Handheld Reviews

I bought this cover to protect the screen of my Palm Vx. It does that just fine and is pretty sturdy. This means it's also fairly thick -- the device with the cover on is nearly twice as thick as the device without the cover on.

Another disappointment was the leather clasp. While it does keep the cover shut, the tongue part of the clasp is quite stiff and holds its same position even when the cover is open, blocking the screen, unless I force it out of the way with my pinky as I use device. This is annoying and awkward.

Also, the clamshell nature of the cover means that I cannot place the Palm on its charger without removing the case, stashing it somewhere nearby and adding to the clutter on my desk.

In short, I would recommend getting a flat, flap-style screen cover instead of a clamshell case, if all you're doing is carrying your Palm around in your pocket or purse, unless what I described above actually appeals to you.

Decent value for the money. Construction appears a little weak. I can foresee the leather bindings coming apart pretty easily, especially with repeated use, but time will tell. The credit card slots are barely wide enough to fit in a card - very difficult to get in and out of the slots at first. Hopefully this will loosen up with time. And don't plan on putting more than 1 card in each slot if you want to get it out easily - it's a very tight fit. Also, the slots extend clear to the bottom of the wallet which means it is easy for the top of the cards to slide below the top of the slot, making it even more difficult to get them out.

Would recommend, as another reviewer did, to insert the Palm the opposite way of that shown in the photo in order to avoid scratches on the Palm screen from credit cards in the pockets.

Overall - Worth the $7.50 I paid for it, but not more. Functions ok to combine my cards and cash with my Palm in one package, which is what I wanted it for.

I have put away my old wallet and converted to this Palm leather case. My old wallet size is about the same as my Palm Vx in this leather case (but without a lot of junk I used to keep in my old wallet). The rubber spine that holds the Palm Vx in place seems like it could tear if you frequently remove the unit from the case. I just leave it in the case and fold the flaps back for hot-syncing.

TIP: I find that it's best to slide the Palm Vx in the case so that the screen faces the flap without the card holders. If you put it in the way shown in the picture, your screen may get scratched from any credit cards you might have in the holders.

I wish they put a transparent ID card holder in this case. That's one thing I miss. It would also be nice if they had sewn in a spring-loaded mechanism that snaps the covers shut or open so that you wouldn't need the leather strip and loop to keep it closed.

Overall, it's a nice slim design that keeps the bulge if your pocket to a minimum.

In theory, I really liked the idea of this PDA case. Pleanty of room for your cell phone, modem card, cables, PDA, Pens, Paper, Keys, etc. When I actually received the case however, I found there was really no way to securely fasten my iPAQ except with the included rubber band straps. To hold the PDA even semi-securely you need to pass the bands over the top of the screen making it ineffective to use unless you remove the PDA from the case. This defeats the purpose for me. The photo's are deceiving! I finially purchased some industrial strength Velcro to attach it to the left side. The rest of the case features I really like, however, if it wasn't for Velcro, I would have returned this product.

I have this product for over two years for Palm and Sony Clie PDAs. This product stands out for its high quality and exceptional durability. It has an excellent belt clip (which allows "clip to belt" or "put belt through" modes). I wear it every day as wallet&PDA case on my belt. In this way my hands are free and I do not worry to loose it. It has three roomy pockets for credit cards and similar items, extra pocket for stylus, external mesh pocket and four rubber bands that hold PDA (but no PDA pocket). Despite heavy use, none of the pockets or two side zippers ripped as was the case with other products.
I would give this product five stars if not for its two inconvenient features: (1) its largest credit card pocket opens inside of the case, which forces you to fully unzip the unit to access it (other two pockets are very convenient and are easily accessible) and (2) rubber bands in the corners do hold firmly PDA but only if you strap them on a PDA; hence, if you forget to strap them on and open the case, PDA can fall out. It would be much better case, if there would be a pocket for PDA.

Don't the name of this product fool you...it works with just about any PDA out there.

The RhinoPak is a wonderful carrying case, especially if you have a lot of add-ons for your PDA. I use it to carry an iPAQ, a Targus folding keyboard and adapter unit, a CF ethernet adapter and a FlashPath floppy disk adapter. All of that in a case that is just a little larger than a medium length paperback novel.

The main compartment is well padded and allows you to secure the PDA with either velcro or with the elastic corners sewn in. The opposite side of the main compartment contains a mesh pocket that wil hold everything else. The front cover contains a zippered pocket flap, which covers another mesh pocket and the back cover has a zippered pocket that runs the length of the unit. This is definitely made for the PDA packrat.

In short, if you have a lot of other devices, cards, accessories for any PDA, look into this.

Frankly, I love this keyboard, and enjoy using it.
I think the complaints about the 4-row limitations
are of no real importance in general use
(accountants and programmers may disagree!)
and find it generally to be a sweet little contraption.

My only complaint / concern is its fragility.
I'm generally extremely careful about such things,
but it slipped from my hand (folded and latched)
and fell to the carpeted floor once; it has been
reluctant to close ever since.

It still works just fine - it just no longer wants to close,
and every time I do so, I wonder if *this* is going to be
the time I break it.

I find that very annoying, and my joy in it is dimmed:
tools one must fuss over are counter-productive.

It's a rough-&-tumble world, and products must be
rugged enough to survive actual use in the real world;
this accident was as mild and moderate as they come,
& a productivity tool aimed at busy people on the move
should provide greater dependability than this.

Size, weight, and Palm connection are great. The lack of dedicated number keys, and awkward character key fingering have become a real problem for this computer science student.

Despite all warnings I did buy the keyboard, because I needed it. It works super om my Tungsten T. Really great.
Before this I owned a Palm V with the stowaway keyboard which I already rated high. But the ultraslim types just a little bit better. And I make my money typing .. so I'm a real hardcore user (also on graffiti).

pro's
First: it is stable. You can use it on your knees and in bed. Quite an improvement over the older keyboard I used... although the Mrs might think different about that :)
Second: key-quality is better. You have better control over your typing. I now know when I miss a letter (like I know it on my notebook) and that was a feeling I lacked using my older keyboard.
Third: it is fixed and firm. You can actually move the whole shebang while shifting locations without having to fold it. That alone saves me a lot of time.
Fourth: it is so much smaller im comparission with my older keyboard, while having the same functionality.

On the other side, the slim size comes with one 'problem': It has only 4 rows of keys. Although everything is present with green or blue FN keys, it forces me to look at my keyboard more than I would like to and it makes me hit air, while I'm looking for backspace ... something I still have to got used to.

In all a great piece of work, small and firm. Definately a must have.

Eventhough it's good and fast due to SD card bandwidth interface, compared to MMC and Sony memory stick. Palm 16 MB SD card is too expensive. The price of [money], you can buy at least 32 MB or even 64 MB of Sandisk SD card from some stores. Moreover, 16 MB is not enough anymore when most of the professional palm programs are among 4-5 MB.

This is a good product for store your aplications, the only bad thing is that you can't store databases on it.

Having lived through a Palm IIIx glitch that erased all my address listings, when I bought my Palm M505 I vowed to make the Memory Backup Card one of my next purchases.

It is tiny enough to store virtually anywhere (although not in a wallet or place where it will be manhandled). It backs up my Palm, including 3rd party software, in just over 3 minutes. Operation could not be simpler. Pop the card into the SD slot, press backup and off you go.

The card has a small lock switch, which keeps you from accidently erasing the data. One thing that Palm should include is a small case for the card. I use the case for my Sandisk 32 mb card to protect the Memory Backup Card, but this should really be included, especially since the card has exposed contacts that should be kept clean.

All in all, an elegant solution to system backup and worth the price for peace of mind.

Eventhough it's good and fast due to SD card bandwidth interface, compared to MMC and Sony memory stick. Palm 16 MB SD card is too expensive. The price of [money], you can buy at least 32 MB or even 64 MB of Sandisk SD card from some stores. Moreover, 16 MB is not enough anymore when most of the professional palm programs are among 4-5 MB.

This is a good product for store your aplications, the only bad thing is that you can't store databases on it.

Having lived through a Palm IIIx glitch that erased all my address listings, when I bought my Palm M505 I vowed to make the Memory Backup Card one of my next purchases.

It is tiny enough to store virtually anywhere (although not in a wallet or place where it will be manhandled). It backs up my Palm, including 3rd party software, in just over 3 minutes. Operation could not be simpler. Pop the card into the SD slot, press backup and off you go.

The card has a small lock switch, which keeps you from accidently erasing the data. One thing that Palm should include is a small case for the card. I use the case for my Sandisk 32 mb card to protect the Memory Backup Card, but this should really be included, especially since the card has exposed contacts that should be kept clean.

All in all, an elegant solution to system backup and worth the price for peace of mind.

I found the scan effectiveness worthy of praise, but trying to get the content to my laptop unbearable. The software wouldn't install well or access the scanned text on my Win XP laptop, or my Win2000 laptop, and when I went to my old Win98 laptop it worked fine...albiet with a lame interface. And then, when I deleted the desktop software from Win98 system, the OS got smeared and now only fires up in "Safe Mode". Again, the optics work fine, no complaints at all, but the software is puke.

I just purchased this handheld scanner because, as a PhD student and full-time manager, I have tons of reading to do. Before I purchased QuickLink, I either had to hand write or type notes into my PC, spend hours at a copier, or spend lots of time using a full-sized scanner to save the quotes and important text that I needed. Now, this WizCom scanner allows me to easily and quickly scan articles, books and other text no matter where I am (on a plane, in a hotel room, at work, or by the

pool). Then I can quickly upload the text into Word or WordPerfect (or other software programs) when I have the chance. Or, if I want, I can scan directly into a specific file.

Though it takes a while to get used to the pen and its menus, a previous reviewer was right on the money when they offered this tip - "Put the pen in the "left-handed" mode, turn the material upside down and then scan from right to left. This lets the user "look ahead" along the desired pen track (printed line) and helps keep the scanning down the center of the line." THIS REALLY DOES WORK and makes scanning much faster and more precise. (I'm not sure, but if you are left-handed, the reverse directions might work for you.)

Now that I have the knack of using the QuickLink pen, I love it! It saves me tons of time and I can now scan only the text I want instead of copying the entire page. For the price and convenience, it's great.

I just received my QuickLink pen and right out of the box I am getting about 99-100% accuracy. The QuickLink is 100% what I was expecting and I'm perfectly happy with this little gadget.

I bought this pen as an aid to writing research papers. It allows me to scan in the bits and pieces of reference articles and books which saves me a lot of time in re-reading and manual data-entry later on.

As I said before, I am currently getting 99-100% accuracy with this pen and I cannot understand why others are having so much trouble. However, there are a few points to keep in mind when using this pen:

(1) This is not for scanning entire pages of text. You will become very impatient and tired.

(2) Scanning one line of text takes about 3-4 seconds, plus another 3-4 seconds for text "processing"

(3) For best results keep the pen tip at a 90-degree angle to the page.

(4) Move the pen as smoothly as possible to avoid any jerking motion.

(5) Keep the text directly under the white guidelines printed on the pen's tip. When I went slightly above these lines, the text came out very badly.

(6) Try to avoid stylish or funny fonts. I found that this pen works GREAT on standard fonts such as Times New Roman. However, if you scan stylish 'e' and 's' characters, it often reads them as 'c' and '5'.

This pen can and will work great for you, if you take the time to use it correctly and patiently, which is why I suggest it's not for taking page after page of notes. It's perfect for taking highlights of bits and bobs.

And as a side note, it works perfectly with my Palm OS PDA. No extra software is needed to beam notes from my QuickLink to my Sony Clie and in no time I can be editing the text on a larger screen.

Hope this is useful to some of you out there!

(...)

I bought one of these things 4 months ago. It broke. Palm won't fix it. Palm want's 100 bucks to replace it. Palm wants me to use a on line form to pay up front and start a repair order. Palms on line repair order cgi script doesn't work (makes you wonder who does the programing on the palms. Palm says write back to us and we will start a SRO (service repair order). Did that about 4 weeks ago, haven't heard a word.

In short

The worst warrenty and the worst support of any company I have ever delt with.

This is my fifth Palm device, starting with the original Pilot. My employer contracts with AT&T Wireless for our mobile service, so the prospect of reducing the silicone baggage was appealing (formerly carried Palm Vx, Blackberry, and Sony Ericsson T68i).

Unfortunately, the device has been a disappointment. The ergonomics are dreadful in comparison with the Blackberry, or a Nokia phone. The lack of notification when a text message (other than SMS) is a deficiency. The phone is unsafe to use in a motor vehicle, so I've had to activate a second, in-car phone & number. The original, largely Grafitti-based input functions common to previous Palms are much easier to use than the Tungsten's choice of the tiny mechanical keyboard or the tap-to-select on-screen version.

The device is very choosy about where it charges. I have three cradles, plus the travelling adapter with 110V and 12V (cigarette lighter) connections. One of the three cradles won't charge it, and it refuses to accept juice from an auto cigarette lighter, either. I have not found the battery life to be a problem, as described in one of the other reviews, though.

Web surfing is OK, some sites won't allow it access, but for what I use it for, it's acceptable. Being GSM, though, there are parts of the country where there is no coverage - I know this from my prior phone.

Finally, after five weeks' ownership, the annoying wired earpiece necessary to use the phone feature hooked on an obstruction once too often, and evidently damaged the jack. Now, the whole shooting match has to go back to Palm for repair.

All in all, I'm afraid I've pushed the technolgical envelope too far this time.

I'd wanted a telephone/pda combo for a while. When the Tungsten W was first released, I immediately wanted it. It had so many features I wanted: thumb keyboard, hi-res color screen, internet access, and compact size (compared to my Palm IIIc). However, the drawbacks kept me from purchasing: no internal speaker for calls, only works with AT&T in the US, and high cost. Also, the bad reviews, coupled with the release of the Treo 600, kept me from buying.

However, when my job forced me to switch to AT&T and the Treo 600 was perpetually unavailable, I chose the Tungsten W. All I can say is that I am so happy that I did! The screen is amazing, the internet works really well, and I can get my emails with attachments while out of the office without a hitch (try that with a cell phone). The phone has great reception and the headset keeps me out of trouble while driving. Yes, it is a pain to have to look for the headset, but I usually leave it attached to my purse and plugged into the the pda.

I've found software tweaks while surfing Tungsten W forums to customize it to my needs. The older processor does not bother me--it is plenty fast enough compared to the IIIc. This device is the best one for people who need data and pda functions to have just as much importance as cellular functions.

I have a Palm IIIxe and the keyboard didn't fit at first. But I hoped the leather would give a little stretch and with Targus lifetime guarantee that they purported, I gave it a shot and squeezed as much as I could without damaging my precious Palm foldable keyboard. Fortunately, it goes in JUST nicely, just keep your keyboard in there for the leather to mould to its shape.

However, I really HATED the segment for my Palm because of the irritating side holder bar for Palm Vx which is of no use for anyone without a Palm VX and is really a pain in the neck that nudges my Palm III to the outer edge. Plus, why would a Palm Vx owner need the velcro??

Also, the length of the case is TOO LONG for my Palm III, so I thought that was a waste of space (looks like it is to accomodate the longer HP Jornadas). This product tries to accomodate ALL types of PDAs, like Palms, pocket PCs etc but I really think they could do better by making a custom product for each range. Just doesn't make sense. I put my Palm slim leather case beside it and admired its micro dimensions, very much tempted to use the slim case plus the nylon case for my keyboard instead.....darn...

I purchased this case looking for a compact way to carry my Targus keyboard *very cool accessory* and Visor Pro together. It works fine, and is very close fitting. My only discount on rating would be the velcro--It fits fine, but between the soft reset port located on the back, the expansion slot cover and the necessity to dock snuggly when synching, there isn't much room for the velcro pieces. My only other complaint would be the thickness of it...With those two tightly encapsulated in the case, it is quite a tower and pretty bulky. I'd say it's as close as it's going to get, however, as this case is a snug fit. For anyone who isn't really concerned with space, and not looking for a wallet, I'd go for it. I'll probably get a slim case for when I don't need my keyboard. I read a review where someone put the velcro on their hard cover--great idea, especially since you wouldn't need it for a slim case (it has holders which utilize the handspring's ports and snap in your visor). Good luck!

I only have 1 problem with this case, and it's the lack of belt clip or another sort of hanger. the lack of this make it unpractical to use it outside the briefcase.

I have a Palm IIIxe and the keyboard didn't fit at first. But I hoped the leather would give a little stretch and with Targus lifetime guarantee that they purported, I gave it a shot and squeezed as much as I could without damaging my precious Palm foldable keyboard. Fortunately, it goes in JUST nicely, just keep your keyboard in there for the leather to mould to its shape.

However, I really HATED the segment for my Palm because of the irritating side holder bar for Palm Vx which is of no use for anyone without a Palm VX and is really a pain in the neck that nudges my Palm III to the outer edge. Plus, why would a Palm Vx owner need the velcro??

Also, the length of the case is TOO LONG for my Palm III, so I thought that was a waste of space (looks like it is to accomodate the longer HP Jornadas). This product tries to accomodate ALL types of PDAs, like Palms, pocket PCs etc but I really think they could do better by making a custom product for each range. Just doesn't make sense. I put my Palm slim leather case beside it and admired its micro dimensions, very much tempted to use the slim case plus the nylon case for my keyboard instead.....darn...

I purchased this case looking for a compact way to carry my Targus keyboard *very cool accessory* and Visor Pro together. It works fine, and is very close fitting. My only discount on rating would be the velcro--It fits fine, but between the soft reset port located on the back, the expansion slot cover and the necessity to dock snuggly when synching, there isn't much room for the velcro pieces. My only other complaint would be the thickness of it...With those two tightly encapsulated in the case, it is quite a tower and pretty bulky. I'd say it's as close as it's going to get, however, as this case is a snug fit. For anyone who isn't really concerned with space, and not looking for a wallet, I'd go for it. I'll probably get a slim case for when I don't need my keyboard. I read a review where someone put the velcro on their hard cover--great idea, especially since you wouldn't need it for a slim case (it has holders which utilize the handspring's ports and snap in your visor). Good luck!

I only have 1 problem with this case, and it's the lack of belt clip or another sort of hanger. the lack of this make it unpractical to use it outside the briefcase.

The docs for the 3450 are confusing. The box says iPaq 36xx and PocketPC 2000 (aka Windows CE 3.0). The internal paperwork says iPaq 37xx and above, PocketPC 2002 minimum.

Application itself is odd. Click on "Exit Application" does not shut the app down, I have to kill it via Task Switcher. It attempts to be smart about taking the street/area you're typing in and auto-completing...which usually results in the cursor moving and you have to retype or delete letters.

The 3450 does not support WAAS, so accuracy suffers. I find that on freeways which have frontage roads or long parallel interchange ramps the location jumps back and forth; I'm on the freeway, I'm not on the freeway...

For some unknown reason when I put the iPaq 3630 into the GPS sled it drops the volume way down. This was not the way it operated when I first setup and tried the unit, it just started today. I do a soft reset on the iPaq, sound is maxed and *loud*. iPaq into sled, sound goes way down. Sound *stays* down if I remove the sled, and until I soft reset.

Finally, injury to insult: the box claims that the kit comes with a 12v lighter adaptor for power. Not. Navman customer service is apparently split across two different divisions. The one that handles the 3450 has a phone number that's always busy.

Just got back from my vacation using the GPS. The software required reboot frequently. The map in some area are not accurate. The routing didn't give the fastest route sometimes. You need a real map as a backup in case the software fails on you - it happened to me on my return trip.

I bought this thing after it finally dropped down in price to two hundred fifty dollars. Plus i got another fifty rebate and a free 128 CF card to boot! This thing works wonderfully and quickly locks on to several satellites. i live in San Francisco and the only time it ever loses satellite contact is when I go thru the nearby tunnels but when I get out of it within 5 seconds it quickly locks back on! It tells you your speed, distance to go and will reroute you if you go off course from your desired destination! My only beef is that it doesn't tell you elevation which it could if the software allowed and if it locks on to at least 4 satellites (which it always does). I plan on calling navman and ask them if they plan on updating the software for elevation.

This this is so fun and is very accurate and its unbelieve about that i can put every public road in California, Nevada, Michigan and Minnesota onto a 128 Meg CF card! To fit the entire US on a CF card you will need a 1 Gigabyte CF which currently is about two hundred bucks at Costco.

Highly recommended for your Ipac. You will have lots of fun!