Palm Releases New Wireless Handheld

Hadlock writes: "Well, palm has finally released their second-generation wireless Palm product. You can check out all of Palm's info at their 701i page, located right here. The Palm comes in a white color, using standard m100/505 design cues, the only real innovation here being the dual-color LED that signals either a wireless signal, or 'You've got mail,' as there are some AOL tie-ins, Instant Messenger being preloaded on the 701i. Palm also releases their mini qwerty keyboard, retailing at $60 USD." AOL isn't the only tie-in: the release here also touts the ability to "create, edit or view" various Microsoft-format documents.

Comments

No MS tie in

[Samus]

Sorry Timothy the created edit msoffice docs is not a tie in with M$. This functionality is provided by a 3rd party application. Sony also bundles it with their Clie products. I forget the name of it right now though.

palm.net

[ehackathorn]

From my understanding the only way to get Internet access is the palm.net service agreement. Not that I would buy either one, but I would certainly stay away from their "associate plan!" 100KB is next to nothing and at 20 cents for each additional KB I think most people would surpass the "executive plan" in less than a week.
Also, $40 dollars for the exectutive plan still seems a little expensive...

Click here for the palm.net rates.

MS Document "tie-in"?

[Anonymous Coward]

The MS Document stuff is not a "tie in" with Microsoft as seems to be implied here - it's provided by 3rd party software, Documents to Go.

Yippee.

[jht]

This is the Palm that they were afraid to release before Xmas? Whoopdee-doo. The one thing it has going for it is a fairly compact form factor relative to other wireless PDA's. But other than that, it's pretty underwhelming and at an expensive price. I'd at least expect to see color for the price.

I mean, to compare it to other wireless platforms, I really don't think it stacks up too well. A Palm Vx/Omnisky (or Go America) unit is less expensive and not much larger (with detachable wireless modem), an iPaq with an expansion sleeve is far more versatile, capable and way faster, and a Blackberry is smaller and easier to use as an e-mail device (the larger x57 has web capabilities similar to Palm's) - they only lack a touch screen. And the big deal is, I guess, that this comes in white?

I had been using Palm devices since the old Pilot 5000 (it replaced a MessagePad), with a Palm III and a Vx in my collection over time. My wife has an M100 - it's a nice, cheap, reasonably rugged PDA for what it is. I've been an adherent to the "simpler is better" school of PDA usage. But a couple of months ago I bought an iPaq 3765, and I started using my Palm less and less. In fact, my Vx hasn't left the cradle in over a month now. The iPaq isn't that much bigger, and I can (and do) use it with an 802.11b card to take advantage of my homenet. Windows CE is klunky, but the 2002 version doesn't suck nearly as bad as my old (free, elsewise I'd never have owned it) HP Jornada did, and I can use it with my Mac now thanks to some slick third-party software. As the Linux distro (Familiar) for the iPaq matures, I'll probably switch to it eventually.

Looking at the new Palm, they just plain seem to have missed the boat. Hopefully the new generation of Palm devices after this one will catch up with the rest of the world, and soon. Palm pretty much invented the modern PDA market, and it's a shame to see them shooting themselves in the foot like this.

Re:Palm vs WinCE devices?

[Trinition]

Oh, please, stop with this marketing FUD. That's as bad as saying MHz are the only metric by which to gauge the performance of a CPU. Let's consider some things:

• WinCE/PPC requires you to parition your memory between storage and execution (i.e. virtual hard drive and RAM). PalmOS runs programs in place -- thus, there is no concept of storage RAM vs. execution RAM. So, a Palm uses its memory more effectively than a WinCE/PPC device.
• PalmOS programs are significantly smaller than WinCE/PPC programs, thus requiring less RAM to begin with.
• The PalmOS UI is far simpler than the PPC, thus requiring less memory and executing in fewer clock cycles.
• Last I checked, every analyst out there pointed out that PalmOS has far MORE applications than WInCE/PPC.

Re:Palm vs WinCE devices?

[Matey-O]

Fud? You're telling HIM to stop with the FUD?

How bout a system with NO architectural improvements in three years. A $450 device that's still Black and White and runs at what? (It's not mentioned, but I doubt it's more than 33 Mhz. Don't gimmie 'it doesn't NEED more' If it's got more, somebody will USE it.)

Having a TON of CRAPPY software is not an improvement. The CE devices have the same amount of QUALITY software as the Palm's do. Name any Palm application, I bet there's a PPC2002 equivalent.

Where's this thing's 802.11 connectivity? Where's it's ability to connect to network drive shares? PPC with 802.11 can _natively_ communicate with a SQL database. What databases do Palm talk to...off the device? What's the quality of it's sound output?

Looking at the Expansion tab on the mockup, they've got a dictionary description of innovation. Um. WHAT innovation? Sony's got higher res, more memory and color. The only thing this has over a Palm 7 is a memory slot and constant on- slow- expensive- wireless.

Why you should buy an i705:

[cameronk]

I have been consistantly impressed with my Palm VIIx during the past year of use. The battery life is quite long, around three weeks, service plan inexpensive, averaging $15 per month, and coverage excellent.
What the i705 offers are evolutionary features that sand down imperfections in an otherwise excellent device. There is no need to use an obtrusive, yet fragile, antenna to connect to the network. The device vibrates instead of that annoying beep. The email is "always on" so it is not necessary to pull the device out to check mail every two seconds. The device has USB. I probably wil not replace my existing Palm, but only because I lack USB and the new email features are not really supported on the Mac. Otherwise, this device is everything I could ask for in a wireless handheld, aside from global megabit connectivity, of course.
The killer application is anywhere access to email. This service is most valuable in places where I could use a laptop, but for whatever reason it is inconvenient or expensive. In an airport, it is possible to find a payphone with a telephone jack, play with a phone card and eventually check messages, if you do not miss a flight. I would prefer to pick up a refreshing beverage and read my messages in the departure lounge without the additional stress. Likewise, although I am more than capable of configuring my laptop to use a hotel phone system, with local charges of 75 cents per call it is cost prohibitive to check my email every fifteen minutes.
Other features will be useful, especially instant messanger. Perhaps the best, yet least heralded, feature is airline flight information. The device has already paid for itself in terms of flights I have caught when the airport screens no longer display the gate. Using PQAs from most major airlines, you can figure out gate information even when it is not displayed on screen.