One major weakness in using my Treo 650 right now is the lack of ability to view PDF files that are emailed to me when I am on the road. DataViz is working on a solution that is supposed to be out before the end of the year. In the meantime, an enterprising developer has been working on a solution and PalmPDF is now in beta stage. This is a free program and actually works pretty well. I tested a few PDF files so far and only one would not open due to some unique font issues. I need to try emailing a file to myself to see how that part works, but it is great to see someone tackle this problem. Give it a try and provide feedback to Jonas on the application.

I am just now returning from a trip out to Norfolk, VA where I had to conduct a stability test on an oceanographic research vessel and was too busy to post any entries. The test went great, the food on the ship was awesome, and the beds were even comfortable. I did get a chance to read a bit more of the No More Christian Nice Guy book I am reading to review for Mind & Media.

I was also experiencing some weird T-Mobile data slowdowns that prevented me from really even getting my email.

OK, I won’t blame you if you never read my blog site again after reading what I just did. David Weiniger, who seems to know me quite well, emailed and asked if I was keeping the QTEK 9100 device. If I didn’t want to keep it then he would refund my money and use it to send out to other reviewers. Dang, this put the little Palm guy on my shoulder saying “send it back, you don’t have the money for it and don’t need it”. Then, my buddy who was going to buy my Treo 650 package called to tell me he had to put lots of cash into his car and couldn’t afford to buy it. Well, this just put the nail in the coffin and I just FedExed back the QTEK 9100 to David. I did like the device quite a bit and it is a great Phone Edition device, but the Treo 650 is just so functional and meets my needs like I stated previously. Granted, there are more bells and whistles with the HTC Wizard, but these are not personally needed by me. I also discovered PDANet and am using the trial version right now. This allows me to use the Treo 650 as a cabled or Bluetooth modem for my Tablet PC.

Call me PDA schitzo, but I think I’ll be happy sticking with the Treo 650:)

I tried using Pocket e-Sword today to take sermon notes in church and after the display shut off and I turned it back on the application completely locked up and would not exit, even with Spb Pocket Plus or Windows Mobile. I had to do a soft reset to run the program again and had the same issues. As a result, I ended up taking notes in the Notes program since that was the fastest and worked flawlessly in landscape mode.

I look forward to when all applications are working well on Windows Mobile 5.0, but as an early adopter it looks like I’ll have to put up with software issues for a while.

My production model QTEK 9100 arrived today and while it does have a better keyboard design and backlight, there are a couple of new issues that I don’t like compared to the preproduction model as I detailed in this Howard Forums post. You see the display is now like the K-JAM and not the richer darker version seen on the preproduction model. Also, they changed the Comm Manager to one that makes a lot less common sense. Instead of leaving the phone on/off button they put a volume on/off button. Well you can turn the volume on/off by just holding the Comm Manager hardware button so there is no reason to have duplicate methods for doing this. The Comm Manager now requires that you physically tap the display on your device to turn the phone on or off using the small icon on the top status bar. I am going to see if I can get the Comm Manager from the preproduction model working on the production model since that would address one new issue.

If the keyboard backlight was better on this preproduction model and I could get a ROM update then I would seriously consider keeping it instead since I REALLY like the better, less washed out colors of the display. The QTEK 9100 would be perfect with the old Comm Manager and more colorful display.

I just received a FedEx tracking number for my production QTEK 9100 and it will be at my office by 10:30 am at the latest tomorrow morning. I already have a Boxwave anti-glare screen protector in hand and have ordered a 1GB miniSD card as well. I can’t wait to see if the keyboard backlight, sliding mechanism, and other minor issues have been fixed on the production unit and have faith that they have.

PocketBible is not yet working correctly on Windows Mobile 5.0 devices, but I found Pocket e-Sword works very well and I am using that right now. The problem with PocketBible is that you only get the first couple verses of each chapter when you navigate from chapter to chapter. Also, if you go to a specific verse then all the verses above it show up, but nothing after the targeted verse shows up. Very strange behavior that I hope they fix soon. I also use e-Sword on my Tablet PC and find it to be quite a wonderful Bible reader, and it is FREE.

I’ve been quite happy with the 100-120 kbps EDGE speeds I have been seeing on T-Mobile and just recently resigned for another year with them to add my two oldest daughters to the family plan. I just read an Engadget article stating the Cingular has HSDPA running here in select markets for testing, including the Seattle area. This data network will give you speeds approaching what others have been enjoying with EVDO. While this is quite exciting for us data hounds and makes me almost want to kick myself for not making the switch to Cingular, there are currently no mobile devices supporting HSDPA and there is no word on what Cingular will charge for this faster data service. I am sure T-Mobile will eventually catch up in the 3G/3.5G world and am quite content to use some amazing devices with EDGE. Once HSDPA and other high speed networks really start rolling out I will have to give some thought to dropping my DSL service that I pay $50 a month for now.

There is quite a saga going on with delays in shipping out the QTEK 9100 devices, but it now looks like at least one batch is here in the US waiting to clear Customs. I paid for overnight delivery so I may get it before the end of the week. In the meantime, I still have the pre-production test QTEK 9100 as I wait for the supplier to get back to me with shipping info. I have been pleased with its performance and am satisfied with my decision to sell the Treo 650. I do still have the 650 sitting in a box with all the accessories and thought about breaking it out again, but I am now determined to stop being wishy-washy and stick with my decision to go with the HTC Wizard. These will be great if they come to US carriers, but I am happy I paid a bit more money to get one for sure since we don’t know if they really ever will make it to T-Mobile or Cingular.

BTW, Cingular and HP just announced the availability of the HP Mobile Messenger 6515 device. While the device does have integrated GPS, the use of WM 2003 SE on a device with a thumb keyboard is not a very good move since keyboard integration is weak prior to WM 5.0. Also, I read in reviews that the device is a dog and has a short battery life. HP has not been very successful with its Phone Edition devices and US carriers should just focus on bringing high quality HTC devices to the US market. Consumers who are not device addicts like me probably won’t have a great experience with the 6515 and this may turn them off on Windows Mobile devices.

In my normal day job as a naval architect I regularly spend a lot of time writing proposals, specifications, reports, and letters. I do not fall into the stereotype that some people have of engineers who can not write and actually believe I have decent writing skills. I am often asked to write or help write letters to companies, recommendation letters, application letters, etc. for friends and family since my writing seems to get results. I am also a daily news writer and product reviewer for Geek.com and receive lots of positive feedback from readers. I was blessed to have some excellent teachers in high school who challenged me to write and then in college I had some more great instruction on how to put my ideas and thoughts together in written form. However, while others may think I am quite good, I personally feel I can improve and jumped at the chance to put together a review of an ebook titled, “How to Write”. As readers of my blog and Geek.com know I am an avid ebook reader and was happy to see Stacy Harp from Mind & Media get a chance to review an electronic format of a book.

How to Write was written by Herbert and Jill Meyer and is published by Storm King Press. This is a book that has been around since 1986 and was updated in 1993 to reflect a change in the hardware related to writing. The amazing thing is that now this book is available in electronic format for only $1.99. I was sent a free copy to review in Adobe PDF format, but it is also available in Microsoft Reader and Mobipocket Reader format. I am going to buy the Mobipocket format since I use this reader on my Tablet PC, Palm, Series 60, and Windows Mobile devices.

How to Write is just over 100 pages in Adobe format and is both an instruction book and handbook that everyone who writes should immediately purchase. When I say everyone who writes, I mean anyone who writes letters, memos, reports, reviews, novels, short stories, manuals, etc. which I imagine covers just about all of us. I plan on having my daughters read this book now as they are really starting to develop their writing style and feel this will help them focus and improve immediately.

How to Write starts with an introduction talking about how the volume of text available to us today is an exponential increase over what our grandparents may have been exposed to and how important it is for authors to now put together material that compels the reader to continue reading their text. I admit I am a serious data hound and could browse all day on the internet reading about mobile devices, Christianity, sports, news, and more. I end up focusing on certain sites where I find the writing to be of good quality and with good content.

There is a small section on how to use the book and the authors recommend that you read through the entire book from cover to cover and then continue to use it as a handbook afterwards. That is why I am buying the Mobipocket format, so it is with me and my mobile devices at all times.

The main content of the book is divided into 3 parts; Organizing for the Job, Turning Out a First Draft, and Polishing the Product.

I have always been very self-disciplined and extremely well organized so organizing for the job was a section title I was excited to read about. This part is divided into 3 key steps; choose your category, pick your points, and collect your details. The authors go into great detail for each step and as you will read organization is vital to creating a well formed piece of written material.

The second part is also divided into three important steps; figure out your theme, make your outline, and write your draft. I found the instructions and tips quite helpful and plan on ensuring I follow the advice in my writing. The authors provide detailed examples of the methods and techniques so the reader has no doubt about how to apply them in their own writing.

The third part discusses polishing your writing with accuracy, precision, consistency, briefness, fairness, and more. This part ends by bringing in the draft of a sample from part two and then shows how the writing can be polished and refined to a final product

The final section of the book is titled Ready, Set, Go and answers some common questions you may have about writing, while also encouraging you to get out and write.

I read through the book in just about an hour and plan on using it as a handbook for my daily writing tasks. I highly recommend you purchase this book for yourself or student you may know for the very small fee of only $1.99 and think you will find it worth much more than that.

I know these issues may not apply to many people and aren’t really deal breakers, but there were a couple issues other than those I previously mentioned that bugged me about the Treo 650 and are not present in WM 5.0.

I had to recategorize my Outlook Contact categories because the Palm OS limits the number of categories (or else throws everything into unfiled) and limits the length of category names. Also, adding photos to my contacts in WM 5 and have them sync to Outlook is very cool.