Handy Little Devil (Palm IIIxe)

Member Name: Scrypt

Product:	Palm IIIxe
Date:	10/09/01 (225 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to use, Can download new programmes, Hotsync Function

Disadvantages: Poor Battery Life, Non-Rechargeabe docking unit

The Palm III xe isnt a bad machine.

There.

Okay a little more?

Well the reason I bought a plam was that evryone else seemd to have one - and I didn't want to be left out. The deal I got from Pc World was pretty good. A Palm IIIxe, the mobile internet kit, and a datacable to connect to my mobile for £99 all in. This was the main reason I went for the IIIxe over its newer M100 model.

The Palm is driven by the newer OS3.5 system, rather then the older 3.0 software. Whichever palm you seem to buy, they all run on the same platform, meaning that this little machine runs in the same way the higher V series runs.

The unit itself is a little bulkier then the V series, thought the £150 cost saving makes this justifiably palatable. Running on 2 AAA batteries ive found it to last less then a month with minimal use, this is my main grip with the unit. Unlike the docking unit supplied with the Palm IIIc, the one supplied with the IIIxe does not enable you to recharge the internal battery when you put the unit down to HotSync it. This was easily rectified by obtaining some rechargable batteries form Argos.

The Hotsync function, mentioned above, allows a user to transfer data between Pc and Palm. This enables you to have all your diary entries and phonebooks with you all the time without having to imput the data twice. Having the HotSync also means that should you ever lose the data on your palm (through corruption or battery dying) one simple HotSync allows you to replace all the lost data. With the IIIxe this has proved invaluable due to the short life span of batteries.

As well as a Hotsync function, another useful little device is the infra-red link which allows you to transfer data between PDa and your mobile without having to use the datacable. This can be very useful when obtaining numbers form friends an colleagues.

The Palm as a unit is simple to use, with a great display and having never
used a PDA before i found it very easy to comprehend and was up and running in no time. To customise the unit, many programs are downloadable from the net and the 8MB limit seems to be fine at the moment. Software supplied with the Palm incudes address books, to do lists, schedulers as well as a few games, calculator and several others. As described above, adding programmes to the Palm is a very easy excercise, and is carriedout in conjunction with the HotSync function

Via the NetLink cable included in the package, the Palm can also be used to surf the net - though it should be remembered that dialling the net through your mobile will incur a premium from your line provider.


All in all, the unit is extremely useful, has all the features of the higher priced units but at less cost. For those who need an ultra-slim unit, this may not be for you, but for everyone else its worth the money!

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