PalmOne IIIe Handheld

I had a Palm IIIe around when it first came out, then eventually replaced it with a smartphone, but over the years often found myself missing this device.In order to jot something down on one's phone, one has to unlock the phone, navigate to the memo app, and input text using one's fingertips.When I switched from the Palm IIIe to a smartphone, I started carrying little notebooks to compensate for the loss of this device.In order to jot something down on this device, one presses a button to simultaneously turn on the device and navigate to Memo Pad, and then one inputs text using the attached stylus.Memo Pad is one of the four physical buttons that work that way, the other three are To Do List, Date Book, and Address. I remapped Address to Expense--of course the physical button can't help but still show a telephone receiver, but it's nice that remapping is allowed anyway.There are three other physical buttons: power and navigation (up and down). Pressing down the power button for two seconds turns on the backlight.In addition to these physical buttons, there are four that always appear on the touchscreen--Calculator, Search, Home, and Menu. Centered among these four is the text input area, where you can write Graffiti or bring up a little on-screen keyboard. If you need to remind yourself how to write a particular symbol in Graffiti, you can bring up a reference by sliding your stylus upward from the text input area.My device has no access to the Internet, which is great for security. It has a mail app, so presumably it's possible to give it Internet access somehow (I haven't looked into it), but it has no web browser.I'm not sure how I would sync my smartphone's memos with my desktop computer (I suppose via the Internet). To sync with this device, you put it in its cradle (which is connected to your computer via cable), press the HotSync button (it's the only button on the cradle), and see a progress bar pop up in Windows and vanish a few seconds later. In order to connect this in 2020, you need to also buy a USB to RS232 serial port adapter, and to install (free) Palm Desktop 4.1 (rather than the latest version), and configure it to use the correct port.The battery life on this device is measured in weeks rather than hours, and it runs on a pair of AAA batteries.The device comes with a removable sturdy plastic flip cover which protects the touchscreen, so you can put the device in the same pocket where you keep your keys and loose change, leaving your wallet and password-protected smartphone in the other. I reach for my Palm IIIe more often than I reach for my phone.

Unless I am missing something completely this device DOES NOT USE NOR RUN ON AAA BATTERIES! Please correct and enlighten me if I am wrong. Since I travel a lot I bought for the very reason of using AAA batteries.

A few weeks ago I bought a Palm IIIe to keep track of all my high school assignments, and my addresses, and not a whole lot else. But iv'e found it can do much more! There are many, many great FREE software titles out there that make it much more than just a organizer. Im now using my Palm not just as a organizer, but as a TV remote control, a game boy, a drawing pad, and a tricorder (well not a real one but still). I don't see why you'd need more memory, unless youre doing extensive databasing or veiwing lots of web pages on it, because the 2 megs is more than adequate for me. If you are a student, I would definatly reccomend this.P.S.An essential prog for any student is "Due Yesterday" which i use to keep track of my assignments. I think i found it ot Download.com

Wow thing came fast, I still have my own personal Palm IIIe but I always like to have backups especially while they are affordable. This model was my first Palm way back in '99 and so I have a soft spot for it

Great unit for what I wanted. This keeps all of my grand children's birthdays, all of my favorite recipes close to my wheelchair so I don't have to get out my laptop or desktop to lookup some of my prize entries. Great product for a great price and everything is easy to find when on a search.

Let me first say that this is an incredible product for keeping organized as well as eliminating little slips of paper. That said, i will explain the simple reason behind my giving it a 1 star rating- i purchased the product through amazon and received it yesterday, and today it cracked. After reviewing the manual and calling 3com support, i was told only that the warranty does not cover physical damage to the unit AT ALL, and that i would have to pay $100 to get it fixed. So buyers beware when reviewing this product- its got a good OS, good tools, but in my experience it is quite obviously incredibly fragile.

Just what I needed, to transfer all my addresses.

I have had the Palm IIIe for almost 3 months. It is truly a great product. My only complaint is that the unit did not survive a 3 foot drop to the floor when it fell out of my top pocket while bending down at work. Even though the cover was closed, the glass broke and now the unit will not operate since it no longer reacts to touching the glass. Palm offers a $100.00 repair policy if it is mailed back to them. The only other way out is to purchase their (1 year 1 time) screen warranty for 30.00. The only problem with this is that you have to wait 30 days after buying the warranty before you can make a claim. Once you use one of these you can't stand to be without it for a day! Other than its fragile nature I do like it.