Device: 
Handspring Visor Deluxe + Stowaway Keyboard + Thincom Springboard Modem
Services used: 
Visor: $250
Stowaway Keyboard from Targus: $99
Thincom Springboard: $130
MultiMail: $40
AvantGo/ProxiWeb: $0
Any ISP account

Lowdown: 
Even though this is an example of a wired solution and it sounds like a lot of hardware, it's not. Visors are coming, and they are coming fast. This combination, and others like it, are competitively priced against PalmVIIs, and PalmV/Minstrel setups. When the modem you use becomes wireless, like the upcoming Minstrel S, this may just be the roadwarriors toolkit of choice.

Review:
I'm a little biased, I love my Visor and I think the whole concept of a Visor marks the beginning of a movement towards "digital convergence." How many devices with screens, buttons, batteries, input methods do I need? I don't want to surf the net on my phone, I want to do everything with my Visor. I'll need a GPS, Phone, MP3 player, with wireless access - and I'm just a few months away from geek nirvana.

The ThinCom springboard module is great, includes apps for connectivity right now, and doesn't add ANY size to the Visor. Just plug it in and suddenly your Visor has a phone jack. Whip out the Stowaway foldable keyboard and you're set. (See VisorCentral.com's recent reviews of both this accessories.) 

The modem worked flawlessly, as did the keyboard, and with one in each pocket, I was a mobile powerhouse. I connected to a number of payphones with datajacks in major airports without a problem. Once I got used to needed to be wired occasionally, the whole operation worked very well.

MultiMail is a great app, and their software was just acquired by Palm, which can only mean good things. One of the great things about MultiMail is it's support for plugins to handle attachments. You can be sent Palm Applications (PRCs), RTFs, TextFiles, QuickSheet spreadsheets and more. PocketPCs have touted their ability to handle attachments, implying that the Palm platform lags in this area. But innovation continues, and the Palm platform continues to surprise me, doing things I didn't think possible in such a small and efficient OS.

If you don't mind being wired occasionally, you might think about this setup, and then upgrade your Visor to wireless access when the time comes. You'll thank me for it.

Device: 
PalmIII + Palm 14.4k Modem + GoType Keyboard + Modem HotSync
Services used: 
PalmIII, or IIIe, or IIIx - $149 to $250
GoType Keyboard from Landware: $90
PalmModem: $75 
Any ISP account, or dial directly to your computer.

Lowdown: 
Here's the old standby. I used the PalmModem and an original PalmPilot with 512k of memory to Modem HotSync years ago. It's still a great solution today. It's small, easy on batteries, reasonably fast, an easy to setup. If you've got a PalmIII-series organizer you can add a Minstrel PalmIII modem with OmniSky or GoAmerica service to upgrade to wireless connectivity.

Review:
Don't discount the Palm 14.4 Modem as a good way to keep in touch. When combined with any of the Palm III series organizers, you can update your AvantGo office channels, surf the net with ProxiWeb, and sync with Outlook or any other mail app running at the office. 

I hooked up my machine at home to a phone line and setup the HotSync Software to listen for a modem sync. I left Microsoft Outlook running to retrieve my email while I was out of town. When I dial up to my home with the Pilot - sometimes from an airport, sometimes from a hotel - I HotSync with my PC remotely. Of course my contacts and calendar are sync'ed but also any mail in the outbox of my Pilot's Mail app is sent by Outlook running my PC. Any new mail is run through some filters that I configured on my Pilot, and shows up in my Inbox. This batch process is actually quite convenient and doesn't take much time at all. While on airplanes, I write and respond email using the GoType keyboard and it sits in my outbox until I sync again. When I sync, my AvantGo channels are updated, and I've got a full dose of offline web reading to do.

This is the bargin-basement solution, but that doesn't mean it's not incredible useful.

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