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Although the retail industry posted below average sales during the back-to-school season in August, returning students brought back a number of new products aimed at technology-savvy undergraduates. These products often come with a steep price tag, but companies claim that they are worth the price. Among these companies is Palm Inc., which has been marketing the Palm m130 handheld of their new m100 series to a younger, college bound crowd.
The appeal of the m130 lies in its superior versatility. A far cry from its predecessor the monochrome Palm V series, the m130 sports thousands of colors. In conjunction with various add-ons, it can be used as anything from a GPS satellite to a flashlight. For around $260, an add-on can be purchased that will allow the m130 to work with BC's wireless Internet system. The accompanying software allows the user to view and exchange MS Word, Excel, and Power Point files.
Style is far from overlooked. The m130 has interchangeable faceplates, and Bodyglove makes a line of holsters for carrying it. The Palm m130 runs on the Palm OS and contains an expandable port as well as a card slot for external software. It retails for $249, although a number of retailer have $25 mail-in rebates for Palms.
Of more interest to students is the software that is offered for the Palm m100 series, which is the most compatible line that is available from Palm. Handmark.com offers an award-winning program for college students called 4.0 Student, which allows them to enter their syllabi, grading procedures, and professor information into the PDA to add classes and assignments automatically into the date book and to-do list. The program will calculate your GPA, as well as "What if" scenarios to see what grade is needed on a test to achieve a certain grade.
One can also use the optional Internet site to enter the class data. The Web site allows one to choose "Boston College" as the school, and BC's GPA formula is used for the grade calculator. Also the site allows one to access information such as syllabi and grades. A simple Hot-Synch operation will synchronize the PDA's data with the data stored on the computer or, in the case of 4.0 Student, the Internet. 4.0 Student retails for $19.99 and is available for the Palm and Pocket PC operating systems.
A year of the optional Web services is $9.99 per year. The software and details can be found at www.fourostudent.com or www.handmark.com. For any Palm or Pocket PC user, Handmark.com is worth a visit for free demos of high quality software that can be downloaded from the site.
Other notable software selections include a scientific calculator program included with the Palm m130 and, of course, a myriad of games. Some are available at no cost for download from Handmark.com or a number of other Web sites.
If wireless communication and productivity is your choice and money is not an issue, Palm offers their newest product the i705, which is constantly connected to the wireless Internet, allowing the user to access e-mail, the Internet, and AOL Instant Messenger anywhere within the service area. Like Ethernet, it is always connected.
The service is currently available only in certain metropolitan areas. Boston and BC are well within the service area. The i705 is fully loaded with software but is monochrome and retails for $399. Palm Internet service is $39.99 per month. Many of the other Palm PDAs, including the m130, are able to connect to the wireless Internet through certain data-capable mobile phones.
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