The information on this page was compiled by the author. PalmSource has posted it as a public service, but is not responsible for its accuracy, or for the usability or behavior of software programs referenced here.

Use custom databases and an unlimited number of word lists to drill with flashcards or use play Hangman; either way you're reviewing vocabulary words and reinforcing your learning of any kind of material.

Purchase

I use the PalmOS 5 Tungsten|T PDA from Palm. I am a high school student, and taking down all those notes and daily assignments was taking up too much paper. So I bought the T|T. Not only can I keep track of ALL of my assignments and their due dates, as well as keep all of my notes organized and legible, but using a Bluetooth access point, I can access my email from teachers and access the net almost anywhere in the school. The use of this device has allowed me to become much more organized and helped me miss a grand total of 0 assignments after I began using it. It has greatly helped my GPA in school!

Before I went off to college, I knew that I was in for a serious lifestyle adjustment. I never would have guessed how much of a change it was going to have been. I bought my Tungsten T to organize myself and keep up what was required of me, and instead of my usual scraps of paper, I put everything into my handheld, even things that I wouldn't be looking at for years to come. This was such a benefit to me because of all of my future projects and needing to set up times that I carry it with me everywhere. I found that the Tungsten worked so well with my needs that I started to use it in my classes for my Excel worksheets. The sheet works perfectly with my home computer's Excel and it makes my spreadsheet work much more convenient that I can edit them while in class. Now, my professor even calls on my just to use the spreadsheet to give examples in class.

The Palm OS has completely changed the way I do things, I work with my spreadsheets on it, and I listen to my music on it when I work out, I even use it as my permanent alarm clock. It has completely infiltrated my life. I now can't imagine being without it.

I can now say that I'm a cyborg. My daily functioning depends on having my Clie in my coat pocket. It has improved my grades by giving me a compact and fun system for writing my school assignments down. I am able to quickly take notes and I have all my important information with me at all times. Having it has made me a more well-rounded person by allowing me to read news publications from all around the world. And who needs a brain when I can store names, phone numbers, and addresses and not have to worry about forgetting them at critical times. It's hard to remember life before it was enhanced by Palm. But I know that I never want to go back to the dark ages of pen and paper.

Palm Powered Handhelds have completely revolutionized the way I live my life. I have owned Palm Powered PDA's for over a year now, and I have owned the Palm m125, Sony CLIE PEG-T415, and Sony CLIE PEG-N760C since my first purchase last year. I use my CLIE N760C for many different purposes, ranging from grade tracking to web browsing to entertainment.

On the organization side of the spectrum, I have experienced great flexibility from the Palm OS platform that I simply would be unable to do with a Pocket PC handheld. Palm OS's system is open-ended enough that I am able to run replacement PIM applications like DateBk5 and still take advantage of more advanced Palm OS features like vibrating alarms and high resolution color graphics. I use Handmark's 4.0Student software to track my grades, and again, thanks to Palm's flexible system, this software is seamlessly integrated with the Palm OS Date Book and To Do List.

Though Palm OS is simple enough for even a novice to use easily, its' capabilities are strong enough for me to utilize many high-powered features such as playing MP3's, quickly manipulating, viewing, and editing files on expansion media, and managing databases. Many third-party options, often bundled or freeware, push Palm OS to the limit and maximize the functionality of my device.

One of the greatest things about Palm OS is the vast multitude of software available. Palm OS's developer program, which I am a member of, makes it possible for nearly anyone with the tools needed can create software for Palm handhelds. This means that whenever I look at my favorite software site with a certain kind of program in mind, someone has made it, no matter if it is a program that makes my handheld's screen a mirror, or a program that edits and views Microsoft Office documents.

Lastly, Palm OS devices make it easy for anyone to get organized for a very low price. I encounter many PDA users, using devices ranging from $99 budget models to $500, cutting-edge models. But here's the great part: despite the $400 difference, that $99 Palm handheld can do almost everything the more expensive one can do! So no matter who you are, what you need, or what budget you are on, Palm OS handhelds have something that'll go above and beyond your expectations.

In these ways, and many more, Palm OS has drastically improved my life. I can automate tasks that used to be tedious organizing with paper, entertain myself with games and multimedia content, and all for a very small price tag. Thanks, Palm!

My first ever "digital diary" stood only for its name. I used it to keep track of my schedule and to use it to look-up the telephone numbers, and occasionally use the notepad, which only accepted input through a tiny and troublesome on-screen keyboard. I was quite hyped about it for the first week or so, but it wasn't long before I realized that it was nothing but a waste of money since the device was simply lying around catching dirt in my closet. This was the time when I came in complete agreement with my parents, who had advised me not to buy the "digital diary" in the first place. I felt defeated at my own game, and decided not to step into the PDA territory of consumer electronics again. Little did I know, Palm had plans that would change the way my family and I looked at these little gadgets.

Last year, I saw my friend using the Palm m100. Considering my past experience, I was greatly cynical in my judgment of the device. Though, when my friend started showing the versatility of the product and the ability for it to have software, as well as hardware, upgrades, my curiosity woke up yet once again. I remember I went home the same day and sat on the Internet for hours, researching on almost all the PDAs that were available in the market. This extensive research continued for the next two months.

It turned out that within a matter of two years, the PDA product-line had greatly diversified. The two giants competing in this new market were Microsoft and, of course, Palm. Since Palm was a fairly new brand to me, and because I had been using Microsoft Windows since the first time I bought my PC (just like about 80% of the general population), I felt compelled to buy the, then called, Windows CE based handheld. Though, due to the high prices and hearing about the frequent crashes of their operating system (those of you who have Windows on their PCs know exactly what I'm talking about), I had to chain-down my urges to get my hands on the handheld. Contrary to the Windows CE handhelds, Palm's products were definitely affordable and far more stable, and since I had seen it at work thanks to my friend, I could tell that they served the purpose well enough.

After much consideration and spending countless hours trying to compare the two companies' products, and overcoming my reluctance to spend money to buy another handheld, I decided to give a try to Palm's m130. And let me tell you, buying this PDA, undoubtedly, was one of the best investments of my life! Despite the fact that I had never used a Palm OS based device before, it took minutes to get comfortable with the PDA. The user interface was extremely easy to get accustomed to and literally everything was a "screen-touch" away. After understanding the simple functionality of the platform (which took no more than 10 minutes), I was on my way to installing the accompanying software like a pro.

The multi-functionality of this device was so compelling and so well designed that my PDA started becoming a necessity of my life. Within a matter of days my m130 became one of the four things I can't leave my home without; the other three being my cell phone, my car-keys, and my wallet-.

Since then, my PDA is the one that wakes me up in the morning with its alarm clock. Right before leaving the house, I press the HotSync button on the cradle of the PDA to synchronize it with my PC, which then downloads/update all the information I could possibly need. Heading out of my house to downtown, I quickly browse through the things that need to be taken care of throughout the day to make sure everything is running on schedule and check out the weather for the day to prepare myself physically for the day out.

While on my way to the subway, I check on the timings of the next coming train. Making onto the subway right on time, on my way to school, I read the updated news from the top news agencies (such as CNN, ABC, MSNBC, The New York Times etc), that I synchronized in the morning, through the software that downloads full colored websites onto my handheld. Getting off from the subway, I quickly tap into my money-management software (UltraSoft Money) that synchronizes my PDA with my PC's Microsoft Money to check my account balances before going ahead with my major purchases/expenses for the day. Next, stopping by at the coffee shop, I buy my regular caffeine-free and, while I wait for the cashier to give me back my change, I launch my expense-tracker to quickly "touch-down" my spending right away, which will then be transferred onto my PC when I later synchronize my PDA with it.

Stepping into the University, the PDA starts beeping and the screen shows that I have a lecture coming up in five minutes. Rushing through the hallway full of students, I enter the lecture hall and unfold my full-size keyboard, which I then attach to my m130. Throughout the lecture, I "type-down" everything the professor says, while the other students struggle with their pencils and pens barely keeping up with the professor's speed. At the end of the lecture, I go up to the professor, while the others still busy trying to copy notes, to ask a few questions and, using the built-in Notepad software, I write down his answers in my own handwriting so as to refer back to it whenever I please.

During the time I get in-between lectures, I snap on my Xircom wireless LAN card to the m130 and log onto my email account and drop a quick line to my girl friend, while checking the new emails in my inbox.

Waiting for the subway on my way back home, I tap into my digital family photo album just to get a bit of relaxation after a long day, checking out the pictures and videos we took at my cousin's wedding recently and updated onto the PDA the night before. After getting on the subway, I decide to look at the recent work-sheet document that was created using Microsoft Excel. I re-check the calculations in the cells, and making necessary changes I save the document so as to update it with my PC once I get home.

After coming back home, I snap my PDA onto the cradle to recharge and "sync" it to my PC, updating all the changes that were made throughout the day. After getting freshened up, I plug out my PDA from the cradle and lie down on my bed and open up the e-book that I couldn't finish the night before. After getting bored with reading, I decide to play my all-time favourite game, Bejeweled, to see if I can beat my own record. Just before going to sleep though, I make sure to set the alarm for the next morning, or else everything may go haywires!

My PDA, as you may be able to notice, has become a significant part of my life now. So now you know some of the reasons why I can't leave home with out it! :) The best part is that, looking at how much useful this tiny device is and how fast and easy it is to use, my dad is now seriously considering getting one for himself; even though he is the kind of guy who doesn't like to get himself involved with the new technology. I am trying to push him to take my m130 so that I can go ahead and buy the new Tungsten T and open a whole new world of advancements, including MP3-playing capabilities!!!

Regardless of the outcome of this competition, I would like to thank Palm for coming out with such pioneering products and services, and with significantly stable software, something greatly lacking in your counterpart (Pocket PC). I always recommend Palm's PDAs to all of my friends and, after seeing me in action with my own day-in and day-out, three of them have already purchased their very own and love it just as much as I do! Seeing the strengths and expandability of these devices, I think it won't be long before the actual secretaries and assistants may have to find other jobs. Keep up the good work Palm, and thank you for reading this through! :)

I bought a Palm m100 my senior year of high school to keep track of when I worked and my lengthy list of extra-curricular activities. During the last month of school, I asked all of my friends for their address info (since all I had before was an email address book and a piece of notebook paper with some phone numbers). When I went to college the next fall, it was so nice to know where my friends were and how to get in touch with them when the weekend rolled around.

Now I have a Palm m125 and I would be lost without it. Keeping track of college life is unbelievably easier for me. I schedule meetings, put my assignments on the To Do list (it's such a good feeling to finally clear that last To Do of your list in the wee hours of the morning), and keep track of my Professors when I have a question. When I have time I have a few games on it that I can play ;-).

After trying to use early "PDAs" from other vendors, I finally bit the bullet and bought a Palm device after going on a video shoot and seeing the DP using his Palm handheld for all sorts of amazing things.

Since then, I upgraded to a Handspring Visor (thinking I would need accessories). But my Handspring has been all I've ever needed pretty much out of the box-- thanks to the efficient Palm OS.

While in film school I used the Palm handheld to manage classes, shooting schedules, and a huge list of contacts (it's WHO you know). Whenever I had a creative jolt, I could always quietly enter it into my Notes.

Since getting married, I can now keep track of all birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, etc. on my Palm handheld. I also teach at a technical school, and I'm using software to integrate with Office applications so I can enter grades with my Palm handheld! Instead of flying around the room with a load of papers like the proverbial absent-minded professor (which I sort of am without my Palm handheld), I can efficiently enter necessary data in one tiny, convenient package.

I'm hoping to learn enough about programming to develop a way to sync my Palm handheld with our gradebooks!

And when my students have a question I can't answer, I just use the Acrobat reader for Palm OS to look up a reference book answer...

I tried using pen and paper for a long time, but I'm glad I have the flexibility and ease of use in my Visor. Oh, and when I get bored, I can always relax with a nice game of chess or something.

Now, in closing, I should mention I've considered PocketPC. But after a long hard look I decided to stick with Palm OS, because of the better OS, better applications, MORE software, and reliability. Besides, I use a Mac at home, and only Palm allows me to natively sync up with iSync from Apple.