Best Palm Handhelds and Palm Pilot PDAs: Reviews

Back in the late 90's, Palm was the innovator in the field of personal digital assistants, or PDAs. These small handheld computers were called Palm Pilots, and they became enormously popular. Over time, as Palms and cellphones and laptops have all added functions and morphed, the world of the PDA has changed. Competing with the popular RIM Blackberry handheld wireless email device, Palm has come up with the Palm Treo along with its standard handheld computers.

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Palm family of handheld computers

Palm has a full line of handheld PDAs today. They all run the Palm OS and Palm software applications, which can be purchased or downloaded for free at many Palm software sites (see below). At the lower end is the basic Palm Z22 ($99) and the Palm Zire 31 ($129) (all prices are suggested retail prices - you can find discounted prices at many stores and online shopping sites). The Zire comes with just 16MB of memory and uses the baseline Intel 200MHz processor. It has a 160x160 color screen and weighs just over 4 ounces. Both these low end models lack any internet connectivity - no email, no web access, and are designed mainly as personal information managers (PIMS) for tracking schedules, making notes, storing addresses and phone numbers, etc. You can also play Palm games and view photos or listen to MP3 files. The next step up the chain is the Palm Tungsten E2 ($199), the Palm TX ($299), and the Palm Zire 72. The TX has the most RAM - 128MB, while the other two have 32MB, and it has a 320x480 color display, while the other two offer 320x320 color displays. The Zire 72 comes with a built in camera and voice recorder, and they all offer bluetooth wireless networking capabilities for ease of use in moving files around. All 3 are capable of basic internet access for text messages, email, and web viewing, as well as handle photos and music files.

Most Popular Palm Pilots - Best Palm Pilots

Finally, there is the Palm LifeDrive, which they call a "mobile manager". Priced at $499, it is the most expensive of the Palm products. It has a 4GB mini hard drive built in for storing data and a 320x480 64K color screen, weighing just over 6 ounces. It offers both bluetooth and WIFI connectivity to your computer network or networked devices, so you don't need extra wires or cables. And it comes with full wireless data support for email, web browsing, and text messaging. Of course it is also a complete personal organizer, with scheduler, address book, etc. The LifeDrive does not have a QWERTY mini keyboard. Comes with support for MS Excel, Word, Powerpoint, and Adobe Acrobat.

Palm Treo 650 670

The Treo 650 Smart Phone from Palm combines a cell phone, PDA, digital camera, MP3 player, and email device all into one terrific package. This, like the Blackberry, has become a favorite with road warriors who need on-the-run access to email and information on the internet. A touch sensitive screen allows you to dial right on the screen, while a mini QWERTY thumb pad below allows easy access to email. Like a cell phone it requires a monthly payment to a service provider, so there are ongoing fees. But if you need wireless email and cell phone connectivity, this is a highly regarded model that gets great reviews.

Download Free Palm Software and Games - Best Palm Software Download Sites

One of the best sites for downloading free software for your Palm is FreewarePalm.com. They offer free Palm software downloads for business, calculators, clocks and calendars, databases, finance, Palm games, travel, utilities and more. PalmGear.com is another popular site for Palm software. Some of it is free, some of it is shareware. They have all the top downloads by category and screenshots and reviews of the programs so you can see and read about them prior to downloading and installing on your Palm. They have Palm game software downloads, utilities, business and finance Palm software, enhancements, and personal productivity programs.

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