It’s Craptacular! X
Written: Feb 07 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: More memory, slick design.
Cons: Not a very versitile PDA. Some design flaws.
The Bottom Line: More memory almost makes this Palm worth it.
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| mmconhea's Full Review: Palm Vx Handheld |
If you’ve seen my opinion on the Palm V model, then you may be wondering why this opinion is almost the same thing. Well that because these two models of Palms are almost the same. They feature pretty much the same things, only this one is an upgrade- so I upgraded my opinion and added an “X” to the title. Aren’t I smart? I think so. I discuss the one only difference (the memory upgrade) below.
What amazes me that this device is made by a company owned by the great 3Com. A company that is well known for it’s engineering and design, and although the design of the Palm Vx is pleasing to the eye, it’s function is less than stellar.
What is has and doesn’t have:
For those just looking for the differences in this model of Palm PDA this one has the slimmer and lightweight design as well as a brushed metal casing. It also includes a small leather cover for the screen and two stylus pens. One is cheap plastic and one has a brushed metal casing. This Palm also features a built in (and not removable) Lithium Ion battery. This puppy should last you days of moderate use. It will take a few hours to fully charge (and 6 hours for your initial charge). The docking station is used as a charger and for synchronizing with your PC. Unlike the Palm III models, the Palm V docking station has a green charging indicator light in its base. The new Palm Vx feature a whopping 8 Megs of Memory for a small jump in price, and if I had to recommend a Palm PDA, that would be the one.
The Palm OS
For those that are unfamiliar with the Palm format of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), you may want to take note that Palm PDAs are not Windows- bases machines and are not in any way developed by Microsoft. Those that are (the Windows CE based PDAs) are called Pocket PCs. Because the Palm OS is not based on Microsoft’s popular windows platform, the interface takes a little getting used to if you are a first time palm user. The monochromatic screen is simple, and not as effective as the Pocket PC’s Windows CE interface. The Palm also uses a handwriting interface to gain input from the user. This interface is very different from our writing system and some characters are more complicated to enter into the Palm than to write on paper. Even though you may also “tap-type” your input through an onscreen keyboard, the whole process is slow and you will probably want to pick up an external keyboard. Warning: if you use an external keyboard you will look like a looser. There is nothing that can be done about that, sorry.
I could get into a long rant about the differences between the Palm OS and Windows CE, but I won’t. There are a few pieces of information (I wouldn’t call them facts) that you should know. The Palm OS has more support from 3rd party software developers than Windows CE (although this could change very quickly). The Palm OS does not support Stereo Sound or MP3 playback (nor recording for that matter), while Packet PCs do. The Pocket PC’s also offer a wider range of expandability, while most Palms do not offer a expansion slot for upgrades. Windows CE allows for the user to run more than one application on his PDA at one time, while the Palm OS doesn’t. Most importantly Windows CE has miniature versions of popular Microsoft Software, such as Word and Excel, while the Palm does not support these applications.
Display
Although the Palm platform, and particularly the Palm V has the capability to display 8 shades of gray on the screen, it seldom does. Not that it’s very appealing when it happens anyways. The poor quality screen would be my biggest complaint regarding the palm platform in general. Palm continues to introduce newer models of the same device, with little upgrades or differences here and there, but no real upgrade to the quality of the display. They tried with the Palm IIIc, which introduced a backlit color display. Unfortunately, the awful resolution of the previous Palm devices was also carried over and the result is a gimmick that isn’t far worth its price.
I feel that this lack of a quality display will end up dooming the Palm platform soon if they don’t remedy the problem immediately. Electronic books and magazines are storming the portable market, and while the Pocket PC platform have wonderful full color and high-resolution displays and the eBooks have screens ideal for displaying text, the Palms are stuck with eyesores of jagged and boring fonts. Spending $400 on a PDA that doesn’t allow for comfortable reading just doesn’t make sense.
Connectivity
Another feature that the Palm is lacking is connectivity. No modem. No expansion slot. So if you want a modem, expect to pay upwards of $200 for one that can be attached to your Palm V. Please also note that because of the odd design of this Palm, the hundred of upgrades and attachments that have been created for the popular Palm III series will probably not work well on this bad boy. By using A service such as AvantGo.com, we sites can be downloaded from your desktop computer to your Palm every time you synchronize.
Memory
If you are going to install a bunch of applications to take advantage of your Palm device you are going to need lots of memory. This Palm has a whopping 8 megabytes, which four times as much as the Palm V has. That’s more then enough to store your contacts & schedules for a few years, some games, some dictionaries and much more. Be careful, 8 megabytes isn’t an infinite amount. Too many games and you may have to go back and clean out some old apps. This is by far the only major upgrade from the Palm V model release years back (aside from a probably, but unnoticeable OS upgrade that depends on when and where you buy this model). The large amount of memory is the reason to spend an extra $50 or so to get this model other than the regular Palm V. You will not regret it.
Why Not Palm?
Its terrible display is not ideal for electronic publications = Not a good eBook.
It has no sound playback or recording = Not a message recorder or MP3 or Video Player.
No built in connectivity = No wireless web.
Those are major functions of a PDA that people are looking for nowadays. The Palm platform just can’t deliver.
Why Not This Palm
-The different design may be attractive, but good luck finding accessories for it at a decent price. .
-The design is flimsy and delicate (meaning you drop this thing once, and it’s gone).
-The Handwriting system is flawed an inefficient.
-Almost every button on the Palm turns the machine on. So when it’s sitting in your briefcase and something hits the button, or the leather case applies too much pressure, then it goes on. If the annoying beeping of the button pressing doesn’t alert you, the battery will drain quickly. This happens a lot.
What is a Palm good for?
Spanking the monkey. No really, the scheduling and contact management features are solid and can be synchronized with Microsoft Outlook or Netscape Communicator. (Though the Pocket PC’s also feature wonderful scheduling and address book software as well). So many people are getting Palm PDAs nowadays, it’s no uncommon to exchange contact information by beaming the data from one palm to the other using the infrared port. Pocket PCs also feature this, but not as many people have pocket PCs.
So pick up a Palm PDA if you will be using it in the environment of other Palm users, but if not stay far away.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 450
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Epinions.com ID:
mmconhea
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Location: Rochester, NY
Reviews written: 42
Trusted by: 55 members
About Me:
I really look like this. I really do.
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