Organizer Reviews

The cable does what it's supposed to do, but I spent about an hr and a lot of mental energy trying to figure out how to initiate a hotsync. I've never had a portable hotsync cable, so I've always had a cradle which has a Hotsync button. There were no instructions, and the manufacturer, iconcepts, doesn't seem to have a website. So, I tried Handpring's website, and found in the FAQ section that all I needed to do was to start the Hotsync app on the Handspring, and tap the Hotsync symbol. I could have saved a lot of time if this was explained somewhere on the packaging.

This is the PalmPix digital camera adapter from Kodak. Basically, it let you use the PalmPix camera which is Palm III based. However, adding PalmPix *AND* this Dock V will enlarge the size of our Palm a lot. If you rate portability more than features, it is not a good pick. Just in case that you dunno: PalmPix is CMOS based JPEG/BMP camera taking up to 640x480 images.

As a long time Lonely Planet fan, I've often cited and sworn by their guidance. The CitySync USA Springboard Module falls just a bit short of what I would have expected from them.

The module is small and fits inline nicely with a Visor and I wasn't able to tell much loss in battery life. Content is easily and quickly accessed and found. More importantly most all the lonely planet book(s) content is duplicated in the card. So the four cities are pleasantly at hand. A 5th city is yours to download when you register, though it resides in your handheld and not the card.

Though, I'm not sure if I can find a review of a map location. Say if one were to click on a point of interest on a map, you can't readily pull up its review. Which brings my second point, the interface is quite unattractive and cluttered.

But if you are a lonley planet addict as I am, its definatly worth having...though you'll still need Vindigo installed for street navigation.

(Part III)

After a brief analisys what you get is the following:
- an IPAQ sleeve form factor expansion. (This feature is a pro and a limitation at the same time because while combining perfectly with iPAQ devices, will not be compatible with other PocketPCs.
- an 800 by 600 CMOS sensor embedded in the plastic case
- a single unpowered Compact Flash expansion slot
- the PocketPC software driver to make the camera work with your device

The Flash
An additional unfortunate feature is the lack of flash. The camera is virtually useless at night or in dark environments. The actual compact design could have included a built in flash like the those on the single use 35mm film cameras or, even better, a small detachable flash module powered by AA or AAA batteries, attach to the unit when needed.

The Zoom
The fact that such feature is present should make the camera more enjoyable. Unfortunatly Nexian made another bad choice: The lack of optical zoom. I am not talking about a Carl Zeiss, a Nikkor or an high quality grade lens, but just by providing the camera with a decent lens having a short range zooming capablity would have been probably a much better choice than the digital zoom, which actually reduces the quality of the images captured making them grainy, jagged and/or blurry beyond acceptable levels. A simple, manually adjustable mini zoom lens would allow the nexicam to produce higher quality close-up shots. The current low quality of the images created by the digital zoom will make it a feature you will try to avoid as much as possible.

The Auto Focus
In a device like this make to get picture on the move this feature is a must, the nexicam auto focus feature unfortunately is slow and often will require you to stay still for a few seconds while the device is adjusting exposure and focus, you will be able to see the image appear on the viewfinder while the device performs such adjustment process. This will happen especially when passing from highly illuminated areas to dark ones.

The picture above shows a bright electric blue. I saw the case and it's a very dark midnight blue, almost black in color. The case looked well made though and appears to be rugged. It's just that the color is so misleading.

The concept is great, and the price is low. But, at least for my Palm m500, the little connector block just didn't stick out of the cradle enough to make contact without keeping my hand on the Palm to press it down.. so I disassembled the unit (5 screws - 4 visible, 1 hidden under the sticker on the back ), used a paper knife to shave away at the plastic pins and ridges that prevented the connector from being repositioned, threw away the two little screws that kept it there, and used a glue gun to secure it just two millimeters or so higher. It works great now.

A minor issue is the light weight, but that is only a consideration when like me you're buying this as an alternative for the heavy official Palm cradle. Since it was meant as a foldable travel cradle, I should not complain.

The case is made of nice material, but I was disappointed with the way that the handheld binds to the case and how the case closes. The mechanism to bind the handheld to the case is a piece of Velcro that permanently sticks to the back of the handheld; the Tungsten C (and other models) has a nice rail mechanism designed to insert/remove covers, so I was disappointed this "executive" case did not use the rail (as the Tungsten C Slim Leather Case does). The case also stays closed by the use of a magnet sewn inside the cover that is positioned directly above the handheld. I suppose that magnets don't bother modern electronics or credit cards that the case is also designed to store?? In any case (no pun intended) this just bothered me.

After reading so many negative reviews for the Tungsten E hard case, I began looking for other options. My search led me to this accessory pack, which does a decent job at a very affordable price.

The case is semi-rigid ballistic nylon with a nice quality zipper enclosure on three sides. My guess is that it would keep its contents safe from moderate shocks or compression (both flat and on the corners). It's also attractive in a low-profile sort of way. On the inside, there are slots for a few credit cards or ID badges as well as two smaller ones for Palm expansion cards. The only two drawbacks are that the case doesn't lie flat portfolio-style when opened (this may ease up with age) and the only method of securing your Palm to the case is an enclosed Velcro sticker. I've never been a fan of attaching sticky items onto electronics, although the case of my Tungsten E is so ugly I may break my policy.

The multi-function pen is not exactly as pictured - it's much bigger than I expected and unfortunately too big to fit in the case. However, there's a lot of functionality in there: a black pen, a pink (!) highlighter, a mechanical pencil and a Palm Stylus. It's lightweight but almost to the point of feeling cheap and it rattles when you write with it. Plus, the method of selecting which point pops out is a little cumbersome and it's probably only a matter of time before I write on my Palm with highlighter. The packaging includes instructions for replacing the ink and pencil, so at least it promises life beyond the initial cartridges.

Finally, the screen protectors are just that. They work - that's about all you can say. I expect that they'll keep me from freaking out when I inevitably highlight on my screen.

So, while the solutions are far from perfect, you'd be hard-pressed to find a package so all-encompassing or budget-conscious. A must-have for a new Palm user, student, etc.

This Organizer is handy. It's good to have if you have trouble remembering appointments.

This little Guy is really Cute. (The photo doesn't do it any Justice.) However the keys are too small to use anything besides the stylus that came with it. It is great for storing numbers in but you can't use letters below the first line of the display and this makes it difficult to store E-mail and Snail Mail addresses. If you only E-mail and write people and don't call them you would be better off paying a little more for a better organizer. If you just can't seem to keep up with paper then this Little fellow might just be what you need.