WEB BROWSING

Can I browse the web with AOL and my Palm?

Yes. The small screen size and the limited memory make web browsing a somewhat different animal on the Palm. But there are many sites already optimized for the Palm and many ways to get them onto your Palm, whether or not you have a modem.

AVANT GO

AvantGo is probably the best know web browser for the Palm. It delivers web content in a form it call "channels" from hundreds of web sites that are designed for display on a Palm sized screen. Downloading AvantGo channels with AOL and a desktop computer is as easy as pushing your HotSync button. You can also use AvantGo as an online web browser if you want to view non-AvantGo content.

Click here for Instruction for setting up Avant Go. 

iSiloWeb

iSiloX works in conjunction with the iSilo Reader to deliver channels that you define to your Palm. It's an excellent alternative to AvantGo for anyone who can't perform a HotSync while online, since iSilo will download your channels to your hard drive and allow you to HotSync off line.

Click here for Instructions for setting up iSilox.

A COMPARISON : AVANT GO & iSiloWeb

OTHER BROWSERS

There are a number of browsers for the Palm designed for online use. Most, like Blazer, are shareware. Eudora Internet Suite includes a free web browser and a free email client. Eudora's browser is not as nice as Blazer - but it is worth a try before you plunk down $20.00-$30.00 for a competing browser. You may find that web browsing on a Palm is too slow and too small to be enjoyable.

WEB CLIPPING

When Palm first introduced the Palm VII, it also introduced a new kind of application called a PQA (Palm Query Application). These specialized little programs only worked on the Palm VII. They usually were "look up" types of apps. Since the Palm VII was wireless, you could look up MapQuest driving instructions once you realized you were lost by using a MapQuest PQA. The results were optimized ("clipped") for the Palm screen. They were small and loaded quickly. Soon, non-Palm VII users started agitating to use PQAs. Palm then began selling the necessary files as part of the Mobile Internet Kit. Eventually Palm included the web clipping libraries in OS 4 and changed the name of the applications from "PQA" to "Web Clipping." (Unfortunately, many PDA users already associated the term "web clipping" with AvantGo. Palm thus introduced needless confusion.)

If you go to http://www.palm.net you'll find literally hundreds of web clipping apps - most of them free - which allow you to do everything from looking up a definition in Webster's Dictionary to trading on the NASDAQ. All you need to use these apps is AOL Mail for the Palm v 3.0, a PDA with either the Mobile Internet Kit or OS 4, and a modem. You do NOT need to subscribe to Palm.net or any other wireless service.

TROUBLESHOOTING

When I try to perform a HotSync to download Avant Go channels, I get an error message saying Com "X" is already in use.

If you have more than two devices hooked up to your serial ports, you probably won't be able to perform a HotSync while on line. Check out the excellent article on HotSync problems, including  IRQ Conflicts, in the PDA Tips and FAQs library. Go to keyword PDA, then click on "Quick Tips and FAQs." Click on "General PDA FAQs & Tips," then scroll down to Tip #031 "Solving PDA to Desktop Sync Problems."

If you can't change your hardware set up, consider using iSilox instead of Avant Go. It allows you to perform the HotSync while you are offline.

I don't have a Palm Modem. Can I still get Avant Go or iSiloWeb channels?

Yes. Avant Go will connect to its server via your HotSync cradle and iSilox will use your PC's modem to download web pages.