NEW Palm IIVx with 8megs

I just upgraded from a Palm III to the new Palm VIIx. First, here's what's new (differences between the III and the VIIx):

- 20mhz dragonball EZ processor, up from 16mhz
- four times the memory (8 megs)
- higher contrast display (all of them have this now)
- better backlight (text lights up instead of background)
- black case instead of light grey (I like it)
- wireless wireless wireless!!!!
- about 1/2" taller than the Palm III

Now, here's the scoop on the Palm VIIx:

If you're not familiar with the Palm series of handhelds, let me just say this... They are the best organizers on the market. The Palm VIIx doesn't have a color screen or MP3 player, but it does keep you in order. All of the Palm organizers are intuitive and easy to learn. The various functions integrate well. And there are literally thousands of third-party applications on the internet that you can download into your Palm. Just about anything you can think of has been done. There are also lots of accessories, such as cases, keyboards, and modems. Battery life is outstanding.

Out of the box, the Palm VIIx functions pretty much the same as my old Palm III. Of course, the screen is easier on the eyes, and there is a lot more memory. After allowing the internal battery to charge (this battery is for wireless communications and charges off the 2 AAA batteries included in the box) you can flip up the antenna and begin registering for wireless service. That's right, you register from your Palm VIIx itself, there's no phone call to make, and no waiting time (other than the approximately 70 minutes it takes to initially charge the internal, battery).

Setting up the Palm.net wireless service is easy. You'll need to key in your name, address, phone#, email address, desires account name, desired password, and credit card number. The transaction is encrypted for security. You'll be up and running in no time.

You'll also need to select the service plan you desire. This is much like a cellular phone plan, but instead of free minutes, you get free kilobytes. Currently there are three plans:

$9.99 - 50KB free - $0.20 per extra KB
$24.99 - 150KB free - $0.20 per extra KB
$44.99 - Unlimited KB
* There is a one-time $9.99 setup fee for any of the above.

Due to my budget restraints, I chose the $9.99 50KB plan. In the first four or five days, I racked up 20KB... but that's because I was playing around on MapQuest and MovieFone, as well as sending and receiving a few emails. This plan will probably work out for someone who uses the wireless a couple times a day for low bandwidth stuff like email. Downloading multi page graphical stuff like movie listings can eat up 1 to 4KB at a time. So you power users will want to go for the unlimited plan.

The wireless works like this: First, you flip up the antenna, wait a few seconds (3 to 5 usually) and the Palm VIIx will beep when it makes a connection. Then just tap on the application you wish to use. Any icon, button, or link which uses the wireless feature will have a special graphic next to it (kind of a half sunburst shining to the right). Alternatively, you can just open the application and it will request that you raise the antenna whenever it needs to communicate wirelessly.

The Palm VIIx does not communicate with the antenna lowered. This is a great feature, because you won't accidentally use up your precious online time. Also, most applications are designed to be very efficient. For instance, many email conduits such as AOL will only download the subject/sender/date info for your email. Then, if you want to read a message, you can tap on it and it will download the body of the email. This saves you from downloading usell or junk email at the expense of your online time. Having said that, I have found that AOL uses up a remarkable amount of KB during it's transfer. I have contacted AOL about this, but they have not yet responded. The included iMessenger program (for reading and sending Palm.net email) is quite frugal with your KB allowance.

The Palm VIIx comes with lots of "web clipping" applications, or PQA (Palm Query Applications). That's what they call wireless applications on the Palm. You get iMessenger for email, MapQuest for driving directions, Yahoo People Search, Switchboard Yellow Pages, Ask Jeeves, Buy.com, Barnes&Noble, Amazon, EtakTraffic, and MovieFone to name a few.

Wireless transactions are surprisingly quick. It takes less than 5 seconds to download driving directions from MapQuest. I am very happy with the service. I only with the cost would come down or the kilobyte allowance would go up. However, I think I'll be able to live with the 50KB plan for now.

I highly recommend the Palm VIIx. Now under $200, it is a fantastic deal for a PDA, and you get wireless, too!!

UPDATES:
I'm still thrilled with my Palm VIIx.

RATE PLAN: I find that the 50kb plan works well for me. I am using between 30 and 45kb per month.

PQA's (wireless apps): MapQuest has saved me more than once! I have used Travelocity to get flight arrival schedules. It's great for going to the store... "Honey, email me is you think of anything else we need." I even had my brother email me some online reviews of video cards while I was on my way to BestBuy to shop for a new one. For email I use the included iMessenger pqa with my palm.net account.

BATTERY LIFE: About the same as my old Palm III, I get about 4 to 5 weeks off a pair of AAAs.

FELLOWES WriteRight: These are temporary, stick-on screen protectors. Fantastic! My Palm III screen became scratched after only a few weeks. This always annoyed me. Now I don't worry about it. Fellowes says they last about a month, but I've used them for three months or more. Definitely worth the money. You get twelve of them for about $30. It also feels better to write on than the regular screen.