The Ideal Phone-PDA Combo!
The Z3 compared to my watch and keys
With the abundance of mobile phone-PDA combos in the market today, a person who goes around with just a mobile phone is missing out on a slew of helpful and vital conveniences which are easy to use and affordable. I liken this to a person still using a typewriter when he can have a computer with wordprocessing, email and internet surfing. Of course one may argue that keeping the two separate will simplify life - now use the same argument for keeping a typewriter instead of a computer. We get used to all new things; not to try is to miss out on great possiblities.
This past Friday I was at Funan to upgrade my now ancient Treo 270. I was going to get the Treo 600, but the size and weight really put me off. I believe that you must enjoy something as personal as a phone/PDA, so I looked further.
When I saw the Zircon Z3, it was love at first sight. The device (see picture above) is so small, light, bright and cute! I thought now at last, here is a mobile phone that doubles as a PDA (Palm OS 4.1), which is easy to use, feature-rich and affordable - at $788 at Challenger. If you shop around, especially at Sim Lim, you can get it cheaper. Best of all there is no need even to own a PC - it backs up everything for you!
Lets take a look at this phone. Those marked with 
are features that you should not do without!
First, The Phone...
1. As a phone, you can use it without taking out the stylus by using your fingers as the keys are big and right. The usual red (stop) and green (call) buttons are there. The centre button opens the ringtones, silent mode etc., up button pops open the frequent numbers list etc. If you missed a call, you are alerted with a dialog box. The calls record keeps all calls even those you have terminated (as when you are driving and do not want to answer). At last, a simple and easy to use phone with everything you need in an intuitive mode.
2. SMS could not be easier. No more wearing out the hard buttons with multiple key presses. Use normal handwriting on Grafitti 2 or the pull-out the built-in keyboard. You can even paste texts etc. into it. If you want to go for T9, there is a Palm application that will make your life a lot sweeter. Like the phone, in-coming numbers can be saved in the address book.
3. With a built-in camera, you can take pictures, edit it with the built-in graphic program and send it off as MMS (or receive MMS). There is even a photo album that you can display powerpoint-like slides to impress your friends.
Now The PDA
4. But the strength of the Z3 is not just the easy-to-use, full-featured phone, but the Palm OS 4.12. The modern man on the go needs to keep his vital PIMs like addresses, appointments, memos and to do lists with him wherever he goes. You can - on this device, with industrial standard applications that you can update on your computer if you want. A great feature is that you can configure it to automatically backup all these data into the Flash memory so that you will never lose any data, even when the battery drains out. In this way, you never need to use a computer with your phone if you don't want to.
5. Besides PIMs on the go, you will want to keep a Bible, church membership database, accounts on your phone. Very easy with the Palm OS. Just get someone to beam them to you if you don't want to hassle of linking to a computer. From dictionaries to thesauruses, whatever applications you are looking for, it's already available for the Palm OS.
6. I really like the built-in clock with alarms, stopwatch and timer. The dual-time feature is excellent for travelling and the alarm clock is better than any I have seen. You can be awaken by a rooster (or any number of tunes), in ever increasing volume and reminded at any pre-set intervals, as often as you want.
7. The great thing about a phone-PDA combo is that you are instantly connected to the internet. Check your email or surf the web if you want. This device is so capable.
8. Finally, it comes with a nice sampling of free games for comic relief. Palm games are not the run-of-the-mill mobile phone games with only few levels. Try Zap! a super arcade shoot 'em up game, MegaBowl sports simulation or puzzle games like Bejewel and Big Money - all free with the phone. Then log on the web for thousands more free Palm games.
By the way, the Z3 is a bi-lingual device. This means you can run it in English or Chinese. Input English or Chinese. There's even a built-in English-Chinese dictionary. Hmm... may come in useful some day!