WorkPad all you need to take to conferences

WorkPad all you need to take to conferences

By Zatni Arbi

JAKARTA (JP) What is wrong with notebook computers? Well, they
are either too heavy or too pricey.

And their batteries always live shorter than the interval
between a seminar's coffee breaks. I have been yearning for a
computer that I can use during a whole-day seminar without having
to fight for a seat near a power outlet.

I would not mind if the processor was a slow Pentium 75 MHz,
or if there were no CD-ROM drive, or if there was no sound
capability. I would not even bother if it did not even run Office
2000; I would be happy if it would just let me type my notes for
hours on a single battery charge. Later on, I could transfer the
file to a desktop or notebook and continue to work on the notes.
An organizer, which was the precursor of the Personal Digital
Assistant (PDA), seemed to be a potential candidate.

However, the first organizer I ever had did not really impress
me. It was HP's OmniGo 100. It had a calculator-sized keyboard
that was impossible to use for fast typing. It ran on two AA-
sized batteries, and as the power ran down, the screen became
increasingly unreadable.

Still, the OmniGo 100 possessed several worthwhile features.
You could flip the cover and turn it into a writing pad. You
could learn the Graffiti shorthand, and use the included stylus
to jot down notes. Unfortunately, transferring the data to a PC
would not be easy.

Afterwards, new palm-sized devices came and went. HP, Sharp,
Phillips and a dozen other vendors introduced improved versions
of their handheld gadgets each time, but I never bothered.

My skepticism actually stemmed from the realization that my
eyes would not be good enough to read the small type on the
screen anyway. Even when editors of PC Magazine and others began
raving about Palm devices, I was not convinced. Recently,
however, when I got an IBM WorkPad c3 as a gift from a friend, I
experienced a paradigm shift.

Usable

IBM's WorkPad c3 PC Companion is actually a Palm V,
manufactured by 3Com for IBM. Unlike the silver-colored Palm V,
the WorkPad comes in black, just like the company's ThinkPads.
The operating system and the standard software programs that come
with it are all made by Palm.

Although its screen has almost the same dimensions as the one
found in the long discontinued OmniGo 100, the text on the
WorkPad c3's is quite sharp. It turns out that, with my reading
glasses, I have no problem reading the text in its Phonebooks,
To-do list, etc. There are other features that have been keeping
this device next to my cell phone in my pocket since Day One.

First, it has a built-in Lithium Ion battery. Placing the unit
on its cradle for just a few minutes every day will be sufficient
to fully recharge the battery. I have not had the chance to
really test out the length of the battery life, but it seems that
it really has a lot of juice in store.

In addition to recharging the battery, the cradle serves
another important function. Through the serial port of the PC, it
enables me to synchronize the data and information on the unit
with the information stored on my PC. All I have to do is place
the unit on the cradle, press the sync button, and the
synchronization will be executed automatically. If I have deleted
an old phone number on my PC's Palm Desktop for IBM WorkPad
application, for example, the one on my WorkPad will also be
deleted during the synchronization. In other words, after the
synchronization, both the PDA and the PC will have the latest
updated information.

Like the other PDAs that use the Palm Computing platform, the
WorkPad also allows us to jot down our notes using the Graffiti
Power Writing software. However, I never bother with that,
either. My handwriting has become so awful after using the
keyboard for so many years, and learning to use shorthand will
only ruin it further.

The WorkPad c3 also has an e-mail client program. I can write
my e-mail, and when I synchronize it with my PC, Outlook Express
will automatically load and connect to my Internet Service
Provider (ISP). Incoming messages will be downloaded both to the
desktop PC and the WorkPad. I had to disable this function,
though, because it had once copied all of the thousands of e-mail
messages in my desktop Inbox into the PDA, filling its 2 MB of
RAM to the brim.

I soon found out other uses of the PDA in addition to
providing me with a calculator, an address book, a to-do list,
calendars and an e-mail program. I bought myself a foldable
keyboard made by Palm for S$175, and I had just what I had been
looking for.

This keyboard, which has four parts, can be folded into a box
not much bigger than the unit itself. It is really a godsend. Now
I no longer have to tote my three kg notebook and its AC adapter
into a conference room. All I need is the WorkPad and the
foldable keyboard, and I can type my notes all day long without
any worry of battery run-down. IBM calls the WorkPad a PC
companion, I'd call it my personal companion.

Accessories

While I was looking recently at several PDAs in the computer
store of the Changi airport terminal, a Singapore Airlines flight
attendant came over and asked some questions to the store clerk.
She certainly seemed knowledgeable about Palm PDAs, forcing me
into admitting that I had been asleep.

Indeed, despite my past rejection of the PDA idea, it is a
fact that the PDA has become a fashionable as well as useful
accessory. You can buy a stylish case for it -- hard or soft,
even in a neon color. Like what you did to your cell phones, you
can also buy colorful overlays to personalize it. There is even a
designer stylus that you can buy, if you really want to impress
the others in your meetings.

PocketPC

Just last week, however, Microsoft launched its third attempt
at the PDA arena, and this time it may have the same level of
success as it had with Windows 3.0. A large majority of the
reviewers I have read so far believe that Microsoft's PocketPC
has the potential to kill Palm.

That would not be easy, though. Palm has been around and has
been successful for quite some time. According to the Gartner
Group, Palm has an 80 percent share of the PDA market. Clearly,
Palm has collected a lot of followers. Besides, there are also so
many third-party software and hardware option vendors that will
not abandon Palm so easily and quickly.

On the other hand, the hardware for PocketPC comes from big
names in the computer industry, such as Compaq, Casio and HP. The
latter two have been making small computing devices for many
years, although none has been as successful as the Palm. Yet,
with these guys behind it, PocketPC will undoubtedly pose a real
threat to Palm.

The competition between Palm and PocketPC will be very
interesting to watch. At any rate, competition almost always
benefits customers. For the foreseeable future, however, my
WorkPad c3, which PT IBM Indonesia will introduce into the local
market on Tuesday, will surely remain my faithful companion.