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Heather compares all the new Palm OS devices (continued)
FIGURE E
 
TRG's TRGPro has a CompactFlash slot so you can store more information. Roll over picture for a larger image.
Are you confused yet? Don't worry. We'll sort through all of devices as we roll along.
Where does the Palm IIIxe fit in?
As promised, we've got an incredibly useful comparison chart that helps put it all into perspective. Frankly, even though we watch this industry daily, it's hard for even our PalmPower editorial staff to keep track of all the Palm options and we've started turning to this chart as a helper. If you're serious about buying a Palm device, you should probably bookmark this page right now.
Table A compares the Palm IIIxe with other Palm OS devices, ranging from the $149 Palm IIIe to the $449 Palm VIII.
| Device |
Price |
Memory |
Case colors |
Expansion options |
Screen color |
Wireless |
OS |
| Palm IIIe |
$149 |
2MB |
Gray, Clear |
No |
Grayscale |
No |
Palm OS 3.3 |
| Palm IIIx |
$229 |
4MB |
Gray |
No |
Grayscale |
No |
Palm OS 3.3 |
| Palm IIIxe |
$249 |
8MB |
Slate |
No |
Grayscale |
No |
Palm OS 3.5 |
| Palm IIIc |
$449 |
8MB |
Slate |
No |
Color display |
No |
Palm OS 3.5 |
| Palm VII |
$449 |
2MB |
Gray |
No |
Grayscale |
Yes |
Palm OS 3.2 |
| Palm V |
$329 |
2MB |
Gray |
No |
Grayscale |
No |
Palm OS 3.0 |
| Palm Vx |
$399 |
8MB |
Gray |
No |
Grayscale |
No |
Palm OS 3.5 |
| Visor |
$179 |
2MB |
Graphite |
Springboard |
Grayscale |
No |
Palm OS 3.1 |
| Visor Deluxe |
$249 |
8MB |
Graphite, Ice, Blue, Green, Orange |
Springboard |
Grayscale |
No |
Palm OS 3.1 |
| TRGPro |
$329.99 |
8MB |
Gray |
Compact Flash |
Grayscale |
No |
Palm OS 3.3 |
What Palm OS device should I buy?
Now that we know what Palm OS devices exist, which one is right for you?
The TRGPro seems to be a good device if you need to have a tremendous amount of information with you, and at $329.99, it's not terribly expensive if you're a mobile packrat. For all intents and purposes, you're paying $80.99 over the cost of the Palm IIIxe for a Compact Flash slot. If that's what you need, the additional cost is quite reasonable. There is one caveat though: the Palm IIIxe is likely to be available at discounted prices off that $249 list, where the lower-volume TRG device probably won't be. So you may find yourself paying a hundred bucks or so for that slot.
The Palm IIIxe is a good middle of the road device with enough memory to support all those cool third-party programs you want to download and, at $249, it doesn't cost too much. However, if you want to spend the same amount of money and you're excited by the capabilities the Visor's Springboard expansion slot has to offer, you might want to go with the Visor Deluxe. Be forewarned: if you do decide to go with Handspring, you should keep in mind that there have been various reports of customer service and supply problems. Handspring is certainly doing everything they can to make this process smoother, so we expect these early growing pains to subside in the coming months.
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