Customer Reviews

PalmOne IIIx Handheld

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

The big questions these days is what organizer to get. I'll assume you are reading these reviews because you already know that the Palm OS beats CE any day. So the choice is a Palm Vx, a Palm V, a IIIx or a Visor. I can't recommend the Visor right now due to the horrible problems people are having with Handspring...maybe in another year, but not now.

The new Vx is a good choice, lots of memory and the other advantages of the Palm V like a better screen, and rechargeable battery. But the darn thing is still overpriced. If money is no problem though, I'd probably go with the Vx.

The V is good too, but only 2 meg of memory...yuck! Now, 2 meg of memory is going to be enough for a lot of people. If all you want to do is the basic appointment/phone book/to-do stuff, 2 meg is more than you'll ever need. But that's it...you're stuck with 2 meg and can't upgrade (easily). If you are interested in using your Palm to do internet stuff, grab webpages with AvantGo, play games, read books, etc. you're going to find yourself a bit squeezed by 2 meg. You can still do quite a bit, but it's a bit more work to manage your space.

Now, for less money you can get the IIIx. You'll have twice as much memory, and the ability to upgrade. I personally put on the TRG xtra xtra pro board which gave me 4 meg more of RAM and 2 meg more Flash...it's like having an 11 meg Palm! Really great. Of course, I bought this before the Palm Vx came out, today it's not quite as good a deal to do.

One other reason I like the Palm IIIx is that I have a lot of add-ons that only work with it...the Palm Navigator (compass), the Weatherguide, Landware's GoVox voice recorder, etc. I don't believe these will fit a Palm V. Of course, it goes both ways....Palm's new 33.6 modem and the new wireless Omnisky modem only fit the Palm V.

I do believe the Palm V has a better screen, it doesn't seem to have the streaks that a lot of the Palm IIIx's have. And there's no doubt it has a certain "coolness" factor. Most of my friends at work went with the Palm V. But they are fairly impressed with the space and the accessories I have for my Palm IIIx.

If you don't want to spend all that money on the slimmer, sleeker Palm V, and you know you don't want a WinCE device, then the IIIx is the way to go.

The IIIx has the same screen technology and processor as the IIIe, but twice as much memory. Some users have reported "streaking" problems on the screen. I have not experienced that. In most cases, my screen is very clear and readable.

However, Palm recently introduced the "reverse backlighting" feature that inverts the color when you turn it on. It's great when you're sitting in very dark conditions, but in dimly lit rooms or during twilight outside, it can be quite difficult to read the screen because of the reverse backlighting. I learned, though, that there is a simple Graffiti shortcut to make the backlight "normal". Even with the normal backlighting, I had trouble reading the screen in twilight conditions.

Another feature of the IIIx that the IIIe lacks is an upgradeable operating system. This was the deciding factor for me when I chose the IIIx over the IIIe. The current PalmOS is 3.3, but the IIIe was shipping with 3.1 when I bought the unit for a friend for Christmas. The IIIx also had 3.1, but I immediately upgraded it to 3.3. There is no way to do that on the IIIe.

You may ask, Why would I need OS 3.3 instead of 3.1? Here's one reason: HotSyncing via infrared. OS 3.1 can't do it. If you're a laptop user and don't feel like carrying your HotSync cradle everywhere, or springing the extra money for a USB cable, then IR is a great feature. It's slower than the cradle, but way more convenient.

The IIIx also has an internal expansion slot that the IIIe lacks. Supposedly, you can open up your IIIx and plug devices like pager cards, etc., into it, but I don't think many of these devices exist right now. It wasn't a deciding factor for me.

Many people (including myself) have wondered: Why get a Palm IIIx instead of a Handspring Visor Deluxe? Here's is my reason, that I don't see many people mentioning: like the IIIe, the OS in the current Handsprings CANNOT be upgraded. That means if it ships with OS3.1, you are stuck with it.

If upgrading your OS is important to you, you should not get a current model of the Visor. (Perhaps in the future, their models will be upgradeable.)

The other reason I chose the IIIx over the Handspring was that Handspring was experiencing 6 week delays. I know that another reviewer has said he got his in 2.5 weeks, but if Handspring's own website is saying "It's going to be 6 weeks," then you pretty much have to take it at face value. I just checked their site as I write this, and it says their wait is down to four weeks. If you can wait that long and don't need an upgradeable version, then I would take a hard look at the Visor. It has a lot of attractive features. Remember that Visors ship with a USB cradle. If you don't have USB support on your computer, you'll have to purchase a serial cradle for (I think) $10.

As far as cost goes on the IIIx, shop around a little if you're cost-conscious.

To sum up, get the IIIx if:

(a) You can't afford/don't need the slimness of the V or Vx (b) Need the extra memory compared to the V or IIIe (c) Need the upgradeable OS or IR HotSync (d) Can't wait the possible 4 weeks for the Visor.

Hope this info is useful.

I bought by Palm IIIx on a whim. I figured, "Well, everyone else seems to think they're great." They were right. The Palm IIIx is fantastic. For me, the best features are its address book and the "To Do List." Gone are the little scraps of paper I used to use to keep all my lists of stuff to do. I've been completely neglecting my paper address book ever since I got the IIIx. Between its small size, its ease of use, and its versatility, this Palm is a winner all around. BTW, I highly recommend the O'Reilly PalmPilot guide to go with it. Like all O'Reilly books, this one cuts right to the chase. It makes the IIIx even easier to use.

I have wanted a Palm Pilot since they came out and being a poorcollege student, I wanted to make sure that I got the best dealpossible. I have had my Palm IIIx for about a month and I can say that I am quite pleased with it. There are a few flaws, but I will present the pros and cons of purchasing a Palm IIIx. Please email me with any questions.

Pros: -There is an abundance of software out there and several sites. More software is coming out daily and some of my favs are jot, Traffic, Four.zero, and flash, among others. -You will get a lot of attention, this is a great toy and people are interested in it. -an excellent way to get organized, much more fun than a pad a paper and plus, there are alarms to remind you of important dates. -The handwriting recognition is superb. I once owned a Davinci which has horrible recognition. I would also suggest Jot, which is a program with a more advanced handwriting recognition system. -Customer support is ok, I'm not blown away by it but I can understand because there are a lot of palm users out there. -The price. In my opinion, it is the best value out there.

Cons: -yes, you have heard it everywhere. The backlight is pretty weird. But it's not terrible, it does the job -I have had mine crash twice in a month, but luckily only one time did I lose data. There is a "soft" reset which comes in handy -Everyone else says the hotsych is great, but I have had problems with it. I cannot get it to work on my computer, but that may be the exception. -no color display, but hey, I can live without it because it costs hundreds of dollars more.

Overall, great product. It's fun and helps me to be more organized. Buy it!

I have to say that I've grown very dependent on my IIIx. I'd give it a score of 5 except for the streaking problem. Mine didn't do this right away. It started hapening about 6 months after I began to use it. Sometimes its there sometimes it isn't. When its there, the streaking (looks like water was spilled on a sheet of ink writing) can make the screen totally unreadable. Five minutes later, all can be fine. PDA need to be dependable. Mine isn't always. Before I started reading other reviews, I thought mine was just broken. I was considering buying another but not if by luck, I get another "streaker". Even though I like the IIIx, its reasonably priced (though still expensive), has great software options, I'd be cautious about buying another one. Probably wouldn't go with the IIIx if I had known about the streaking problem in advance.

Just wanted to say to anyone who, like me, was not sure whether to buy the new, funkier Palm V or the Palm IIIx.. Just read all of the reviews listed here and your mind will be made up. Palm IIIx is upgradeable, more powerful and less money...ummm...tough choice.

I love it. Great software available. The only drawback I have found is the batteries. 2 AAA batteries are not enough. They learned and the V has lithium batteries. Oh well.

As an obsessive-compulsive middle-management suck-up, I knew that I would ultimately own a Palm of some sort. Deciding which PDA to purchase proved extremely difficult.

First, WinCE devices were ruled out. They're just too darned expensive to justify being able to listen to media files and have your batteries run out every other day because of the power drain from the color display. Plus, I'm sick and tired of Windows. I wanted something new.

That leads to the Palm platform. Next question: Palm or Handspring? I asked a friend who bought a Handspring about a month ago. "Don't do it," he said. "I spend more time fixing this thing than I do using it for any relevant purpose."

Well, that left the 3Com Palm series. Now, do I get the Palm IIIx, the Palm V, or the Palm VII?

The Palm VII is just to darned expensive. It's up there with the WinCE devices, and I just don't have the need (or the desire) to be able to 1-Click stuff from Amazon.com while I'm in the middle of the Sahara. If I'm going to shell out that kind of money, I may as well get a Cassiopeia, or whatever it is called.

I liked the looks of the Palm IIIx, but I had to wonder why the Palm V was consistently outselling the IIIx.

After a little research, I can't believe that anybody would shell out another $100 for a Palm V. Your hard-earned B. Franklin gets you a smaller, fancier case and no capacity for memory expansion. I settled for a Palm IIIx, a leather case, some styli, and Tiger Woods Golf, and ending up spending $250.

I no longer need to carry around the 10-pound paper organizer that used to store my life history and marked me as obsessive-compulsive (or just plain disorganized). I can take notes and schedule meetings on the bus. And I can play a round of golf without leaving the comfort of my own bathroom. George Jetson and Sigmund Freud would be proud.

Okay, so it doesn't do everything, and it's not in a metal case - BUT - you can do email, addresses, schedule, and much more. This PDA can organize your life and add functionality to YOU. I love it! gives you newspapers, tv listings, maps and more. You need, want, desire the increased memory - trust me. If you want a functional PDA, and not a metal wrapped toy, you want the IIIx, or wait til feb for the III color.

As for the syncing issues, the new 3.3 Palm OS allowes for IR hotsync and improved email transfer. And let's talk about batteries - the IIIx will go for weeks - and you change the batteries when you like - the V doesn't meet the challenge.

I had a PalmPilot Professional that died, so I got the IIIx. I am thoroughly thrilled with it, especially the weighted stylus and the better screen resolution.

One suggestion: download the hack to make the backlight normal. Instead of the text being dark against light, the backlight makes the text light against a dark background, which looks a little weird.