In the early days of the auto industry, if you wanted a Ford Model T, you could have it in any color as long as it was black. Fortunately, the makers of handheld computers don't subscribe to that philosophy. Though you can't always pick your handheld's color, you can choose from a variety of other options. Here is a look at three new handhelds, from basic to advanced.
· PalmOne's Zire 21. The PalmOne company offers this entry-level handheld for users who'd like some affordable organization.
The Zire 21 has a contacts list that lets you store contact information, a calendar with alarms to remind you of appointments, and a to-do list. It also allows you to align the information on your Zire 21 with your PC.
The Zire 21 costs $99. For more information, call 1 (800) 881-7256.
·PalmOne's Tungsten T3. This is a more feature-rich handheld than the Zire. It has a color screen that's 320 x 480 resolution and 50 percent bigger than its Palm predecessors. You can also use the screen in portrait (vertical) or landscape (horizontal) mode. "That's critical for these users," says PalmOne's product group manager Andrea Johnson. "Because they can use a display that best suits their data."
The PEG-UX50 plays video.
Though the T3 doesn't have a modem, it does support the Bluetooth wireless standard, so you can link the T3 to a Bluetooth-enabled cell phone and surf on your handheld.
PalmOne has also updated the original applications "contacts" and "calendar," expanding the categories of appointments to include such specific ones as work and family. You can now transmit those categories to others' computers. "That's a highly requested feature," says Ms. Johnson. "Your spouse might want to know what your travel schedule is for the next month, and you can beam it to them."
Finally, the 400-MHz processor and 64 Mb of memory allow you to view photos and video and listen to music files on the T3. To properly store these types of files, though, Ms. Johnson recommends purchasing a memory card.
The T3 costs $399. For more information, call 1 (800) 881-7256.
·Sony's PEG-UX50 Clie. At the high end of the price scale is the UX50, which Sony calls a "personal entertainment organizer." It has the usual personal organization features, but it also built in Wi-Fi connectivity, which lets you surf the Web whenever you're near a Wi-Fi "hotspot," or wireless access point. These hotspots are becoming more common in airports and various upscale coffee shops. It also supports the Bluetooth wireless standard.
In addition, the UX50 lets you record video, still pictures or audio. You can save up to five hours of video and 16 hours of audio with an optional memory stick. The image resolution isn't very high, however.
"It's not the same resolution as a stand-alone digital camera," says Sony spokesman Eric Apodaca. "But if you just want to take a photo and e-mail it to a friend, the resolution is nice."
The UX50 costs $650. For information, call (877) 865-SONY.
