Introduction
Palm OS® handhelds are neat devices, designed to slip into a shirt pocket or a belt clip case for instant availability. They set the standard for handheld computing, a new form of computing focussed on helping people manage and access information at any time, anywhere. A standard part of every Palm OS handheld is an infrared port: this can be used to connect to a mobile phone or a printer.

As at October 2005, well over 30 million have been sold worldwide.

The term Palm OS® handhelds refers to devices from a number of manufacturers which use the Palm OS operating system. In addition to Palm, handhelds using this operating system are manufactured by IBM, Sony and others. Since they use a common operating system, a program which runs on one model should also run on all other models - rather like Windows, which provides software authors with a common base, irrespective of a computer's manufacturer.

Software (applications)
The applications supplied as part of Palm OS include Address Book, Date Book and Memo Pad. These can be configured to synchronise their data with Microsoft Outlook on a PC so that the two computers hold identical copies. For details of just some of the thousands of applications available NOW pop into the Palm, Inc web site by clicking here

Synchronizing data in PC and handheld
The exchange of information between PC and handheld is called synchronisation and is carried out by a program HotSync. This is supplied as part of Palm OS. For details of the four ways in which the PC and handheld can be connected for HotSync, please click here 

Printing from a handheld
Given the appropriate software within the handheld, software which is not included in the Palm operating system, it is possible to print documents by pointing the handheld's infrared port to a port on a printer. Further information on this capability is given here  

Data entry on the handheld
In addition to selections from drop-down lists and tapping check boxes, both standard facilities on PCs, handhelds have three methods of data entry. These are the use of Graffiti shorthand, the use of on-screen keyboards and the connection of the handheld to a collapsible keyboard. These methods are described here