The PDA's baby brother
Written: May 14 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: small, functional, convenient
Cons: tough to enter data, insensitive buttons
The Bottom Line: This is a great option for people who aren't sure they want to spend the $$$ for a big PDA. It's sort of PDA training wheels.
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| JulieQ's Full Review: Intel REX 6000 |
I have been using my Xircom REX 6000 pretty heavily for about 3 months now. The reason I decided to go with this very small PDA is that I tend to abandon planners and organizers with alarming frequency. Three months may be the longest I’ve ever used one so far, as a matter of fact.
For the most part, I’m enjoying the REX. It’s not fair to compare this little guy to a regular Palm Pilot or a Visor. If you want something as tiny as the REX, you shouldn’t be surprised that it doesn’t have a million features. Its main functions are the calendar/planner, time/date, calculator, address book, memos and a task list. At this point in my life, that’s about all I need.
The REX isn’t really as small as a credit card, as the advertisements for it claimed. It’s thicker. Essentially, it’s a PC/MCIA card, and if you have a laptop, that’s where you put the REX in order to sync it with Microsoft Outlook. To sync with your desktop computer, you’ll need REX’s cradle/docking station. Even though the REX isn’t as small as the consumer might have been led to believe, it’s still pretty darn small. It takes up very little space in my purse, although you do have to keep it in its little protective carrying case. Otherwise, very bad things could happen to its screen.
It’s very nice to be able to sync the REX with Outlook because if you couldn’t, inputting data into the REX would be a nightmare. No handwriting recognition here, my friends. If you want to enter data directly into the REX, you’ll have to use its keypad feature. The keypad is very sensitive (in a good way), but it’s not a whole lot of fun to use; it’s as slow as hunt-and-peck typing. You have to use the little plastic stylus to enter data in this way. You can use a pointy fingernail, but it’s probably not the best thing for your REX’s screen.
The buttons on the right side of the REX are, to my mind, almost useless. They are very insensitive. You’re supposed to hold the top one down in order to turn the REX off, and it’s far from easy. You have to hold the button down at just the right angle.
Although the REX software was not particularly easy to install on my computer, the syncing process has been relatively accurate. I have only ever noticed it make one mistake, and I’m not 100% sure I wasn’t responsible for the mistake.
For the most part, the REX is very functional. The main things I do with mine are keep my schedule on there and make up shopping lists to use at the store. The REX does both things very well. Mine hasn’t run out of batteries yet, and I’ve had it for about 3 months, like I said. You get what you pay for with the little REX. It's a lot cheaper than most PDAs, it's smaller, and it doesn't do as much. The screen isn't backlit, but how often are you using your PDA in the dark anyway?
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 160
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Epinions.com ID:
JulieQ
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Member: Julie Qidwai
Location: North Liberty, IA
Reviews written: 48
Trusted by: 8 members
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