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Out of the box, older Pocket PCs loaded with the original Pocket PC 2000 software do not talk to Palm devices. Pocket PC 2002 and 2003 include OBEX support, which allows you to beam to a Palm device or a Nokia cell phone. If you want to use Pocket PC 2000 and beam contact and other information to and from Palm devices, you will need to use a third-party product. One of these is Peacemaker from Conduits Software. Peacemaker has both a free version and a more sophisticated full version. The free version allows you to beam contacts to and from Palm devices one contact at a time. The paid version allows you to select multiple data sets (multiple contacts, appointments, files, and so on) of information and transfer them all at the same time. You can get more information from Conduits directly at www.conduits.com, and you can try the evaluation version included on the companion CD.

Your Pocket PC 2003 is set up to automatically receive all incoming infrared beams. If you would like to change this default behavior, you do so under the Settings menu item (from the Start menu) on the Connections tab. You will see an icon for Beam. Tapping this will open a beaming options window, which has a single check box to enable or disable the automatic receive mode. Once it’s disabled, should you want to accept the incoming infrared beam, a link at the bottom of this window will force your iPAQ to manually accept an incoming infrared transmission.

To beam between two Pocket PCs, you simply align the two infrared ports, and then on the device that is sending information, you choose the information you want to beam. You can choose to beam contacts, appointments, notes, tasks, or files. To initiate the sending of information, you select the item that you want to send by tapping and holding the stylus on that item. For example, if you wanted to beam a particular contact on your iPAQ, you would select the contact and then tap and hold the stylus to produce the shortcut menu shown next.
The sending iPAQ will immediately begin searching for another Pocket PC to send the information to. If you have a Pocket PC 2002 or 2003 system to receive the information, it will automatically detect the beamed information and allow you to begin receiving the information. If you are running Pocket PC 2000, you will need to explicitly set your iPAQ into receive mode by running the Infrared Receive program found in the Programs folder.

Once ActiveSync is installed, you can physically connect your iPAQ to your PC. This will initiate a conversation between your iPAQ and the PC as they attempt to establish communication. The first time you connect a new iPAQ to your system, a wizard will open, asking whether you want to set up a partnership with the device. A partnership is required if you want to allow your iPAQ to synchronize calendar, contacts, notes, e-mail, and other Pocket Outlook data with your PC. If you only want to use the cable to load software or files onto your iPAQ, then you do not need to set up a partnership. Without a partnership, a device will be connected as a guest. Select Yes, With This Computer or No, and tap Next to go on to the next screen of the New Partnership Wizard. The middle option on the screen, Yes, With This Computer And A Server, is to be used only if your company has acquired and installed the Microsoft Mobile Information Server with ActiveSync. This feature is great for the mobile corporate professional and allows for syncing of your Calendar, Contacts, and Inbox of your iPAQ from remote locations over a wireless or wired connection.
In the second screen, you will be asked whether you want to synchronize this device with
more than one computer. If you only ever synchronize with one system, then choose Yes to set up the relationship. If you choose No, then you will not be given the option to synchronize e-mail. However, if you have a computer at work and another at home and want to connect to both of them, you can configure your settings to accommodate this. Set up the computer where your primary e-mail account resides as a Yes (exclusive) relationship, but set up the other machine as a No relationship. This will synchronize your calendar and contact lists on both systems, but your e-mail will only synchronize with the machine that has the Yes relationship. Tap Next after you have made your selection.
If you want an e-mail account to stay synchronized instead of relying on ActiveSync to keep the e-mail on your iPAQ, use a new e-mail service with IMAP4, which will always keep your Inbox in sync, no matter which computer you are syncing with. The next screen of the wizard will ask you which programs you want to synchronize with your iPAQ. Each of the programs has separate settings that you can configure to modify how it synchronizes. The programs to synchronize are AvantGo, Calendar, Contacts, Favorites, Files, Inbox, Notes, Pocket Access, and Tasks.

You can connect your iPAQ to your PC in a variety of ways for synchronization and connectivity:

• Universal serial bus (USB) cable
• Serial cable
• LAN connection (wired or wireless)
• Infrared port

The most common method is to connect with a USB connection. Your iPAQ will have arrived with either a cradle with a USB or serial connector that plugs into your PC, or a sync cable that plugs into the bottom of the iPAQ and into your PC. It is important that you not connect your cables to your PC until after you have installed ActiveSync (described in the next section). Also included in your iPAQ kit will be an AC adapter for charging your batteries. This adapter will plug into the back of your cradle, or can plug directly into the bottom of your iPAQ if you only want to charge and not sync. You can also buy sync cables from third parties. We highly recommend the Belkin iPAQ sync/charger cable (www.belkin.com). It enables you to charge your iPAQ from your USB port using a single cable. If you travel, it saves having to take your adapter with you on the road. In addition, it comes with a cigarette-lighter adapter allowing you to charge your iPAQ in your vehicle, which for road warriors is invaluable. As a final bonus, this cable costs less than one-third the price of the same cable from HP. Most people will sync their iPAQs with a USB cable, but if you don’t have a USB port on your computer (older computers may not have a USB port), then you can sync with a serial cable. The higher-end iPAQs ship with a cradle that has both a USB and a serial connector. If you have a cable with only USB and you need the serial connector, it can be obtained at significant additional expense from HP. It is probably cheaper to buy a USB card for your PC than to buy the cable. Serial syncing is also very slow, so it is not recommended. You can also sync your iPAQ with your infrared port. Many laptop computers have infrared ports that allow you to sync with your iPAQ if the ports are aligned and the port on your laptop is active. Desktop PCs rarely have infrared ports. This is also a slow sync method and is rarely used. However, it is useful to know that it can be done if you are on the road with your laptop and have forgotten your cable at home.
The fastest way to sync your iPAQ is through a network connection. To obtain a network connection, you must use an expansion sleeve to insert either a CompactFlash or PCMCIA networking card. One of the ways of networking your iPAQ that is rapidly growing in popularity is to use a wireless 802.11b wireless local area network (WLAN) card to connect your iPAQ to your network. That way, as you roam around your office, your iPAQ is always connected in real time to your network.

If you find yourself doing a lot of typing on your iPAQ—for taking notes in meetings or for long e-mail messages, for example—you might find an external keyboard to be a very valuable accessory.
As adept as you might become with the other handwriting and input mechanisms, you will never reach the speed of a touch typist on a full keyboard. The leader in the portable keyboard world is the Targus Stowaway folding keyboard. It is easy to carry with you. Folded up in its black case it is about the same size as an iPAQ and weighs only 7.9 ounces.When attached to the keyboard, the iPAQ is propped up efficiently by a small stand at the back of the keyboard. The keyboard draws its minimal power requirements from the iPAQ.
To make the keyboard work, you must install a keyboard driver onto the iPAQ. This driver can be found on the CD that is supplied with the keyboard. More inf

You can modify the settings for the virtual keyboard. First, select Options from the input method selection pop-up menu (opened by tapping the arrow next to the current input icon on the bottom right of the window) to open the Input dialog box with the Input Method tab active. When Keyboard is selected in the Input Method box, you can opt to use small or large keys. If you select the Large Keys option, this by necessity means that some of the less frequently used keys will disappear off the keyboard. You can also turn on an option to use gestures in the keyboard area to represent certain keys, such as BACKSPACE and ENTER.

The virtual keyboard is accessed by changing the input method as we did for the handwriting recognition options. Instead of choosing one of the handwriting options from the pop-up menu, you choose Keyboard. This will turn the soft input panel at the bottom of your screen into a standard QWERTY keyboard, You can tap any key in the keyboard, just as you would with a real keyboard, to have that character inserted where the cursor is. The 123 key at the top left of the keyboard will bring up a numerical keypad along with some special character keys, as shown in the next illustration. Tapping 123 again will return you to the regular keyboard. Tapping the button on the lower left with the two accented characters will open a keyboard of special foreign characters, as shown next. Tapping this key again will return you to the regular keyboard.
The arrow keys on the bottom right will move the cursor in the direction indicated by the arrow.

Making the best use of your iPAQ also means that you need to keep it with you as you live your mobile life. The iPAQ, although small and lightweight, isn’t quite small enough to slip into your shirt pocket or the back pocket of your pants like a wallet (with the exception of the H1910, which will fit nicely into a shirt pocket), especially if you are using an expansion sleeve and a wireless card.
As future versions of the product are released, we will likely see the two form factors exhibited in the current lines continue. The integrated WiFi and Bluetooth also remove the need for bulky expansion sleeves to enable wireless communication. Hopefully, the form factor will continue to get smaller, and the overall weight lighter. Right now the best method is to carry it in a briefcase or purse when you move around. But what about those times when you don’t want to carry your briefcase or purse?
Your iPAQ doesn’t weigh any more than a conventional portable CD player and is as easy to carry with you. In fact, you will probably find your iPAQ works as well or better than your CD player while you run, work out, or perform any such activities. What’s more, with MP3, you will never again experience that annoying skipping that even the very best “skip-free” CD players are prone to.
For casual walking around, cargo pants with the side pockets can be very useful places for storing your iPAQ. For more of a business casual appearance, Dockers has released a line of casual pants called “Mobile Pants,” which contain a special pocket for holding your iPAQ. This idea is a good one; unfortunately, Dockers’ execution wasn’t great. The pocket (specifically identified in advertising as being good for an iPAQ) is too small. It is possible to squeeze in the iPAQ with no expansion sleeves or accessories, and the H1910 fits, but the fit is extremely tight. Unless you are standing at just the right angle, the bulge of the iPAQ is still obvious, and don’t you dare sit down! Dockers has the right idea; hopefully other clothing manufacturers will actually try putting an iPAQ into the pocket and using it before they tout their clothing as “mobile” wear! One popular method for carrying the iPAQ is to get a third-party case with a belt clip. The cases that came with the older iPAQs were generally of poor quality, didn’t fit the expansion pack, and did not feature a belt clip. As a result, they are mostly unusable. The current iPAQ lines don’t even have cases included. If you want a case, you will need to search through third-party offerings. On the www.pocketpctools.com web site we review many of the cases available from third-party manufacturers and give you the pros and cons of each one. There are other carrying methods as well, such as the secret agent–style under-the-jacket holster, or the multipocketed vest. One of the vests specifically targeted to the PDA owner is the SCOTT eVest (www.scottevest.com). It is a lightweight water-repellent vest that looks like a safari vest. It is loaded with pockets for all your wireless toys and has a unique feature:
Velcro-enclosed conduits to hold all the wires that connect your devices together and to keep the cords tucked safely away. They call this a personal area network (PAN). The vest isn’t something that you could wear to a business function, and for personal recreational wear, the $160 price tag is rather steep. For those of you who like leather, they have also introduced a leather jacket with the same integrated pockets and personal area network features.

Here are some suggestions to help you integrate your hand-held device into your life:

• Pick one point in the day, usually at the very beginning or very end of the day, where you will enter any business cards that you have picked up into your Outlook Contacts folder. This will keep your Pocket PC business contacts completely up to date. Then you can discard the business cards, or, if you feel compelled to keep them, you can place them in a binder to be kept in your office.
• Whenever someone gives you personal contact information such as a phone number, resist the urge to scribble it on a piece of paper and stuff it in your pocket or briefcase. We all have drawers of unidentifiable scribbled phone numbers that are of little use. These scraps of paper also don’t tend to be in your hand when you need to call that person back. Instead, take the extra 45 seconds to put that person’s information into your Pocket PC. Now it is permanently preserved and will be available to you anytime you need it.
• When you book an appointment or plan an event, even in the distant future, always immediately enter the event into your hand-held calendar. If you are consistent with this behavior, you will learn to trust the calendar in your Pocket PC. If you aren’t consistent, you will find yourself missing appointments or double booking as you try to organize yourself with both a paper system (or worse, your memory) and a Pocket PC.
• If you use your Pocket PC for expense management, use the same diligent technique of once a day entering all your receipts or financial information into your system.
• Whenever you think of something that you need to do, personal or professional, instead of “making a mental note,” put it into your task list. You can categorize it, prioritize it, and assign a date to it.
• Every morning when you get up, look at your calendar and to-do list. If something that you know is happening that day isn’t in your calendar, enter it. If there is something you need to get done that day, put it on your task list. Not only does this help to keep track of your tasks and appointments, it helps you to feel that you’ve accomplished something when you look back on your day. Instead of that “where did the day go, and did I actually get anything done?” feeling that sometimes comes at the end of the day, you will be able to look at your list and see at a glance all the activities and tasks that you knocked off.
• When a special event such as a birthday or anniversary occurs, record it in your calendar as a recurring event. That way your Pocket PC will become a true personal assistant by reminding you to make a dinner appointment or pick up a gift well in advance of the date!
• Try to find things that you are already doing that you might be able to do better with the Pocket PC. For example, I work out at the gym regularly and am an avid runner. I use software to help me track my workouts and fitness goals from www.MySportTraining .com. If you are watching what you eat, check out www.PocketDietTracker.com. If you are an avid wine connoisseur, you can load databases of different wines, and so on. The amount of software now available for the iPAQ is impressive.