.KEYWORD bestpqa
.FLYINGHEAD WEB CLIPPING
.TITLE The best of the PQAs
.OTHER
.SUMMARY With all the Palm Query Applications available, it can be tough to decide which ones to choose. Kathy Burns makes your decision a little easier by picking out the best PQAs around for financial information, news, reference, travel, communication, and shopping.
.AUTHOR Kathy Burns
The wirelessly enabled Palm VII and new Palm VIIx are two valuable tools for any mobile professional, as they’re equipped with an internal transmitter and antenna that allow you to connect to the Internet and pull down information in the form of Web clippings. Web clipping involves a process of query-and-response, whereby you submit a request for information from the Internet, and the information is retrieved for you by a PQA (Palm Query Application).
A PQA is a Palm application designed specifically for wireless Palm devices by third-party developers. Each PQA is designed to let you query the Internet for a specific kind of information. Palm.net boasts over 400 PQAs in its library, and I’ve found many others in various online locations. With so many available, it’s tough to decide which ones to choose. I’ve attempted to make this job easier for you by highlighting some of the best available in six different categories.
.H1 Financial tools
Financial PQAs range from stock trading utilities, to investment news, to account management. The Fidelity PQA was my top financial PQA pick. As shown in Figure A, the main Fidelity screen is attractively and coherently laid out.
.FIG A The main Fidelity screen is attractively and coherently laid out.
Everything is just a tap away and can be used immediately upon entering the application. Stock searches offer Basic, Detail, Chart, or News information, and you can get Market news and real-time quotes. What I like the most about the Fidelity PQA is that it allows you to configure up to five customized portfolio watch lists, even without a Fidelity account. For more information on Fidelity, visit http://www100.fidelity.com.
.H1 News PQAs
News PQAs are also very popular. Some try to cover everything while others offer specialized news. My favorite of this bunch is definitely the Daily Learner. This PQA has a great interface, as you can see in Figure B, but that’s not the best part.
.FIG B Daily Learner has a great interface and adapts to your preferences.
The Daily Learner uses an artificial intelligence engine that adapts to your liking based on the stories you either read or ignore. After a short while, it will only feed headlines to your Palm device that match your usage preferences.
This application adapts to the point of providing smart searches as well. For instance, if you’ve been reading about the Microsoft antitrust trial but passing by articles regarding Microsoft mergers, The Daily Learner will remember this. If you then search on the term "Microsoft," the application will display just those search matches pertaining to the antitrust trial.
Another nice feature of The Daily Learner is the way it delivers the articles. If you tap a headline to read further, you are presented with a summary page and the option to continue. If you choose to continue, the application will send you one page of the article at a time. You don’t have to wait for the whole story to download just to skim the first paragraph or two. For more information on Daily Learner, visit http://dailylearner.ics.uci.edu/palm/.
.H1 Reference and directories
Reference tools are becoming popular for wireless use, and there are some very good ones available. I like GuruNet because it searches a variety of reference sources at once. Using this tool, you don’t have to carry multiple applications on your Palm device. GuruNet is similar to a search engine, however I like to think of it as a reference engine. The entrance screen is simple, as you can see in Figure C, but the information returned can be quite detailed.
.FIG C The GuruNet entrance screen is simple, but the information returned can be quite detailed.
The GuruNet application will search a variety of databases and return definitions, company news and stock information if applicable, translations, encyclopedia information, and more. Each search result varies according to what you enter on the main page, but the expanse of information returned can be tremendous. For more information on GuruNet, visit http://www.gurunet.com/.
.H1 Travel
iTrackU and Traveler SOS are my picks for the best Travel PQAs. Many travel PQAs are used to book flights, hotel rooms, and rental cars, but iTrackU is just a simple and useful application that allows you to check a plane’s arrival or departure status. iTrackU allows you to first input the airline code and flight number, as seen in Figure D.
.FIG D To check your flight’s status, first input the airline code and flight number.
It immediately returns either summarized or detailed information about that flight, as seen in Figure E.
.FIG E iTrackU then returns either summarized or detailed information.
For more information on iTrackU, visit http://www.itracku.com/enm/en/pqa.html.
Traveler SOS is an application that provides emergency service to road travelers. As seen in Figure F, the application has other relevant features, but the real strength is the emergency service features.
.FIG F Traveler SOS provides a number of relevant features, including emergency service.
If you get stranded on the side of the road, simply tap the Assist icon, and you’re put in contact with the 24-hour customer service representatives of 1-800-Tow-Truck. A service representative will dispatch a tow truck to your current location, secure a taxi, or even track someone down by phone to deliver a message. The basic service is free, but for $59 a year, the premium version will provide you up to $100 in roadside assistance per incident. For more information on Traveler SOS, visit http://www.travelersos.com.
.H1 Communication
eFax, pictured in Figure G, is an excellent communication PQA that provides you with an online fax number.
.FIG G eFax lets you receive faxes on the go.
When faxes arrive, they’re immediately forwarded to the email account of your choice. The Palm OS version of eFax allows you to forward any fax to a nearby fax machine or printer. Thus, even when you’re away from your office, you can still receive and review faxes as needed. For more information on eFax, visit http://www.efax.com.
My favorite communication PQA is AIM. The AOL Instant Messenger application is still in beta testing and thus only available on AOL proper, however it’s already almost indispensable to those who use it. As you can see in Figure H, it’s packed full of features such as quick smiley faces and Palm shortcuts.
.FIG H AOL Instant Messenger is full of handy features.
For more information on AOL Instant Messenger, visit http://www.aol.com/aim/home.html.
.H1 Shopping
For the best shopping PQA, I chose Internet Groceries. I personally hate grocery shopping, and this utility lets me take care of the chore right from my Palm device. Numerous categories and sub-categories are available via a drop down list, and articles are presented in a clean table layout. You simply write in the quantity of each item and tap the submit button at the bottom, and the items are added to your "cart." When you’re ready to check out, all items are listed and totaled for you, as shown in Figure I.
.FIG I Internet Groceries lists and totals your items.
As you can see in Figure J, other options are available for checking delivery status or for bringing up previous shopping lists.
.FIG J Other options are available as well.
For more information on Internet Groceries, visit http://www.internetgroceries.com.
.H1 Utility
A must-have utility for PQA users is CobWeb. This tool allows you to "clear the cache" on your Palm organizer. Because PQAs are very similar to miniature Web sites, when you visit them, you accumulate saved pages, which are cached on your device. The CobWeb tool allows you to view the pages, see how much room is consumed by them, and delete individual ones or all of them at once, as shown in Figure K.
.FIG K CobWeb lets you clean your cache.
For more information on CobWeb, visit http://www.sgsw.com/Cobweb/cobweb.html.
.H1 Conclusion
While this article doesn’t begin to tap the enormous PQA resources out there, it should give you a good idea of where to start if you’re just beginning to discover these wonderful tools.
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.H1 Product availability and resources
For more information on Fidelity, visit http://www100.fidelity.com.
For more information on Daily Learner, visit http://dailylearner.ics.uci.edu/palm/.
For more information on GuruNet, visit http://www.gurunet.com/.
For more information on iTrackU, visit http://www.itracku.com/enm/en/pqa.html.
For more information on Traveler SOS, visit http://www.travelersos.com.
For more information on eFax, visit http://www.efax.com.
For more information on AOL Instant Messenger, visit http://www.aol.com/aim/home.html.
For more information on Internet Groceries, visit http://www.internetgroceries.com.
For more information on CobWeb, visit http://www.sgsw.com/Cobweb/cobweb.html.
.H1 Bulk reprints
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