Pocket Rocket!
Pros:
Beautiful, Lightweight, Palm OS
Cons:
Only 2MB of Memory, Rechargeable Battery Can Leave You Stranded
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
Ive reviewed many of the (mostly) new PDAs but Ive received about a dozen emails from folks asking for my opinion of the Palm V. I respond that I wrote an Epinion on the Palm Vx which is essentially the same unit but with more memory. But still the mail comes as apparently the Palm Vx isnt as well known as the Palm V.
So in answer to my "fan mail" : ) Im now including this Epinion on the Palm V.
The Palm V is virtually identical in operation to the Palm IIIe with three main differences:
1) The Palm V is smaller and lighter and comes in a beautiful, sleek, aluminum case.
2) The Palm V uses a rechargeable battery which will save you a lot of money over the life of the unit. But....the battery is not user replaceable and ties you to the synch/charger cradle. If your battery wears down on a plane, you're out of luck.
3) The Palm V is about $125 more. (TIP - The Palm prices keep coming down in reaction to competition. As I write this the Palm IIIe can be had for as little as $100 and the Palm V for about $225. Do a price search on the internet or youll end up paying a lot more.)
The only difference between the Palm V (other than about $100) and the Palm Vx is that the Vx has 8MB of memory and the Palm has 2MB. An important consideration when making this purchase.
Although the Palm V fit easily in my shirt pocket I soon found out that this is a VERY bad idea. Bend over and CRASH - it can easily fall to the floor. A cracked screen will cost you $100 from Palm. Be safe and purchase one of the leather cases on the market to protect your investment.
The new Palms upgrade the Palm OS with some nice features, 2 MB of flash ROM, the IR beaming feature to communicate with other Palms, full MS Outlook synching Email, Calendar, Address Book, Memo Pad etc.) and last but not least the little talked about AvantGo software. With this feature you can download as many as 23 websites (in pocket version) at each synching. Not as good as real time web browsing but hey...it's free! You'd pay as much as $45 a month for not much more on the Palm VII.
(TIP - if you want to make heavy use of the AvantGo feature buy the Palm Vx which has 4 times the amount of memory. Youll need it.)
The Palm quickly becomes a part of your life by way of it's ability to help organize. The standard Palm OS includes:
EMAIL
While you can download and upload from your desktop you cannot send without a modem. You can read, write, upload to your desktop and then send.
DATE BOOK
This is the can't live without scheduler feature. As good as it is Datebook 4 is an optional downloadable program for $25 you simply must try. It has has 45 trial period.
MEMO PAD
Write notes, email (cut and paste) etc.
EXPENSES
Template program to track all expenses.
TO DO LIST
Self explanatory.
ADDRESS BOOK
Templates with room for virtually unlimited names, addresses, phone numbers, notes etc.
There are many web sites where you can download free and other Palm OS compatible software. Some other programs I've added are enhancements to the existing Palm installed software that makes it more flexible, a function which allows screen writing with the ability to save messages in your own handwriting, measurement converter, stop watch, image viewer, two readers to download books and magazines, an advanced scientific calculator, a world time clock, and lots of fun stuff including...of course...games.
The Palm OS does makes amazing use of memory though, and the amount of stuff you can load on is mind boggling. If you go with the Palm V you should be fine except for AvantGo which uses ton of memory.
If the smaller, more attractive size doesn't interest you and you want to get more memory, get the Palm IIIxe. But if you want a sleek, state of the art version of the IIIxe the Palm Vx is for you. If your memory needs are more modest and you want the style of the Vx go with the Palm V now selling for around $250 or less. Also consider the Palm IIIe which is almost the same as the Palm V but in the plainer package - like the Palm IIIxe - and is only $100 to $150.
In any event the Palm OS still beats out the MS Pocket PC PDAs by a wide margin. Color is the only missing ingredient and I assume they all will have color screens within a couple of years.
