bioneural.net » pocketpc

Evaluating the Holux M-241 data logger

Bruce — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:35:02 +0000

After David rekindled my interest in geotagging blog posts with Google Map integration, and Dave's photo tracking experiences convinced me to revisit geotagging photos, I posted An ABC of geotagging photos on the Mac. In that article I considered questions relevant to selecting an automatic geo-location system, naming most of the few Mac-compatible devices available. I recently purchased a data logger to overcome the pain of manual photo geotagging and dispense with the hassle of a DIY solution. See also Geotagging with the Mac-friendly GlobalSat BT-335 here, which includes comparisons to the M-241. There's lots to like about the Holux M-241 on paper—despite some concerns as noted in Richard's detailed review. The device's appetite for AA batteries will be the decider for some people. We usually pack a recharger for my wife's noise-cancelling headphones when we travel anyway, so using rechargeables is no big deal. In fact I prefer something I know I can replace, as I don't want to end up with yet another working but unusable device due to a tired non-replaceable lithium battery (like my 1st iPod, Palm, mobile phone). The Qstarz BT-Q1000P was my original choice and could be obtained in the UK via eBay, but at nearly twice the price of the Holux. I have to say I like having a built-in display on the logger very much. This gives access to the M-241's 6 operating modes: Track Log Mode (the default; use Start and Stop (Enter button) to begin/ end a track logging session); Time Mode (useful display ...

Mac-friendly alternatives to Apple's 1G iPhone

Bruce — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 12:04:28 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

The iPhone has arrived in the US. Even if it were available in New Zealand I still wouldn't buy one. I'm happy to wait for the large beta-test program (i.e. 1 in 5 US adults) to refine the product first. That said, I've been looking for a way to converge my mobile devices (phone, PDA, iPod) for some time. Sadly the 1st generation iPhone does not look like the device to fill this need. Relative to other Mac-friendly alternatives it comes up uniquely short in a number of areas on my feature wish-list. But of course I haven't seen or held it in the "flesh", and it is only a 1G device—so I can't be overly critical. Or can I? Most of the pre-launch focus has been on iPhone's interface (not unimportant), but what about comparative features? It's clear that while the iPhone offers few unique features (iTMS DRM playback, bookmark syncing) it's also immediately apparent that, relative to comparable products, the iPhone has the most limitations. I've been a Palm user since 1999, owning a Palm V, an m505, and (currently) a Tungsten T3: I also use an ageing Sony Ericsson T610 and an iPod (1G deceased; currently an iPod Photo). It would be nice to carry around one device instead of three (ditto on the chargers); I had hoped that device might be the iPhone: So the iPhone has arrived. I posted on the perfect PDA + phone back in 2005—it still hasn't arrived. With Palm OS so obviously stagnating ...

Google Maps on your PDA

Bruce — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 02:09:20 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

Google maps have gone mobile, meaning anyone with a data-capable mobile phone is now bereft of excuses for not finding their way home from the pub. If don't have a bling phone with excesses of screen real estate, your old phone should do just fine if your pair it with your Palm (.prc here) or Pocket PC (.cab here) and Google's PDA software. It's like "GPS Lite" for those who already know where they are! I tried out the Palm version of the software using Missing Sync to share my Mac's Internet connection to my T3 (this is still possible even if you don't own Missing Sync). I don't have a working GPRS data plan with Vodafone NZ, although I expect this would work equally well (albeit slowly) if I tried my GPRS-enabled Vodafone UK SIM. So what does the Google app allow you to do? Predictably, you start with Find Location... in the app menu (e.g. wellington, new zealand). Once the search is complete you'll be presented with a map that contains basic zooming controls. As with Google Maps on the web you can toggle between viewing a road map or a satellite image (but not a hybrid). In either view you can overlay traffic information or nearby businesses by keyword (e.g. pizza), but this is apparently location-dependent as neither data were available for Wellington: If you need a map, however, the chances are that you are trying to find your way from "A" to "B". Such direction-findng capability is of course ...

Navigating in New Zealand

Bruce — Sat, 18 Mar 2006 12:50:53 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

We're going to want to see New Zealand when we get there and I can vouch that an in-car GPS system takes some of the stress out of driving in unfamiliar places. Although I prefer and currently use TomTom in the UK, they don't offer NZ maps. Navman have discontinued SmartST for Palm and New Zealand maps for this software appear to be out-of-stock. However, I wondered if SmartST 2005 for Pocket PC with New Zealand map data would install onto my Axim x50v and then communicate with my "Palm-specific" Navman 4470 hardware. Navman have no idea I asked Navman-store.com Support (Europe) if I bought the NZ maps would they run on my Dell Axim x50v. They said: Unfortunately we do not have those maps available at present only the European maps. Which is odd, because I added the maps to my basket and bought them; they arrived two days later! I also asked if SmartST 2005 would recognise my Navman 4470 Bluetooth GPS receiver. The Store responded: The compatibility for the maps is attached, this does not unfortunately include the 4470. Actually nothing was attached, but the product page does not list compatibility with the 4470 nor the Dell Axim x50v. There were two things that made me suspicious I was being misled. Firstly they sell the software for generic Pocket PCs—not explicitly for Navman brand devices; somewhere else I'd seen the system requirements as "Windows Mobile 2003" (as on my Axim). Secondly, if TomTom was happily running with my Navman hardware, surely Navman software would ...

The elusive multi-device video format

Bruce — Fri, 23 Dec 2005 19:16:15 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

The world has too many video formats. We mere mortals are dazzled by the cacophony of audio codecs, video codecs, and file containers. Too frequently the "same" format becomes incompatible as you move from one player to another, or go cross-platform. Some Windows Media files play fine on Windows, yet trip up Windows Media Player for Mac. An MPEG-4 file made on a Mac may not play on a Windows machine. Your QuickTime files on the desktop become wasted space on the SD card in your Palm or Pocket PC. Now we have the iPod that does video, with a predilection for H.264. So here is the challenge: What combination of video codec, audio codec, and container will produce a video (with sound) that can be played back on a Mac, a Windows PC, a Palm, a Pocket PC, and an iPod?... Was that an artery I just burst? I have some video segments on disks created with iDVD that I'd like to re-purpose. The video is in the form of .VOB files, containing MPEG-2 video and PCM audio. As elsewhere mentioned, my preferred tool for converting such .VOB files into other formats is MPEG Streamclip. As of version 1.5.1 MPEG Streamclip includes an iPod pre-set button to simplify the creation of content for use on a video iPod. These iPods don't handle just any video—they're particularly fussy, recognising just two flavours: H.264 video: up to 768 Kbps, 320 x 240, 30 frames per sec., Baseline Profile up to Level 1.3 with AAC-LC ...

TomTom vs. Navman: I backed the wrong horse

Bruce — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 14:56:47 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

Some 8 months ago I chose Navman over a TomTom GPS solution for Palm for several reasons that seemed valid at the time. Since then TomTom have released Navigator 5, and Navman have discontinued support for Palm. Curiosity got the better of me, and now that I've tried TomTom I've come to realise the true extent of the Navman's failings. I bought Navigator 5 and Great Britain maps (i.e. software only) on eBay, and used this with my existing Navman 4400 GPS Bluetooth receiver. For Palm or Pocket PC—not both Navigator 5 is not platform-specific: it will work out of the box on Palm and Pocket PC devices. According to TomTom: This TomTom License Agreement ("License") permits you to use the TomTom computer program and the digital (map) data included in the accompanying package acquired with this License on any single computer, provided the Software is installed on only one computer at any time and provided the Software is combined only with one (1) navigation system. This License is non-exclusive and non-transferable. To activate a map on a different device you must change the registered device code. However: Please note that you can only change your device code once within 6 months. Please contact Customer Support if this results in any issues for you. Install to Palm from a Mac This isn't actually a well-supported option, but it can be done whereas Navman requires a Windows PC. I found this page very helpful. There are three steps: Download the TomTom setup Application for Mac OS X here, then ...

Internet via T610 + Axim X50v on Vodafone UK

Bruce — Thu, 27 Oct 2005 15:22:26 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

Use your T610 as a GPRS Bluetooth modem paired with an Axim X50v to send and receive SMS and e-mail, browse the Web, receive faxes, update WorldMate weather and currency rates, etc... Step 1: Linking to the Bluetooth modem Turn on Bluetooth on both devices and from the Today screen open Bluetooth Settings by tapping on the Bluetooth icon in the bottom right corner of the X50v screen. Make sure the Accessibility tab looks like this then tap (OK): From the Today screen open Bluetooth Manager by tapping on the Bluetooth icon in the bottom right corner of the X50v screen. Tap New and in the Bluetooth connection Wizard that opens tap "Connect to Internet via phone": In the next "Step 1" screen just tap Next to leave the default phone selection "Unknown, or phone not listed". The following "Step 2" screen is informative, so tap Next again. See an icon representing your T610? Good: Now tap the icon and enter a passkey at the prompt (e.g. a 1-4 digit number): When you tap Next your T610 should ask you if you want to add DELL AXIM X50 to My devices. Hit yes on the T610, enter the same passkey you just entered on the Dell, and push (OK). Eyes back to the X50v and you should see the following screen, asking if you want to make this your default connection to the Internet. I left this unchecked since I'll mostly be using WiFi (details here): Tap Next and then Finish. You should be taken to My ...

The utility of WiFi on a handheld

Bruce — Fri, 21 Oct 2005 07:32:01 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

WiFi on a handheld? Far from being as much use as mammary glands on a bull, a wireless PDA has additional functionality over its USB-teethered brethren. Aside from wireless synching, potential roles may include downloading, controlling, accessing, communicating, informing, entertaining, printing, and updating. I was unable to establish WiFi connectivity in my first 48 hours with the X50v. It turns out that my router was configured to accept connections on 802.11g only (since I have a Wireless-G card in my laptop). The X50v supports the 802.11b standard only: Shortly after this realisation and switching the router to "Mixed" mode WiFi was up and running using the Odyssey client (which isn't mentioned in the user guide; I gave up on Dell WLAN Utility). Here, mostly for my record (maybe it'll help you too), is how to set it up: Use the Dell WLAN utility to turn on WiFi; Close the Dell WLAN utility and open Odyssey Client; In the Settings menu tap Configure; Tap Add; Tap Scan to find your WiFi network; Select your network when it is discovered and check Infrastructure mode then OK; In the following screen tap Next; Set Association mode to Shared; Set Encryption method to WEP; Uncheck 802.1X then Next; Enter your WEP hex key with hexadecimal checked, then Next; Tap Finish; Tap OK; Select your WLAN from the drop-down menu and check Connect to; Tap OK. Your WLAN connection (Odyssey client icon) and signal strength is displayed on the Today screen: Downloading You can use Internet Explorer to download software and other files. Files of the type .cab can be downloaded direct to the Pocket ...

Secure data exchange from Mac to Pocket PC

Bruce — Sun, 16 Oct 2005 08:09:35 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

Houston, we have a problem. One of the biggest issues facing a Mac user making the transition to Pocket PC is the lack of software to synchronise secure data between the handheld device and a desktop Mac. Until such time as a developer addresses this market opportunity and creates a sync solution, here's a tip for transferring data exported from PasswordWallet for Mac and securing it on the Pocket PC. There are several good secure information managers for the Pocket PC. These include CodeWallet Pro ($US 30) with synchronisation to an optional Windows Desktop Edition ($US 30), eWallet Professional Edition ($US 30) which includes sync to a Windows desktop edition, FlexWallet 2005 ($US 25) which includes sync to a Windows desktop edition, and SplashID (free) which includes sync to a Windows desktop edition ($US 20). The latter company also has a Macintosh Standalone desktop edition ($US 30), but this syncs to Palm devices only: there is no means to share data between the Mac version and Pocket PC version! I've been using PasswordWallet (Selznick Scientific Software) for Mac and Palm (with Hotsync Conduit) for the past four years, upgrading each since my original purchase because this pairing suited my needs well. What this software lacks in features it makes up for in ease-of-use—and that's what makes a good product: Unfortunately, despite the new Missing Sync for Windows Mobile (MSWM) plugin architecture, no one has yet taken advantage of it to develop a plugin to allow the synchronisation of secure data between Mac and ...

What use is a VGA screen on a PDA?

Bruce — Sat, 15 Oct 2005 21:39:14 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

Pocket PCs can now do VGA i.e. 640 x 480 pixels—at least with third-party software. Here are three screen captures that provide pretty convincing proof of how useful this can be. They show a PDF instruction manual for a Seiko watch as viewed on the Palm T3 (480 x 320 pixel screen; Acrobat Reader displays non-native documents at 160 x 160 resolution) and on a Dell X50v (native PDF at semi-VGA and "real" VGA resolution). If a picture says a thousand words, here are 3000 on the difference... Page 9 viewed with Acrobat Reader 3.05 on Palm T3: Page 9 viewed with Acrobat Reader 2 on Dell X50v at "native" VGA resolution: Page 9 viewed with Acrobat Reader 2 on Dell X50v at "real" VGA resolution: Want to know more? There's a very detailed discussion on VGA issues here. Update 15.11.05: With the release of Documents To Go version 8, Dataviz introduced the ability to view native PDFs on the Palm. Here's how it renders (badly, slowly) on the T3: