At first glance, it looks very similar to some of the “Today” type applications that are already avaiable, because it provides a quick visual reminder of how many tasks are overdue, due today and tomorrow, or are undated, as well as the number of upcoming appointments. If you want to get more information about exactly what’s coming up, it’s as simple as tapping either the to do or appointment areas for a list. The display is nicely laid out, with today’s appointments in green and tomorrow’s in blue (assuming you have a color handheld device, of course). Tap on the button at the bottom of the screen to actually open the Datebook application or a replacement, if you have defined one on DoAble’s preferences screen. If you want to look at the appointments for another day, simply tap on the right and left arrows at the top of the screen to scroll backwards or forwards through the days. The to do section is almost identical, save that overdue to do items are green, future to dos are blue, and current to do items are black.
You may have noticed a small green dot at the bottom of the screen– that’s the sign for the Radar feature. Select any appointment or to do and tap that green dot to bring up the Radar details screen. That’s where you set just how far in advance a certain task or event is going to appear on DoAble’s main screen, just under the appointment section. This is perfect for things that you absolutely cannot forget, such as an important deadline at work, a remminder to pick up a birthday present for your wife, etc. You can set the specific number of days before the event that it will appear in the radar, so the more important it is, the more notice you might want.
The icons on the bottom row of the screen require a bit more explanation. The red cross in the bottom left hand corner is actually an emergency information “wizard”– the first time you tap on that icon, you will be prompted to answer a series of questions such as the mergency number for your area, doctor and pediatrician names, cell phone numbers, city services, local utilities, and service people such as plumber and electrician. Once you’re done filling out the form, a Memo is created that includes all of that information so that it can be viewed or printed from the Palm Desktop after a HotSync.
The next icon is for the time calculator, which is very handy if you want to find the number of days between two dates, find out exactly what date it will be 5 weeks from now, or find a date such as the “first Sunday in January for next year.” The next icon looks like three clocks, and brings up the list of Datebook items. The green dot, as mentioned before, is for the radar; pressing it will provide a list of all of the items on the radar, whether or not it’s time for them to show up in the radar area yet. The last icon looks like a wrench and tapping it brings up the preferencces or tools screen for DoAble. You can choose whether or not to show the quote of the day at startup, whether you want to see undated or past recurring events, and set alternate applications for when you open datebook or to do items such as Agendus or DateBk5.
DoAble has a very nice selection of features at a very affordable price. While it may not be all that valuable for someone who alreay uses a PIM replacement such as Agendus or DateBk5, I could see it being very useful for someone who uses the built-in Palm OS applications. It provides a nice overview of upcoming events and tasks, adds some extra functionality with the emergency information and time calculators, and injects a bit of humor or wisdom each day with some thought-provoking quotations. I’m looking forward what else is in store for future releases.
DoAble 1.01 costs $12.95 and a free fifteen day trial is available at the HandAble web site. If you decide to buy before August 31, you’ll get a special deal, as DoAble is available at the introductory price of $9.95 until the end of the month.
PocketGoddess Rating for DoAble: 
