Cheap 'n' Cheerful (Palm M100)

Member Name: towner

Product:	Palm M100
Date:	05/08/01 (139 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Small, Cheap

Disadvantages: Deep-Set Screen, Small Memory

What I liked:

The built in applications such as calendar and address book are well designed, and genuinely help to organise your life. The sync option with Outlook is also valuable and well implemented.

The range of applications that can be added to the unit is very impressive, there is something to suit most problems, there are many sites of the internet which offer freeware and sharware Palm apps, most will work on the m100.

The Palm can easily be used to connect to a mobile phone (that has an infra-red port) to connect to the internet. It was easily set up by entering my ISP details, and worked first time. There are many internet applications available for e-mail, web browsing, telnet and even ICQ.

What I didn't like:

I knew that the amount of memory was small (2mb), but didn't think it would be an issue for me, but it became a problem quickly. The memory will quickly become full if you add a fair few applications, particularly applications for using the internet (such as the Mobile Internet Kit, available separately)

I was disappointed by the screen, it can be hard to read in low light (although there is a backlight) and in bright sunlight. The main problem seems to be is that the screen is fairly deep-set into the case compared to the higher-end models.

The backlight quickly saps the battery, so extended use in poor lighting is not recommended.

The included HotSync cable is for use with a serial port, it is a shame that a USB cable was not included.

Final Note:
Unless you are going to use this for just the basic applications (You might think this now, but find you want to add new apps), I would recommend that you take a look at the m105, as it has 8mb of memory.

Summary: