PALM PILOT'S NEW RIVALS SUCCESS BREEDS IMITATION, SO it was inevitable that the Palm Pilot, which has more than half the market for handheld computers by most estimates, would attract copycats. The $300 Zaurus SE-500 from Sharp Electronics (800 237-4277) resembles the Pilot, with the addition of a flip-off cover and a built-in 14.4 kilobit-per-second modem. And at 5.9 in. by 3.5 in. and 7 ounces, the Zaurus is a bit smaller and lighter than the Pilot with its optional modem attached. The Zaurus also features a highly readable screen with backlighting to aid legibility in dim light. What it lacks, however, is Graffiti, the special shorthand used to enter data into the Pilot with a stylus. On the SE-500, you're reduced to tapping out information with a stylus on a teensy on-screen keyboard, a data-entry method I found far more tedious than learning and using Graffiti. The Zaurus plugs into a Windows 95 PC to synchronize with Lotus Organizer, Microsoft Outlook, and Symantec ACT!, and optional $70 software from Puma Technology provides sync with a number of popular programs for keeping track of people you deal with. The modem provides for E-mail service through any post office using the Internet's POP3 protocol, though setting up requires a fair amount of knowledge of Internet mail. RELATED ITEMS PHOTO: Sharp Electronics SE-500 Mobile

Updated Oct. 16, 1997 by bwwebmaster
Copyright 1997, by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
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