Could your favorite college student use a bit of digital help to keep it all together? 3Com's Palm Computing "connected organizers" do a great job keeping appointments, classes, assignments, and that growing list of contacts by their side. The new Palm IIIe is their latest entry-level model, and it offers a solid mix of features. If you need a bargain, a used PalmPilot might be a better way to go.

A great entry level PDA-- personal digital assistant-- the Palm IIIe costs around $230, and can store up to 6,000 contacts and 3,000 appointments, along with roughly 3,000 to-do items and memos. It can also store any of the tons of programs that run on the Palm OS and are available online. Like other Palm devices, data gets entered via the monochrome touch screen, a built-in stylus, and either the Graffiti handwriting recognition, or a tiny screen-based keyboard. The two AAA batteries will generally last weeks.

The Palm three looks similar to the $370 Palm IIIx, but doesn't include the Microsoft Outlook support in the box, the internal expansion slot, and 2MB of storage. (The IIIx packs 4MB of memory.) Palm didn't just cut features. It adds a reverse backlit LCD touch screen like those found on the IIIx, V, and VII. The Palm IIIe packs the same PIM and HotSync software as the other Pilots and comes with a HotSync cradle to connect it to a PC.

This is the least expensive of 3Com Palm Computing's organizers and the backlit screen does a great job. But, if you're on a tight budget, given the $230 the Palm IIIe costs (we hope to see its street price at closer to $200), a used Palm Pilot might be a better way to go. We can list a ton of folks that still happily use the original Palm Pilots and Palm Pros.