AHEAD OF THE CURVE: Mobile hip replacement - Nokia and palmOne tout wireless pocket computers they think professionals have been waiting for.

I'm not as much of a gadget-hound as you'd expect. You can't sell me a mobile device unless it's one of two things: the ultimately converged cell phone/PDA/messaging device or a pocket-size computer that keeps me in touch, at office speed, when I'm indoors.

I'm so enamored of the concept of roam-at-home that I tried for a solid couple of years to make it work. Readers will write to insist that it can be done, that it has been done, but I've been down every road and found slow processors, proprietary platforms, impractically low- resolution displays, crippled minibrowsers, high prices, optional wireless. ... I would have to settle, so I gave up. Giving up leaves me in …