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I find my Palm to be indispensable when traveling on business.  Information such as addresses, phone numbers, notes, Emails, etc. are all centrally located for fast retrieval.  Using a Palm for these purposes is much more convenient than pulling out my bulky notebook computer and waiting 5 minutes for it to boot up.  Below is a list describing how I use my Palm while on travel:

Catching up on Emails

Before I leave the office or home for my business trip, I will HotSync the Emails from the Inbox of my MS Oulook 98 application to my Palm's built-in Mail app (see my Internet Email page).  I then reply to and create new Emails while I am waiting in the Airport or in flight to my destination.  This method works great for short Emails, however, I often wish I had a keyboard (GoType?) for generating lengthy messages.  When I arrive at my destination, I send my messages via my cell phone connection.  While on travel, I also use the commercial mail app called Multimail Pro, which can handle multiple Email accounts and has mail filtering capability.

Recording Travel Expenses

Filling out a business travel expense report is like doing taxes-- I hate it!  To make travel tolerable, I use my idle travel time recording all my misc expenses using the built-in Palm app called "Expense".  A lot of people knock this app because you can't edit the Expense Type list, however, it works great with MS Excel to painlessly make all the proper entries into your company's expense report (in Excel format).  The tricky part is modifying the "maptable.xls" file to tell the Excel Macro how to fill your entries correctly into your Excel expense report.  This is definitely a time-saver!

Want a little distraction from all the traveling?

I often play games on my Palm to pass the time away while traveling.  Some games are actually down right addictive!  My favorites are Klondike (Solitare), WordBox (Boggle), Blocks (Tetris), PocketChess.  Caution: Don't try to use untested game apps on your Palm during your travels-- If the app is buggy, it may force you to do a hard reset which will wipe all your data clean! (See Emergency backups).
 

Blocks app

Reptroids app

Emergency backups!

I higly recommend you create an emergency backup of your Palm apps (on to floppy disk) prior to leaving on your business trip.  The backup will come in handy in case your Palm flips out and you need to do a hard reset.

Synchronizing your databases while on the road 

Are you worried that important data which you've recently entered into your Palm (while on the road) may get lost due to a necessary hard-reboot?  Well, you can use a technique called "Remote Network Hotsyncing" to remotely hotsync your databases on your Palm device to you PC at home. See the web pages describing remote network hotsyncing.

Browsing the Internet

If you have an ISP which has nationwide access (e.g., earthlink.net, aol.com), you can set up your Palm's Network connection to use a local dialup number in the city you are visiting and make a PPP connection using your Palm and Modem.  Once the connection is made, you can use an app like ProxiWeb or PalmScape to browse the web.  This is handy if you want to check a stock quote at quote.yahoo.com or check the weather in a city at www.weather24.com.  If you use a local ISP or have a cable modem, you can use a "Free ISP" account and use a local dialup number to save on long distance charges.

Good info to store on your Palm

Here are a few valuable bits of info you can store on your Palm.  The files are text files which you can open using an editor (e.g., Notepad) and copy-n-paste into a Memo entry in your Palm Desktop program.  (In Netscape, you can save the following files to your computer system by right-clicking on the filename and doing a "Save Link As...").
 

• Airline.txt - A list of 800 numbers for common airlines.
• rentalcars.txt - A list of 800 numbers for several rental car companies.
• hotels.txt - A list of phone numbers for car rental companies.
• holidays.txt - National holidays list.


Telnet into your company's server

Using my Palm and Modem, I can make a PPP network connection with my company's server and use a Palm app such as PalmTelnet to log into my UNIX machine at work and check running jobs.  Although my Palm screen is small, it is sufficient for checking the status of jobs, editing input file using vi, and starting up batch runs.



PalmTelnet app

Using the standard Palm functions

I would like to mention that I also use my Palm for the obvious functions such as creating to do lists, making new memos, tentatively scheduling appointments, etc.

Using Analog Phone Lines with your PilotModem

Some hotels use a digital phone system, which can damage your modem.  When booking a hotel room, make sure they have an analog phone (or data) port available for your modem connection.

Charging your Palm V on long trips

If you're on a long trip and you are worried about running out of juice on your Palm V, you should consider investing in the Palm V battery charger.  This 9-volt battery system can recharge your Palm V in a matter of hours, so you won't need to haul around your cradle for charging.

Using Avantgo for news

If you have Avantgo installed on your Palm, you can use a PilotModem to easily download updated pages to your subscribed Avantgo channels.  The latest weather info, stock quotes, news, etc. can be obtained by a simple phone call to your ISP.
 

Avantgo app

Yanoff News Reader

If you want to keep up with your favorite newsgroup messages, you can use the Yanoff news reader app to download messages via a PPP Internet connection.
 

Yanoff Newsreader app

Web Clipping Apps

I've loaded the necessary web clipping support files on my Palm V to allow me to use Web Clipping Apps when connected to the Internet via my cellphone and/or external modem and phone line.  I can easily check on an arriving or departing airline flight, get driving directions, or find the nearest Starbucks Coffee Shop with a few taps on my Palm!
 

Web Clipping Apps

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