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Holiday gift guide: PDAs and accessories
 | GALLERY |
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by Keith Shaw, Bob Brown, Melissa Shaw
(IDG)
(Ratings are on a scale of 1-10; 10 = best score)
Handspring Visor Deluxe
Cost: $249
What it does: Cool PDA with Palm OS, offers expansion port for attachments like digital cameras, modems, backup and extra memory; also comes in different colors.
Coolness factor: 8
Ease of use: 7
Business usage: PDA for workers that becomes expandable depending on their needs; interface is easy to use.
- Keith Shaw
TRGpro
Cost: $329.99
What it does: This PDA may be the one your enterprise ends up buying for everyone. It runs on the Palm OS, but adds a Compact Flash card expansion slot, so you can backup your data and use other Compact Flash features. The PDA comes with 8M bytes of RAM, 2M bytes of Flash memory, enhanced audio, and is compatible with most Palm III-series third-party hardware.
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Coolness factor: 7
Ease of use: 7
Business usage: If you've been waffling on getting your staff members PDAs because of data backup issues, this could solve that problem.
OmniSky Minstrel V wireless modem (for Palm V)
Cost: $300 for modem, service costs $40 per month with unlimited usage. Volume pricing is available.
What it does: 19.2K bit/sec CDPD modem and service can make your Palm V feel like a Palm VII by giving you wireless access to the Web and e-mail. The OmniSky service includes a clipping service that gives you headlines from assorted news, financial and entertainment and other Web sites.
Coolness factor: 8. (I can't say I found myself compelled to use it all that often, but when I did, it usually worked.)
Ease of use: 7. Instructions say you'll need about 40 minutes, and I found that to be about right. There is a fair amount of synchronization and resynchronization that needs to be done during the process, and that can be a bit annoying, but overall, the CD-ROM software walks you through the steps in a clear fashion. Business usage: While I only tinkered a bit with the e-mail capabilities, it was clear that the offering could be used to give you access to your messages while out of the office and enable you to access Web sites to use on customer calls.
- Bob Brown
Motient's eLink service with RIM wireless e-mail pager
Cost: $59.95 per month for unlimited service, one-time $25 registration fee. $24.95 per month limited-usage plan also available.
What it does: Wireless e-mail with mini-keyboard, plus some organizer features Coolness factor: 8
Ease of use: 6
Business usage: Instead of two devices to stay in touch (cellphone/PDA), this pager allows "always on" e-mail sent via pager network. In addition, includes the calendar and contact information that PDA users love.
- Keith Shaw
Palm Portable Keyboard
Cost: $99
What it does: Forget Graffiti - easily type information into the PDA like a computer. A slender 8 ounces, the full-size keyboard, when folded accordion-style, is just slightly larger than your Palm. Unfold it, set your Palm into the docking cradle and you're ready to type. The keyboard obviously makes it much easier to add a lot of information to your device when you're away from your PC and Palm Desktop. The only drawback is that the keyboard needs to rest on a hard surface or else it can be a little shaky. On a hard surface it's as good as the keyboard on your desktop. If you're not a fan of squiggle making or you like to enter copious amounts of information on your Palm, this keyboard is a must.
Coolness factor: 10
Ease of use: 10
Business usage: Rather not lug that heavy laptop around to meetings or while traveling? Replace it with your PDA and keyboard - a whopping 14 ounces combined. Not a lot of room to work with your laptop on the fold-down tray table on a plane? Your PDA and keyboard will fit just fine. A great on-the-go way to record information and make tremendous use of your Palm.
- Melissa Shaw
RELATED STORIES:
New smart phones due for early 2001 release
November 29, 2000
Review: a Palm-size Sony VAIO?
November 21, 2000
Add-on modules lure users to PDA demos
November 15, 2000
Comdex: Handhelds may grab attention but PCs here to stay
November 14, 2000
Microsoft Windows Media Player downloads video to Pocket PC
November 14, 2000
RELATED IDG.net STORIES:
Sharp unveils Zaurus PDA with video player
(IDG.net)
Smart phones due for release 2001
(Computerworld)
PDA phones deliver all-in-one convenience
(PC World)
CA offers antivirus software for Palm devices
(IDG.net)
Nokia 9210 handset packs color, Java, Net access
(IDG.net)
Asian handheld vendors ready to take on Palm
(IDG.net)
A Palm-size Sony VAIO?
(PC World)
Are tablets the future or the past?
(The Industry Standard)
RELATED SITES:
Handspring
TRGpro
OmniSky
eLink
Palm Portable Keyboard
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