Review of the Abacus Wrist PDA (AU5005)

You can toggle the on-screen keyboard on andoff from the command toolbar. To open the command toolbar from any screen, makea single upward stroke going from left to right.I have to reiterate that data input is probably the one thing that impressed memost about this watch. I wouldn't want to write a novel on it, and I still preferqwerty thumb boards when I can get them (like on my Sidekick II), but for takingdown quick notes and contact information, the Abacus Wrist PDA is very usable.Customizing the Wrist PDAThe Abacus Wrist PDA can be customized to some extent. Of course you have the11 different watch faces I mentioned above for customizing watch mode, but thePDA mode can be customized as well, primarily through the Prefs application. Youhave all your standard Palm preferences (time and date formats, number formats,sound settings, etc.), but there is also a Wrist PDA section which allows you tocustomize a few additional functions.I found that a fullsized stylus is the only way to go with this watch. I have a combination pen/stylus/laser-pointerwhich works beautifully with the Wrist PDA, and made writing on the LCD surprisinglyeasy. If you decide to pick one of these watches up, I strongly recommend keepingeither a pen stylus, or even a standard replacement PDA stylus that you can buyfrom any office supply store, in an easily accessible pocket. In fact, this wouldbe a very cool accessory for Fossil to consider including. Using JotGone are days of the esoteric hieroglyphics known as Graffiti. Although I wasonce quite the Graffiti master, after using several other handwriting recognitionsystems, I now recognize Graffiti as the menace its name implies. Thankfully, the AbacusWrist PDA uses either Jot or Graffiti 2, and it uses both quite well. Data inputwas my biggest concern with the Wrist PDA, and I'm happy to report that it's actuallyfar better than I expected.Jot allows you to write on a large portion of the screen as opposed to confiningyou to a tiny quadrant as the old Palms did. Use the left side of the screen forlowercase letters, the center for uppercase letters, and the right side for numbers.You can have a little arrow appear at the top center of the screen to help youvisually divide the writing su***ce by checking the "show mode mark" inthe Jot configuration application. Selecting is also surprisingly easy. Doubletap on a word to select it, or tap and hold until the watch chirps, then drag toselect only a portion of a word or sentence.If Jot is not your thing, you can use the old on-screen keyboard, but for this,you will have to have bionic eyes.