Why fiddle with the small numeric pad on your mobile phone when you can write?

Yes, if you have an IR-enabled phone, you can use your Palm to send Short Message Service (SMS) messages to your friends. All you have to do is write your messages in your Palm and send them off with a simple tap of the button. Those with gigantic fingers can now rejoice.

What you need is a program like MonkeyMessenger or funSMS. These are software that lets you send and receive SMS messages through your phone via the Palm.

If you need a more powerful program, try GSMtool. It not only allows you to send SMS, the program can receive and archive your messages as Memo Pad files on your handheld. Plus, GSMtool has neat features that let you archive your phonebook and dial phone numbers from your Palm to your mobile via IrDA.

Is there anything that a Palm can't do?

This "beaming" function is perfect for audiophiles and couch potatoes. With programs like OmniRemote and Palm Remote on your handheld, you can actually turn your electronic organizer into a universal remote control.

With easy-to-use macros, you can quickly teach your Palm to learn how to function as your remote. OmniRemote comes with a fully configurable user interface, which means you can even draw your own buttons any way you want.

Say goodbye to the days of having five or six remote controls. All you need now is your trusty Palm.

Playing games alone on your Palm can be fun, but using the IR feature, you can now compete head-to-head with your Palm pals. All you need are the same game on both Palms, clear line-of-sight, and plenty of free time.

The following games allow for some multiplayer action. If you feel the need for speed, Race Fever lets you hit the tracks with your speed demon pals. If you're aching for some footie action, try a little Extra Time Football. If you want to prove that you're a military genius, take on your enemies with IRBattleship. For something more intellectual, IRChess will make pawns out of your mates.

Those who still remember the good old days of Atari will not want to miss the classic game of IR Pong.

Meetings can be really boring, especially when your boss drones on about company targets and objectives. Wouldn't it be great if you can start a private conversation with your buddy across the conference table?

If your colleague has a Palm, you can just fire up IRP2PChat, an application that lets you chat with another Palm user within range. Once you tap on the "Go Chat!" button, your Palm will search for your buddy's PDA. Once he agrees to chat, you'll be connected!

With the program, you can send text messages talking about last night's episode of Ed or Felicity. Better yet, you can use the whiteboard to play a quick game of Tic-Tac-Toe. All these while your boss is probably thinking that you're furiously taking notes!

Another software that lets you do the same is PicChat. It sends whatever you write on-the-fly. Plus, it's free!

Meetings will never be boring again!

Gentlemen, synchronize your watches.

Now, all you spy wannabes can not only synchronize the time on your watches, you can synchronize the time on your Palm.

TimeShare is a small, simple but nifty app that lets you beam the correct time from your handheld to a remote Palm. If you're co-ordinating some complex world-saving mission that requires the use of your Palm, you can be sure your accomplice and you will perform the right action at the same time.

What about your cellphone? No problem. Just use PhoneTime. This app lets you set your IR-enabled mobile phone's time from your PDA.

With your Palm, we can make a James Bond out of you yet.

You've written your comprehensive report on how your company can make a profit this year. The amazing thing is you did it all on your Palm! Now, all you need to do is print it.

If you have an IR-enabled printer, you can just point your PDA at it and print out your masterpiece. What you need is a software like PrintBoy, PalmPrint, or InStep Print. These apps let you print not only things you write on your Memo Pad, you can get a hard copy of your appointments, contact list, emails, and even things on your clipboard!

Want to make your report spiffier? PrintBoy Deluxe turns your Palm into a mean printing machine. It lets you print spreadsheets and documents. This means you can produce printed copies of your made-in-Excel financial reports and price sheets. With full graphical printing, you can even spice up your reports with pictures!

If you want to play the jester, Palm lets you play pranks on your pals. All you have to do is beam some harmless prank program into your unsuspecting mate's PDA.

Got-cha! is one software you can use. When your pal taps his PDA, a sarcastic pop-up message appears warning him to stop tapping. If he still doesn't heed the warning after a few taps, it threatens to wipe clean every application on his device. Scary, huh? Hey, it's all just a joke!

Another software you can use to fool your friends is PilotCE. This one's a parody of the Redmond empire's Windows CE operating system. Whenever your pal starts his Palm, it will appear that he has a CE-enabled device. However, if he tries to use the Start Menu, it will generate fake errors like "Insert CD-ROM".

Just remind him that it's all in good fun!

The days when we have a robot butler may be still far away. But with various robot construction kits on the market, we can still build our own mechanical bots, granted that they won't be like Robin William's character in Bicentennial Man.

One of the coolest robot construction kits out there has to be the LEGO MINDSTORMS range of robotics developer kits. With it, it's really fun and easy for both kids and adults to build their own robots.

When you have a Palm, you can control your LEGO MINDSTORMS' mechanical creation with Robotic Mover. Using the IR feature on your Palm, you can issue commands to your robot using either the onscreen buttons or hardware keys.

Today, you control a robot toy. Tomorrow, who knows? Maybe you can control a life-size Gundam-like robot, all with your Palm!

Everyone gets a kick out of personalizing their own stuff. Remember the thrill you had when you downloaded your fave X-Men or Jennifer Aniston wallpaper on your desktop?

With your Palm and the right software, you can give your IR-enabled mobile phone your personal stamp easily by beaming logos and ringtones to your phone.

MyPhone is a simple app designed to let you install a logo and ringtone on your Siemens phone. If you use a Nokia, MonkeyTone is an app that lets you create and send ringing tones.

MonkeyLogo is another powerful program that lets you personalize your phone. The software lets you draw and edit your phone's operator and caller groups logos.

Time to make your phone stand out with your own ringtone symphony and avant garde logo.

Feeling too shy to say "Hi" to that cute girl across the room? Well, if she has a Palm, and you have one, too, it can be real simple. All you have to do is just beam a greeting.

To do that, you can use Pass A Note. This cool freeware is great fun to use. Just write your greeting or note and tap on the beam icon.

If you're feeling creative, you can send your greeting using Ascii Art. Simply put, these are pictures made up of your standard ascii characters. Just get your creative juices flowing and draw an Ascii flower, and beam it to your object of affection with the free AskiArt.

For those with Nokia phones, you can send picture postcards from your Palm to your loved ones' handphone with MonkeyCard. You can create your own picture message or use any of the preloaded creations.

Still not enough? Get Picture Messages for Nokia Phones, a collection of 1,000 picture messages that you can send. If you send one per day to your sweetheart, it can last you for about three years.

No kidding.