3Com Palm IIIc

Palm has been criticised for being slow to market with a colour addition to its range, but it's here now and it's stunning. The name of this model positions the IIIc as part of the Palm III range, rather than the slimmer executive V range. Direct comparison with the Palm IIIx (reviewed issue 62, p82) reveals a case that's 8mm taller and an extra 25g in weight, but neither change spoils the feel of compactness.

The Sharp-made TFT screen is bright and has a reasonable angle of view, which is just as good as that found on the former A-Listed Casio Cassiopeia E105 (reviewed issue 62, p84). The display surface itself is somewhat soft, reminiscent of the early Palm IIIx models, and there must be a question mark over its resistance to scratching. In addition, the stylus is a poor plastic imitation of the excellent weighted metal one provided with the IIIx. The IIIc may have the form factor of a IIIx, but instead of two AAA batteries relies on a lithium ion rechargeable battery, and because of this its HotSync cradle is incompatible with previous cradles for Palms. 3Com quotes a ten-hour battery life, which compares well against Windows CE devices.

The DragonBall processor has increased in speed by only 4MHz, but it copes extremely well with the new demands and it feels just as fast as its predecessor. 3Com has doubled the RAM to 8Mb, but the system ROM remains at 2Mb despite the new PalmOS, now at version 3.5. This supports colour as well as faster synchronising, and is available as a download for previous Palms. If the application supports it, icons in the Application Manager display in colour but that aside there are practically no changes to the built-in programs. The menu bars display in blue and at last tapping on the application name at the top-left of the screen drops down the menus. In the diary, conflicting appointments display a red marker. In addition, a command stroke on the Graffiti area now displays a command menu at the bottom of the screen with options such as Cut, Copy or Paste where relevant.

Web browser AvantGo is now included and provides access to a host of Web sites specially formatted for the Palm platform. A more advanced calculator - powerOne - provides business and mathematical functions and a colourful version of Backgammon is also now part of the standard suite. This may not seem like much, but with the colour development kit already available it won't be long before coloured versions of document editors, image viewers, drawing tools and other utilities appear on the Web.

The Palm series has always been an excellent platform for those wanting a compact, fast, palm-sized device and who weren't concerned about Windows compatibility. It synchronises with an increasing range of desktop PIMs, and GSM connectivity is easy to achieve. The addition of colour certainly gives CE machines a run for their money.

The IIIc is slightly more expensive than the Casio but considerably lighter and more compact. Whereas Windows CE devices bulk at the addition of colour, the IIIc has retained its slenderness. Only the monochrome 8Mb Palm Vx can compete on style, but for functionality and performance the IIIc earns a well-deserved place on our A List.

Author: Derek Cohen