So, while it can be nice to have instant access to everyone in the Address Book on your Palm device from within Outlook's Mail module, there's a price to be paid. If you've never used the Palm Desktop, you probably won't have many problems acclimating yourself to how Outlook's Contact module and your Palm device interact, though it'll take some work to get everything set up. However, if you've been using Palm Desktop and are comfortable with it, you probably won't want to switch.

Verdict: Palm Desktop's Address Book wins by a narrow (and slightly biased) margin.

Outlook Task List vs. the To Do List
There really isn't a whole lot to say about these two modules. The functionality of each is comparable and what differences do exist are minor.

As with all the Palm Desktop modules, the To Do List offers a clean, all-in-one interface. Each To Do item can be assigned a priority (one through five), a due date, and a category. See Figure M for an example.

FIGURE M


The To Do list is clean and easy to use. Roll over picture for a larger image.

Outlook's Task List, pictured in Figure N, looks quite similar to Contact's list view.

FIGURE N


Outlook's Task List isn't much different from the To Do List. Roll over picture for a larger image.

As with that Contacts, PocketMirror synchronizes your categories to the custom field "PalmPilot Category." Again, to change or assign a category you must either make the change on your Palm device or manually type the category in the PalmPilot Category field.

To edit a Task, simply double-click the item to open it, as in Figure O.

FIGURE O


The Task List item window lets you easily modify any task. Roll over picture for a larger image.

As with the other Outlook modules, you can easily add a note by typing in the note area at the bottom of the window. You can also use the Reoccurrence button to schedule repeating Tasks.

You'll notice that Outlook only offers three priority settings: High, Normal, and Low. This presents a small problem, as the To Do List on your Palm device has five priority settings. To compensate, PocketMirror synchronizes Outlook's priority settings by assigning High priority items as 1, Normal priority items as 3, and Low priority items as 5. All To Do items created on your Palm device and assigned a priority of 2, 3, or 4 will be labeled as Normal in Outlook.

Outlook also lets you track the status and progress of your task and set a reminder for each item. Of course, none of these items get synchronized to your Palm device. You'll also find several additional fields under the Details tab, pictured in Figure P, but none of these items get synchronized to your Palm device either.

FIGURE P


The Details tab offers more fields that can't be synchronized. Roll over picture for a larger image.

What matters most to you? While the Task List offers many more features than the To Do List (priority settings notwithstanding), all the extra stuff won't be synchronized with your Palm device. Most of those extra fields are just fluff anyway.

Verdict: It's a toss up, but I'll give the edge to Outlook's Task List.

Outlook Notes vs. Memo Pad
Now for our last match of the day. We're all familiar with the Palm Desktop's Memo Pad, pictured in Figure Q.