Being a well-heeled professional can be an expensive proposition, especially if it means equipping yourself with the mandatory laptop and cellphone. Now, it seems, there's HOPE for the putative high flier _ quite literally. This comes in the form of the catchily-labelled PALM@2000 from Hindustan Office Products (HOPE for short).
Launched about a fortnight ago, this is being promoted as the ultimate in mobile computing. We haven't been able to test that promise because the product is so new. But at 212 x 123 x 37 mm and 990 gm in weight it certainly takes the pressure off your wallet by several thousands of rupees and off your shoulders by several kg.
PALM@2000 is preloaded with Windows 98 and has a full colour, VGA display. The screen is 6.1 inches by 4 inches with a 16-bit colour display and a resolution of 640 x 480.
Moreover, it has an active display matrix screen that is much sharper and faster than the passive dual scan screens. Also dual scan screens are rather hard on the eyes.
PALM@2000 is also equipped with a PCMCIA slot for inserting a modem and has an optional docking station for floppy disk and CD-ROM drive. So you can use it as a replacement for your desktop PC and can even connect all sorts of multimedia peripherals to it.
The computer continues to be mobile _ provided your telephone connection is via a cellular phone. The CD-ROM drive and floppy disk make the computer slightly heavier but do not make it stationary.
The most interesting feature of this gizmo is that the laptop has a touch-sensitive screen, so, you don't need to use the keyboard to take notes, you can write on the screen using a special pen that comes along with the PALM@2000 or, if you lose the pen, you can write with your finger or a blunt pencil. It is pre-loaded with the Handwriting Recognition Program sdeveloped by the US company Finearts.
The program has an in-built standard English dictionary and so when one writes anything on the screen, it converts it to the nearest English word and prints it on the screen. So all your notes will get printed _ though, beware, proper nouns such as the name of your client may get distorted.
PALM@2000 is available in two options _ PM 100 and PM 200. PM 100 comes with a 32 MB RAM and a Cyrex Media GXI processor which is equivalent to a 166 MHz Pentium I. The processor is mobile, so it doesn't heat up too soon.
The keyboard does not have a pointing device but provision has been made to attach an external mouse. The PM 200 comes with a 64 MB RAM and a Cyrex Media GXM which is equivalent to a 266 MMX Pentium.
Right now only PM 100 is available in the market. It is priced at Rs 52,750 plus 2 per cent sales tax. So it will cost around Rs 53,805. PM 200 will be available within a month and will be priced at Rs 70,000 approximately.
The PM 100 is cheaper than other computers such as the Toshiba Portege 300 CT which weighs 1.8 kg and runs Windows 95 using a P133 MHz MMX chip, 32 MB RAM and has a 1.5 GB storage. It is priced at Rs 90,000. Or the Toshiba Portege 3010 CT ultraportable notebook which has a 32 MB RAM, a 4 GB hard disk and a 2 MB video accelerator and has a three hour battery. It is priced at Rs 1,50,000.
The PM 100 PALM@2000 is being sold directly by the company and is not available with any dealer. So if you are planning to buy one, you can place your order with HOPE (call 6522099, 6851979, fax: 6866494). The company also demonstrates the product and you can order it after the demonstration.
Other features include a 16 KB internal Cache, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) Port and a port replicator. The USB and the port replicator are used to attach external devices. The advantage with the USB is that you don't need to shut off the computer to attach an external device. It can be attached when the computer is still on and the computer will recognise the attachment. The PALM@2000 is equipped with two serial ports _ one for an external mouse and one for an external keyboard and one parallel port to which a printer can be attached. It also has an audio port which can be attached to an amplifier. So you can make that all-important presentation complete with music to give that extra touch. It has a hard disk capacity of 1.6 GB.
The PALM@2000 seems like the ultimate gizmo for a professional always on the move. However, there is a catch. The laptop works on a Lithium Ion battery, which lasts for only an hour and a half at a stretch. After that it has to be connected to a power source for recharging. Moreover, the battery needs to be replaced after three to five years.
