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(Last edited Jan 29, 2008)

Treo OfflineViewer is an interesting program or more specifically, a Blazer browser plugin developed by RNS:: or Ranosoft.net. They’re no stranger to the Palm community as they have been around for quite some time and have developed quite a number of very unique programs that are not only useful, but interesting as well. Hi-Launcher, TreoSelecText, RapidMovie, HardButtonExtender, HoHo are just some of the programs developed by RNS::

One of the complaints about being mobile or not, is that it’s normally not easy to be able to load a web page in your PDA or Treo and view it offline. Back in earlier days when Palms and PDA were not connected devices, we had to rely on the powerful computer and a Windows software program to retrieve and convert all the web pages for us and transfer it to our PDA devices so that we can read it offline, or while we’re commuting to work, or during our lunch or coffee break. Depending on the software and how much material it is retrieving, sometimes it may take a while. And, it will also require a special viewer program to be installed on the Palm or PDA device so that you can view it. On the Treo devices, although you can save pages in the Blazer browser, it is saved in RAM. If you ever need to wipe out your Treo or hard reset it, whatever you’ve saved is wiped out as well.

With Ranosoft’s TreoOfflineViewer, you can now save those web pages directly onto your SD card (flash memory). In addition, you also have the capability to open those save web pages or any other saved html file in your Blazer browser.

For those who want to skip over all the detailed review and just want a summary, you can jump to the review summary

What I think sets this particular program apart from many other offline viewer programs aside from the offline viewing is that you can now be able to export the webpage’s source file into the Memos application for viewing. Why is that important, you ask? Well, for many of us who are fumbling with urls or website links for podcasts and other things, being able to view the source file is a MAJOR BLESSING (well at least for me)! I have long wondered why no one has come up with a program or way to be able to allow me to view the site’s source. Now, it’s here, I am singing “halelujah”! And being able to view the source in Memos can also make it easier for me to copy the url and paste it in the relevant program like Kinoma Player 4 EX or Quick News since the Treo 650 device is incapable of launching them when in Blazer. Sure, it’s a workaround, but heck, at least I can now do it, rather than having to go onto my computer and do it or view the source file from the computer. And most of us will not necessarily be near a computer, especially when we’re traveling.

More Details of TreoOfflineViewer (taken from Ranosoft.net):

The standard web browser (called Blazer) on the Treo smartphones normally does not have an option to load offline pages from the SD card nor to save them as HTML files.

- Open web pages from the SD card.
- Save web pages to the SD card.
- View source of any web page in Memos.
- Install MP3 ringtones from the SD card.

Product Video

Part 1 at YouTube

Part 2 at YouTube

TreoOfflineViewer can also help you install mp3 ringtones to your Treo 680 and newer models. Here is the procedure to do so (also taken from Ranosoft’s website):

Installing MP3 ringtones guide RNS::

1. Launch Blazer / Web Browser
2. Select “Go”=>”Open File” from the menu
3. Pick your MP3 file and tap “OK”
4. Select “Copy to Ringtone”
5. Your MP3 becomes available among other ringtones

* Supported devices: Treo 680 and Palm Centro.
* Requires the latest firmware version of the smartphones.
* Requires TreoOfflineViewer 2.1 (or newer).

Here are my observations:

This is a very handy plugin application. It’s very nice to be able to now save web pages onto the SD card and view saved pages from the card. What I personally think is most important for me is the ability to export a web pages’s source file to the Memos application. This is extremely useful when trying to find a streaming link. On a Treo 650, opening a link in the Blazer browser doesn’t necessarily open up my media player program so I normally have to enter that in the media player directly. But to do so, I need the link. Without the ability to view the link, I’m normally stuck. Thankfully, TreoOfflineViewer has solved that problem.

My only suggestion for the program is that there is also the ability to export the source file to a text file on the SD card. That way, I then will also have the file on the SD card instead of having it saved in RAM.

EDIT (Jan 29, 2008). It looks like there is already a utility that will export the contents in the Memos application to your SD card. Thanks to the comment left by Ranosoft, you can use the program Memo2Card (also by Ranosoft) to save it on the SD card. Thanks for taking the time to leave your comments and provide some insight on the program!

One other suggestion for the program is the ability to be able to highlight or select a link on a web page (ie. via the directional keys) and be able to copy that link directly in the clipboard so that I can paste it in the program I wish to launch. To give a better explanation of what I mean, suppose you’re on a web page. There’s a streaming link that you want to copy. You use the directional key to highlight that link. Then, go into the Menu option and select a “Copy link url” (or something similar). Then, exit out of Blazer and open up your media player and paste the link and enjoy your stream. Being able to do something like that can help eliminate the task of going through a source file for one link, especially if the source file gets broken into 2 or 3 files.

Review Summary

Ranosoft’s TreoOfflineViewer is a very useful and handy Blazer plugin that adds the much needed function of saving and opening web pages from the flash memory (SD) card. The ability to export a web page’s source file to be viewed in the Memos application is a very handy feature for those who require to search a media or streaming link on a web page. And finally, installing ringtones for those who own a Treo 680 or Centro can’t be any easier as TreoOfflineViewer makes it possible via only a few clicks and taps.

For me, it’s well worth the money since I bought it shortly after it was released last year. Needless to say, I’m very pleased with it.

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Check out TreoOfflineViewer at Handango.

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