|
|
Pocket On-Schedule: An Alternate Contact Manager for Handheld and Pocket PCs
Synchronize all of your desktop PC Outlook 2002 with your H/PC 2000 or Pocket PC
Pocket PCs and Handheld PC 2000s are preinstalled with scaled down versions of Calendar, Task and Contact lists of its desktop counterpart, Outlook 2000. While the synchronization offered by ActiveSync and the functionality of Pocket Outlook may be adequate for some users, other users demand more, and this is where Pocket On-Schedule fits in.
Pocket On-Schedule v5 (POS) is the latest version of Odyssey Computing's contact manager software for desktop PCs and Windows CE devices. This version of Pocket On-Schedule has been expanded and now includes Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, Journal, Phone Log, Notes, and Info Center. Most importantly, it expands the functionality of your Pocket PC and H/PC 2000 by adding the ability to synchronize all of Outlook 2002 from your your desktop PC to your Windows Powered device. This includes multiple folders of your notes, appointments, contacts, task lists and journal entries. POS does this via Odyssey Inc.'s proprietary Outlook synchronization add-in. Odyssey Inc. also sells a desktop version of On-Schedule, which has the ability to synchronize with POS. This review covers the ability to use Outlook synchronization with POS and focuses on its use with my own Windows Powered device, the HP Jornada 720 Handheld PC 2000. However, a version is available for Pocket PC 2000 and 2002 devices.
Customizable user interface
The Pocket On-Schedule interface is customizable to better suit the user's viewing needs. The various items in any list can be displayed as large icons and small icons, or viewed as a simple or a detailed list. Columns can be added and removed in the list views, and you can sort on more than one column (i.e. sorting by date then by priority). Columns in the list view can be modified, allowing the user to change the titles of the columns, fonts, the width and justification of the column titles. Filter settings let you use Boolean logic to view only items that meet certain criteria. POS also stores a list of customizable filters, saving the user from having to recreate the same filter over and over again. In the beta version I tested, I noticed that the filter expressions that were applied were only reflected in that particular folder, but the column sort settings I changed were reflected in all other folders that contained similar items (i.e. all task folders).
A powerful contact management solution
Pocket On-Schedule is different from the built-in Pocket Outlook applications in its ability to function as an integrated contact management tool. When a contact in the contacts list is highlighted, the following keys can be selected (see Screen 1):
Screen 1: You can perform various actions on any contact and have them automatically recorded in the contact's history.
Dial/New Call: This option launches the dialer, sends the appropriate dial tones through the Pocket PC or H/PC 2000 speaker and then launches a phone call log that automatically starts a timer. One tab on the form shows the current date and time stamp, another tab allows the user to schedule a task for that particular contact, a notes tab for notes and a tab to keep track of phone log modifications.
Answer Call: Launches the phone log and starts the call timer.
Write Letter: Uses Pocket Word using pre-defined templates for writing a letter to the contact.
Send e-mail: Sends e-mail and any attachments to your Outbox in Pocket Mail.
Send Fax: Attaches a document or documents to a contact and sends the fax request to bFax Pro, Express, or Lite for processing.
Visit Web site: If the contact has a Web site listed, this button will launch Pocket Internet Explorer and connect to the site.
Show on map: Launches Microsoft's Expedia site and finds the address for you.
Get driving directions: Once the starting point is defined, POS goes to Microsoft's Expedia site to give directions to the contact's address.
Check Weather: Checks the local weather forecast of the contact's location.
Once phone calls are completed, an entry is generated in the Phone Log.
Hooks, links and history
Pocket On-Schedule has the ability to keep track of events related to a particular entry, which is referred to as a "history log." Whenever a parent entry (whether it be a task, journal, appointment, contact, Info Center document or note entry) has an activity event generated, the history log records the "link" between the parent entry and the event. This can be useful if you generate an appointment or journal entry for a contact and wish to see all related events for that contact. If you want to "link" an existing item (i.e. an existing note or phone log), you can "hook" the item to a parent entry. When this is completed, the link will show in the history log of the parent entry.
Document management
Pocket On-Schedule has an Info Center, which is essentially a document manager that keeps track of documents and files in a hierarchical tree structure. Documents, including expense reports and meeting notes, are manually added and can be viewed in the preview pane (the beta version only previews HTML documents). The edit entry screen for documents contains fields for keywords (for easy document searches), an author, date, time, categories and a tab for notes. I found the Info Center convenient for links to parent entry items and as an index tool for documents that I have scattered on my two storage cards.
Features and the global search function
Additional functions on the menu bar include a phone dialer, a quick launch key for the calculator, quick launch keys for the various Pocket On-Schedule folders, link keys to link an item to a parent entry and activity buttons for contact management. Each of the toolbars can be removed or added. The quick launch keys for applications can be modified to launch any executable. For example, you can modify the calculator icon to launch an alternative third-party calculator program rather than the built-in calculator in Windows CE.
One feature I found very useful is the global find function (see Screen
2). This function performs a global search for any text in all POS
folders. If you manage your Outlook entries by using key words, this is a
feature that will help you find information regardless of the location and
organization of your information. The global find function also remembers
previous search strings, which can be viewed in the pull down menu. Once
the search is complete, any of the listed entries can be selected for
viewing and editing its properties. A global text search and replace
function is also available for each folder.
Screen 2: Organize your files and documents in Info Center.
Pocket On-Schedule can also keep track of multiple databases, allowing the user to have separate POS databases for business and personal use. Synchronization can also occur with multiple Outlook databases. I synchronize two POS databases with two Outlook profiles on my computer, one for personal and the other for business.
The perfect personal information management tool
Outlook synchronization with POS on my H/PC 2000 has made my life and personal information management a lot easier! I never have to worry about missing Outlook information on my H/PC 2000 since I can synchronize all my desktop Outlook folders. With the links and hooks options, I can view the history of any item, which also gives my personal information management structure similar to a relational database.
Pocket On-Schedule synchronization takes longer than synchronizing Pocket Outlook data, but the tradeoff, full Outlook synchronization, is well worth the extra time. At the time of this review, POS synchronization had to be initiated by clicking on a POS button added by the installation to my desktop Outlook. In addition, an option can be set to synchronize when your H/PC 2000 or Pocket PC first connects to your desktop. It would be great if Odyssey added continuous synchronization to POS. One other note: POS does not replace your synchronized information in Inbox, Calendar, Tasks and Contacts, but uses its own databases to keep track and store all information.
I commend the efforts of the Odyssey Inc. team not only for bringing their product to a whole new level of functionality, but also for the excellent product support they provide on their Web site. The message boards are a great way to communicate with the support team and they have a fast response turnaround time. I also praise them for listening to the users and allowing the user's ideas to shape and mold the product into what it is today.
Pocket On-Schedule v5 is available for any Handheld PC 2000, Handheld PC Pro, or Pocket PC (including the new Pocket PC 2002). A desktop PC version is also available. The price for the desktop, Handheld PC, and Pocket PC versions is $119.00. There will be a special introductory price of $89.95. Official upgrade price from previous versions will be $79.00. The special introductory upgrade price will be $59.95. For more information, visit the Odyssey Computing Web site (http://www.odysseyinc.com/).
Whether you're a time and information management aficionado or just need a contact manager with powerful PIM features, Pocket On-Schedule is the perfect tool as an extension to your desktop Outlook or as a stand-alone application.