Palm Pre Gets Sync via Third-Party Apps
To date, the only Palm device that runs the new webOS is the Palm Pre smartphone. In my opinion, however, this phone and corresponding OS is missing an important feature that I use every day with my PDA: the ability to synchronize with my local computer. Before I give you the wrong impression, Palm does offer a variety of ways to synchronize the Pre with your computer, it just does so in a slightly round-about fashion using data that must reside “in the cloud” or on the Web.
Business users might not notice much of a difference in the way webOS synchronizes since they’re already accustomed to synchronizing data on their handheld device with a remote server. Home users who are accustomed to physically plugging their PDA into their computers each night to synchronize data are sure to notice, however. You see, webOS prefers to synchronize with data that resides in the cloud. While some users are sure to love this new feature, others will not be as thrilled. For webOS users who prefer to synchronize directly with a computer that resides in their home, it appears you’ll have to use one of the many third-party add-in programs now available. This shouldn’t be a big issue, but it is a slight annoyance.
PDA users: Be thankful your PDA has an easy, straightforward way to synchronize with your computer, no third-party applications or hassle needed.
Comments
I could agree more.
Removing the sync-to-PC feature from the Pre is another example of the marketing group of a corporation not understanding the value of their own product tradition.
BINGO! finally someone said it! The computing industry has been trying to push Cloud Computing now for years, most ADPMIS/D people roll their eyes at leaving their company data up in ‘the cloud’ for some no-lifer Cracker to get at. If it gets hacked, who you gonna blame? Tinkerbell? If you get the great unwashed keeping aunt Minnie’s birthday, phone numbers, address, bank account numbers “in the cloud” then can the corporate users be far behind? -shudder-
Go back and look for how many times Google’s been hacked in the past ten months? Me? I keep my PIM data in the best one you can get, Agendus from Iambic ON MY OWN EQUIPMENT, IN HOUSE. I’m a D.o.D. Prime Contractor and if I put my Agency affilliates contact data, etc. “up in the cloud” and it got loose? They’d be after me with tar and feathers.
I hot sync from my Windoze desktop to my Tungsten T-3 and to my Windo$e laptop and my Solaris machine. redundancy 4 times over, since what computers do best? Is of course break.
The other thing the Pre designers did was to COMPLETELY omit an SD slot and have NO plans to add one thereby forcing you to store in the cloud, despite some ‘attempt’ at a hot sync routine.
The more things change? the more they stay the same. This is no different than the numbsculls having no way to upgrade the Palm O/S except to buy a new model. Had Palm NOT done that? MicroSloth would be toast now and I would be carrying my computing power around in something the size of my Tungsten (but a full-blown computer) to connect to a printer, keyboard, monitor, mouse, etc. at my home and at my office. Smart Move guys! -not-
-sigh-
jccampb
Wait a minute. I was under the impression that the Pre would ship with the Palm desktop application.
I am on a waiting list for the Pre, but if it does not come with the Palm desktop, I guess I will get a 755 Treo….