Awesome

I'm in love with my Palm TX. This is my first handheld (although I've been after them for a long time), and I am quite certain that I made a good choice going for this one. In fact, I am so in love with this gadget that I need to defend it from some "evil" comments some of you have made on it. :-P

Performance
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First, it seems to me that some comments are contrasting the performance of this device with that of a laptop/desktop. You can't expect a handheld to do the job of a PC/Mac, at least not yet.

Second, Palm TX is not a $600 PDA. This little device has a very nice performance/price ratio, and expecting it to behave as one of her rich cousins would be like if I expected my Honda Civic to run like a Ferrari.

Programs
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The programs in the bundle are just nice, but you quickly learn that you could do better. For example, the Palm TX comes with an old version of Documents to Go (I think v.7, when v.10 just came out). But these programs are expensive: If you want your Palm to have all the cool programs you learn about, you might have to scratch your pockets. Just think that sharing is always an option. Buy a program and share it with your colleagues. They'll share theirs with you. You don't need to buy your own serial number; many Palms can have the same serial number for the same program. ;-)

Also, one can find many interesting tools/programs online, which are freeware, and which can make your Palm a lot better. Here's a list of some free programs you can find online for your Palm:

* FullPower: It will improve the battery life of the Palm quite appreciably (by better managing the screen brightness). Also, you can remove the annoying "low battery" messages.
* AutoOffExtender: It allows extending the auto-off time in the Palm up to 10 min (maximum 3 min in the standard software).
* FileProg and FileZ are nice programs to browse the files in the internal memory of the Palm and the SD card. They have functions such as delete, copy, paste, info...
* Backup. Useful program to backup all the info in your Palm in the SD card.

These other programs are shareware, but they are really useful:
* Uninstall manager: To uninstall programs (and its associated files) easily, leaving no orphan files behind.
* Megaclock: Clock with lots of options.
* Mundu IM: Chat using Yahoo, MSN, AOL, and ICQ.
* Softick Card Export 2.22: This program will make the Palm work as a SD card reader. Just connect the Palm to the USB cable and open this program. A new disk unit will be recognized by Windows.


Do your research first
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So, based on the previous list of programs (which is not complete) that I have been accruing since I bought the Palm, less than a month ago, it is quite clear that the Palm TX is a really flexible and useful tool. Once needs to explore the device and its possibilities. That is, as in life in general some research is necessary. (Hey, this is lots of fun!)

Still, some people prefer to jump into conclusions right after using any gadget for 5 min. For example, somebody mentioned that it was very difficult to find a cover for the TX (well, I found at least five different covers in Amazon [by the way, I recommend Saunders's Rhino Skin, that's what I got]), on usage of the Hotsync cable vs. Bluetooth (why buy a $30 Bluetooth adaptor for the PC when you can do Hotsync using wi-fi?), on battery life (duh! like with a cellphone, if you want your battery to last, just don't put it to charge every day, wait until the battery is empty!).

I sum...
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I like the Palm TX because it is useful and because it's going to release me from my laptop for short trips. No more carrying my laptop with me just for an eventual email check! But I am falling in love with this little device because it's a really versatile, flexible tool. While one can't expect it to behave at a normal PC's level, you can do things with it that no one could have dreamt of a few years ago. It is also a very entertaining toy, which allows me to kill time anywhere without being annoying to others (compared to a cellphone chatter, playing on the Palm is more like reading a book).

I recommend owners of this little device to explore it and to play with it. If your only purpose is to have your contacts and planning in it, then just ignore my advice. But if you are considering what else you could do with your Palm TX, devote some time and go to online (blogs, websites, and groups) and collect information. You might see this little gadget with different eyes.

Oh, and if you don't have a PDA yet... what are you waiting for? :-)


Edit 07/25/2007: Add to the list of freeware programs Google Maps. Almost the same features as the regular version and completely free!