Being a spendthift I rarely buy the most expensive solutions to problems. I had a Psion 5MX that was a gift, and was doing ok, but it died. So then I got a palm m105. Was impressed! So impressed I upgraded to an m130.

All the functional palm apps are there. You can get by quite happily with just the address book and calendar, thought the palm to-do list is one of the best I've found on PDA's.

As with other palms, this is a stylus only beast. No keyboard supplied. You can "type" fairly fast with the on screen keyboard rather than curse your memory on how to write "x" on the handwriting pad. In the field it's fine for entering meeting dates and taking short notes. The freehand sketchpad is fine for quick (short) notes. It's really an information retrival tool. 90% of the data goes in on the PC's at home and work.

The fact it syncs to PC's so nicely is a godsend. I use it at work with it's own Palm Desktop software, and at home with Outlook. It quite happily retains all the data I add at each end on either application. Never gripes a bit. (I had to buy a sync / charger cable for work for £17).

The vast range of Palm apps on the internet keep it useful with good (free) utilites. The bundle of software I got on the CD was great! Docs to Go (syncs with Word and Excel), Photosuite (so now I have always got a pic of the wife :), SMS software, WAP browser and more as well!

As a comparison, the m105 had a monochrome unlit display with few expansion options. This has an SD slot, M5xx compatible slot at the base and 65k backlit display. The m105 gained in battery life thanks to the lack of backlight.

The backlight issue is a tough one. Without it (m105), was fine except in dull / dark conditions. With it (m130) is great except for bright sunlight. It does have a "turn the backlight down" option (hold the power button), which helps a bit.

Invaluable tool. I ca
n forget work at the weekend and ask the Palm on Sunday night.