| As a child, I was obsessed with video games
and gadgets, spending thousands of dollars on them both. I was lucky
enough to be involved in a family business where I could work almost as
soon as I could read and write. Working at an early age allowed me to earn
some extra money, but unfortunately most of my savings was spent a single
quarter at a time in Pong, Space Invaders, and Asteroids. My addiction to
video games eventually extended to a variety of electronic gadgets such as
radios, calculators, and eventually personal computers.
My first PC was a Commodore 64, and it was on this machine that I cut
my teeth in the technology field. The Commodore was designed to allow
aspiring programmers such as myself to develop video games, and that is
exactly what I did in my spare time. I never sold any of my games, but I
recall writing games similar to Centipede and PacMan, and even writing
Star Trek, a game I designed myself.
THUMBS UP OR DOWN?
This fascination with gadgets and computers evolved, and as I began a
career in the computer field I became an earlier adopter of technology. I
would install Beta programs as frequently as I could, and when I couldn't
find a new program in its Beta version, I would purchase the program as
soon as it was released. I learned many lessons from my experience as an
earlier adopter. Perhaps the most important thing I learned was that early
adopters spend a great deal of time finding the bugs and glitches in new
products so the not-so-early adopters don't have to.
This lesson served me well in later life as I began a career in
publishing. I have learned to let others find the bugs in new programs and
technologies. Sure, having the latest technology fascinates me, but in
business you just don't have time to reinstall programs that don't work
right. Even worse, you don't have time to redo your work because your new
program is incompatible with older versions on your colleagues' computers.
And you certainly don't have time to reformat your hard disk and reinstall
everything from scratch when an upgrade doesn't work as planned.
With this in mind, you can see why it was begrudgingly that six months
ago I decided to purchase a palm-based computer. Sure, they have been
around for years, but I had the preconceived notion that these devices are
a big waste of time -- unnecessary, risky, and little more than glorified
gadgets. But I finally decided to give the palm-based computer a try.
A PALM IN HAND
I first considered a Windows CE device, thinking that Microsoft's monopoly
position in desktop operating systems would allow them to dominate any
area of computing that they wanted to. After discussing my decision with a
few TMC Labs engineers as well as some unhappy users of CE devices, I
decided that a 3Com Palm VII device was the way to go (for now anyway). I
chose the Palm VII because it has a wireless modem built in that allows
you to browse certain Web sites and exchange e-mail without a phone line.
Those of you who know me know that I am now obsessed with my PalmPilot.
It's with me constantly and almost always in use. In fact, last weekend my
Palm VII had an unfortunate accident, which left it in dire need of a
brand new screen. With my Palm out of commission, I felt ill prepared to
do my job. I really rely on this little device more than just about
anything else (except my PC). I often come up with ideas I need to share
with others and the Palm's e-mail capabilities allow me to immediately
send off important notes to groups of people in seconds. I can even get
instantaneous responses to my e-mail queries while I am in a meeting or
even at lunch.
When I travel, I often have "dead time" on my way to the
airport, the rental car office, or the hotel. This dead time is now
productive time that I can spend doing work or even just catching up on
current events, which is something I never had time to do before. As I
travel, many curious people stop and ask about my new pocket computer. The
most frequent question I get asked by those astute enough to spy the
raised antenna is, "How much do you get charged per month for that
thing?" There seems to be a misconception that Palm wireless service
plans are outrageously priced. Service plans start at around $10 for 50K
per month for casual users and reach a high of $45 for unlimited bandwidth
over 300K. The expanded plan at $24.99 and 150K per month is generally
adequate for my needs.
HANDY FEATURES
Some of the best features of the Palm series of handhelds is that they can
be backed up or synchronized with a PC. In fact, when the screen broke on
my Palm VII, I was still able to synchronize to my desktop.
Perhaps the best and worse feature of the Palm series is its
handwriting recognition called Graffiti. This language which resembles
written English is just different enough to require you to adapt to the
Palm's unique writing style. Letters such as Q, V, and Y are a challenge
but become familiar in time. I am now at the point where I can use the
Palm in meetings to take notes. I'm still not as quick as I am with paper
and pencil, but at least I don't have to reenter information that I have
transcribed once already. One drawback to taking notes on the Palm during
a meeting is that you lose eye contact with others in the meeting. The
second drawback is less common, but much more serious -- what do you do
when your PalmPilot freezes and needs a reboot?
There is a screen-based keyboard included for those who can't get the
handwriting down, and there's also an optional larger keyboard (2-3 times
the size of the Palm VII) that allows for faster data entry. I have used
the keyboard a few times, and it's really useful. Unfortunately it's too
clunky to carry along with me so I usually don't have access to it. Palm
recently released a portable keyboard that folds down to one-quarter its
original size and weighs only eight ounces. I'll definitely explore this
product in the future, but the keyboard I have now was a gift so I feel a
bit guilty replacing it.
NEEDS A HAND
The Palm is so popular that there are over 50,000 developers designing
hardware and software for it. No matter what you want improved about the
Palm, you can probably find between a handful of programs that do just
that. Even many hardware limitations seem to evaporate as you if you scan
catalogues from CDW and Insight where you will find dozens of accessories.
Bearing this in mind, I have a list of some potential areas of
improvement that I found using my Palm VII over the past six months. I
also have done some research to determine if solutions to these problems
exist on the market. Unfortunately my schedule didn't allow me to research
all 50,000 developers, so feel free to drop me a line at rtehrani@tmcnet.com
if you have information that will help me (and others) make the most of
their Palm computers.
Better Screen
I know there are technology limits to contend with as well as battery
issues, but I just can't help but wonder if my Palm computer is slowly
blinding me. There are times, however, when the back-lit keyboard is
better than paper and pencil, especially for business meetings under
low-light conditions. At last year's INTERNET
TELEPHONY EXPO in the Hotel del Coronado, the backlight was a great
asset for meetings that took place in the dimly lit library off of the
main lobby. The new Palm IIIc has a color screen, which I assume should
help with readability, but it has no wireless modem. I really need both.
Anemic Alarm
My Palm VII is an absolute joy at trade shows, but not if I need to hear
the alarm. You need library-like conditions to even notice it. You would
think a device that is supposed to help you manage your schedule would
have an alarm that could wake you up or be heard in moderate noise
conditions. This device needs a really loud alarm, or better yet a
vibrating alert. There are different shareware programs you can download
that will alter the sound of the alarm to other themes, but I doubt any of
them can make the Palm louder. See www.tucows.com for information on these
programs.
Speech Recognition
The lack of speech recognition is purely a function of battery power,
Moore's Law, and how much memory can be stuffed into the unit. Even if you
could get speech recognition to work, you would need to be able to store
and process large documents, which would certainly tax the available
memory. A company named Landware makes a product called GoVox that does
allow your Palm to record voice messages but it doesn't handle speech
recognition.
Automatic E-Mail Check
Perhaps my PCS phone has spoiled me because it receives e-mail and
beeps/vibrates to alert me of new messages. My PalmPilot does nothing when
I receive an e-mail, and I have to remember to check it frequently myself.
In order to get my immediate attention when I travel, you must send an
e-mail to my cell phone and my PalmPilot simultaneously. The phone
notifies me and allows me to read the first few words of the message, and
the PalmPilot allows me to read the whole message and respond.
Travel Chord
The cradle is just too big and clunky to take on the road. I have lost
huge amounts of data because I can't bring the cradle with me on the road
to synchronize. My research shows that Palm does offer a HotSync cable for
$19.95 which I will soon be purchasing.
Grossly Inadequate Buffer
When I work at my PC, I often like to send documents to others: Word
documents, spreadsheets, and so on. With the Palm, I can't do this. I am
forced cut and paste from memo pad to iMessenger (the built in wireless
e-mail program on the Palm VII). This is all well and good unless you
actually write for more than a few minutes. I find myself on occasion
cutting and pasting 20 lines at a time from large memos into e-mail. Using
this system of cutting and pasting has caused me to lose the entire
content of my notes from the last INTERNET TELEPHONY EXPO. If I promised
any readers anything from this show and didn't deliver, this is why. I
just found a program called Clipper, which I have yet to try, but it
promises an unlimited clipboard for $12. See www.standalone.com
for details.
Faster Transfer Speed
Currently, I transfer data through the serial port of my PC. The Palm
needs to transfer at network speeds, and to its credit, you can now
purchase a Palm Ethernet Cradle for your Palm or a USB kit for your Mac.
This device will allow multiple users to share networked information.
Multitasking
I believe that in order to be successful in business, you must learn to
multitask well. "Multitask or die" is the slogan for success in
the Internet economy. If Palm wants me to use their devices to the
fullest, Palm computers must multitask. This feature would be most useful
when you are waiting for information to download or upload through the
wireless modem.
Not Rechargeable
I am always amazed at how long two AAA batteries last inside my Palm
VII under casual use, but when I use the wireless modem heavily, I have
drained the batteries in less than a week. Worse yet, I always need to
charge batteries on the airplane or somewhere else where there's no access
to a charger. I would prefer to have the Palm be rechargeable like my cell
phone. The Palm IIIc is the only unit that has this feature at the moment.
CONCLUSION: THUMBS UP
The Palm VII has certainly changed my life for the better and for this
it deserves an Editors' Choice award. I am more organized, my usage of
Post-It notes has decreased dramatically, which in turn has freed up
valuable desk space. I am able to quickly and conveniently download news
and other information, allowing me to keep up with current events. I can
now take notes in meetings and e-mail notes to others before the meeting
is even over.
There are infinite uses for this device and I have found myself
exploring this handy machine's limits on more than one occasion. In fact,
if I'm honest, perhaps the biggest "room for improvement" item I
could mention is that there are hundreds of video games on the market for
this device, and I wish there was a way to stop developers from releasing
all these great games that keep me from my work.
|
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