Palm Vx Review
This device is awesome. Apart from being a glorified daily organiser (that it may be, but it would be an incredibly short-sighted assessment to leave it at that), it can be used for a multitude of other things. Alongside the standard memopad, calendar/scheduling, to do lists and contact directory, there are tonnes of apps available for it – you think of any situation a handheld computer can be used in, and someone’s probably written an app for it. I love its internet syncing utilities. I’m always rushed when I take off for work in the morning, so what I can do now when I wake up is hit the hotSync button and the computer loads to the Palm all the e-mail that’s come in overnight, as well as about 300-400kB of news articles from Wired, CNet, Salon, the weather etc. Naturally, I plan to write something so I can download e/n articles too. I grab the freshly recharged Palm from the cradle and off I go. I’ve got an hour to read it all on the train, afterall. I can even compose e-mail replies, to be sent the next time the Palm gets synched with the computer.
Aesthetically, the palm is small, light, and looks sleek in its anodised aluminium case. The 16-colour grayscale display is quite sharp and readable. The scroll buttons on the centre bottom aren’t very well placed – when holding the unit in the left hand, the thumb can’t reach down to hit it, and the right hand is holding the stylus so it’s pretty much inaccessible unless you hit it with the stylus (but that’s just wrong). They should’ve put the scroll button on the left side, perhaps. The palm’s speaker could be a bit louder as well. Other than those minor gripes, the Palm Vx may be a yuppie gimmick, but it’s a very functional yuppie gimmick :).
7:00pm (GMT +10.00) 
