Palm Envy - Brief Article - Evaluation

Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, Feb, 2000 by Scott Bernard Nelson

TECHNOLOGY | A lot of HAND-HELD ORGANIZERS promise you the Web. But they have a ways to go before they deliver it as seamlessly as the Palm VII.

WHEN THE Palm VII made its nationwide debut last October, it quickly became the gold standard for connect-to-the-Net-anywhere personal digital assistants. But the Palm isn't the only PDA in town.

We looked at the Palm and three other hand-held organizers. All have a calendar, address book and to-do list. All synchronize information with a desktop computer. All but one have a memo pad, in which you can enter text without hassling with a tiny keypad. And all promise to give you access to e-mail and limited Web browsing.

Of the four, none delivers PDA functions plus access to e-mail plus access to the Web quite as well as the Palm VII. The Psion Revo requires a wireless phone or a wired modem. The Rim BlackBerry specializes in e-mail and can access the Web, but you pay a small fortune in monthly fees. The Handspring Visor's modem isn't even available yet.

Web-friendly organizers make you pay dearly for on-the-go connectivity and usually don't offer much more than e-mail, stock quotes and news headlines anyway. For example, the Palm, the priciest PDA, limits you to downsized Internet service--text-only snippets called Web clipping. Monthly fees for the service are another $10 to $25, depending on how many messages or stock quotes you sign up for.

Palm VII www.palm.com

Best for: Palm addicts who want access to e-mail and the Web

Price: $499

Monthty connect fee: $10 to $25

Net connection: Web clipping from 22 preset content providers, with some 250 more available

Extras: Calculator, expense tracking

Size: 5.25 x 3.25 x 0.75 in., 6.7 oz.

Advantages: Simply raise the antenna and you're connected. Plus, thousands of software applications are available for the Palm operating system from ZDNet and other sites. You can check your office or home e-mail from the road if you have an account at Yahoo! or several other portals, and most desktop e-mail can be forwarded. The Palm works with a Mac if you buy the Palm MacPac ($15).

Disadvantages: Web access is limited to "clipped" sites. And at almost $500, the Palm VII ain't cheap.

Psion Revo www.psionusa.com

Best for: Web surfers who already carry one of the wireless phones that attaches to the organizer

Price: $399 (plus $199 for wired modem if not using wireless phone)

Monthly connect fee: None, if you have an existing Internet service provider or e-mail provider

Net connection: More-or-less full Web browsing, but graphics are compressed

Extras: Microsoft-compatible word-processing and spreadsheet programs, calculator

Size: 6.2 x 3.06 x 0.63 in.; 7 oz.

Advantages: Most computing power of the bunch, a roomier screen and spacious qwerty keyboard. It can link to e-mail and the online world paired with any GSM wireless phone with an infrared port and modem (such as the Ericsson I888, 6xx series, 7xx series; Motorola Timeport; or Nokia 7100 series). It offers unlimited browsing and two-way messaging.

Disadvantages: Too big to fit in some pockets. If not using a compatible phone, you'll have to buy the modem, which is clunky and pricey and has to be plugged into a phone line. To use with a Mac, you'll need a connector and soft-ware ($99).

Handspring Visor www.handspring.com

Best for: Bargain hunters

Price: $179, plus $130 for modem (not available yet)

Monthly connect fee: Not determined yet

Extras: Financial calculator, expense tracking

Size: 4.8 x 3 x 0.7 in.; 5.4 oz.

Advantages: Springboard expansion slot will let you plug-and-play a modem. Several third-party developers are working on modules that will let you use your Visor as a phone, MP3 player, digital camera, GPS receiver, bar-code scanner and voice recorder. Visor is compatible with the existing universe of Palm applications. Also comes in deluxe $249 version with enough memory to store 12,000 addresses (up from 6,000), but that's probably overkill. Works with Macs but will require third-party software for e-mail.

Disadvantages: Modem--and Web connection--aren't available yet. Modem will have to be plugged into a phone line. Expansion slot technology is untested.

RIM BlackBerry www.blackberry.net

Best for: Frequent e-mailers looking for a pager-size package

Price: $399

Monthly fee: $40 (e-mail only)

Net connection: Text-only Web content available for $9.95 per month for limited access or $59.95 for unlimited access to a limited menu

Size: 3.5 x 2.5 x 0.93 in.; 4.9 oz.

Advantages: Smallest of the bunch. The BlackBerry is always on and offers two-way messaging service that gets routed through your regular office e-mail account, so you don't have to hassle with another e-mail address.

Disadvantages: Steep monthly fee. Mini qwerty keyboard can be tough to maneuver. PDA components take a back seat to pager functions and wireless e-mail. You have to choose between two platforms--one for Microsoft Exchange users and one for Internet e-mail users. Can't use with Macs. --Reporter: COURTNEY McGRATH