Rating: 
Summary: Best of Both Worlds with Instant Messaging!
Review: It is so nice to combine the functionality of my old Palm (I am a fan of the Palm OS) and Blackberry. I got my i705 two days ago, came home, quickly got it set up and also got the palm.net set up. I was very surprised that AOL's AIM (Instant Messenger) is included and you can also download the Yahoo Instant Messenger from their web site. How nice to be able to Instant Message when I am away from my PC!! My husband and I tried this out from our home computer to the Palm with the instant messaging and emails and they appeared to and from my Palm instantly. The other internet features such as news, etc. is equal to or better than my Blackberry and the always on email is AWESOME. I was tired of carrying around two devices and couldn't give up the always on email the Blackberry offered, but the Blackberry fell short as far as the PDA functionality my old Palm offered. My husband has a compaq IPAQ with the wireless module and aircard and the i705 is so sleek and is SO much more light weight and smaller than his IPAQ. Also the color display on his IPAC EATS the battery in hours, whereas I have had my i705 on since I got it and the batter is no where near close to having to be recharged. I can give up color for that!!! Needless to say, after using my i705, hubbie just put in an order for one for himself.
Rating: 
Summary: Not bad when it works...
Review: Long-time Palm user. I enjoyed the i705 right out of the box. Great Web clipping apps, etc. Email works well. The new mini keyboard for typing short messages is far faster than using the stylus - like a Blackberry but with real Web applications. In short, it would be a gem, if only....Well, one problem is that the alarm code is faulty. What good is a PDA that doesn't signal you when you're going to be late for a meeting??? ... Also, the screen could be better. In some lighting conditions it's just unreadable - backlit or not. I recommend that you Amazonians out there wait until they've worked out the kinks. The rest of us pioneers are living with the arrows in the back - we only hope that Palm gets it right.... soon.... please
Rating: 
Summary: This is an unreliable piece of equipment.
Review: My Palm i705 works fine when it is operational. But it has crashed twice. The good news is that the company is very good about sending a replacement, and honors the warranty. The bad news is that it is a gigantic pain in the neck to have an unreliable PDA. It is disruptive, and take a lot of time to order the replacement and activate it.
Is it just a coincidence that I got two lemons in a row? Of course, I don't know, but I'd be careful.
Rating:
Summary: Exactly What I needed
Review: My professional life depends on communication and the ability to stay in touch with my personnel, clients, partners and prospective clients. Years ago the cell phone freed me from being tethered to a phone line and allowed me to conduct my business from just about anywhere, including my sailboat. In the past number of years, email has become as important, if not more so, than my phone communication, particularly since voice mail and staff can catch all my calls when I am out of the office. Email, however, has been a problem. I have computers at home and in my several offices but the ability to send and receive emails from anywhere has hampered my freedom. The Palm i705 is everything I hoped for and then some. I resisted using a palm for years, and only the concept of wireless email communication got me to jump in. The price could not be beat (less than $150 with rebate through Amazon) and the set up was a breeze! Other than one phone call to tech support (which was very helpful and responsive at 4 a.m.) I had no problems at all setting up the palm to do exactly as I needed it to do. My one call to tech support was to help me configure the palm to send and receive my emails via our firm's dedicated server/domain address. After several days, I can't believe I have lived without it. I spend most of my time in San Diego and New York and, so far, the reception in San Diego has been fabulous. Very pleased with having the palm.com email address as well. Two add ons that I highly recommend: Fatfingers, which creates a full screen touch pad for entering data, typing, etc. and holidates, to add national and religious holidays to the date book. Kind of surprising that the Palm does not automatically provide those holidsys but, without them, it makes it very difficult to set dates. Excellent product; excellent support and everything I hoped for in a handheld, wireless email/internet device.
Rating: 
Summary: I love my Palm i705
Review: My Wireless Palm is great. I use it on the road to check e-mail and so I don't have to always carry a laptop when I travel. Coverage is generally good. I have had a few problems with the AOL application, but for the most part I would recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Unreliable
Review: The concept of the i705 is great. When the service worked, it was useful. I do not think Palm is able to manufacture such a complex product reliably and support it at this time. Wireless coverage is ok but not great.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent piece of engineering, so so service, though
Review: This is a great PDA! Elegant design, fast, practical, the best among all models before Tungsten. The best value for your money, as well. I used to have a Palm VIIx, another great PDA, but I decided to switch to this model mostly because of the, supposedly better, wireless capabilities (internet access, even Google!), AOL instant messenger, e-mail, etc., the amazing Documents To Go program, and also for the fabulous expansion card with the Merriam-Webster dictionary! I have only two (major) complaints: the wireless service is TOO expensive and the MultiMail 1.2 e-mail program takes longer than with the Palm VIIx, let alone it gobbles very quickly your monthly allotment of 100K. In less than a month, just using e-mail, it has already used up 163K! And to think that with my Palm VIIx, I barely used 40K each month... If the wireless service were less expensive and more efficient (there is a number of error messages each time) this Palm would be, hands down, the best of all. I will continue to enjoy my Palm i705 minus the wireless capabilities. I don't want to talk about the old fashioned, low-resolution screen, practically the same that came with the original Palm Pilot. The Casio Clié, if not for the lack of wireless functions, beats easily this model. And this is said by a seasoned Palm fan.
Rating:
Summary: A big leap forward, but you might wait for the next step
Review: This is an early look at the i705, which I have only used for a short time so far (I have been fortunate to receive a loaner, but haven't purchased one yet). If you need a primer on why a basic Palm is useful, check out reviews of some low-end models (I own and reviewed the Vx). The i705's form factor is good - certainly less bulky than its predecessor VII and just a tad thicker than the sleek V model or m500. It feels fine in my hands. The built in wireless antenna is not obtrusive in the least and frankly, adds some style to what has been a fairly mundane look for most Palm devices. You still subscribe to the Palm.net service on which the ill-fated Palm VII operated. But it runs on the same network (Mobitex) as RIM's Blackberry, so reliability/consistency of access should be as high as that device. So far, access has been fairly quick and readily accessible. You can set the wireless capability to either an "always on" setting or one in which it will only receive/download emails during a desired time period (though you can set a new email alert to run 24/7). It also natively supports AOL Instant Messenger, which is nice - I've IM'd a few times and it works, though it's not as quick as your desktop. Battery life is good, even with the device set to its "always on" mode - others who have had the device longer indicate that it's still good for a week with pretty heavy usage and longer if you turn it off overnight. The expansion slot is long overdue. Many enhanced applications are conveniently preloaded - my personal favorites include AvantGo and DataViz, though the Palm Reader should be increasingly valuable over time. I'm wondering if the 8 meg memory will be enough over time, given the multiple data-heavy applications this device is designed to address. However, I've only filled about 1 meg in my Vx with about 18 months worth of usage. So, 8 megs, plus extra strorage capacity through the expansion slot, would seem to be sufficient. I've tried the keyboard - takes some getting used to, but should be faster than graffiti for instant messaging/email. Pricing of the service is very attractive. It's priced per kilobyte. I'd blow off the low-end plan ($$$.../mo. for 100kb). That's only going to get you maybe 40 text emails. Go with the $$$.../mo unlimited kb plan, prepaid for a year, once you're sure you'll keep it. The one nagging issue for me with all Palm devices is the rigid interaction with the stylus. It has always been awkward to draw the stylus out of its holster (you have to use your thumbnail) and if you don't click it in all the way when you're done, it's still loose enough that it will fall out. Of course, it has never been comfortable to use either. The Handspring Visor's stylus glides in and out effortlessly and the slightly fatter head makes control of it much easier. Too bad Palm is still making otherwise functional devices with this deficiency. So, the good news is that with this device, Palm has finally gotten over the hump of just being a scheduler/organizer. I think this device may finally allow Palm to become more standardized in corporations and it will definitely be attractive to high-end consumers. Unfortunately, the power applications for this device are yet to come. You cannot download email attachments yet (that will come in the May/June time frame). It will also not be voice-enabled (GPRS) until the Fall, so the Handspring Treo, despite its bulkiness, is about the best combined solution right now. And Palm seems non-committal on when it will offer a color version, which I think is a near-necessity if you're going to surf the Web or read Excel, PowerPoint and Acrobat attachments. In the end, it's a great improvement over what Palm offers today. But I think it would make sense to wait until some of the features mentioned above become available.
Rating:
Summary: Beware of Palm
Review: This product is OK for what it is. The screen is hard to view and you have to hold it just right to read it in certain light. The wireless service won't connect inside certain buildings even though my cell phone does connect. The email trash won't empty and just gives an error. The system crashed several times and I had to use the reset button on the back. I lost the information I had inputted since the last hotsynk. The palm.net web page doesn't work half the time and I was unable to track my account activity. Some web pages and email wouldn't load but I was billed for viewing these pages. Palm service people just say that they won't refund any money for the service. I had the basic service for one month and I received 3 emails (all text and under 10k each) and read the news several times. In the small print Palm doesn't make clear that you can be charged 40 cents for each kilobyte you go over your limit and that web surfing is included in your limit. Until other service providers becomes available I wouldn't recommend using this product unless your company is willing to pick up the charge. Considering I can get unlimited color internet access on my computer for around $20 a month it seems excessive to pay $40 to $100 for minimal use when the web pages and email won't load half the time. I recommend buying the cheaper version of this product for only $99 and saving your money until there are more ISPs that offer access through handhelds for a reasonable amount of money.
Rating:
Summary: Palm 705i has more life
Review: Thought the Palm 705i was dead as the new GPRS Pocket PC Phones began to roll out. Got a new Siemans SX56 PocketPC Phone from ATT. Nice PDA phone, but big problems. If you want to use the data features while in motion (car, boat train ect) forget about the new GPRS devices. Bottom line, while these may be mobile devices they don't work when they are moving. Also current coverage of the GPRS devices is very restricted in many parts of the country. The Palm 705i is very stable in motion by comparison. And while the Palm might be a little slower, there is no connect time delay like you have with GPRS devices. If you want less than 3kb of data at a time the 705i is faster than a GPRS Pocket PC Phone. I returned my Siemens under the 30 day money back return policy with ATT. Will keep the reliable Palm till the new technology will support a mobile device that moves.
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