Help! Considering switching from Palm to Entourage

[womanhattan]

Hello. I just started using Entourage for email (on the desktop) and I'm discovering that it also has all the PIM features that Palm Desktop has and then some. I'm considering importing and switching. I have some questions for people who know Entourage, especially if someone has also switched from Palm Desktop.

1) Can you hotsync contacts, calendar, notes, and tasks to Treo 750P, but not email? I have 100+MB email I don't need on my phone and wouldn't fit anyway
2) Is Entourage as easy to use on the Treo as Palm's contact software? The way I have my Treo configured with customizable buttons, I press one button for contacts and another for calendar. I can look up contacts and dial them directly. I can also easily access tasks and memos. When friends call, I hear their unique ringtone and their pic appears on my screen. What can't I do on Entourage that I can do with Palm PIM software?
3) Is the software stable, or are there any crash issues when you install Entourage to the Treo?
4) Has anyone had any issues importing data from Palm Desktop to Entourage (desktop)? For example, do paper-clipped items get de-linked, or phone number labels such as "work," "fax," and, say,"Cape May beachhouse" get messed up or erased?
5) The easiest question: how do you get Entourage on the Treo?

I recall hearing you need third-party software (MarkSpace) to Hotsync Entourage, but that would probably be the least of my problems in making the switch.

Thanks so much to anyone who can answer any of above

[kabeyun]

First off let me say that I don't have any in-depth experience using Entourage, but I feel I should clear up a couple of things for you:

- There's no such thing as a Treo 750p. Are you thinking of the 700p? The only current model of the 750 runs Windows Mobile, so I suppose it could be called the "750w."

- There's no such thing as Entourage for the Palm OS.

- There is, however, an Entourage conduit for the Missing Sync that will sync Entourage data to your Treo's PIM apps. It's not perfect, though, and Entourage X (prior version) is not supported with Intel Macs (Entourage 2004 is).

- You're right, in that transferring data from one PIM (personal information management) application to another can result in loss of customization or some data. MarkSpace's support area has some useful information, and I recommend you rummage through their website a bit, even if you don't end up using their product.

- If you don't like the limitations of your Treo's built-in PIM apps (and there are may limitations!), there are a host of third party solutions you can look into, such as Agendus or DateBk5. Both are available in the ET.com Software Store.

Good luck! :smile:

-K

[womanhattan]

>First off let me say that I don't have any in-depth experience using >Entourage, but I feel I should clear up a couple of things for you:

>- There's no such thing as a Treo 750p. Are you thinking of the 700p? The >only current model of the 750 runs Windows Mobile, so I suppose it could >be called the "750w."

Sorry I meant 700P

>- There's no such thing as Entourage for the Palm OS.
Ah, I see.

>- There is, however, an Entourage conduit for the Missing Sync that will >sync Entourage data to your Treo's PIM apps. It's not perfect, though, and >Entourage X (prior version) is not supported with Intel Macs (Entourage >2004 is).
I have 2004 and pre-intel mac, but it's good to know 2004 will work when I eventually upgrade.

>- You're right, in that transferring data from one PIM (personal >information management) application to another can result in loss of >customization or some data. MarkSpace's support area has some useful >information, and I recommend you rummage through their website a bit, >even if you don't end up using their product.

I'll probably have to switch. Since I wrote this, my Palm data file became corrupt to the point where the application wouldn't open (I got a "file in use" message instead) and I had to overwrite my Treo with an uncorrupted backup after a frustrating Palm tech support experience that took up three evenings. (Now, after my 90 free days expire, I'll have to pay Palm for the pleasure of being repeatedly disconnected after being on hold half an hour.) Now I can open my Palm desktop, but there are still bugs: the "tasks" feature is screwy to the point of being completely unusable, and every time I perform a hotsync, every contact/event/memo I have edited in desktop is duplicated, even if I haven't touched same in the Treo. (The Hotsync log falsely claims dupe was made because the contact was altered in both handheld *and* desktop.) You can imagine what a pain it is to have to delete a duplicate of every item I have altered every time I perform a hotsync. So the file is probably corrupt.

When I finally reached Palm, they told me it is impossible to determine the source and clean up a corrupt Palm data file, and that I'd have to export and import the data back to Palm to clean it up. But I imagine that would be a nightmare. I depend very heavily on Palm desktop's paper clip feature to keep organized (even though it doesn't work on the handheld). If these paper clips did not survive the export/import it would be the equivalent of going through all my physical files and detaching everything that's stapled together and paper clipped, and then mixing it up. Years of my neat organization system would be destroyed (I've been using Palm Desktop and it's predecessor Claris Organizer for at least eight years--long before I had a Palm.) Who knows if my customized labels for phone numbers would survive such an operation (e.g. "fax," "beachhouse," and "sidekick.") (These labels don't appear on the handheld, just the desktop.) They're already screwy, but even the standard labels ("work," "mobile") could get messed up. Calling someone's cell or home # when you meant to call them at work (or vice versa) could in some cases be disastrous.

However, I'm not optimistic that an export to Entourage would go much more smoothly. (Although I must say the import of my email from my old Outlook went completely smoothly once my computer was fixed. Then again, Entourage and Outlook are pretty much the same thing.)

I'm assuming you can sync Entourage contacts, calendar and memos with treo without syncing email. (My email wouldn't fit anyway.)

The only thing is, I'm afraid that if I switched to Entourage and used Mark Space to sync, the use of three programs (Palm OS, Entourage, and Mark Space) from three different parties (Palm, Microsoft, and Mark Space) could create more snafus. Even when I'm dealing with one party (Palm) it's awful, but when you're dealing with two or more they can just pass the buck endlessly. ("That's an Entourage problem"..."you'll have to talk to Palm...")

No matter what, I'm sure that making the switch would be very time consuming (sigh.) Thanks for your help.

>- If you don't like the limitations of your Treo's built-in PIM apps (and >there are may limitations!), there are a host of third party solutions you >can look into, such as Agendus or DateBk5. Both are available in the >ET.com Software Store.

Entourage seems to have all the features I need. Much gratitude for sending me to the markspace site--it seems to answer a lot of questions!!
>Good luck! :smile:

>-K[/quote]

[chillywilly]

Entourage and Outlook are pretty much the same thing.)

I'm assuming you can sync Entourage contacts, calendar and memos with treo without syncing email. (My email wouldn't fit anyway.)

Yep.. Entourage 2004 can sync everything but email without a problem. I use a program called Chatter to get my email from my IMAP server.

As for Entourage and Outlook being the same, that couldn't be further from the truth. Both apps may have similar features (contacts, tasks, notes, calendar), but that's where the similarities end.

With the exception of using export and import to a CSV file for contacts, there's no real easy way to get data to/from Outlook/Entourage without using some various software utilities (O2M - Outlook to Mac is one that seems to work ok). I ended up using various methods to get my data from Outlook to Entourage over the course of a few months.

I like Entourage 2004 a lot, even though it's pretty slow on my MacBook Pro. It has everything I need in one place with just a couple of things I wish it could do (like sync Birthdays to my Treo 650).

I don't consider myself an Entourage expert, but with almost 2 years of daily use, I've gotten to know it pretty good and how it interacts with the Treo 650.