The Panorama iPod Organizer turns the iPod into a great way to carry all of your important data with you. A couple of flips of the jog wheel gets you to any data item you have stored in seconds. However, the iPod wasn't designed to be a PDA, so it does have some limitations compared to a more conventional PDA.

Probably the most serious limitation is the lack of any kind of input capability. The iPod is a display only device — you can look at data but there is no way to edit data or add new data. All data entry, editing and data import must be done on your Macintosh computer and synced to the iPod via iTunes.

Since there is no ability to input data, the iPod also lacks the ability to search for data. There's no way to type in what you want to search for! Instead of searching you use the jog wheel to quickly scan through your data. For most applications we feel that Apple's excellent jog wheel implementation is actually superior, and as an added bonus there's no stylus to fiddle with or lose. The iPod can easily be operated with one hand, while one-handed operation is very cumbersome with most PDA's.

The second primary limitation of the iPod is that you can't load any new software onto it. (The Panorama iPod Organizer simply uses the iPod's existing software in a new way.) Since the software can't be changed there is no way to customize the operation of the iPod in any way—no pictures or maps, no calendar, e-mail or web browsing.

If you need a full featured PDA the iPod will probably not meet your needs. But if your primary application for a PDA is to look up information, the Panorama iPod Organizer turns your iPod into an ultra-portable information warehouse, not to mention allowing you to keep 1,000 songs in your pocket!