DataViz Documents To Go 8 Premium Edition

Citation

Pitta, D.A. (2006), "DataViz Documents To Go 8 Premium Edition", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 23 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/jcm.2006.07723eab.001

DataViz Documents To Go 8 Premium Edition

In this issue we look at an invaluable tool for the marketing road warrior: DataViz Documents To Go 8 Premium Edition.

Many of us who adopted a palm personal digital assistant (PDA) have inched along learning its functionality and enjoying its benefits incrementally. Personally, I had some difficulty adapting to my Palm Treo®. It came with bundled software like Documents To Go as well as the Palm Desktop program for managing files and data synchronization. The instructions highlighted the ease with which users could synchronize their Microsoft Outlook files with the PDA. Some of us Neanderthals cling to outmoded software. I, for example, never changed from my personal favorite, Lotus Organizer. The program was last updated in 1999, which in computer terms is the Jurassic era. Faced with converting my Organizer file into Outlook and then synchronizing with the Palm was not attractive to me. However, there must be some other cavemen out there since somebody, maybe Palm, created a patch to synchronize Lotus Organizer 6 with the PDA.

For months I was happy and delighted to shed my 6 pound printed personal organizer notebook. For years I printed calendar pages, used a paper cutter to trim them to 5″×7″ size and punched three holes so that I could insert them into my loose-leaf binder. I might add that printing was more than a chore. Lotus Organizer never polished its printing module. To print a series of dates on both sides of a page required printing the odd pages only, manual sorting to reverse their order, and then re-feeding them into the printer and printing the even numbered pages. Getting it right was more luck than skill.

The Palm operating system saved that hassle. I could view any calendar data electronically and make changes anywhere. In the old system, I would manually note an appointment and then have to enter it into Organizer. Using the Palm Treo®, I could make the change and it would transfer back to my computer during synchronization. Similarly, my contact data flowed back and forth and was continually refreshed.

Given this level of satisfaction, I did not explore any of the other functionality that the PDA might provide. For example, I did not get a wireless internet ready model. Mine was restricted to connecting to a host computer and being useful as a stand-alone. For about a year, my PDA use was restricted to dates and contacts with an occasional look at notes that transferred from Organizer. I had a PDA expansion card that was perpetually empty and was basically stuck using only a portion of the device’s functionality.

On a business trip, I met another traveler who showed me his PDA. I was floored. The traveler was an Air Canada pilot, on vacation, who was adept at talking to fellow travelers. He saw my Palm Pilot and started talking about how useful his was in his globe jaunting profession. I learned that he kept an extensive list of aviation advisories stored on his PDA. He also had other aviation-related documents as well as Excel spreadsheets, pictures, and PowerPoint slide shows. The business use of his PDA prompted me to reconsider how I used mine. I ignored the periodic upgrade offers from manufacturers of bundled software supplied free with my PDA. Finally, I took a good look at Documents To Go. My pilot friend used Documents To Go 8 to load and modify the variety of non-Microsoft Outlook files that were so startling. Frankly, a PDA is no personal computer. However, one can use it to read, reflect on, and even edit stored content. I started to think that Documents To Go 8 might just be an answer to a nagging problem I faced: the physical strain of travel.

Lugging a laptop or even a notebook computer on a business trip is getting to be a burden. In the past, leaving the computer at home meant taking floppy disks or CDs on the road in the hope that a hotel business center would have computers compatible with the media. For those of us who fly economy class instead of business or first class, our laptops are useful as long as their batteries last. Without the seat side power outlets that the richer travelers take for granted, the economy class flyers can work until their batteries drain. On some of the ocean spanning trips I have taken, that means an hour or so.

The program

Being without a laptop no longer means being away from critical work files. Now it is possible to work, save time and be more productive by using files right on your PDA while on the road. DataViz states that, “Documents To Go is the only product on the market today with support for native Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF and TXT files as well as native JPEG and BMP graphics. You can even use files saved to expansion cards or sent as e-mail attachments directly on your smartphone or PDA without synchronization.”

“Native” indicates that the file is in its original desktop format, specifically Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe PDF, JPEG, BMP or TXT. Native document support conveys several benefits. Before native document support, files had to be converted by the desktop application to a format that Documents To Go could open. Only then could the files be synchronized to the handheld. With native document support, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, JPEG, BMP and TXT files can be used directly, avoiding the time-wasting conversion and the potential for errors. Some of the benefits of native document support include the ability to open and work with documents no matter where you are. In addition, one could open files sent to a handheld via e-mail, on an expansion card, or via Bluetooth.

It is easy to share files in a so-called “mixed” environment, namely between a handheld and other device. For example, the Palm Pilot uses a secure digital (SD) card as a memory expansion. It can act like a floppy disk to exchange files between a Palm handheld and another device such as a PocketPC, which also uses SD memory. One can simply swap SD cards loaded with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, JPEG, BMP, and TXT files and transfer them. Modern PCs come equipped with a variety of interfaces. If a computer has an SD interface, one can use the same SD card to upload handheld files to that computer directly. There is no need to have Documents To Go installed on that desktop computer. The native format means that there is no conversion obstacle between different equipment, a boost to productivity.

DataViz notes that users may use Documents To Go along with popular wireless e-mail applications such as RoadSync, Inbox To Go Wireless, VersaMail and SnapperMail™ to send and receive real Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, JPEG, BMP and TXT files as e-mail attachments. In addition, the program can open e-mail attachments automatically on the handheld so a user can view or edit documents received.

Upgrading

Upgrading from the bundled Documents To Go to Documents To Go 8 Premium Edition was simple. I got a copy of the program, opened the CD, inserted it in the drive and the rest was automatic. The software box was perhaps the most instructive item. While the program installed, I had time to look at the box that contained clear color graphics and text describing the most important features. I learned about the program’s ability to use native format and the benefits that brought. In addition, the box described the built in spell checker, password protection feature and “Pics to Go”. Pics to Go is the module that allows a user to store and view photos and graphics without the need for a program like Adobe Photoshop®. Since one picture is worth a thousand words, I was attracted to the SmartChart™ Technology built into the premium edition. SmartChart™allows one to open, edit or create “Excel-like charts and really see results on the fly.” While my Treo® does not have wireless capability, the Inbox to Go™ feature, which allows synchronizing Outlook e-mail has obvious value.

Documents To Go 8’s ability to handle Adobe Acrobat format (PDF) is very useful. I was especially interested in its ability to handle native PDF. Dataviz states that it is the first and only application to do so for Palm devices. I can envision a situation in which a salesperson with a wireless Palm device learns of a prospect’s interest in a product. He or she could contact the home office, request a PDF copy of catalog pages, receive them, and be able to discuss the product and show its image within minutes. That ability is remarkable and offers potentially great support for anyone in an outside sales force.

The non-business applications are equally impressive. One can store family pictures easily. My Air Canada fellow traveler was a man of multifaceted interests. He made money in a classic car business he ran as a second source of income. As an automobile enthusiast he kept numerous photos of his own cars as well as models he sought. Like the information he kept about flight data, the automotive data were equally detailed. It contained data on the makes, model, years of production and numbers of units produced each year. He also had technical information about specific models and their equipment. As an example, the Ford Motor Company produced the Mustang GTS only one year, 1995, and it came with a six-cylinder engine, five-speed manual transmission and had a specific paint color scheme. While I am not as interested in automobiles as he is, the capacity for storing and retrieving a large volume of data has obvious value in other applications.

One handy personal application seems to be storing the numerous account names and passwords we collect throughout our lives. Some of us use Excel spreadsheets to store the data. Excel has the advantage of allowing careful data sorting to insure that the accounts are in alphabetical order. That Excel spreadsheet can be stored on the PDA. Back when I printed my organizer files on paper, those account numbers and passwords were visible to anyone who looked. On the PDA, using Documents To Go, files can be password protected, reducing the memory problem to remembering only one password.

Personal information applications

The personal information storage possibilities include family and other photos. For example, an acquaintance planning a bathroom remodeling found sample displays in home improvement stores as well as hotels and public places. By taking a picture with his Smartphone, he was able to transfer them to his PDA. As a result, he had a catalogue of possibilities that aided in planning his final project.

One collector friend I know uses Excel to store the models, condition and serial numbers of his collectables so that, if at an auction or show he can determine if a new item fits in with his current stock. Others carry pertinent information that always seems to be elusive when needed. For example, a friend who owns three family automobiles keeps the vehicle identification number (VIN), license plate number, title number, registration number, and the number of each automobile insurance policy on his Palm. At a moment’s notice he can recall his license plate number even if he cannot remember it.

How to buy the program

There are several ways to purchase DataViz Documents To Go 8 Premium Edition. One can find a retailer that carries it. Alternatively, the Dataviz web site allows easy purchase in two modes. One can purchase an electronic, downloadable version or a CD-based version for the same price, $49.99. Versions of each are available for both MACs and PCs.

Overall evaluation

DataViz Documents To Go 8 Premium Edition is perhaps the best PDA piece of software. Arguably, it is as valuable as the calendar and contact modules in the Palm OS. However, it expands the basic functionality of PDA’s to a remarkable extent. Once a user installs and tries the program once, a whole world will open, freeing the road warrior from some of the burdens of the job.

Available from: Dataviz (www.dataviz.com). Manufacturer suggested list price: US$49.99.

Edited by Dennis A. PittaUniversity of Baltimore