Outlook on a PC-Card and More
Written: Mar 05 '01 (Updated Nov 01 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Really tiny, Easy to use, Lots of functionality, Great with laptops
Cons: Non-rechargeable batteries, A little slow, No backlight, Buggy sync
The Bottom Line: If you use Outlook and need a tiny PDA that distills all of your important information into a card, the REX 6000 is for you.
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| gsearle's Full Review: Intel REX 6000 |
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NOTICE - Latest Update
After purchasing Xircom, Intel has discontinued the REX 6000. This is sad news. Fortunately, a "grass-roots" support group led by many dedicated REX 6000 users has grown around this PDA. See my web site for more info:
http://gregsearle.tripod.com/rex.html
(Sorry, Epinions doesn't allow hyperlinks any more)
You can still buy this wonderful little PDA, as stores try to sell out their stock. After some searching, you can probably find some great deals, too.
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This little PDA is exactly what I need, no more, no less. It's no-nonsense functionality, convenient size, and modest price make it perfect for my needs. I've been avoiding the Palms because they are a little too large to fit comfortably into a pocket, but the previous REX models didn't have enough functionality. This has now changed with the REX 6000.
It's tiny, which means I can always have it on me. The size of a PCMCIA card (it is a PCMCIA card), it can slip into a pocket. Don't put it into your back pocket, however, since sitting on it would be a bad thing, especially since the warrantee doesn't cover this kind of damage.
It uses two really-thin CR2016 lithium button batteries, which are supposed to last three to six months. It will cost you around $4.00 for a new pair. Fortunately, an extra set comes with the REX. I gave my REX a good workout after I received it, wearing out the batteries after only a week! My advice: don't upload e-books to the REX (duh). Don't play games on it. It is designed for periodic, short-time use, not extended viewing.
To conserve the batteries, the REX will go to sleep after a settable amount of inactivity, much like a screen saver. To reactivate it, you hit the "Home" button, and it will pick up right where you left off. You can also make it go to sleep by pressing and holding the "Home" button. This is very handy, for example, for a short grocery list. Enter the list, hit "OK" to save it, and put it to sleep. Wake it up when you need to look at the list, put it to sleep when you're done, wake it up again later to take another look, etc. It stays right where you left it.
Be sure to pay careful attention to the directions when it comes time to replace the batteries. The two battery compartments open very easily, but only if you do it just right. Do it wrong and you could break the doors, because they will only open a certain way.
The screen is black and white. I don't mean grayscale, but black pixels on a white (well, greenish) background. There is no backlight (to conserve the batteries), but if you can read a business card with the available ambient light, you can read the REX display. It is very sharp and clear for a passive display.
Unlike its predecessor, you can input information to the REX 6000. This is what I was waiting for! The REX 6000 has a touchscreen through which you can press buttons with your finger or the stylus. For text input, it will display a tiny QWERTY keyboard with a single-line input area above it. There are some minor quirks (more below) to text entry, but it works really well. Make sure you use the stylus, because the keys are very tiny. All new input will be uploaded to your PIM on synchronization.
By the way, I really recommend turning on input clicks on your REX. This gives you confirmation that you tapped on a button, since the REX doesn't always give you an immediate visual cue. It's very handy for keyboard entry, so you know that the letter you just tapped went into the text. This is especially important since there is no input buffer. That is, if you go too fast for the device, it will not recognize what you tapped while it was busy.
The "Quirks" of Text:
Text Entry - In the keyboard display, you have one line for text entry, and line breaks are displayed as "bent arrow" symbols. When you fill this line with text, it starts to scroll, and text entry becomes very sluggish. You can get around this by hitting the OK button, then going right back to the keyboard with a clear display.
Editing Text - When going back to edit text, you have to select the text to change, then go to the keyboard. Selecting line breaks involves selecting the blank area on the end of the line of text. Text you enter will replace any text that you selected. The REX has the standard Cut, Copy, and Paste functions as well, which retain the clipboard contents across applications.
Inserting Text - To insert text, you position the cursor where you want to insert, then go to the keyboard. Any text you enter will appear at the cursor position. You need to be aware of spaces and line breaks, just like any other word processor.
You can also get through the screens with the five buttons on the side of the unit. Some functions can only be performed with the buttons. I don't like having to switch between the stylus and my finger, and hope that they fix this in a future update. One word of advice: Don't poke the buttons with the stylus. These type of buttons will wear out fast under such abuse. Use your finger.
The processor is slow (~4 MHz), but good enough for the purpose intended. This decision was to help conserve the batteries. You will notice the speed when the REX is saving an entry, scrolling long text entries above the keyboard, and performing other CPU-intensive functions. Most functions do not require a lot of thought on the part of the CPU, and work fairly crisply.
Addendum: Now that I've gotten used to my REX, I am finding myself waiting more and more for the brief pauses as the CPU thinks. Maybe it's because of all of the information now in my REX, or maybe I'm starting to notice the time it takes for it to do things.
The REX only comes with two megabytes of memory, but this measurement is relative. For storing text information such as contacts, tasks, and notes, this is a huge amount of memory. If you start loading applications, files, and pictures into it, then things will start to get tight. Remember, this isn't a Windows variant, so the apps will be very tiny.
The firmware on the card can be upgraded through a utility that comes with the REX, "REX Tools". This utility allows you to manage the memory, upload files, and set certain features that you can't access elsewhere. Xircom says that you will be able to upload pictures to the REX with this tool, but on a B&W display, they will dither and look rather coarse.
Function Overview:
Essentially the REX 6000 is "Outlook on a card". It supports the basic functionality of MS Outlook, without e-mail and the advanced features. You can synchronize the REX either through inserting it into a PC-Card slot, or by using the cradle. At this time, you can't buy the REX without some sort of cradle.
Calendar - This supports one-shot or recurring appointments, scheduled over a period of time, on a single day, or over multiple days. An alarm can be set to go off a selectable amount of time before the appointment. It sounds like a watch alarm, which can be a bit muffled if the REX is in its carrying case in your pocket. Complicated entries are best made in Outlook, rather than the REX.
Contacts List - It stores almost any conceivable bit of information about a person or business that you would want to store, with "other" fields and a "Notes" section for additional information. You find a person by drilling-down through the ABC's, much like you would find a person in a phone book. It usually takes about three clicks to get there. Once you display a contact, you must select one of the predefined formats (e-mail, phone, home, work) to display the information you want to see.
Tasks - This displays a to-do list with checkboxes to the left of each item. By default, it is sorted by checked-off status, then by priority. You may enter a title, notes, start/end dates, and priority for each task. If a task becomes overdue, it is highlighted in bold text. Unfortunately, checked-off tasks don't drop off the list. You must clean out the taskbook manually. Also, categories for tasks are not supported. I'd like to be able to filter tasks by category like in Outlook.
Memos - These are really handy. You can enter any sort of information that you need to keep handy in this section. Memos can be categorized, and the display will filter the list of notes by category, which is really handy when you have a lot of Memos. Individual Memos can also be locked, which then require inputting the REX's PIN to open. Note that these are only locked in the REX, not in Outlook.
If you want to upload text to the REX, I'd recommend creating a new note in Outlook, then importing the text into this note. The next time you sync your REX, this note will be sent as a new memo. This avoids using REX Tools, and any problems that occur when uploading raw text files.
Web - This function in a bare-bones, text-only set of pages downloaded from Xircom's "rex.net" web site. You pick the information categories that you want to download from the web site, and the REX will grab that information every time you synchronize the PDA. I get news, weather, stocks, and some fun anecdotes from the net.
Calculator and World Clock - The calculator is your basic calculator, nothing special. It comes in handy for figuring tips at restaurants. The clock lets you set two time zones -- the zone you live in, and another of your choice. You may also view another, third zone by clicking on the map. The map if a map of the world that displays night and day through shading. At this time, the selection of cities is rather sparse. I live near Boston, but had to choose "New York" to set my zone.
Settings - This function allows you to customize how your REX functions. You can set the sleep timeout, the PIN, when and if the REX locks itself and requires the PIN, enabling input clicks and the alarm sound, the date and time, touch screen calibration, plus some other information about the device.
Extras - Xircom plans to release some extra apps that you can download into the REX. These will perform extra functions. As of yet, these are not available. These are only available through rex.net. Once you receive your REX 6000, you are encouraged to register on rex.net. This allows you to download web content and access the "members only" section for product news and downloads.
The REX 6000 isn't a fancy, powerful PDA, but it isn't meant to be. It performs the functions intended and it performs them very well. I am very satisfied with it, and it already has become an indispensible part of my life. I look forward to exploring the extra functionality of the soon-to-be-released "Extra" applications and of future firmware revisions.
Update: I just downgraded my rating a bit. There are a few small nit-picks. Rex.net is not finished. The Extras are not yet available, and an SDK (software developer's kit) has not been released to the general public. The device tends to be a little sluggish at times. There is no input buffer to make up for this, especially on the keyboard. Tasks cannot be filtered by category. Finally, the batteries are not rechargeable.
The convenience and functionality make these little problems rather insignificant. Besides, future firmware updates will probably take care of a lot of these. On the positive side, a recent upgrade to the sync software increased sync performance dramatically. I still love and depend on my REX 6000 and recommend it wholeheartedly. To be fair, I'm giving it a "4" out of "5".
And more... Ok, this review is long enough, but I have even more to add. After a few months in my pocket, the screen has started to show a little wear. I wanted to get a protective plastic sheet for it, but they want $25 for these things - forget it! I found a free sheet of clear vinyl in a piece of packaging that works perfectly. I cut it to size to just fit inside the inner bezel. It's not made for PDA's, but the REX senses the stylus through it without a problem.
Clear vinyl makes great screen protector, and doesn't distort or diffuse the screen. It is very smooth, and the stylus glides right over it. Soft, flexible, and tough, it has a good "body" to it. It naturally self-adheres well to the screen without any goop or residue. Pressing the stylus into it has a soft feel. The best thing is, it's cheap!
Wish List. I want a faster processor, of course. Even some sort of display-accelerator circuit would be good. Rechargeable battery system. I just installed my fourth set of batteries. Hey, how about some solar cells, even? The case and stylus should be included, not an extra, Xircom. These are necessities. Simple Search Engine indexed by the PC, not the REX. This is an expensive function, so the PC could build the hash tables and download them to the REX upon sync. Backlight, but this would require a rechargeable battery system. Even an LED sidelight would be great. I have to find a light if I want to use it past dusk.
Update [old]. I had to downgrade my rating again to a "3" out of "5", not because of the product - I still think it's great - but because of Xircom's sluggish support for the product. Five months after its release, the software is still incomplete. The Intellisync software is still buggy. I've had to reinstall it four times because sync would fail, and Xircom tech-support seemed clueless about the problem. The promised extra applications are still nonexistant, and a developer's kit has not been released. A section on the website has been claiming, "Something new is coming soon" for quite a while now. There has been no news on their progress, and I'm rather disappointed. I still use and depend on my REX, but would like to have reliable syncs and extended applications. I'm changing my recommendation until these things are fixed.
Update [new]. Ok, Intel has phased out the REX 6000, but user support is very strong and still growing. More additional applications have been developed for this PDA than you can fit into it, already. Someone is working on converting the Citizen DataSlim 2, which is the same hardware and is still in production in Japan, into a REX 6000. The firmware is slowly being decoded and documented. Not just one, but two SDK's are available. A few important applications have been developed: A Find utility, Encrypted Memos, and one that allows more than eight addin applications to be loaded at once. Don't let the fact that corporate support has gone away turn you off to the REX 6000. With all that's happening in the user community, this fact doesn't seem to matter any more.
Technical Specs
Case: Standard Type-II PCMCIA card (PC Card) in combination metal and plastic case.
Processor: ~4 MHz Z80 processor embedded in a proprietary VLSI chip. Processor halts to conserve power when not busy.
Power: 6V in the form of two CR2016 lithium button batteries. These last 1 week to many months, depending on use. Uses cradle power when synchronizing. Automatic power-off when not in use (user adjustable).
Memory: 2 MB permanent Flash RAM won't forget when you change the batteries.
Display: Dimensions are 5 1/2 x 3 1/4 cm at 240 x 120 pixel resolution for 28,800 pixels. (For comparison, Palm has 25,600, or 160 x 160 on a larger display). Crisp monochrome reflective active matrix LCD. No backlight. Non-square pixels are taller than wide with 1.2 aspect ratio.
Operating System: Proprietary. Can remember state of different tasks to a limited extent when switching tasks.
Input: Touch-sensitive display for either finger or stylus with seven application buttons printed along the bottom. Five physical pushbuttons along the side. Display shows a keyboard for text entry. No input buffer.
Sound: Watch-type "beep beep" alarm. Keyclick. Both can be turned on or off independently.
Sync: Syncs through the PCMCIA plug on the end. Plugs into supplied cradle or a standard PCMCIA slot.
Drivers: If plugged into a PCMCIA slot, the system sees it as a modem card. Special drivers are included for the sync cradle.
Cradle: Either a USB cradle powered by the USB bus, or a RS-232 serial cradle powered by 4 AA batteries. Supports only the REX, not other PCMCIA cards.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 150
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Epinions.com ID:
gsearle
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Member: Greg Searle
Location: Nashua, NH
Reviews written: 27
Trusted by: 10 members
About Me:
Computer graphics designer and software developer with interests in technology, home improvement, and family life.
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