Transition from Palm to Android

[teg]

I have taken the 'plunge' and ordered a Samsung Galaxy S 5.0 WiFi here in the UK. I have owned a Palm TX for some years now and notice there's a number of ex-TX users using the Samsung Player. Has anybody got general advice on migrating from the Palm TX to the Samsung e.g. in particular transfering contacts and Calender data. Also it would be useful to hear how people regard the Samsung compared to the TX.

Trev

[Hook]

Welcome to the wonderful Samsung Galaxy Player. You will find it will make a very nice replacement for your TX. If you read through the Android forum as well as this one, you will find a lot about how people have transitioned.

The PIM thing is the hardest to work out. First, no one did it better than Palm and second Android was never designed with desktop syncing in mind. The easiest is to use Google calendar and gmail contacts and then look to third party apps for tasks and memos. Some people don't use Google over concerns about privacy, but honestly, you might as well stop using the internet at all. Everyone is tracking you. I don't use Google because I like Outlook and Google and Outlook don't play well together.

I use a 3rd part solution which is both expensive and complex called Companion Link and Deja Office. It syncs directly to the desktop (Outlook, Palm Desktop, ACT! and many other CRMs) via USB or wifi. It has a 14-day trial, which, by the way, is a useful way of getting your Palm Desktop data ino Google if you go that way. If you go the Companion Link rout, it is $50, but it has proved well worth the cost to me to be able to do things my way. As I say, if you want to use Google, you can use the free trial to move your data without buying the program.

If you do use Google, the native Contacts app is pretty good, but the Calendar app for Android is terrible. However, there are many third party Calendar apps that use Google. I highly recommend Calengoo which will sync directly with Google and creates it's own database which is much better than the native Calendar db. If you were a Datebk6 user, Pimlico has an Android app and even a new desktop called Pimlico. Both go through Google, but can also (I believe) move your data over from Palm Desktop. Eventually, CESD is planning to have direct sync with the desktop. I found it a little too complex, it isn't in the market yet (you have to get from Pimlico software) and it doesn't support Outlook, which is a deal killer for me.

There's lots more others will tell you and a lot of good information in threads already posted. Look around and let us know when you hit a brick wall on something. Also, though, give yourself time to get the feel of Android and get comfortable before jumping into a lot of third party apps.

[raspabalsa]

Congratulations on your new Galaxy Player! I gather you're still awaiting delivery, but I'm sure you'll love it. I decided to upgrade from my TX almost half a year ago, and after considering several models I decided to get the Galaxy Player 5. I'm very happy with it.

I think it's unfair to compare the GP5 with the TX, because the TX is a 7-year old model, while the GP5 is less than a year old, so the TX will lose in almost every respect, both hardware- and software-wise. Almost everything I did on my TX I can do, better and faster, on my GP5. Two exceptions: PIMs, which as Hook said, PalmOS handles (still) better than Android; and remote controlling my devices via IR, for the simple reason that the IR transceiver has fallen out of favor. Still, it's possible to control certain LAN-enabled devices via WiFi with an Android device, so I guess eventually the IR port will no longer be missed.

I didn't migrate my Calendar to the GP5, but because I have little in the way of appointments, so I decided to start over on the GP5. But I did migrate my Contacts, which proved to be not as easy or straightforward as I thought it would be. Both PalmOS and Gmail can import/export via .CSV files, which sounds great, until you try it and find the hard way that the field assignments are totally different, so your contacts will require cleaning up. What I did is export from PalmOS tyo .CSV, then open the file on Excel, then modify and organize the fields according to what Gmail uses (I had to export some contacts from gmail to .csv to find out the field assignment and order), then I could import this modified .CSV file to Gmail. I had to drop several fields from PalmDesktop (i.e. birthdays, custom fields, etc) because these are not supported by Gmail.

As Hook said, take it easy with 3rd-party apps. I ended doing several hard resets and starting over because I installed too much too soon and ran into severe compatibility problems. Try to solve the PIM side first, then start with your most used programs, and leave the experimentation (which is very fun!) for last.

[teg]

Thanks for the advice. I've transfered my contacts and calender using DejaOffice. The palm categories were transferred into groups on the Google account. The Samsung is a very nice device to use. I'm having loads of fun searching the available apps.

However one feature I can't find is a bluetooth network service which was available on the TX. For the very occasional times when I needed to collect emails away from a wifi signal I connected the TX with my phone using bluetooth and connected to the Vodafone GPRS service available on the palm. I can't find a similar function with the Samsung. Some may said "should have bought a smart phone" but I prefer to use a small phone as a phone and reserve the other activities for something with a large screen. Anybody got any ideas?

Trev

[RickAgresta]

I have no first-hand experience with it, but "Bluetooth File Transfer" by Medieval Software looks promising, based on the description & reviews

EDIT: found it in the Play Store

[jigwashere]

I don't think he's looking for BT file transfer -- he's trying to use his Vodafone's internet connection for the Player (BT PAN). I've read mixed reports about getting this to work. I believe the Nook Color with CM7.1 has it cooked into the ROM, which leads me to believe it's not natively supported by Android.

[RickAgresta]

understood, jig, but I think the app does more than just transfer files.

[jigwashere]

teg, if the app Rick posted about doesn't work, take a look at the description of Nook Color Bluetooth Tether. There might be information there that will help you research this.

[ScandaLeX]

......The PIM thing is the hardest to work out. First, no one did it better than Palm and second Android was never designed with desktop syncing in mind. The easiest is to use Google calendar and gmail contacts and then look to third party apps for tasks and memos. Some people don't use Google over concerns about privacy, but honestly, you might as well stop using the internet at all. Everyone is tracking you. I don't use Google because I like Outlook and Google and Outlook don't play well together.

When I transitioned away from Palm it was difficult for me to stop comparing OSes. Treo 600/650/755p plus a T|3 were all fabulous devices during their time. Moved over to a few windows phones which never felt as well put together (build amd OS) like Palm.

Ohhhh.....those were the days!