Hi everyone,

I know there have been several other Portable PC type threads, but I was hoping for some more specific advice from the gang here.

I have had a Palm Pilot since the original Palm Professional. I now have a Palm V. I've replaced it twice from drops, etc, using the $100 Palm remanufactured replacement program. (Nice program, by the way, but I don't know if it applies to the newer models or if it is still in force).

The battery life on my existing Palm V has degraded to the point where I want to replace it. It used to be great, but now it runs out so quickly (requiring a complete reload after charging) that it is not reliable for week-long business trips.

I'm looking for thoughts from you all about the best replacement organizer for me.

Things I *really* like about the Palm:

1. It is fast. Push the button and you've got your address book. Scheduling is equally fast.
2. The desktop software is FAST. Trying to use Outlook or something like that for a contact manager and scheduler is just silly to me. The Palm Desktop is adequate, small, and very fast. The latest version has a bug in the drag & drop rescheduling that annoys me. I *really* like drag & drop rescheduling and drag to change duration.
3. It (used to have) has good battery life.
4. It runs Palantir.
5. It is small and thin.
6. The single-button hotsync is great, and, more importantly, I can keep desktop software on two computers synced with the Palm. I run the desktop on my work PC and home PC and just sync before I leave and all 3 devices are easily synchronized.

I use the thing primarily for my mobile contact manager and schedule. I don't want to boot up a PC to see if I'm available for a meeting -- especially when I'm away from the office. I just push a button on the Palm.

I have a couple ebooks on the thing.

I use Palantir.

I do *not* need a PDA that can play movies, mp3s, etc, etc. I *would* like more than 2MB of memory, mostly for my Palantir database file. I don't care about color on an organizer, but I don't object to it.

Should I consider other devices besides the new Palms? If so, which? Does anyone have any experience with the Tungsten series Palms?

One thing that seems somewhat interesting to me is the 802.11 in the Tungestens. Free wireless access is becoming the standard at coffee shops. Has anyone used it to check web mail clients? Is it usable? Even the biggest Tungsten only has a 320x480 screen, though it can be used to display in landscape mode, too. Is that "usable"? I can chickenscratch stuff in Graffiti, but its nothing like typing. I tried syncing my emails with the Palm V and gave up because it was so laborious. Checking a webmail site in a coffeeshop might be different... How is the web browser?

Thanks in advance for the thoughts. I respect the opinions of this community tremendously.

Jim