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No, that's why it was so sucessful at first - it did exactly what people wanted to do, at a sane price point. Making something that worked, and had weeks of battery life at typical usage (and many hours of continuous use), with the hardware available at the time (remember, they were designing this thing in 1995), was a major achievement.

It was usable, acted very well as a 'tentacle' of a desktop machine, and had just (barely) enough juice to attract third-party developers, which ended up coming in droves. Programming for it is quirky but doable, and despite some limitations stemming from the very restricted original configuration (128KB of RAM - remember, 1995), very neat things could be done with it. The sycing Just Worked - unlike ActiveSync which still has issues from what I gather.

But Palm didn't expand the platform very well. I don't mind using Dragonballs per se - their power consumption is tiny compared to even modern ARM processors - but their software model needed updating badly. You just can't write a reliable server-type program on PalmOS, or do any multithreading (or even multiprocessing). That makes it way too hard to get anything sophisticated done on the device.

Even given those limitations it's remarkable what can be done on a Palm platform. See, e.g., this little gem. Does all kinds of neat things (including WiFi and such) and yet a wondrous battery life (6 hours of continuous WiFi traffic, anyone?).

If they'd gotten a real update to their OS to at least enable multitasking of some kind, even cooperative multitasking - they wouldn't be in the situation they are today. There were ways to do it without even trying that hard. Oh, well.

If you want a color screen, good luck with AAA batteries. They just can't deliver the kind of power that such a screen currently needs for any significant length of time. Even the Li-ion batteries they use now have trouble keeping those screens going for more than a few hours. My H330 runs for weeks on its (optional) Li-ion battery pack.

• long battery life (~1 month)
• tack sharp 320x480 B&W screen, good for outdoor, indoor and in-dark use.
• a compact size (Palm V)
• CF or at least dual SD slots.
• built in usb port.

• flash/static ram backup (so running out of batteries won't lose me all of my data).
• a thumb-keyboard (if it is removeable or doesn't add bulk) with vim.
• cheap I-net access (cell, WiFi, GPRS, GSM, I don't care).
• maybe txt2speech capabilities, that would be cool.

• battery draining color
• battery draining uber processors (my Mac IIsi had 20MHz and I ran Mathematica on it fer chrissake).
• an over-sized complex to use phone.
• a un-ergonomic crappy lens digital camera.
• half-assed MP3 playback
• half semi-assed audio recording (unless it has automatic transcription, but we ain't gonna see that for at least 5 years.)
• half semi-demi-assed video playback.

I own a Handera 330. I love it; jog-wheel, hi-res screen, switchable backlight, CF & SD card slots. It really was best of breed when I got it. I've been hoping for sometime that they would release an updated version (possibly color, OS5). But I just discovered that they are exiting the Palm handheld arena.

I don't want a phone/PDA. I would extremely miss my jog-wheel. Sony seems to be the only choice for a full featured PalmOS handheld now.

Is the Zaurus a real alternative?

I'd buy neither. I'd get a Handera.

(the sad part is that I own a TRGpro..)

rgds,
-wdb

Sorry, this has been bugging me for a long time and hell I've got karma to burn. I'm not picking on the poster, just the general grammatical carelessness to which I too am occasionally subject.

Being a geek's gadget, :) I would recommend you guys to check out this roundup if you are planning to get a new Palm PDA

Okay, so you are recommending this to us because you are a geek's gadget? Some sort of AI agent perhaps, or a sexbot? Eh?

Okay, I'm done.

In on-topic news, my second-hand TRG Pro has lasted me well for over a year now; the CF slot keeps it expandable and the PalmPix camera keeps it indispensable. Use of the PalmPix is the only real argument against the HandEra 330 when the TRG fails.

Remember when OS 3.5 was hot? Anybody? No? I'll just go read this review for some new game called Dungeons&Dragons, then....

I would partially agree; for me 3.5 hours on a charge would be fine for average use, but for burst mode use I need longer, e.g. when I attend a conference and want to take notes during several sessions I could easily exceed 3 hours of use.

My Handera with rechargeable pack is good for several weeks of average use; I can also attend a two day conference and take extensive notes using my GoType keyboard for several hours a day with no fear of running out of batteries.

Perhaps someday all desks will come with one of those Power Pad thingies that recharge your handheld device.

You might check out the HandEra V330. My mom has one, and it is a pretty sweet piece of hardware. PalmOS, killer high-res screen (with software graffiti area!) No wireless, but it does have both a CF and a SmartMedia slot, so you can have memory and expansion at the same time.

Built in voice recorder, which is a much more useful tool than I'd given it credit for.

Enjoy.

QVGA

QVGA is an emerging standard for Palm Powered devices. Traditionally, Palm Powered devices have featured 160 x 160 pixel screens. QVGA screens feature a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels. The QVGA standard was originally adopted for the HandEra 330. New products with built-in QVGA technology are anticipated within the coming year.

QVGA-aware applications include support for a high-resolution bitmaps, additional fonts, and a collapsible 'virtual' graffiti area. Optionally, they can also support landscape and portrait screen rotation.

You can actually get real .PDF readers for Symbian, Palm and PocketPC, provided you have access to a Win desktop to do the conversion/stripdown of the PDFs on.

Or you can use this nifty new tool to generate HTML sets, then read away on any number of devices - Plucker optimized for the Handera330 is a personal favorite, but...

I really thought my shiny iPaq would be a great replacement for my Palm and my laptop, with it's ability to handle an 802.11 card (and Ricochet back when that existed). Turned out that it was an enormous and inferior substitute for both, and it crashed a lot with the network card in. Now I don't use either, because I'm dissatisfied with the inflexibility of my Palm and the flaws of the PocketPC.

Try a HandEra 330. CompactFlash support for both CF memory and I/O cards, including both Wireless and Wired ethernet, and SD Memory for storage and all those Palm 1xx and 5xx SD apps. Big screen, virtual graffiti area, built-in microphone...it's an all-around winner.

It's been out for a while, so they should be putting out a successor soon.

Yeah, they copied this from the Handera 330. It has a bunch of nifty improvements.

...you can have paper that has checkmarks that say "fax this" or "email this" and the software knows what to do.

That sounds like a great idea! Handwritten emails ::gasp:: do actually have a use because sometimes you just need to add a complicated diagram of something (a friend wanted me to write a chat program with D&D functions built in, for example) and drawing it on the computer and then attaching it is just too complicated. Same goes for faxing.

Or, you could have a dayrunner know what and where you scheduled something and sync with Outlook. Lotsa possibilities.

It's easier than that!

I mean, I'm not trying to be a troll, but can't Palms sync with Outlook and also sort your address book, sound alarms, bla bla bla? A digital yet physical organizer is sorta missing the point.

But I think that, to best use this functionality, you would need a wireless connection to send/receive things. A phone, for example, that has a pen like this could be great--you could (using Multimedia Messaging System and somewhat bigger screens--maybe e-ink?) seamlessly integrate typed notes (IR "hovering keyboard") and pictures. Imagine being able to sign a text message or note, or add a quick picture--it could be pretty cool!

This machine is my mp3 player walking to work, an instant on recording device, plays movies (PocketDivX), and I can read slashdot from it, not to mention the regular PDA features.

Don't think I have a solution for the MP3 or DivX parts, but the others can be handled with Handera products. My old TRGPro with Eudora Internet Suite handles online browsing, though with a limited HTML set (no frames or tables, iirc). The newer 330 model does that, and also has the instant-on voice recording, too.

Ease of programmability, I don't know about. I do know the PalmOS can handle limited Python, plus Tcl, some type of Basic, and I think some sort of Java.

I can get an expansion pack that allows me to plug in any USB keyboard and has a VGA port that will do 800x600 @ 256 colors - yes, I can put a powerpoint presentation on this and leave the laptop at home

Done, with a combination of the 330 and Margi Presenter To Go. Tack on a Happy Hacking Cradle and you can use whatever PS/2 keyboard you like. This list of other keyboards might have other options to your liking.

Handera also has both CF and SD/MMC slots in the 330 models. No color on any Handera models yet, and they've not yet gone past OS 3.5.x.

This machine is my mp3 player walking to work, an instant on recording device, plays movies (PocketDivX), and I can read slashdot from it, not to mention the regular PDA features.

Don't think I have a solution for the MP3 or DivX parts, but the others can be handled with Handera products. My old TRGPro with Eudora Internet Suite handles online browsing, though with a limited HTML set (no frames or tables, iirc). The newer 330 model does that, and also has the instant-on voice recording, too.

Ease of programmability, I don't know about. I do know the PalmOS can handle limited Python, plus Tcl, some type of Basic, and I think some sort of Java.

I can get an expansion pack that allows me to plug in any USB keyboard and has a VGA port that will do 800x600 @ 256 colors - yes, I can put a powerpoint presentation on this and leave the laptop at home

Done, with a combination of the 330 and Margi Presenter To Go. Tack on a Happy Hacking Cradle and you can use whatever PS/2 keyboard you like. This list of other keyboards might have other options to your liking.

Handera also has both CF and SD/MMC slots in the 330 models. No color on any Handera models yet, and they've not yet gone past OS 3.5.x.

Don't forget the Handera, a Palm compatible that has the virtual graffiti area since at least a year ago, as well as a few other tasty features. I can't understand why Palm doesn't copy this feature; it's so convenient, and it works as well as the silk screen approach.

Still, the NR70/V looks pretty cool. ;-)

Two words

Handera 330

I bought my Palm IIIx so long ago, I don't even remember. I think it was at Thanksgiving three years ago. I believe I paid about US$200. About six months later, I dropped it and it stopped working. With a single phone call, Palm advance shipped me a replacement under warranty in one day. Ah, those were the days.

Sometime later, when the TRGPro was being discontinued in favor of the new Handera, they were on sale at Sam's Club for about US$225 and I bought one. (For those that don't know, the TRGPro is the Palm IIIxe where the TRG folks added a CF slot and better speaker.)

My employer bought exactly the same model TRG for each of us seven admins. In all the time since, none of my peers have ever had any problems with the TRGs.

My IIIx is still in use by a girlfriend and she has had no problems. The only problem I have had with my TRG is some small scratches on the screen from the horizontal stiffening members in the flip-down lid. This was from the unit being bumped against things while in my pants pocket.

Sync has never been a problem - and I sync with NT and 2000 on desktops and laptops at work and with Macs at home. I have also successfully synced with my Red Hat box.

In short, I haven't had any significant problems. Of course I have older units. My next PDA will likely be the Handera 330 based on the track record I have seen with my TRGs.

Have you looked at some of the other PalmOS based PDA's? - Handspring and Handera. My Handspring Visor Deluxe works well for my needs.

First the TRGPro, then the Handera. The company has been heard of.

And I've been using a unit for about a year, and boy does it work fine. No problems with the unit.

Pay them a visit at: Handera's website. Just because they "renamed" their company, doesn't make them unheard of.

Sony's new Clie is the first Palm-based handheld to nix the permanent silk-screened input area in favor of a software-based area displayed at the bottom of the new, larger LCD screen.

Handera beat them to it about a year ago.

Regardless, I think this will be my next PDA, as soon as Best Buy has another one of their 20% off sales.

Their tech support, though, is without equal. When they had a bad run of hardware on a new device last year that resulted in many devices cracking, they exchanged hundreds of devices for people at no charge. HandEra has a few people who frequent the various User Group mailing lists and occationally answer questions, or in some cases will even respond to someone's problem with "Yeah, that's a flaw, email [tech support guy's name] and have him exchange it." They're that personal, and they actually do. I've had to send a device in before, and if I got it in the mail by Tuesday I generally had it back before dinner on Friday. That's the travel time for BOTH directions. Amazing.

The reason they can do that, frankly, is because they're so small. Large companies don't have the time/money to train decent tech support people. At a smaller company, they can spare the developers for an hour a day to train tech support people, or even BE the tech support, so you're talking to someone that really knows what they're doing rather than someone who's NEXT job will be "would you like fries with that?"

... reporting itself as MSIE 5.0.

(Rant on) What if I don't want to "fully experience the Sharp USA site"? What if I just want some damn information? And I can read... imagine that, you don't have to put up all kinds of pretty little pictures so I know what you're trying to say. Yeah, yeah, I know, use lynx. Actually I often do. (Ok, rant off)

The product looks pretty slick. I'd want some hands-on time (would that be "thumbs-on time"?) before I gave up TRGPro. My next PDA with probably be the Handera anyway. I don't need color or to be able to play MP3s. It's a PDA, not a laptop.

That being said, I do like the option of the thumboard for input, but I can live without it.

All I want is 802.11 so I can put my clie on the home lan.

In case you're not aware, the HandEra V330 has this capability as well. And it has compact flash AND secure digital expansion ports, both of which can be used simultaneously.

IMO this is the best PalmOS handheld available, even though it's not color. Awesome piece of hardware.

Some other PalmOS devices already have non-square screen resolutions, like: the virtual silkscreen on the HandEra 330 (supported by software like QuickOffice), and the Samsung I300 phone, which hides the Graffiti area to display a larger dialpad.

Might I suggest the Handera 330?
240x320 screen (sorry, only 16 greys)
8mb RAM (plus an MMC slot, so you could go to 128mb with expansion cards)
Virtual grafitti area
CF I/II interface (for those 802.11 cards)

Familiar, usable Palm OS.

Yeah, I sound like an ad, but you did set the specs.

I want a palm with 802.11b on it.

PalmOS device: HandEra 330. 802.11b card: Symbol Wireless Networker. Add some drivers and browser and you are there.

I want a palm with 802.11b on it.

PalmOS device: HandEra 330. 802.11b card: Symbol Wireless Networker. Add some drivers and browser and you are there.

I want a palm with 802.11b on it.

PalmOS device: HandEra 330. 802.11b card: Symbol Wireless Networker. Add some drivers and browser and you are there.

You got my formula wrong. It's a 2x increase for non-partitioned RAM, and another 2x for overall applications ize. That's 4x overall. This is no scientific study, mind you... just a general idea.

Now, regarding the UI, it's your opinion, as you said. My opinion is that Microsoft thought Palm had a good idea and reduced the complexity of their UI when WinCE turned into PPC. Of course, some Palm users I know agree more with you. They use third-party software to change their UI for a more PPC'ish look-and-feel.

Regarding the display area, HandEra's offer a "virtual graffiti area" which does just that. Furthermore, there are programs that allow custom hand-writing recognition, on-screen recognition, etc. I've used one that actually learns my hand writing and I've become even faster with it.

Regarding the GameGear emulator, the most we have is a GameBoy emulator. However, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find ANYWHERE an emulator of greater hardware running on lesser hardware.

And playing a DVD movie? Are you implying a PPC can play a DVD movie? That IS quite impressive! What model would I have to buy?

Battery usage? Days? I get 3-weeks to 1-month. O fcourse, its rechargable, so I never really have to take it that far.

Palm's hardware doesn't suck when you compare apples to apples. As I said in another reply, PalmOS devices do very well for the tasks they were designed for. If you want something to play DVD movies, emulate the latest game hardware, and completely mimick your desktop, then you could get a PDA (or, for a bit more, a notebook computer). If you want a very powerful, flexible PDA, get a PalmOS device.

I just bought a HandEra 330, after considering a Visor, one of the new Palm models and some of the WinCE devices. I didn't think the springboard "standard" was very viable, and I didn't like the bulkiness of the add-ons. The newest Palm models are not much of an improvement over my current PDA. The WinCE devices, well, I just winced when they kept crashing on me (nevermind the battery life and interopability issues as well).

The HandEra 330 is hands down the best, you get a CompactFlash slot, and a MMC/SD slot. I can add 64MB of memory to this thing, and still have room to plug in my GPS, 802.11 wireless NIC, cell modem, or landline modem (all based off of the miniature PCMCIA standard that CompactFlash uses) all while using the built-in microphone to record things. Plus I can use equipment that was originally designed to work with the Palm III line of products. I'm going to purchase the Lithium battery pack and charger, which will eliminate the need for the 4 AAAs it currently uses.

Also, the HandEra 330 screen is double the resolution of any greyscale Palm or Visor currently on the market. The HandEra 330 also has a "soft silkscreen", where the graffiti area can actually be minimized to free up screen real-estate.

I'm in PDA heaven...

And no, I dont work for them...

It's got great color, and it plays MP3s, but I hesitate to say that it's the coolest. I'm absolutely in love with my HandEra 330. This sucker has support for SD memory as well as CF+, meaning that it supports Ethernet connectivity, 802.11b, GSM cell modems, etc. etc., as well as huge honkin' memory cards and the Microdrive. I can run a shell on my HandEra to my uni's Unix server. Can yours do that?

Mine also has a high-resolution screen which makes many programs easier to use since they can fit more data on the screen. It also has a Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery pack available, it comes with a built-in microphone and voice-recording software (Which can record straight to SD or CF if you want), it has that cool jog-dial button so that you can scroll text or start apps with it...and it has a virtual Graffiti area, so that I can reclaim the space it uses if I'm reading e-mail or PDFs. Also, using CardPro, you can install Palm apps directly from SD or CF without syncing. You could even get an FTP app or a web browser and download apps and install them that way.

If color is your thing, HandEra's already got a color model slated for release in a few months. But the flexibility and capability of my unit *far* outweighs the benefits of a measly MP3 player.

Informative? The comment hadn't even got a URL! Anyway, here's the URL for HandEra.

Whenever I see the phrase "hella neat," all I can think is "What? Hello Kitty? Huh?"

That aside, the iPaq is pretty sexy - and a good device, if your tastes run that way. Me, all I want is everything my Palm IIIxe (still the best Palm-made PalmOS device out there) gives me - addresses, calendar, Rogue, and RTF word processing. (rock on, Palm Portable Keyboard!)

The only new device I've seriously considered is the ravishingly sexy HandEra 330. Yee-ow.

Oh no, here come the PocketPC users, eeeee....

• Symbol Technologies licenses the Palm and creates several units which can do RF, 802.11, and include a barcode scanner (high-output LED)
• Handspring invents the Springboard slot and implements pseudo-USB support for connecting the devices.
• Sony mimics that with the MemoryStick, but adds VFS support, and takes Handspring's USB protocol, changes one function, and makes their own spin on it.
• Handera, formerly TRG builds upon that with a sliding graffiti area (thanks for incorporating my idea from #palmchat back in 1998 on that one), and adds CF and SD slot architectures (still serially connected storage though, can't "run apps" from each card concurrently)
• Palm comes out with the replacement to the Vx, called the m505, and includes the Sony VFS extensions, the Handspring hardware port design (internally) and the Handspring USB modifications, but changes it enough to make yet a third fork of this pseudo-USB protocol. They also make sure to make every single thing about this new device completely incompatible with every single other thing available for their devices, even down to a 2mm change in the stylus length (I have a more detailed enumeration of those changes found here).

Why does Palm think they're about to, in any way, create a new hardware device that they think will surpass these existing innovative devices? Palm is ALWAYS behind the curve on hardware advances in this area. We're not even talking about comparing them to the iPAQ, VTech Helio, Agenda, Yopy, and the other dozens of non-PalmOS, non-WinCE handheld PDA devices.

Currently, Palm's OEMs for the PalmOS® software include:

• Sony
• Handspring
• Handera (formerly TRG)
• Qualcomm (bought out by Kyocera)
• Kyocera
• Symbol Technologies
• ...and others.

They get licensing from each and every one of these OEMs. Their hardware is the last thing to ever be updated. It is without a doubt, the least innovative portion of their business.. and they're choosing to keep it?!

I don't quite understand the motive behind this decision on their part. I suppose I'll find out at Palmsource in February.

What I am crying for actually is a larger display.

...

But what keeps them away from enlarging the display into the "graffiti" write zone? This gives roughly 1/3 more display area, for easier data display and email reading and and and...

The red,white and blue colors are a nice touch right now.

The only PDA I've seen in a while that has done something new is the Handera

Handera Website

More expansion options, jog wheel, but the cool one is the "virtual graffeti area" that you can move around, and the ability to rotate the screen 90-degrees for spreadsheets or books or whatever.

I think I saw something like a voice recording functionality with one of the mp3 SpringBoards. Thing is the microphone can ONLY be used with a Springboard, since the Visor doesn't have any audio abilities past the 'beep' thingie.

I'm too lazy to look for the exact links, but I'm sure you'll find an answer at palmgear or on Handspring's site.

The only Palm OS devices that have voice recording built-in is the kickass Handera 330 (but no mp3 to date) and maybe some high-end Sony Clié.

/max

You can read the marketing hype at Handera's website. [Note: Handera used to be TRG, but changed their name for some silly reason] Or you can read this excellent review at MemoWare.

The only thing I disagree with them on is the use of serial instead of USB. I can understand their desire to make it compatible with all of the palm III add-ons, but still.

As for linux support...I have no idea.

for what it's worth,
Michael

I wouldn't get either. I am currently looking at getting a HandEra 330. It runs PalmOS and has both a CF and SD sockets on the top. (It supports a 1GB Micro Drive, hmm...1GB on a Palm) Yes, it is only gray, but I don't like having to change or charge batteries every day. Gray Palms runs for about 1 month on 2AAAs. The HandEra take 4AAAs and weighs about .2 ounces more than a IIIx. There is a option comming out this summer for a Li Ion battery. It also has the same dimensions and connectors as a III series so you have a ready supply of cheap accessories.

The HandEra 330 has a 240x320 display, including a soft Graffiti area. It runs Palm OS 3.5.2, heavily modified to support a higher-resolution screen, as well as the two built-in expansion slots (SD/MMC and CompactFlash). Sounds what you're looking for.

For those who think Sony's 500 dollar pricetag is a bit steep you might want to consider the HandEra 330 from http://www.handera.com/ . The 330 has a 320x240 screen, a virtual grafiti area (you can pop it up on demand), access to CF, MMC and SD cards. And the price tag is in the 350 dollar range.




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