PalmOne IIIc Personal Handheld Organizer

[Archived in $200 - $300, PalmOne, Products]

Manufacturer: PalmOne
Price at amazon.com: Used from $45.99

List price $299.99



Product Features:

• 8 MB RAM stores thousands of addresses, to-do items, memos, and more
• Beautiful high-contrast TFT color display; includes extensive suite of color-enhanced applications
• Long-life rechargeable lithium-ion battery
• Easily transfer data from your handheld to your PC or Macintosh
• What's in the box: Palm IIIc, lithium battery, synchronizing HotSync cradle, protective flip lid, battery charger, metal stylus, organizer software, handbook, Palm's Getting Started guide, and a DB-25 adapter

Product Description:

For the technophile who refuses to see the world in black andwhite, 3Com's offshoot, Palm, has created the Palm IIIc connectedorganizer--a color version of the company's immensely popular Palm IIIconnected organizer. Measuring 5.06 by 3.17 by 0.67 inches andweighing less than 7 ounces, the Palm IIIc is one of the smallest andlightest full-color hand-helds available. Its active-matrix screenproduces vivid, crisp colors and is viewable from many angles in bothdim and bright light.While the color... read more


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Description from Manufacturer:For the technophile who refuses to see the world in black and white, Palm has created the Palm IIIc handheld--a color version of the company's immensely popular Palm III handheld. Measuring 5.06 by 3.17 by 0.67 inches and weighing less than 7 ounces, the Palm IIIc handheld is one of the smallest and lightest full-color handhelds available. Its active-matrix screen produces vivid, crisp colors and is viewable from many angles in both dim and bright light.

While the color screen may be enough to dazzle many prospective users, the Palm IIIc handheld still performs all the functions of earlier models of the Palm III. It offers date book, address book, mail, to-do list, memo pad, expense, calculator, and security applications. Its built-in 8 MB of memory is as high a storage capacity as is available in any Palm handheld. To quantify what 8 MB capacity means, the Palm IIIc handheld can hold 10,000 addresses, five years of appointments, 3,000 to-do items, 3,000 memos, and 400 e-mail messages. There is even leftover storage space for databases, books, image viewers, and games, making the Palm IIIc handheld an ally to any serious PDA user.

Equipped with a HotSync cradle and software, the Palm IIIc handheld is ready for local and remote synchronization out of the box. You can back up or transfer data to and from the handheld and your desktop PC or Macintosh (special connectors required) in minutes. It's also ready for a modem (available separately) and the Internet with its TCP/IP software. The Palm IIIc handheld includes an infrared port, allowing you to beam data and applications to any other infrared-enabled Palm OS handheld or to connect to other infrared-enabled devices such as cellular phones, pagers, and laptops.

The Palm IIIc handheld runs for about two weeks on a fully charged lithium battery, which is included. The box also includes a synchronizing HotSync cradle and battery charger, a metal stylus, organizer software, a handbook, Palm's Getting Started guide, and a DB-25 adapter.Average Customer Rating:

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Comment: Very handy but crashes sometimes Rating:
The first Palm IIIc that I bought died after about a week of usage - the screen would never fully lighten up but you could somewhat make out the text. I returned it, and since have only had another problem. One day I was using it and then it had a "fatal exception", upon restarting I found that ALL of my data was lost, which was restored upon resync. Apparently I had installed some apps which corrupted the system - beware of what you install.

Despite the first bad two things, I love the IIIc. I find it very useful from day to day, and personally I dont think I could live without the color. It allows me to put things in a different color (Datebk4 or action names) which draw my attention to that particular item... also it makes the PDA easier to read and more like a PC. One comment about the screen is that you can barely see it in bright light or direct sunlight, even with the screen brightness turned all the way up.

So i'd say it's worth the $.. it has PLENTY of memory - i have tons of stuff on there and im only using 4.5 mb...and i love the color..just be forwarned that there might be some kinks.

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Comment: First color PDA Rating:
Of all the PDAs I have owned, this was the first with a color display. You may have heard others say it before, and I will definately agree - once you go color you never go back. I was impressed with the screens ability to display colors. You might expect Palm's first try at a color screen to only be partially successful. But, they did quite well. While the screen may be lack the brightness to be easily read in bright sunlight. It does allow for the use of the PDA when in a poorly lit room. Which is the more common scenario.

Unlike some of other previous Palm III models, the IIIc features 8mb of storage and an internal, reachargable battery. I used this PDA on a daily basis for over a year and only noticed a very slight reduction in the battery's ability to hold a charge and I can not express how thrilled I was to no longer have to purchase batteries for my PDA.

What did I not like? Of course there is the fact that 5 months after the IIIc came out, Palm decided to release its new line of 500 series with SD/MMC slots. Not as though I could have predicted it. The IIIc also comes with an attached flip cover to protect your screen. There is the option to remove the cover if you find it rather annoying. Which I did. Instead of the cover included, I would have preferred something closer to what the iPAQ used - a hard flip cover for the screen that allowed navigation with the buttons while still permitting the user to view the screen.

If you are looking for a PDA with mulitmedia features, this is not the one for you. If you want a PDA that is capable of holding documents, contact information, games, and can do so in color, then the IIIc will suit you quite well.

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Comment: 3 1/2 Years of Day in and Day Out Use Rating:
The Palm IIIc is by all accounts a dinosaur by today's PDA Standards. But there was a time when this was leading-edge PDA technology. Back in 2000, this was Palm's first entry into the Color PDA market (using a Palm OS). In fairness, the market and technology have truly now headed to pace where most consumers can't even keep up. However, if you aren't interested in having the latest/greatest technology, the Palm IIIc may be a true bargain if you are looking for solid PDA technology.

When Palm released the IIIc, it was based on the highly successful flagship PDA - the Palm III. It would contain 8MB of memory - back in 2000 this was very good. It also would make use of a lithium ion battery. No more battery changes - you could easily just place the Palm IIIc cradle and a AC Adapter would plug into the cradle and you could get a charge (and powering on a PC was not necessary). While the standard Palm III had a gray casing, the IIIc was more black. There was a rumor that the color display was a battery hog. I can honestly say in the 3 1/2 years I had my Palm IIIc, I never had an issue regarding the battery. It comes with a sturdy stylus. The OS that comes with the Palm IIIc out of the box is OS 3.5. I never bothered or had a need to upgrade it - it did the job just fine for me. I never had an issue with loading applications. I make major use of HanDBase and AvantGo and all the applications run smoothly with no crashing.

There are two issues I have had with the device. If you are buying this used - you should be aware of them. The first is the cover - the cover is plastic and is essential for keeping your screen clean and scratch free. Twice I have had the problem of a crack in the plastic on the hinge area. I had a heck of a time trying to get a replacement (see my next paragraph on accessories) - I eventually got one used and payed way too much for it on an online auction. That one then cracked as well and this time I resorted to superglue. The second issue is that after 3 1/2 years of use, the writing area has seemed to have worn out and my Graffiti isn't getting recognized consistently anymore I used the Palm IIIc everyday - several times a day. It got a workout, but I still expect that to last longer than it did. It was this problem that led me to upgrade my PDA.

Accessories are in general a consumer ripoff with any product and Palm IIIc is no exception. What I have noticed about PDA accessories - especially Palm ones is that they are way overpriced when they are being sold, but if you wait to long you can't get replacement parts. I thought it was ridicolous how difficult I had to look around for a replacement cover. If you buy this used, you won't have an easy time getting accessories and parts. On the positive side, I did wait and get a keyboard and Travel adapter that was being cleared out in a clearance rack at a rock bottom price ($30 for keyboard and $20 for travel adapter). Just another gripe here -why can't Palm (or anyone else) figure a way to let you upgrade your PDAs and keep all of your same accessories. I think people would be more apt to upgrade their PDAs.

One other note on the color display - it won't give you nearly the same pixel resolution that you can get on today's newer models, but it isn't all that bad.

Look out and you may actually get a great deal and get a lot of use. Ask a lot of questions on the condition of it if its used. I got 3 1/2 years of some of the toughest daily use around. I feel I got my money's worth.

Posted at November 11, 2003 07:32 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)