Upgrading Your Palm Software that will do the job

I've long grumbled about the necessity of taking a laptopwith me on every excursion away from the home office. Butthere's always e-mail to check, online phone books to refer to,and faxes to send and receive. That's why, for me, the criticalmission with my Palm was to transform it into a connected device.What software does the job?

• Mobile WinFax ($44.99, http://www.symantec.com/mobile/winfax)An exceptionally useful tool, this software lets you send andreceive faxes on your Palm, and the incoming and outgoing can alsobe easily synced to your desktop computer for archiving. Reading 81/2-by-11-inch faxes on a 4.1-inch screen isn't fun-it takesjuggling-so receiving is something to do only when absolutelynecessary. But sending is a snap-just write and connect, and thedeed is done.

• AOL Mail (free, AOL Keyword: PDA) For AOL users, e-mailcouldn't be easier to send or receive with this program. A fewhitches: This app delivers only e-mail connectivity (no Webbrowsing) and, for now, there's no way to sync mail sent orreceived on the Pilot with your desktop PC.

• pdQsuite ($44.95, http://www.register.qualcomm.com/pdQsuite)From the makers of Eudora, a classic desktop e-mail program, thisPalm suite provides an easy-to-use e-mail application plus a Webbrowser. You'll probably want only occasional browsing (thescreen is tiny and monochrome), but at least you know that withthis app, you can do it. And the e-mail app is tops for the Palmplatform, syncing easily with Eudora.

• Desktop to Go ($49.95, http://www.dataviz.com) Guesswhat-it's easy to sync data from a personal information managerinto a Palm, but forget toting Word documents or Excelspreadsheets, unless you use this dandy utility that transformsOffice files into data that displays (and can even be edited) on aPalm.

• ExpenseDirector ($29.95, http://www.iambic.com/edsplash.htm)Need to keep tallies of expenses on business trips, or a morecomplete accounting of your outgo? ExpenseDirector is afull-featured solution that allows you to effortlessly keep on topof your money, and the info readily exports to your desktop.

Add up the outlays and that's just a notch over $150 . . .but for under $500, including the Palm and a modem, the resultinggadget is truly something you don't want to leave homewithout.

		It's Quality, NotQuantity PalmGear PalmCentral Tucows ZDNet PalmComputing