Home » Technology » Palm Computing Devices » Quick Updates 3

Quick Updates 3

© Janice Karin

It's that time again, time to update you on some products reviewed or discussed in previous articles.

First, the Lithium Ion Battery Pack for the HandEra 330 was released as promised in my HandEra 330 review. Unfortunately it costs a bit more than projected at $79.95 for both the battery and charging cable. You can also buy the battery alone for $49.95 and use your own compatible plug (any AC adapter with a 1.33 mm inside diameter round, center positive output port and 12 volt regulated output at 800 milliamps will work) or buy just the adapter for $39.95.

The battery is slightly lighter than 4 AAA batteries and lasts slightly longer per charge. The device automatically recognizes the change of power source after the installation and a soft reset.

The adapter is definitely expensive but it's very nice. It has a folding plug that rotates to several different positions, allowing you to fit it into different spaces. The plug also folds all the way in for easy travel.

The adapter can be used to power the device directly through a port on the bottom left of the 330, to charge the device through the same port, or to power or charge the device when it sits in the cradle. Note that the cord plugs into the serial connector end of the cradle cable and not into the cradle itself.

I really love having this battery while still maintaining the ability to toss in AAA batteries if I'm running low on power and I'm out and about. The device charges very quickly (about 45 minutes) and the LED flashes green to indicate the device is charging then changes to solid green to indicate the device is fully charged. Nice job, Handera.

DDH Software released a new version of Thesaurus, a spell check and thesaurus application for the Palm. Greatly improved with a much larger default database, the main enhancement of this version is an API to include spell checking and thesaurus capabilities in other applications. To highlight this capability, DDH also released MemoPad and Mail replacement applications with built-in spell checking. It still suffers from some of the problems outlined in my review from November 16, 1999 and has more than doubled in size, but it's also still the best spell checker and thesaurus I've found for the Palm.

I also have good news from Mobile Freon. Their game Conquest reviewed here on December 11 now costs $9.95 instead of $15. This price drop accompanies a patch release that fixes a few bugs, so make sure you download and try the newest version of the game.

The copyright of the article Quick Updates 3 in Palm Computing Devices is owned by Janice Karin. Permission to republish Quick Updates 3 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.