Treo 680 accessories and new software

I had a delve through my previously abandoned Treo 680 gadget drawer and was surprised at the amount of stuff I had bought as add-ons. I already have the extended Seido 1600mAh battery inside but found a Seido 1300mAh and an un-named 1200mAh battery lying around too. I can't recall buying the latter but there it was. I like the 1600mAh one as it gives a full 2 days use and does not require one of those ungainly extended back covers either.

I already have an official Palm cradle at work but there was a spare lying around, crikey I must have bought 2! In addition, numerous cases were scattered around, some of which had plainly barely been used. Last but not least were 2 add on retractable sync cables. Lord knows how much that little lot cost.

I added on some new software over the weekend too. For my Sony bluetooth receiver thingy, which I use with my Shure cheapo headphones, I am demo-ing Softicks Audio Gateway which allows me to listen to podcasts and music on the 680 "wirelessly" via A2DP. The software works well and pairing the 680 with the Sony set was a cinch. The best thing about the Sony thing is that you can plug in your own headphones as it has a 3.5mm plug.

I love the quickness of the 680 in comparison to the Treo Pro. Yes, I know that it is way behind on specs but the apps are so quick and easy to use it is like a breath of fresh air. I have assigned the left side button to open "tasks" and I like the way you just tap "new", type in the task and don't have to assign needless stuff like "priority" or "category" if you don't want. It makes getting new entries in very straightforward.

One of my all time favourite applications is TMP which is a lovely looking Calendar app which has a shed load of customisation options. I have always thought this is one of the best looking Palm apps of all time, if a lot more looked as good as this it would not be a bad thing. Plus it has the bonus of being easy to use. Of course, I get the chance to use ListPro too again. Hoorah. I can't get by without this excellent list manager style software. When it finally comes to the iphone is probably the time when I return full time to that platform.

As mentioned last week I finally upgraded to Docstogo v10. I have been a bit disparaging about this before but I must say it looks like Dataviz have finally nailed it with this version. I do have it on the Centro and tried to use the 680 with the same app but it must sense it is a different device, possibly because the "free" version on the Centro is locked to the one device, and wouldn't work. So I bit the bullet.

Fontsmoother is a nice bit of software too that adds something a bit more professional looking to any Treo via a nice selection of better looking fonts. Well worth checking out for a bit of glitz on your Treo. It comes with a decent selection of extra fonts and an application for converting your own.