The New DocumentsToGo For Palm!

Let me start by saying something i've said a lot. I have a Treo 700p. For the most part it's a great phone and in my perception Palms best offering. But it has a lot of quirks that Palm has promised to fix by the end of May. So, sometimes when I'm testing new software I run into situations that leave me wondering; is it the 700p or the software. That's when I pull out my 650 and give it a run on that. If the same problem exsist on the 650 then there's a problem with the app. Then why don't you use the 650 you ask? Because I have a 700p. Now....

Documents ToGo version 10.0000 for Palm OS. If you don't know, the 700p comes equipped with Documents 8 pre-installed and ready to use. I have been using version 8 since early in my 650 days. Great app, opens everything. But version 8 and now the new version 9, must convert your Word, Excel and Powerpoint files into a files that can be opened on your phone, which can be a nuisance when it comes to time. Is it big deal? No. But wouldn't you want to click the file and bamm, there it is? One issue I did have with the previous versions was pictures. I would set it up to not look for and display any photo files as I only want the app to deal with documents. But no matter what I tried, no matter how many times I re-loaded it, it would always list my pictures, making me search through and categorize my docs. But having said that DocsToGo is and always has been the best app for document handling on your Palm.
Well guess what folks, the best just got better, far far better. Version 10 is an entirely different ball game. It's like De la Hoya vs Mayweather. Both great fighters with speed, strength and durability. But when you put them in the ring together, one is much more durable, stronger and far, far faster than the other. This new version doesn't need to convert your docs. Click on the file you want and there it is. The interface has changed which I really like. The new look is sleek with a friendlier tool bar. The icons are placed and spaced nicely giving you easy quick access to the function you want. Gone is the need for the DataViz tool to move this large program to your SDCard. That handy and needed tool is now built into the app.
Now, this part doesn't relate to me but, the new Microsoft Office 2007 is working with a few mechanizms that are different than all previous versions. If you're using docs8 or 9, you're going to run into some problems when you try and open 07 files. Version 10 is built for Office 07 and vista for the desktop app. Where this does effect me and other Mac users is the release of 07 for Mac. And without more detail, no problems there. Yes, it is backwards compatible, all of your 2004 and or X files will open in 10, and without the converting wait time. Another great change is the PDF handling. I found version 10 to be far more at ease with dealing with PDF files.
Taking a Word file I created on my Palm and opening it on my Mac was also a
nice surprise. Word didn't have to figure out what the file was and change it. It sees it as a native Word document and opens it as though I created on my desktop. Excel and PowerPoint work beautifully as well. I don't do too many PowerPoint presentations so I can't give you a blow by blow but it worked fine when I played with it.
I had a few problems of course. The customer service was excellent, quick, and responsive to my questions. I do however acknowledge the few writers/readers whom have had different experiences. All I can say is mine was what I would expect from a long time Palm affiliated company.
You might be thinking: Why should I pay $29 for this upgrade? Normally I would agree with you but this is a huge step up from an already great app. Version 10 does everything better than its younger siblings. Essentially what you have with 10 is Office on your Palm. Everything works as though you were using Office on your desktop. And this time, when I told docs that I didn't want it to be my default picture viewer, it obeyed my command. That alone is worth a $29 upgrade fee.
My 650 proved to me that the minor problems I had was because of my 700p and it's quirky nature, so I can tell you that this particular upgrade is an upgrade worth making. Go over to www.dataviz.com and take a look! Also, If your weapon of choice happens to be a Blackberry, Dataviz will be introducing the BB version of their software soon.