What's on the inside?
For all you hardware fans, the guts aren't much different from the Palm IIIxe: 8MB RAM, 2MB flash, and a 33.1Mhz Dragonball VZ processor. The computer's System Info screen is shown in Figure G.

FIGURE G


System Info can be found under App->System Info. Roll over picture for a larger image.

What's on the outside?
The front of the case looks like metal, but it's just prettily-painted plastic. At least the texture makes it fingerprint-proof. If you take a look at the back of the HandEra 330, you'll notice that the case has been completely redesigned so that the stylus silo is completely on the outside of the unit. This will definitely prevent the display cable from becoming frayed, and it should help to keep from having to reseat the display cable.

The soft Graffiti area is…well…interesting. I miss being able to use utilities like McPhling (at http://home.cfl.rr.com/mjmdlm/palm/) and DALauncher (at http://www.114pda.com/re-app/launcher/dalauncher.htm). These just don't seem to work with the soft buttons. Also, I haven't figured out how to turn off the "echo." All of the Graffiti strokes are echoed to the display. This may be useful for those just starting out with Graffiti, but I find the feature a bit distracting. I like the idea of the soft Graffiti area in principle, but I don't find myself using it much in practice, except when reading, where the added screen real estate comes in handy.

Conclusion
I'm finally going to take the plunge and say goodbye to my Palm IIIx, which will have a new home in a good friend's hands. With a little tuning on my part and tweaking by application developers, I'll be able to have exactly what I want, and more. The HandEra 330 is a thoughtfully-designed unit, with many features I'm going to be able to use now and in the future. I highly recommend it for those who are looking for their first Palm OS computer but don't want to invest in color. It's also great for the power user, who can immediately make use of all the new features.

Claire Pieterek is a long-time Palm handheld user. On a mission to ditch her Franklin Planner, she bought her first--a Pilot 5000--in May, 1996. She currently owns a Japanese-language Sony Clie 650C, a Sony Clie 710C, and a Palm Zire 71, among others. She is most at home in Chicago and Kyoto, and is a student of life, the universe, and Japanese.