AvantGo is a no-brainer - do you want the world at your fingertips? Do you want a dizzying array of content-to-go on pretty much any topic of choice which you can read at your leisure? If so - Avantgo is a must-have for anyone with a PDA. And AvantGo is not just USA Today and MSNMobile for your PDA. There are so many more content channels to choose from - literally thousands. From "CoolQuiz.com" (daily trivia quiz that's quick and fun) to "About - The Human Internet" (Gives you daily how-to's on everything from how to quickly clean your living room for company to how to build a birdhouse!) - there are so many channels to choose from that you'll have a hard time keeping within the limits of your account! I recommend trying out different channels for a few days - seeing how you use them/if you use them, then deleting and trying new ones.

I love AvantGo for those times when you're stuck waiting in the post office, in line at Walmart, in the doctor's office...it's like having a whole magazine rack at your fingertips. And AvantGo is especially fun and pleasing on the eye if you have color! (see my review on the Palm IIIc if you're wondering if getting a color PDA is worth the extra cost...)

Setting up an account is easy and quick. It's extremely user friendly and even my 13 year old has his own AvantGo account.

You can add any website that you frequent often to your AvantGo channels account by customizing it. This is good, since the company is pretty much no longer adding new content channels (except for those able to pay $5000 and who promote a website that gets thousands of hits a day...)

All in all, I can't believe the service is free, except for some fairly noticeable 'commercials' (banner ads) on the homepage. These are actually kind of fun to click on, though!

Specifics
Set up an account and download all you need for free at www.avantgo.com. Here are the system requirements and such from their website:

DEVICE

Note: The absence of a particular device from this list does not mean that it is incompatible with AvantGo; it simply means that it has not been tested.

Palm: Palm OS Version 3.x or later running on the following devices: Palm III, Palm IIIx, Palm IIIe, Palm IIIc, Palm V, Palm Vx, Palm VII, Palm m100; Handspring Visor; Symbol SPT 1500, 1700; TRG Pro; Sony CLIE.

Memory Requirements: At least 428KB of free memory, plus additional space for data.

Microsoft(R) CE:Version 2.x or later using SH3, MIPS, or ARM processors, running on the following devices: Casio Cassiopeia 2400, E10, E100; Compaq Aero 2100, 1500; Philips Nino 500, Velo 500; HP Jornada 420, 680; Sharp Mobilon Pro 5000.

Memory Requirements: 605KB-920KB of free memory, plus additional space for data.

Pocket PC: Windows CE version 3.0 or later using SH3, MIPS, or Strong ARM processors, running on the following devices: Compaq IPAQ, Casio Cassiopeia E115, Jornada 540 Series.

Memory Requirements: 605KB-920KB of free memory, plus additional space for data..

Web-enabled (WAP) phones: TimePort 7389 tri-mode phones; Nokia 7110; Qualcomm Thin phone & Touchpoint; NeoPoint QP 1000; Samsung 3500/8500.


DESKTOP

Operating systems: Windows 95, 98 or NT 4.0 (NT4.0 users require service pack 3); Macintosh OS 8.5 or later (Palm only).

Browsers:Windows: Netscape Navigator 3.0 (or greater), or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 (or greater).

Macintosh OS: Netscape Navigator 4.0 (or greater), or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.5 (or greater).

Software:

Palm:
HotSync Manager 3.0 (or greater). With Macintosh OS desktop (Palm only): HotSync 2.6.1 or greater. Microsoft CE: ActiveSync 3.0 (or greater). Pocket PC: ActiveSync 3.1 or greater.

It's an awesome service and if you own a PDA you should definitely check it out, especially since it's FREE. Hey, as my grandma always says, "For free - TAKE! For buy....waste time!"

Recommended: Yes