REVIEW
David Shapshak
Rex 6000 personal digital organiser
Technology is a wonderful thing, in case you hadn’t noticed. I have in my hand a device the size of a credit card (and the thickness of three) that has nearly as much functionality as my PalmPilot, and it has a touch screen on it.
The Rex 6000 is an innovative personal digital organiser (PDA) that is the size of a credit card (or more accurately, a PCMCIA card, the plug-in cards that go into your laptop).
The flagship model from maker’s Xircom, the Rex 6000, may not be as powerful as a Palm nor as colourful as a Pocket PC, but is the unofficial front runner for a new range of micro-PDAs.
Weighing just 29g, it is dominated by a small LCD touchscreen (a monochrome 240×120 pixels) and, using a stylus, you can view its calendar, address book, to-do list and memos.
All of these function much like a Palm’s and just take a little getting used to. It may not be as easy to find a number (four clicks instead of Palm’s one) but considering its size and usefulness, it is an acceptable trade-off. Seven-function hot keys, arranged along the bottom of the touch screen, give you quick access to all of the major applications (the diary or contacts, etc) while navigation is handled by five keys down the right hand side. Using just these, I managed to use only one hand to hop around.
The rest of the device, of course, has the de rigeur gadget-chromed finish.
The Rex 6000 sports the same two megabytes of RAM that entry-level Palms have and synchs with Microsoft Outlook, which you can do directly in the PC slot if you have a laptop (another spectacular innovation) or through a desktop cradle. Although it took longer to sync than the Palm it retained as much information.
An added function is the ability to sync to a Rex website (password protected, of course) as a way of putting your diary and contacts online, as well as backing up your data.
The makers say the two thin batteries will last six months, much longer than most current PDAs.
But, as impressive as its small size is, entering data is quite a headache. The device might be best suited as a read-only companion, that you can refer to, look up numbers, or your next appointment. It does have a mini-keyboard on the touchscreen that you can use to type names and numbers, so no need for it to learn your handwriting or you to learn something like Palm’s (very simple) Graffiti (a simplification of letters, mostly in capitals, to enter text).
Either way, the Rex 6000 is a taste of things to come, as users opt for much more portability, without losing any organising ability or functionality. If they can fit all of this on to something the size of a credit card, what will be possible to squeeze on to a cellphone?
The Rex 6000 is exclusively imported by Acer Africa. www.rex.net/