Does anyone use their Palm as a laptop or PC replacement?

From James S. (Melbourne, Florida, USA) "Hi, Sammy... Saw your question on PA this morning, "Does anyone use their Palm as a laptop or PC replacement?" and thought I would share my recent experience with you. As you may remember, I recently purchased a new Tungsten T3 from PalmOne to replace my aging Sony Clie SJ33. About 2 weeks after my T3 arrived, I started experiencing problems with my laptop, a 5-year-old Toshiba Satellite; when I plugged the AC adaptor into the power jack on the back of the laptop, it would not make a good connection. As a result, I couldn't get power to it. I took the laptop to a local repair shop to be looked at. The technician there informed me that I needed to replace the motherboard. I decided to take it to another repair shop for a second opinion. The second opinion was the same as the first (it has got to be a conspiracy). Much to my surprise, the cost of installing a new motherboard in my 5-year-old laptop is almost as much as buying a new, entry-level laptop from Dell, something I just can't afford to do right now.

In the past, my laptop served as a extension of my desktop at work, and my PDA served as an extension of both. With my laptop out of commission, I had to ask my new T3 to pretend it was a laptop. I didn't have a lot of faith in its ability to do the job. After all, a laptop is a laptop, and a PDA is a PDA. I am happy to say that I seriously underestimated the T3. It actually handles its new responsibilities with ease.

Here is my solution. On the hardware side, I use a universal wireless keyboard from PalmOne for data entry, a Power To Go sled (also from PalmOne) handles the power requirements (I get 6-7 hours of use with the sled attached), a 1GB SD card for storage, and a WiFi card (again, PalmOne) for internet connections. On the software, Documents To Go from Dataviz allows me to view and edit to native Word and Excel files, Beyond Contacts (Dataviz) handles all my Outlook data, and Smart List To Go (also a Dataviz product) handles Access databases. I also use WebPro for an internet browser, VersaMail for email, eReader Pro for ebooks, HandyShopper for my shopping list, PocketMoney (from HandMark) for my personal finances, GrxView (inDev Software) for my JPEG viewer, and BackupBuddy VFS (from bluenomad) for my backup needs. There are also a couple of miscellaneous games including Bejeweled 2.

How well does this solution work? Quite well, actually. I sync the T3 to my desktop at work before I leave for the night. When I get home, I have everything I need to complete any tasks I didn't get done during the day. I thought the small screen would be an issue, but the 480 x 320 screen in landscape mode is reasonably comfortable to work on for an hour or two while I finish a report or update a spreadsheet. When I get to work the next morning, I sync back to the desktop to update the files I worked on the night before at home. Plus, the T3 is much more portable than my laptop ever was; it fits nicely in my pocket, even with the Power To Go sled attached. This allows me to have all of my important files and data with me regardless of where I am or what I'm doing.

While a PDA does have some limitations, I have discovered that with the right accessories and software, a PDA can do can do almost everything a laptop can do. Of course, I would not have not understood the full potential of my Palm OS device without having Palm Addict as a resource. Thank you, Sammy, for your dedication to this site. Without Palm Addict, losing the use of my laptop could have been devastating."
- Sammy (Manchester, UK)