PalmOne PalmConnect USB Kit

Manufacturer:	PalmOne
List price:	~~$39.99~~
Our price:	that is 100% off!

PalmOne PalmConnect USB Kit

Average rating: Stars

Highly recommended...if you're a Mac user. Otherwise, no!

If you're using Windows, installing this may be a bit of a challenge. This worked for me:

1) Install the Palm Desktop software if you haven't done so already. You'll need 4.0.1 minimum. (I have 4.1.)
2) Download the latest PalmConnect USB Kit drivers from the palmOne site. These are a separate download from the Palm Desktop software! The file is a .zip archive; extract the files to your desktop or any other easy-to-remember place.
3) Do not connect the USB Kit to the HotSync cradle yet. Connect it to your computer first. If Windows reports that it has found a "PalmConnect USB Adapter", you're on the right track. When Windows asks you for the location of the drivers, give it the location where you extracted them in the previous step.
4) Connect the USB Kit to the HotSync cradle.
5) Right-click on the HotSync Manager icon in your system tray. Make sure "Local USB" and "Local Serial" are both checked.
6) Attempt a HotSync. If it doesn't work, right-click on the HotSync Manager tray icon. Select Setup and go to the Local tab. Change the COM port until you find one that works.

So much for "plug and play", eh? If your system has a serial port (if it's a PC, it probably does), use it instead and save yourself some cash. You're not gaining any speed at all by going USB--this product is merely a converter, not a speed booster--and as you can see, it's a lot more effort than it's worth.

On the other hand, if you have a USB-equipped Mac, it works as advertised, no glitches at all. Just make sure that you install the latest Palm Desktop for Mac software first, not the outdated version on the CD! Get it from the palmOne or Apple website. I recommend the latter, since it won't require you to provide personal information. Just search for "Palm Desktop" from the apple.com front page, and it should be the first result.

PalmOne PalmConnect USB Kit - PalmOne

XP ISSUE FIXED!!!

For all of those who have had trouble getting this to HotSync under WinXP, a Palm support person finally got it fixed for me with a very simple solution. Make sure of the following:
1) Make sure you are using Palm Desktop 4.0.1, NOT anything later. If you need to uninstall 4.1, and download the older Desktop 4.0.1, it is hard to find but can be found here: http://www.palmone.com/us/support/downloads/visor/win_desktop_401.html
2) From there, basically follow Palm's instructions, except:
3) Make sure both Local Serial and Local USB are checked in the HotSync menu,
4) Check under Hotsync Setup that the Hotsync (virtual) Com Port used matches the PalmConnect Com port under Hardware...Device Manager..Ports (COM & LPT), and
5) SET THE SPEED TO THE SLOWEST SPEED (9600). This is the key to all our problems!

Then, after successfully performing a HotSync at the slow speed, you can bump the speed back up to "As fast as possible".

With this I'll bump my rating up to 3 stars because it works but has poor manual and web site explanations for installing the drivers.

Below is my original one-star review from yesterday, for reference:

The box says it's compatible with Win98, Me and 2000. Palm supposedly has upgraded the drivers for XP- I downloaded these from the Palm web site. When installing this (on a new laptop with WinXP with no serial port) according to the instructions, everything seems to install fairly smoothly except that afterwards Hotsync can't find the "serial port" it's looking for. Which of course is the whole point of the device. I tried the suggestion of another user who said you need to use version 4.0.1 of Palm Desktop. I tried that and it gets a little farther along- recognizing "USB serial adaptor" as the installation device- but still doesn't work. Very frustrating.

PalmOne - PalmOne PalmConnect USB Kit

It worked first time out of the box!

I am generally cautious and skeptical with technology - much is often promised that is not delivered. That was NOT the case here.

Having grown used to my trusty old Palm V while at a PC-based corporate job for several years, I wanted to continue using it with my Mac OS X workstation at home when I lost my job. My new world is teaching art at colleges all over Southern California, and I depend on having contact & calendar info handy when I am not at home.

The kit worked great the first time. Based on others' reviews here, I made sure to have the current Palm desktop & Entourage conduit software installed first. I can keep squeezing use value out of my Palm V for a long time now thanks to this product.

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