Almost from the very beginning of the release of the Pilot 1000/5000 series there have been top-notch web sites on the Internet for this platform. It's one of the major factors that has given the Palm platform such a huge boost, allowing users to quickly expand the Palm's abilities with simple and small program downloads.

One of the earliest sites was PilotGear HQ. The name of the Palm has changed and so has the name of the site: they've been through three names so far. The first name change was to PalmPilotGear HQ and most recently they changed to PalmGear HQ.

So what is the PalmGear HQ website? As they put it, it's the one-stop source for your Palm connected organizer. You can buy retail software and hardware items through their site, pay for your favorite Palm shareware application, or download all the latest shareware. You can read the latest news on the Palm platform and related items. The best in tips and tricks are available online as well as developer information, a photo club and far more. If by some chance what you're looking for isn't on the PalmGear HQ site, they also have links to other top Palm sites.

As you can see from the screenshot of their main page, PalmGear HQ neatly lists the latest software and news directly. They maintain an excellent index for the software as well. When new categories show up, such as for various PQA wireless applications for the Palm VII, the index is quickly updated.

Unlike other software archives, like Tucows, the ratings provided for the software on PalmGear HQ are easy to understand because the users provide them with full commentary on why they liked or disliked a particular application.

If you're purchasing through PalmGear HQ you'll find service and support far above the norm. You won't forget that real people are behind this site because they actually interact directly with users not only on their site, but they frequent the Palm newsgroups as well and answer questions posed by customers publicly, through email, and via their telephone and fax lines.

The quality of this site is absolutely unmatched. I visit PalmGear HQ every day to keep up on the latest in everything for my Palm computers. Visit them yourself at http://www.palmgear.com

Interview

Pen Computing: Tell us a bit about your company and yourself. What is your background?

Kenny West: Prior to PalmGear HQ I was in insurance sales management. PalmGear HQ started out as PilotGear HQ (remember back when they were called Pilots?) in about May of 1997. Initially it was just me and my partner, J.D. Crouch. I was the only full time employee at the time and for the next three months. Frankly, we never, ever, dreamed it would turn into the success it has. Our initial thoughts were that we would get on the beta lists and maybe make $300 or $400 a month! WOW! Who knew?!

PC: How many people did you start with and how many are there today?

KENNY: One initially full time with J.D. assisting via e-mail. Then about three months later we hired Greg Potts (he is now our shipped products manager). Currently we have nine employees.

PC: As well as handling retail sales, you also handle shareware registrations, tell us a bit about why you've done this. While you're at it, where would a shareware author go to find out how to sign up with you?

KENNY: Why? Basically we saw a void. Whereas there was a lot of good shareware that people buy but there was no centralized location to pay for it, and many developers only accepted payment via check. Since many shareware programs are under $20 people would not be as apt to pay if they couldn't use their credit cards. Additionally, the authors that did offer credit card payment system did not go through the same processing service. Our goal, and we feel we have succeeded in it, was to be "THE" place for all things Palm-related so that users of the devices would not have to go from site to site to get all the peripherals and software they wanted.

Becoming a PGHQ Partner is easy! All a developer needs to do is go to our site, then first click on "Apply" below "Developers" so that we can provide developer access. Then the link below Developers titled "Partner Information" provides the details on how the PGHQ Partner program works. Of course, a developer does not have to sell their solution through us to list it.

PC: PalmGear HQ is so much more than an online web store for Palm products. You have all the latest shareware, news, and more. Why?

KENNY: It is our opinion that the two items, New/Updated Software and News go hand in hand. While the Palm users of today are not primarily made up of the "Techies" or "Early Adopters" they once were, when they get the device they are amazed at all the things it can do and also what is upcoming. It keeps the enthusiasm for the platform growing.

PC: Do you have people dedicated to keeping your shareware listings and news updated?

KENNY: There is not anyone that is dedicated to submitting listings. This is due to our database design for the site, which allows anyone to submit news articles and software. We do have personnel that review all News submissions as well as Reviews of software prior to their being published.

PC: Is PalmGear HQ based exclusively on the Internet or is there more to it?

KENNY: We do have a retail location in Arlington, Texas, though the vast majority of our sales are from the Internet.

PC: What does the future hold for PalmGear HQ - what's next?

KENNY: Well, all I can say is LOTS! We have many VERY exciting projects we are working on right now. Wish I could tell you what they are.

-Kermit Woodall

Sidebar:

PalmGear PQA

Downloads with your Palm VII

Some time ago I wrote that the Palm VII clearly lacked in an important area. Namely that you couldn't use the Palm VII itself to wirelessly download updates and new PQA applications. Within days of turning in my article, PalmGear HQ released the PalmGear HQ PQA Updater proving again that great minds do think alike.

If you're one of the new Palm VII Road Warriors you'll have realized very quickly that it's a huge drawback to have to return to your desktop system to load a new PQA application into your Palm VII. PQA Updater is a very straightforward application that solves this dilemma. It lets you select the Palm VII application you wish to download and it's transferred directly, and wirelessly, into your Palm VII. That's about it. No muss no fuss!

Users are already calling this the Killer App of the Palm VII and I agree with them. The only drawback is the usual: Palm's high pricing scheme for usage. Because just one PQA could exceed the basic usage plan for the Palm VII, Palm is going to have to rethink their pricing ...and soon. Meanwhile, better stick to smaller, 1-10K program downloads. Thankfully, most PQAs are around that size.

-Kermit Woodall