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The HandEra 330 is certainly a Palm OS device out of the ordinary with its 240 x 320 pixel resolution, tiltable display and soft Graffiti area - but it isn't all good.
After renaming from TRG, the brand that for a long time was synonymous with the only Palm OS handheld capable of supporting CompactFlash expansion cards, HandEra released the HandEra 330 which not only could fit in CompactFlash cards, but also SD cards and even MMC cards. That, and a number of other improvements such as an monochrome display with an enhanced 240 x 320 pixel resolution plus a soft graffiti area has contributed to generate a lot of buzz, but it's important to remember that good things don't always come easy.
The hardware
It's a bit larger than the latest ultra-sleek Palm OS devices, but packs tri-fold expandability
The HandEra 330 comes in a box that's almost a perfect example of how PDAs should be packed - actually, ours was a bit too perfect when it comes to counting the number of items in there, as the installation CD-ROM was missing, but don't worry, that won't happen to you if you decide to purchase one. Upon opening the box, I found nothing more than the synchronization cradle, the device itself and its protective flip-lid attached to it, and a quick start manual for the device.
As you probably have noticed, there's no power supply for the 330, and that's because it's not like these fancy new Palms with rechargeable batteries - which frankly should be standard by now, if you ask me. Instead, the HandEra 330 is powered by 4 (!) AAA batteries, but there will be an accessory pack available later that contains a power supply and a rechargeable Li-ion battery pack.
The flip-lid seems sturdy enough, but isn't the most elegant solution I've seen - however it does its job and that's what's important. This is also the case with the synchronization cradle, which seems solid enough and has a long cable that'll let you arrange your desktop however you like it.
On the outside, the HandEra doesn't look noticeably different from other Palm OS devices, perhaps with the exception of the Jog wheel on the left side and its silvery case matched only by the Handspring Visor Edge. The stylus is placed on the back right side of the device, and is only partly hidden - a neat little detail that adds to the overall impression, but also one we've heard rumors about regarding several people having problems with small fractures. I haven't had any problems with it myself, but I can easily understand how even just a small drop could cause problems if the handheld touches ground with a weak spot in the stylus compartment first.
Aside from this, the handheld bears the standard Palm OS device setup with four hardware shortcut buttons on the front that launches the Date Book, Address, To Do List and Memo Pad applications - plus the up and down scroll buttons of course. The power button is also in a quite usual place at the top of the front of the device, and common for all of the buttons on the device is that they are all recessed making it hard to press one of them and activate the device by mistake.
The LED which signifies alarms and lets you know when the device is on AC power is placed in the upper left corner of the device, and just above it on the top of the device you'll find the IR port, which again is placed next to the centered Compact Flash and SD card expansion slots. Lastly, the jog wheel and the button that controls the 330's voice recording feature is placed on the far up on the left side of the device.
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