It's a wonder no one has done it before. CoolColors now offers replacement casings for your Palm III-style devices. Current colors available are red, blue, green, and orange. I also received some clear casings as well, but I can't confirm their availability on the website.

Now, I've done it many times now, but cracking open your Palm III case is not for the faint of heart. Replacing it altogether takes even more courage and finesse. But it can be done, and it's not too hard if you follow a few rules.

The first rule is to HotSync your data before you do anything else. Then, remove your batteries. Finally, don't force anything. Everything can be removed with ease if you look at how it's held in place; nothing is glued to the casing.

As for your warranty, I'm pretty sure this amount of manipulation to the Palm's innards does void it completely. But what the heck, when you have to be cool, you have to be cool.

I won't go through a step by step accounting of how the installations went, but it wasn't too tough. Following the included instructions works pretty well. The kit also includes a small phillips screwdriver and four spare screws.

Our Editor-in-Chief did one transplant, and I did the other, and we were both done in under ten minutes. The photos at the left may not show it, but the look is really quite stunning. Their untextured surface makes them look like jewels in the sunlight. Lack of texture can make them a bit slipperier when they're in a pocket, however, so just be careful.

One unfortunate omission is the absence of a flip cover. Using the old gray one looks ugly. When they originally announced back in September, there were going to be casings for old PalmPilots as well, but for now, there's just the Palm III casings. I'm hoping they'll come out with casings for the Palm VII soon, but I think they're trying to keep up with orders. If you want to have some fun, check them out. US$39.95 www.palmcolors.com

-Shawn Barnett