Palm's M100 Won't Stretch Your Pocketbook
A colleague took one look at my prerelease version of Palm Inc.'s newest pocket organizer and exclaimed: "That's like a Palm--only smaller."
A colleague took one look at my prerelease version of Palm Inc.'s newest pocket organizer and exclaimed: "That's like a Palm--only smaller."
The Seiko Instruments U.S.A. Inc. SmartPad sounds great: a device that enables Palm users to write notes with pen and paper, and then relay these--via an infrared connection--to the Palm for viewing, organizing, and storing.
"Bond. James Bond." That's what I wanted to announce every time I attached one of two new snap-on digital cameras for handheld PDAs. Block Products' gadgety US$149 Eyemodule is designed for use with the Handspring Inc. Visor. Kodak Co.'s $179 PalmPix Camera is intended for various Palm PDAs. Both are slightly larger than a matchbox and about as light. The Eyemodule takes either black-and-white or color photographs, while the PalmPix snaps only color pictures. Both cameras let you use the PDA screen to preview the picture before capturing it.
Toshiba Corp.'s 3.4-pound Portégé 3440CT notebook and Fujitsu Ltd.'s even lighter-weight LifeBook B-2131 deliver a hardware punch that belies their subnotebook size. Both are ideal for travelers who need to access e-mail and use Windows apps but who don't want to lug around a heavy notebook.
Digital phone lines offer convenient features, but
they can be lethal to a modem without an analog converter. Konexx Corp.'s $129
Mobile-USB offers a small (4 inches), lightweight (3 ounces), but somewhat
convoluted fix. For power, the Mobile-USB uses your laptop's USB port, instead
of an AC adapter or batteries (as the previous version did). But the bundled
USB cable is short, at just 3 inches. You also have to remove the telephone's
handset from its cable, place the cable in the Mobile-USB, and then connect the
PC modem to the other end of the device. Confused? I was, even though I had an
illustrated map. But once everything was set up, my analog modem worked on a
previously verboten digital phone. Konexx; 800/275-6354; www.konexx.com.
Microsoft Corp.'s $55 Internet Keyboard Pro adds
19 hot keys and two USB ports to a traditional flat 104-key keyboard. Some
extra keys control Web browser navigation buttons; others work with your CD
player; and two are programmable to open a specified app or document. The Mail
key works with almost all POP3 and corporate e-mail programs (including Lotus
Notes). Touch-typing was effortless, and the USB ports reduce cable tangling by
letting you relocate some hookups away from the PC. I had to look down from the
screen to find the right browser navigation buttons, though I liked the CD
player controls. The IntelliType software takes up 35MB, but in the age of
massive hard drives, that's tolerable. Microsoft; 800/426-9400;
www.microsoft.com.
When Microsoft Corp.'s IntelliMouse Explorer appeared last fall (see November 1999 New Products, www.pcworld.com/nov99/intellimouse), I praised its groundbreaking optical tracking technology--which replaced the traditional rolling mouse ball--but criticized its righties-only design. Microsoft has fixed that problem and improved overall functionality. The $55 IntelliMouse Optical costs $20 less than the Explorer, seems sturdier, and is ambidextrous.
Okay, I admit it: I love my sleek, chic Palm V organizer, but I covet the wireless communication capabilities of the Palm VII. So I was excited to learn that OmniSky, a nationwide wireless network, is bundling a Novatel Minstrel V wireless modem with software and network access that will allow the Palm V to use the same wireless Web applets as the Palm VII.
Palm Computing Inc. devices are popular because they're easy to use and they fit in a shirt or jacket pocket. Not coincidentally, they also lack a keyboard. So it's surprising that one of the most useful products for Palms I've tried is a keyboard.
Sharp's 4.7-pound Actius PC-A800 and Panasonic's 4.4-pound Toughbook 37 offer Solomon-like compromises, combining the convenience of 1-inch-thick subnotebooks with the integrated functionality of larger, heavier notebooks. By adding about 1.5 pounds to the weight of a typical subnote, both vendors were able to pack in 64MB of RAM, swappable drive bays, ports for printers and monitors, full-size keyboards, and larger screens. Both models also have certain limitations that you should consider before purchasing one, however.
Hello, my name is Michael, and I am a USB junkie. I admit it: I think the Universal Serial Port -- designed to let you add as many as 127 external devices to a PC without incurring conflicts -- is the best technological advance in years. But the true convenience of USB struck me only after I installed Xircom's PortStation Port Expansion System.
When I want to hear music I like, I turn to Rio. No, not the South American city, but Diamond Multimedia's new MP3 digital music player, the Rio PMP300.