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Summary: Get it NOW
Review: Anyone that has a PALM Vx and uses it a lot and is constantly e-mailing or getting information should have one of these.
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Summary: One of my smartest purchases ever
Review: I am very pleased with my purchase of the OmniSky Modem. I have had a Palm V for some time now and have just used it basically to keep my schedule and as a phone book. When I heard about the Palm VII, I considered buying it just for the "Wireless" capability since I trade stocks for a hobby and need to access my portfolio on a daily basis. All I can say is I'm glad I waited for OmniSky. There are a multitude of websites that I can view from my Palm V. Well worth the investment!
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Summary: OmniSky Customer Support is TERRIBLE
Review: I had signed up for one year of OmniSky service. Because the modem download was so time consuming and the CDPD footprint was limited, I did not want to continue with my service. It was scheduled to expire in the middle of October 2001. OmniSky proactively charged the credit card I had used to originally pay for the service on October 1, 2001. They did not inform me of the charge. I was only made aware of it when I examined my credit card statement, which arrived quite a few weeks later. I contacted OmniSky Customer Support to cancel my account. I was told the full amount would go back to my credit card, and that I should monitor my statement for the credit. I specifically asked that whether the full amount would be credited back to my account, since I had not used the service and thought the situation was quite unfair. No credit appeared on my next billing statement. I contacted OmniSky again in December to remind them of the issue. After a few days, they credited my card a prorated amount, despite promising me that the FULL amount would be credited. When I contacted them a third time regarding this matter, I was told to contact the corporate offices. The corporate office phone system is automated and does not allow you to speak with a live person unless you know an extension. I contacted OmniSky support a fourth time through email and was rudely informed that they had no obligation to inform me when they charge my credit card, and they consider this matter closed and will not even acknowledged any further discussion on the matter. This interaction is representative of countless others I had to endure with this company when I experienced service issues. I travel a great deal and thought that this would be a nice solution to stay connected. However, given the poor level of customer support, the inadequate coverage area, the shrinking number of cool applications on this platform, and the slow download times, I would highly recommend you NOT purchase this product and service.
Rating:
Summary: OmniSky Customer Support is TERRIBLE
Review: I had signed up for one year of OmniSky service. Because the modem download was so time consuming and the CDPD footprint was limited, I did not want to continue with my service. It was scheduled to expire in the middle of October 2001. OmniSky proactively charged the credit card I had used to originally pay for the service on October 1, 2001. They did not inform me of the charge. I was only made aware of it when I examined my credit card statement, which arrived quite a few weeks later. I contacted OmniSky Customer Support to cancel my account. I was told the full amount would go back to my credit card, and that I should monitor my statement for the credit. I specifically asked that whether the full amount would be credited back to my account, since I had not used the service and thought the situation was quite unfair. No credit appeared on my next billing statement. I contacted OmniSky again in December to remind them of the issue. After a few days, they credited my card a prorated amount, despite promising me that the FULL amount would be credited. When I contacted them a third time regarding this matter, I was told to contact the corporate offices. The corporate office phone system is automated and does not allow you to speak with a live person unless you know an extension. I contacted OmniSky support a fourth time through email and was rudely informed that they had no obligation to inform me when they charge my credit card, and they consider this matter closed and will not even acknowledged any further discussion on the matter. This interaction is representative of countless others I had to endure with this company when I experienced service issues. I travel a great deal and thought that this would be a nice solution to stay connected. However, given the poor level of customer support, the inadequate coverage area, the shrinking number of cool applications on this platform, and the slow download times, I would highly recommend you NOT purchase this product and service.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice Product
Review: I have been using a Palm Device since the old Personal Palm unit. Althought I loved my Personal Palm I didn't utilize it as much as I would have liked. There are only so many address, to do, and calendar entries once person can have. If I was going to upgrade my Palm I wanted it to have more funtionality. With this is mind I decided on the Palm Vx and the Omnisky Wirless. Once received I went ahead with the setup of my account/modem and found it to be very straight forward with no issues. I setup my outisde POP3 email account with no problems. The performance of the wireless modem is very good, download times are pretty quick. The content of the service is good with plenty of news, weather, sports, and other usefull information. Web site viewing is best with Omnisky content partners. I have not had much luck going out to other web sites but I wasn't expecting a lot in that catergory. Overall I think this is a great wireless unit and service plan....
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Summary: comes in handy
Review: I like the omnisky accessory. I have a Palm Vx which I love. I do not own the omnisky yet but I have used it. It is great when you need info fast (email, directions, stocks, food, etc...). I like this method much better than the Palm VII's wireless aceess. The downside is the price. But when you need it for work and they pay, who cares about $$?
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Summary: OMNISKY IS GONE - product useless
Review: I purchased this product on ebay for about 10 bucks. Well,that's all it's worth these days. With Omnisky being bought by Earthlink and Earthlink stopping the service, it's completely useless. I'm surprised to see this here on Amazon.
Rating: 
Summary: Cool for early adopters, no consumer product
Review: I recently got the Omnisky modem for my Palm V. It allows you to access all sorts of content wirelessly that Omnisky has collected from a whole slew of content partners. Some other non-Omnisky apps also support live wireless access to content or at least wireless synchronization (e. g., Avantgo) once you have a wireless modem. This includes lots of standard stuff like news, weather, stock quotes, Yellow Pages, search engines & directories etcetc. The offer for online shopping and esp. travel booking is still WEAK. Amazon eg doesnt support the Palm, and the only travel site supporting wireless (that i found) is Travelocity (and there you have to register thru a PC BEFORE using it thru the Palm -- sucks if you're stuck at an airport and want to book an alternative flight as I once did). So far, the content/apps providers just had enought fantasy to transfer to the Palm what exists on the web anyway. But where are the new apps that make REAL use of wireless? Where is the app, say, that tells me which public transport to use from point A to B when I want to arrive at a specific time? (Saw that in Germany on the web and it ROCKS). All the content that you get through Omnisky or other apps on the Palm has been reformatted so that it will fit the tiny Palm display. Technically, it is also possible to access any web page -- but if they haven't been reformatted or have a REAL simple layout to start with, don't even bother. It is a) slow and b) you'll have a hard time deciphering anything at all. Omnisky also supports receiving and sending email from any standard POP3 mail server. Cool! The wireless coverage (ie, where you can connect) is still pretty spotty. You'll be fine in most metropolitan centers, but other than that, you'll have a hard time to connect. The transfer rate is OK for email and reformatted web pages, however, dont expect a speed rush. The price of the modem was pretty low (after a special discount they offered at year end '00), however, they want a monthly fee of $50 -- and that's PRETTY hefty for what it does. The bottom-line: Cool & great for early adopters who don't mind playing the tech mine-dog and being punished for it (money-wise). However, this is no consumer-product yet.
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Summary: Yes it works, but.....
Review: I used this service for a year (Omnisky was giving the modems away then). What I found was that it retrieved my email OK and it let me access some web sites OK, but it was not great at either. The biggest drawback is that the Palm OS won't let you view attachments. What I ended up doing was borrowing a computer when I was on the road and accessing my email throug webmail. While that was a hassel sometimes, I didn't have to carry all the plugs and chargers etc. as well as my Palm. You see the charger for your Palm won't charge the modem. You have to carry a separate charget for it. The perfect solution is yet to arrive (though it is close). Save your money and wait until their is a CE based PDA with continuous wireless access that also has a phone included and that has coverage all over the US. When that gets here, your investment will pay off.
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Summary: Wireless for PDAs
Review: This is a definite must-have for the mobile professional. The Minstrel V is slim and compliments the Palm Vx quite nicely. One of the features I like the best about the Minstrel is it allows you to specify up to six different POP3 email accounts to be downloaded to your PDA. In addition to downloading the messages it leaves a copy of them on the mail server so you are able to download them to your regular PC be it at home, work, or both. With this feature, I am able to check on my personal as well as my work email, downloaded to different folders to aid in organization. This feature combined with the mail alert system saves quite a bit of time compared with the time it takes to remove your laptop and connect with two or more servers, sometimes under very slow RAS connections. The activation of the modem and installation of the software was straightforward and easy to complete even though it does take awhile. A minor issue that presented itself was the software did not add the additional mail account folders onto my Palm Vx; I went through and completed that manually. In addition, after the installation was completed I had to close the extra windows that were opened during installation. The power management capabilities are also a plus for the Minstrel V. Not only does it have an auto-shutoff but also a sleep mode, similar to cellular phones. Unlike the Palm Vx, you are not able to set the interval for sleep or auto-shutoff; it is either disabled or enabled. However, the modem immediately powers up if a wireless connection is needed. Combine the power management functions with the short charge time, about 3 hours for about 12 hours of use; you will be able to continue to work while away from the office or hotel. Should you decide to purchase the Minstrel V, you will not be disappointed. If you were to combine the looks with the functionality, you will wonder how you ever worked with your PDA without it.
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