I have run head-on into the problem that Mr. Haine so brilliantly outlined in his article in 2008. After reading that string, one almost has to conclude that someone at Apple has a thing about Mr. Haine, (who it appears created the totally practical app for the Palm calendar function), and so is protecting the bizarre iPhone calendar app at all cost,, rather than ask Haine (or anyone knowledgeable) for help. Someone needs to wake up. I finally got an iPhone and find that I can talk to Siri but the darned calendar can’t take me to a future date without 9 clicks and clacks and a lot of aggravation.

Skip Siri and put the calendar app in a cutesy super bowl ad next year. Should get a lotta laughs.

They had at least three years with a crystal clear road map laid out and they still missed the path.

It’s been almost 4 years since Mr. Haine told them of that problem (and a few others). Oh yes–it now has the cut/paste etc. function (if one can get the little dots to go where they are needed). So I guess it’s a gradual process?

I recall that at the memorial service for Steve Jobs there was told a humorous anecdote about his reaction when Siri told him it had not been assigned a gender. Wonder what his reaction would have been if Siri had mentioned that the calendar function hadn’t been assigned a brain?

Most frequent actions with least amount of taps, that’s the key. Palm is master in this, you learn that only over time.

How hard can it be to to take Palms BASIC calendar/todo and translate it to Iphone? Tap a line on the dayview and I want to start WRITING after one tap!

Bas

One program I’ve found to be EXTREMELY helpful in my switching over is the Memos program by Blue Marble Software. I had over 10 years of organized notes in my Palm, and this program transferred everything over beautifully. It’s $7.99, but it was completely worth it to me to have a seamless transfer in just a few minutes.

I hate the dang scroll function for setting dates & times too. I dislike every calendar app I’ve used on the iPhone. If a developer wanted to replicate the ease of the Palm calendar platform would they be forced to still use the stupid scroll function?

If everyone who read your article would email Apple corporate HQ maybe something would change!

While I’m at it I have two other complaints re Apple: the AppleCare hours should be as long as store hours and the iTunes auto music folder system sucks! It messes up all of the music files (esp compilations & artists with featured guests).

Here is the link to this above blog post to send to copy and send apple
http://stealthisidea.com/articles/palm-vs-iphone/

Anyone used calvetica – looks promising, though one feature I find particularly useful on the palm is the ability to colour-code events so you know what they are without clicking into them. Does Calvetica do this? And how does it display events that run across several days? The palm’s dotted line across the days is simple and effective.

I’ve tried pocket informant and saisuke – both close but look horrible, don’t colour code and use the dreaded roller-wheel thingy – yuk.

I reluctantly retired my Palm Pilot just yesterday. I wish I had seen this article first. The calendar is the most imprtant feature for me and it’s extremely cumbersome.

Lacking,though, has been a solution to the contacts/notes (aka memo) problem – getting contacts easily to iPad/iPhone from palm,keeping them synched properly, etc. And, with notes, the incredible lameness that iPhone/iPad does not alphabetize them! Good lord, what idiot at Apple ignored that feature when creating notes? It categorizes only by date edited! Sorry, I digress.

Also, of more concern, is that I’ve had to go through Google Calendar to do this. I just don’t want my stuff in the could. I want it where I can see it, or where I can have principle responsibility for losing it. I don’t want anyone else to have it.

I’ve seen the plug for Calvetica. Haven’t tried it, looked at it, but it didn’t solve my problem with migration OR the desire to maintain my Palm Desktop and continue it in the loop without using the cloud. Also doesn’t address the notes problem. All of this is a problem for former Palm devotees – calendar is a big one, but Palm had so much functionality beautifully worked out.

So, now my question: Has anyone seen, and tried out, Companionlink for PalmDesktop working directly with DejaOffice?

It looks like it can create a connection between PalmDesktop and an officetype app on the iPhone or iPad using just a wifi connection – NOT a cloud! And includes contacts and tasks, too, and I think memos, in addition to solving the stupid no alphabetizing problem of notes on iPhone.

I’ve seen the screenshots for DejaOffice and it looks very, very intriguing.

I don’t think it was offered by Companionlink when I first found Companion link a while ago. I hate to plunk down more change on this issue, but I’m still a bit irked by the need to go through the cloud.

So, any thoughts from someone who has used it would be nice!

I am still using a Treo 680 and have seen nothing that compels me to consider “upgrading” (for lack of a better term).

I started searching to see if other Palm OS 5 loyalists out there had found “the next platform” for life after Palm (iPhone? Blackberry? Windows Phone 7, tee-hee…or perhaps Android?)

What I found here is generous confirmation that the functionality I have come to love since my first IIIx really is good, it’s not just about familiarity or bias or emotionally clouded judgment – it’s hard to find something that does what the Palm (calendar, anyway) does. But, for me, the calender was the all-important foundation for wanting/needing/using a PDA in the first place, to keep track of life data.

The research I’ve been doing suggests that, assuming webOS is never fixed and put into a hardware form factor that makes sense, then the next platform is Android, for one simple reason – it’s open source.

The critical value of this is, very simply, that someone can write an app to do what you need. I recognize Matt’s recent comment that Calvetica appears to be an iPhone 3rd party app that finally delivers Palm OS 5 quality calendaring.

FINALLY A SOLUTION: Calvetica! Great app, 2 taps to set up an appointment. The developer deserves to win the Nobel Peace Prize. All the goodness of the Palm datebook with a modern UI.

Outlook is not as good either so for me I am sticking with my ancient Palm Centro.

Is there any chance you could help write an app for the iphone that will bring back the functions that Palm users are so used to having (given your role in the development of Clarisworks)? That 1997 paper shows you know your stuff!!

I have been doing the calengoo/companionlink experiment I described above and all continues very well. Actually, it is no longer an experiment; it is business as usual now.

I did buy Companionlink and really like still being able to use the palm desktop.

Calengoo still is terrific. Just a beautifully designed app. Recently loaded it onto my new iPad- it works for both platforms and I didn’t have to buy it twice. I think it looks great on the iPad. The week view is a little busy when one has a large mix of all day and single events but not a huge problem.

I have really taken advantage of color coding because it looks so good on calengoo. I never did it much on palm since my zire was black and white and the desktop color icons are small. But google/calengoo makes it beautiful and now works so well.

I’m sad to leave palm behind but pleased with this fix – the only thing better would be direct wireless sync between calengoo and palm desktop but that’s not going to happen.

If only there was a good solution for contacts; transferring them is just ugly.

It was designed around my experience using a Treo for many years. Hope you like it.

Cheers,

Owen

I just picked up an iPad and was really surprised to see that the calendar was similarly modal as that on the iPhone. You still can’t just tap onto a day block and edit text directly — it brings up a form-based dialog box that resembles the iPhone UI.

- Philip

I caved and did a so-far $6.99 experiment: Got the app Calengoo for the iPhone (the $6.99), and obtained an evaluation copy (14 days free) of CompanionLink to move the Palm Desktop to Google Calendar, and from there to Calengoo on the iPhone.

I have to say, this worked surprisingly well. I wanted to weep when I found my palm calendar on my iPhone suddenly. (I only chose to go back 1 year on the iPhone; not sure how far it will go back.) It all seemed to come through quite nicely. I have seen no repeating appointments errors in my random sampling so far. They are appear to be on the calendar and set up as repeating.

One thing Calengoo does intelligently, and addresses the usability comments above:

For events, it kicks directly into the “title” area, instead of making you choose “Edit” for it. One less step.

For entering time of day, it offers a choice of (1) the annoying wheel OR, and better,

(2) a keypad (think telephone or calculator layout) to select numbers to fill in a date set up with a “mm/dd/yyyy **:** am/pm” format. It actually works well, although it takes a bit to think in terms of mm/dd/yyy – but there’s even a “skip” button which autofills that with the date/time, etc you started on. I’m not sure I’m describing it well, but I will say I find it much, much easier than the wheel! And was impressed that the developer understood and addressed that usibility question at all.

So far the syncing seems to work seemlessly. I’ve chosen a manual sync method for the Desktop right now. Calengoo is set to sync upon launch.

I chose an iPhone app rather than just going to Google Calendar directly because I wanted to have the calendar available on the phone, not tied to a cloud/connection. I tested it by putting the iPhone in “airplane mode” and could still access all the calendar info loaded, with a notation “offline” reminding me of the status.

For the same reason, I can see myself probably paying the $40 in 2 weeks to Companionlink to hang onto my Palm Desktop calendar – I really like having that on my desktop and not just on the cloud. Still haven’t decided, but it is tempting.

My prefernce, of course, would be to have a good direct phone/computer relationship not via google, but I didn’t see an option that gave me a good layout on the iPhone. And the Calengoo layout to me IS very good, pretty much as good as what I’ve seen on the Palm Pre, although it could be better since some parts are small. But I’ve already learned that there is no perfect in any of this right now.

I chose not to sync memos or contacts yet, simply because my focus was on the calendar. I’m not thrilled with how Companionlink loads memos up to Google Calendar (into the Contacts list with a preceding [Memo] notation before the “A” contact listings). And I just didn’t want to muck with contacts yet. Same thing with tasks, but then I don’t use the “tasks” secion as a real day to day “tasks” list but as a respository for discrete master lists I consult when necessary, e.g. “Vacation to do” etc.

Some reviewers criticized Calengoo as slow to load. It did take a bit longer to go from April to Dec to fill in a future dentist appointment, but I’m not sure my Zire would have loaded much faster (it’s graffiti always seems “sticky” to me) And there is a “go to date” feature on Calengoo I have not internalized yet, so didn’t think to use it immediately. But the dentist date flowed seemless from iPhone to Desktop calendar.

So far, in my 72 hrs testing this, it seems to be doing what I want and need, as a former attorney now stay at home mom. And made me happy enough to want to post about it here. Next step will be to sync over contacts and see how that goes.

Makes me sad to realize that my Zire may just be a hard drive backup. At least it doesn’t take up much room….

I think Companionlink might have a solution for anyone looking to keep the old PalmDesktop to connect to the Palm Pre, but I didn’t research that as much, figuring I was unlikely to give up the iPhone when my contract comes up next year, simply because of all the other stuff already on it at this point. I will say that fiddling with a friend’s new Palm Pre made me itch for a good calendar on my iPhone, but didn’t make me salivate with envy the way I had thought I would.

I hope this is helpful to everyone suffering the same way.

After 2 weeks, I got crazy with the calendar. The UI is very nice but the applications are toy applications. I put my iPhone in a drawer and got a Palm Treo 600 on ebay. I synced it with JPilot on my Linux workstation and my 10 years of calendar, notes and adresses history (out of different palms) were in the box in just two minutes.

I’ve been very happy with it until I went for some weeks to Japan where my GSM Palm couldn’t work. I took my iPhone out of its banishment and played with Japanese learning tools, GPS to find my way in towns, photographs, wifi etc… I played a lot but the calendar keeps being so clumsy, almost unusable. Now, back home, I’m wondering whether I’ll go on with the iPhone or switch back again to my palm. I really don’t know what to do.

Thank you for the article and the posts

In particular, I ran across a suggestion for using a product called “Companionlink” which seems, if I read it correctly, to allow one to continue to use Palm Desktop software on the desktop, and sync it through Google Calendar to the Iphone.

Since the folk here seem to really understand the true pain of the loss of the Palm Calendar, I thought I would ask: Have any of you tried it, and had any thoughts? I love my Zire, as I said several months ago, but it is getting harder and harder to carry 2 electronic gizmos around, esp. since the new Palm Pre doesn’t seem to do the trick anyway.

One issue I have is that I don’t really want my calendar and other info on a cloud as the only place to get it, nor just on my eensy phone screen. I want it on my nice desktop, too, and not just “Read only” as Google Calendar seems to do.

At least the Zire hardware would remain a good backup system…

thanx u guys, i have MS and this thing is like losing a limb.

i will keep up with this site and hopefully we will have a solution soooooooon

Palm would probably love to write an app… they’d make a killing. How likely do you think it is to be approved by Apple?

I shouldn’t have to jailbreak my phone to get it to perform basic functions, yet Apple is busy dictating to us how to use our phone so they can maximize the money they squeeze out of us. Look, I paid for the phone. It’s a GREAT device. Unlock the features and allow us to use it the way we want.

As the months tick on without improvement, one that has bubbled up for me as a top issue is what Dan wrote above: ” particularly find the REPEAT function useless since you cannot tell it you have a meeting on the 2nd Thursday of every month, for example. All it can do is place an appointment on the same date each month… useless.”

I am forced to make a weekly repeat out of several appointments that occur only on the 2nd and 4th (Monday, Tues, Wed, Fri) of the month. Then when the alarms go off I must manually double check to make sure that the appointments are really happening.

Here’s hoping!

I don’t know why a 3rd party hasn’t stepped up to the plate and done a better calendar. I am assuming that Apple would reject or has been rejecting calendar apps on the grounds that it interferes with built-in functionality.

Anyone know the real scoop?

I think respectfully lobbying Apple for a better calendar is a fine idea, although I do not have time to do so. Perhaps one of you gentle readers does.

Philip

Congratulations on articulating so well the shared pain of all the posters here. I am in violent agreement with you too.

The question now is… What can be done?

To my mind two things can be done:
1. Apple can fix it or
2. A third party can write an app to do what we want. I personally would $200 for such an app. Seriously.

As for 1., Philip, do you know who manages these things at apple? Could you email them a link to this post/blog of yours and ask for an answer from them? Or even snailmail them a formal letter, reproducing your post and our responses? (You’d be amazed what happens when you snailmail a formal letter to a senior manager within an organisation with other people (their boss) copied in! I snailmailed the CEO of vodafone a few weeks ago to complain about poor reception. There ensued a flurry of phone calls from very senior people including the national network manager and then a personal visit from a very deferential network engineer).

2. Assuming the iphone’s touch technology actually allows direct entry into the calendar, how would one go about finding and selling the concept to a software developer? I don’t know about these things but surely there are people out there who share our opinion and who do know how to do these things get done! Ideas please!

Let’s find a solution!

Regards William Jones

Sent from my iPhone

I have used palms on and off for the past 7 years. Every time i have moved onto another phone i find myself longing for the palm calendar.

Everything about the iphone is great EXCEPT FOR THE CALENDAR.

APPLE Please do something about it.

The palm interface is genius.

I would also like to be able to see a list of my days appointments on the background screen when i press the standby button on my iphone instead of just seeing the background.

I LOVE MY IPHONE but this is killing me.

Fix the calendar and the phone will finally be fully functional for me.

In the mean time i am going to lug around my iphone and my palm.

Apple you’ve always done it in the past, SO DO IT NOW follow the KISS Principle (Keep It Simple Stupid).

Also make adding birthdays easier.

I know there is extra functionality in ical but i need the portable functionality.

PLEASE APPLE FIX IT before i convert back to my old palm.

My suggestion would be to use Google calendar and the Google calendar app for iPhone. (No syncing; you just access Google calendar over the Internet with an app specialized for the phone.)