iambic Releases Agendus 8.0

Posted By: Ryan Thursday, May 20, 2004 10:43:48 AM

iambic has unveiled Agendus for Palm OS version 8.0, the latest upgrade of the best selling contact management and scheduling application and winner of multiple awards. The new version is sesigned to assist the handheld user with scheduling, contact and task management as well as with communication (email and SMS).

New Features on Professional Edition only:

  • Support for multiple contacts on meetings - associate a number of "attendees" to events, in addition to the main contact linked to the event itself
  • Dial, Send Email, Send SMS from Alarm Dialog
  • Support for 3rd party Email and SMS clients, preferred messaging application can be picked from preferences
  • Roll-Over Meetings - these are meetings that will keep rolling over to the current day until you turn off the rollover or when you complete or delete them
  • Meeting Effects - individually assign a special effect to meetings, such as Strikethrough, Double Strikethrough and Underline

New Features on both Standard and Professional Editions:

  • Agendus has been enhanced to support pictures on contacts and to-dos. It comes with a built-in JPEG library capable of quickly decoding JPEG images for use on contacts, to-dos and as wallpapers. Associating pictures is done via a new photo picker dialog, with folder browsing capabilities.
  • The to-do view now allows for picture display
  • A new mode of the contact view is now available, showing contact details along with the picture associated with them
  • Agendus now allows saving meetings, to-dos and calls as templates and reusing them for creating new items.
  • Extended Birthday Support - Birthdays and reminders are now available on all devices and not limited to the Tungsten T3 and TE anymore.
  • All-new Meeting/To-Do/Call dialogs were redesigned and highly enhanced. The new dialogs focus on readability, ease of use, while allowing the support of features such as photos or location. The dialogs are now 320x480 and 480x320 capable.
  • Location field support is now supported, not only on TT3 and TE, but on all devices.
  • Completed to dos shown with strikethrough (you'll see this if you've enabled show completed items).
  • Solid Color as wallpaper
  • Font Highlighting support - fonts in the views are surrounded by a white border when a wallpaper enabled. This makes it much easier to read the contacts and descriptions in your
  • Unified and extended default icon and background color for Meeting/to-do/address categories: the preference "colors and icons" now gives an exhaustive choice of color and icon combinations.
  • "Vivid Agenda" Rules: totally new functionality which allows to automatically assign icons to events based on specific words or sentences present in their description.
  • Option to export contact history to CSV. Useful for reference and when using Agendus for time billing purposes.
  • Tone dialers support: Agendus now supports dialing calls via tone dialers. Any tone dialer application registered as "dial helper" is recognized and supported.
  • Support for Makespot Calendar Coloring: Agendus reads databases created with Makespot (a calendar coloring tool) and shows them accordingly in the various Month and Week View Modes

Additional Features

  • Drag and Drop capabilities in list modes: list view modes now allow for dragging and dropping items within different days.
  • Support for Treo600 ringtones as alarm sounds: on Treo600 it's now possible to use ringtones as alarm sounds.
  • Launch to view: it's now possible to have Agendus launch to a specific view. Previously Agendus was only able to display the last viewed view upon launch.
  • Enhanced to-do view filtering: to-dos can now be filtered based on multiple priorities

Availability
A free trial version of Agendus 8.0 is available, the full application is available for $29.95 for the Standard Edition and $39.95 for the Professional Edition [BUY]. A free upgrade to version 8.0 is offered to customers who have purchased Agendus for Palm on or after April 1, 2004. For customers with earlier versions of Agendus, the upgrade is available at prices as low as $9.95.

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Down

Interesing upgrade but....

hgoldner @ 5/20/2004 2:29:54 PM #
Long time user of iambic's products --- Agendus back to ActionNames 2 or somethin' like that. I rely heavily on the software.

That having been said, this upgrade is really for the Zire 32 and Tungsten and above crowd. Those of us still content with our m515's and below need not apply. It's over 800K, and a lot of the features are completely worthless lo-res.

I'm quite happy with 7.06 and will probably stay at this level 'til I replace my unit.

H.

Seems a bit much...

Mike Allwitt @ 5/20/2004 2:59:16 PM #
While I've been using Agendus for a while (v5 or so), This latest update seems to add a bit much. Yes, That's an odd thing to say, but look at it practically.

While the pro version now let you choose to use a different email provider, you are still required to have the Email client installed "Memory requirements: 850 kb of space plus email client". Further, in either version, I DON"T need another Jpeg viewer, I'd be nice if I could ditch this functionality altogether. I never use it and yet it takes up memory. It's taken how many versions to include location support? Meanwhile (last I checked) dialing a contact from the agendus contact's window is not logged under contact History.

I went to Agendus originally because it was eaisy to use looked good and above all, let me integrate contacts with meeting and Todo's. I'm just not sure that all of the Junk I'd have to install (an not use) would be worth the upgrade. Maybe if Iabic released a lite version (with out the Jpeg, email, vivid agenda, ect..)? Just my $0.02


Mike Allwitt
Logic X Design, Inc Database Consulting

- Yeh, it's cool. Was it supposed to do that?

Iambic Tactics

elo @ 5/20/2004 4:05:51 PM #
Of course, we haven't forgiven them yet. . .

elo

RE: Iambic Tactics
Wollombi @ 5/20/2004 7:07:58 PM #
While I don't dwell on that issue much any more, I still think it poetic justice that the whole thing just served to bring *more* attention to their competitor, Pimlico Software (aka CESD, aka DateBK5).

I still laugh at how Iambic could have been so stupid in the whole thing.

_________________
Sean

Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else.

Out in the cold

Quik_Fix @ 5/20/2004 5:11:44 PM #
I too have used Agendus since the Action Names days. I picked it mainly because of its ability to link meetings to people. I liked that ability. But the #1 thing that has been missing from this software the whole time has been the ability to link more than one contact to any meeting.

When I read that they had overcome that obstacle, I damn near tripped over myself getting to their website to read about it.

They haven't quite done it yet.
I don't know what the difference is between a "linked" contact and "attendees," but I bet the latter don't get history generated by the meetings that they are only "attendees" for.

Sadly enough, I actually stopped using Agendus all together about two months ago when I realized that there just wasn't any huge benefit to it. The T3 agenda screen is much better,mainly because it shows me my todo instead of telling me how many I have, but also because it tells me how much Versamail I have and lets me link right to it. Agendus also suffers from an inability to quickly filter by calendar category (which the T3 lets me color code nicely) unless they've fixed that.

And the worst part is, they've left me out in the cold by making their multi-linking contact feature available only on the professional version. I've been a loyal user for five years and now I can't even pay my usual bloat-fee of $10 to get it?

Still alienating me after all this time...

*******
Flashback: 1999
Quik_Fix: (looking at IIIxe)So 8 megs is enough?
Salesman: Oh yeah. Believe me, you'll NEVER fill up 8 megs...
---
Visor-IIIxe-IIIc-H330-m130-m515-T665c-SJ33-T|3

RE: Out in the cold
gavinfabl @ 5/20/2004 6:08:49 PM #
I disagree with everyone so far. I have a T3 and even if I had me T I would have upgraded to v8. I now have v8 and there isn't any software on the market that links all the standard pims so effectively.

I have 10 meetings a week as a minimum, and find all the new features incredible.

Its so easy to create meetings etc.. Yes its bulky in size . Or is it? Just look at some of the new games that are over 3mb in size.

Has anyone really tried the demo yet. And even if you say you have, its only been out a day or so, so nobody here could have tested it heavily.

Anyway, its late in the UK and I'm off to rest.


Zlauncher 3.62b, Tungsten TT3.

RE: Out in the cold
Sho-Bud @ 5/21/2004 4:23:10 AM #
I read a few things which are not correct: first, filtering by category is easy, and color coded like the T3 agenda.
second, In the Professional version, the Iambic mail component doesn't have to be installed.
Third: if you add attendees to a meeting, it is shown in their history.

RE: Out in the cold
Quik_Fix @ 5/21/2004 8:34:01 AM #
I spoke too soon on the category issue, since I haven't tried it in v.8.0. I can say that its not easy in 6.0.

As for all the wonderful aspect of the "professional" version, I just don't understand why they've made it so hard for a long-time user to get the best features. Do they even have an option for me to upgrade from a standard version to the newest? What if I didn't see a reason to upgrade to v.7? Does that mean I have to pay full-price for version 8? And why to they differentiate between a contact that is linked and contacts that are attendees?

Alright dammit. I'll download the trial and answer my own questions!


*******
Flashback: 1999
Quik_Fix: (looking at IIIxe)So 8 megs is enough?
Salesman: Oh yeah. Believe me, you'll NEVER fill up 8 megs...
---
Visor-IIIxe-IIIc-H330-m130-m515-T665c-SJ33-T|3

RE: Out in the cold
plazman30 @ 5/21/2004 12:56:30 PM #
If you want multiple contact links to an appointment or todo, then you need to get a copy of DateMan 2.0 from Standalone software. I like it so much better than Agendus.

Well, I've said it before...

sford @ 5/20/2004 11:12:37 PM #
...and I'll say it again.

I, too, started using this app a long time ago, back in the ActionNames Datebook days. But I stopped using it around version 6. In all my years of using a Palm OS PDA, this is the only company that charges a minimum of $10 for every minor bug fix or enhancement, calling it an "upgrade."

It's really quite good software, but I wouldn't pay $200.00 for it out of the box, and I won't pay that much in the long run for it, either.

Pilot Pro -> III -> IIIe -> Nino (yeah...oops!) -> IIIc -> VIIx -> m505 -> NR70V -> NX60 -> T3

Sell your home FAST!
www.NoStressHomeSales.com

Beware Of Agendus 8.0 Upgrade Policy

zipmail @ 5/21/2004 4:29:14 AM #
I feel compelled to bring attention to potential users of Agendus 8.0 as Iambic have decided to implement a "software assurance" policy for minor and major upgrades to their software - meaning, it will cost you an extra $14.95 per annum on top of the cost of software you paid.

This could possibly mean, if there are any bugs in the existing software you may not get a fix unless you have bought their "Palm Subscription Service".

Not too long ago, it was this company that hijacked a non-profit software company's website (DateBk5). I am sure many of us still remember that fiasco. It just seems this company - Iambic - is one of those greedy and revolting companies that have not learned from their previous actions.

So, before you upgrade or buy Agendus 8.0 - just be aware that on top of the $39.95 or $29.95 you are paying, you may not get any bug fix unless you pony up another $14.95.


RE: Beware Of Agendus 8.0 Upgrade Policy
ganoe @ 5/21/2004 8:01:48 AM #
> hijacked a non-profit software company's website

AFAIK, Pimlico is not a non-profit company, and Iambic did not "hijack" their actual website (they registered previously unregistered names that were related to DateBk). If people here want to continue to whine about what was a 3-5 day incident two years ago where an apology was issued, at least post facts about it.

RE: Beware Of Agendus 8.0 Upgrade Policy
zipmail @ 5/21/2004 8:48:34 AM #
> And what is Gorilla Haven is all about?! Proceeds from the sale of Pimlico's shareware products go to the Dewar Wildlife Trust, Inc. a 501(c)(3) and Georgia non-profit corporation which the Dewars established to fund various wildlife conservation projects including the Dewar's own Gorilla Haven project which is building a sanctuary for Western Lowland Gorillas on 324 acres in the North Georgia Mountains -- the first resident - Joe - arrived at Gorilla Haven in April, 2003.

The above statement comes from Pimlico's website.

How true. Perhaps you should check your facts too. It is not a whine but an informed message to potential users of Agendus who may not be aware of their policies and previous business practices. If this does not concern you, it should not concern you.

Perhaps, I should rephrase to an exacting statement that the "hijack" was not Pimlico's website per se. Happy?

RE: Beware Of Agendus 8.0 Upgrade Policy
ganoe @ 5/21/2004 9:28:47 AM #
> The above statement comes from Pimlico's website.

I don't want to argue over this, but donating "proceeds" to a non-profit organization does not make Pimlico a non-profit software company. It just means that they donate to a non-profit organization that appears to be run by the same or a related person. It doesn't mean that they aren't doing a good thing, but as a matter of FACT they do not appear to be a non-profit company.

RE: Beware Of Agendus 8.0 Upgrade Policy
acaltabiano @ 5/21/2004 10:14:47 AM #
Doesn't "donating their proceeds" mean there is no profit for themselves?

If they don't receive any money to themselves because the proceeds all go to a charity organization, how is that different from nonprofit?

In fact, if they are a charity organization themselves, selling services that generate funds for those means, that seems to meet the definition of nonprofit.

What's missing from this equation to get you onboard with pimlico being nonprofit?

Where is there any ambiguity about where the money of the sale of registered copies of Datebk5 is going? It seems pretty well spelled out to me, but maybe I am missing something.

RE: Beware Of Agendus 8.0 Upgrade Policy
ganoe @ 5/21/2004 11:42:55 AM #
> Where is there any ambiguity about where the money of the sale of
> registered copies of Datebk5 is going?

Like I said before this really isn't worth arguing about. I'd assume if they were a non-profit, they would say so on their website. "Proceeds" may or may not mean all proceeds. Also, they may have other sources of profit such as their licensing agreement with Handspring. "Proceeds" can also be rather vague when you're donating from your own company to your own charity.

All that I was pointing out is that they do not appear to be a non-profit company.

RE: Beware Of Agendus 8.0 Upgrade Policy
Vidge @ 5/21/2004 11:48:21 AM #
I just want to point out that I, as an accountant, interpret "proceeds" to mean ALL of the money collected from the sale (as opposed to "profits" which means after expenses). So while Pimlico may not be a non-profit corporation itself, it receives NO money from the sale of Datebk5 or any of its software products.

Moderator, Daily Gadget
http://www.dailygadget.com
Visit us for our latest giveaway!
RE: Beware Of Agendus 8.0 Upgrade Policy
Nate @ 5/21/2004 1:37:49 PM #
Y'all are missing the forest for the trees: argue all you want about Iambic's past errors of judgement, but don't miss the fact that in essence they've decided to use both a subscription and upgrade revenue model -- they'll charge per upgrade and then charge again to make sure that you don't need to upgrade again. Considering how buggy I've found their products to be, I find the mere suggestion that I pay a fee to make sure that I can upgrade to the next less-buggy version insulting. It's a little like buying insurance from a mobster.

Iambic should stick to the same model that so many other companies have used successfully for years: offer an upgrade price for improved functionality, but charge nothing for incremental bug fixes or improvements.

I'm sorry I ever put my money with Iambic now, and I'm certainly rethinking the idea that I should put good money after bad with this new update.

I long for the days when I was using PocketPC (gasp!) and purchased PocketInformant. Those kids know how to run a software company.

RE: Beware Of Agendus 8.0 Upgrade Policy
zipmail @ 5/21/2004 10:12:42 PM #
I agree with Nate. If Ganoe wants to split hair over "non-profit" and "proceeds", let him work that out.

It just doesn't detract from the fact that Iambic's upgrade policy sucks and is an action that confounds good business practice. This one reeks of greediness and stupidity. I, merely as a previous user and potential customer disagree with this policy and only highlighting to people that may or may not know about this policy.

I am not on a crusade to bash Iambic - after that DateBk5 fiasco, I stopped upgrading Agendus and bought DateBk5 instead as a show of solidarity that we, the customers are not lemmings and so don't treat us as as one.

Having said that, over time I thought I would give Agendus another shot. But looks like this leopard never changes it spots and their greed is disgusting. If as a customer you agree with their upgrade policy - fantastic. But if I am going to pony up extra moolah, I want to know WHAT upgrade I am going to get for the one year subscription and nowhere in Iambic's website says anything about it.

Is this a whinge? No. I want to know what I am buying, that's all. And for most customers, I am sure they feel the same.

RE: Beware Of Agendus 8.0 Upgrade Policy
VisorMiser @ 5/22/2004 10:51:37 PM #
The fact remains that Iambic charges $15 for most bug-fixes; the "total cost of ownership" tops $100 over just the last couple of years.

Caveat emptor, baby.

the VisorMiser
_____________________________________________________________________
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter. -- Sir Winston Churchill

RE: Beware Of Agendus 8.0 Upgrade Policy
garethrichardadams @ 5/24/2004 4:30:31 AM #
Hi,

According to Iambic sales:

Hello,

That is a new service and it is a bit confusing. The subscription is for
the major upgrades like 9.0, 10.0 etc. The minor updates for 8.0 you will
be able to download without paying.

Regards,

Sales

So bug fixes to 8 WILL be free, it's major upgrades that won't. Personally I'm still going to stick with 6 - it does what I want, and neither 7 nor 8 offer me anything I need. I'll see what 9 and 10 bring...

Gareth

Lots of Audio, No Video...

Puck @ 5/21/2004 2:19:22 PM #
With the volume (and intensity) of dialogue that is anti-Iambic / Agendus, why do we not see more competition for their product? I'm particularly intrigued because much of the protesting relates to Iambic's revenue model and user cost of ownership - I'd expect the free market to build a cheaper (if not better) mousetrap.

I've found the best for me (Pimlico products), but the Agendus users (and detractors) need slightly different functionality, so where's the enterprising capitalist that will sieze the opportunity?

Puck

Maybe it's just me, but ...

futureT4user @ 5/21/2004 5:30:07 PM #
I don't have any problems paying for software that lets me take advantage of more of the cool capabilities of my PDA. On average I get a new PDA every 6-8 months it seems like, though it's probably longer in between. I end up spending about $400 typically, then sometimes buy a folding keyboard for another $60 or so. I had a Palm IIIc, Palm Vx, Sony NR70, and now a T3. I get a ton of use out of my palm and programs or add on hardware like keyboards that let me get even more use out of it are completely worth it ... at least to me. I actually expect to have to pay to get a bunch of new features, I figure those people working on making the Treo 610 or whatever new hardware or software do those jobs because they like doing them, can make a living at it.

I really liked version 7 of Agendus and thought that was the best PIM app on any handheld device be it PPC, P900, Palm, or other. But after seeing version 8 and all this cool new stuff

-multiple contact linking
-photos on to dos
-photos on contacts
-option to specify my preferred dialer, which i can change on-the-fly by the way, so i can dial my mobile via blue tooth or tone dial my work or home phone ... i love that
-can now also specify my preferred sms or email app which is cool
-category icon/colorization is convenient
-that automatic icon assignment thing is even useful
-follow-up options on alarm reminders is killer, so you can dial, email or sms the contact linked to the event. This is super convenient, it's small touches like this that just make it so great to use.
-the highlighting on fonts is actually totally needed, this makes the wallpaper so much more useable because now you don't loose readability. Very slick.

there are a bunch of other new features too, but the ones listed above are what really just stood out to me the most after using it for a couple of days now.

Cheers.

RE: Maybe it's just me, but ...
joelaposta @ 5/24/2004 11:00:43 PM #
I have to agree with you. I tend to upgrade PDAs every few months, gotta have the cool new gadgets. It costs a lot of time to integrate the new features of new PDAs in software all the time. At least Iambic upgrades their software on a fairly regular basis. I usually don't have to wait more than a week or two for the ability to use most of the functionality of whatever my newest PDA is. I do think it is spendy to have to upgrade all the time, but their software is worth the money.

Doing the math on all my PDA purchases over the past few years, probably totals close to $4000 (I know, could have a pretty nice notebook for that, and I do) :) What is $100 over the course of 4-5 years of upgrades? (I started with Action Names v2 I believe)

Joe

Joe

Palm IIIx -> Palm IIIc -> Palm m505 (x2) -> Clie N760C -> T615C -> Clie NR70 (x2) -> Clie NX70 -> Clie UX50

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