New And Improved Review!
I had originally written this review about a year ago (which I've incorporated into this review). I feel now, a year later, being an experienced Palm m100 user, that I must review it again.

A Perfect Present for Mom
See, my mom's birthday is in two days. At first she didn't even think about my Palm, but recently I've noticed her eying it enviously, which led me to go out yesterday and buy her a PDA. The decision of which one to buy was obvious-- the Palm m100, just like the one that I have.

My mom is definitely a non-exec, and while she's figured out how to use e-mail and the on-line Scrabble site, she's still somewhat technically inept. (Don't tell her I said that). However, using the m100 is intuitive. Without insulting my mother, allow me to say-- even my mother can figure it out.

The m100 is perfect for my mom-- it's easy to use and it's simple enough. Plus, it's a whole lot less expensive than any other PDA on the market (the price is now $140, down $10 from last year), so even a poor college student like myself can afford one (or two, actually, since I have one for myself as well).

My mom is a busy lady, with meetings and appointments and such, so it's good for her to have one small device to keep all that useful information in. Currently, her paper planner is bulging and definitely inadequate. She noticed that herself, which is why she's been eyeing my palm.

My only concerns for mom are:
1. The screen is somewhat small, and my mom can't see very well after a few eye surgeries. Luckily, it is possible to make the font size larger on some applications, and we've already established that even with her poor eyesight, she can still read the writing on my Palm.

2. The m100 does not come with a cradle, and I'm afraid that mom won't be able to figure out where to plug the cable in when she wants to sync the handheld with the PC. I came up with two solutions for this, though. The first, to just leave the cable plugged in all the time, and just have it sitting out on the desk. It contributes to the messy look of cables all over the place, though. So, my second idea was to convince my little sister to buy mom the cradle for her birthday. At 45 bucks, though, the cradle is not that cheap, even for my sister on her In-N-Out wages. I suppose I can just leave mom instructions on how to use the cable.

It's Perfect For Me Too
A year after buying it, I still believe the m100 is perfect for me. I have my checkbook and other accounts perfectly balanced, thanks to the accounting/expense tracker program (come on, how many college students can claim that?). I have all my class assignments and grades neatly recorded. Both of those programs come on the road scholar CD, by the way. In addition, I have Niggles (the Palm equivalent of Scrabble), chess, blackjack, and other fun games on my little handheld. And I still have memory left over.

My little sister's birthday is next month. I think I'll get her a palm too.

A Little Bit of History
I was one of the first few people to buy the Palm m100, and I was so excited after buying it that I had to come online and review it on epinions... but there was no section for it, yet, so I first wrote my review a month or so later...

I have to admit that I'd never made a large purchase like this with no prior information before. When I bought the m100 all I knew about it was what it said on the box. I was a little worried, having never heard of it before, but I was leaving for college in a week, and I needed a PDA.

Overall, I am incredibly satisfied with the m100. I could not live without it now that I have it, and it has definitely made time management easier. Especially in my new world of college classes at seemingly random times of the day, and no mother around to remind me that I have a dentist appointment today at 3pm, the Palm m100 is a lifesaver.

Using the m100
Using the m100 is intuitive. I'm not one to read directions, and this was no exception, but learning to use this little gadget proved to be easier than cooking minute rice (of which I DO have to read the directions to). The four handy buttons along the bottom make it really easy to quickly switch between my dayplanner, address book, checklist and notepad. If you continuously click on the dayplanner button it will switch between daily, weekly, monthly, and task views. (The task view is a condensed form of the daily view, which includes the checklist as well). If you continuously click on the address book button or the checklist button, it will switch between your different folders (i.e. business, personal, etc.). If you continuously click on the notepad button it will switch between writing a quick note and viewing old notes.

One of my favorite features of the m100 is the notepad feature. While there is a memo pad, in which you can use "graffiti" (the special writing style used on all Palms that gets converted to type automatically), the notepad proves to be extremely handy because I can scribble directly on the screen in my own handwriting for quick notes that you do not have the time to write in graffiti. This is a feature not seen in other Palms. I also like the backlighting feature, though in medium light it is hard to see both with or without the backlighting on.

What Makes This Palm Different From All The Other Palms?
The m100 is essentially like the other Palms in almost all senses, except that, most noticeably, the price is significantly lower, and it is a "lighter" version of the others. Basically, the other Palms are oriented for business purposes, while the m100 is perfect for personal uses (or, as I discovered, students).

The m100 has all the features of other palms, except that it has only 2MB of memory (and it does not come with an expense tracker... although you may download it). The lower memory, however, is no problem, because I have every single person I know in my address book, my daily events (including classes) entered for the next 4 months, about 25 notes and memos written to myself, a thesaurus, several organizational programs and quite a few games, and I still have more than half of my memory free.

A note on the expense tracker-- the m100 comes with a form to send away for a free "Road Scholar CD" which includes many useful features--- LIKE an excellent expense tracker for the non-business types (i.e. me). It also includes the above-mentioned thesaurus, a few games, and a few more useful programs. Definitely send away for it-- it's worth the 33 cents of postage... by far!!!

Another difference of the m100 is that it looks much cooler (it's curvier, and has a removable faceplate that comes in different colors). The curvier shape seems to make it easier to hold.

One other difference that I noticed that somewhat upsets me is that the screen is much smaller on the m100 than on other Palms. Until I compared it with a Palm V, though, the size of the screen did not bother me.

The m100 comes with a hotsync cable (for connecting the Palm to a computer), rather than a cradle that the other Palms come with. I own a laptop, so it is much easier for me to use the cable, which is both easy to store and easy to connect. A cradle would be cumbersome, plus I'd have nowhere to set it. For desktop owners this may not be as convenient, since the cradle is a more permanent feature, but it is possible to buy a cradle. However, it is perfectly easy to use the cable.

If you want to use your PDA as an organizer, the m100 is perfect for that purpose. It's also great for a couple of other things (like playing games). However, if you want to use your PDA as an mp3 player, cell phone, digital camera, etc., you'd be better off buying one of the newer models, since the m100 does not seem to be compatible with any of the new add-ons.

A final difference is that the m100 has a little window on its case through which you can by pressing one of the buttons through the case while the Palm is off, see the time and date displayed. This makes it easy to check it quickly, making it unnecessary to turn the Palm on.

Overall, I am incredibly satisfied with my Palm m100, and I do not know how I could live without it. A year after buying it, looking at all the new fancy models that have come out, I am still overwhelmingly satisfied with my old m100. So satisfied, that I'd buy one for my mom. In fact, I did.

Some Afterthoughts
My mom loved her Palm so much that she learned graffiti within a day, and now knows all the international symbols as well... And I thought she'd have a hard time with it! She also bought an m100 for each of my two little sisters for their birthdays. I think you could say that she loves it.

I still love my m100, rely on it like water. Mom bought me a CD with hundreds of Palm games on it-- even a light version of Warcraft (called Galaxy Realms). So now I've filled my m100's memory with games that I change from time to time, and I'm starting to wish that I had more memory and more battery power... however, I shouldn't spend so much time playing games, especially since I have to graduate at some point.

I dropped my palm and broke the pin that holds the cover on (the gadget itself has survived many falls so far). I haven't been able to find a new cover, but I bought myself the Palm Glove ($14.99) which protects the screen and has some neat pockets. I use it as a wallet now.

I love my palm!

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 140