Portable WiFi Device

["m_surgenor" <malcolm@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I'm just back from nearly three weeks hols in the US and am both=20
frustrated and pleased with the level of wireless internet access=20
over the tour.=20=20

The frustration came with my Palm Tungsten T3 and WiFi card which=20
would rarely find any WiFi hot spot to connect to and when it did it=20
would be very unreliable and run the battery down in minutes.=20=20

The pleasure came from borrowing my son's PSP which was simplicity=20
itself in connecting and the battery seemed to go on for hours (much=20
to my son's displeasure!).  The PSP would find a hot spot even when=20
scanning side by side with the T3 where it found none!=20=20

Throughout the holiday I managed to connect almost everywhere - even=20
when we were staying in a house that didn't have WiFi - there seemed=20
to be a lot of houses (neighbours) with 'open' access.  Most of the=20
airports and hotels had open and free access with only one aiport=20
(Newark) looking for a charge for access.

Given my frustrations I started to look around at a replacement for=20
my (longstanding) T3 whilst I was out there.  I rather liked the=20
look and feel of the Palm LifeDrive, but I wonder if anyone can=20
point me in the direction of some other similar devices (sub =A3300=20
gbp) to look at?  In the US tech stores the selection was pretty=20
minimal with just a few Palm devices and a few HP Windwows Mobile=20
devices - is everyone now using smart phone devices?  Oh and I don't=20
want a PSP!

Any suggestions?

Malcolm