So finally someone made the combined PDA/phone device I’ve always wanted. My current PalmOne Tungsten T3 and Motorola e398 are soon to be replaced by an HTC Wizard.

The amount of research has (as always) been huge and I must have read thirty reviews of this device before deciding it’s the one for me.

If you’ve not heard of the Wizard it’s because HTC are the Taiwanese manufacturer and their devices get rebranded by mobile phone operators. In fact, my difficulties deciding upon this device were compounded by the sheer number of names this unit goes by. If you’re in the US you might know it as the iMate K-Jam, the Qtek 9100, or the Cingular 8100/8125. German readers might be more familiar with the VPA compact II. Readers from Great Britain will recognise it as the O2 XDA Mini S or Mini Pro, or T-Mobile MDA Vario. There are also those who call it the Orange SPV M3000 / M6000, or the Dopod 838. No matter what you call it though this looks like one fabulous piece of kit.

Once the order was placed the next vital thing for me was to buy a case. My Tungsten T3 has been saved numerous times by the aluminium case that protects it and I want to give the Wizard the same level of protection.

I’ve long believed that a PDA should be carried around in a case on a hip rather than in a pocket. In fact, I can pinpoint precisely the moment I decided this. I was nineteen and kept my Psion 5mx in my trouser back pocket. Running to a class in September I slipped on some ice. You can guess the rest but landing on my bottom and hearing that cracking sound is enough to make a PDA fanatic weep.

These are all the ‘official’ case options for the k-jam:

• Krusell Cabriolet
• PDair Aluminum Case
• FlexiSkin
• Pielframa “Qtek 9100″ Leather case
• Leather Case - Book Type (Black but also in other colours)
• Leather Case - Flip Type (Black but also in other colours)
• Belt case with steel belt clip or leather belt loop
• Krusell Handit Multidapt

There are others out there that are apparently “compatible” but the ones above are all that I’ve seen that are designed specifically for the HTC Wizard.

Based on my need for strength in a case and also that I like to use the device within the case (the Wizard’s keyboard is a stumbling block for this in many cases - no pun intended) I have ordered the PDair Aluminum case. When it arrives I’ll let you know more.

Although I’ve read various PDA related publications, blogs, and web sites for years, I’ve always paid far more attention to articles and pieces that were relevant to the specific device I was using. Seemed logical at the time. Now I’m facing a platform shift and suddenly feel very unprepared.

HotSync hasn’t been fully working for me for some time and this is going to present a challenge as my first big task is going to be to get all of my data into Microsoft® Outlook® to prepare for using Windows Mobile 2005.

Another bizarre day in the world of Palm OS. After struggling with HotSync for days, trying various fixes, uninstalling, reinstalling, and still not completing a single USB HotSync, I tried something completely different. I read a post somewhere that recommended trying alternate connections (IR / BT) for HotSyncing if USB wasn’t working. Well I just successfully HotSynced via BlueTooth on the very first try. Crazy. However the data is now on my PC, which was always the end goal.

Today I found a utility called ConvertMe which claims to be able to convert the data within Palm™ Desktop files into usable Outlook data. The application is very buggy and crashed every time I tried to convert my contact data. The calendar part of it claimed to have completed successfully but the end result was a very jumbled calendar in Outlook so I continued searching.

The solution to my PIM data transfer woes came in the form of DoubleLook for Palm Desktop. Essentially this tool aims to allow Palm Desktop users to use Outlook with all of their Palm Data at their fingertips. For me the key was that upon installation it synchronises all Palm Desktop data with Microsoft Outlook. This is not a cheap tool ($79.95) but it is free for 14 days of usage and therefore perfect for solving my problem as I only need it for one use.

So I downloaded the trial. After running the setup and pressing “Next” a few times it installed then vanished - no confirmation that the installation had completed. Nothing. Nada. It left the window with my two new shortcuts (DoubleLook and DoubleLook Setup) open, so I decided to click the latter.

Up came a very polite note telling me that there are 15 days left for me to try this software. The next step was particularly pleasing to see for a Brit like me: the choice of languages includes “English (US)” AND “English (UK)”. Next came an option to make sure DoubleLook is always active (”add to startup apps”) which I declined.

If you are going to use this for the same reason I have, do the following: select which PIM to sync (Palm Desktop) and then press the “configure” button. Carefully check all the options. It then asks “Are you ready?” and tells you to “Please wait for initial sync to complete”.

I’m warning you now this is (perhaps predictably) not fast on the first run. It raced through first hundred contacts then crawled. By contact number 220 it was taking 3-4 seconds per contact. Exactly twenty minutes later we’ve hit contact number 556. Starting to do mental arithmetic for thousands of contacts, thousands of calendar entries, a few hundred memos, tens of tasks. Let’s see…… I started at 17:19 so it should be finished some time after breakfast if it continues to slow down at the current rate.

Eventually (hours later) it completed, and the result was absolutely perfect. My data is now in Outlook and I’m as pleased as punch.

Priority number one when switching between PDA platforms is to get the PIM data across.

PDAs have hundreds of incredible uses but the primary use has always been to organise core ‘organiser-type’ data such as contacts, calendars, and notes. My T3 has thousands of contacts as well as diary notes spanning back across ten years, and hundreds of categorised memos. I’ve always been delighted with Palm Desktop for accessing all of my Palm data on my PC. One of the down sides I’ve already accepted about moving to WM5 is that I’ll need to use Outlook from now on.

The problem is how do I get my Palm data into Outlook? Ordinarily this wouldn’t be such a big deal but since September I’ve had trouble syncing my Palm with my new notebook. So now I have two problems - can I complete a full hotsync and then get that data into Outlook.

Palms are supposed to be capable of syncing with Outlook. Mine refuses. Rather than keep trying to make this work I’m hunting for another solution. According to this CNET article it’s a very simple process and they even suggest another way of doing it but that costs money and I’m pretty sure I can do it for free.

Another possible software solution was suggested in the Pocket PC Dubai forums. Peacemaker allows the Palm to beam the data directly to the PPC - cutting out the PC in the middle. (Hat tip Mohd Al-Ashram, ‘Editor in chief’ of the Pocket PC Dubai forums. Original post here). The trouble with this approach is that I really wanted to get moving on the switch and I still haven’t got my PPC.

The solution came in the form of a great tool called DoubleLook. More on that tomorrow.

Over the last three years I’ve rarely been seen without my Tungsten T3. Two weeks ago I ordered a T-Mobile MDA Vario. Moving from Palm OS to Windows Mobile 5 is a big transition especially considering the amount of data and applications involved.

I was discussing the learning curve for the new OS with a mate and he asked me, “why don’t you blog it?”. PDA Nut was born.

There’s a lot of information out there in the big wide web about how to make the transition but I’ve noticed a few things about that info:

• it’s scattered,

• it’s often out of date as it consists of old forum postings and magazine articles,

• it’s often badly presented.

So I’ve set out to bring you my experiences on this road to Windows Mobile 5 and (hopefully) help others who are considering such a move. I’m also hoping to get some help with the various issues so please leave comments if you can help out.

Since my new PDA hasn’t arrived yet who knows where this will lead……