Filipinos generally loves to gossip. And with mobile phones, it brings us to the next level of being connected. The love for mobile devices isn't bad at all. The only problem that we have right now is that we as a country are mobile but still disorganized. Is it because most of us own a mobile phone but only a few uses PDAs? Well, don't get me wrong. PDAs will never get you anywhere near of being organized, but the proper use of it will.
Organizing things can be done using a plain old paper notebook or a PC. The only problem is that both are not comfortable enough to lug around. Plus the fact that a PC is an overkill device to be used solely in organizing your life. That's why the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) was invented in the first place! Some of the current mobile phones and smartphones have PDA capabilities (so as PDAs with phone feature), but these phones cannot match or even get close to a full fledged PDA. It might be Palm Powered, but the drawback would be is the screen size or doesn't have the power to do what a real PDA is capable of doing. It certainly boils down to what you intend of doing or should we say on what you intend it to do - phone or organize. Too many yak! Let's get on with the program, shall we?
Meet the new breed in personal organization (if the built-in PIM apps are too vanilla for you). Agendus and Datebk 5 are two most well-loved PIM replacement for your Palm. Both offer steroid enhancements to your default PIM apps, but with a different approach. Agendus is more contacts specific (person or address book), while Datebk 5 is task centered (to-dos or projects). All of us have careers, don't we? (That's why we have the money to buy a PDA in the first place!) It boils down whether you're into sales or you're involved in projects (events, I.T., manufacturing, engineering, and so on). Good thing they both don't cater to the same set of market.
When can Agendus be effective?
I'm into sales, that's why I use and love Agendus. Contacts and CRM is very important to me. I seldom work on projects, but I get lots of appointments and meetings with people. With Agendus, I could link specific tasks or meetings to a certain contact (or address book entry). I can color code both my appointments and contact (based on what category or classification they belong - e.g. suppliers, colleagues, dealers, friends, etc.). At the end of the day, I could always review the contact history to refresh me of the meetings I have done (in the past) with a certain contact. This is good for followup activities, submission of call reports, and development trackings.
When can Datebk 5 be of help?
Even if I've never used Datebk 5 before, I've read lots of rave reviews from people who are using this app. Datebk 5 is more task oriented. You could link your To-Dos and projects to your schedules. This is more of activity focused. Though its a pretty powerful app (packed with lots of features), it involves a longer learning curve before you master the ins and outs. I can no longer say more in-depth infos about Datebk 5, but I could refer you to an interesting site that had reviews of the Datebk 5. You browse through the archives of Jeff Kirvin's Writing On Your Palm.
Getting into Contacts Pro
Both Agendus and Datebk 5 are only the first phase - which is PIM organization. What about finding your contacts on time when you need it - and fast? Meet Contacts Pro. This is the app that you could use by simply tapping a mobile phone-like keypad. You could also send SMS and Dial your mobile phone using it. This is another third party essential app that you should try.
To wrap things up, there are actually plenty of third party effeciency app that you could download and enhance your productivity. I think its high time for us to acknowledge that PDA is primarily not intended for games or organizing your documents. It was made to organize your life. Go use it and maximize your PDA! ;-)
W
Learn more about Agendus here.
Learn more about Datebk5 here.
Learn more about Contacts Pro here.
