Rating: 
Summary: Efficient Organizer; but low on features and memory
Review: I owned a Palm III for a while when it came out, and then stepped up to the V after about a year with my III. What can I say? I was allured by its sexiness and general asthetic appeal.I have now relied on it for about a year for all my organizing needs. I have used every part of the Palm Software suite except the expense reporting feature. While I like the Palm V's style, I have become more and more disappointed by its features and memory issues. Features: lacks decent sound for starters, a beep is boring and weak. When I carry the Palm in its home (my pocket) I cannot hear the alarm tones even with volume maxed! The screen is a mixed bag. While its clarity is better than other organizers, it is very hard to read in slightly dim areas because the backlighting leaves a lot to be desired. Battery power is okay, but not anywhere near the advertised time of 30 days. Memory is a whole different issue. All I have on my palm is some 1500 addresses and 1000 calendar entries and it tells me I am half full, as you know they advertise a lot more capacity. I don' use but a couple of aftermarket programs. The Graffiti recognizer is crap. When it works it puts the wrong letters on the screen. Real users need to get Jot! from CiC. Palm, Inc.'s tech support is the WORST! Most of their support staff can hardly speak English; so imagine them trying to explain a highly technical issue! Whats more, they don't even care. I was pormised a return call - had to call back. I have not once ever received a real response by email - only autoresponders that say "24-48 hours" - still waiting on my inquiry from January! In short, save a little longer and get the Cassiopeia E-115 (when it comes out). In my experiences with head-to-head comparrisons of Cassiopeia E-105s to my Palm V, the Cassio was a true frontrunner! The E-115 will certainly be even better! If you need a great datebook and address book to keep you straight and don't need sound, memory, genuine Word Processing, or Spreadsheet, or color screen then GO WITH THE PALM V! But if you need features and real performance, get a Windows CE Device.
Rating:
Summary: Not shock resistant
Review: A pretty good device overall, but one thing really bugs me. I have it in a leather case. I was carrying it in my hand one day and I dropped it. Only one exposed area got a tiny speck of a nick, but the rest of the device was cushioned by the leather. That incident caused all the screen touch points to drop. In order to activiate something, I have to touch below where it is displayed on the screen. The functions on the bottom moved almost completely out of range, and the writing area shifted down also. I can't tell if it's because the writing area shifted downwards, but the graffiti recognition is slower and less accurate too. I can't say anything else bad about it, but what a letdown to know that it can't take simple impacts.
Rating: 
Summary: solid pda
Review: i've owned several pilots and really enjoy the V for its high portability. while the stock 2meg is anemic, there are a couple of companies that will upgrade the memory to 8meg for around $100 (but beware, doing so will void the Palm warranty) if you find that it is essential to upgrade later on... the screen is easily the best i've ever seen on a pilot... exceptionally sharp. the casing is aluminum and lends a solid feel to the V while trimming the thickness to about half of the IIIx. it's difficult to express how much of a difference this reduction in size makes until you've had a chance to carry them around but it's definitely a positive factor for me. i didn't have the deletion problems that plague the previous user although i did have to reboot the pilot a few times-- although to be fair, i found it to be the cause of some sharewares i had tried to upload. i find the palm OS to be stable and v3.3 along with the hotsync manager v3.0.4 is truely a blessing -- among other things this combination allows IR protocol for hotsyncing my data without the cradle to any laptop equiped with an IR port.
Rating: 
Summary: Do you need a 'Palm' or 'Pocket PC'? This will help!
Review: What the heck is a pocket PC you ask? There are two different types (major) of 'palm size' PCs out there. One uses the 'Palm' computing platform, the other the 'Pocket PC' platform by Microsoft based on Windows. Now there is a BIG difference and one of these platforms will be good for you or bad for you...hopefully this will help you decide. First off you WILL be paying more for a pocket pc device but you'll get more out of it. More on pocket pc later. The Palm OS is very popular as you can imagine. The devices are not that very expensive and are quick and easy to use. People love 'em because they are simple and easy to use. The downside is that they have those awful 1990's LCD screens that are as bland and boring as a Pauly Shore movie. The upside is that the large ammount of software availabe for the Palm OS is very small in size making the need for large ammount of memory on the units not necessary (less than 4MB at max). Now the Pocket PC (Brand new for 2000...the updated cousin of Windows CE) is bloated, yep, nobody's denying that but there are big differences. The main reason you will want a Pocket PC is: - You want the latest and greatest - You like multimedia (music, movies, e-books, more...) - You want seamless sync with your PC - You love color - You want the ability to do REAL work away from work like Excel, Word, etc. - The ability to show people your kids photo in full color - The ability to show your kids first steps in live video... - and much much more. The Pocket PC platform took a major overhaul and extensive research in how us humans view these devices led to the new design. You can (I have done this) use the new windows media player to copy 'digital' quality music right onto your pocket pc (better than mp3), watch full motion video (MPEG viewer/TVviewer, etc...3rd party download...it works and is very neat), and more. So get a Palm OS if you: Just need an organizer (yes I know it does alot more) and do not want to spend alot of money (price is REALLY a factor for you) Get a Pocket PC if you: Don't mind investing in a superb little machine with major power. Also a recommendation...the Compaq iPaq is really the leader out there right now...is is the fastest of them all (Intel 206Mhz processor...this is really fast for these units) and has tons of goodies and expandability. Read my review on it!
Rating:
Summary: An Incredible Combo of Form and Function...
Review: Using my Palm V always makes me smile because it is about as close to perfect as any electronic device I've ever used. If anyone is on the borderline, not sure if a PDA is for them, this device will not disappoint. It does everything that you'd want it to do, does it well, and does it quickly. Plus the ability to sync the Palm V with your computer's PIM (inc. Microsoft Outlook) makes importing and exporting contacts a breeze. If you're not sure about the Graffiti writing system, I can tell you that it's a very easy to learn. Five minutes worth of practicing and you'll have it down (it's very, very close to the normal alphabet). After a few days you'll have it completely memorized (the Palm folks also include a handy "cheat sheet" sticker that you can stick to the inside of the cover that's included with the Palm V). As someone who bought an Apple Newton MessagePad (and lived though that debacle) I can say from experience that the Palm is not a product that only a geek can love. Anyone who is busy and wants to be able to keep track of contacts and appointments will find this device invaluable and I sincerely mean that. Once you have one you will not want to be without it, and it sure beats hauling a fat old paper based organizer around. Some quick notes; the Palm V Hard Case rocks! If you travel a lot make sure to get one. It keeps the Palm V completely safe from harm and looks beautiful. Also, with the upgrade to Palm OS 3.3, you'll be able to sync your Palm with any laptop with an infrared port without the need for any cables. This is very, very cool and very useful for road warriors (one caveat here, the IR sync does not yet work on Windows2000 based systems). Hope this helps!
Rating: 
Summary: The Palm V Organizer made me lose my job!
Review: This was the worst thing I ever bought. I thought it would help me to get organized, like the name suggests. But instead, all I found was hours of trouble trying to get this thing set up. Once I finally got it working, it said it downloaded my mail, but all it did was succesfully delete a letter from my Boss! It included the deadline for a project, that I never recieved, thus I did not make the deadline and was fired! I was completely disorganized for weeks while I tried to get a hold of everything I lost. I think that the people who named this combobulation machine an organizer should read the english dictionary. An Organizer is one that organizes, not one the disorganizer, and deletes my e-mail! Apart from that, this thing would not run any of the games I downloaded from it, and it also kept losing all of the memos and stuff I put on it. Maybe if the makers would have made a more stable OS, I would have been able to recommend this product.
Rating:
Summary: Going to be a doctor
Review: I want to represent the view of a medical student and maybe get some answers. As doctors, the PDA is the future of fast reference and palmpilot is the gold standard, but which to buy? I have borrowed a Palm V for one week and I have the opputunity to buy it used for a good price. I love its style. It can't be beat. However I am conflicted about whether or not I need the additional memory of the 8 MG of the VX. I can think of 5 more programs (med dictionary, internal medicine manual, PDR, etc) which I would like to download, one of which is 4 MGs (Merc manual)alone. I only have 255 K left. I am a new user of the V, but I don't want to be impulsive and by a V when I NEED a Vx for my career. But technology is changing so fast and possibly this is good for a student and I will get a new one in a couple years when the standard will be the dream machine of today for that same $400 of the Vx. I have yet to make a decision...price or memory (I am a poor student).
Rating:
Summary: That green POWER ON button.....
Review: - One bad thing: Don't use the green button to turn on the PDA. Use applications buttons instead. Otherwise superb product though very pricey.
Rating:
Summary: An Adult Pacifier
Review: The Palm V is one of those electronic gizmos you don't think you'll ever need, and then when you get one you can't live without it. I've been carrying mine around like a pacifier. When someone stops me on the street and wants to set up and appointment I used to take their number and check my calendar back at the office. Now I can take their number AND make the appointment. 3Com has packaged a proven product in a sexy case and come up with a real winner.
Rating:
Summary: Don't know how I did without it
Review: On the advice of my friend, I bought the Palm V and now I can see why he likes his so much. It's turned out to be very useful. No more forgetting tasks or being late to appointments. Anytime I need to jot something down, i can just whip it out and start writing. And the games help pass the time when you have nothing to do. To the reviewer who said a notepad and a pen was the equivalent, you have no idea what you're missing. The Palm is so much more than a notepad, it also has games, a calendar, to do lists, an address book, calculator, and anything else you want to load onto it. I'd like to see something made of paper as compact as the palm that could hold as much information and deliver it as easily.
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