Well, my yuppinization has finally become complete, thanks to Aunt Lorna and Grandma. This year, on Cinco De Mayo, I graduated from law school and as a gift I received a Palm IIIxe from the aforementioned. I had never even given a thought to buying one of these for myself, because I always thought people with these were obnoxious- people always had them out and were playing with them and I thought “oh come on- SHOW OFF!” Well, God help me I have become one. (serves me right.) And guess what- these Palm-ers are not showing off- they are addicted! Let me put it this way- I am addicted to organizers. I have had several in my lifetime, and it was always the most exciting thing for me to pick out a new one every school year until I found my current one, which I have had for 7 years. I love this little organizer and I never thought that I would replace it, especially with an obnoxious handheld PC! Boy was I wrong. This little baby has worked its way into my heart and my palm, and I can hardly put it down!
Needless to say, I love my Palm. It has a few drawbacks, but not many. Here is the lowdown on this handheld computer.
Features Small and handy
This little fella (mine is named Pete) is very light and surprisingly thin. It easily fits in my purse and if you dare, it will fit in your pocket. I usually don’t even know I have it on me (so I have to be careful not to sit on it.) The screen is about 3 by 3 and it uses a stylus- a little plastic pen you use to touch the screen. The stylus fits in the back of the palm, so you never lose it.
It also has great battery life. It takes two AAA batteries and I have been playing with mine for a week nonstop and I have seen no lightening of the screen or slowing down of the programs. I thought a Palm would be like the old Discmans and eat your batteries up, but so far this has not been the case.
Many handy programs, or “applications”
My Palm came installed with a date book, address book, memo pad, email, calculator, and some other apps. The main start up screen has icons for these apps, and this screen is programmable, meaning you can choose different ways to see the data- you can sort the apps into categories, which are selectable from the front page via pull down menu. For example, I have the apps I use most under “Main” and my games under “Games” so I can quickly get to the apps I need without scrolling down the main page.
The Palm IIIxe also comes with 8 MB of memory. Not a lot you think? Wrong! This is tons of space considering that most apps will take 20KB at the most. (And, most Palms, including Palm VII with wireless internet, only come with 2 MB.) I have added several programs from freeware that have hardly taken up any room at all. This is one of the best things about this model- you have enough memory to do just about anything you want to.
Data entry
Data can be entered a couple of ways. First is “Graffiti” writing, which is the way the user enters data by hand using the stylus. It is basically a form of shorthand that you use to enter letters and characters with the stylus on a sensitized screen on the Palm. This is how you “write”- you use the stylus to enter the letters using the Graffiti type writing. It is specialized- you don’t just write like you would on a pad of paper. For example, an A is an upside down V. You don’t cross the A. The goal of this program is to let you write a symbol so that you never have to pick up the stylus, with the exception of X. They want you to be able to do a letter in one fluid motion. So, some of the letters have somewhat funny symbols and it takes awhile to learn how to write all the symbols- letters are pretty easy, but specialized symbols and punctuation can be kind of tricky.
There is also an electronic keyboard, which is great for long entries. In the bottom left corner of the sensitized area where you write Graffiti, there is a symbol that says “abc”. If you tap on this with your stylus, a keyboard comes up. It matches your computer keyboard and you use your stylus to click on the letters. It works great and I find this is the fastest way to do data entry. (There is also an area that comes up that is an electronic number pad so you can quickly enter numbers.)This works great because you already know from typing where the letters are, and you just click on each letter, or space and backspace, with your stylus and the words come up.
HotSync
This is the greatest feature of a Palm. Your palm will come with software and a “HotSync cradle”. You install the software and the cradle. Then, you attach your Palm to the cradle and it coordinates all information with your computer. The software that comes with it is basically your Palm on the desktop. This feature allows you to completely backup and coordinate data. So, if I have a lot of new data I want to put on my Palm, all I have to do is go to my computer, enter the data, then do a HotSync. The Palm and computer compare what data each other has, and they update each other. (You can choose which overrides the other in case of a conflict.) So, I can quickly add data using a real keyboard. This also makes your data easier to view because it is on a real screen, and you don’t take up battery time entering data.
This is also a lifesaver because you can backup what is on your Palm. If you are away and you add a bunch of stuff, when you do a HotSync all data is synchronized and you won’t lose something if your Palm crashes.
I love this feature as well because it allows me to get my email on my Palm. I do not have a Palm modem, which you can get, so I connect to the internet, then do a HotSync operation and my mail is downloaded to my Palm. Way cool!
Upgrades and toys!
As I mentioned, the Palm IIIxe has tons of memory. SO- you can add tons of cool stuff, most of which takes up little room and is inexpensive, if not freeware. You download the software in a zip file, then you use your Palm desktop software top install it on your Palm. You do a HotSync operation and the new program is installed for you. It doesn’t get any easier than that!
There are tons of programs out there, and the thing I love about Palm is that they encourage you to use these programs by other people. Their website, www.palm.com, has a software link that shows you many of the third party software that is available. The things you can get for this little handheld computer are just incredible!
I have downloaded many programs, but my most addictive are Blackjack, Solitaire and Mahjongg, both of which are incredible programs, and totally free! I even have a program that is a digitized version of the Magic Eight Ball.
For tons of freeware, shareware, and other software, I recommend
http://www.handango.com, although there are TONS of sites out there dedicated to goodies for your Palm. They buy and sell Palms and there is TONS of free software and games, and if it is not free, then it is usually pretty cheap- many programs go for $5, and all programs offer a trial so you can test the software before making a purchase.
There are also many fun toys you can get for your Palm, of course! I have so far ordered a leather case and a portable keyboard, which I hope will make data entry easier when I am away from my computer ($100 so not cheap, but hopefully handy.) You can get pens with styli in them, tons of carrying cases, and even colored covers for your Palm, and for the screen itself! I recommend if you want to BUY a handheld PC, go to Amazon.com. They have Palms and accessories for the cheapest I have seen, and I have been searching for stuff all over the web.
Drawbacks to this miracle of modern computer science
Well, so far I have not found many. Of course, the Palm snobs all say that it does not have color like the new Palm IIIc, but I have not found that to be a problem. Plus, the Palm IIIxe goes for $250 and the Palm IIIC goes for $450! And the only real difference is color. Plus the III series has tons of apps for non-color, but not many for the IIIc.
I am also slightly annoyed that there is no AC adapter for a Palm- it is all batteries. ACK! I ran right out and bought a pack of AAA batteries that now resides permanently in my new briefcase. I would like to see a way to plug in my Palm to the wall, but I don’t see that coming anytime soon.
I have some problems with the Mail function. Yes, I can download my email, but you have to open each mail item in order to delete it. For example, if I get 10 emails from Bonus Mail, I have to open each one to delete it- I cannot delete without opening. With the amount of spam that I get, deleting it can be a chore.
Also, the desktop software has no application for responding to mail.What I mean is that I cannot use my desktop to reply. I have to type in a response using my Palm, and then I do a HotSync operation to get the responses out. What I would like to see is that my mail goes into my desktop Palm software so I can reply using a keyboard instead of my Palm. OK, so this is kind of picky, but it would save me tons of time. Using the Palm to manually type in lengthy replies is not efficient- it just takes too long. This will change I realize once I get a portable keyboard, but that is going to be awhile. So you are saying “just use outlook moron!” Well, once the mail goes into my Palm, it is in my Palm and it is not on my desktop- it does not go into Outlook unless it came with an attachment. AM I WRONG? FAITHFUL PALM-ERS TELL ME DIFFERENT! I would love to know that I am missing some nuance and that it is possible to get my mail into Outlook Express and my Palm at the same time, then if I delete something on my Palm it would be deleted in OE too.
But anyway- that is all very technical stuff! Overall, I am totally in love with my Palm IIIxe. It is small, cute, and dependable! But you have to be careful. This little pal is not indestructible! Check out this cute website for stories and pics from people that have inadvertently and accidentally destroyed their handheld PCs!
http://www.palminfocenter.com/graveyard/
Now go get yourself a Palm from Amazon and leave bulky old paper organizers behind!
Same size and weight as earlier Palm III models 8 MB RAM (4 times that of the popular Palm IIIe connected organizer) Upgradable features and operating...More at Amazon Marketplace
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.