No question about it, the Palm V is sexy. Before you buy one, though, you should be aware of some of its quirks, some more annoying than others. These quirks are especially apparent if you currently own (and like) the Palm III.
I. Some of the Palm V’s quirks
The Palm V’s battery is rechargeable, but not replaceable
A fully charged Palm V should provide about a month’s worth of use. And you think, the V is great because you'll never have to buy another battery again because the V is rechargeable! But if you travel a lot and don't want to carry the cradle with you, you'll have to buy the Palm V Travel Kit, which is an AC recharger that lets you recharge the V ’s battery from any AC outlet. This retails for $49.95 from 3Com. Would you rather carry around the travel kit, or a spare set of batteries? And what's more, what if you're not near your cradle OR your travel kit when the juice runs low? -- with the III, all you need to do is drive to your nearest drugstore for new batteries. With a V....well, unless your next door neighbor owns a V and you can borrow her HotSync cradle, you're out of luck.
The Palm V backlighting is the opposite of the Palm III's
That is, on the III, the background is lit while the text is dark. On the V, the background is dark and the text is lit. I found this screen much harder to read.
- SOLUTION: Install GreenLightHack (a HackMaster app, free), which makes the backlighting on the V exactly the same as the III's. Find it at http://www-cs-students.stanford.edu/~dianders/palm/.
The alarm/clicking problem
When you carry the Palm V with its default softcover in a tight place (such as a small purse or overloaded briefcase) and an alarm happens to go off, the pressure on the buttons (especially the Up/Down buttons) will result in a continuous clicking noise. Moreover, your battery can completely drain due to this problem.
- SOLUTION: Install PalmVHack (another HackMaster app, $5), which lets you select exactly which buttons are disabled when an alarm goes off. Find it at http://www.rgps.com/.
Battery drain, part two
Another problem the softcover causes is that if the Power button or any of the application buttons are accidentally pushed while in that crowded purse, pocket, or briefcase, your Palm V can turn on and then stay on until the battery is completely drained.
- SOLUTION: Install StayOffHack (yes, yet another HackMaster app, $5), which lets you explicitly disable selected buttons so they don’t accidentally turn on. Find it at http://www.rgps.com/.
II. Out of the box specs
Aside from the problems described above, the Palm V has an impressive feature set:
• Palm V unit w/2 MB storage capacity (enough for 6,000 addresses and 3,000 appointments)
• Cool-looking anodized aluminum case
• Protective soft cover
• Applications included: Datebook, Address Book, Mail, To Do List, Memo Pad, Expense Tracker, Calculator, Security, Games, Find.
• HotSync cradle (doubles as a battery recharger)
• Rechargeable (but not removable) lithium ion battery
• Backlit display
• Infrared communication with other Palm units
• One metal stylus and one extra plastic stylus (send in the registration card and get another spare stylus)
• DB-25 adapter
• Palm Desktop CD
• Size: 4.5” x 3.1” x 0.4” (Palm III is 4.7” x 3.2” x 0.7”)
• Weight: 4 ounces (Palm III is 6 ounces)
Note: you can’t use the Palm V straight out of the box – you must recharge the battery for at least 3 hours first.
III. Accessories I can’t live without
Lastly, I would sell my Palm V in a second if I couldn’t have these two accessories:
• Datebk4 ($24.95 at www.pilotgear.com): this application replaces the default Date Book that comes with the Palm V, and is far superior. See my 5/9 review for more details.
• Palm V hard case (sold separately for $39.95 by 3Com): it’s beautiful, it’s tough, it’s beautiful, and it’ll prevent those dang buttons from getting accidentally pushed. But most of all, it’s beautiful.
IV. For more info
For information on:
• the Palm products, see www.palm.com.
• HackMaster, see www.daggerware.com. To use any of the Hacks listed above, you must download HackMaster first. See also my 12/19/99 review for more details.
• other Palm applications, see www.pilotgear.com.
V. All in all
After almost a year of ownership, I still absolutely love the Palm V. The problems described above, while annoying, are not insurmountable. As long as you're willing to shell out a little extra cash for some of the solutions, you'll thoroughly enjoy the Palm V!
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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