PDA Reviews

...I guess if enough people complain... :-)

I was originally very excited about this product and purchased two, one for myself and one for my brother. The CardScan will enable you to scan most of your business cards and save them in your system, thus having it all at your fingertips. The software is great, allowing you to assign categories to all the contacts, to search for contacts in various ways, and allowing export/import/transfer of data to and from PIMs, utility programs and even to PDAs. I use Outlook at work but I find the CardScan software to be more powerful for contact management.

The scanner works well most of the time. With the Auto Scan feature you can set your cards down and, if all goes right, come back later to verify the information. Cards are rapidly read and the images stored until you verify the accurate placement of the card information into the software fields.

This leads me to one of the major problems with the CardScan. Understandably it's difficult to account for all business card formats, with the contact info. being placed in all possible ways. Corex has not fully figured out how to ensure placement of the card info. into the software fields. Only about 50% of the time was most of the info. properly placed. Otherwise you'll have to go through and cut and paste into the correct fields.

The CardScan does not always cleanly scan the business cards. The software is designed to allow you to compare the scanned image of the card to the fields to which the info. was assigned. Good idea but doesn't work so well. To verify that the card was read properly, you'll have to keep your scanned cards with you. Of course, once it's verified you can put the cards away for good.

Two great features of the CardScan: (1) it allows you to scan the back of the business card and (2) you can make your own entries for those cards that are too difficult to read.

The Corex Card Scanner is a must for anyone going to a trade show or conference where you might come home with an unmanageable number of new contacts' business cards. Everything about the setup was a piece of cake, even on Windows 2000. Hardware connects with a USB connection and all was up and running in minutes. Once set up, you just slip a card into the scanner and watch it convert the graphic information to text. You do have to be careful in this process as the character recognition is not perfect and will often mistitle a field or just read the data incorrectly, but overall, quite accurate. When you verify the information as correct, it keeps the card in the desktop program, both graphically and in labeled text fields. From there, you can seamlessly trasfer data to other programs (including Outlook) with the click of a button. I don't know how I lived without this.

I don't like this case. It will not except the iPaq with an expansion pack. Even with just the iPaq and no expansion card or extra stylus, the size is still larger than my Palm VII in it's case. This is odd considering the iPaq itself is smaller than my Palm. Try the iSuit (my personal favorite) or the Franklin Covey. Also very nice.

The Executive Leather Style Pack is a welcome addition to my iPAQ. It covers most of the bezel to protect the unit from scratches and scruff marks while not taking away easy access to the iPAQ's screen, buttons, or control pad. It's functionality is second only to it's enhancement of the iPAQ's sleek look.

I was pleasantly surprised with this jr. sized computer in terms of its ease of use and user friendly characteristics.
I am not a computer geek and therefore didn't expect anything other than a round trip back to the store to return the unit (I had gotten it as a birthday gift from my wife).
In short order, I was up and running. I was able to actually swap Excel files, download outside programs, etc. from my laptop in addition to using all the normal built in computer functions. This, in conjunction with using the voice recorder, handwriting note taker and so on made me a believer.
A final note...I compared the Compaq IPAC3835 with its HP counterpart (since they share the same OS and price). The Compaq was far and away the better item. The screen is about 10% larger; the recorder playback is far superior; the overall appearance is better.

I bought this cable along with my Tungsten E, because I wanted a serial hotsynch cable for my laptop. However, it doesn't work with the Tungsten E, which allows only for a mini-USB connector; this is the standard "universal" Palm connector - universal, apparently, except for Tungsten E. I advised Amazon.com of this when I returned it, but they are still selling it with the Tungsten E. Don't be fooled! Palm does not make a cradle or a serial cable for the E.

I bought one of these chargers. It broke within a couple of days. So being loyal to palm I bought another... which never worked! I have a ton of palm stuff and I havent written anything bad about the company, but I found that workmanship to be much lower then what I would expect from such an established company.

I really don't understand why people blame Amazon or Palm for this cable while the description clearly says it's for certain models, and says it's for models with the universal connector. I wish people would take responsibility for themselves more.

Anyway, I got this cable because my office PC runs NT, and it doesn't support USB. The serial cable works perfectly. It doesn't charge your Palm (I have the T2), unlike the USB charge/hotsync cable, and speed is low compared to USB, but it gets the work done.

There is, however, one caveat: you cannot transfer MP3 files with the serial cable, because Real Player cannot recognize it. Palm should really move away from Real and opt for something better; Real is all about bloatware and spyware -- I don't know a single soul who likes its intrusive "message center" annoyance.

The workaround is you'll need to copy the MP3 files to the SD card directly, into the "\music" folder on the card. If you have a laptop with an SD slot, you'll be fine. But chances are if you are still running NT, your laptop won't have the slot. Also all SD card readers are USB. So in the end, it's probably best to upgrade, or borrow your friend's win2k or XP machine.

In short, this cable is cheap and light and seems durable (if you take care in disconnecting the Palm).

I bought this cable along with my Tungsten E, because I wanted a serial hotsynch cable for my laptop. However, it doesn't work with the Tungsten E, which allows only for a mini-USB connector; this is the standard "universal" Palm connector - universal, apparently, except for Tungsten E. I advised Amazon.com of this when I returned it, but they are still selling it with the Tungsten E. Don't be fooled! Palm does not make a cradle or a serial cable for the E.

I bought one of these chargers. It broke within a couple of days. So being loyal to palm I bought another... which never worked! I have a ton of palm stuff and I havent written anything bad about the company, but I found that workmanship to be much lower then what I would expect from such an established company.

I really don't understand why people blame Amazon or Palm for this cable while the description clearly says it's for certain models, and says it's for models with the universal connector. I wish people would take responsibility for themselves more.

Anyway, I got this cable because my office PC runs NT, and it doesn't support USB. The serial cable works perfectly. It doesn't charge your Palm (I have the T2), unlike the USB charge/hotsync cable, and speed is low compared to USB, but it gets the work done.

There is, however, one caveat: you cannot transfer MP3 files with the serial cable, because Real Player cannot recognize it. Palm should really move away from Real and opt for something better; Real is all about bloatware and spyware -- I don't know a single soul who likes its intrusive "message center" annoyance.

The workaround is you'll need to copy the MP3 files to the SD card directly, into the "\music" folder on the card. If you have a laptop with an SD slot, you'll be fine. But chances are if you are still running NT, your laptop won't have the slot. Also all SD card readers are USB. So in the end, it's probably best to upgrade, or borrow your friend's win2k or XP machine.

In short, this cable is cheap and light and seems durable (if you take care in disconnecting the Palm).

When I first got the unit, I loved it. It appeared accurate, though it took a long time to acquire satellites at times. In fact, many times my Delorme Earthmate would acquire within 15 seconds, and the Meridian would take several minutes (while moving in a car sitting on the dash). The ability to use SD/MMC cards and load maps onto the unit was great for general usage. I used Magellan GPS for everything, from hiking, kayaking, driving, to boating.

HOWEVER, the specs say that the unit is IPX7 compliant, which means accidental submersion underwater for up to 30 minutes in 1 meter of water. I was in a kayak, got hit by a wave with the Meridian in my pocket, and was in less than 1 meter of water for less than 15 seconds, and water made it's way into the unit.

I sent Magellan/Thales navigation an email and gave them a call but was not given much help, even though I own multiple Magellan products (including the GPS companion, etc...). They noted that I could have it serviced for $150, which is what an new unit cost (this was not the platinum edition, but it is the same form factor and same case). All customer service would tell me is that sometimes water may enter through the keypad area. Well, if water enters through the keypad area, how can they advertise that it is IPX7 compliant?

I may be an isolated incident. However, with the customer service I received, I don't think I would ever buy another Magellan product, and will probably get rid of the rest of my Magellan products. I think the product design, features, usability, and intuitiveness is great, just the product does not perform up to expectations or promise. I would also consider customer service as well.

I have used a downloaded mapping GPS since 1998 and use it extensively.

The pluses on the Meridian Color are: SD memory cards - I can finally carry the maps I need, uses only 2 AA batteries, well built and waterproof, searchable addresses, extensive points of interest, maps of Canada and parts of Europe, programmable navigation menus. I use a USB 2.0 SD card reader and a 256MB SD card and can quickly download 64 MB maps. Multiple maps can be stored on the SD card up to your storage limit. Using a card reader the map creation and storage process is done in a couple of minutes.

The misses: the color screen is not a helpful as I expected, in daytime use the screen is very dark and hard to see even with the backlight on draining the batteries quickly, still needs better waypoint management, the Topo maps are not a useful as I expected.

Good unit, but I would probably have been better off with the Meridian Gold due to the Color unit's hard to see screen.

Excellent GPS. Has no problem finding and maintaining a lock. I tried two other GPS (Garmin and Magellan SporTrak) before buying this unit, and it is by far the best of the three. The color screen is beautiful (although its resolution is not as good as the new SporTrak Color). This unit is also the largest of the ones that I tried, but much of the size is tied to the antenna, and a larger antenna means better performance. One word of caution: don't buy the MapSend Software--the points of interest (restaurants, etc) are significantly off from their actual positions. Magellan is working on a new version of this software, which is supposed to solve the problems encountered here. Also, don't think this unit with the MapSend software will give you directions for how to get to an address; it will pinpoint the location (using Goto), but finding the right roads to get there is up to you. Also, becuase this GPS uses an SD memory card, it is possible to have maps that cover far greater areas than on units with built-in memory.

The color display is nice, but without the backlight it looks like it's black-and-white.

The person who wrote earlier about only being able to have 4 maps on the memory card was WRONG. It's true that the Magellan can only have 4 maps active at once, but the user can switch between map files. (For instance file 1 can have maps of Georgia, Alabama/Mississippi, Florida, and Louisiana; file 2 can have maps of DC/Maryland, Pennsylvania; etc.)

Overall a very good unit. Takes a little bit of time to understand how to use it, but it is worth it.

I ended up sending this pocket pc back five times and I had to replace it twice! The service is poor compared to other companies. The device is extremely fragile and takes up time on easy tasks with the hardware. I would stay away from this company and recommend "hp." If you want to buy a good priced Pocket PC that has Wi-Fi and has a high quantity of memory, purchase the hp 1945 Pocket PC. Other then the support from Toshiba, the operating system software (Windows 2003 Pocket PC Edition) is easy to use and gets my jobs done without working at my desk all day long.

The Toshiba 75x has an impressive array of features and the dual card support is extremely important as you can use the SD slot for memory and the CF slot for more unique expansion cards. On the surface the unit has extreme promise. Unfortunately Toshiba support is maddening. Be very sure you are happy with what you get, because history (e740) is that it will never change. Toshiba's standard fix is to come out with a new unit and drop early adopters like a rock. A prospective buyer owes it to himself or herself to take a look at some of the PDA user groups before purchase.

(Note: The only difference between the e750 and e755 is that the latter e755 comes with a photo viewer software title on the companion CD. In fact, the machine in the e755 packaging says "e750".)

Featuring a new mobile processor, the most internal memory of any PDA (64MB RAM plus 64MB non-RAM for a total of 128MB), built-in 802.11b wi-fi, the best PDA screen from Toshiba so far. and good battery life, the e750/e755 is close to being perfect. The compact (0.6 inches thin) and attractive form factor is a huge plus, as well.

The new Intel processor (PXA255 running at 400Mhz) is without doubt the star of the new line-up. It's an updated version of the first-gen Xscalar processor, which wasn't getting good reviews due to lack of optimization options. The e750/e755 *is* optimized for the new processor, which results in speedy application launches and operations. Nothing gives a Pocket PC user more pleasure than seeing his/her favorite app come up instantly. The e750 also allows you to switch between two speeds, hence you can choose between higher speed or better battery life. Even at the lower speed, PPC apps feel quick and responsive. The LiIon battery is user replaceable, and an optional "extended" battery is available now from Toshiba.

What's left to improve for Toshiba is their lackluster customer support. Because their PPCs are made by an OEM in Taiwan rather than in their own plants in Japan, the build quality is still a bit lacking, but the e750/e755 seems to be better made than the e740, which was getting a lot of complaints.

Update with more details:

The e750 is indeed a joyful PDA! The high price and the lack of a built-in camera aside -- but who really needs the latter, right? -- it really comes close to being a master-of-all-trades device. I haven't tested the wireless features as much as I had hoped, due to the fact there just aren't many free hot spots around these days. But I'll update this review when I get more hands-on experience in this area.

In terms of everyday use this is a true workhorse. I'll talk more about the specs below, but the numbers don't really reveal how pleasant using the e750 is. The hundreds of annoyances that plagued the e740, its older cousin, have been fixed. There are far fewer crashes and syncs go more smoothly. At just 6.5 ounces, while not the lightest Pocket PC, you get something very close to a handheld computer, especially when you get the foldable keyboard!

The e750 has a total of 128MB of RAM, 32 of which is ROM, 32 is flash-ROM (which means content stored on it won't go away even if the battery is completely dead... think of it as a small hard disk without moving parts), and the rest 64 is true user-accessible RAM. Having a real 64MB to play with is a bliss, especially for someone like me who started out with 16MB on the Casio EM-500 and last saw 46MB on the HP iPaq 1910. The extra 18MB makes a big difference. Now I can play Doom and Quake at the same time!

Given the thin form factor of the e750, it still amazes me how it can feature both a Type I/II CompactFlash (CF) slot as well as a Secure Digital (SD) slot. Since wi-fi is already built-in, both can happily be used solely for storage expansion. The highest capacity for SD right now (as of April 2003) is 512MB, but that costs a small fortune. The best value belongs to 256MB cards, and I highly recommend the one from Lexar (see my review there). If you put in a 512MB SD and a 512MB CF, you'll get 1GB of extra storage for under one-hundred-fifty dolrs! The CF slot can probably be used for other peripherals; but the situation is not clear right now as to which CF peripherals will be supported in the e750.

The 3.8-inch (measured diagonally) screen is the largest among Pocket PCs on the market today, and the best from Toshiba so far. I personally like the screens on the iPaq 1910 and Viewsonic V35 better, but this screen is more than "good." The resolution is still PPC's standard 240x320, so it would be nice to see someday PPC manufacturers would go higher than that. I'd love a PPC the size of the e750 but with a 4" screen and 320x480 resolution!

There are a lot of optional accessories you can get for the e750, including the foldable keyboard and extended battery mentioned above. This is truly an exciting newcomer to the PPC family... one that looks and performs like a winner.

The toggle switch on my new e805 broke the second time I moved it from WiFi to off. I sent the unit in under warrenty. Toshiba warrenty department said the mother board must be replaced to fix the toggle switch and is not covered under warrenty. They charged $125.00 to repair unit. I've bought a lot of Toshiba products, this will be the last.
Guy A. Edwards
Sturgis
South Dakota

When I first took it out of the box, it didn't, but I thought that was because the battery needed to be charged. I did finally get it setup and working. It was beautiful. Then the screen started acting weird, I'd tap the scroll bar and the today screen would pop back up, or I'd tape the "next" button and a different program would flash and then go away and then back to the today screen. Sometimes I'd turn it on and the screen wouldn't respond, then all of a sudden it did again. It was getting so bad that I hard reset and still couldn't get the screen to respond. I tried calling Toshiba, who only offers 90 days tech support, and they said they'd have someone call me back. A week later, I called them again and a week later I called a third time. Finally, I couldn't get the unit to respond at all, so I called J&R (where I purchased it via Amazon link) and they told me to send it back. They'd check it out and IF they found a problem they'd exchange it and refund my shipping fee. A lot of hassle for a very expensive machine, Toshiba is awful. I hope J&R comes through, as they agreed. They were nice on the phone, I think they will.
I did get my new, replacement from J&R. I was charged for it and I'm still waiting for them to credit me for the one I returned to them. The new one works MUCH better! It's a pleasure to use. I've only let the battery run down once; it stays pretty good, 4 or 5 days with normal use. This screen works the way it should. It responds well and it's really quick. I restored from a backup on my CF card and was up and running in seconds. I really love it. I like the CF and SD card slots and the fast processor. I like it much better than the iPAQ 5455 I had.

I had the iPAQ but I had to have an expansion pack to use a CF card and the battery seemed to die everyday. This has everything I want built in. I know it doesn't have Bluetooth, but either does my laptop or cell phone but both have IR so the included IR on the e805 was important. I have a 1gb CF card and a 512sd card which are recognized without a hitch (not the case on my iPAQ where I constantly had to soft boot) WiFi configured really easily. I backed up my new unit and did a hard reset and restore, which worked perfectly and easily. I love the large screen for viewing my photos and short mov videos and my maps from pocket streets, the included apps are great but I did have one multimedia app from my iPAQ that I use and love. Battery lasts about 3 days w/normal use. Not as large as I expected, but then the iPAQ w/expansion was very large and heavy. I use a leather case for the e740 which was tight at first, but works great. Toshiba isn't the greatest with support or customer service and this unit didn't come with ANYthing, no cards, no screen cover, no case, which did come with my iPAQ. But I love the built in CF and SD cards, the large screen, ease of use voice recorder. The only thing I don't like is the stylus.

I recently entered the Handheld world (a Palm m105) and thought buying the camera would be an inexpensive way to take digital pictures. I read reviews stating that the camera would not work with the m105, but after much trepidation, decided to buy it anyway.

I run a Mac operating system, and the camera works well on it. I had some problems finding the pictures on my hard drive, but I called the (800) number for Kodak, and a representitive assisted me in finding my photos.

As far as the quality of photos, I bought it to take pictures of my wife and children to e-mail to the grandparents. It works great for that. It is easy to use, although sometimes the pictures are blurry. I don't expect to win any photo contests with it, but that's not what I bought it for.

This is just a cool little gadget to have for your palm.

ATTN M105 Users or Any users with problems.
Here's some help though if your having problems:
I had problems at first but what you need to do is backup all your information. Then do a HARD RESET: AFter that Don't re-load anything back onto your palm EXCEPT the PalmPix Program (goto the program files folder and then delete all the .prc files so they won't go back on or just move them for now) Then re-load the other programs, this is what I had to do and have since had NO problems.

I received my Kodak Palmpix Digital Camera within 72 hors after placing my order. It's a really cool. The size and weight works well for me. Thank you so much for sending this item to me so quickly, and I'm going to enjoy using it.

These are a joke. They are soft and make the stylus drag IF you can get the thing lined up right on the screen. I threw them away after 10 minutes of struggle.

I waxed my screen. That's right WAXED IT! I had a bottle of ArmorAll Fast Wax handy. That is liquid, squirt it on car wax. I used a little dap and rubbed it in. I works GREAT! The screen is slippery and smooth as silk. It seems to repel finger prints and dust and wipes clean very easy. And it is cheap!

I saw the rave reviews for NuShield and ordered them instead. Frankly, I'm disappointed. The NuShields arrived quickly, but were heavily spotted and very cloudy. The first one I installed was scratched too much to be useable within an hour. Considering the NuShields are five bucks per sheet, I was severely disappointed. I've used Fellowes sheets on two different types of Palms (Vx and Tungsten T) and although they're not crystal clear, they hold up and do what they say they will do -- protect the screen and remain read-through-able. Also, they don't glare in high light (NuShields do this even in minimal light) and the Fellowes don't reduce the apparant light from the handheld itself (the NuShields cut the apparent light by a good 50%). I'll be sticking with the Fellowes in the future.

I've used the fellowes WriteRights on several items, including watches, PDA's, Walkman, and cell phones. I'd definately recommend them if you are prone to banging up the faces on screens. Just make sure your screen is clean before you apply the film. I usually get about 6 months of use out of the PDA before I need to replace. Best to use right after you purchase your item. As for the people that are dissatisfied, I don't get it. I'm happy with them.

I am also having trouble in reading Lexar 128MB memory stick. On Dazzle / Zio website I was not able to get firmware update. I am using Windows 2000 so can somebody post a link to firmware update on zio's website>

The Dazzle reader doesn't work with my 128MB lexar stick. But it works fine with my 128MB sony stick and my 128MB sandisk stick. The lexar stick works fine in my camera and in my hp officejet's reader. I'd stay away from this reader.

I encountered the same problems with a Lexar 128MB memory stick that have been mentioned by other reviewers. I discovered that dazzle has a firmware update for this reader available on their website. I downloaded, installed and ran the firmware updater and have had no problems with the reader since.

There's not much more to say. I wish the cord was about 2 feet longer. I have my USB hub on the floor, and the cord is barely long enough to reach --- and the reader is at the back of the desk. If it was a bit longer, I'd be able to pull it closer to the keyboard when I'm using it.