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PRODUCT REVIEW
SyncTalk: beaming across the OS chasm
By Gregory Lea
If you are a Windows CE user like me, then you probably feel a little alone in a world of Palm devices. Owning a Windows CE device makes you a bit of a rebel, but you've got your reasons. You love the enhanced power of your handheld or palm-sized device, and with good reason. They have some neat advantages over those Palm units. You feel justified in your purchase and in your non-conformist stance. (Can you believe a Windows-user would ever be considered a non-conformist?) But then one day it happens. A Palm device-wielding hotshot--maybe a contact you've been trying to make for some time--wants to beam you his number and address!
"Well, uh, can you just tell it to me?" you reply, somewhat embarrassed.
Right, like he's going to wait around for that.
What we have here is a failure to communicate
Palm organizers have been able to transfer data from one unit to another using their integrated infrared (IR) port since the days of the original Palm III in March 1998. The IR port on your Windows CE device is useful for synchronizing with your laptop, but until now, that's about all it's been good for. If only your PDA could use IR to talk to other PDAs.
Well now they can, thanks to the people at SoDeog Technologies. They've put out a handy little application called SyncTalk that will allow you to beam information between two Windows CE devices. The fun doesn't stop there, however. It also bridges the communications gap between Windows CE and other operating systems like the Palm OS and Psion's EPOC. The type of information is limited to contacts, appointments, and memos, but hey, that's a start.
SyncTalk comes in two versions, SyncTalk Companion and SyncTalk Professional. Both can be downloaded from SoDeog's Web site at http://www.sodeog.com.
SyncTalk Professional is the standard version of the program, and it costs $29.99. The SyncTalk Companion version is a free download and only allows the user three trial "sends." However, it will send and receive data to and from SyncTalk Professional users indefinitely.
The program is pretty simple and straightforward. When I installed SyncTalk on my Cassiopeia E-105, it went as smoothly as any standard ActiveSync installation. The program requires surprisingly little memory--about 100K, 20K less than the Palm OS requirement. I had no problems transferring or receiving contact and appointment information with my buddy Mike's Palm V.
Sending data
Sending data is easy. When started, the screen automatically comes up to the Contacts view, as seen in Figure A. To send Contact information, you select the name you want to send and select the SyncTalk button on the Toolbar.
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