Handheld Reviews

If I had to buy it again, I would have opted for the more expensive rugged connection. I don't know how long this cheap little plug will. Other than the card is excellent - and seems to have a low power consumption.

Worked correctly on my Sharp Zaurus with no configuration required. I just plug it in (or unplug it) and the built-in software does the rest.

This is an excellent product. I have used it successfully to connect to 2 networks, I have also installed a thin client and used it to connect to a Citrix server. A lot of people complain that it is difficult to remove from the Jornada. My response to that is, once you have it in, why in the world would you ever want to remove it. Does this sound like a review for the Jornada?

I bought this watch and found it to be too big. Even though its smaller than earlier models it still takes up too much room on my wrist. Be sure you try one before ordering online.

I've had this watch for 2yrs+ now and have just changed the (user serviceable) battery for the first time, as the compass had stopped working. This is to be expected as it uses more power than the other functions (but it does have auto-off in the compass mode after a time to save energy). There is no bubble level on this model as it has a mineral crystal glass instead of the usual plastic. I have knocked this watch so many times against things and there are many surface 'threads' you can see given the right light, but no truly visible damage, like big gouges or cracks like the plastic would show. The logbook feature is a great asset. Based on a rolling record (oldest record deleted when the memory becomes full), the logbook records Altitude and can be set to different sample rates (e.g. depending on whether you are walking, climbing, driving, etc.) and includes a record of greatest height. The logbook cannot be deleted (but as stated records over itself) but the max height can be reset independantly. The backlight is a little dim, but fine to keep your night vision, and the temperature does not compensate for being on or off your wrist (like some Casio models can). For a large watch (you won't lose it!) it is quite lightweight, with an aluminium case and carbon shell it also looks great. The new Ti models do not have the same clarity of display though so I would say stick to this screen size, but maybe get the heart rate monitor (HRM) model if you also exercise (cycle, etc) - it's only a small premium and it *is* a Polar model! I imagine the batteries might last less time due to the HRM receiver, but this at least is user-serviceable (and retains the watches environmental integrity, unlike changing a Casio battery). The only sad thing is the screenprinted/anodised(?) graphics for the points of the compass rose are wearing off - Suunto take note, laser etch/engrave them next time!! Sighting grooves in the bezel would be useful too, for taking bearings, but at least the bezel stays smooth as silk on this model as it has ball bearing detents rather than the friction-based ring the plastic housings have which stiffen up so you can't use them.

A few minor details aside (like a strap not long enough to go over your coat - just get an velcro Animal strap - and the print wearing off, and maybe the price), this is a cracking product, rated up there with the Garmin eTrex Legend GPS :-)

If you want a barometer, altimeter, compass, thermo & HRM in a decent, reliable, user-friendly package, this is it!

I collect watches, and I am NOT one to shy away from big watches, and in some cases, the bigger the better. What I really love about the X-Lander is that it is big but also very light-weight. Normally when you see a wrist watch this large you have to exercise your arm quite a bit just to get used to telling time, but not so with the X-Lander. And best of all: it does WAY MORE than just tell time!

Interested in knowing where you are going? How about the current temperature? Are you just the slightest bit interested in what your current altitude may be? GO BUY THIS WATCH! 'Course for those Suunto enthusiasts, this ISN'T a watch, its a Wristop Computer that just so happens to be able to tell time. Unlike the Suunto Observer which is about half the size (and more than a little extra spendy), this baby will do all that and still look great doing it. From the 3 different Suunto models I personally own, I must admit that they make a great wristop computer, or for the picky out there, watch. I mostly use mine to tell simple time, but I must say that as I drive over the mountains up to Montana or over to Oregon and Washington, it IS handy to know a few extra details just by looking down at my wrist. Oh, I almost forgot the barometer! It tracks the barometric pressure and helps you track and even predict the weather! I must say that I haven't been able to figure out the finer points of how to do that just yet, but I AM working on it.

I guess if I HAD to point out one flaw, I would say that the night-glo feature it comes with isn't all that bright, and the alarm could stand to be louder -- but it IS about 5 TIMES more audible than the absolutely embarassing alarm built into the Observer. Other than these minor complaints, I whole-heartedly endorse pretty much everything manufactured by Suunto, and especially the models I own, the X6HR, The Observer and of course the X-Lander. Sylish, multi-functional and quite durable. Choose one of these models and you will no doubt be as satisfied as I am.

I just received this battery from amazon (4/20/04) and discovered that it is part of a Toshiba recall because the battery does not stay connected and data can be lost. I called Toshiba and they are sending a free replacement. They advised me not to use the battery. So I paid over $100 for a battery that I cannot use! I bought this battery from Amazon rather than eBay because I didn't want to receive a battery that is under this recall. If you received this battery and the serial number does not end in "A", you can call Toshiba at 1-800-949-7993 to get the battery replaced. This recall was made 7/03, so Amazon really dropped the ball. I'm very disappointed. (...)

The extra battery is a necessity. The main battery the unit comes with makes you nervous to use it because it is always discharging quickly. It's such a great unit, you might as well make another investment so you can actually use it in peace. The cradle was designed to be able to hold the extra battery, and the extra battery comes with an additional carry sleeve like the one that came with the original unit, only larger to accommodate the thicker unit. When you compare the main battery and extended battery, it's a huge difference. Got Power?

I am a member of a serch and rescue team in Iceland and I often take my E-755 with me when I fly. The cold here saps battery power and the stock battery wasn't cutting it. I love the new expanded battery and it still fits in my Covertec case!.

This system is only compatible with Nokia 5190 and 6190 cell phones. All other 5000 and 6000 series phones are not compatible. I would suggest contacting your wireless carrier and/or the manufacturer before purchasing this product to get any compatibility issues resolved.

I use this product to surf the net on my Jornada 680. I can get 9800 bps, this is fine if you don't load graphics. I find that a site like Yahoo.com which is fast and has low-bandwidth requirements is loads up surprisingly fast.

You probably have to subscribe to your mobile phone provider's data service.

I feel compelled to write an enthusiastic review of the Socket DPC because currently there is only one review on-line, and it is a negative one for the simple reason that the customer's phone happens not to be compatible with this product---well, who said it was? Not the manufacturer!

I was recently on vacation in Chicago and a severe storm knocked out our power for two days. But thanks to my Compaq Aero 1550 Pocket PC, my Socket DPC, and my Nokia 6190, the one thing I could happily do in the dark was send e-mail and surf the Internet!

this refers to using this product with sprintpcs samsung 8500 phone.

I keep getting "no carrier detected" with this thing, and the phone does not show any message, on its screeen. The phone is samsung 8500.

The palm pc that I have connects with no problem at all with the normal modem, to the same ISP, same number.

Do you need to enable data on the phone through sprint? Do you need to pay for the wireless web from sprint to get this to work

I've written very few 'negitive' reviews but unfortunately this is one. I bought this to connect my 'Handspring Visor' to my 'Sprint PCS Samsung 3500'. Not only am I dissappointed that I could not get it to work, but after many attempts to get assistance from Socket, I gave up. So, my advice... from the previous reviews, I'm guessing that this thing works great for some people. But, if your not sure what your doing and you may need help from the company, don't count on getting it...

A wonderful tool for road warriors and IT support personnel if used within its limitations. Understanding those limitations will make the difference between your liking or hating this card, and will also set your expectations for what you should use this card for.

Limitations: this is a relatively low-speed communications device that is constrained by digital phone network capabilities and not the engineering behind the device itself. I use Verizon and have gotten reasonably good results in both speed and communications reliability when using this with a laptop. What is "reasonably good results"? I view it as communication speed in the 14.4-19.6kpbs range, which is much slower than we are used to for web browsing and downloading dozens of e-mail messages, some with massive attachments. If you are expecting the same speed as you get from your laptop modem, home DSL or office LAN you will be sorely disappointed. If you want a solution to getting last minute e-mail before getting on a plane and are using a web-based e-mail system (like Microsoft Outlook's web-based option or a mail service like Yahoo or Hotmail) this is an excellent tool. The difference between POP (post office protocol) mail that most of us use and the web-based variety is you have no control over the message download process with POP - it steams into your system until all messages have been downloaded. You get the spam and low priority stuff with the important messages. Web-based mail allows you to preview the messages and selectively download and read them. If you do not have web-based e-mail and expect to use this card with POP mail, you might be in for a disappointment. It takes forever to download mail at the relatively low speed at which this device operates.

Other issues include the cell site strength of your provider. I use Verizon and live in Southern California. My area has great service and coverage, except for in the late afternoon when the network seems to congest and calls drop. If you have problems with dropped calls with your provider this might not be the device for you.

How IT professionals can use this device. If you have a laptop or palmtop computer and get paged that is triggered by an event, such as a file system at 80% or, say, a database problem, you can hook this device into your phone/laptop and initiate a telnet session once you get into your network - regardless of where you are, troubleshoot and possible resolve the problem.

As an IT professional I personally view this device as an emergency tool, much like the jumper cables I carry in my trunk. I do not use it often, but when I need it I know I have a tool that will connect me to where I need to connect. Surfing the net with it, on the other hand, is not only agonizing, but expensive.

It installs easily and works right out of the box. You be the judge and make an informed decision based on limitations and utility. If you can live with the limitations and see the same potential for utility as I, then this is a 5 star device, which is how I'm rating it.

Please do not buy this case. While the leather is cushioned and nice to hold, the case does not offer any protection for the corners at all. The case does not seem to fit the Palm against the spine either, warping and twisting. The case is also bulkier than I had anticipated.

I am going to buy the aluminum RhinoSkin case for a better fit and more protection. I strongly suggest it.

The thing I like most about this case is that it's not too bulky like some other cases. When it's folded out it looks almost like a men's wallet, it also holds credit cards and has a clear slot for a driver's lisence or photo ID. The leather is all right. I wouldn't say it's the best, but for the money it's not bad at all. ...

I'll admit it. The Palm Slim Wallet Case is a little larger than Palm's Slim Leather Case (which was my previous Palm protectant). And the tongue loop, which is also a little longer and narrower, is also just a tad more cumbersome to use.

But the case still holds my business cards and the doctor's appointment reminders for my kids; and its padded exterior still protects my Palm from possible bumps and bruises in case I drop it (which still happens on occasion, I hate to say).

The most significant improvement (in addition to the wallet feature), however, is that the attachment rail is now suspended from the case by a durable leather strip -- which is much stronger than the flexible TPE rubber strip used on the slim leather case, which was always the first portion on this carrier to wear out.

But, best of all, the full-length (wallet-style) pocket -- which is great for holding cash, checks or receipts -- is virtually invisible (the two cases being almost indistinguishable from one another, except for the slight difference in size), so no one needs to know that my Palm case is also a billfold. I can now stash some extra cash -- that is easily accessible, since my Palm is always with me -- in a place where my wife won't discover it, particularly when she goes riffling through my wallet looking for lunch money for the kids. (Whew!)

The larger size of the wallet case (versus the slim case) does make for a slightly larger bulge in my front pocket when I carry it (which isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially for one's ego). But the convenience of having a little extra legal tender with me (hidden with my Palm) more than makes up for it.

As my new personal "teller machine," my Palm -- esconced within my new slim wallet case -- continues to become more and more versatile.

I bought the 1.8" version of this set at a great discount here on Amazon.com and I am quite pleased with it. The active matrix LCD display ads depth and contrast to the picture comparable to tube portables. The metal stand in the back puts the set at just the perfect viewing angle for desktop use. The shape of the case is stylish and easy to hold when carrying the set about. The jacks for AV input, Ext. Antenna, and earphone mean this set can be connected to just about anything but it is best used as a battery powered carry around portable.

This set has only two notable flaws. First, the color, while quite vivid, tends to be slightly green. Second, the tuning circuit could do with an additional RF amplifier stage to overcome the slightly snowy reception on all but the strongest channels. The tuner is a little slow to start scanning when the set is switched on or when changing from VHF to UHF and it easily passes over some stations requiring you to back up the tuning bar to lock onto the channel. Once tuned in, the signal quality is consistent. I hope in subsequent versions of this set RCA decides to upgrade the tuning circuits and set the hue more accurately or porvide a customer control for color.

On the whole this is a good product that should provide many years of dependable service if you don't mind the temperamental tuner. This TV is second only to the Sony Watchman which is still the standard in miniature television.

The L2500BC is a great little TV for a person on the go. Image quality is excellent on the generous 2.5" screen and can't be any better, thanks to the active-matrix LCD.

However, it is possible that reception could be a problem. I've tried the TV in two different places: Southern California, where reception comes through very clearly; and Northern California, where it was dicey at best. As a result, reception is probably highly variable and dependent on geography; make sure you try this model out at your nearest electronics dealer before you spend the rather pricey amount for it.

In contrast to another reviewer, I found this TV to have far superior reception to any of the Sony and Casio models I looked at in the stores. I bought it and have been extremely happy with it. The screen is a pleasure to look at, the sound is remarkably good for such a small unit, and it is very well built, again in contrast to the other manufacturers' models.

It's not bad when it works. I have had the 500 series now for just over 1 year. It broke the first time half way through the warrentee and the second right after it ran out. With only an MMC slot the expandibility stinks as well. On the plus side, the screen is very bright and nice, battery life was good, and the price is now almost half what I originally paid.

Just got a EM-500 and I love it. But I was shocked to learn that no one makes a keyboard for the system - folding or otherwise. I've even called the manfacturers, and they say they have no plans to make one. So if you want to add something along those lines, look for a different pocket PC.

I love PDA's (and computers in general, for that matter) and this is an excellent device. There was a time when I swore by Palm's pda's, but while Windows CE (now known as Pocket PC) has evolved to near-desktop power, the Palm has remained virtually unchanged. Of the Pocket PC's available, this unit is the best compromise of size and power. It packs a 150mhz cpu (more powerful than the HP Jornada, less than the Ipaq), 16mb of ram, and an amazing screen capable of displaying 16bit color. The Ipaq and HP Jornada can both only do 12-bit color at best. All of that is packed in a comfortable, small device that feels extremely solid in the hand.

While I do believe the EM-500 is probably the best unit available, it does have a few draw-backs. The miserly 16mb of ram is hardly enough... if you buy this make sure to get a 32mb or 64mb memory card to go with it. My other complaints are minimal: lack of hardware volume control, location of IRDA port... but none of these minor issues really impact the usefulness of the unit.

Definitely a great PDA, and well worth the money

I tried this thing out for two weeks.
4 weak points:

1. It takes soo long to transfer music to it.
30 minutes per 1 hour of music. This is a drain on the batteries and your time.

2.It's buggy. It Hard-Reset (losing everything on my handspring) my Handspring twice, the thing soft-resets my Handspring soo often, either by taking it out of the springboard slot before it's good and ready, or it just freezes. The User-interface could be much better.

3.It sucks batteries like you won't believe.
It suggests you get special "NiMH" batteries that are $$$ for two, plus you have to get a recharger, so that it can play longer. Using normal Alkaline batteries, you need to stop listening every bit of time so the batteries don't kill too fast. Otherwise it'll die without warning.

4. Serious design compromises. Not being able to put the cover back on the handspring sucks. Also, it really adds to the size and weight of the Handspring.

There is one minor element: Compact Flash cards are still very expensive, although the price will down with time.

To sum it up: it's not a bad little player, just disappointing in almost every way! Get yourself a stand alone module with more memory.

I'm returning my InnoGear module. What a disappointment. I listened to music for about 10 minutes and wiped out almost a third of my battery. The file transfer can only access the 2 MB section of the module, not the removable (and expensive!) media. Data transfer is slow and I'd recommend no less that 128 MB storage for reasonable listening. I had planned to keep this module in all the time but when it is in you can't put on the protective cover. The photos in the photo album are awful on my b/w screen-- not worth the time it takes to load them.

It simply doesn't live up to the hype.

I just got a MiniJam and attached it to my old handheld (Prism) for workouts at the gym. When I got the new Treo, my Prism threatened to become excess. Repurposing it for entertainment seemed to be the thing to do.

Intuitive Operation / Reasonable Setup
This is only the second Springboard module that I have used (Eyemodule was the first). I was pleased to find that MiniJam works intuitively. I am typically put off by set up procedures involving disks and devices, but it was painless. I would have been less daunted by set up if the instructions were printed as a simple 1, 2, 3 on the outside of the box instead of the junky graphics. The unit is a lot less junky than the pictures on the packaging seems to indicate. Once it was set up, it couldn't be easier to use. It is intuitive, taking advantage of the familiar icons of traditional products like a cassette tape player and (browser-style)juke box.

Function in the Gym Environment
OK, I wouldn't say that the earphones would never fall out; running on the treadmill would require a different listening apparatus. For my workouts, though, the MiniJam worked great. I am substituting it for a Walkman tape player, so the key benefits were being able to switch to songs that I felt like hearing without winding and longer battery life -- no more droning tape. The drawbacks were losing the earphones once during weightlifting and initially getting the Prism situated on me so that I didn't inadvertently bump the buttons.

Key Observation
When I got my first handheld, I didn't feel compelled to use module expansion. However, it's amazing how when I have two of them the primary one does all the calendaring and traditional functions and -- with the Springboard platform -- the second one gets used more as I imagine Handspring had intended: sort of a Swiss Army Knife of electronic products. I would have still kept the Prism for playing games (any Wordlet enthusiasts?), but it has a lot more life left in it than that.

I recommend the MiniJam. It's just what you'd expect your Springboard MP3 player to be.

I bought this card primarily for German, but was disappointed to find out that the German words are not listed with their gender. All German words have a gender (masculine, feminine and neuter) and you need to know the gender in order to use the proper article. In German the article is pretty important for effective communication. Other than that, the quantity of words and useful phrases is pretty good. I also like the functionality and navigability of the software.

This is a great card. I've used it a number of times on business trips to Europe. It's so much easier than carrying a different dictionary for each country (i.e., one for Spain, one for France, etc.). Highly recommended!

This card is great! I don't know if you noticed, but the provider of the content on the card is Franklin Electronic Publishers, the leader in handheld translating software! I haven't seen any other products that can translate words not only from English to other languages and back, but between those other languages. This is a must buy for teachers, students, and travelers.