Instead, QUALCOMM provides its own Internet access software in the form of their own pdQmail, represented in Figure E, and pdQbrowser client. Obviously users nowadays are going to want to have access to the increasingly popular Palm Web clipping software and AvantGo channels, and we hope this too will be addressed in a future software update.

FIGURE E

QUALCOMM provides its own Internet access software in the form of pdQmail client.

The pdQ's networking software compatibility deficiencies notwithstanding, pdQbrowser, shown in Figure F, and pdQmail are extremely well-designed applications and are well-optimized for the limited 14.4K bandwidth that the CDMA modem has to offer. pdQmail is a basic, no-nonsense email client, which you can use to retrieve and send messages to your ISP or POP3 (Version 3 of the Post Office Protocol) compliant corporate mail system, provided you have your account log-on information and know the host IP (Internet Protocol) address of your email server. It's quick and dirty, and it even has basic email filtering capabilities.

FIGURE F

pdQbrowser, the pdQ's other Internet access software, is also an extremely well-designed application and is well-optimized for the limited 14.4K bandwidth that the CDMA modem has to offer.

pdQbrowser is a PDA-optimized Web browser that allows you to browse any Web page, similar to AvantGo, except it's limited to text-only data. I've found that pdQbrowser works best with AvantGo channels, which are optimized for use on PDA screens. Unfortunately, AvantGo.com hides the URLs of their channels off their main subscription page, so if you're a pdQ user you'll want to create a pdQbrowser bookmark for Dan Reed's PliNk! site at http://plink.cjb.net. This site has many of the premium AvantGo channels hyperlinked, including our own PalmPower channel, and is shown in Figure G.

FIGURE G

Dan Reed's PliNk! site at http://plink.cjb.net has many of the premium AvantGo channels hyperlinked.

pdQbrowser, like AvantGo, has no SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) or Javascript support, so some popular Web pages won't work. For example, I tried to get into my Web email using Hotmail and find local restaurants using ZAGAT.com, but the lack of Javascript prevented these sites from working properly. However, I had no problem connecting to my OperaMail account, which doesn't use the advanced browser features.

The straight talk
It may sound like we've been overly critical of the pdQ, but we fully understand and appreciate that the unit has been under development for a very long time and reflects the state of Palm technology as it was well over a year ago. We are extremely excited about the pioneering work QUALCOMM's phone division has done with the pdQ and hope that under Kyocera's ownership, they will continue with new versions of the pdQ, incorporating the latest CDMA phone technology and software improvements like Web Clipping and AvantGo.

Even with the pdQ's memory limitations and somewhat out-of-date software, we expect that Wall Street barons, power executives, and uber-geeks, looking for that all-inclusive wireless Internet and PDA fix, will want to give the first pdQ a spin. Those PDA veterans who have experience with 4MB and 8MB Palms from 3Com and Handspring, however, may want to wait until other PalmOS phone offerings with newer software, better screens, and more memory hit the street.