Hardware
The i705 is slightly smaller than the Palm VII in height, length and width. The i705 is also made of a slightly different material making the unit feel slick rather than the matted feel of the Palm VII. This is not a very big deal but it took some getting used to for me. If you already have a Palm V or Sony Clie this will not be an issue.

The buttons on the front of the device differ slightly from the Palm VII. Instead of the Notepad and Tasklist buttons the i705 has "My Palm" and Email buttons. These buttons take you to the "My Palm" homepage which enables you to browse the web (more on this later), and an Email button that takes you right to your inbox. All of the buttons can still be customized to launch your favorite application.

Unlike the Palm VII the i705 does not include a flip up antenna. Instead it has a built-in antenna which is partly visible on the top of the unit . You'll notice a curved white bar with a green light blinking on the top. My first concern was obviously reception. My thought was reception could not be as good as the Palm VII without the flip-up antenna. So far my concerns have been unfounded, as my i705 seems to actually out performs my Palm VII. (I'd be interested in other users thoughts on this point as reception could definitely vary depending on where you are.) I have had absolutely no problems with reception whatsoever. In fact, I used to get a weak signal message on my Palm VII and I have not received that error yet with my i705.

On my device the stylus is a little difficult to remove. The new i705 stylus has two nipples at the top that lock the stylus into the side of the unit. I will definitely never have to worry about my stylus falling out, but I also may cut myself trying to remove it. It's not really that bad and I suspect that my device is probably more tightly fitted than others.

The i705 comes with a SD slot for additional expandability. You can purchase any number of cards that will give you backup capabilities, reference materials, games and more. Simply slip the card into the slot and you're ready to go.

Email
The i705's is known mostly for always-on email feature. Palm has added fair functionality to this feature but there are some things left to be desired. First of all, the i705 ships with an application called Multimail. This application allows you to setup several mail accounts that you can check through the i705. (Beware that only the Palm.net mail account and what they call your "Business Account" will receive the instant notifications of arriving email.) Whether your device is actually on or not the green light at the top of the unit lets you know that it is in constant contact with the server and will notify you if you receive an email. When an email arrives, the green light turns to red, an audible sound is heard (this can be turned off) and you know you have email. While I found this application to be very useful it was a bit frustrating when I would receive an email, read it, but the red light on the top of the unit was still flashing, indicating that I still had new email. I later realized that after reading an email a blinking star appears in the top left corner of the screen. This star must be tapped in order to clear the email notification light. This seems like a big hassle and the i705 should be smart enough to know when you've read your email. I was so curious about this problem that I called Palm Tech Support and the guy I talked to had no clue about how to clear the indicator light.

Palm also allows you to install a MultiMail Desktop Link application onto your PC so you can keep your email synchronized with your Palm. I found this application to be cumbersome so I don't even use it. What I do is setup a Rule in Outlook 2000 that forwards any incoming email to my PC, to my Palm.net account. This way when I'm in the office I can leave the rule off and when I'm leaving the office a few clicks of my mouse and it's back on. I find this feature very useful as it keeps me in touch when I'm out. The only downside is a bunch of forwarded emails in the sent folder of your PC but that's easily fixable.

Palm has an add-on mini keyboard that clips onto the bottom of the i705. This keyboard attempts to replicate the RIM Blackberry form factory but it falls short. It's too bulky for me to use and it would only be useful if I were sending long emails from my Palm. I mainly use the i705 to receive email and if I need to respond, a short email will usually do.

Overall I really like the always-on email feature of the i705. Some have complained that it's not as good as the RIM Blackberry but in my mind it does the job adequately while still maintaining the features of a regular Palm. The Blackberry is probably better if you have serious email needs but if you're looking to do the occasional email without having to carry another device the i705 is a nice fit.

Internet Access
Much like the Palm VII, the i705 comes with the web clipping applications. What's different about the i705 is the "My Palm" application that allows you to access a variety of information on the web. You can get news, shop, chat and even go to a specific URL that you have in mind all from one central place. The browser is obviously very scaled down but if you need some info from a web page that does not provide a specific web clipping application, you can still get there with the i705. It even comes with a Google Search feature that allows you to search the popular search engine.

Instant Messaging
I'm not big on IM's but I will say that I was surprised at how well the bundled version of AOL Instant Messenger works on the i705. I halfway expected it not to work but it does work. It's not the fastest thing in the world but if you need to zap a short message to someone it does work. I'd recommend the snap on keyboard if you plan on doing a lot of chatting.

Usage Plans
Because of it's Internet accessibility Palm charges a fee to use the i705's Internet features. I used to pay $9.95 monthly for my Palm VII. That price plan gave me a base number of kilobytes transfer per month and if I went over that amount I'd pay as I go. Palm has since dropped that plan so the least expensive plan they offer now is $19.99. That plan offers you 100KB of transfers each month. The other plan they offer is $39.99 for unlimited access. You can save $5 per month on the unlimited plan if you sign a 1 year contract. These plans are just too expensive in my book. In my first month I signed up for the $19.99 plan that also came with a $10 setup fee. This fee should be waived since I was converting from my Palm VII. After moderate use my bill is almost $100. That's totally ridiculous. I'd say $19.99 should give me unlimited access or at least $24.99. I just think $40 is too much to pay for this. That's almost my DSL bill for my PC.

Other Thoughts
Although I like the ability to simply place my i705 on its cradle to have the battery charged, I wish Palm would give us the ability to pop regular AAA batteries in there in a pinch. My digital camera has that feature and I really like it. It uses rechargeable batteries but if you're on the road and forget the charger you're still okay.

The battery life of the i705 is about 10 days with normal use. I have never run out of juice as I treat it much like my cell phone. Every couple of days I just pop it on the charger. Again, my only concern is that when I travel I now have to take a charger and that's not so hot.

The speed of the processor is definitely faster on the i705 in comparison to my Palm VII. The screen redraws much faster and it's very pleasant to use.

The little flip over cover that the i705 comes with is just cheesy in my book. I'd much rather have a sleeve case or some other kind of case. Right now I'm using the case from my Visor Deluxe to carry my i705. It's a little loose fitting but it works.

Conclusion
Overall I am very pleased with my i705 and I love taking it with me when I'm out of the office. I'd give the i705 a 7.5 on a scale from 1-10. It's definitely a step up from the Palm VII series that I used before. I can still keep all my web clipping applications from my financial institutions to the airline schedules and it gives me more flexibility with the "My Palm" page. Although it's not a perfect always-on email device when compared to the RIM Blackberry, it does fair well as a PDA with always-on email functionality. I'd like to see a better notification system that is smart enough to know when I've read an email and I'd also like to see a better case shipped with the unit. Finally, Palm really should do something about the usage plans because they are just too expensive. I don't mind paying $449 for the device if it's worth it, but the monthly fee is where a lot of people will stop short of the purchase.

With all that in mind I still have to give the i705 a thumbs up. It's all I carry these days.

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