Features

• 16MB RAM
• Large LCD display (61mm x 79mm) with adjustable contrast control and RoyalGlo backlighting
• Full touch screen operation, with 160 x 160 dot resolution
• Optional folding external keyboard
• Flip-top cover

Features

• 8MB memory
• Large LCD display (61mm x 79mm) with adjustable contrast control and RoyalGlo backlighting
• Full touch screen operation, with 160 x 160 dot resolution
• Flip-top cover
• Operating system stored in flash memory for easy upgrade

Reviews (4)

Great for the less technical mind!
This item was a breeze to set up and use. My computer skills are marginal and I purchased it as a gift for my husband so of course I had to make sure it worked LOL. I only needed to glance at the manual it was soooo easy. And very affordable. I realize it may not be top of the line but still has a lot of features and preforms them well and for the price is perfect for someone who doesn't need or want all the bells and whistles. Over all loved this item.

Reliable and Tough
I am a 13 year old student who wanted a PDA simply to write down homework and other important appointments. After owning the PDA for about a month it has been spectacular.

It is reliable and extremely easy to use. It can store appointments, fincances, to do tasks, notes, and even includes a fun matching game along with much more. It also has a calander which combines everything that you have put on your to do lists and appointments and allows you to view everything in a daily, weekly, or monthly format.

There are two downsides to this product. The first is that it has a very short battery life, which should be expecting when having 8 megabytes of hard drive and only being powered by 2 triple A batteries. You can work from an AC power supply when handy though. I go through about 2 batteries a week from working on the palm about 10 or 15 minutes a day away from AC power.

The other downside is that the palm has an attendemcy to randomly freeze. When it does this you must hit the reset button on the back of the palm. Unfortunatly, to restart you must clear your settings in some way. Thankfully the quickest and easiest choice does not lose your appointments, to dos,notes, and other memory. You do have to reset the time, date, and location however, which becomes annoying.

Overall, for surving a month of being viciously shoved in and out of my back pack each day, and still working, I would say this product is durable, and definitly worth the money you pay.

You get what you paid for
I'm a college student and the only thing I need a PDA for is to keep track of my appointments, write short notes about homework, and as an address book. I've owned my Royal 8 for six months now. This is probably the least expensive PDA you'll find that has handwriting recognition and 8 MB of memory. Since it doesn't have a lot of features, it was very easy learning how to use it. The included alarm is helpful as an appointment reminder or as an alarm clock.

However, the handwriting tends to be detected very slow; you have to wait a second or two before writing the next letter, otherwise it will not identify it.

Two months after using the PDA, the backlight wouldn't work anymore. Lately the unit tends to freeze when I turn it on. I have to reset it whenever this happens. Although you can select to partially reset the memory (allowing you to keep your Address and Schedule data), you still have to program your clock and calendar everytime you do this.

The good news is that I bought the extra warranty (recomended) and I'm thinking about exchanging it. Who knows? I might have just gotten the bad one of the batch?! By the way, I would also recomend in getting a case for it. The included cover scratched most of the paint off in the first two weeks of carrying it in my purse.

Overall, if the only thing you need a PDA for is to keep track of your appointments and contacts, this will be a good option for a lot less money than the other well known brands.

Good PDA / Mediocre Software
The PDA itself is good -- lightweight and user friendly.

The software (particulary installation) is not user friendly. I am a programmer and advanced software user, so if I find the synchronization software clumsy, it might be very hard for a beginner to figure out.

Royal's desktop program is only so-so, so I am using Outlook and synchronize it with the PDA using the CompanionLink. Items in the "Personal" category are a little bit of a glitch, so unless you need to segregate the two, I would recommend storing everything in the "Business" category to eliminate problems when synchronizing.

For the price, though, it's a good buy. $... vs. $... for a Palm Pilot and most features are just about the same. ... Read more

Product Description

Charge and sync your PDA with one convenient cable. Transfer data from your PC to your PDAor vice versaand charge your handheld at the same time. A USB cigarette lighter adapter means you can recharge on the go, too.

... Read more

Product Description

BELKIN COMPONENTS (F8Q2002-HP) 9VoltAdapterCompatiblewithHexH3600H3700 ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Get the memory, versatility, and speed of a much more expensive handheld with the affordable Handspring Visor Neo. This striking, red handheld comes with 8 MB of memory, allowing you plenty of space to store thousands of names, addresses, appointments, memos, to-do items, expense items, and e-mails. Plus, the Visor Neo runs with a fast 33 MHz Motorola Dragonball VZ processor--the same as in the Visor Edge.

Expand the capabilities of your Visor Neo with the built-in expansion slot, which lets you turn your handheld into an MP3 player, pager, modem, and GPS receiver. Just slide an optional hardware or software Springboard module into the slot on the back, and your Visor Neo takes on a new function with no configuration or additional software required.

The Handspring Visor Neo runs the popular Palm operating system, so it is fully compatible with thousands of Palm OS applications. Plus, Handspring has added features to the Palm OS, like an advanced datebook, calculator, world clock, and built-in floating-point math support. Enter memos and notes into your Visor Neo with the easy-to-use Graffiti handwriting software.

With the Visor Neo's speedy USB connection, synchronizing data with your desktop has never been easier. Just place your Visor Neo into the included USB cradle and exchange data with the touch of a button. The Visor Neo's infrared port lets you beam data to other handhelds, and it also has a built-in microphone for use with digital voice recorder modules.

The Handspring Visor Neo comes with a USB HotSync cradle, stylus, snap cover, desktop synchronization software for Windows and Mac, software link for synchronizing with Microsoft Outlook (Windows only), two AAA batteries, and a one-year warranty. E-mail support is included for Microsoft Outlook, Lotus cc:Mail, and Qualcomm Eudora. ... Read more

Features

• Affordable handheld with 8 MB RAM stores thousands of addresses, appointments, to-do items, and more
• Built-in address book, to-do list, memo pad, date book, advanced calculator, and world clock
• Use expansion slot to turn the Visor Neo into an MP3 player, modem, GPS receiver, and more with optional Springboard modules
• USB docking cradle with HotSync allows you to synchronize data with your desktop in seconds; optional serial cradle available separately
• Runs Palm operating system works with thousands of Palm OS applications; compatible with Windows 98, Me, and 2000 and Mac System 8.5 or later

Reviews (41)

great value and quality, but may not be right for everyone
I've had the original Visor for about 1.65 years (nice, black plastic that feels like that of a TV remote, 2MB of RAM, Palm OS 3.1, 4 shades of grayscale, 50% slower processor than the Neo) and the Visor Neo purple (I don't care if it says blue on the box, everytime I look at it, I see purple/indigo) for about 5 months now. I primarily made the upgrade to a Neo over the original mostly due to the extra RAM and faster processor. The new version of the OS and continuing Springboard compatibility were additional plusses. Finally, It was priced cheaper than what my Visor had cost, had free shipping, and came with a free promotional nylon carry-case (the one with the big zipper, 1 big pocket for your handheld, 2 mini-pockets for any Springboard modules, and a little room left over to squeeze something else, like a set of headphones).
Here's my detailed breakdown of the Neo:

Palm OS: If you've ever played around with a Palm OS before, then you gotta admire its simplicity. There's Very little micro managing, relatively low problems, and has thousands of applications available. This platform is also used by 75% - 90% of the handheld community, so unless they're sticking with their cell phones, you'll be able to freely-exchange software, contact info, and variety of other things. Unless you're hardcore on viewing video, listening to mp3s, or other heavy multi-media tasks, PalmOS should suit you fine.

Exterior: has that "cheap, greasy plastic" feel in where fingerprints and body oils smudge very easily on it. Would-have been nice if there was an alternative to this, but I've gotten used to this. Having a snap cover as opposed to a flip cover means that you'll need 2 hands to open/close it, but I've gotten used to this too. They're 3 different colors, mine being opaque/translucent, lighter-colored ones being more transparent/translucent. If your cover is also clean, you'll be able to see your screen without removing the cover, which can be convenient due to what I've mentioned previously.

HotSync/Palm Desktop: Easy setup, easy to use. Backs up your handheld, lets you enter data onto PC and sync it over to your handheld, as well as new software. It'd be nice if it displayed important notices more clearly, such as same files being duplicated because of different information from HotSyncing. Currently, you need to go through the logs to pinpoint this. All in all very well done (with a backup module to provide fail-safe if something should go wrong)

Screen: Grayscale does look ugly next to a color screen and/or higher resolution screen, but you do get your "returns" with a less expensive and less power draining PDA. For me, it would've been nice to view pictures, maps, and games in color, but the grayscale gets the job done quite adequately. Pressure detection on the screen produced minimal concerns, as several times I would miss when I try to click on very small targets, although it may have been like that because I miscallibrated the detection accuracy.

Battery life: the 2 AAA alkalines last me about 2 weeks when I do an hour of gaming or other heavy use a day, while over 3.5 weeks with more mild usage of daily lookups and small notetaking. If this is a concern for you, nickel cadium batteries should save you money. Even though Handspring doesn't recommend this, it's moreso a battery guage monitoring issue than performance/damage-wise.

Reliability: As of with my Neo, I never had any fatal problems. Certain times I had to soft reset because of missing files for some applications caused errors that prompted me to do so, but I never had any information losses, freezes, or crashes. With my original Visor however, loading tons of games or something caused it to "downward spiral". This is where day-by-day, the performance and operation gets noticeably worse (like Win 98 from when you first use it fresh from a reformatted hard drive to4 years later when you need to reboot the damn thing 2-12x a day). Soft-resetting my old Visor temporarily solved this problem for a few days at a time, but ultimately a hard reset (purging all of your data) was required to, yet again, Temporarily remedy this problem. Tech support (NOT a toll-free number BTW) was kind enough to promptly send me a replacement (but first sending me an actual return box to put the defective handheld in. Procedures.... humph).

Springboard: Of the 2 Handspring handhelds I own, both aren't tremendously innovative compared to what the competition has to offer, but are nice values, so I'd generally recommend them to anybody. However, if you aren't going to bother dealing with them modules, I'd recommend you consider the Palm series or even a PocketPC, just to keep your options open. If you Are primarily interested in Visors for their Springboard modules, then poke around online and other places to find out more information, specifically, what modules you would use, availability, and prices. Thankfully, modules no longer cost "an arm and a leg" like they did years ago, but certain combinations of purchases can still deplete your wallet quickly. Many models of the latter 2 also have some sort of expandable data storage/backup and can even mimic the functionality that Springboard technology offers for Visors (e.g. certain Palms have wireless email/web capabilities and PocketPCs have a built in mp3 player). As for myself, I currently own 4 different kinds of modules: 8MB backup module (peace of mind for in case my PC AND my Visor BOTH fail), 16MB Hagiwara flash memory (expandable storage for databases, Ebooks, and games), a 2MB flash memory + "silent" vibrating alarm (for the limited amount of memory and also being cheap), and the SoundsGood mp3 player I managed to find on Amazon Marketplace (I plan on getting a REAL mp3 player soon, but this novelty item does come in handy for when I don't lug the player around).

Great PDA for the price
I bought this PDA after researching similar models, namely the Palm m105 and the Sony CLIE. The display on the Visor Neo is bigger and sharper than the Palm's and it takes little effort to push the buttons. As far as expandibity goes, no handheld comes close to matching the myriad of different expansion modules available for the Visor. In addition to being hipper looking than other PDAs, it's very lightweight and fits easily in my jeans pocket.

The other factor affecting my decision to purchase the Visor Neo model was that it runs on AAA batteries. They don't tell you this when you buy your handheld, but most handhelds that use rechargable lithium ion batteries need to sent back to the manufacturer after about 2 years to have the battery replaced. This little service can cost $$$, almost what you'd paid for the PDA itself! I use Rayovac rechargable alkalines in my Visor Neo which I can reuse up to 50 times. It can easily go over a month without needing to replace the batteries. Even if you use regular disposable batteries, it's still cheaper in the long run.

Only downside I can think of is that the backlight isn't very useful unless you're working in total darkness and the OS isn't upgradable. Also, the screen can scratch easily so make sure you cover it with a thin piece of clear vinyl (available at fabric stores). Overall, this is a fabulous unit for the price and I'd recommend it anyone looking for a reasonably priced PDA.

Good for Beginners but watch out....
I have had my Neo for about 6 months now and use it several times an hour as I am a therapist trying to keep up with appointments and phone numbers all day in and out of the office. This thing had become like my right hand until last week when the batteries went dead. As before, I fetched some new batteries, put them in the back, closed the compartment, but...no power. Tried several other sets of batteries, still no power. My heart sank, considering all my appointments for the day (not to mention the month and previous few months) were in there and I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing that afternoon. After several attempts, the Neo powered back on but guess what? ALL MY INFORMATION WAS ERASED. Thankfully, I had hotsynched about 2 weeks before this event but not often enough to retrieve any information for the last two weeks or the following month. I have spent a solid week recompiling my appointments and phone numbers but, even so, all the phone numbers have my fax number in parenthesis before the actual number. I don't understand that, but whatever, it was easy to erase all that. Lesson learned here: if you purchase one of these, hotsynch daily and be careful of technical glitches in the programming. Myself, I am returning this and shopping for a color PDA NOT made by Handspring.

rock solid handheld
I have owned my handspring visor neo for more than a year and a half now. The machine is extremely reliable. It has never crashed on me, despite falling on the floor multiple times. The machine has never had any problems hot synching with the internet or any problems beaming with other handhelds. I use it daily as a medicine intern and rely heavily on epocrates and 5 minute clinical consult programs. The software is outstanding--very detailed and easy to use and continually updated and improving. Finally, the machine is reasonably priced when compared with other devices of similar utility. I have friends who paid more and received defective devices, and I feel lucky to have bought this one.

true story addendum: I recently got sick in the hospital and while vomiting, dropped my handheld into the toilet bowl. For three days it wouldn't turn on. Then, miraculously, it turned on. I managed to hot-synch all the data from my PC back onto the handheld without any problems. Amazing!

Best buy for a beginner
Basicly, what I want from a PDA include organization functions, being compatible with the majority of softwares available and the potential to expend the memory. With a resonable price, handspring Visor Neo gives me all! With plenty of Palm OS freeware, easy and quick synchronization, my PDA just become more and more valuable! And boy, they have the best customer support team in the world! ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

The Handspring Visor Deluxe is the hot new handheld that runs the popular Palm OS, so it's compatible with thousands of existing applications. It's also expandable with Springboard modules that can add extra memory or a modem, or transform your Visor into an MP3 player, video game, GPS receiver, and more. Plus, its fast-synchronizing USB connection is compatible with both the PC and Macintosh.

To set up the Handspring Visor Deluxe, we followed the Getting Started instructions printed on the software CD-ROM case, inserting the batteries, calibrating the touch screen, entering the date and time, connecting the included USB cradle to our PC (an optional serial cradle is available), installing the desktop synchronization software, and synchronizing the Visor with our PC. The entire setup process was straightforward and intuitive, requiring only about five minutes.

Fans of Palm Computing's Palm III line of connected organizers will have no difficulty using the Visor, as it runs on a licensed version of the Palm OS. All the popular Palm personal information management (PIM) applications are included and work exactly the same way as they do on the Palm. The Visor also uses Palm's Graffiti handwriting recognition system for text entry, which takes only a few minutes to learn and a few hours of practice to master. Handspring has added to the Palm OS an advanced date book, calculator, world clock, and support for floating-point math.

The Visor Deluxe comes with 8 MB of RAM, providing plenty of room for thousands of addresses, to-do items, and memos; hundreds of e-mail messages; and several years of appointments. It also includes a USB synchronization cradle, two AAA batteries, a stick-on Graffiti "cheat sheet," a leather slip case, a stylus, a Handspring logo decal, a Quick Reference Guide, inserts describing accessories and cases, and a software CD-ROM. The CD-ROM includes Palm Desktop Software 3.01, a software link to Microsoft Outlook, and the full-length User's Guide. However, the Visor Deluxe does not come with an AC adapter.

Using the Visor was intuitive and fun, just like the Palm III series organizers that it's based on. However, unlike the Palm, the Visor has an easily accessible expansion port that supports Springboard modules. For our tests, we installed a modem module, an 8 MB memory module, the Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf game, and a Physician's Desk Reference module (note that you can install only one module at a time). Installing these modules is very easy, and they can greatly increase the functionality, power, and usefulness of the Visor. (For more information, see the descriptions of the individual Springboard modules.

Overall, we were very impressed with the Visor. It takes the best of the popular Palm platform, and adds memory and expandability--all at a great price. --Mike Brown

Pros:

• Easy to set up and use
• Runs the Palm OS and supports thousands of existing Palm applications
• Expandable with Springboard modules
• Good price

Cons:

• No AC adapter included

Features

• 8 MB RAM stores thousands of addresses, appointments, to-do items, memos, and more
• Fully compatible with thousands of Palm OS applications
• Supports optional expansion modules for MP3 player, pager, modem, GPS, video games, and more
• Important note: If you are running Windows 95/NT or using a non-USB Macintosh, you must order the Serial HotSync Cradle separately

Features

• High-resolution color screen!
• 16MB, Palm OS software
• MP3 playback, Jog Dial
• Palm OS 3.5
• What's in the box: Sony Clie Handheld, Headphones, USB HotSync Cradle, Audio Remote Controller, Detachable AC Adapter, Memory Stick (8MB), Stylus, Installation CD-ROM, User Manual, Graffiti Sticker, Protective Cover

Features

• Same features as Jornada 548--32 MB of memory, CompactFlash expandability
• Sharp 12-bit color LCD screen--over 4,000 colors
• Includes MP3 player for listening to digital music, and audiobooks
• Manage your schedule with Pocket Outlook and your finances with Pocket Money
• What's in the box: Jornada 547, Stylus, AC adapter, Quick Start Guide, HP documentation pack, Microsoft ActiveSync CD-ROM, USB cradle

Reviews (145)

Reliable and Indispensible
I've been using my Jornada 548 for about 10 months or so. I use it every single day and it is rarely far from my grasp. It has performed beautifully with no noteworthy problems.

In the past several months I've been away from home a good deal of time, and my Jornada has been right there with me. Naturally, it has done all the typical things you expect from a PDA such as keeping my schedule, contacts, email, tasks, and day-to-day details of living. But it does oh so much more.

I have several CF Memory cards for my Jornada, but 90% of what I use daily is kept on a single 256Mb card. I store a large personal photo album, several hours worth of high-quality MP3 music, many excellent games, plus a boatload of other documents and applications on my Jornada, all on a single memory card.

I have the HP Jornada digital camera, as well. This is definately one of my favorite accessories. I plug it in to the standard CompactFlash slot, and the excellent software (included with the camera) automatically comes up on the screen. In a flash, my Jornada turns into a quality digital camera, ready to snap photos at the touch of a button. The highest image resolution is 640x480, but I find this more than adequate for most of my needs. One drawback is that the camera doesn't perform well in low-light conditions, having no flash capability. But when there is adequate light, or especially outdoors, it takes very beautiful pictures, easily rivaling some of the top standalone digital cameras at the same resolution. Since the camera occupies the memory slot, you must store the pictures in main memory initially, but it's a simple matter to move your pictures to a storage card when it's convenient.

MP3 playback is outstanding using the included Windows Media Player for PocketPC. It's even better if you upgrade the WMP to version 7.1. WMP 7.1 can also handle other audio and video formats, and is "skinnable" with different skins available from the Microsoft website.

I have a Socket DPC (Digital Phone Card) which allows me to connect to the internet via my mobile phone (a Samsung 3500). This has been a wonderful feature for me, since it allows me to collect and send email, converse with friends and family via Instant Messages, and surf the WWW....from anywhere, at anytime. It's like carrying the whole world around in your purse.

The downside of connecting to the Internet via a mobile phone is the connection speed. At this time, most wireless connections are limited to 14kbps (i.e., snail speed). Big pain if you're in a big hurry, but if you don't mind the wait it's tolerable. The speed isn't really an issue for email or IMs, only for surfing. When I'm at home or near a phone jack elsewhere, I use a Pretec PocketPC 56k modem for a much faster connection.

The absolute best accessory for my Jornada is the Targus Stowaway keyboard. It folds up to a size only slightly larger than the Jornada itself, and folds out to a full-size keyboard. Indispensible.

This is where it gets fun. All of this stuff fits perfectly in my purse (and it's a fairly small purse). No matter where I am or what I'm doing, within mere moments I can unfold the keyboard, slip my Jornada onto its cradle, connect to my mobile phone and be on the Internet. True, there are other PDAs that can do that...but few can do it so elegantly and easily. I've done this at restaurants, in bars, in airports, in the car, in stores...all over. I've used it in stores to comparision shop for a product I've seen, at airports to check on flights, etc.

Because of the Jornada's flip-top cover, I don't need any extra, bulky carrying case for my PDA. I just close the cover and slip it into a slot in my purse. It's always at my fingertips, which is important to me since I use it for just about everything from shopping lists to bank accounts, schedules to contacts, and...well, everything. Honestly, the flip-top cover is a really big selling-point for me. I even got a couple in different colors to give my Jornada a little spice. It is so much more attractive than other PDAs I've seen, and much better protected.

On the technical side of things...sure, it's slower than most other PocketPCs on the market now. If you compare the speed of opening applications to, for instance, an iPaq, you will notice a difference. I wouldn't call the Jornada sluggish, though, and unless your a nut for speed, I very much doubt you'd find it troublesome. This is really only an issue if you expect to run processor-intensive games or multi-media applications (it does just fine with normal MP3s and MPEG video, etc.) If your looking for the ultimate high-power game machine, this isn't it. I run several very good games though, such as Pocket Gambler (Ziosoft) and Pocket Hustler (Godot) with excellent performance. The graphics are simply beautiful and gameplay is smooth.

The screen is hard to see outdoors, its true, but if you wait a few seconds while the screen brightens up, and then shade the screen from the sun, it is workable. Not ideal, but workable. I've found this most troublesome when in the car on a bright, sunny day. Something to think about.

It weighs a bit more than most, too, but I actually find the extra weight comforting. It feels solid and doesn't slip easily out of hand. The rubberized trim on the outside edge of the Jornada also adds to this, making it the most slip-proof PDA in its class.

Some have complained about the stylus or its location (recessed in the flip-top cover). Others love it. I'm one of the latter. I like the wider feel of the Jornada stylus as opposed to the ultra-thin ones found in most other PDAs. I find its location in the flip-top cover very convenient 75% of the time. The only time I find it inconvenient is when I remove the cover (to play a horizontally-oriented game, usually). With the cover off, there's no place to put the stylus. A minor detail, of course, but worth noting.

One thing I miss on the Jornada is a directional fingerpad. Again, this mostly relates to game-playing and isn't missed at all for most other applications. The Jornada does have, however, an up-down navigation wheel on the side, which doubles as an action button when you press it. I really like the location of the wheel and the easy motion. It's only really useful in the left hand, so it could be troublesome for lefties. But for us righties, it's perfect.

The "record" button, also on the left side, is another nice feature. The location is convenient for recording a quick voice memo, but isn't particularly prone to accidental activation. A good design.

My Jornada has proven very durable and reliable. It has been dropped a couple times on a hard surface, and came through without so much as a mark. No major glitches or problems. Naturally, there have been a few minor "blurps" here and there. But I've come to expect that with any kind of computer, big or small. I did encounter a problem once that made me decide to do a hard reset, but later I discovered I did so uneccessarily and could have fixed the problem with a few taps, had I known how. Furthermore, that particular problem was with third-party software, and not the Jornada per say. Luckily, I had a recent backup and didn't have to lose anything in the process. (Backup, backup, backup!)

I do a soft reset of my Jornada every once in awhile, maybe once every couple days. That's just me, and knowing how Windows has a way of "leaking" sometimes. Resetting in this way doesn't harm data or applications in the least and only takes a few seconds while it restarts. As long as you remember to save your work and close open applications, this is a good way to keep the memory glitch-free.

I use a task manager/screen organizer called WIS Bar. It sits on the top of your screen and has convenient, familiar icons for closing applications and so forth. I highly recommend this for PocketPC users. It makes managing open applications a snap. Look for it on the web.

I'm sure it's obvious I'm a big fan of the Jornada 548. My Jornada and I are inseperable, and I quite honestly wouldn't trade it for the top-of-the-line iPaq if you paid me. That said, I am extremely eager to try the new Jornada 648. The 648 model wasn't out yet when I got my 548, but from what I've read it sounds wonderful. Because of my positive experiences with my Jornada 548, I would definately consider upgrading to the 648 in the future. But even so, I am very content with my Jornada for now and indefinately.

If you're looking for a solid, dependable workhorse of a PDA...I believe the Jornada 548 may be worth a serious look, even over some of the newer, faster devices.

- Heather

Pocket PCs and Palms Too Big
I tried the HP Jornada 548 for a day or two and returned it in favor of keeping my RIM Blackberry 957. I've had every generation of CE device plus a number of Palms (latest is Palm Vx). I've found both to be much too big, too difficult to communicate with and too pull-your-information-oriented for easy use and on-body transport, especially when a wireless modem is added. The Blackberry has a built-in QWERTY keyboard and wireless modem and is about the size of a Palm Vx. The Jornada similarly outfitted with an OmniSky modem and Targus Keyboard approaches the weight of a small laptop, occupies nearly as much space and costs nearly as much. The Palm Vx similarly outfitted is nearly as heavy, large and costly. Couple lightness and small size with the RIM's ability to automatically accept e-mail pushed from ISP POP3 or Microsoft Exchange servers and you've got a near ideal go-anywhere communication tool. Add Go-America's Web access service and you can even browse the Internet.

I appreciate all of the nice features of the Jornada, but trying to build a laptop into a 5.5" by 3" case leads to too many compromises that, for me, outweigh the nicities.

I should note that the screen of the Jornada flickered when the OmniSky modem was transmitting or receiving. Most likely due to the fact that the modem and the Jornada share the power in each of their batteries with each other. That was the deal breaker that led me to return the Jornada and the OmniSky modem.

Quick shipment, but now there is a problem w/no response.
The product was shipped quickly. But now I cannot get the Pocket PC to connect to any PC. I have emailed the seller numerous times about this and they will not respond to me. Amazon is abolutely no help either, they will not do anything to help me. If I ever do get the problem fixed, I will change the bad rating for the seller.

HP Jornada 547/548
Great PDA, beats out any palm type device by a longshot in capability expandability. Only draw back is ever shrinking selection of aftermarket goodies for it due to the processor.

No Pocket PC 2002
For its day the 548 was a stunning piece of equipment. I have been a Jornada 548 owner since week 1 of its release. I am disappointed to report, however, that the older Jornada models have been left in the dust by the Compaq-HP merger. Ipaq'ers get an upgrade from the Pocket PC OS to the newer, marginally better Pocket PC 2002 OS. Although the OS is only moderately more useful, it is aesthetically more pleasing and is symbolic of the fact that the 548 will receive little attention or support from HP/Compaq ever again.

Also, the lack of back up batteries is quite a nuisance when you lose all drivers and software because you forgot to recharge the 548. Furthermore, and this may be my error, I never found a car charger for it which would have been useful given the adequate, but not stellar battery life.

I would suggest buying a newer piece of equipment, its worth the dough. ... Read more

Product Description

Amazing Savings! Siemens SX56 Pocket PC Phone's Retractable Cable Zip-Linq's uniquely designed retractable Siemens Pocket PC Phone's cable is a must for mobile PC users that require one of the most advanced space-saving technologies available. This compact spool of high-quality cable extends to more than two feet just by pulling. Simply pull again, and it retracts back into its durable housing. Sync and charge your Siemens™ SX56 Pocket PC phone without a cradle! Compatible with Siemens SX56, O2 XDA, AT&T, & T-Mobile Pocket PC - Phone Edition. ... Read more

Features

• Connection: 1 type A USB to 1 Siemens SX56 connector
• Max data transfer rate: 12MBps
• Expands: From 4" to 30"

Amazon.com Review

The Handspring Visor Edge proves what Palm V owners have known for some time: bulk is bad. Although we used to be overjoyed at the prospect of using any handheld organizer that was smaller than an attaché case, the Visor Edge has completely spoiled us on the superiority of slimness.

At 0.44 inches thick and weighing only 4.8 ounces, the Edge feels more like a futuristic data pad (which it should) than a deck of cards containing electrical circuitry. It's far more comfortable to slide into a purse or shirt pocket, and its anodized aluminum case is likely to withstand more bumps and jostles than earlier plastic cases. Further, its superior aluminum cover is the best available screen protector we've seen that ships with a PDA. Its hinge is spring loaded so that it snaps into place at a145-degree angle. You can push it back farther, to about a 260-degree angle, but unfortunately you can't rest it flat against the back of the Visor. Our only other minor complaint is that it takes a bit of practice to quickly release the cover's tab from the bottom of the device.

Another joy is the weighted metal stylus that comes with the Visor Edge. Earlier styluses were plastic afterthoughts that cheapened the experience of using a Visor. This one is the exact opposite: the barrel is slightly swollen where you rest your fingers, giving the stylus more heft that translates into a better feel for writing. The stylus attaches onto the outside of the Edge's edge by clipping a retractable post into a small groove at the top; the writing tip sits snugly in a holder at the bottom. Releasing the stylus is a matter of pushing a rocker switch to disengage the latch at the top--a motion that will take some practice. But although the stylus is clipped to the side of the Edge, it's remarkably sturdy and never came close to falling out during our testing.

Of course, slimness isn't the Edge's only advantage, even if it's the most notable. The Visor Edge packs in features common to Handspring's line of handhelds: it comes with 8 MB of memory, runs the Palm OS (version 3.5.2H, which unfortunately can't be upgraded due to the type of memory it uses), has a crisp gray scale screen, and includes Handspring-only software like Date Book+, City Time, and an advanced Calculator application. The Edge runs on an internal battery that's quickly recharged when you put it into the included docking cradle (which is a minimalist piece of art by itself).

A new software addition is Fast Lookup, a slick feat of engineering within the Address Book application. Press the Visor's scroll-up button to enter Fast Lookup mode, then use the other application buttons to tap out the name you're looking for. For example, the Date Book button represents letters A-L of a person's last name, while the Address Book button counts for letters M-Z. After a few presses, the name you want appears in the contact list. It's also worth noting that the Edge can perform a HotSync operation out of the box via infrared to your computer (earlier Visors couldn't).

The most noteworthy Visor feature is the Springboard expansion slot, which on the Edge turns out to be both an advantage and a detractor. To achieve the Edge's thin profile, the Springboard slot is no longer a part of the handheld itself. To add Springboard functionality, you must connect a rather bulky adapter onto the back of the Visor Edge, then slide Springboard modules into the adapter. On the plus side, you can use any Springboard module you like just as you would with any other Visor; the downside is that it ruins the thinness factor of the Edge.

However, if you think you'll use Springboard modules only occasionally and want the advantages of a slim and lightweight handheld organizer, you'll want to head for the Edge. --Jeff Carlson

Pros:

• Thin and light
• Best screen protection on any handheld
• New Fast Lookup feature in Address Book
• Rechargeable battery

Cons:

• Springboard adapter ruins thinness advantage
• Sometimes hard to release stylus and cover
• Operating system not upgradable

Features

• Ultrathin, light handheld with cutting-edge design
• 8 MB RAM stores thousands of addresses, appointments, to-do items, and more
• Features address book, to-do list, memo pad, date book, advanced calculator, and world clock
• Supports optional expansion modules for MP3 player, pager, modem, GPS, video games, and more

Reviews (1)

DON'T Buy It!
Handpring Visor is a wonderful product. However, I would NOT buy a reconditioned one from Amazon. I bought one and it didnt work. Amazon send me a replacement and it didnt work either.

Save yourself some nerves and time --- get something else. ... Read more

Features

• 40,000 entries with clear, concise definitions
• Special pronunciation feature for sounding out new and unfamiliar words
• Includes guide to variant spellings
• Brief guide to punctuation

Product Description

Sync and charge your PDA with one cable. The 3-feet cord accommodates most distances. This cable eliminates need for multiple cords or a cradle. Connect to your PC or laptop with minimal excess cord!This Fellowes Sync and Charge cable is designed for Sony Clie 610, 710, 760. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

In many of our PDA reviews, we say that PDAs can keep you working while you're on the road. In this case, we put that statement to the test; part of this review was written on the Jornada itself. You can organize your appointments, to-do list, address book, and more while you're traveling. You can also keep up with the latest news and stay connected to your desktop, all in beautiful color with the HP Jornada 420.

To set up the Jornada, we installed the battery pack, connected the AC power cord, placed the Jornada in its docking cradle, and followed the on-screen instructions. Then, we installed Microsoft Windows CE Services 2.2 and followed its setup wizard. The process was entirely straightforward, made painless by following the Getting Started card.

When you turn on the Jornada 420, you'll notice its CSTN LCD display--a type of passive matrix display--has colors that are as bright as those on many active matrix displays. You navigate through the Jornada's core information management applications by pressing several side-mounted buttons, designed for one-handed operation, or by tapping the stylus on the backlit display. The display has a transparent plastic shield to protect the screen while you read from it. The Jornada 420 is very comfortable to hold and operate. For text input, you have your choice of tapping the on-screen keyboard or using the Jot handwriting system.

In our test, on the desktop PC, we added a mobile channel to Microsoft Internet Explorer's channels. (The feature does not work with Netscape Navigator.) We then set the ActiveSync options to include channels during the synchronization process. After synchronization, we could read information from the channel at our leisure. We also moved a Note Taker file from the Jornada's My Documents folder to our desktop PC, where the file became part of this review.

As part of the HP family of PDAs, the Jornada 420 inherits many fine characteristics, such as rugged good looks, but as the smallest and most portable member, we also appreciated its unique identity.

Pros:

• Transparent display cover
• Attractive design
• Quick and easy setup
• Easy to learn and fun to use

Cons:

• No 9-25 pin serial adapter

Features

• Beautiful 256-color CSTN screen
• Supports CompactFlash modem, pager, memory cards
• Windows CE OS and Pocket Outlook
• 8-MB RAM
• What's in the box: HP Jornada 420 and stylus, HP Jornada battery, AC adapter, DC cable, Power cable, Sync cable, Cradle, Quick Start Card, Software, Documentation pack

Reviews (5)

Where is the MP3 player?
I bought this thinking it would be my do-it-all device. Voice recorder, address book, calendar/to do list, and mp3 player. It does it all except the MP3 player part. A reviewer said he loved the MP3 player capability. -NOT- If you load MP3 files into it, there is no player to play them. At least Win CE can not find anything to use to play them. Is the player an add on? If so, where can I get it.
Larry

Great Machine
You can also own one second-hand now at an EXTREMELY reasonable price. I've had mine for about six months now and it works great! I love it's mp3 feature, love the color screen, the battery life and the durability.
If I could have two wishes though, I wish it was a USB device. Transferring larger mp3 files from my pc just takes way too long over a serial connection. I had to buy a compact flash card reader to circumvent the problem.
I also found I have a real dislike for Windows CE. You have this beautiful color screen and it's just too cramped up with windows. Palm's OS really seems to flow better. I had heard that Window's new 'Pocket PC' OS had solved a lot of these problems, but I've yet to use it.
All in all though, it's an awesome buy for the price!

DARNED GOOD DEAL
WHEN I RECIEVED THE JORNADA, I WAS QUITE AMAZED AT IT'S CONDITION. IT WAS NEARLY PERFECT AS ADVERTISED, EVEN THE BOX. ONLY INSIGNIFICANT COSMETIC BLEMISH ON THE CLEAR COVER, BUT I THINK THAT'S TO BE EXPECTED SINCE IT'S A USED ITEM. OTHERWISE, THE DISPLAY HAS GOOD COLOR RESOLUTION. SINCE I'M NOT AT ALL FAMILIAR WITH WINDOWS CE, I'M HAVING SOME PROBLEMS, BUT I'M SURE THAT I'LL OVERCOME THEM. ALL IN ALL, IT WAS A VERY PLEASANT TRANSACTION WITH ONLY ONE EXCEPTION. I'D HOPED THE ITEM TO BE SHIPPED VIA UPS. IT WAS SHIPPED USING PRIORITY MAIL, BY U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, & I HAD TO TAKE A COUPLE HOURS OFF WORK & GO TO THE POST OFFICE TO SIGN FOR THE ITEM. BUT, SINCE IT WAS SUCH A GOOD DEAL, THAT WAS A VERY SMALL INCONVENIENCE THAT I CAN LIVE WITH. I WOULDN'T HESITATE MAKING ANOTHER PURCHASE THROUGH AMAZON.COM.........

Much better than Palm
This Windows CE device was what I needed after being tethered to a Palm Pro for over a year. I couldn't do much with the Palm, other than read mail and take notes. Now, it looks and feels like I'm taking my desktop with me. I bought a 32MB CF card with it, and I'm happy with it.

The only thing to improve would be the sound. That little speaker doesn't put out enough volume, however, through earphones it sounds good.

It fulfills all my requirements and is easy to operate.
The one button recorder is great. Push and hold the red outside button and it will automatically turn on the PDA and start recording. The financial calculator is accurate to the penny, an important software feature when calculating amortizations. The hard, flip top, transparent cover protects the screen well. The width is thicker than a Palm Pilot V. Thinner would be better. When you select a contact, it does not display everything about that contact on one screen, for instance, the notes about that contact. You have to go to edit and tap on notes to see the entire information on the notes, a slight inconvenience. It is easy to enter appointments or events in the calendar. It is easy to synchronize information between desktop and the PDA. The battery lasts a long time between charges, a very important feature. Overall, I am very happy to have selected this over the Palm Pilot V. I was able to eliminate a small taper recorder and my old, ever reliable HP financial calculator in my purse. This freed up space and weight. ... Read more