Patrice,
Most Palms can get wireless access but you need a modem and a provider.
The deal with the new Palm VIIs is that they are purposely built for wireless access, have a built in antenna, one gets coverage in all the large cities across the country, and it uses a "thin interface" that companies/sites can program to exchange data with the palm. There are something like 30 official data providers already, from weather to sports scores to FedEx tracking to stock stuff (unless I'm remembering incorrectly, at least one online broker offers trading services for the Palm VII...E*Trade?).
Downside: Palm.net charges by the amount of data transmitted (with $10 and $25 base rates providing a set data quota). Heavy users probably have to fork over their arms and legs at this point. Undoubtedly prices will drop as usage builds.
I don't have one yet but as soon as prices come down a little, I'm there.
FTR, I own a Palm Personal which I upgraded to the equivalent of a Palm III with a 2MB module and the new software. I also have a GoType keyboard (look ma, no batteries!) for it, have Intellisync software to synchronize with GroupWise at work, PocketQuicken to painlessly keep track of expenses. I've also bought small shareware programs for supermarket lists, a small database to keep track of all my account numbers and login IDs.
There's tons of free stuff out there, and shareware too - the stuff I find most useful are a great program called "BigClock" which is the absolute perfect alarm clock, and AvantGo, which allows you to sign up for content "channels" - so whenever I synchronize I get the latest weather forecasts and news stories from WSJ, etc.
Oh, and I also have a copy of the Bill of Rights and some Shakespeare plays on it just in case I'm stuck somewhere waiting and I'm bored out of my mind. I've even tested easy-to-use software that turns the blasted thing into a TV remote control, and it was easy as pie.
The only thing I don't have is a Palm holster. My wife would probably leave me if I got one, though :) I must also add that I got her a Palm III last December, which she now uses religiously, despite the fact that technology for her usually induces sleep. When I asked, she said the Palm doesn't really save her time but it is "small, neat, I have a backup, and everything's in one place."
What Palm's competition doesn't get is that it is quick and reliable, which means there are all sorts of things that you would never use a PC for which you can do on a Palm. Keeping lists is just one of them.
Back to lurking.
Andre |
