Toshiba 8GB High Speed SDHC Memory Card

(2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)This memory card is compatible only with devices (usually cameras) that can use SDHC, a relatively new high capacity memory card that greatly increases the storage space without changing the size of the card from the maximum 2 GB of regular SD cards. Check your camera/device to make sure you can use this before you spend the money. Otherwise, you'll have to settle for 2GB of SD memory. This card holds tons of 10MP photos -my camera lists 2000 photos at 9 megapixels, but I've never been able to max it out. If you really use a lot of memory, you may want to consider the pricier (and twice as large) Toshiba SDHC Memory Card 16GB.

Consumers should shop around for the best price in 8GB SDHC cards since one manufacturer doesn't necessary create a better card than another and since prices often change. As long as you stick with known brands and reputable dealers, you should not have any problems.

-Debbie Lee Wesselmann

Bought this for my mom and she loves it because she never runs out of space! Excellent deal for what you get.

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I bought thus elsewhere for less than bucks new and it is great. It is sufficiently fast for my needs. I bought it for my SLR camera and it can handle more than enough burst shots for me. Great price. I have used toshiba before and they are great products. Will buy again.

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I bought this card about 6 months ago and it has stopped working. I went to take a picture with my camera and an error message saying there is an error with the memory card came up on the camera. I have sandisk (2Gb) for years and havent had any problems with it. I will never buy this card again.

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TDK 16X DVD-R 50 Pack Spindle

TDK makes a very reliable blank DVD-R that can handle up to 4.7 GB of data including up to 120 minutes of video with or without sound. Moreover, these blank DVD-Rs are capable of recording data at speeds up to 16x. These are very useful blank discs to record video. Great!

The DVD-R discs are compact and easy to store and easy to copy to another blank DVD-R if you need to do that. While the discs are still blank, store them in the circular case on the spindle that they came in. After your burn data onto them, I would recommend storing them in slim jewel cases instead of paper sleeves. It's just better protection for your DVD-Rs that have data stored on them. Don't store these discs, burnt or blank, in rooms that become very hot; this causes damage to any brand of this type of disc and you could lose data over time.

There are two caveats about any brand of this product: when you burn the data onto the blank DVD-R, don't be surprised if you see that the data is burning at a rate slower than 16x. This can happen if your burner doesn't have the capacity to burn faster, or it may be a quirk. I am not a professional so I cannot be certain of precisely what causes this phenomenon; but I assure you that the extra minute or two (tops) that you wait to get your DVD-R completed is worth the wait. In addition, DON'T write on these using Sharpie ink pens. The ink can seep through the top coating of the DVD-R disc and slowly but surely compromise your data--and you wouldn't want that, now would you? If you need to label the discs, label its' jewel case using a post-it note.

Overall, TDK blank DVD-R discs store data reliably over long periods of time. I believe that an extra minute to burn the data onto the blank disc is well worth it in the event that it doesn't actually burn at 16x.

For general purpose everyday burning I like the TDK's. Probably not any better or worse than other major brands like Maxell and Fuji, but I like to stick to one or two brands to keep my collection consistent. For very special movies and music, I use Mitsui silver dvd's and gold CD-r's. These are reputed to be the best on the market. The have a 100-300 year archival lifespan. Kinda rediculous when you can burn a new copy of any disc if you're worried about losing information. Anyway TDK"s are great!!

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While I'm not an expert on writable media, I've certainly used a lot of it over the past 10 years or so. In the past, particularly in my college days, I bought as much as i could while spending as little as possible. Over the years, i have found this to be a short-sighted strategy for backing up my important files. Many brands are not very reliable over long periods of time. I've also moved many times and my disks have suffered some abuse int he process.

In my more mature years, i decided to stop wasting money on cheap disks that often resulted in burn errors and easily scratched disks and find a brand to which I could be loyal. So far, TDK has been my brand. I have been through 3 spools of 50-dvd for this DVD-r type in the past year and have gotten great results with these disks. These disks seemed to have more substance (i.e, weight / thickness) to them than some of the flimsier generic brands often found online. The price is fairly comparable to many of the other brands of the same quantity and seems to yield more consistantly successful burning and more durable results.

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For how little this spindle costs, I'm both surprised and delighted to report every single disc was written successfully. Used in an LG DVD burner and a Panasonic ES15 DVD Player/Recorder, there was no problem writing, reading, or closing any of the discs. Unless you specifically need +R for adjusting the book type field, this is a great value.

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I used the whole spindle of 50 and I am back for more. These dvd-r dics performed perfectly without a single bad burn! I have never used a whole spindle of discs without at least one bad disc(often times there were many bad discs with other more expensive brands). So I give this product my full endorsement, for whatever it is worth. I hope this wasn't a fluke but we will see as I am placing another order.

Order this spindle and you will be getting a great value.

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BoxWave HP iPAQ 211 Designio Leather Case - Premium Grade 100% Genuine Leather Wallet Style Flip Co

Very satisfied with this product, the only thing I did not like is the fact that you can not clip it to your belt, you have to get the vertical one for that I believe. The company messed my order up an sent me the case for the 100 series but they took care of the problem right away.

I did not like the case the iPAQ was in and wanted something nicer. This is perfect as I can access everything I need easily and keep small items in the front flap.

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This was a nice case for the money. Room for the PDA plus slots to hold a couple of extra SD cards along with a belt clip. Can't go wrong with this one.

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Excellent! Beautiful leather

Excellent! Beautiful fit

Excellent! Beautifully functional (extra SD card and stylus holders)

Excellent! Protection

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GearMo® Fast Infrared Adapter for Windows 7/XP/Vista USB 2.0 Infrared Adapter IrDA up to 4Mbps

Bought this to be able to communicate with my Dive Computer it has worked flawlessly! It installed in just a couple of minutes and has been very reliable

Bought this to download dive info from my Uwatec Aladdin dive computer to my Windows 7 PC. Easy installation didn't even need to run the CD that came with it. Love the USB cord, makes for easy alginment of the infrared with my dive computer. Price was significantly less than the manufacturer's infrared adaptor.

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I upgraded my computer which operates on Windows 7 my Uwatech IR reader was not compatable with the new software. Instead of purchasing another Uwatech Reader I purchased this reader, it works well and saved me money

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I have an old Palm Tungston E2. It would not connect to my PC to download in my new Windows 7. I discovered I could also use IR. My original IR worked very slowly, but it did the job. The original one broke and I purchased this unit. WHAT A DIFFERENCE. Speedy and starts up immediately.

I recommed it, it's great.

It waxs purchased at Amazon, and the delivery was great.

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The product worked right out of the box, no issues. I was using a Dell XPS with Windows 8. Connected to my Galileo Sol with no issues.

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NEW Replacement Apple Macbook 45w Macsafe Power AC Charger/adapter for Macbook Air A1244

It looks like the real thing, except the little light on the computer plug is much dimmer. A very close knock-off of the product that comes with an Apple MacBook Air. The price is right... 1/3 of an Apple replacement. And so far it works, which is more than I could say about the two Apple chargers I had.

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rooCASE Super Bubble Neoprene Sleeve Case for Acer Aspire One AO751h-1893 11.6-Inch (Black / Pink)

This case was absolutely perfect until the zipper on the small pouch broke soon after the case arrived. The case fits the Acer Aspire One 11.6 perfectly, and is really attractive. It also protects the computer very well. I love everything about the case except the zipper breaking. I don't know if the zipper breaking was a result of a poor design, or a manufacturing anomaly.

Amazon processed the return effortlessly. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to try this same case again, and test my luck with the zipper, or if I'll try something different.

If I knew that my zipper problem was a fluke, I would give this case 5 stars and buy the same one again in an instant. If I knew it was a design flaw and prone to happen again, I would give it none. Since I'm unsure, I'll give it four for now, until I hear from other customers about their experiences with the zippers.

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Doxie, the amazing scanner for documents

I decided to go fully digital with my receipts, leases, statements, etc. I initially bought a Fujitsu ScanSnap, which took me 30 minutes to realize it simply wasn't working (DOA I suppose). I then discovered Doxie, which costs a third of the ScanSnap, plus it's lighter, smaller, portable, and much more pleasant to look at while it sits on my desk.

Their software is a little funky, with the hearts and all, but it's also very lightweight and effective software. It hooks into many great applications and web services, and the company seems to be adding more every few months. If you use Evernote for your personal information control, then Doxie is great.

Overall, if you want to digitize your documents, this thing kicks ass. It's fast and small and very pretty.

Easy set up and super simple to use. Works perfectly with our Mac network. Great scanner for personal use. We are scanning the mountain of paperwork everyone keeps because they think they might need it someday, and shredding the hard copies. It's safer not having those account numbers lying around and much easier to actually find what you are looking for when you scan and file with the Doxie.

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First of all, I bought the Doxie from Amazon refurbished, although I don't think it made a difference from a new product, other than having to clean it a bit more during the setup process.

It's a really great concept, being able to scan and have the result automatically pushed to other apps and to the cloud. I find it really convenient. Doxie has helped me go mostly paperless, although scanning bulky things like instruction manuals is impossible unless you tear the pages out first.

It's great that I can scan a document and get it into EverNote, which syncs with the EverNote server automatically, to get a piece of paper into the cloud in under a minute.

Now on to the issues:

There's an issue between Doxie and EverNote where the title used for the document gets cut off after 8 characters. When you finish scanning a document it asks for a title, so I'll put something like "groceries receipt 9/12/2011". Then I always have to copy the title, hit the "Send" button to send it to EverNote as a PDF, but in EverNote the filename will get cut off to GROCER~1.PDF, and the same for the note title. Here I'll select the title in EverNote and paste what I copied from Doxie. It's a minor annoyance.

Another thing is where it's very easy to forget to change the scan settings for future scans. Say I'm scanning a photo in color with high dpi, and then a few minutes later dig up a black and white receipt to scan. I'll more often than not, put in the receipt and hit the physical scan button on the Doxie, forgetting to change to Grayscale with lower dpi--resulting in an unnecessarily huge file. Again a minor annoyance with the UI. It happens because after scanning the first photo, EverNote pops up on the screen, usually obscuring the Doxie window. Once I finish the copy & paste dance (the previous issue I mentioned), I forget that the Doxie window is there. At least with different dpi, the actual scan is noticeably slower, so I know to cancel and try again. But between Color and Grayscale it takes the same amount of time, the only difference being the file size, so I won't know until afterwards that I unnecessarily scanned in color.

An issue with the scan itself, which is a bit more annoying, is that the paper will often slide around and become crooked as it scans. So pretty much every time I scan something that's more than 1 page thickness (i.e. I folded the paper in half) I'll have to guide the paper through with both hands, in an attempt to minimize the sliding. There have been a number of times when I had to rescan a document because it slid and became crooked and unreadable.

My last issue is that Doxie has trouble scanning long documents. For example, I tried scanning a brochure pamphlet thing I got at Mount Rushmore, but Doxie automatically stops before the last few inches. Same thing with this folded terms and conditions from a car rental company, I just couldn't scan the entire thing in one go. Same with a long grocery receipt.

So, would I recommend Doxie? I'm on the edge on this one. If I had to replace my Doxie, I'd probably first look at other brands and compare.

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I got a Doxie because it's so portable.

It powers entirely though the USB, so if you have a laptop you could basically use it anywhere. I used it once in a hotel once, and once in my university library, both for sending documentation that needed to be rushed. But mostly I scan receipts and goofy stuff like forms from my insurance company.

It's been reliable, but the one time it was acting up, the support people were quick and efficient.

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I already owned a flatbed scanner, but it is such a hassle to scan, edit, and save. Doxie is clearly directed to a female population, which I don't mind, and is ridiculously easy to use. One button is all you need. Editing and saving is also effortless, and you can send your documents straight to programs like Evernote. I use it for everything from tax documents, receipts, and medical records to magazine articles and recipes.

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The Elephant Design Protective Decal Skin Sticker (High Gloss Coating) for Samsung Series 5 Chromeb

This decal is cute and fits the cover decently but there are a few flaws. The main cover has a circle cut out for the chrome logo but it is in the wrong spot. No matter which way you turn it, it will be wrong. Second, it comes with a small decal to place over the face of the black charger part and the hole to go over the green "on" light is also in the wrong spot. I used an exact o knife to cut it in the right spot and it turned out OK but there is still the small square of nothing, no biggie. Lastly, The decal to put in the mouse pad and keyboard area of the lap top is just all kinds of silly. I still haven't put it on because I need to take the exact o knife to it as well. Over all it isn't a crappy sticker-like decal as I expected. It definitely should be considered for a price reduction though. Over all, I like it and it really was more for decoration than protection for me.

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Peek Mobile E-mail Device (Cherry)

My girlfriend uses her Peek with GMail and she loves it. She already has a phone and doesn't need all the extra bells and whistles that most people don't use anyway. The setup is super easy; just put in your email address and password and that's it! It's super slim and stylish and does email in a snap. If you are not techie and want email on the go this is the gizmo for you.

Family members love using their Peek. It allows them to access emails all day and not just when they are in front of the computer. My mom does not know the first thing when it comes to electronics (she calls me to help fix the tv when she hits the TV/Video Button by accident) but she was able to set up the Peek on her own and she uses it all the time.

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I saw this and had to have it. I hate being away from my email too long. Too much flows through it and when im away I miss important things. After trying several devices that used WI-FI which in a country area is sparadic, left me waiting more. I liked that this came with its owen service. I purchased it and loved it immediately out of the box. It works great. I have a great signal and its reasonably priced. This is an excellent investment if you are not a tech person or want something simply for email.

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Not sure which Peek this is but only Peek9's will work. The older Peek Classis or Peek Pronto, which I purchased, do not work. The company changed service providers and with no notice sent an e-mail to users saying the Peeks would no longer work. No offer or a refund for activation fees, what is now a useless device, etc. Just an offer for you to pay more (admittedly a pretty small amount) for a new Peek9. Basically a dishonest company with awful customer service. When I got the e-mail saying no service, I tried over a period of about two weeks to contact customer service but after being on hold for over an hour every time, I just gave up.

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Very hard to open package. They use that Chinese junk plastic blister packaging.

Activated online Friday night. Waited for 20 minutes then turned on the Peek. No service (red x on antenna icon). Turned Peek off then on again. No service.

Customer service phone line was closed already. Won't open until Monday. Emailed . No response. And my subscription time that I paid for is ticking away.

I thought Peek was known for their exemplary customer service! Guess not anymore.

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rooCASE Super Bubble Neoprene (Pink / Black) Sleeve Case for Apple MacBook Air MC965LL/A MC966LL/A

This product really provides great cushion for your laptop. What would make it perfect would be a handle and/or strap.

This is the perfect case for my Macbook Air (13 inch). The computer does not slide around in the case, and it has these little protective bubble things inside of it for cushioning. Even if you put things in the front pocket, the case will return to original shape, and not be stretched. I use the case everyday, more than once a day, and it is made of pretty high quality material.

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I got this case because I wanted one that zipped open at the long end like this. It had a good amount of padding to provide the protection desired. However, it is about an inch too wide for the Macbook air 13.3 MC965LL/A, making it quite a bit bigger than it needs to be. Plus, the case is pretty heavy from the padding. It serves the purpose, but not perfectly.

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I absolutely LOVE this case! It's very cute but also very supportive for my laptop, I never have to worry when I travel.

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Present O-folio

My son's middle school requires students to carry 6 or 7 composition books, assorted spirals, and a big heavy text book, as well as an expensive graphing calculator, a compass for geometry, and pencils, pens, etc, BUT they are not allowed to carry bags of any sort, and the school layout and tight scheduling preclude using the locker provided. It's a great lesson for kids in the arbitrary and absurd rules you are sometimes forced to follow. This is the best solution we have found. The 3 ring arrangement is removable, so all of those books can fit better, and there are nice pockets and compartments so that he can find his stuff. It has a removable shoulder strap, too. Admittedly, I bought one in late August and I am in the market to replace it now, as it's starting to die, but we'd gone through 3 or 4 of the less beefy binders we tried last year by this time.

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Handspring Visor Deluxe (Green)

Let me put it this way: my firm just invested in a large number of PalmVx devices for our attorneys. Most of them are sitting around unused, or are used only as desk calendars.

A few of us more computer-oriented types went for the Handspring Visor. It is just as good as the Palm products for stodgy business uses, but considerably superior in its expansion capacities and general design, even though it uses the standard Palm OS. The Visor fairly begs to be played with, expanded, tweaked with, and pushed to its ultimate potential. It is extremely well-made, as are the Springboard modules that are now coming on the market. Combine a Visor with a Stowaway keyboard, and you will have almost no need for a laptop again. I have not been so impressed with a computer product in many years. I notice that PalmPilot fans tend to dis the Visor, presumably because change is threatening. Palms and Visors are both great machines. But if you really want to put a handheld to work as a computer, and have fun with it in the process, the Visor has the clear advantage.

What an amazing little piece of technology this Visor Deluxe is. Of course, it works the same way a Palm does, but Handspring gives you more stuff for the same money as a Palm IIIxe. Both machines have 8mb of memory (way too much if all you're using it for is a day planner; the 2mb version will be fine for non email users), and work exactly the same way. But the Visor has the expansion module, and while Palm makes do with a serial hotsync connection, Visor has a quicker USB port.

I also had occasion to try out Handspring's customer service the other day (apparently I loaded a bad app onto my Visor, which kept it from booting up), and I'm pleased to say it was fast, very courteous and effective.

The only thing I'd improve on is the thickness of the product, but then again, that's what makes room for the expansion module. And if you look at one of those ultra-thin Palm V's, you'll find they run off rechargable batteries...which means if you're taking it on a long trip, you'll have to bring the charger with you. With the Visor, the AAA batteries last about a month, and they're easy to pack along when you travel (if you think it'll go dead during the trip).

All in all, I'd heartily recommend the Visor to anyone who needs a little organization in his or her life. Now if only Handspring would make good on their promise to make more expansion-module apps...

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I have bought this product..., and have been using it for about 2 months. It's an amazing product , much more beautiful than the Palm IIIxE . The only problem , that i just discovered now , it's that the Visor don't ship with Flash ROM memory. That means that you can't upgrade his OS ( that is a modified version of the Palm OS 3.1 ). This could or could not be a problem for you guys . If you are a expert user ( like me ! ) , this sure will make you very angry ( when the new versions of the Palm OS , like the 3.5 , ships out , and you will not be able to use it! ) If you are just a regular user , this could affect you little or nothing.

Read Best Reviews of Handspring Visor Deluxe (Green) Here

One reviewer said that the Handspring falters due to the lackof Flash ROM. Handspring answers why they chose not to use Flash ROM... the Visor is upgradable via a Springboard module, and that most users would never need to rewrite the entire OS. Don't be afraid, a Visor is a great buy!

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I never thought I would get rid of my dayplanner... I bought a "blue" visor in March of 2000, and, since then I live, eat, breath, (it sleeps next to my bed). I use it in my car, everywhere. Memory is excellent at 8mb, added numerous apps, and today, I actually "sent" via infrared a document from my visor to an HP Printer. It took me less than 5 minutes to download the software (through a DSL line), install, and print. As an IS Manager, many employees in my company use the Palm boy, do they have issues... Can't connect via Serial,etc , difficult to set-up, etc.,etc. My Visor was up and running in my office in under 15 minutes, and, at home, the same. I also purchased a keyboard from Lanware and it is great because it also allows you to hotsync when the Visor is on the keyboard; this way, the USB cradle that the Visor came with stays at home. I have the equivalent of Excel 97 and Word 97, in additon to a dbase app which reads and writes to Access97, and an auto expense tracker (on which I track two vehicles), and Pocket Quicken (which syncs with my Quicken 2000), plus other appsall this, plus my OUTLOOK 98 notes, memos, to-do's tasks, emails, calendar, etc and I am using less than 3mb of space. I still have about 5.0 mb of space available for data or more apps. Overall I rate the VISOR a 5. This is an incredible product. I am buying two more for the holidays one for my spouse, a teacher, and one for one of my kids who is in college and using a paper (daytimer) scheduler. I can't wait!! Again, this unit is worth every dime -especially when I am sitting in traffic, writing, or reading and responding to email I downloaded just before leaving my office. I don't even carry my laptop anymore as I travel between my company's two locations. My next purchase will be the modem for my Visor.

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REALOOK Cowon V5 Screen Protector, Crystal Clear 2-PK

Can not agree with the other poster on this product it was your placement I did that with another brand on a touch screen and blamed product (they shipped another one to me). I was mistaken I got a tiny bit of one of the corners between the plastic protector and the mp3 case edge making the unit unresponsive. I myself just bought the cowon v5 and bought this exact same protector and it works great and I love how ridgid it is (great protection for screen) and how clear it stays as if it was not even there. My touch screen is just as responsive as if it was not there I tried touch screen with and without the screen protector. Thankfully We get Two for this awesome price because like others I messed up the first one it was going slightly crooked at the very end and I would have had to jam it under the casing to get it to fit (most likely what the other user did) and of course I got finger prints when I pulled it back up (my fault entirely). I just bought another one because I saw there were only 3 left becuase I love this product it's even better than the Lexerd brand (they are good too) but they are not as thick and you pay 10$ for only one plus 5$ shipping they too are crystal clear but hey this one is a better product (thicker means better protection) and two for 5$ less a win win.

The screen protector does it's job to well. While protecting my Cowon V5 screen it also disables the touch buttons due to the rigidity of the screen protector. Waste of my time.

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3Com Wireless Bluetooth USB Adapter

First, let me say that I'm writing this review with significant experience with other adapters. I work with a lot of Bluetooth technology, and I've made it a point to try different companies' adapters. Most Bluetooth USB adapters are based on the same two chipsets, so the software, form-factor, and range are the biggest issues most users will need to look at. The 3Com adapter is a good adapter, with the most intuitive software I've seen yet. This means that most users not experience with Bluetooth technology will have an easier time using it. Believe me; Bluetooth is not always easy to get working (as a previous reviewer stated). However, do your homework to make sure your device is compatible before you buy it...

Regarding the form factor, it could be a little smaller, and the blinking blue LED is VERY bright! However the adapter wins on the "cool factor" having a blue light-conducting strip across the adapter. Range is average for this class of adapter at 10m (33ft.). I hope this helps!

I purchased the 3Com Bluetooth USB Adapter to connect my Nokia 3650 to my Dell Inspiron 3500 Notebook (running Windows 2000 Professional). Using the version of Nokia PC Suite which came with the 3650 I could not connect. However, once I downloaded the lastest version of PC Suite (version 3.0 18-Nov-2003) from Nokia, and the latest 3Com drivers (bub1_2_10en.exe 30-Apr-2003) everything worked.

The 3Com bluetooth software works with no tweaking, and has a good manual and FAQ installed on the laptop.

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Neuros OSD Media Center (6011000)

As someone who spends a lot of time on planes and subways I have been looking for a way to easily take TV shows with me. I have a Dell Axim x51v PDA and a Creative Zen Vision:M and use both to play video files.

My holy grail was to be able to record a show and be able to play it on both players without having to spend time converting these files. I also own a Slingbox and, until I bought the OSD, used Applan's At Large Recorder to record the Slingbox stream into wmv files which I then copied onto an SD card and used on my Dell. Unfortunately the At Large Recorder ties up your computer, is prone to crashing and doesn't always record the right channel at the right time, so my search continued.

Neuros OSD

The OSD is small, very easy to set up. It comes with the necessary cords and remote control. All the inputs and outputs are well marked and intuitive. This was an easy set up. The process of setting the IR blaster codes was also easy. (This makes it possible for the OSD to change the channel to the show you want to record.) Instead of wading through lists to find your cable box model, you just put your cable box remote control at it, press each digit and the OSD "learns" the codes. It detected the 2GB card I inserted and the external hard drive I connected (make sure your drive has a FAT32 file system, not NTFS as that isn't supported yet) and the navigation is like windows explorer. Using a wireless bridge, I connected it to the internet so that it can update the firmware on its own. It was easy to set the clock (which uses 12 or 24h time) and have everything up and running in no time. Strangely, it comes with a stand that is easy to knock over so after a few falls, I put the stand back into the box and do without.

I've played a few Xvid movies that I have encoded using DVD Decrypter and AutoGK and they play with no problems. The picture quality and sounds were as good as DVD. The quality will depend on the bitrate and other specs and some experimenting is necessary to find what works.

How is recording? Well, it's about 90% of the way there. I recorded a few shows off the TV and then played them to see what the picture and sound quality were like. I used the TV setting with Superfine quality and then tried the the "Advanced" setting, set the resolution at 640x480, put the Video Bitrate at 2500 kbps and the frame rate at 30fps. Even on these settings you can see a degradation in picture quality. While it advertises that you can use this to back up your DVDs, keep in mind that the finished product isn't going to be DVD quality. The picture quality on a regular (SD) set is good, not great. And there is a difference in picture quality between saving your files to an SD card versus an external hard drive. Programs saved to the hard drive look much better than the SD card and there is a noticeable improvement using S-video over Composite. I have also read in a forum that there are problems with recording a show that last longer than 2 hours.

Scheduling recordings is a bit quirky. I have tried scheduling a daily recording of the news to save directly to my SD card so I can pull it out and throw it in my Dell on my way out the door. It stops recording after a couple days for no apparent reason, even when there's room on the card and it was just formatted. But when I save the recording to the hard drive, it works properly, indefinitely.

My Dell Axim can pretty much handle anything the OSD threw at it. It could handle the top bitrate/resolution with ease. (My coworker, who also owns the OSD, had to reduce the fps to 15 in order to make the shows play on his Smartphone, so again you may want to experiment.) While the picture was more crisp than my Slingbox/At Large Recorder set up, the picture had some colour blocks in the darker colour ranges (blacks, dark greys, dark browns) at all the settings, which is a minor annoyance. But it isn't a deal breaker for me. I don't need a perfect picture on my Dell to enjoy the show. And while there are preset settings for the iPod and PSP, there isn't anything for the Creative Zen Vision:M and I couldn't find a way to transfer the files without conversion. It would be great to record a show, put in on my Creative and then hook up the video output cables on another TV and watch it there.

Overall, I am happy with it. This is Linux based, open source software and Neuros offers money to developers to tweak, fix and add features. So as time goes on, I remain hopeful that the picture quality will continue to improve and some of the quirks fixed.

UPDATE (10/26/07): The have released new firmware that finally brings the video quality when recording close to the original picture. You'll still see some degradation on fast motion shots, so you'll notice it when you record hockey or football games, but on regular programming it was fine. I recorded a nature program using the highest settings and couldn't see any difference from the original.

There is also support for viewing You Tube Video (though vids on You Tube generally aren't high enough quality to look good on regular TV) and there is a feature you can view photos and listen to mp3 files, though I find the set up and navigation clunky.

When I tell my friends what I have, I am met with blank stares. I understand them. It is a revolutionary product whose sole function is to turn video from any source into MPEG-4

Now MPEG-4 is the format that a DVR such as TiVO uses to store all your reruns of The Daily Show. More importantly it is the very format that your iPod uses to play video. Even if you are enough of a techie to get those Jon Stewart pieces off of your TiVo and into your iPod, this is only a partial solution to a much bigger problem-how in the heck can you copy your favorite DVDs onto your iPod?

The Neuros OSD is the answer. Basically it takes video-cable TV, DVD, camcorder, and even old VHS tapes and converts them automatically to MPEG-4. Once converted you can load it onto your iPod, or play it on your computer, or just store it forever on an external hard drive.

This product is a video converter and not a storage facility. You are going to need something to store its output. My first solution was to purchase an inexpensive 500 GB external hard disk. This works fine but it is a little like using an elephant gun to bring down a field mouse. The OSD has memory card slots. since a two hour DVD turned into a MPEG-4 has a footprint of less than one GB, a 2 GB SD card should be more than sufficient for most purposes. But SD cards are coming down in price as well. I have tried using 8GB and 4GB cards without success. Stick to the 2GB until the firmware is revised to accept the larger cards.

Now your iPod can be your storage device but it is necessary to put and keep it in the manual sync mode, and for me anyway that defeats some of the great joys of iPod ownership. Once on a hard drive or memory card it requires only a simple import command to load it onto your iPod.

Some of my friends when seeing this opine that they will wait till the OSD produces copies in HD. I do not see that anytime soon. First if you are going to watch it on your iPod or on your laptop how would you know if it was recorded in HD or not? Secondly the foot print of an HD recording on an HD recorder is about 5 times larger than a standard MPEG-4. Finally the really good stuff, the 1080p DVDs are exclusively the province of Blu-ray and (for a while anyway) Toshiba's HD DVD system. These disks are extremely complex electronically and simple conversion technologies will probably not produce comparable copies.

There are a few negatives. The interface, accessed with a remote, is clunky. It is a dumb device so you will need to name every recording you make. Otherwise you will have a whole bunch of video named "OSD.mp4". You also have to set the record time. The default time is 30 minutes, although changing the defaults is relatively easy.

Firmware updates are frequent. One solution is to check monthly or so and download onto the CF card that comes with the unit. An even better solution is to hook the OSD onto a home network and set it for automatic updates. This will require an ethernet connection.

As a final note, this appears to produce legal copies for personal use. Although I am a lawyer, this should not be considered legal advice. Ultimately courts will decide and they may agree or disagree with me. But it is certainly possible to misuse the MPEG-4s you create and to violate copyright laws.

Buy Neuros OSD Media Center (6011000) Now

The Neuros OSD promises to free your media. Why?

We all know DRM is rife, and it's not fair. Yet manufacturers still encumber their products with annoying restrictions to prevent theft of copywritten material, rather than trust their consumers. TiVo messes up recording so you can't watch them on your computer. Apple TV won't even touch your DVD rips. What has made us consumers so bloody complacent?

My OSD sits proudly on my tv, it streams all my videos from both my USB HD and computer via network cable. Different file formats (non-DRM of course) don't faze it, it just plays it. That's what I use it for, 99% of the time. Nice & simple.

I can record any input to mpeg file, so I don't need a VCR no more. I can play & edit these files on my laptop, no restrictions. Yay!

There are problems, high bitrate (DVD stardard) files result in frame drops, which is disappointing. High definition is a no no, which doesn't bother me really, I'm not buying into this fad. The GUI is not pretty & remote feels slow. Subtitles aren't supported, but I've been told (the Neuros community is very open & talkative) it's coming with a firmware update. As is an EPG and wifi support.

The OSD promises a lot, I think it already delivers about 90% it plays & records well with no restrictions. The last 10% has to be seen, for work still has to be done.

Summary: With the OSD, you can enjoy your video from your couch. That's freedom.

Read Best Reviews of Neuros OSD Media Center (6011000) Here

Hi, I hope this review and story helps those users that are caught between a rock and hard spot in deciding on one of a couple options in MP4 video recording.

This review is for individuals like myself that are accustomed to using the combination of a DVD Recorder or VCR, PC to rip and transcode video; and any variation of these four options to enhance and enlighten our entertainment personally at home.

In second week of March 07' I ordered and received my long anticipated AppleTV. It came in a typical Apple box, pretty and polished and up-n-running within 15mins; including the time it took to upgrade the firmware.

I used the AppleTV for three days and watched a few movies that I had ripped and transcoded to AppleTV format on my hard drive. Transcoding took 45 mins each on over 20 titles I had the desire to watch.

I was delighted to have FINALLY been able to not hook my PC to the video in on my big screen, I could actually stream the video via my wireless G network at home... I know there were a few devices out there so far that were Windows based and had LOTS of Digital Rights Management issues that barred my ambitions.

I then found myself spending a few hundred dollars on a device that ONLY got me half way to where I wanted to be, to never have to buy DVD-R's, Rip, Transcode and or print labels on my printer, buy cases for my new additions to my home library of hundreds of movies and shows!

This did not make any sense for me, wasting a few hundred on a device that only allowed me not having to chain my laptop to the TV! So................... I Googled... and Googled.... and finally found a few hits (results)

Results on Yahoo, Google, Froogle, MSN, etc. brought me to a device called the 442 and was a portable device and was capable of recording media to a memory stick of many sorts... but was WAY too expensive and lacked real needs.

Then a ran across a site that was NeurosAudio, was the manufacture of a few devices with MP4 ability but were primarily targeted to mobile users. I looked a little further and seen the OSD... Read the specifications and it was just the perfect device I wanted and desperately needed for a very long time!

I ordered the OSE on March 29th on their site, I then had a few questions right after I hit "Order"... Called their customer service number and I had a technical support person on the phone immediately.. Was very nice and if he didn't have the answer he got it for me.

I was notified by UPS of the shipment and got it in my hands on April 2nd 07'. I opened up the box from Neuros, the packaging, quality of printing, polished black device and instructions that would rival that of Apple!

I had it out and hooked up within the same amount of time of my AppleTV, I instantly put in my Sony memory stick and played back my AVI, XVID, MP4 video's. I then hooked up my satellite box to the OSD and recorded my favorite movie, shows, etc. with the ability to adjust the resolution, bit rate, audio bit rate, etc.

I found that the original factory firmware was behind in capabilities and used Neuro's option in the OSD to upgrade over the network from their site. A few issues where resolved with that upgrade.

I then began to educate myself on their site, while it is not "organized" in a friendly easy to navigate way, I found all the material I needed to understand the state of the product and where could I address issues and request enhancements.

I found the support ability on their site in the manor of forums, I also found their 800 support to be friendly and helpful. Once I learned where and how their company handles issues and requests, I began entering my issues online and within a few weeks I seen over 12 releases of firmware which showed me that this is one company that has their act together!I have not looked back and regretted my decision to sell my AppleTV and am grateful for my Neuros OSD!! Please check that auction number or paste the link in your browser and see for yourself!!

Best of all, I no longer have my DVD Recorder, I no longer have to RIP and Transcode my choices of video and source of video... I can record 2.5hrs of video and finalize my recording in 5 Seconds over my home network!! and store for playback via my network of about any video that I download!!

I have simplified my life, no longer waste time!!

Want Neuros OSD Media Center (6011000) Discount?

If you are looking for a Small portable device to record to psp/ipod/smartphone or simply archive your shows.. THIS is it! Having great encoding options ranging from Basic (very blocky on playback though) all the way to very high recording (beautiful resolution, but at the cost of alot of memory) in your formats encoding..

Sure you have heard of some others that can record to the popular formats, but can your unit watch you tube videos? Edit Video clips of 15 minutes and under, Perfect for you tube! So long as you input the A/v jacks you can record it! From Tv, cable, Sat. even Dvds.. if you wanted!

View pics in the popular formats, listen to your mp3 tunes with you while on vacation, So long as you have the CF/sd /ms pro duo/ or even psp/ipod/usb storage.. you don't need the computer to encode.. it does it all on its on, and that means on the go! I recorded my shows from a hotel room, while on vacation this past Labor day weekend. Still I could have left at it home and used the fantastic scheduled recording options..(once, daily weekly)and not worried about it. Yet I needed it to watch the recorded shows for my kids this time out.

The firmware updates have been leaps and bounds! With you tube video watching, video editing and a user-guide for recording as on Satellite menus in the works to come out for this unit! It is a great time to get a unit if you were on the fence or shopping for something that can do what you want and more! HEck even if you own one and shelved it due to you waiting for it to get better, PULL it out, dust it off and get the latest firmware! I cannot praise enough on the unit's versatility! With more options/features and firmware ( free and from the community of professional enthusiasts !) upgrades on the way, it is my best purchase other than my pc to date!

As great as the unit is, the support from the company itself is Extra-ordinary! They reply to all questions and help you out in every concievable way! I know you may have heard this before, but this compnay literally stands behind it's products! From helping you setup, to firmware to hardware problems... they will be there for you! I was impressed with the help they offer and best of all you talk to people,you interact with people! So again if you were on the fence and can't make up your mind, try it! You wil lnot regret it!

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SumacLife Microsuede Sleeve with Neoprene Bubble Padding for Sony VAIO S Series 15.5 inch Laptop Mo

cheaply made and looks cheap................. and its definately bigger than 15inch its side pocket is really delicate and small too

This sleeve is advertised as "for Sony VAIO S Series 15.5 inch" models. It is constructed with nice materials, but it definitely is too big for the advertised laptops that it supposedly fits. Also it lacks any significant padding around the outside edges of the laptop. Sure the laptop goes inside of it, but the laptop has several inches of movement inside in both directions. I would bet you could get a 17" model inside it. While it protects the laptop it certainly would not be too much help in the event of a drop.

Buy SumacLife Microsuede Sleeve with Neoprene Bubble Padding for Sony VAIO S Series 15.5 inch Laptop Mo Now

I bought my new VIAO and am desperately trying to keep it well preserved. The cover is rather large but definitely serves as a great protector.

Read Best Reviews of SumacLife Microsuede Sleeve with Neoprene Bubble Padding for Sony VAIO S Series 15.5 inch Laptop Mo Here

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Palm Treo 680 Quadband Unlocked PDA Smartphone -

I bought this to replace a 5 year old one I dropped in water. Delivery was flawless, Product is great.

I tried other (newer) smart phones (including the iPhone) and discovered the Gee Whiz factor didn't make up for good, solid basic features.

I didn't know what a German Key Layout was (swap the Y and Z keys) but didn't (and still don't) care.

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Palm Treo 650 Aluminium Hard Case (Pink)

I think I've dropped my phone more since I purchased the case--in fact, I hadn't dropped it until I purchased it. The reason being: The clip detaches itself from the case causing my phone (w/ case) to drop or the clip dislodges itself from the item (bag, pants, etc.) it's clipped onto. After the first fall, I had trouble getting the "door" to close, but bent it back into place. (The "door" always flies open when it falls, by the way.) Now the case itself looks a little askew, but I am able to keep it closed (unless it drops again).

I bought this about a year ago and since then I have dropped my Treo about 5 times. A few times on hard concrete. My Treo did not suffer any damage.

The clip does have a tendency to be loose, but that problem was solved with of few drops of Lock Tight, a sort of super glue that my husband uses in his shop.

The door can be made tighter by pushing on the latch a little.

I am very happy with the looks and most of all, the protection this gives my Treo.

Edited on 10/16/08. I have had this for almost a year now, and my phone has survived MAJOR crashes on tile and concrete floors. Thank Goodness I had this protection or my Treo would have been toast. The corner now has a very slight scratch from my concrete driveway. This is a definitive must have product. Thank you for offering it.

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Toshiba e755 Pocket PC with Win PocketPC 2002

(Note: The only difference between the e750 and e755 is that the latter e755 comes with a photo viewer software title on the companion CD. In fact, the machine in the e755 packaging is labeled "e750," so I'll refer to it as e750 in this review.)

Featuring a new mobile processor, the most internal memory of any PDA (64MB RAM plus 64MB non-RAM for a total of 128MB), built-in 802.11b wi-fi, the best PDA screen from Toshiba so far. and good battery life, the e750/e755 is close to being perfect. The compact (0.6 inches thin) and attractive form factor is a huge plus, as well.

The new Intel processor (PXA255 running at 400Mhz) is without doubt the star of the new line-up. It's an updated version of the first-gen Xscalar processor, which wasn't getting good reviews due to lack of optimization options. The e750/e755 *is* optimized for the new processor, which results in speedy application launches and operations. Nothing gives a Pocket PC user more pleasure than seeing his/her favorite app come up instantly. The e750 also allows you to switch between two speeds, hence you can choose between higher speed or better battery life. Even at the lower speed, PPC apps feel quick and responsive. The LiIon battery is user replaceable, and an optional "extended" battery is available now from Toshiba.

What's left to improve for Toshiba is their lackluster customer support. Also, because their PPCs are made by an OEM in Taiwan rather than in their own plants in Japan, the build quality is still a bit lacking, but the e750/e755 seems to be better made than the error-prone e740.

Update with more details:

The e750 is indeed a joyful PDA! The high price and the lack of a built-in camera aside -but who really needs the latter, right? -it really comes close to being a master-of-all-trades device. I haven't tested the wireless features as much as I had hoped, due to the fact there just aren't many free hot spots around these days. But I'll update this review when I get more hands-on experience in this area.

In terms of everyday use this is a true workhorse. I'll talk more about the specs below, but the numbers don't really reveal how pleasant using the e750 is. The hundreds of annoyances that plagued the e740, its older cousin, have been fixed. There are far fewer crashes and syncs go more smoothly. At just 6.5 ounces, while not the lightest Pocket PC, you get something very close to a handheld computer, especially when you get the foldable keyboard!

The e750 has a total of 128MB of RAM, 32 of which is ROM, 32 is flash-ROM (which means content stored on it won't go away even if the battery is completely dead... think of it as a small hard disk without moving parts), and the rest 64 is true user-accessible RAM. Having a real 64MB to play with is a bliss, especially for someone like me who started out with 16MB on the Casio EM-500 and last saw 46MB on the HP iPaq 1910. The extra 18MB makes a big difference. Now I can play Doom and Quake at the same time!

Given the thin form factor of the e750, it still amazes me how it can feature both a Type I/II CompactFlash (CF) slot as well as a Secure Digital (SD) slot. Since wi-fi is already built-in, both can happily be used solely for storage expansion. The highest capacity for SD right now (as of April 2003) is 512MB, but that costs a small fortune. The best value belongs to 256MB cards, and I highly recommend the one from Lexar (see my review there). If you put in a 512MB SD and a 512MB CF, you'll get 1GB of extra storage for under one-hundred-fifty dolrs! The CF slot can probably be used for other peripherals; but the situation is not clear right now as to which CF peripherals will be supported in the e750.

The 3.8-inch (measured diagonally) screen is the largest among Pocket PCs on the market today, and the best from Toshiba so far. I personally like the screens on the iPaq 1910 and Viewsonic V35 better, but this screen is more than "good." The resolution is still PPC's standard 240x320, so it would be nice to see someday PPC manufacturers would go higher than that. I'd love a PPC the size of the e750 but with a 4" screen and 320x480 resolution!

There are a lot of optional accessories you can get for the e750, including the foldable keyboard and extended battery mentioned above. This is truly an exciting newcomer to the PPC family... one that looks and performs like a winner.

I've recently made the decision to purchase a 755 to replace my

aging Palm unit. I'm still in the learning phase of using the

755/Pocket PC and so far I'm mostly pleased. So, instead of

reiterating the specifications of the 755 I will offer a

comparison to my old device and some observations:

The 755 has 48 times more memory than my 2MB Palm. Great.

The 755 has 2 memory card options. My Palm is ancient in this

respect, but more modern palms address this via SD.

The 755 uses a lot of juice (color screen/fast processor).

I get about 2.5 months of service on my Palm on two AAA

batteries (using the backlight on rare occasions. I

haven't tested how long the 755 would last on one charge,

but have seen the battery indicator go to 80% after an hour

of trying a load of things (browsing, music etc).

One item to note: after a few days of use I'm getting an

incorrect 99% charged battery on the Settings/System/Power

application. I'm not sure if I'm getting this because I

upgraded to ActiveSync 2.6 doesn't budge from 99%.

The 755 has WiFi built in. Did I really need this? Not really,

but I now can say Hey check this out man! So far I haven't

had any problems with JavaScript or formatting while viewing

my favorite sites. The only problem is the amount of scrolling

you will need to do to view the entire page.

Images look great on this unit. I used Photoshop Elements,

in batch mode, to downsize a folder of images to the screen

dimensions of the 755 and created a neat little slide show in

PhotoBase, an application that comes with the 755 (not the

750). You can imagine how thrilled I was to see color images

after using a Palm mono unit for almost 5 years.

The Windows Media player works better than I thought with MP3s

(I haven't viewed any movies with it yet). The music plays back

smoothly even when I am doing other things (eg File Explorer,

slide show). Okay, I'm lying, I got a couple of blips while

resizing a pdf document in Acrobat no big whoop.

This is one great feature now I can wait for the 40MB iPod

to come out.

Graffiti (Palm) vs Block Recognizer (Pocket PC).

I started using Transcriber for entering text I was

heart-broken. I couldn't enter text correctly, fast enough.

I exclaimed "Hallelujah!" when I discovered Block Recognizer.

It allows Graffiti input. Great response time and nifty

special character entry assistant.

Synchronization. Yikes! I'm going to have to get use to this.

With Palm, 95% of all applications/data get Sync'ed via Hot

Sync in a pretty standard way.

With Pocket PC there are number of ways this could happen. So

far I have come across:

* Drag and drop to Pocket Device directory

* Custom app install

* For media, creating a Playlist in Windows Media Player

and then requesting a sync from within the player.

* Copy application to device and then execute to install.

I won't enter my contacts or other "precious" info until

I fully understand syncing with ActiveSync and without first

coming up with a back-up plan.

One sad item...I can't sync up with my beloved ibook Windows

only! Real easy with Palm.

Software availability: Palm beats Pocket PC hands-down. There's

tons of software for the Palm, a great percentage free. I'm

not really complaining I just need a really good version of

Tetris and I'm happy.

The 755 has a very nice solid feel to it. I wish the sides

were rubberized though. I've dropped my palm a number of

times, thankfully it wasn't fatal. I'd hate to drop a ...[undisclosed dollar amount]+

device.

The sync base for the 755 is built extremely well nice

heavy metal with rubber feet. Unit slides in easily.

Reading books on the 755 is a pleasure compared to palm. Bigger

screen, nicer fonts etc. Also, I found mBook Reader (freeware,

downloaded it from the internet) to be good alternative to

Microsoft's Reader can read Palm format files!

Things I'm not thrilled about:

During the lifetime of my Palm, I've never turned it on

accidently. The Toshiba's record button is the first thing

that gets pressed when I take the unit out of it's sleave.

I believe this button can be remapped to some other function.

After inserting a CF card (Type I) there is a smidgeon of

space left over in the slot. I'm assuming that type II cards

are fatter. I'm worried about this if I can see the

contacts inside the unit, then a little drop of water can find

it's way in there also (think rain I keep the 755 in my shirt

pocket).

I had to reset the unit, using the stylus hole a few times

already. My palm is very stable, as long as I don't install

hacks that misbehave. I'm not sure who to blame yet (Toshiba/

Microsoft).

After one week of use, I'm pretty happy with this purchase.

I just hope I can get the battery indicator issue and sync'ing

procedures squared away.

If you just need a device to keep track of contacts and maintain

your schedule this device may be overkill go for a Sony SJ-33

instead (...[undisclosed dollar amount]). I just bought one for my wife.

If you need a new toy to play with on top of the usual PDA functions this unit looks promising.

Buy Toshiba e755 Pocket PC with Win PocketPC 2002 Now

I found this handheld device to be one of the best so far. With its new Xscale PXA255 CPU, the speed is amazing (nearly doubled in some tasks) and it also uses about 30% less battery power (1.3V instead of 1.5V for PXA250). The new 3.8" transflective LCD makes it the largest and one of the best screens in the U.S. Market (not including e550G from Toshiba Japan. The reflective LCD screen was one of the major draw-backs for the e740.) To correct viking632, the e750 has 64MB RAM + 32MB NANO RAM + 32MB for the OS. Most of the issues e740 had (1% battery, ActiveSync drop) have been resolved for the e750/755. With the added value of Wireless LAN, USB, (VGA with expansion pack) and removable battery, this is the BEST Pocket PC in the US market right now (Q1 2003). Highly recommend!

Read Best Reviews of Toshiba e755 Pocket PC with Win PocketPC 2002 Here

Not as light, not as sharp, not as fast, and not as powerful as some other devices out there, this version of the Toshiba Pocket PC takes the features out there and combines them into a package that actually is better than the sum of its parts.

It's got the latest CPU and OS which, while promising a lot, are actually slower and less capable than they ought to be. It's got a new screen, while bigger and brighter than its e740 predecessor, is not as bright and sharp as other devices such as the Sony Clie.

It IS quite expandable what with its SD AND CF slots (important for someone who already has several CF devices and memory from other PDAs and cameras!) Not to mention the built in Wi-Fi which means I no longer need to carry a CF network card.

Only issues I have are that I also bought a couple SanDisk 256MB SD cards which seem to be incompatible with this device for some reason and Toshiba merely said to check the SanDisk site for compatibility. Seems that SanDisk doesn't certify this combination so be aware of that. Also this device still has a one touch record button that always gets pushed accidentally keeping the device on and taking up memory with nothing. They really ought to remove that.

Otherwise, it's probably the best Pocket PC out there.

Want Toshiba e755 Pocket PC with Win PocketPC 2002 Discount?

The e755 has an outstanding screen, fast processor, tons of memory, both CompactFlash and SD/SDIO expansion capabilities, but the Wi-Fi is not quite fully functional.

When using the e755 Wi-Fi with a Netgear WG602 802.11b/g access point, the e755 handled the wireless linkup and communication very well, as long as I only configured the access point for MAC filtering and didn't activate either the 64 or 128 bit WEP. As soon as I turned on the WEP the e755 wasn't able to maintain a connection with the access point (which was within 10 feet and clear line of sight).

If you're looking for a powerful and flexible PDA with unsecured wireless access, then the e755 is an excellent choice, but if you also need to have your wireless communication encrypted you'd be wise to look elsewhere.

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Palm V Hand held PDA

I started out with a Palm III, switched to a handheld PC and am now back with the Palm V. For the everyday person it's more than enough. I didn't buy it to play games with I bought it to stay organized. The extreme ease of use is wonderful and syncing to your PC is a breeze. Anybody that needs more than this needs a handheld PC (Which have their own combersome problems!) I have found the OS platform with the Palm V much easier to sync with my desktop especially with WindowsNT. Too many problems connecting with WindowsCE. The Palm V has far exceeded my needs and is perfect for the everyday user looking for a palm organizer that is just that, an organizer and 24hr assistant.

If you look at the Palm V and the Palm IIIx you will notice some major differences. First of all, the V is smaller, and looks cooler. However, the benefits end there. The V has half the RAM of the IIIx, which, as a seasoned pilot user, i know you will really want if you get into modems and telnet shells and mail and real-time web browsing. (not to mention games) I would suggest forgoing the looks for the functionality (something that is not done enough in our corporate world) and getting the IIIx. You will not regret it. However, if you have to have something shiny, by all means, this is the machine to get....

Buy Palm V Hand held PDA Now

I've had my Palm V since June 1st. To my brother, wife & parents who conspired for my birthday: THANK YOU!!!!! Within two weeks I abandoned my Franklin Planner, and regretted not having had a Palm device 15 years ago. OK, that was impossible but it has dramatically changed my life for the better, and I can't imagine ever going without it. In the last several months I have grown to be a very definite power user, and the corporate resource person for Palm-platform PDA's. Our guys have tried several others and are convinced that the Palm platform is the best and most flexible. I am very heavily into 3rd-party software evaluation (& some accessories), preparing recommendations for high-efficiency Palm device/software packages for company-staff issue. Eventually I may put together my own personal web-site, and post some evaluations and recommendations for software/accessories for Palm users.

Having said all that, here's an engineer's (my)perspective on the Palm V: Visors will be great, and Palm IIIx's are just fine, but the Palm V package size is definitely worth a lot to me. Forget the sexy appearance it's great, but the superior Form Factor rules. Yes, I would prefer that the Vx cost is about what the standard V discounts for now, but since it will ALWAYS fit in my shirt pocket (without changing my shirt wardrobe) I ALWAYS have it with me (in a place that's probably least susceptible to being damaged or lost) and that's what it's for. Though I prefer to use the slim padded 3COM case, I frequently slip the original leather flap-cover on for small shirt pockets, & thus can still carry a separate pen/pencil/stylus device. A big plus with those covers that I've never seen in a review: the soft "grabby" texture of the rubber-like spine flex keeps the Palm from sliding, even if you do toe-touches. Ta-dah... it doesn't fall out on the floor!!!! (Very big benefit since the cover isn't a padded case.)

Likes: I like being able to keep synced with both my office laptop and my home desktop (with the included MS Outlook Conduit)... autocharging in the docking cradle... a battery that's never gotten below a half-charge... nice screen... the size. I really like the unit overall a truly great device.

Any problems? Yep. I did have to get the updated e-mail patch from the Chapura site to avoid some lock-ups when synching e-mail. Also, I highly recommend TealScript (the custom-tailorable graffitti add-on) for it's ability to help you tune up your handwriting speed/recognition and it visually showed up a mysterious problem with the screen occasionally screwing up handwriting by adding a horizontal line: 3-COM quickly replaced it under warranty, and it's been fine.

Memory space? The average user probably will have no problem for a couple of years I've met people with III's that are using less than 1k... a year after they get it: they've seen & use very few aftermarket programs. However, I've got more programs in there than will fit: launcher, datebook, calc & memo replacements, travel programs, doc reader, picture viewer, several clocks, a dozen utility and security programs, over a dozen Hackmaster hacks, and a few games. Since FlashPro gave me the extra 800k memory room (awesome), I found I probably had enough that I could otherwise get by fine without deleting rarely-used fluff programs except that I use it heavily for work & software evaluation. The memory room of the Vx would be heaven the perfect device, I think. It'd be handy to carry a lot of maps, but my current standard P5 doesn't have the memory room without deleting, say, my picture viewer. (Oh, the screen? It's great! Yes folks, it IS a 16 greyscale display!) Probably I'll upgrade to the Vx & give my wife my standard V (P5) unit: she thought it was no big deal when I got it, but has fallen in love with the capabilities and wants her own Palm device. Bottom line is that if you're a minimalist, the 2k of P5 memory is fine. But if you like to carry a Gerber/Leatherman/Swiss-Army device (like I do) because a pocketknife leaves you unprepared... better get a Vx or get the 8mb upgrade on your P5.

Price? When Handspring comes out with something to compete with a Vx, the price world will probably be great. Yeh, P5's are expensive compared to some of the lesser PDA's but compare the price to a palmtop computer, and they look like a great deal... especially considering the impact on your lifestyle.

Can I mention my essential add-on programs list? Tough area, but currently I wouldn't give up these listed in order of descending requirement: UnDupe (get it!), TealScript, Travel Clock, Hackmaster, (SwitchHack, StayOffHack, PalmV hack, Invert Hack & Invert, FindHack, CatHack), DateBK3 (& dbScan), BackupBuddy, IDPalm, FlashPro, a good launcher either Commander or LaunchEm have too many great enhancements to do without. Must-have accessories: WriteRight screen covers, Throttle Stylus/pen. I regard the PalmV hack and StayOff hack as absolute essentials for Palm V users, and Invert with InvertHack give proper screen display when the backlight's on. In-depth info? O'Reilly's "Palmpilot: The Ultimate Guide" is a fantastic reference for ALL Palm owners.

Read Best Reviews of Palm V Hand held PDA Here

January 15, 2000 3Com's Palm PDA's are definitely the best PDA's on the market. You can read the other reviews to hear how this device will help you organize your life and how wonderful it is. As a Palm collector (I have all Palm and Pilot models), I will rather compare the Palm V to the Palm Vx. The only difference between the two is that the V has 2MB of RAM, while the Vx has 8.

I have thousands of addresses, thousands of appointments, and many more to-do items, documents, etc. in my Palm. I also have fax, e-mail, and internet software installed, among many other programs. I only use about 1.5 MB. Therefore, although I have the Vx, I don't use any of the additional memory. Technically, because of the additional memory, the Vx is faster. Nonetheless, because Palm applications are so small, this difference is truly negligible. Therefore, before you spend $100 more on the Vx, make sure you're going to use the additional memory. It's the only difference.

Now, remember: the V series is rechargable, while the III series uses AAA batteries. Therefore, travelling with a V palm means you'll have to carry around the cradle. If you'd rather use batteries, maybe the IIIx is better for you.

Good luck!

Want Palm V Hand held PDA Discount?

I spent about 2 months trying to decide whether an organizer could be worth this much money. I just bought my Palm V last week, and it's hard to imagine life without it now. The Palm V is simply the best purchase I've made in a long time. It's an incredibly small and sleek little machine. It fits right in your shirt pocket, even with the hard case I bought for it. It has all the standard things you'd expect from an organizer (address book, to do list, agenda, expense report). The Graffiti system (writing instead of typing) only takes a little while to get used to. The Palm Desktop software and cradle allows you to back everything up in a few seconds. No batteries are necessary, because you can recharge the Palm Vin the cradle. Hundreds of extra programs and games can be downloaded. If you're trying to decide which Palm to buy, I definitely recommend the V. The Vx is about the same, but it has more memory (which I don't think I'll need) and costs a lot more, the III series is great but not as sleek, and the VII has the built-in modem, which doesn't interest me much. Go for the Palm V. If you're trying to decide whether it's worth the money, the answer is a resounding YES!

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