Get news, sports, movie listings, maps, stock quotes, weather and much more on your handheld device or Web-enabled phone.
For the last year I have been using AvantGo.com to download all this and more to my handheld; it is easy to set up, and it is FREE!
The idea is simple. Log on to avantgo.com and register. Select the UK site for UK specific content and then choose which channels you want to be downloaded to your Palm OS handheld. Each channel has a description, and lets you know the maximum memory it will use on your Palm. When you HotSync your Palm, the content is downloaded in a couple of minutes so that you can read it offline wherever you are.
Your chosen channels can be deselected at any time from the handheld or online, and new channels can be added from the AvantGo website.
I have to admit that I do not always read the stuff that I have downloaded (who cares – it doesn’t cost anything), but most days I have some spare time when I reach for my PDA and have an entertaining few minutes or a serious half hour!
At present, the Top 10 UK channels on AvantGo are:
1. FT.com 2. BBC News 3. The Economist Mobile Edition 4. The Wall Street Journal Europe 5. Guardian Unlimited 6. Sports.com 7. Guardian Unlimited Film 8. The Motley Fool UK 9. ITN 10. my BBC Online
Several newspapers are also available for download, including The Times, The Daily Telegraph, FT and the Guardian. Sky, Reuters, Annanova and many others also provide news, entertainment and sports.
The UK specific channels are growing in number almost daily. The following is just a brief outline of what is available.If you have a mobile Internet connection, *AvantGo Wireless* [6 channels] brings you British Airways - Check the latest flight arrival, departure and seat availability information; FlightLookup Access Flight schedules from over 350 airlines worldwide; Guardian Unlimited Film - Free cinema search and comprehensive film, DVD and video listings, and reviews. Plus: latest film news and interviews; RAC Mobile - traffic and motoring services; Railtrack Trains - Rail Timetable Enquiries for the UK.
For desktop downloads to your PDA there is a huge range of channels including:
Business/Finance [71 channels] includes business news, share prices, etc.
Entertainment [76 channels] covers everything from Radio 1 (including the playlists), Big Brother, DigiGuide TV listings, Computer Games news, quizzes, Cocktail recipes, Hangover cures – there is something to keep everyone entertained on public transport or during a boring meeting!
International [612 channels] with information from all over the world including restaurants, bus timetables, cinema listings, local information for visitors to many towns and cities, car hire – too much to list here!
Lifestyle [27 channels] covers a wide range of topics including sport and fitness, cookery, religion, sailing, music of most genres, horoscopes and medical information. Live4Now and Maxim, are also available if you feel like reading about sex whilst you are on the train!
Shopping [5 channels] includes London sales and shopping guides
Sport [32 channels] includes cycling, cricket, EuroSport, fishing, football, golf, LFC Online (Independent website dedicated to the ups and downs of Liverpool Football Club), Rugby, racing, Formula 1 and surfing.
Technology [31 channels] with channels from computing to space travel
Travel [62 channels] gives you town and city guides and maps, MapQuest route planning, foreign language phrase books, late travel deals, etc.
Weather [2 channels] from the BBC and onlineWeather.com
All of this and much more is available to download to your Palm at the touch of your HotSync button. Downloading the five channels that I have chosen takes around two minutes.AvantGo also allows you to download the web pages of your choice to read on your Palm, although the presentation of the web page is not always as good as you might hope for, due to the different operating system.
Channels are also available for the USA, France, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark and Australia.
If you don’t have a handheld, maybe AvantGo is a good reason for buying one!
More details
Layout & Design
Good
Downloads
Excellent
Ability to Customise
Excellent
Content Update
Very often
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