It’s been 10 months since I first wrote about it in October 2007. At the time, I was so excited that StyleTap was going to work on an S60 client for their application that I almost had a heart attack. But through the 10 months (and a few days) of wait, my anticipation and eagerness diminished until 2 days ago, when I received an email telling me I’m now in the close Beta for StyleTap. And a whole new world opened for me!
So what is StyleTap I hear you wonder?
StyleTap is a sort of emulator that allows you to run Palm OS applications on different handsets and operating systems. They already have a client for Windows Mobile, which I tested when I had my old Qtek 9100, but they are now expanding to support S60 3rd Edition and UIQ3. They are also working on an iPhone application, but are very limited by Apple’s software strategy.
Palm OS you say?! Who needs THAT when you have S60?
Everyone knows that Palm OS is … outdated and so last century. The interface is yucky, and hasn’t been updated for ages now. But we can’t deny that Palm were a great player in what was once known as PDAs and that hundreds if not thousands of developers were (and many still are) on board with them. Up until now, you can still find tons of free applications for Palm, that are mostly related to organization and PIM, because of the PDA background. But for that reason too, you can find a lot of what I call “profession-axed software”, ie software that are made to help certain professionals in fields like Medicine, Architecture and Engineering, Law,… These software are coming slowly to S60 but are still rather sparse. StyleTap would allow professionals to carry these tools with them, without having to sacrifice their beloved Symbian platform or their amazing feature-packed Nokia, Samsung, Sony-Ericson or Motorola handsets.
Another reason why StyleTap is important is when you consider people who have been using Palm for years now but want to move to S60 or UIQ. Over the years, they have probably built a great collection of purchased software that they might feel a bit blue to lose. With StyleTap, they can bring their whole Palm OS software library with them, as well as keep the applications they were used to for years.
So how does StyleTap perform?
Being that this is still a closed Beta, I was ready to face some problems and some issues, but everything went around smoothly. Because I had already tried StyleTap for WM, I knew how things worked. I downloaded a .exe file that was provided to me, and installed it. Unfortunately, only Windows is now supported on the computer-end, but if you’re running a Mac like me, it works with Parallels and Windows. After the installation finished, the application checked for a handset connected to PC Suite, it found my N82 and automatically triggered the right file to ask me to install. I agreed, and it went well.
I then opened StyleTap on my N82, and launched the StyleTap Application Installer on Windows which detected my N82 and told me that the software was installed on it (good point). I added the .prc and .pdb files (anyone who has used Palm OS knows that these are installer files, like .sis and .sisx on S60) and clicked Install. A few seconds later, a new icon showed in StyleTap on my N82. I had already Eponyms up and running.
The process was a bit more tideous for Skyscape applications, but I can confirm that they work, and I am now rocking a huge library of medical applications on my N82, for free, like Archimedes and The John Hopkins Antibiotics guide. Of course, StyleTap won’t be free when it’s finally released, but it’s worth getting since the software it allows me to run don’t even exist for S60.
Here are some screenshots so you can see how everything looks, and if you have never touched a Palm handset before, you might be a bit shocked by the outdated interface so be sure not to scream.
The great surprises
Although still a beta, I was baffled by the amount of thought that has went into this application. Here are 3 reasons why:
- Palm applications require a touchscreen sometimes. I was worried about this before trying StyleTap, thinking I might not be able to really benefit from all Palm software. Turns out they have a virtual mouse that you can move around to click on anything that you see on the screen. Works great, and a huge hooray for including it!
- Even though the installer is Windows-exclusive, StyleTap have figured a way for Mac and Linux users. Just send any .pdb and .prc file to your handset (over bluetooth or USB or whatever), then click it on your handset. StyleTap will recognize and install it. Big fat bonus guys!
- Some Palm applications like Skyscape’s software, come as executables not as .prc or .pdb. Palm users would know that. These install to your computer, then look for the Palm Desktop software which has to be connected to your handset. Since there is no “real” Palm handset here, Palm Desktop doesn’t work and hence the installation is cancelled. No-no. I’ve been told by StyleTap that they figured a way around it. I’ll check and tell you if it really works, but kudos to even thinking about it.
Overall, I’m EXTREMELY pleased with this beta of StyleTap. Granted, I haven’t given it a huge test yet, but it works like promissed, and even better. I am a happy girl, and a happy S60 pharmacist user.
