I've been pondering buying another personal digital assistant, a Palm this time, or maybe a Handspring model. I'm not looking for a laptop replacement; my existing HP Jornada is feature-packed. But I need something that works with the Palm operating system so I can sync my files with Linux.

With its Windows CE operating system, the Jornada can't do that. But which Palm-based PDA to buy is another matter. I've never seen so many confusing choices, which might be one reason why handheld sales are down. Shipments are off about 2 percent in this quarter compared with the same period last year, according to market researcher Dataquest.

I can think of several reasons why people are reluctant to put their money down:

1) Too many models. It didn't take Dataquest to tell me that manufacturers, desperate to differentiate their products, keep bringing out new handhelds. Sony has launched a new model almost every month thus far in 2002. Choice is great, but the success of the early PalmPilot was simplicity. You either had one or you didn't. Today, you have to figure out which brand, which model, and which style to choose -- or decide to wait for still more options.

2) Poor text input. Tiny keyboards that you push with your thumbs are a joke, but Palm is building one into its new Tungsten W model, Sharp includes one in its Zaurus, and Handspring's Treo includes a keyboard model as well as one that works with handwriting software. There's a niche for these keyboards, but improving handwriting recognition for quick note-taking makes for a better user experience.

3) Batteries you can't remove. The last thing I want to do when traveling is take a bulky power adapter. I didn't have to with my first PDA, a Palm III, because it used easy-to-find AAA batteries. Why do so many handhelds now rely on rechargeable batteries?

4) Color screens. Can you name one advantage you derive from having color on a screen as tiny as a PDA's? What we need is sharper text, not contact lists with chartreuse backgrounds. Sure, it's fun to display a family photo on a handheld, but once the novelty is gone, was it really worth the extra money?

And the money can be substantial. Palm's new, high-end Tungsten line tops out at $549, almost as much as a decent desktop computer. The Tungsten T comes with a high-resolution 320-by-320 pixel screen, and features a new 144MHz processor from Texas Instruments as well as the latest version of the Palm operating system. Its Bluetooth technology connects to other devices or to cell phones. The other Tungsten model, the Tungsten W, offers always-on data access.

When you start talking $500 for a PDA, you're in Pocket PC territory, where HP, Toshiba (and soon, Dell) are dangerously competitive. That's why Palm will also offer the new Zire, a stripped-down, lightweight PDA for less than $100.

The Zire comes with 2 MB of RAM and a black and white screen, but still uses a rechargeable battery rather than those reliable, removable AAAs. Palm is going to sell the Zire in consumer markets such as Radio Shack and Target as well as the usual electronics and office supply stores.

So many choices for the buyer, and I haven't even mentioned the Handspring Treo, a slick cell phone and PDA combination. The features are flying fast and furious, and the danger is in buying more than what you need. I'll probably pick up something simple, maybe a monochrome Palm m500. It's not snazzy, but prices should be falling on the older Palms, and they're still good enough to get the job done.