Rating: 
Summary: Handy's hardly the word!
Review: Great product and productivity tool! Birthdays, meetings, phone numbers, everything. Ability to synchronize with calendaring programs is a major plus. Get one!
Rating:
Summary: Great, but still bulky...
Review: This is a great product. Most people know of what makes it so convenient and user friendly, so I won't insist on that. Just keep in mind that it is significantly more bulky than the Palm V. It also uses its batteries quite fast if you do a lot of input directly vs. via a PC and the cradle.A leather case with a clip is a must have.
Rating: 
Summary: I continue to be disappointed.
Review: I am on my 4th Palm Polit...keep upgrading hoping for a better unit but it keeps crashing...batteries are "eaten alive'...went to Europe last week without my computer...hoped my Palm would be helpful....lost everything before I got onthe plane....2400 names and addresses plus all my appointments...travel with backup...lucky me.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent PDA
Review: I use the PalmIII (actually the IBM WorkPad clone) for meeting reminders, email and address lists. The batteries last several weeks, and it actually beeps to let you know you're late, unlike paper planners. Grafiti doesn't always recognise my scribbles, which appears the norm with colleagues. So it functions best as an adjunct to a PC. i.e. you can review your inbox anywhere, or queue a short email to be sent when you return. i.e. good for reminders, etc. Don't expect to write long emails or prose with this thing. Gets 4-stars because it's quite expensive for a meeting minder...
Rating:
Summary: nice, but
Review: a generally nice product, but let me take issue with one thing i've seen no one else mention: the software. it's economical and fast, but it just won't do a few things i need an organizer's software to do. i need to keep some long lists in my organizer -- of books to read, reference sources, etc. the palm's "memo" software doesn't allow notes to be that long. i also need to be able to put my contacts in a variety of categories. the palm doesn't permit that. if someone is a friend, who's a computer journalist who lives in california, i need to be able to categorize that person under all of these categories: "friend", "computers", "journalist" and "california." you can't do that with a palm, which permits only 15 categories to choose from (far from enough), and only one category to be assigned to each contact. to me, that's a significant design flaw, and enough to make me give up using the device.
Rating: 
Summary: Others' positive comments correct, but there are problems
Review: I have used the Palm III for 12 months now and I agree with the positive commentary others here have elaborated upon, however, I have encountered several negatives not mentioned. The screen is frequently not responsive to tapping and intermittently exhibits numerous quirks (e.g., only recognizes far right icons, only recognizes address icon). More than once, the screen has become completely unresponsive: to screen taps, to the graffiti icons, to graffiti scrawl and to the frame buttons. Strangely, the only solution to this situation has been to reset the machine (thus erasing all saved data) and then re-load the data from your PC via the hot sync, quite inconvenient. Also, tech support does not produce practical solutions for customers, so once you buy the machine, be prepared to do your own ad hoc computer tech (pack a paper clip in your wallet on the road!) The average user will benefit from buying the lower end models which have come down to commodity prices as the latest premium priced models have features only an enthusiast would love.
Rating: 
Summary: Goodbye Paper!
Review: Wow! I really debated whether to make the leap to a PDA. My Franklin planner has practically been attached to me for years. I took it everywhere. I determined that I was only going to replace it with a PDA if I could put everything into it that I was carrying in the Franklin. Even when I bought the Palm IIIx, I wasn't sure. I have had it for just one week and wow! It's fantastic. Everyday I discover something new it can do or some new piece of software available for download--and unlike my Franklin, no matter how much I add, it doesn't get fatter! Being able to access so much information without flipping pages is a dream. I use Outlook 98 and it synchs with it seamlessly. One push of a button and less than a minute later it's ready to go with both my PC and Palm updated. It does one more thing that my Franklin never did: it plays! There are tons of games out there that come in handy when waiting in line, traffic, etc. Of course entering data is almost a game in and of itself. I don't understand the reviewer who mentioned having trouble with the Graffiti software--in a very short time I was able to master all the letters--now I'm learning the symbols. It's easy and it's fun. The "Giraffe" game makes it fun to learn the letters too! My wife thinks I'm crazy and I have to wrestle it away from my teenagers who love the games. Put your planner on the shelf and get one of these!
Rating:
Summary: Great tool...BUT beware the dreaded cracked screen....
Review: I'll be the first to say it - I love my pilot. I take it everywhere & it has saved me driving to the office on numerous weekends. I had the Palm Professional too, and have since upgraded to the Palm III. My Palm Professional was dropped numerous times, with minimal damage. I've had my new Palm III for 3 months. I dropped it - for the first time - this morning. It fell a distance of no more than 5 inches to a tile floor and cracked the screen. When I called Support - they informed me that they could a) send out a reconditioned model that I could keep but send my own in return, or b) they would send out an empty box w/a prepaid airbill to return my device for repairs. This would cost me $100 either way. Now, I'm a reasonable person, but paying 25-30% of the original cost for a cracked screen seems a bit high. Seeing as they are the only folks able to repair these things, it looks more like a nice after market than anything else. The support rep mentioned that 60-70% of their calls are for cracked screens. Pilot should re-evaluate the amount of money they charge for repairs of this type - especially if they are so numerous. I haven't decided whether I want to go ahead and spend the money to have it repaired or put that $100 toward another PDA - from another manufacturer. Its a great tool - and if you buy it you'll love it. But be prepared to never, EVER drop it. ;-)
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Summary: What an amazing gadget!!!!
Review: I recently received the Palm III as a gift and I must say it is the greatest "gadget" I think I have ever seen. Although it does eat through batteries very rapidly, it makes up for it with amazing features. Like the IR port for example, with which you can play (through 3rd party apps) head to head games like Chess, Battleship and Hangman against someone else with a Palm III. Or even CONTROL YOUR TV, VCR, STEREO, almost anything with a IR port, with 3rd party software called OmniRemote. Contrary to other reviews I have read, which have verbally "bashed" the Palm III, I believe this machine to be the single greatest "electronic gizmo" on the market today. I have seen the Palm III lookalikes around and I must say that they don't even compare to the Palm III's quality, ease of use, and most of all s t y l e! If I had to sum it all up in one word I would say "AMAZING!" My advice: BUY THE PALM III ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Its very good compared to the rest of the field
Review: Well, like many people, i love new, tech toys. the pilot is my second pda, i had an apple newton b4. its like a turtle and rabbit race. don't get me wrong, i still love the apple, but its way over its time. the palm is fast, and cheap to operate. its battery life is unheard of in pda arena. i shopped around for a couple of weeks looking at many new pda and finally nailing it down to the palm. while the competitors are making great CE pda with some desirable features and super sweet deals. i chose the palm for its variety of applications, speed and overall cost of operating the unit. u can find many software that in the form of commercial, shareware and freeware, not with CE pda. zipping around from app to app is faster than all CE. power consumption is tiny (i average 10days becos i have the backlite on alot) the pilot is not without fault, i find the both method of input in need of improvement. the graffiti strokes are not as natural as i like them to be. the virtual keyboard is a little to tight (can't be helped i guess). the interface needs to be more friendly. infra red range should have longer range and a built in infra red printing would be great instead of having to install 3rd party products. its a great tool, but its not something u can't live without. i remember the days when people used to say they can't live without their filofax. the palm is not a hype product. it serves its function as a great infomation manager for some people and a very expensive calculator for others. so before you rush out there to buy one, ask yourself if you have a real use to want to part with 300+ bucks. it has a great phone book, to do list and a calendar but don't try to go into a meeting with just the palm or any pda if u know u have alot of writing to do, these things are NOT for heavy writing. it can never replace the ole pen and paper. i think the pilot is better than the average pda. if a pda is what u NEED, the palm3 is a good pick
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