Short reviews of new products
Welcome to Diane's Discoveries! Nitin Gupta and I recently changed jobs—he's now in marketing and I'm the New Products Editor—so we've changed the name of the column. Nitin did a wonderful job of tracking down new Pocket PC software and accessories, as well as reporting on the very best. Now I get to have all the fun!
I'll continue to keep an eye out for new products and report back to you on my top discoveries. If you discover some new Pocket PC products, don't hesitate to contact me (diane@PocketPCmag.com). And now, here's the first batch of Diane's Discoveries.
How sweet it is! Atsonic's sweetPRINT lets any Internet-connected Pocket PC 2002 print documents to any fax machine using the sweetNET service. The product supports the printing of Word, Excel, and PDF documents, Contacts, e-mails, HTML pages, and most other document formats supported by the Pocket PC. Documents can be printed to any fax machine connected to a telephone line anywhere in the world. For security reasons, no documents are ever stored on hard disks; all processing, rendering, and sending takes place in virtual memory and swap files.
Atsonic's sweetPRINT and sweetNET service let you print from your Pocket PC to any fax machine.
The trial version of sweetPRINT includes 10 free "fax units," the full version includes 60 fax units. U.S. fax numbers require one fax unit per page, and overseas faxes typically use four fax units per page. Additional fax units may be purchased at $0.15 each. The trial version must be registered to send faxes and receive the free 10 fax units (good for one month). Registration is free and you will be e-mailed a username and password. To register, visit the Atsonic Trial Center (www.atsonic.com/trialinfo.asp).
Note: During installation many DLLs are updated to the most recent version. Tap "Yes to All" at prompt to update DLLs.
Use with: Pocket PC 2002
Price: $29.95
www.atsonic.com
Using Transcriber or the soft keyboard on a Pocket PC works fine for limited text entry on your Dell Axim or Audiovox Pocket PC. However, if you need to input a lot of text, you should get an external keyboard.
The new Dell Axim Foldable External Keyboard folds up into a carrying case that is only a little bigger than the Pocket PC. It unfolds into a small but useable keyboard that connects to the Axim's docking port. As the keyboard folds out, it creates a stand for the Axim to rest on.
Price: $99.00
Use With: Dell AximX5
www.dell.com
Dell's Foldable External Keyboard for the Axim Pocket PC.
The Audiovox Collapsible Keyboard is available in two versions: one for the Genio e550G and another for the Maestro, 2032SP, or Thera Pocket PC. Each folds in half for portability and comes with an attractive leather case. Each connects to the bottom of the Pocket PC and has application launch buttons that allow quick access to Inbox, Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, Notes, Word, and Excel. Ten "hot keys" can be set by the user to access additional programs.
Price: $59.95
Use With: Audiovox Pocket PCs
The Genio version of the Collapsible Keyboard is available at the Audiovox online store (www.audiovoxonline.com).
The Maestro/2032SP/Thera version of the Collapsible Keyboard is available at Mobile Planet (www.mobileplanet.com).
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