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The PDA world had been waiting for Palm to introduce a new version of their Palm VII handheld since rumors of it's release came out last year. I used my Palm VII religiously to maintain contact while I was traveling, and although it came in very handy there were some issues that needed to be resolved. The introduction of the Rim Blackberry into the PDA world suddenly left Palm behind because they had not produced a device that could provide always on, instant email. That has changed with the release of the i705 and after living with my i705 for a month I'm ready to put my thoughts down on paper.

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.