AvantGo
Since I last looked at AvantGo, the off-line web site browser for Palm, they have released a version for Windows CE, substantially rewritten and restructured their product, and the Palm VII has come along with a different approach to the same general problem. At the time, I didn't like AvantGo at all - it was far too slow, both on the desktop and Palm, and was too inflexible about defining areas of web sites to download. The reason for the slowness was partly that the desktop software was written in Java, and partly that it gather the web site data during your HotSync execution.
functionality moved to web site
The new version (3.1, at the last check) speeds up things slightly - by moving most of the desktop functionality to their own web site, although page downloads still take place during your HotSync, and app start up on the Palm is even slower than before. The important changes for the current release are that the Palm/CE client can now function as a capable web browser, with support for forms, cookies and tables; and that they have created predefined "channels" that you can add to your download. By doing this, the functionality of AvantGo can be compared to the Palm VII, discussed in detail last month.
offline channel browsing...
... or on-line web browser
The biggest change in general feel is in interactivity - before, you could only passively update a page by waiting for your next HotSync, and had no way of submitting requests via forms. Now, you have the option of sending a form immediately through a network connection, perhaps with an infra-red mobile phone, or waiting for the next sync as before. AvantGo now produces far more status messages during a sync than before, which the cynical among us might say makes it seem less slow. As a web browser it is considerably better than the Palm VII, which serves this function with great reluctance if at all, and this added degree of flexibility makes AvantGo seem considerably better. However, it is slower to use for equivalent queries than the Palm VII, possibly due to network latency and other factors, but is considerably cheaper to run and will work in more places. What it lacks is the interactivity of a wireless network; and what the Palm VII lacks is the ability to carry out its functions through a normal TCP/IP connection.
makes it seem less slow
I like this version of AvantGo a lot better than the last one; adapting it to use many of the same ideas as the Palm VII was a very good idea.
Words and design by:
Paul Lynch
Last updated: March 30, 1999