I was just reading that DataViz Twitter page. You can really glean some interesting information from that feed. But not enough to make me sign up for an account just yet.
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DataViz Brings Documents To Go, RoadSync to Android
Documents To Go Standard Edition 1.0Today, DataViz has released Documents To Go Standard Edition 1.0 and a beta release of RoadSync for Google Android. Documents To Go and the RoadSync beta will work on any Android powered device, including the T-mobile G1, the HTC Dream, and the Vodafone HTC Magic.
“We are very excited to announce the release of Documents To Go Standard Edition version 1.0 for Android plus our RoadSync Beta for Android. Documents To Go is the first mobile Office suite for Android that supports editing of native Microsoft Word and Excel files!”
- View, edit and create native Microsoft Word and Excel files.
- Office 97-2008 support (the first and only!).
- Send and receive attachments with Gmail and other mobile email solutions.
- Supported devices include the T-mobile G1, HTC Dream, Vodafone HTC Magic and other devices running Android OS.
- We’re certain you’ll find that our 10+ years of developing mobile solutions brings a feature rich, enterprise-grade office suite to devices based on the Android platform!
RoadSync Beta
RoadSync provides push-email notifications for Microsoft Exchange email servers.
“Based on Exchange ActiveSync technology licensed directly from Microsoft, the RoadSync Beta provides secure, wireless and direct push synchronization of corporate e-mail, contacts and attachments – all in one affordable, scalable and easy to manage package.
In addition to significantly enhancing end-user productivity, RoadSync simultaneously lowers IT costs by providing an easy to implement mobility strategy which eliminates the need for middleware servers and subscription fees.”
Documents To Go is now available exclusively through Android Market for a limited-time introductory price of $19.99 (regularly $29.99). For more information about Documents To Go and RoadSync for Google Android, visit the DataViz website.
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Documents To Go for BlackBerry Review
DataViz has recently released Documents To Go Premium Edition for BlackBerry (link), version 1.006. I have been working with Documents To Go on my BlackBerry Curve 8330 for about a month now. Documents To Go is my “gotta have it” application for all of my mobile devices and my expectations for the new BlackBerry edition where going to be high.
Most new BlackBerry smartphones will come with Documents To Go Professional preinstalled. Existing BlackBerry customers must be running BlackBerry OS 4.5 or later before they can install and use the software. Sprint customers will have the Professional Edition installed on their Berry when they upgrade to BlackBerry OS 4.5 or later. If you are not sure what version of the BlackBerry OS your device has, please consult your owner’s manual or contact your wireless carrier for assistance. DataViz has posted an article on their blog to help customers download BlackBerry OS updates if they need them.
As with all of the other editions of Documents To Go, you can read, create, and modify Microsoft Office documents created with versions 97-2008 on the Windows or Mac OS X platforms. A list of key features for Documents To Go for BlackBerry can be found on the DataViz website.
If you have used Documents To Go before, say on a Palm OS Centro, you will find yourself at home with the BlackBerry edition.
Word To Go, the application that I use the most in the suite, has a clean interface that allows you to focus on the open document. Pressing the BlackBerry button will conjure up a menu of commands, including one for the online Help system. DataViz’s InTact Technology ensures that your document’s formatting remains the same on your desktop computer after it has been modified on the BlackBerry. Another great feature of Documents To Go for BlackBerry is the ability to email your current document. After selecting “Send via Email” from the application’s pop-up menu, you are presented with a standard email compose screen with your document already included as the attachment. This is a great time saving feature if you email Office documents to customers or coworkers frequently.DataViz has also done a great job tuning the PDF To Go application. PDF To Go has received a considerable speed boost with this release. My BlackBerry Curve 8330 was able to open my sample PDF file twice as fast when compared to my Palm Treo 750 and 755p. The Curve took 15 seconds to open and render my 6 page document. The same document took 30 seconds on the Treo. If you press the scroll wheel while reading a PDF document, a contextual menu pops open and gives you access to the Zoom, Next, and Previous page commands. If you are reading the document from the top of the page to the bottom, this may not seem like a bid deal. However, when you need to skim though the document, the BlackBerry interface for next page/previous page is nicer than on other platforms.
Slideshow To Go and Sheets To Go also performed well with my sample documents. A 25 page PowerPoint 2007 presentation rendered the way that I expected. Interestingly, the yellow slide title text appeared as black; which to me is only a minor issue. (This may have been an operator error as I’ve only had Office 2007 for about three weeks.) Changing to a new slide and zooming in and out on a slide was fast. Once you have zoomed in on a slide, you use the trackball to scroll around. Slider sorter is a new feature that people who use PowerPoint often will appreciate.
In my tests, Sheets To Go did a good job of handling my parts lists and inventory sample spreadsheets. It did have some trouble with a spreadsheet that was setup as a form. In my test file, I had a number of cells with word wrap turned on in Excel that did not wrap in Sheets To Go. This could be a problem if you are using spreadsheet-based forms on your mobile. When you bring the file back to the desktop computer, the original document formatting is maintained, thanks to the InTact engine.Customers who are migrating from the Palm OS platform should be aware that the BlackBerry edition of Documents To Go does not have a desktop application for synchronizing documents. If you want to transfer files between your BlackBerry’s storage card and your desktop computer, you will need to use the phone’s drive mode and copy files to and from the card.
In conclusion, DataViz has hit another home run with their new version of Documents To Go for the BlackBerry. The InTact Technology does a superb job of keeping the look and feel of the original document after it has been modified on the mobile device. The application navigation is easy to learn and use. DataViz’s Documents To Go will turn your smartphone into a powerful, work from anywhere solution. Berry addicts are going to gain a lot of utility from this must have application.
Documents To Go Premium Edition for BlackBerry can be purchased for $69.99. Upgrades from a previous edition of Documents To Go costs $29.99. For more information about the Documents To Go family of products, visit the DataViz website.
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RoadSync, Documents To Go Coming to Android
I just noticed that over on the DataViz website there is a teaser page up that should get Android users excited. It looks like it is a lock that DataViz’s award winning Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and mobile office suite applications, RoadSync and Documents To Go will be coming to a Google-powered phone near you soon.
To sign up for a notification when the software ships here…
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Documents To Go for iPhone/iPod touch Update
The folks at DataViz have been hard at work on the latest port of their flagship mobile application: Documents To Go. DataViz dropped us a line the other day with an update on the progress of the iPhone/iPod touch application.
“We wanted to let you know that Documents To Go is still on track to be released in the second quarter of 2009. We’d also like to give you a look at a few screenshots so you can get a better feel for what we’re up to.
We’ll provide you with more information on features as we get closer to the release. For now let’s just say we have some exciting things planned for this app!”
To tease us, or hold us over until the application launches later this year, DataViz included some screen shots to look at.
The one question that I still is whether or not Documents To Go for iPhone/iPod touch will be as important as it has been on my Palm OS, Windows Mobile, and BlackBerry devices. Without the ability to cut/copy and paste information, which I do frequently when editing Microsoft Office documents, I’m not sure how useful this application is going to be. Come on Apple, let’s have us some copy and paste goodness like every other Palm OS, Windows Mobile, and BlackBerry smartphone has. In my opinion, the iPhone can not be considered a true business phone until it has copy and paste. Support for Exchange ActiveSync alone does not a business phone make.
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BlackBerry OS 4.5 Update Report
I installed Sprint’s specially formulated BlackBerry OS 4.5 update on my Curve 8330 last night. The process when smoothly using BlackBerry Manager 4.7 on my Windows Vista Business SP1 PC.
So far things look good and appear to be working well. The one thing that I didn’t like was that the pre-installed photos, one of which I liked as my wallpaper, are no longer on my device after applying the update. I haven’t had a chance to follow up with other Sprint 8330 users yet to see if they have had similar experiences or not. All in all, it isn’t a big deal. I’m sure somone posted the photos on the Inetnet. If I find them, I’ll post the link. I’ll also try and see if Sprint can confirm the missing photos.
Otherwise, email, the browser, and Documents To Go are all working well. I’ll have to spend some more time playing with the new software over the weekend.
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BlackBerry 4.5 Update: Don’t Forget Documents To Go
I’ve started the upgrade process to BlackBerry OS 4.5 on my Curve. Before you get started, you will want to download and install BlackBerry Desktop Manager version 4.7 from BlackBerry.com.
While preparing to install the OS 4.5 update on my Berry, I was given the opportunity to select which options I wanted to install (or not install) on my device. First to go where the Spanish, French, and Korean language support. And then I noticed that by default, Documents To Go was not an installed option (see below).
Don’t forget to turn Documents To Go on as an install option!
And when you are done with the update, don’t forget to head over to the DataViz website to download the free update to Documents To Go 1.005.
The BlackBerry OS 4.5 update for your device includes a Standard Edition of Documents To Go® v1.000 that lets you open, view and edit native Microsoft Word and PowerPoint files and attachments.
Free Update to v1.005 Available!
Register with DataViz® and download an update for Documents To Go with the following new features.- New Sheet To Go application to open, view and edit Microsoft Excel 97-2008 spreadsheets
- Support for Microsoft Word 2007/2008 documents
- Support for Microsoft PowerPoint 2007/2008 presentations
- Improved rendering speed for PowerPoint slides
- View tracked changes in word processing documents
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Going Live with BlackBerry
This is just a quick note to say that I plan on activating my BlackBerry Curve 8330 today.
There are a few reasons for deciding to turn on the BlackBerry now. The first is that after looking at Palm’s new App Store, there is no need for testing on my Treo 755p; my Treo 750 is up to the task.
Secondly, if the rumors about Palm are true, it looks like the company could be on track to release a new device with the Nova operating system before the May/June 2009 time frame. I want to use the BlackBerry in between now and then. If Palm is going to deliver in the next quarter, I need to get going with the BlackBerry.
Sprint is still reporting that they are working with RIM on ironing out the kinks in the BlackBerry OS 4.5 upgrade. That means that I won’t be able to use DataViz Documents To Go until the update has been certified by Sprint.
I’ll post again once I have the BlackBerry activated for voice and data with the BlackBerry Internet service.
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Upgrading Docs To Go on WM Professional
I finally got around to upgrading DataViz Documents To Go 3.0 Premium on my Palm Treo 750 smartphone. The Documents To Go 3.0032 is a minor upgrade that was released back on September 23, 2008. The update addresses the following issues:- Added support for devices with high resolution screens (VGA 480×640)
- Fixed a bug which caused “Error after creating the .lnk – file : 3” when installing on non-English devices
- Minor bug fixes
The complete Document To Go for Windows Mobile Professional version history can be found in the DataViz knowledge base.
During the upgrade, I did run into some trouble. At about 98% done, the following error message popped up:
Edition Not Found
\Windows\gb-nrv-s.datError setting up the registry. Please reinstall to try and fix the problem.
DataViz’s solution for the error can also be found in the DataViz knowlege base. I checked that I had enough space on my Treo by going to the Memory control panel and taking a look at the Storage Free value. The upgrade should have worked. To get around this problem, I ended up uninstalling Documents To Go 3.0031 and eReader (which I never really used on my Windows Mobile Treo anyway), soft reset my Palm, and then re-ran the Documents To Go installer. To do this, I used the Windows Mobile Device Center in Windows Vista and pointed to:
Programs and Services > More… > Add/Remove Programs
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Documents To Go 11 for Palm OS Now Available
Yesterday, DataViz released the latest edition of Documents To Go for Palm devices running Palm OS.With Documents To Go Premium edition 11.00, DataViz has added:
- View tracked changes in word processing files
- Apply and view Styles in word processing files
- View border and wrapped text in spreadsheets
- Ten starter Templates included for creating Word and Excel files
In addition to these new features, customers can view, create, and modify Microsoft Office documents on their Palm OS Centro, Treo, or handheld PDA. (PDA users are encouraged to check to see if their device is on the compatibility list found on the DataViz website.)
Pricing & Availability
Documents To Go Premium Edition for Palm OS retails for $49.99 and is available directly from DataViz as well as many retail and online stores including Handango.com, and the network of DataViz resellers and distributors worldwide. Upgrade pricing of $29.99 is available directly from DataViz for previous Documents To Go customers, including those who received Documents To Go as bundled software with a Palm handheld or smartphone.
My long time readers know that Documents To Go is a core requirement for any mobile device that I consider for my personal and business use. The InTact Technology seamlessly keeps the document’s formatting regardless of whether the document was last created or modified on a desktop or mobile device, meaning I save not having to re-edit a file when I get back to the office.
For more information and to download a free evaluation, visit www.dataviz.com/palm2008 .
