Run Palm OS Applications

Last year, I began looking for a new Windows Mobile device to replace my aging HP iPAQ. Much to my chagrin, I discovered that standard Pocket PCs—the ones without phones built into them—are almost a thing of the past. In the end, I settled on an iPAQ hx2495, an older Windows Mobile 5 device that is still being marketed by HP. But before I did, I took a hard look at Palms selection of PDAs and was impressed with some of the software on their devices.

I forgot about all this until recently when I picked up a copy of PC World and read a review about StyleTap (http://StyleTap.com), a Palm OS emulator for Windows Mobile Pocket PCs and Smartphones. I also saw it mentioned a number of times in our own blogs by master blogger Werner Ruotsalainen (http://ppcmag.com/blogs). StyleTap has actually been around for awhile, but it was new to me, and the sudden revelation that I could run Palm OS and Pocket PC applications on the same device was exciting. I had to check it out!

Installing StyleTap

StyleTap has two main components: The Palm OS emulator, which is installed on the Windows Mobile device, and the StyleTap application installer, which resides on your desktop PC and is responsible for installing Palm applications on your device. The package also includes three sample Palm applications: a game called PilotMines, a Shopping List tool, and a handy search tool called Dir Assist. (I tested the Pocket PC version of the program.)

You can purchase StyleTap or download a free trial version of the program directly from the StyleTap site. After downloading the program to your PC, you install it as you would any third-party application:

1. Connect your device to your PC via ActiveSync.
2. Run the installer program on your desktop PC.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions to install the program on your mobile device.