ThinkDB (www.thinkingbytes.com) that is highly adaptable.

So....
My question is:

What would you like in a pda version/companion?

- ability to add my own notes
- my own ratings
- store PS confirmations etc.
- searching capability by??
- read like a book (document style with bookmarks)?
- read like a database (lots of lists)
- table of contents?

What PDA OS would it have to support?

Would you want to download the file? Would you consider buying it on a expansion card?

What are your thoughts???

ok so that was more than one question...Sorry! [img]graemlins/puter.gif[/img]

[KristinU]

My favorite thing about the Passporter is the Passpockets for all of my confirmation printouts etc. so...I was thinking...how about a deluxe version that has room for a PDA (like other planner binders). I suppose I could go out to an office store and find one, but that wouldn't be as fun!

For a PDA app wish list:
I would prefer a database format with lists instead of reading like a book.

I'd also like to see a search on a "closest to me" basis. I have a program where you input your closest intersection in NYC and it will give you walking directions to whatever restaurant or store you choose from the database - something like that would be great!

[MThorfinns]

I would like a combination reader and database with the ability to add events (appointments, hotel info, etc) which would automatically place an entry into the calendar function.

[mikki]

I record everything on my Palm and use it for trip reports. I'd like a mixture of book and database - or a book with a good search feature so i could search for character breakfasts for example. Interactive maps could take up a lot of memory but could be very useful and being able to add your own comments to entries would be great. Likewise for preparing trip reports [img]graemlins/puter.gif[/img]

I think the card expansion slot would probably be the answer to encompass what everyone wants! Or maybe a downloadable version that can be loaded onto an expansion card....

[GFHoneymoon1194]

I guess I lean toward the Palm Reader version is: the reader is free. Once you have the text, you can just format it for the Palm Reader...convert it using free conversion software and viola. It's done. There is also a utility you can buy that will help the formatting. The Palm Reader has a 4 layer deep table of contents. If you did one attraction per "page", you could have quite a detailed table of contents. Ability to bookmark and add notes(either by "writer" or "reader. I think you can search for words too. I know you can load a book on an expansion card - I have. It would be a very low cost project. No hardware or stock. You could sell the book on www.peanutpress.com.

Downside: cannot add appointments to your calendar like ThinkDB can. And you couldnt sort items by various criteria (price, ratings, etc.)

My years in IT have taught me one thing: Think about all the aspects of a project before beginning. Still thinking....I'm sure Dave and Jennifer have an ulimited R&D budget for this...

[Dave Marx]

:::chuckling about R&D budget:::

I love seeing all these ideas and suggestions! Please keep them coming.

With our own backgrounds in computing (something like 18 computing-related book titles between us, and I have 25 years in engineering including about 10 where I also had IT responsibilities....) Jennifer and I have been able to come up with some very nifty ideas of our own. Too bad we're not software developers.

That's one of the problems. With our background, we want the PalmPorter to be the niftiest PDA-based travel guidebook ever. That means it has to have an underlying database, mapping, simple but powerful search abilities, and still take advantage of the native capabilities of the Palm OS so that itinerary scheduling, ToDo, etc. are integrated into the regular applications. The desire for nift-factor sometimes gets in the way of everything else. [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

So again, please keep the suggestions coming. And if you have any real-world knowledge of how to do this all, please drop me a line.

[mikki]

Might be an idea you can sell to Palm as they are trying to promote e-books. get them to do the hard work for you?

[GFHoneymoon1194]

You could also bundle the PalmPorter with Print Boy so the less technical members of your traveling party could have paper copies. Or export to the Memo Pad - a very popular option. Im currently using List Maker Pro to handle details for a conference in January - when I want to update people,I export into Memo Pad and c&p into email. Works great!

I know ThinkDB will handle the Export to Calendar and ToDo. It also has a search feature. It can handle pictures - do you mean full park maps?? It can be used as a graphic database but screen size is still a limitation. They do have a developer section. Most db programs to have a runtime version that is redistributable.

Still thinking.....