A few months ago I recently purchased a Palm Vx without knowing much
about the PalmOS computing platform, other than the various reports in
Macworld, MacAddict, and the Web. What I learned from my own
experiences was entirely different (and alike) from what I had
read.
Staples had a deal where you bought a Palm Vx for $199 and you also
got a bunch of extra accessories for free. These included a Magellan
GPS module, a Targus case and mini-keyboard, a Palm hard case, and a CD
full of little add-on goodies. Let's just say that the value of all of
this was much more than $199 - at least in my opinion.
First Impressions
At first glance, the Palm Vx is tiny. It's barely thicker than what
the screen, battery, and stylus. The Palm hard case (which is brushed
aluminum and colored blue) is barely bigger than the Vx, which makes a
sleek, small, handheld organizer. The one peeve is that to use any of
the add-on accessories, I have to remove it from the case. This is also
true when trying to put it in the sync cradle (I worked around this -
see below).
No MacPac? No Problem.
What I did first was sync it to the computer I knew it would work
with (sort of). At the time, there was no MacPac cable available to
buy, so I was going to get it later. For the time being, I decided to
use my Vx with our Windows PC (yuk).
Setup was rather easy. The entire process was quick and very Mac OS
Setup Assistant-esque. The overall look of the PalmOS reminds me of the
days when I used a Mac SE and
a PowerBook 180.
Then I got an idea - since the MacPac was just a DB-9 connector to
8-pin Mac serial connector adapter (or so I think), what if I could
make my own adapter? After all, Palm did include a DB-9 connector to
DB-25 connector for those with older Windoze PCs, so couldn't I connect
that to the cradle and a Mac serial to DB-25 modem cable together using
this? I pieced these three together, downloaded the Palm Desktop
software, and tried to sync with my Power Mac 7200/90. To my surprised
it actually worked!
Goodies
A Palm is just like a Mac - you can customize it all you want. There
aren't really any limits. Looking on the Web, I found many resources.
First of all, I downloaded AvantGo. This free
service downloads Web content off the Internet and into the Palm's RAM.
There are all kinds of Web sites, including Yahoo!, Reuters News,
AccuWeather, CNN, LEM Mobile, and various other
categories that have many, many items.
Also, I downloaded SilverScreen from Pocket Sensei. This program makes the
PalmOS even more Mac-like. Things are instantly turned into shades of
gray, you can drag things, there's a trash can, as well as customizable
icon packs, themes, and better scroll bars. It's worth every penny.
There are tons of free programs that will run on this platform.
DataViz's Documents To Go may be
added to my list of things to buy, since it allows you to take MS
Office, AppleWorks, etc. word processing and spreadsheet documents with
you and edit them.
Games, Too!
Well, I'm not much of a computer games player myself, but I figured
I'd load a few games on my Palm Vx. After all, there are boring periods
when I need to waste time. I loaded PacMan, Tetris, SimCity, and chess
on there. There are many classic 1980s games available, and lots of old
Mac games have ports.
The Truth
Upon reading, I noticed the Palm family of handhelds use a Motorola
DragonBall EZ processor. This is in the 68k class, so I guess it could
be considered a Mac relative. The 16-shade grayscale screen and
8 MB RAM really reminds me of my PowerBook 180.
Of course, Palm is in the process of developing (and releasing) a
replacement for their 68k handhelds. The new ones, based on RISC
processors, will be able to emulate the current models to run older
applications. Doesn't this sound like a 1994 Macworld article (68k to
RISC, OS licensing, a new OS waiting in the wings)?
To Wrap Things Up
Overall, I found the Palm Vx to be a very satisfying accessory for
my Mac.
Would I spend over $300 for something like this? No. Something like
this is an accessory, not a computer replacement. Anything higher
almost rivals the prices of a good used PowerBook.
I know the Palm Vx is now considered kind of obsolete, since it
doesn't have any expansion slots, color, or the new universal connector
that Palm's been touting, but this isn't a technology that changes
every two years. Sure, new things are added, but the Vx is a lot like
the old USRobotics Pilot from 1997.
Would I suggest one? If you're a gadget freak (like me), need to be
organized, or don't want to have to haul around your laptop, you might
consider a handheld from Palm (or maybe a Palm clone: Handspring, Sony,
Handera).
There is almost no learning curve, especially for a Mac user.
Coming up last week: Why my ISP (like mine) went down. :-P
Coming up next week: A really "low-end" Mac?
