When StyleTap announced its Palm OS emulator for Windows Mobile, the Palm and PocketPC communities alike were stunned. Yes, feeble ports of Palm emulators existed for quite some time – but StyleTap promised much much more(e.g. OS5 support). I now have access to a latest-generation hp ipaq rx4240 – can StyleTap replace the Palm OS handheld I carry?
StyleTap can be installed like any other PocketPC program. It then ‘spawns’ a few small exe files(one per installed Palm OS app) into the Programs screen. Tapping one of these icons immediately launches the ‘assigned’ application:
Tapping a prc file opens StyleTap. The virtual handheld then receives a ‘beaming-like transmission’ containing the file just tapped:
StyleTap itself consists of a small launcher program that allows you to control the selection of installed applications and delete ones that have become unneeded:
The StyleTap launcher allows you to customize a few parameters like screen display(interpolated or one:one) and user name:
Overall, StyleTap is up and running and shows its(slightly perverted) Palm OS GUI. But can the program live up to the high expectations in everyday use? Tune in soon to find out more!
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I am interested to know if OnBoardC can run on it… Will it create runnable prcs?
Hi Tam,
Thank you for reviewing the StyleTap Platform.
I’d like to mention that you may observe that some applications do not display optimally when running on QVGA devices like the ipaq rx4240 due to differences in resolution (240 x 240 on your ipaq versus 320 x 320 on a Palm OS Treo).
This problem is gradually being fixed as application developers merely have to add QVGA bitmaps and custom fonts (which is supported in the Palm OS architecture) to their applications in the same way that they had to add double density bitmaps and fonts when the first OS 5 devices came out. Some have already done it and many more are in the process of doing it. They are doing this to accomodate not only the StyleTap Platform, but also devices running Access’ upcoming ALP. So this problem should be largely eliminated over time.
Please let us know if you have any questions or need any more information.
Hello Tam,
It’s funny for me to see you review the StyleTap platform. Because, just a few days ago, I gave it a try to see how my applications would perform in this environment, including my Speedy benchmark tool which you installed as well, I could see it on your printscreens
Full results are shown here: http://www.aldweb.com/articles.php?lng=en&pg=9112
As you will see, I have some work to do on the iziBasic compiler (even though, most applications compiled with iziBasic run very smoothly in the StyleTap platform).
Cheers,
aldweb