When Should Regular Joes (and Janes) Upgrade?

We all know the "early adopter" types -- they're the ones with drawerfuls of barely-used gadgets, and the "latest and greatest" in their hands.  But what about the rest of us, those who don't have the need (or the budget) for constantly replacing our equipment?  When should we think about upgrading our Palm handhelds?

Here's how I look at it: Assuming your device is still fully functional, you can still think about upgrading when:

• You're running out of RAM (and yes, even those of us with 64 MB of RAM, aka 51 MB available, can run out with reasonable ease.  Heck, my Memopad file is more than 1 MB!).
• You're pushing your PDA to the edge of its functionality.  For me, this happened when I began using my old Palm IIIxe for Internet connectivity (via my cellphone), and experienced frequent crashes.
• You could truly save yourself time, money or effort with a feature available for new Palm handhelds but not your current one (e.g. high-res graphics; Wi-Fi or Bluetooth; stereo sound; MS Office app compatibility)

For much of my Palm history (beginning with my Pilot 1000 in 1996), I was not an early adopter, both for budget reasons and because I didn't need to get the latest and greatest, just to have something I could use (and use and use).  Yes, I bought the IIIxe as soon as it came out, but the upgrade in RAM was something that I desperately needed (I'd maxed out my III big time).  As for my Tungsten C, I did get it when it first came out, but only because I managed to get a review unit from PalmOne.  I used my IIIxe for 2 1/2 years, and I've used my Tungsten C for close to two years now, so I guess I was right in my choice to upgrade.

So here I am, with my two-year-old (and somewhat cracked) Tungsten C, and I'm pushing up against some of its functional limitations (RAM, limited SD storage, volume, screen size).   What does that suggest for me?

One final word--never throw out a working PalmOS handheld.  You can always find a friend or relative or less-fortunate person who can get as much out of it as you did.  He or she will thank you, and you'll have someone else to talk to about Palm applications!

- Professor Jonathan, Associate Writer (Long Island, NY, USA)