PDA Reviews

I bought my Palm Vx to beep at me so I won't miss appointments. For this to work, I have to carry it with me at all times. With the Palm slim leather case I could carry my handheld in most shirt pockets, but I don't always wear shirts with pockets. I usually wear a belt, but the Palm belt case is awkward to use (you must remove the Palm from the case to use it, leaving it completely unprotected from the inevitable clumsy drop) and not terribly stylish. So, after a friend told me that the belt case made me "look like an even bigger geek than usual," I bought the Rhinoskin molded hardcase.

This case is rigid enough to let me carry my Palm in my back pocket, even with jeans. Although I try to avoid "plopping down" on the floor or hard benches, it does not interfere with normal sitting at my desk or in a car. It adds only minimal bulk to the Palm, being only slightly larger than the Palm with its provided flap. And it LOOKS cool (although it might look even nicer with an internal hinge design).

Like others have noted, it IS difficult to remove the stylus without lifting the Palm, a design flaw made even more frustrating by its obviousness. ... Its smooth surface makes it tricky to open; I'm thinking about knurling the sides of the case near the clasp to correct this. And, although the edges ARE a bit uneven, it would be hard to make a more "finished" edge without using a thicker material and adding bulk to the case. I have no trouble using the cradle while the case is attached; I just prop the cradle on a small box (save your AC transformer box for this purpose). Since I keep it in my back pocket most of the time, I have not yet had any trouble with the case getting scratched.

Design plusses include the high rigidity, low added bulk, and sleek styling that I've already discussed. The silo mounting pin holds the Palm very securely, and the neoprene lining is thick enough to keep the Palm from rattling in the case. When properly installed, the Palm is spaced slightly away from all sides of the case, which also provides some shock protection. Finally, the clasp is simple and functions well.

I'll give it five stars when they fix the stylus access problem and lower the price by ($-$)

I constantly receive compliments on the aesthetics of this case -- I haven't dropped it, so I'm not sure if the protection is great or not -- I assume, however, that it is; it looks and feels to be of high quality.

With this case I can take my Palm Vx just about everywhere with me. Its small size, shape (slightly tapered), smoothness, and rigidity let me easily slip it into my front pants pocket along with my wallet (sitting isn't a problem). Since I usually wear pants, I usually have my Palm with me. As other reviewers have noted, it is inconvenient to remove the stylus. However, I mostly use my Palm at my desk at work or home, and I keep a spare stylus at each desk. Because the case is so smooth, I occasionally have difficulty opening the case. And, after about six months of use, the padding seems to have shrunk. I stuck a small piece of felt on the back of my Palm to stop it from rattling inside the case. And it is somewhat inconvenient to place the Palm on the cradle-you can't just drop it in. However, despite these minor drawbacks, being able to safely and conveniently have my PDA with me all the time easily justifies the cost of this case for me. If you've ever found yourself without your Palm because it was inconvenient to take it with you, this case may be a solution for you.

Clie SJ33 had very good form factor and design. There's no need to spend extra $$ on case or hardcase. The built in flip protects the screen and looks cool. Hold/power switch is also very nice for mp3 playback.

The major pro's are,
1. Good build quality and stylish casing.
2. Jog dial, hold switch and memory stick expansion slot.
3. HiRes color display and good backlight.
4. About 7-8 hrs of battery life with mp3 playback.
5. Runs Palm OS 4 which has zillion free apps available. Very easy, reliable and not bloatware unlike Windoze on PocketPC.

Con's,
1. Only 128kbps or low bitrate mp3 can be played.
2. Uses a Lithium Ion battery...
3. To be discontinued and replaced by a newer model by Sony very soon.
4. Memory stick is expensive compared to CF cards. Plus this model won't support new MS Pro sticks.

If you can wait for till Sept/Oct new Sony PDA's should come out with Palm OS 5 and better features at same price point.

This is my 2nd PDA. I had a Casio PV-S1600. So I was used to monochrome screen and no snazzy apps.
This palm OS based color CLIE just blasted me away.
The palm 4 os based software are easily available online. The PDA serves all my purpose ... entertainment or work. The built in mp3 player is great.
I give it a thumbs up!

Cons:
A faster proccessor and RAM needed... (yes im greedy)
No cradle available with package
Built in Speaker not loud enough

Pros: Built-in MP3 player; fast processor; high-resolution screen; slick clamshell design; 16MB; excellent screen; hard cover; faster processor; small shape; Thin; light; great color screen; Great battery life.

Cons: Wimpy scroll buttons; includes OS 4.1 rather than OS 5.0; expensive; buttons are small again; Doesn't come with a memory stick

Summary: This is my third handheld, and I'm quite impressed with it. Before this I've used two Palms, the 130 and the 515. I always give my old gadgets away to family because I love keeping up with the latest.

The first thing that should strike you is the great look. This is a handsome PDA; although built with plastic, and not metal, it doesn't take away from the quality feel.

The screen is great. Way better than the Palm 130 and 515, and much better than most Power PC's I've seen. With the backlight on I'm able to utilize it non stop for about 9-10 hours, so this will last you probably about 2 weeks with average use.

The processor speed is lightening quick, I was able to move around while playing MP3's with no lag, also playing MPEG's was a great experience. With the 128 or 256 or bigger meg memory sticks you can fit a huge amount of multimedia in there.

My favorite thing about this as opposed to the Power PC is the speed with which I can just open up and use it. This is a great OS first and foremost, and doesn't have TSR's and other BS piggybacking it like the Power PC OS.

I recently purchased the GoType keyboard for the Handspring Visor directly from the Landware website, and unfortunately have found it to be, for me, an almost completely unusable product.

This isn't to say that it's a BAD product, however. For a lot of people, it's no doubt extremely useful. The keyboard itself is very well uilt and fully functional, with nicely laid out keys. Though a bit bigger than the Stowaway when not in use, it's still pretty compact, and can easily fit inside a bookbag. And while the outer casing can get a bit scratched and dinged, it does a good job of keeping the keyboard itself safe from damage.

But now the bad part. If you have large hands, and especially if you hunt and peck, this keyboard is very difficult to use. The keys are just too close together, and have a very low profile, requiring you to press them down firmly right in the middle of the key to register the keystroke. Using the GoType, while still faster than graffiti, has cut my typing speed down to less than half of normal (and I'm not that quick to begin with), and long term typing leaves my wrists sore. In a lot of cases I'm actualy faster using the stylus and the onscreen keyboard on my Visor, and can actually type faster using a thumbboard.

To make matters worse, the keyboard did not come with the promised bundled software (TakeNote and WordSleuth). The Landware website I bought it from was advertising a free bundle with Blue Nomad's excellent Wordsmith program, but even that was a bit misleading: I had to email their support department to discover that the software is not "bundled" with the keyboard, you have to download it, then email them for the serial number, then email Blue Nomad for the registration key (none of this is ever explained in the documentation or their website; I only discovered any of this after emailing technical support; to their credit, they did respond very promptly to the email, though I still don't have TakeNote or WordSleuth as promised).

All in all, the GoType hasn't been a good experience for me. If you have smaller hands it might very well be a great buy, but for my money it just doesn't cut it.

Like a lot of other new PDA owners, I found myself desperate for an alternative to Graffiti within two days of picking up the stylus of my Visor Neo for the first time. I didn't mind the (slow, aggravating, inaccurate) handwriting system for quick functions like jotting down assignments or contacts, but when it came to typing notes in class, I simply couldn't keep up.

That's when I started looking at the GoType and Stowaway keyboards. I liked the small storage and large full foldout size of the Stowaway, but ultimately decided on the GoType because of its lower cost and sturdier design. Many of my classes are held in lecture halls with those tiny, barely-adequate fold-away writing desks, and I also find myself wanting to type up documents on my lap when I'm travelling or not at a desk. In these situations, the one-piece construction of the GoType excels over the Stowaway. What's the point of getting the compact Stowaway if you have to carry a 14" sheet of plywood around with you to stabilize it?

I toss this keyboard without any additional protection into a backpack stuffed with books, keys, and art supplies several times a day without any concern for its safety, and haven't noticed any wear and tear on it since I bought it 4 months ago. Since buying the GoType, I've completely replaced my laptop with my Visor at school and on the road. Using either the bundled text software or Documents to Go, I've typed reams of notes, completed homework assignments, answered long emails, and written entire papers on my Visor, things that would have taken me an eternity to do with Graffiti. This keyboard has made it possible for me to go pretty much paperless at college, with the added benefit of weighing at least 5 pounds less (Visor included) than the Toshiba Satellite laptop I used to lug to campus.

Other features I like are the foldback panel that allows you to keep your bulky Springboard modules plugged in (very handy when I want to use my Visorphone for wireless Internet access), and the USB Hotsync cable.

Only one negative: As others have mentioned, the keyboard *IS* rather small, especially for men, and may take some getting used to. The problem is not so much with the width of the keyboard, which is only a bit more narrow than the average laptop, but with the height of each key, which honestly appears to be only 2/3 the measurement of a normal key, making it very easy to accidentally type "3" instead of "e" or something similar. (Regular keys=square; GoType keys=rectangle with 3/8" height) If you are concerned about this, I recommend heading to a Best Buy or CompUSA nearby and testing out the GoType for typing comfort before ordering.

This thing is really great! I got my Visor Prism a good while ago, and since I'm finally back in school I started looking at keyboards. Of course you all know that the choices for a full size keyboard are the Gotype! and the stowaway. In almost any case I'm willing to sacrafice compactness for functionality. Which perfectly matches the scenario of the Gotype! vs. Stowaway. All my friends that have Visors(3) thought that the stowaway was the best by far just because it folds down to pocket size. But I was wishing on the Gotype! to be the best. It has shortcut keys programmable for up to 18 different functions. The keys aren't that small, they are actually better than keys on a full size keyboard. Although, I must admit, after using the Gotype! for a while, when I went back to a full size keyboard it seemed huge. The typing is so great I even typed up a whole paper on the palm os. With the portability compared to a normal keyboard, as I was typing my paper, I was able to take the keyboard all over the house with me. The absolute ONLY problem I had was when the keyboard wouldn't respond I had to do a soft reset, and this only happened twice. The first day I brought it to school my friends were amazed. All day they were begging me to try it. I even used it for an interview for our school paper. This makes any typing application perform ten times better. And this also works with AOL Mail for IMing and checking mail. My friends are insane for this keyboard, I will be using this for as long as I have my Visor Prism.

I spent a lot of time researching which gizmo to buy. I'm an M.D. and wasn't sure I needed one at all - I was happy carrying around my binder, calander, scheduler, etc. There are mainly 3 operating systems - the OS (Palm and Handspring), Windows CE (Compaq Ipaq and Jornada), and EPOC (Psion). I chose the Psion because it supposedly had superior medical shareware. Also I wanted a device with a keyboard and one that could do wordprocessing and spreadsheets. The medical software wasn't that good so I give you my overall impression of the hardware. The Psion is a nice piece of equipment. It weighs about 12 oz with its 2 double A batteries (one month life usually). I think it's a bit to heavy to carry everywhere - it may fit well in a lab coat but forget your pocket. The resolution is higher than the Palm however, the screen itself is difficult to see, mainly because of glare in almost all conditions. The keyboard is nice, but it's too small to touch type unless you have really small hands. My hands are normal size (male) and I couldn't touch type with it. I suppose with practice though it would be possible. I would usually find myself balancing it in one hand and using the stylet in the other and then putting the stylet down to type with one finger - not very slick. I kept wishing I hand a Handspring or Palm. My wife has a Handsping and I've played with that quite a bit. I plan to send my Psion back. It's a good tool and would probably be useful to some, but for me it didn't work out. I think I will try the Compaq Ipaq next - which has a great screen and very good resolution.

Psion announced they will no longer be developing PDA's, but will sell existing models while demand lasts, and continue to support for 3 years - until Dec 2004 at least.
I work in sales and marketing, travelling internationally. I find the Series 5mx provides most of the functionality of a laptop - I use it to take notes in meetings, write visit reports, and for spreadsheet calculations. EPOC system never crashes and boots up instantly. Took 2-3 days to get used to small keyboard, which works well.
The main shortcoming relative to a notebook is preparing presentations - there is software available for the Psion but I cannot believe it would work well with the small screen. Synchronization with Outlook is excellent with latest software. Connects via (included) cable at 112k or via IR port at 56k. Takes about 10 minutes to backup 5.4 Mbytes, and about 4 min to synchronize Agenda+2000 contacts. I sometimes use the IR port to transfer data to other Psions, also works with some cell phones.
Fair amount of 3rd party software, the only one I have used for work is "Convert Pro", formerly free, ... I find it invaluable for converting currencies, English units to metric SI, you can add your own categories to the 18 provided. I have 2 games - Chinese chess and Go - but in general PCs are better for games.
The "Time" program showing chart of globe with local times is invaluable if you deal with international locations all the time, I also use the Psion as my alarm clock when travelling.
Batteries last about 20-24 hours if you do not use the backlit screen.
This is more like a pocket PC rather than merely a PDA.

Well, I like to think so, anyway. I spend more time staring lovingly at this thing than at my wife. I've had it for eighteen months now.
Really an excellent product. Great keyboard, great memory, great battery life. Synching up to the PC was no problem. Small enough and light enough to take it anywhere. Stands up to the occasional knock. No flaws yet.

I bought this three days ago and have had nothing but problems. It is going back tomorrow and I will never buy another iPAQ. I had an older model iPAQ (3800 series) that I had gotten used in December. I had started having major problems with it crashing on me about two months ago. I debated over getting a new iPAQ after those problems and the bad reviews on Amazon for HP's in general. I had decided to go with Dell but my husband took me shopping for our anniversary and all we could find was this HP. It was so pretty and cool that I forgot my plans and bought it because I just had to have it NOW! What a mistake.

The machine itself works great, it was when I started trying to install the software that the problems started. Active Sync would not install properly and ended up crashing the first computer I tried installing it on. (Putting the computer in permanent Safe mode.)I thought at first that it was a problem with my computer so I tried loading it on my other, newer one. Same problems with Active Sync only this time I was getting a message saying that the software was not compatable with Windows XP and might mess up my computer if I continued to try syncing it. This was strange since on the box it says it IS compatable.

I contacted HP today and yes, their customer service IS as bad as I've heard. They of course denied that it could possibly be a problem with their machine or software - BOTH of my computers must have messed up at the same time, coincidentally when I got the PPC! They were basically no help at all.

My husband spent 5-6 hours after work getting the first computer fixed, quite a job since he's not a computer expert. He finally got it done and I started over. Well, guess what - I got the software loaded, well only Active Sync - Outlook wouldn't load so I stuck with the version I already have on there. But of course when I tried to sync the computer could not detect the PDA, just like yesterday before my PC crashed. I tried it over and over, even using a cord from my old PDA. Then tried it all on the other computer. NO, it does not work at all and yes, I did get a message AGAIN about incompatible device drivers for XP like I got yesterday. (And the HP support people swore this is impossible.) There is supposed to be a Logo on the product box that says XP compatible, which there is not.

So I have this very expensive calendar/phone book/calculator/To DO list and that's about it. I can't download e-mails or add programs or anything if I can't connect to my computer. It basically useless. I'm so didgusted I want to throw it as hard as I can. Now I have to drive one hour each way and waste all that gas money and time to return this stupid thing. I have six children - I don't have time for this garbage! I just want to cry and HP could care less. I told them all of this and they just said, "See your vendor." Who's going to repay my husband and me for our wasted time and money dealing with the problems this machine has created???

I am taking this back. I might get a Dell but honestly I'm so disgusted that I may just forget PDA's entirely and stick with old-fashioned pen and paper. It's not fancy and may not be as easy to carry around but at least it's reliable and if it does get lost or messed up it's not that expensive to replace.

This is a pretty cool PDA. I got it for my third year of medical school and I haven't been disappointed. It's lightning fast, and the OS seems pretty stable. The only thing I'd do differently is not place as much importance on having a physical keyboard. I initially thought that the keyboard would be a great plus, but I rarely use it. For the times I do use it (typing passwords on web forms when I don't trust my scribbling), I could easily use the pop-up screen keyboard.

Another issue, which has been raised here before, is its wireless capabilities. The thing only supports the older WEP authentication, and not the newer WPA (which is more secure). I had set up my home network with WPA, but I had to downgrade it to WEP to use the iPAQ. This is annoying, not to mention puzzling. I mean, it's 2004 and they still haven't implemented 802.11g?

I guess this is partly the fault of the OS, which superficially resembles Windows XP. A problem I've had with the OS is that when you hit the 'x' in the upper right of the window (x=close, one would think), it only minimizes the program (it seems to stay on in memory and you have to shut it down in memory). This is retarded. A minus sign would be a more accurate representation.

A word about HP support. Their online knowledgebase is almost useless (I was searching to see if the iPAQ had 802.11g support), and no matter what you do, don't use their online chat support. The chat tech support guy I had was completely clueless, took 5 minutes to answer each message I sent, and didn't even bother acknowledging his ignorance. He just sent me a word document and told me to read it. The only thing he was good for was giving me the HP supprt phone number (which was wrong, but they automatically transferred me). Get their phone number (it's supposedly hidden deep somewhere) and call them. The phone tech support guy I talked to (after a long wait) was professional, helpful, polite, and knowledgeable.

Finally, if anyone else is using this for medical school, note that your friends will probably have Palms. They'll be beaming their cool programs to each other (for free), while you stand idly by with your incompatible iPAQ. On the other hand, our school has moved their records electronic, and they've chosen iPAQs. Take a look at what your colleagues and schools are using before you spend the big bucks.

I have had my 4355 for approximately a month now, and I am blown away by it's set of features.It literally has everything one could want from a handheld. The built in WiFi effortlessly recognized our home network, I bought a BT GPS receiver on ebay, which gives me wireless GPS navigation, while leaving the SD slot free for my memory cards.
I, personally love the keyboard. I have never been a fan of handwriting recognition, and I have larger than average hands, so the size is actually perfect for me. While it's a bit longer because of the keyboard (1 inch longer than the 4150), the device itself is very thin. My girlfriend bought the 4150, which aside from the keyboard, and a slightly smaller battery has the same features.
Battery life is better than average, although like every other device, heavy WiFi use drains it pretty quickly. Simply buying an additional battery for emergencies would suffice for just about anyone's usage.
The keyboard is a good size, making thumb typing very easy. If it has a drawback, it's that there aren't stand alone number keys, so typing alot of numbers is a bit of a hassle at times. But that's really nitpicking. Overall, I can't really find anything not to like about this handheld. Except the terrible case that HP gives you with it. I'm still waiting for others to hit the stores so I can replace it.

This little gadget does away with the biggest complaint most folks have with a Palm - you can enter data quickly without Graffiti. I learned the aforementioned curse of data input back on a Newton MessagePad, so I'm very used to it and rarely hit a wrong stroke. But I still love having this as an option for jotting down quick thoughts, whether it's at the table in the breakfast room while listening to support voicemail, or on a ferry to the Outer Banks for a few days off, I have carried and typed lots of data with this little guy, in places that a laptop or the larger fold-out keyboard would not be as easy to use. Sure, the keys are smaller (duh!) and the layout is not exactly the same as a desktop 105-key. And my Corolla is not an SUV! For what it's intended to be, this gadget is tops. As a desktop replacement, well, we'll just have to wait!

This is an excellent keyboard for the Palm III and VII series.

It's well constructed -- much better constructed than those flimsy Palm keyboards that fold into something roughly the size of a Palm III. It's definitely not the smallest Palm keyboard out there. It is, however, a keyboard you can actually type on. I have thin fingers and even I have trouble typing on the smaller Palm keyboards. In my opinion, LandWare hit a near perfect comprimise between size and utility with this product.

The keyboard requires a driver, which is provided, to run on the Palm but this does not seem to get in the way. It also allows you to assign functions to the six function keys along the top of the keyboard. Despite the driver and lack of separate battery power for the keyboard, LandWare claims to have designed this product to have low battery drain. I have noticed an increase in battery drain since I started using the keyboard but, to be fair, I am also using my Palm at least 50% more than I used to.

This is a very convenient product. You can type in any Palm application that requires data entry. This goes for any native Palm application as well as the bonus applications that come with the keyboard. Don't expect frills from the word processor. It's very spartan. It does, however, allow you to read and edit text and Palm DOC files easily. It's actually a capable little DOC reader. And there is a conduit to convert TEXT documents on your PC to DOC files on your Palm. This is a very thoughtful feature. I think LandWare has done an excellent job here.

I give this product my highest possible technical nod. Within a week, it's become the most used (and certainly the neatest) Palm peripheral I have. It allows me to use my Palm as a direct replacement of my desktop PC for raw word processing -- and for short money, too.

I love it.

When I won a PalmVIx in a raffle, I was determined to make the most of it. As an author, I had been frustrated with my lack of mobile computing capability and this seemed to be a godsend. However, for any extensive writing, the stylus soon made my hand cramp and reduced the usefulness of the handheld.

All this changed after I bought the keyboard. It's large enough to touch-type at a speed almost matching that of my desktop machine, so I'm now able to write whole chapters on the Palm while I'm on the go, and come home to put them on my desktop machine.

Summary: If all you need is a charger, there is a cheaper product out there for you.

More info: I bought this Travel kit mainly because I would go on trips and my Palm would run out of batteries. Rather than lug around those two bricks - the power adapter and the hot sync cradle, I got this thing because of the standalone, one-piece charger. I didn't really need the international adapters or the portable hot-sync cradle, but they came with the package.

And the charger works fine. But the extra hot-sync cradle and other things are just gathering dust...

And now I've realized I could have saved money with another product, the Belkin "Palm V Travel/Home Charger".

It's about twenty-five percent cheaper, and it is just the one-piece power cord, but that's really all I need. And if you're like me, it may be all that you need.

Hopefully you will be able to save some money.

Being able to recharge the Palm is great, but my kit did not come with instructions. How do you start the hotsync process, since the hotsync cable (unlike the normal nontravel hotsync cradle) does not have a hotsync button??

the sync cable is very low profile. the charger is separate so you can bring just the sync cable for short trips or the charger for longer trips (the tranformer adjusts to different voltage and comes with adapters plugs for use in other countries).

i find this kit very useful... more so than my cradle since this is more flexible in usage; i wish they would also sell the sync cable by itself. my biggest complaint (and yes, i agree it is more expensive than it should be) is that the sync cable connector (the piece that is inserted into the Palm) is exposed and does not come with a sleeve/protector.

I was a firm believer in writing things down on paper - My dayrunner was always with me and worked well for me for many years... I took the step a few years ago to a PDA, my husband bought it for me for xmas, and it was amazing how much i learned to rely on it and use it!

Excellent way to keep track of addresses, phone numbers, and organize your busy schedule (both professional and personal).

Unfortunately, there are some drawbacks to this unit that I would like to share with you, and when i get a new one (I think this xmas i'll be upgrading!) I will know what is important to me in a PDA --

No backlight, this is annoying when you can not see your screen in a car or somewhere else, a backlight would be great.

Not compatible with my MAC - i have a PC at home, but at work we are on MACs, and i can not synchronize my schedule electronically at work, nor can I hotsync at work.

When your battery runs out, all of your information is lost, forever! This was a shocker! I had hotsynched a few months ago, so i was able to reload my old, out of date information back to my clie, but it was pretty awful, since all of the new appointments were not in the PDA, nor were updated phone numbers and addresses.

The buttons get pressed when it is in my purse, since the stick up slightly, they get pressed when in my purse, and then it runs the battery down.

It locks up - i would say it will freeze up and lock up about once every 2 months. that is frustrating and has no apparent reason for doing this.

I try to charge the battery every few days, so that helps with the memory loss.

I have found I really do enjoy having all of my information at my fingertips at all times, and this helps me manage my many meetings and events at work and home - and now that i know i will actually use and enjoy this device, it is time to upgrade to color, backlit display and MAC compatible software! I'm looking at the Zire 71 (it has a digital camera!).

The CLIE S320 was my third PDA in the sub $... price range and in terms of features and performance, it stands head and shoulders above the competition.

The main thing that makes the S320 such an attractive buy is that it is one of the few (if not the only) PDA in this price range to feature a rechargeable lithium battery. Second, although the display appears to be slightly smaller than on a 100 series Palm, it is easier to read and features a much more usable backlight. Third, it is expandable. The lowest priced expandable PDA made by Palm is the M125, which typically sells for about $... more and does not have rechargeable batteres. Fourth, the jog dial makes it much easier to navigate through the desktop than using the stylus, although it admittedly takes some getting used to.

The only negatives about the S320 is that it does not come with a hotsync cradle, although it does come with a separate sync cable and battery charger. I don't find this to be much more than a minor inconvenience. The display to me appears to be slightly smaller than that of a Palm, but the fact that it is much easier to read and features a better backlight than the Palm more than makes up for it.

I have had only a brief opportunity to compare the S320 to the Handspring Visor series, which I also think is a good buy for the money. To me, the CLIE has a more contemporary look than the Visor's cheap "plastic calculator" look, although they are similar in performance, depending on the Visor model (I'm speaking about the Neo series here).

Overall, Sony has managed to provide a number of good and useful features in the S320 for its price. It can be bought almost anywhere for approximately $.... This one is well worth a look. Unfortunately, I'm selling mine because my wife bought me a Palm M500 for Christmas, a PDA which is only slightly better than the CLIE but costs twice as much.

I originally ordered a Palm m105, but after I read the reviews on this little jem, I sent the Palm right back to Amazon!

Let me tell you, this PDA is incredible. The best one you can buy for the $150 - $300 price range, and I have seen almost every Palm based PDA and this is tops. Amazing reliability and battery life. I constantly use the backlight for various things when I am in low light areas, and it is a very cool, indigo type color that is extremely easy to look at. The screen is sharpest I have seen for 160x160, and the screen size itself is larger then the m105 and m125, both palm products.

Another thing which makes this a top PDA is its expandability. Sony has jumped on the market with better planning then any other company, releasing addons, upgrades, and peripherals at a steadier pace then any other company selling Palm powered devices.

Slot for memory stick gives this virtually unlimited memory if you buy the sticks, which are not too pricey.

Reliability has been great, with no problems at all. Had to do two hard resets because of bad software, but it was not the fault of the Clie.

Recommendations could not be stronger, everything about this PDA is outstanding. And for the people who need to get second glances, the looks of this are tops for any handheld device using the Palm OS.

When I started looking at PDA's, I was initially attracted to the Casio and the Jornada because of their color screens and features not found on the Palm machines. Long story short is that ultimately the PDA I bought was a Palm Vx. What was important to me was size, battery life, and functionality. I want a name now! Windows CE is still slow no matter how fast a processor you put in the machine - which kills the battery life in the meantime. If I'm travelling I have my portable computer to do the other things that a CE machine can do. For day to day life, I don't know where I would keep a larger CE device. My Palm Vx has never faltered or skipped a beat, the beam feature is great, there's lots of free software, and it lasts a week on one battery charge even playing Subhunt more than I should. Have you seen avantgo? You can download your news when you hotsync.

My conclusion: If you travel alot and don't carry a portable and you don't mind have to carry a charger with you the CE's may be the way to go. Otherwise save yourself the hassle and get a Palm or a Visor.

We had a little bit of cash left over and decided to buy the whole software development team PDAs. I decided that because of Microsoft's history of providing support to older Operating Systems (upgrades to WindowsCE had already been offered) that we would go with a WinCE-based product.

With a 240x320 pixel 16 bit color display, 16 MBytes of memory and stereo headphone jack backed-up by a quality MP3 decoder, the Jornada 430se was our new toy!

We stopped carrying paper. No one is late to meetings. No one scrambles for print-outs. No one says "I don't have a copy of that memo in front of me." Tasks/calendars/contact/email are in color, straight from Windows Outlook to your Personal PC. The Jornada's buttons and scroll wheel allow one handed operation, the voice recognition software allows one button operation.

Two bad sides: 1) People used to Palm pilots think it is a little bulky and decry its use of Windows. In my opinion, they are whiners.

2) The HP Jornada 430se runs my life. Now I forget nothing and this bums me out. The Jornada keeps metrics of my uncompleted tasks and I now realize how truly unproductive I am.

I got one about a month ago and it's cool.
first of all it has a built in MP3 player which is really cool, but if you plan on using it a lot I suggest you get a few large memory cards. Next it has a 16-bit color so you can put high resolution images on it. there are also many other cool things on it, but if size matters to you I suggest you get something a little more compact, I mean this thing is 5.1 × 3.2 × 0.9 big! But if you just want a handheld to scribble down notes,and replace getting a MP3 player this is the way to go.
Over all I really like it and would reccomend it to anyone looking for a PDA.

To be truthful I never wanted to buy a case for my Palm m100 in the first place, but the hinges on the plastic flip cover that came with it broke apart after only 3 months. Because I could not find a replacement part, in order to have my Palm protected I had to buy a case. I am not overjoyed with this product, but it is adequate and does the job that it was designed to do.

All of the complaints about this product are true. The Velcro is small and it can be difficult to close the cover on the case, the stylus is difficult to remove unless the cover is flipped all the way open, the stitching is of poor quality and does not look like it will last. Another irritating that I have discovered is that the opening seems to be off a little bit. It covers up the screen a little bit at the top.

However, the nice thing about this case are that is made of very nice leather and the Velcro beltloop is very convenient. With this case strapped to my belt, I usually remove the Palm from the case without removing the case from my belt in order to use it. I have taken to using the case more as a belt holster. This way, the problems of the stylus and the mismatched opening are not a problem. This is the manner that I would recommend using this product.

Why 3 stars?: I feel the case was poorly designed and will far apart and be unsatisfying in the long run. However, using it as a holster is very convenient and attractive - even if it does a little bit of bulk.

In contrast to the Palm M100 slim leather case which uses only velcro to hold the PDA in place, this case has a leather framework into which the PDA slides. The leather has openings for the screen and buttons. I find this design a bit less appealing visually and wonder if the openings will be prone to getting caught and torn. Either of these two approaches are different from the clear and rather sturdy plastic used to hold the PDA in place with the Palm Glove design. It's really all a matter of taste. So far my friends have each chosen different cases with no duplication. Wise of Palm to offer so many choices.

Others have already mentioned the one other feature that may be a flaw -- that the stylus is difficult to remove unless the case is fully opened. The leather quality on this particular case is, however, quite nice and the case does work very well for those who want to carry their M100 on a belt. Note that the the case stays closed with velcro as does the belt loop (making it adjustable).

I love this item that I got. I just want to warn you that you can not put it in the cradle. It will not go in. It is to big. I don't care. Order off the seller performancepda it came to my doorstep in 4 days.