[BrianGL1800]

Hi there folks...

I'm new to the Blackberry world, but I've been prowling through a few of these forums, picking up useful information..., and I'm hoping someone will be able to point me in the right direction in a couple of areas.

First of all, I'm a long-time Palm user, and always really liked the slick and simple process (both on the Palm device and Palm Desktop) of keeping track of calender events, to-do list, and personal contacts. I also use Quicken to keep track of all my finances, so Pocket Quicken was something I used several times a day. Up until last April, I usually carried a Palm (Zire 72) as my PDA, and a basic cell phone for a mobile telephone. In April I decided to combine the cell phone and Palm into a single device and got a nice new Samsung Omnia with Mobile Windows. I was able to convert all my Palm data over to MS Outlook to sync into my Omnia. After several month of beating my head against the wall trying to come to grips with the Omnia/Mobile Windows/Outlook combination, I finally gave up and went back to my trusty Palm, and relegated the Omnia to phone use (and even that was a headache).

At the end of November I was able to cancel my mobile contract (with no penalty) and decided to try and find something more to my liking. I looked at the iPhone, the new Palm Pre, Blackberry, and some of the new Android platform phones, and finally decided on the Blackberry..., even although I dont use it for business (I'm retired), just personal use.

I ordered (through Bell) a Blackberry Bold 9700, and although I haven't actually received it in the mail yet, I have downloaded and browsed through the owners' manual and a few other on-line docs on the Bold. I dont plan on (at this point) using the Blackberry for web surfing or e-mail..., just as a phone, PDA and a bit of texting.

Having said all this, there are two things that I haven't been able to sort out completely, and I'm hopeful that someone here might be able to offer some guidance..., neither of which are deal-breakers, but positive solutions to one or both would be a lovely Christmas present to myself:

1: Is there a Blackberry version of Pocket Quicken, or a simple app that will let me send "finance" entries directly to my desktop Quicken. If you've used Pocket Quicken you'll know what I mean.

2: Here's the biggy..., is there a desktop app (other than Outlook) that I can use similarly to Palm Desktop to sync calender/appointment, contact and/or to-do task entries between the desktop and the Blackberry. I find Outlook to be way too much of a drain on the computer and far too complex for my needs.

Any insight anyone can offer will be greatly appreciated.

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[mckinneycm]

1. If you're not getting the BB Data Plan, then I don't know of any other sync programs other than Outlook that will sync on your desktop. If you get the data plan you can use Google Sync and others.

2. There is no "Quicken" app for BlackBerry, but there are apps that will import into Quicken and function pretty much the same way. Check out Mobile Software and Games for your PDA or Smartphone : Handango for some options.

[pshift]

As far as your 2nd issue is concerned, use Agendus Pro for the PIM. They have a Palm version so you should already be familiar with it. You'll need Outlook for it to work correctly but once setup, you can do everything through Agendus for Outlook.

[BrianGL1800]

Originally Posted by pshift

As far as your 2nd issue is concerned, use Agendus Pro for the PIM. They have a Palm version so you should already be familiar with it. You'll need Outlook for it to work correctly but once setup, you can do everything through Agendus for Outlook.

Thanks..., I'll look into it...

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[lmcjipo]

Originally Posted by BrianGL1800

1: Is there a Blackberry version of Pocket Quicken, or a simple app that will let me send "finance" entries directly to my desktop Quicken. If you've used Pocket Quicken you'll know what I mean.

2: Here's the biggy..., is there a desktop app (other than Outlook) that I can use similarly to Palm Desktop to sync calender/appointment, contact and/or to-do task entries between the desktop and the Blackberry. I find Outlook to be way too much of a drain on the computer and far too complex for my needs.

I'm also a long time Palm user and recently got a Blackberry Bold 9700.

1) I'm still using my Treo 680 even though I have better phones (iPhone 3GS & Bold 9700) because there is no program that I've been able to find which does what the Palm & PocketQuicken can do in terms of ease of synchronization with the desktop version of Quicken. I have tested out SplashMoney for the Blackberry but it just isn't the same

2) I use Google Calendar and GoogleSync for Blackberry in order to synchronize my appointments. It works for me and Google Calendar is accessible anywhere that I have access to the internet.