PalmPilot: The Ultimate Guide, Second Edition

Palm VII: The Service

The Palm VII is the first PalmPilot that you may never stop paying for. If you plan to use the wireless features—email and web querying—you must sign up for (and pay monthly for) an online account with Palm.Net, a special kind of Internet service provider run by Palm Computing. This account gives you a new email address to be used exclusively with your Palm VII. It also entitles you to use the Palm.Net web site (from your desktop computer or Palm VII), where you can check your billing statement, inspect maps of national wireless coverage, download new query apps (described later in this chapter), and get help with your palmtop.

Activating the Service

Signing up for this account is remarkably simple and almost instantaneous—you don’t have to call any 800 number or mail in any application. Instead, turn the Palm VII on by lifting the antenna. Tap the Activate icon and follow the steps on the screen. You’ll be asked for your contact information, credit card information, and first three choices of email address. (Whatever you write here, such as skibunny, will wind up as [e-mail] in its final form.)

You’ll also be asked to make up a password. Fortunately, everyday online transactions don’t require this password; you’ll need it only when visiting the Palm.Net web site to check your usage and billing statistics.

Note

If you ever forget your Palm.Net password, visit http://www.palm.net. There, with only your credit-card number to prove that you’re you, you ...