Unfortunately google calendar still does not natively support "to do" lists. Google calendar is great for scheduling, but lacking for planning and "getting things done" people.

Yes, I agree with this. I wish Google would add these features.
But the setup I suggested above still means that you have planning capabilities with Palm Desktop or Outlook and then can use the Google Calendar to bring in the Calendar sharing features it has through two way syncing with Palm Desktop or Outlook.

Neil

Edit : Companionlink syncing between Palm Desktop and Google does sync the Daily Journal details and any notes you have put into any day.

When my Treos die, I just take them back to where I got them and get them replaced. It takes all of 30 minutes, and 0 dollars. Saying a palmtop computer shouldn't have a cell phone built in is like saying an nxxx shouldn't have a media player built in because if your media player software breaks or the headphone jacks breaks, you can't play media, you've got to carry an ipod with you anyways because you've got a now useless media player built in. After all, you can get media players for almost nothing these days.

GPS chips are commodity items as well. Are you suggesting they shouldn't be integrated into devices like the n810 because they might break?

I do not see this conversation going anywhere productive.

I will keep an eye on the software for the n810, and when it has at least a basic set of PIM applications (calendar, todo, address book) and a word processor, and synchronization between those apps and their desktop equivalents (e.g., Thunderbird or Outlook, Openoffice or MS Word), I will consider replacing my Palm with the n810.

At some stage they probably should. However, as it is now, the integrated GPS chip in the current N810 is a good example of the opposite: You've got your new N810, integrated GPS and all, and after a while you realize that the GPS isn't very good, and that newer, better, smaller standalone BT GPS devices with new features are entering the market all the time. Now, you can't just "upgrade" the integrated GPS chip in the N810, can you?

As an N800 owner I recently switched to a newer, faster, much better and more sensitive GPS unit than the one I used before, and I have also replaced my phone during my N800 ownership. If those things were integrated I could at best stop using the integrated versions and use external units (as some N810 owners for sure will do as far as the inferior GPS is concerned).

At some future time maybe the integrated chips will be so cheap, small, and mature enough that the technology has stopped moving. When that happens the vendors can stuff the device full of such chips as far as I'm concerned. As of now though I prefer to be able to replace those parts at will.

There's a reason they actually run horse races, and a reason there are so many different devices available, with all phases of integration. Whatever your beliefs, there is something available for you, and you vote with your wallet. It's not worth arguing about, just buy what you prefer.

If the device works, even if the GPS isn't the best, to me it's still much better than carrying around two things, having to charge two things etc. Nothing is stopping you from getting a separate device, but there's no reason that it shouldn't be integrated if it's done properly. I'd rather have a crappy integrated GPS in my treo for tomtom than have to carry around an external one, even if the external one had "more features" (what features do you want in a GPS anyway?). Again, even on the 810, you can use an external GPS if you want to, but the fact that it has one built in is very useful.

If you were happy with your n800 how it worked, and what it did, and it had a phone built in, you wouldn't NEED to replace your phone, would you? I've had no need to upgrade the phone in my treo because it works as part of the system that meets my needs. I'll never need to replace it, until I replace the treo. If it stops working, I take it back and get a new one, generally for free, and even if not, quite frankly, a couple hundred bucks for a new treo is still pretty cheap, given what it does and compared to how much my monthly cell phone bill is.

This argument could go on and on and on, but camera phones are popular, even though the pictures suck. Laptop webcams are popular, even though video quality stinks. Built in wireless in laptops is popular, even though it may be B/G instead of N. Laptop hard drives are slower and smaller than desktop ones. It goes on and on and on. Compromises are always made for size. The logical conclusion to your preference is to carry an external wireless N card, a HD video camera, a digital SLR camera, a military grade GPS, and an external raptor HDD with you just because it's marginally better for some things than the ones built into a laptop and camera phone. That's a perfectly valid thing to do, but it totally defeats the point of devices like the NIT, IMO. Take the camera off of it, GPS out of it, WIFI out of it, speakers off of it, bluetooth out of it, FM radio out of it, kickstand out of it and put them all in separate external devices, and what do you have?

I love gadgets as much as the next guy, but I see no point in dragging more of them around than is necessary just because you're afraid of having parts of them break.

Well, the more I read this thread, the more curious I get about the Palm products. So you guys are moving me somewhat in your direction. That said, I think the above applies quite well to the use of the GVM software. Far from full Palm technology apparently, but functional enough for many of us I would think. BTW, I'm starting to wonder if it just doesn't work very well in the N810 since you guys don't seem to be having much success with it. Or you already have a Treo

Neil

GVM is a very crippled version of PalmOS. It doesn't do many things an actual Palm can do, and it's too small to be reasonable. I just abandoned it after trying it for a few weeks, and went back to a real Palm. GPE, as limited as it is, is better than GVM, IMO, but if you like it, it's there and you're free to use whatever works for you.

This has been a good thread. It captures the tension between all these devices I lug around, too. My contribution to the discussion concerns the battery life of the N800 versus any of the Palm's I've used. Bottom line: you can't carry around the N800 and use it all day -- my battery just doesn't stand up to that kind of use and never has.