Sage Software today announced ACT! for Palm OS® 3.0, designed for use with the ACT! by Sage 2008 (10.0) and ACT! by Sage Premium (10.0) contact and customer management solutions. ACT! for Palm OS runs as a native application to enable robust ACT! feature use on Palm OS handheld devices including a linked calendar and task list, contact record access from scheduled appointments, and the ability to view customer interactions and sales opportunities.

"The entrepreneurs and businesses shaping today's sales communications require a variety of user interface options to fully leverage the value of their customer data," said David van Toor, senior vice president and general manager for Sage CRM Solutions. "ACT! for Palm OS is yet another Sage Software offering that addresses our customers' data portability needs while emphasizing simple configuration and ease of use."

True Contact Management On A Palm OS Handheld Device

Alternative data synchronization tools do not provide Palm OS users with true contact management because these applications require use of their device's date book and address book. ACT! for Palm OS, running as a native application on Palm OS devices, allows users to access customer information, enter opportunities and track their schedules anytime and anywhere, while also synchronizing with their desktop or Web versions of ACT!. In addition to calls, meetings, and to-dos, users can also schedule activities from their device using any custom activity types they have defined in ACT!(1).

ACT! for Palm OS users can attach notes or history to multiple contact records without having to enter the same data multiple times(2). A custom field view can be used to create a snapshot of the ten most critical data fields that a user regularly accesses. Application graphics, activities and calendars all appear in color so users can view items by priority.

Opportunity list viewing and filtering is also supported by ACT! for Palm OS. Users can select products from an existing list to associate with each opportunity and add multiple products to an opportunity(3).

ACT! for Palm OS allows users to synchronize over 50 pre-defined fields and up to 15 custom fields, as well as view each contact's group and company membership whether the contact was manually added to the ACT! database or dynamically added based on defined criteria(4).

(1) ACT! for Palm OS users may not add, update, or delete custom activity types from the device. Custom activity types must be added in ACT!.

(2) ACT! for Palm OS users do not have the option to limit an update to a single contact. Any change to shared notes or history that is made on the device goes to all shared contacts.

(3) ACT! for Palm OS users may not add, update, or delete products in the opportunity product list from the device. New products must be added in ACT!.

(4) Companies and Groups may not be added, updated, or deleted on the device. Group or Company membership may be updated on the device. A Group or Company membership will not display if one or more of the fields used in the Group or Company dynamic membership rules is not included in the user's sync set.