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By Richard Morochove
First published March 4, 1999
One sure sign of Spring is a new Palm organizer. Last week 3Com Canada released two new units: Palm IIIx ($549 list price), an updated version of its popular Palm III and Palm V ($679 list price) an all-new slimline model. Both handheld units help keep you organized by tracking appointments, to-do items, and memos along with postal and E-mail addresses and phone numbers for your contacts.
I've been using a pre-release Palm IIIx for several weeks. The first thing I noticed is the much improved display. Although the screen is the same size as older models, it's higher contrast, with a whiter background replacing the grey-green tint of previous models.
The display backlighting has also changed. Now the text glows green on a black background. Previous models lit the black text using a bright green background. The older backlight was so bright I used it to search for a key I dropped one night.
The new inverse backlighting works well in complete darkness and uses less power, so it will help extend battery life. Perversely it makes the display less readable in dim light, when it isn't completely dark yet the light is insufficient to reflect off the display.
The other big change in the Palm IIIx is a doubling of built-in memory, from two to four megabytes. The unit uses dynamic RAM, which offers a slight but perceptible increase in speed. There's also an internal expansion slot that allows you to add memory (up to 8 megabytes) or pager cards.
I'm disappointed 3Com has not improved the tiny speaker in the unit. Even at its loudest setting I find it's too faint for me to consistently hear alarms when I'm outside or in a noisy room.
The Palm OS 3.1 is little changed from version 3.0 but can now synchronize data with Microsoft Outlook.
Palm V, the other new addition to the family, is slimmer, about half as thick (0.4 inches) as other Palm models and even lighter (4 ounces compared to 6 ounces). The Palm V also uses the new high-contrast display and dynamic memory, however it comes with two megabytes of RAM, half that of the Palm IIIx.
The design of the built-in organizer applications for all Palms is very efficient. Even though two megabytes doesn't sound like a lot, it allows you to store 6,000 addresses, five years of appointments (about 3,000), 1,500 To Do items, 1,500 memos and 200 E-mail messages.
There are other differences in the Palm V. Screen contrast is adjusted using software instead of a recessed dial. A built-in lithium ion battery recharges using the Hotsync cradle included with the unit. 3Com says it takes three hours to fully charge the lithium ion battery, which permits about a month of typical use. I find the AAA batteries used by the other Palms last 8 to 12 weeks, on average.
The Palm V is ambidextrous. There's a channel on each side that allows you to swap the hinge of the removable leather front cover and stylus holder. This makes it more convenient for left-handed users.
The Palm V case features an aluminum finish, with smoother curves and recessed buttons. It's a sealed unit, without the expansion slot of the Palm IIIx.
The smaller form of the Palm V means older Palm accessories aren't compatible. There's a new and rather pricey Palm V 33.6 Kbps modem ($249 list price) that snaps on to the back of the unit and a travel kit ($79 list price) with a Hotsync cable and AC/DC converter and battery charger.
A couple of months back 3Com announced the Palm VII, a premium-priced wireless version that will be available in Canada in the latter half of this year. The Palm IV and Palm VI don't currently exist, according to 3Com, but may be introduced in the future with unspecified additional capabilities. 3Com may plan on matching the voice recording capabilities of competing Windows CE handhelds.
According to Toronto-based Evans Research, the Palm handhelds hold a 77 per cent share of the market. The easy to use built-in software, Graffiti hand printing recognition and data synchronization with Windows and Macintosh PCs are all big selling points. You can also select from over 5,000 third party programs, from games to business applications that will work on your Palm.
Which new Palm is right for you? The Palm IIIx has more memory, is expandable and costs less. The sleek and slim Palm V looks great and has the rechargeable batteries. If you want to track a lot of information and add option cards, go for the Palm IIIx. If you want a smaller, lightweight unit and are satisfied with its memory capacity, select the Palm V.
3Com continues to sell two older Palm models at reduced prices: Palm Pilot Professional with 1MB RAM lists for $299; Palm III with 2MB RAM lists for $449. CW
Richard Morochove, FCA, is a Toronto-based computer consultant.
Copyright ©1999 by Morochove & Associates Inc. All rights reserved. This work may not be copied or distributed by any means without our prior written permission.
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