PDA updates
I've started to carry around a couple of USB attachments. The first is a simple USB charger cable from TeleAdapt (at http://www.teleadapt.com). They call it a Telecharger, and it charges my Nokia phone from the USB port on my Thinkpad. TeleAdapt offers Telechargers for various makes of phones, not just for Nokias. My Nokia will charge in about three hours with this device. Just make sure you plug your laptop into the wall so you're not charging your phone at the expense of your laptop's precious battery! The Telecharger weighs about two ounces, and it enables me to stop worrying about phone power while I'm on the move. But do note that this is a charge cable only, not a data connection cable.

I also bought a charge and HotSync cable from Brando Workshop (at http://shop.brando.com.hk) for my Sony Clie. I did this after reading Claire Pieterek's article, "Brando Workshop keeps your handheld charged up and protected," in the March 2002 issue of PalmPower (at http://www.palmpower.com/issues/issue200203/brando001.html). It's worth carrying the two ounces or so of this cable in order to be able to charge up the Clie and HotSync about ten times faster than via infrared.

At the same time that I bought the cable from Brando, I also bought a hard plastic outer case for the Clie. I felt this was worthwhile given that I've already totaled a Palm handheld by dropping it, the Clie just feels more flimsy, and the Clie's standard screen cover just comes off too easily.

Notwithstanding what Dan Velasco said about the Sony Clie in his article, "The Sony CLIE PEG-N710C: lust, pure and simple," in the September 2001 issue of PalmPower (at http://www.palmpower.com/issues/issue200109/clie001.html), I wouldn't buy another one. The N770 I use just feels so flimsy compared to my last Palm handheld, and, as I've said before, if the battery goes flat, the whole thing dies, unlike a Palm handheld. When that happens, you reload the last backup via a HotSync operation and pray that it all reloads. It doesn't always reload properly, and then you have to eliminate add-ons and applications one by one until it will reload and run. Also, the stylus retention is so poor that I lost one on a plane merely by turning the thing upside down. Finally, there is no email or Web support in the UK, it's by phone only. It's making me wish I'd bought another Palm brand handheld.