While it’s been a fun couple of weeks as many of us drool over the prospect of a new Palm offering and hope the Prē will not be just a Pfffftttt, we still need to use what we have while we wait. Part of that use is finding excellent software to make the Palm experience an enjoyable one as well as a useful one. This is where SplashShopper from SplashData, Inc. enters the stage right on cue.
Looking at this software, you immediately can see that it has a very long history. The illustrations in the easy-to-follow instructions show picture of Palm products with black icons on green background. "Ah,” you say, “why would I want an old product? Newer is better, no?” Well, actually, no. ’57 T-bird or new Ford Taurus? ‘nough said. (For the uninitiated a ’57 T-bird was a real sports car. This was a car your grandfather really drove, and drove in the days before the nanny state found a myriad of reasons to say, “Stop having fun or we’ll tax you out of existence. Whales, ducks, etc. somewhere need your money.” And, no, the he did not have to dodge dinosaurs or tar pits) But, I digress. SplashShopper provides a clean interface of an extremely useful data manager. The roots are obviously a glorified grocery shopping list, but the possibilities are really quite diverse given the great way in which the program is laid out. Need to organize a library (eg: books, magazines,, etc., those things you hold in your hand, curl the edges of the pages, write in the margins, etc.), SplashShoppper has a way to do it. 
Trying to single-handedly break the recession by going on a shopping spree to end all shopping sprees, but still want the best price? This software helps you to organize what you saw, where, at which price. Doesn’t have to clothes and shoes; it could be software and gadgets on main street or the ‘net. Decided to move up from Bacardi Breezers to bottles of wine which have a label that don’t attract the local winos to your side? This software can help you remember the name, vintage, price, place of purchase, etc. The programmers had a bit of fun as well by including a wide choice of icons to show which things on the “All” list have been chosen to go on the “Need” list. Nine possible columns of information can be seen, and the user can choose to sort the list you’ve created by whichever column you’d like. Probably you’d only show three or four at a time, but that still gives a great deal of flexibility. Preplanned categories of lists include Books, Chinese Food, Clothes, Gifts, Groceries, Movies, Music, Travel Checklist, and Wine. Looking at these provides the user with some ideas as how to modify or create your own lists.
But how friendly is the software? My brother-in-law says he wrote this great program for the home PC that’ll pick stocks, write letters, and make coffee every AM. But the usability is zero for all but the literal rocket scientist he is. No problem. One of the things I like to do when I get a new piece of software is to see if I can manage it without first reading the instructions. SplashShopper passed this test easily. Then when you finally do read the instructions, you can do even more. Not only is the software friendly in the palm, but so is the accompanying desktop portion. You can edit to your heart’s content on your 30 in., suntan-inducing flat screen monitor on your PC or MAC, and then sync the results to the screen in your hand. It also works the other way if you do your planning on the fly between appointments.
So, as we wait for the Palm people to bring us their next offering, SplashShopper is a great way to wait. Don’t forget, even if Palm is able to produce loads of new units on the WebOS, we may not be able to afford the unit they offer. This software makes the wait painless, and some may decide, “Why upgrade? I’ve got all I need.” Seriously, it comes in flavors for the Palm, the Pocket PC, Smartphone, iPhone, and the Blackberry. It calls itself the ultimate list manger, and in this case the PR guys are telling us consumers the truth. At only $29.95 it is a good buy when you consider that this includes both the desktop and the handheld software. Hit the link and type in those credit card details. You know you want to. Silicon Valley is waiting to hear from you. Oh yeah, almost forgot: you get 30 days free trial. So what are you waiting for?