Palm Vx - Essential or $299 calendar?
Written: Apr 17 '01 (Updated Jun 18 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Small. Elegant design. Graffiti easy system to learn.
Cons: Small. Fragile. Accessories cost a fortune. Overpriced!
The Bottom Line: At $299, it may still be too expensive, but the Palm Vx is one cool gadget.
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| DukeSunflow's Full Review: Palm Vx Handheld |
Okay, I must admit that I cannot objectively give you a review on if the Palm Vx is worth the big bucks you will wind up shelling out for it. I won a contest in my company for creating the name for our intranet site. First prize was my Palm Vx.
I must admit I'm not the most organized person in the world. I spend much of my time trying to remember what it is I'm supposed to do. Even with numerous schedulers, planners, and now my Palm Vx, I still find myself attending events based on my own memory. That said, I've found the Palm Vx to still be a worthy addition to my life.
The Palm Vx is a beauty to behold. Designed in part by IDEO, the Palm Vx is not much bigger than your Palm, only a few millimeters thick, and sleek enough to look like something like a suave, martini drinking, James Bond should carry, not a Dr. Pepper swilling balding pudgy guy like me.
Palm's secret to its success has been the design of its software and it's realization that most people don't want a PDA to be a fully functional PC. As such, Palm has placed many useful features at your fingertips.
They include a Memo Pad, in which you can jot yourself lists, notes regarding work, personal life, and anything else you could ever think to write down. I have found this the most useful feature of my Palm. I use it to write myself little reminders of websites to visit, important numbers, grocery lists, books I want to read, and interesting ideas or concepts brought up by my coworkers. These can be categorized in any way you wish.
Also, there is a calendar (OF COURSE) in which you can put your appointments, important events, and other information to help you guide your life. It is your basic calendar function, nothing fancy.
The address book feature is rather disappointing to me. While it gives you options for entering lots of phone numbers and email addresses, I would have liked the ability to tie people together and to tie birthdays, anniversaries and other important events in with the calendar function. Perhaps this is possible, but I haven't figured it out.
The last primary function is the To Do list. Or, if you're me, it's the wishful thinking list. The Palm allows you to categorize and prioritize your To Do list, which I find helpful, especially for project work. It also nicely integrates with an appointment view on your calendar so you can get all of your day's events and tasks on one screen.
The Palm also comes with software to keep track of expenses and a simple calculator to do that basic math (more handy than I ever imagined, especially when shopping).
The Palm Vx comes with 8 MB of Ram. It seems like more than enough memory, especially if you stick to your standard calendar, phone and note entries. I've barely used 1 MB in my extensive usage, even with adding several additional programs to the mix. Amazingly, with all of its power and functionality, the battery lasts for days (especially without backlight usage) and charges so quickly that you'll never consider it a hassle.
There are some drawbacks to the Palm Vx, however.
First, its size is a double edged sword. It makes it neat, elegant, and easy to conceal. Unfortunately, it also makes it fragile. While I haven't broken it (KNOCK WOOD), I can see how a little light mishandling may lead to expensive repairs.
Second, it's expensive. Sure, it's light, small, and has a ton of memory. But do you really want to spend this much money on something that can be easily lost, stolen, and/or broken? While its functionality can't be denied, I can't help but think that you might be better served buying a cheaper model and some accessories.
Third, the software included to sync your Palm is lacking. If you wish to use non Palm software to keep track of your calendar, be prepared to spend extra money for full functionality.
Fourth, accessories are expensive. I've only bought one, the hard case, and at $30 it was about $10 overpriced. If you buy a keyboard (a must if you wish to do more than very simple notetaking), modems, or other accessories, you'll push the price of the Palm into cheap notebook territory.
Finally, the backlighting is rather strange. It is only really viewable in very low light. When you press the button, the display reverses, with the black LCD turning green and glowing. I'm not sure how Palm did this, but effect is more cool than functional. I'd prefer the standard watch type backlighting. Perhaps this method helps reduce battery drain.
Still, the Palm Vx is proving itself more useful than I ever imagined. I must admit that I enjoy turning myself into a TechnoSnob by pulling it out whenever someone wants to schedule something or I need to make a note to myself. The calendar and phonebook have proven to be life savers. And the ability to download a ton of gaming software and other functional utilities has made the Palm a nice little way of taking a short break whenever I need it.
UPDATE 6/18/01
I have found a new use for my Palm Vx that has made it far more valuable to me, Avant Go software. This software enables you to link your Palm to various websites and download daily content. This has turned the Palm into a miniature news device for me. It also comes in handy for those covert trips to the bathroom when you don't want to be seen carrying a newspaper (such as when you're a guest at a friend's house.) I download the Onion, Reuters news, WSJ headlines and more.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 399
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Epinions.com ID:
DukeSunflow
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Location: Louisville, KY
Reviews written: 314
Trusted by: 39 members
About Me:
I love writing, music, games, mysteries, my wife and my daughter!
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