Right around this time of year, we get a lot of letters requesting advice on how to choose the right Palm device for the folks on the Christmas List. Claire Pieterek answers one such letter in this informative article.

Your recommendations are appreciated.

Sincerely,
Ed O'Loughlin

PS: I'm in the temperature control business. If you're looking for a good thermostat, I would recommend the Honeywell Chronotherm. Built like a tank, best on the market. Thanks!

Senior Technical Editor Claire Pieterek responds
Hi, Ed! Thanks for the recommendation on the thermostat. I've been thinking about replacing mine.

As far as handheld computers go, I've come up with some general categories. These are of my own devising, and reflect my personal biases.

Electronic diaries
First, you have what I call the electronic diaries. These aren't really handheld computers, per se, but more like battery-powered Daytimers. Examples of these would include RexPro, Fuga, Sharp Wizard, and Casio Boss. They are inexpensive, generally not upgradable, and may not be able to be backed up.

Palm-alikes
Next, you have what I call Palm-alikes. These include DaVinci (which is no longer on the market as far as I know, Palm got an injunction against the manufacturer for stealing PalmOS code), the Vtech Helio, the TI Avigo (as far as I know, this has been discontinued by the manufacturer), and Psion models. Some of these are actually nice machines, but there is little in the way of add-on software and peripherals. Distribution is limited. Often, these products are only available via the Internet.

Windows CE devices
Then there's Windows CE. Windows CE currently comes in three flavors: handheld PC (H/PC), palm-sized PC, and H/PC Pro. These machines offer lots of bells and whistles, such as color screens and voice recording capabilities, but may not provide the functionality and ease of use inherent in other platforms. They're also death on batteries!

H/PC and H/PC Pro models have keyboards. On the H/PC models, the keyboards are often tiny and difficult to use if you're not a hunt-and-peck typist. The H/PC Pro models are larger, approaching full-fledged notebook size and cost. The problem here is this: why bother with a crippled operating system and applications that aren't transparently compatible with your desktop PC's applications? For the price of an H/PC Pro you can buy a subnotebook (e.g., Sony Vaio) or low-end laptop with Windows 98 or Windows NT and the ability to run Microsoft Office.