HARDWARE
After misplacing and accidentally smashing my Palm enough times, I realized I needed a different kind of digital organizer. I think I've found it. The onHand PC is a wearable palmtop alternative that acts as an address book, game machine, and microsize open-PC development platform.
The onHand, made by Denver-based Matsucom, is about the size of a G-Shock watch; it's the smallest full-function PC ever. This real-world Dick Tracy device relies on an LCD screen about a quarter of the size of a Palm's, 2 Mbytes of Flash RAM (the same memory as a Palm III), and an infrared port. Along with a scheduler and personal information manager, aka PIM (address book, memo pad, and to-do list organizer), onHand features a huge number of other applications ranging from calculator to black and white image viewer, music player to clock.
Having a wristful of data is cool, but you'll have to get used to odd looks from strangers as you bend over the back of your hand for an inordinately long period of time. The looks may grow more concerned when you sync wrists with a fellow onHand owner to beam data via IR. A tiny joystick lets you navigate quickly through the organizer apps, making access a lot faster than is possible with Palm's pen interface. A couple of games ship with the device, including a Defender clone called RForce and Snowboard, a good downhill racer.
What about data input? You can type on an onscreen keyboard - fine for simple things like URLs or to-dos - or use the included desktop app for more involved text entry. The PC software (a Mac version is coming) also lets you sync your onHand data with Palm Desktop software, as well as Act!, Outlook, and other popular PIMs. After syncing with Palm Desktop once, the onHand has become my default organizer, and the data I've collected on the watch automatically transfers back to the desktop each time I dock.
Developed by Seiko (the kanji version, known as the Ruputer, is wildly popular in Japan), the onHand is a triumph of overdesign; it even comes with a UFO-shaped key chain that stores extra batteries. Anxious to foster hobbyist development, Matsucom has put up the complete software developer kit gratis on its Web site. New games and utilities are always being posted - this 3.6-MHz PC watch already has all sorts of applications I haven't even dreamed of.
onHand PC: $299. Matsucom: (877) 421 0116, www.onhandpc.com.
STREET CRED
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