Anyone who has "lived by the spreadsheet" already knows how powerful and useful this particular type of program can be. Having the ability to create massive calculations that will automatically update when a number changes is, at times, a thing of beauty. The problem is that when you become used to this power, simpler solutions do not yield satisfying results. Such was my experience with Pocket Spreadsheet.
On the surface, Pocket Spreadsheet has all the appearances of being a true spreadsheet program. It was simple enough to install onto my HP Jornada 420; and entering data into each cell instead of into an entry line is a nice feature. You can create moderate sized spreadsheets, within a 30 x 50 cell grid. However, the inadequacies of the program start cropping up fairly quickly. Built-in functions are rather limited; there are 24 functions that cover basic math and trigonometry only. It does not support charting, statistics, or aggregate functions (e.g. min, max, sum); date, time, or currency formats; or sorting, to name a few limitations.
Particularly annoying is that there is no Sum function and no way to indicate cell ranges in calculations. This renders complex calculations an exercise in patience; adding together 25 cells requires you to enter in each one individually (=A1+A2+ etc.) Another feature that is missing is "fill right" or "fill down." To have a formula repeat across several cells, you have to copy the formula and paste it into the other cells. This type of feature set is just too rudimentary.
Surerange does try to add some value to Pocket Spreadsheet by offering a Mobile Device Excel Sync Filter that allows the transfer of Excel's .xls files into Pocket Spreadsheet's .sht format. However, given the broad gaps in what translates to Pocket Spreadsheet, only the most simplistic spreadsheets could realistically be shared.
While I'm sure that people using PPCs are excited when a particular type of program is ported to their handheld of choice, I question whether an anemic program such as Pocket Spreadsheet is representative of the genre. This program just isn't far enough along yet to be useful and I can't in good faith recommend it to anyone as a true business solution.
For more information, visit their site: www.surerange.com
-Kevin Brislin
