It is no secret that PDAs and smartphones do a lot with a small amount of space. Yet sometimes the limited amount of memory and diminutive size of these devices restrict their capabilities.

That's where expansion slots come in.

You see, most Palm, Pocket PC and, sometimes, Symbian handhelds feature Compact Flash, Secure Digital and—in the case of Sony—Memory Stick slots for peripheral and memory expansion cards. These cards greatly augment the capabilities, not to mention the fun, of mobile computing.

In part one of our two-part series on expansion cards, we check out some of the top reference and business tools available. Next month, we'll survey the best games these cards have to offer.

Reference Cards

Audio Translator, aka Speaking Language Translator
Compatible with Palm OS, Pocket PC, and Symbian OS

Frequent fliers will love Audio Translator, an electronic phrasebook that not only tells you foreign phrases; it pronounces them too. Start by selecting your language and the language for which you need translating. The program can translate to and from English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian. You can search in three ways: either browse through a list of all words and phrases, select from a list of categories, or look at a list of keywords.


Audio Translator helps you order in restaurants
abroad, no matter how rarified your tastes.

Select a phrase and you'll see it in your language and the translation language, with audio links beside each. If your handheld supports audio playback, a synthesized voice will pronounce the phrase for you. We love the program, although we wish the site listed which handhelds support audio playback, since many users probably won't be sure if their device does or doesn't.


Audio Translator groups words and phrases into categories,
so that you can quickly find what you're looking for.

$39.99, www.gomdm.com

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Compatible with Palm OS, Pocket PC, and Symbian OS

While your parents probably had a weighty set of encyclopedias in the den; you can have a card the size of a postage stamp with the same amount of information. The Britannica Concise Encyclopedia contains a streamlined version of the famous encyclopedia, letting you look up essential facts anytime, anywhere.


Britannica Concise Encyclopedia includes a section
on images, so that you can see what you're studying.

There are two parts to the program: an alphabetical list of text entries and an alphabetical list of images. You can enter a search term to look for particular information or just browse and let your curiosity guide you. Entries are tightly written and informative, giving you essential information at a glance. We think it's a good gift for your favorite college student, letting him or her look up info quickly while working on projects.


Browsing through the entries in Britannica is
not only informative, but also a fun way to pass the time.

$29.99, www.gomdm.com

Franklin Covey Handheld Library, Volume 1
Compatible with Palm OS

It's not that easy to find this title anymore, since it seems to have gone out of print, but we think it's worth the effort. If you're a businessperson dedicated to Stephen R. Covey's "habits," or if you'd like to be, you'll appreciate having this card with you when you travel.

A miniature bookshelf, this card holds the complete texts of six inspirational books by Stephen R. Covey and Hyrum W. Smith: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, The Modern Gladiator, First Things First, Principle-Centered Leadership, Five Secrets to Personal Productivity, and Quotes and Quips. Each comes in an electronic book format that lets you mark pages and add notes.

$29.99, www.earth1computer.com/francovhanli.html

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and Franklin Thesaurus
Compatible with Palm OS, Pocket PC, and Symbian OS

You'll never be at a loss for words with this compact dictionary and thesaurus card. There's nothing abridged about the included Merriam-Webster's dictionary, eleventh edition, which includes 200,000 full definitions, or the Franklin Thesaurus, which has 500,000 synonyms.


The start page to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and
Franklin Thesaurus lets you choose to open either of the two books.

Looking up words in either book is quick and easy, thanks to the intuitive search controls, and the dictionary even includes a list of included tables. If you regularly craft memos or reports on your handheld, this is one of the most useful cards you could own.


Look up a word in Merriam-Webster's and you'll get the full print dictionary
definition, complete with pronunciation guide and a guide to related words.

$35.99, www.gomdm.com

Rand McNally: The Road Atlas
Compatible with Palm OS and Pocket PC

Get the Road Atlas or get lost! This electronic atlas does more than a print version ever could. Besides offering the trusty maps you'd expect from Rand McNall—showing 640,000 miles of interstates and highways in the contiguous 48 states—this atlas creates driving directions between cities, tells you how long your journey will take, and points out attractions along the way.

You can zoom in for a closer look or zoom out for a bird's eye view. The maps will even tell you what kind of travel amenities you can find at each exit. The controls are well designed and make it easy to find exactly what you're looking for. We especially liked the points-of-interest search, which lets you find attractions near a given city. Use the Road Atlas with a GPS receiver and it will show you exactly where you are at all times. If you need street level information, look to Rand McNally's Streetfinder instead.

$49.99, www.handmark.com or $39.95, store.palmone.com

Travel Card: Worldwide Cities, also European Cities
Compatible with Palm OS

Travel can be disorienting, especially if you do it frequently. If you bounce from city to city often, let the Travel Card be your guide. It contains a bundle of programs that lets you organize your globe-trotting work schedule and enjoy your time off in remote locations. Use the well-designed Small Talk program to have simple conversations with locals (the two of you pass the Palm back and forth, tapping out your replies).

You can use the CityTime clock to get your bearings and Time Traveler Lite to organize a time zone-spanning schedule. Best of all, it contains Lonely Planet guides for twenty cities, pointing you toward the best food, drink, and entertainment around the globe. An older version, Travel Card: European Cities, provides a helpful guide for European trips.

$49.95, store.palmone.com

Business Tools

CoPilot Live CompactFlash GPS
Compatible with Pocket PC

You'll always get where you're going with this CoPilot Live GPS program and receiver. First load the CoPilot software onto your PC and handheld, then create maps on your computer to use on your Pocket PC. Plug in the GPS CompactFlash card and you're ready to roll. The receiver will keep track of your location, displaying large, easy-to-ready directions on the screen and giving you voice prompts on when to turn.

The package also comes with simple dashboard mounting tools, so that you won't have to risk an accident to see the screen. If you have a Bluetooth-enabled device, CoPilot live also has a $349 Bluetooth version that communicates with your Pocket PC wirelessly instead of using a card slot.

$299, www.alk.com

Mobile Backup Card, aka Secure File PDA Backup
Compatible with Palm OS and Pocket PC

You've got too much crucial data stored on your handheld to risk losing it. Sure, you sync with your home computer, but what if you're traveling for several days and can't get to your PC? For total peace of mind, look to Mobile Backup Card, which makes it a easy to store all of your files. Backup everything with the quick controls or select only those files you need saved.


Use Mobile Backup Card with a Pocket PC
and you'll have this colorful interface to guide you.

The card can hold 64MB of data, and it gives you the option to encrypt, password protect, and compress your information. And of course, the restore function puts all your data back in place should you lose it.

$49.99, www.gomdm.com