Accessory reviews

• Pager Card
• 3COM Belt Clip Case
• Slipit + Belt Clip by E&B
• DataGlove by Levenger
• BurroPak by LandWare
• Ondata case
• COMING SOON (I hope): BeamLink, to be used with SkyTel's SkyWriter service and the Glenayre IR-enabled 2-way pager.

Pager Card - The only "on-board" paging solution for the PalmPilot. It turns your PalmPilot into a text (alphanumeric) and a numeric pager. If you order the card through PageMart, you can get a special service package. This EVERYTHING you get:

Service: For $19.95/month, you get PageMart service:

• "local" (your home area) phone number for voicemail and numeric; 7 digit PIN number for Text messaging.
• OmniRoam Coverage (only U.S. I believe)
• Voicemail (pers. 30 sec greeting, 30 sec message), accessible by dialing your pager's phone number.
• News and Sports Headlines, plus weather. (They're free, sent automatically, and doesn't count as a text page)
• Message Retrieval to rebroadcast text and numeric messages (voice mail too, but you dial your pager # for that)
• Message limits: Numeric 400 pages, .04 each add'l; Text: 100 messages, .25 each add'l

Basically, you pay for US OmniRoam Word, and get Voice mail for free (the way I see it)

PalmPilot improvements.

• BIG NOTE: No IR BEAMING through the "IR Port" (there is no IR port), yet beaming references are still intact in the OS.
• Palm OS 3.0
  • three different font sizes: reg., bold., and what I call "P3." I think it replaces the bigger font found in some apps. (Seems to be big + bold)
  • New App launcher, with tabs and list view.
  • App launcher absorbs Memory app and includes beaming of apps and deletion.
• Flash memory (allows you to upgrade to new OS versions w/o new cards, but little updates are still downloaded and installed. Flash ROM allows you to burn apps into the card, so that a hard reset will not lose them. 2 problems for me: Flashbuilder, the app from TRG is not available for Mac, and I've heard that the PagerCard uses a different chip than standard OS3 boards, so I couldn't flash it even if I had access to software.

Built-in paging app:

• Missed message alerts (based on each page's sequence number) when you may have missed a page.
• Store messages in different folders.
• Set different alerts for Info (News, Weather, Sports) and other pages.
• Quiet time - pages received will be stored until quiet time ends, then you will receive alerts.
• Ability to turn pager on and off (saves batteries)

I got the Missed Message alert a lot and I'm sure that I haven't missed any. It may be because I deleted some pages in the middle, so if those are missing, it thinks they are missed. I called PageMart and they told me that shouldn't happen; as soon as a message is received, it's "recorded" as having been received and won't be worried about. When I deleted all my messages (or enough to make them be in sequence), it seemed to go away.

As for service, it's been good so far. A few garbles, but those are mostly (if not all) on the News messages.

I'm not that fond of the news service, mostly because it's not that informative to me. So searching around, I found something called OmniBrowse, a news service for alpha pagers. Some services are free, some are not.

• Free: Basic stocks, weather forecasts, lottery numbers, appt calendar (reminders).
• Premium membership: get all the free stuff, plus news (the usual categories: nat'l, int'l, tech, sports...) plus sports coverage Score updates, intermission updates, TV coverage info, customizable for each team.
• Price: 9.95/month, 49.95/6 mos., 89.95/year (the year saves about $30, but I just signed up yesterday so I'm giving them a trial run.

Note: These pages are e-mailed, and count as regular messages

3Com Belt Clip Case. Bought this together with the PP because I knew I wanted to carry it easily at all times. This has a belt loop for threading it onto your belt (MORE secure) or for clipping onto your belt/waistline. The case can be slid to another area so I can get to my pocket or sit down comfortably. In light of this, the inability to swivel it seems to not matter. I wanted more protection and the ability to work with it in the case (goes hand in hand). So I got the ....

E & B Slipit with Belt Clip - This case has a separate belt clip that clips over your belt and pretty much won't come off. The case has a nub on the back (hmmm, my first thought is to say it looks like a square mushroom - it's circular but the cap is like a hockey puck). It snaps into the belt clip and allows swiveling to become horizontal. You push on the button to release and lift up. The case contains a hole for the stylus silo and a pocket for business cards.

I did experience one problem. My belt clip broke twice. Both from strain under the force of me getting in or out of a car. E & B (well, the first time, PilotGear) sent me a new almost immediately. The second time, E & B sent me an updated clip that had designed to fix the problem (it apparently had been a big problem). However...upon getting out of a car, the nub (mushroom) on the case broke!!!! Solved the problem a little too well I think!. :-) E &B sent me a new one, on the basis that they charge my card (not just take a number). When I send the old one back, they will credit the card. Up until receipt of the newest case, I wore it on the right, which is where the problem always occurs (always a passenger). Now it's on my left. Works fine for me. My only complaint is that the only place the case can go is right over my pockets, so sliding it over is a bit difficult.

When I got the Pager card, I immediately put the new door on the Palm Pilot to see if it fit into the case.At first it really had to be jammed in there. Now after about a week, it requres a bit of force to zip up all the way, to get around the edges. I also want a vibrating add-on. But that case doesn't allow serial devices that protrude, so my option would be to get the Vibes Clip. However, the new version adds a bit of depth to the PP, about the same as the Pager (about 3/16 of an inch).

• Top is open (for easy removal)
• serial port opening
• enough breathing room for add-on devices (not modem sized, just pager and "TaleStuff")

I seem to have found it in the...Data Glove - No experience at this time, but I'm looking forward to it! I'm hoping that it can adjust well to the pager Card's size, as well as the VibesClip. The first two criteria (of the above 3) are covered, but the second is not sure yet.

I got it and when I put the PP into it, the sides of the case started to buckle. By that I mean that since it wasn't designed with extra depth in mind, the PP caused it the side strips of leather to bend upward. (This was a while ago, and I'm trying to remember why.) That that made it awkward to use. Unfortunately, it wasn't secure in my opinion. It had two snaps to keep it closed (hard to close). It had a similar snap for the belt clip. This was not very secure. It unsnapped itself very easily. (it always happened when I "tested" it, I don't think it happened on its own - it may have happened then too). I could not deal with this and if the clip were similar to Slipit or FlipCase (the button-release clip), i might have kept it. The hole in for the serial port seemed like a good idea, but I wasn't able to use it. (There is now a product called The Bridge that can allow HotSync in a case that has a serial port hole). Sorry, Levenger, thumbs down until the belt mechanism is more secure.

Anxiously awaiting the VibesClip. too. When a PalmPilot alarm (or a pager alert via TaleMute) is going off, the sound is muted and a signal is sent to the serial port. A transmitter is inserted into the serial port (with a piece that lays on the back). It in turn sends the signal to a receiver to be clipped on your belt or in your pocket, which will vibrate (Oooooh.). There is also a tny LED located on top of the receiver.

That's how it works. How well it works?? I don't foresee any problems with it, but we'll see. It takes some real estate on the back, though doesn't add any length.

Update (October 25, 1998): The VibesClip did not ship. It was replaced with the BeepClip, which will be reviewed here soon. I also got a "flawed" RhinoPak 2000 from PGHQ, but I don't see no stinkin' flaws.