Pros: Great value if it meets your needs out of the box
Cons: You need additional software to truly integrate with Microsoft Outlook.
The bottom line: If you are a Microsoft Outlook power user you will need to add software.
I agree with the other reviewers, so I’ll concentrate on Outlook support.

Over the holidays I finally got around to migrating / integrating my Palm TX PDA with Microsoft Outlook.

This is my third Palm Pilot. I had a Palm Pilot Pro in the late 1990s, followed by a Palm IIIxe, but I needed support for Outlook synchronization so I got the TX. I briefly contemplated a Windows PDA, but had enjoyed my Palms. In hindsight, maybe I should have abandoned Palm.

(I chose not to go with a TREO because I tend to drop my phones a lot, and at the time I did not know that Bell Mobility will let you get a TREO without an expensive data plan… all you have to ask, but ask firmly.)

Despite it’s promises, you really need additional software to make your Palm PDA work with Microsoft Oulook.

First, you need to get your data from the Palm PDA into Outlook. I used Chapura Pocket Copy. http://www.chapura.com/pocketcopy.php, for $25. It takes the data from the Palm DESKTOP and exports it into Outlook. It worked seamlessly! All my contacts, appointments, tasks and memos went into the right places in Outlook.

WARNING: One potential trap is PRIVATE records. Be sure to uncheck the appropriate option box so as not to transfer private records. (See below.)

Now you can synchronize Outlook to whatever new PDA or smart phone you have.

As I mentioned above, I have a Palm TX, but it has only limited support for Outlook synchronization. So I installed Chapura Key Suite, their premium offering for linking to everything in Outlook. http://www.chapura.com/keysuite.php, for $70. If you know your way around a Palm PDA you’ll understand when I say that Key Suite replaces the Calendar, Contacts, Memos and Tasks of the Palm OS. If you have a power Outlook user wanting the same on their Palm PDA or Palm Treo Smartphone, this is probably the only way to go.

Regarding the Private Records from my Palm, in which I stored logons, credit card and ID information, etc., I needed a purpose written application for the Palm and desktop. Since I already decided on two other titles from Chapura, and there was a multi-program discount, I went with their TurboPasswords. http://www.chapura.com/passwordmanager.php, $29. It was a disappointment because it did not have a smooth import facility. I had to export from Palm to a CSV, then cut and paste the data from it into a CSV template exported from TurboPasswords, then import that one into Turbo Passwords because it doesn’t have a field mapping facility. By the time I got it working, I could have re-typed everything from scratch.