By July 20, 2008

Pocket Informant for iPhone

image Ok so if the built in PIM is not enough for you with iPhone 2.0 then here is some great news. If you have converted like me from Windows Mobile you will already be well aware of the quality software that is Pocket informant. Well the good news is they will be releasing a version for the iPhone, the bad news is it is still a few months out from release. Alpha screen shots and details after the break.

Pocket Informant for the iPhone is not currently available. We are working heavily on it and plan to have it released in the second half of this year. The information below is based on the current internal alpha of Pocket Informant as well as our scheduled plans for it. There is no beta or version that we can provide for you at this time.

image image image

Pocket Informant is The Next Generation in Personal Daily Management, but we don’t just say that; we prove it. Pocket Informant for the iPhone doesn’t just simply let you view your daily events but lets you really work with them. So many calendar or task applications are either too hard to use or too simple to be useful. Pocket Informant takes eight years of mobile experience and brings a fresh perspective to the iPhone user.

image image image

Designed for the iPhone

Pocket Informant was the first full PIM (personal information management) for Windows Mobile in 2000 soon for the BlackBerry as well. We have a long history of creating powerful and easy to use solutions for mobile works. When we set out to design our iPhone version we sat down and designed an application that iPhone users could love. To be honest we are Apple fans here – all of our desktops, laptops are Macs; our servers are XServes; some of us have even worked at Apple in the past (recently and from the past)! So we know what Mac OS X users like, expect, and deserve.

As such Pocket Informant for the iPhone is focused on making productivity fun and easy, yet focused.

Tell me about the Sync

With the iPhone 2.0 OS Apple has created a great system for developers to create something special, but they had to leave out a few key things to get done in time. For example there is no supported access to the Calendar Store of the device and of course there is no Tasks databases of any kind. If either of these show up at some point we will be ready to support them immediately and directly. Until then Pocket Informant for the iPhone ships with its own databases for Tasks and Appointments and we use the iPhone Contacts Store as it is now. To sync this data requires a network connection and for us to provide alarms we have to be able to send push notifications from a server. With all those considerations in mind we designed a solution that is flexible, easy to use, and secure.

Why use a server solution? Simple really. We know that alarms must be as reliable as possible. Since there is no ability for third party applications to set timed alarms on the iPhone currently we knew that we needed a reliable running server to be able to register with and send notifications to Apple’s Push Notification Service.

We use the open source Funambol server and our own custom SyncML clients on the desktop and iPhone to sync your Calendar, Tasks, and Contacts (all optional) to our own trusted Xserve. We are using the GPLed unmodified version of the server which means that Enterprises, Small Businesses, or even individuals can run their own server and simply point Pocket Informant and the desktop sync client to your own server instead of ours.

How does it compare to the Windows Mobile version?

Pocket Informant for Windows Mobile took eight years+ to get to where it is today. Eight years of feedback, hard work, and engineering to build its multiple views, hundreds of settings, and actions. It would not be practical for us to promise that the iPhone version will be comparable to the Windows Mobile version on its first release or anytime near it. Instead we have focused on the most important features that the majority of our users ask for and provide that in version 1.0. Then as we move along in future versions we will catch up to the Windows Mobile feature-set and continue to keep parity with it. Please also understand that feature parity does not mean that we lose the unique features of the iPhone or succumb to feature-itis. We consider feature-parity that which compares to what our users ask for and what we feel best serves that market.

$19.95 for iPhone and iPod Touch

Via WebIS and Micheal Herald

Posted in: Phones

About the Author:

Seasoned tech blogger. Host of the Tech Addicts podcast.
Loading Facebook Comments ...

Post a Comment

No Trackbacks.

https://www.ukmeds.co.uk/surgical-face-masks