Maybe the Palm is what I need

(image from Palm -- but can you make the screen display the right way?)

While it might be nice to have a full-fledged laptop to lug around with me, the truth is that I don't think a laptop is the right tool for the job.

Sure I'd like to run the exact same applications, browse the Web wirelessly and be able to easily move my work around to where I need it. And while I can't expect This Old Mac, a 10-year-old Powerbook 1400 to do all this, the fact is that even a new laptop (which ain't about to fall into my ... er ... lap) is probably ill-suited to what I need to do anyway.

Since my main focus is writing -- and that writing must be in Microsoft Word format -- and perhaps handling e-mail (although it need not be "live" at the time), what I really need is something wickedly small that boots up in an instant, holds a charge for some time ... is fairly cheap -- and did I say it has to be small.

I might need a Palm handheld. We do have one lying around the house, a Palm Tungsten E. But I also need the keyboard that goes with it, and that we don't have. And it costs $69.99. Ouch. I've seen off-brand ones af Fry's, and they're no cheaper.

And I don't know of anybody who even uses a Palm (or PalmPilot, as they used to be called), let alone uses it for writing. Do they know something I don't? I've seen a few Palm Web sites, and they seem to harp on the unreliability of the devices. They are cheap (relatively), but are they that bad? The Palm comes with Documents to Go software, enabling the creation of Microsoft Office-compatible files.

I just need to find one Web site, from one person, who uses a Palm to write. Is the screen too small? The keyboard too hard to type on?

Palms are pretty much used for their calendar function. I'm not much for scheduling, but for what scheduling I do, I use Yahoo! Calendar