The message on a plain sign behind the desk of a very successful businessman caught my eye during an interview: Promise less. Deliver more.

Given that one of my editors was even then struggling to make the more I'd just delivered fit into less of the promised space, I realized it may not apply to all things. Still, it was worth thinking about.

The maxim popped into my mind hours later when I sat down to write about AvantGo, the snappily named info-on-the-go service that -- like far too many Internet concepts -- promises much but delivers less.

	It?s not fair to even consider AvantGo as a substitute for anything more than a small part of a news outlet?s output. By its very nature it can?t be.

For one, despite the lists of numerous options, AvantGo's menu is actually pretty limited. The New York Times seems to be ubiquitous, offered as an option in multiple categories. For another, AvantGo is a little too undiscriminating with its information architecture, putting advertorial like Books@Random and CatChow between Bazaar and Elle on the lifestyle list. The juxtaposition can be disconcerting, which is nothing against what may be a great Web site for cat enthusiasts.

In the months I spent searching for the Holy Grail of PDAs -- no, like the perfect home page it still remains a challenge although I've settled for a Compaq Ipaq 3765 in the meantime -- using it to get news and information was never at the top of the rationalization list. Opting out of a wireless solution for now made the possibility even more remote. But once I brought it home and realized I could use my computer's Internet connection to move data to the PDA, it had to be tried. After all, I'd been wondering for a while whether it was worth it for news organizations to offer an AvantGo version.

The concept works like this: a PDA owner, for instance, logs into a Web site using a computer, registers and selects content channels that will be delivered every time the device synchronizes with a host computer.

The process was relatively painless. I signed up for The New York Times' latest news, Books@Random, USA Today, the hockey section of The Sporting News, CNN/SI and a couple of others, keeping in mind that space on the PDA is limited. As it turns out, my patience is limited, too. Synching AvantGo means the software application checks every channel and every page for updates; more channels equals more pages and more checking. On a slow connection it can take a few minutes, not a big deal but not great when you need to grab and go.

The first effort was less than a success. I was headed to California and noticed that my travel agent offered the chance to download my itinerary and other travel information to a PDA via VirtuallyThere.com. The morning of my trip I grabbed the PDA off the cradle without bothering to check if the transfer was successful. Later, when I went to look up my flight number I discovered that a security error had caused the transmission to fail. Luckily, the info was in my Outlook notes so I wasn't stranded.

I've tried troubleshooting to no avail -- no matter how useful this feature may be, it may have passed the point of diminishing returns for me. If you have to strugggle to use something it's no longer a convenience; if it isn't necessary for survival, sometimes you just have to shrug and move on. This trip I just cut-and-pasted the itinerary in my notes and left it at that.

Back home, I mostly ignored the AvantGo downloads until I was cooling my heels at an appointment without any reading material on hand. I started to organize some of my Outlook information when I remembered that the Ipaq should be loaded with less taxing distractions courtesy of AvantGo. The best find by far was the excerpts to various books being pitched by Random House. A science fiction chapter held my attention and even made me think of buying the book. But many of the news items were too brief to offer much more at times than I would have seen on a wireless cell phone. 

Some of the issues are technology based. For instance, I'm not using a wireless PDA and, unlike the setup at the home office, when I'm traveling my PDA isn't constantly connected to my computer. That means whenever I want to update my PDA files I have to connect the device to my laptop, connect the laptop -- also not wireless -- to a phone line, dial up and wait for it to download. I may get a chance to do that in the morning or at night, but it's far too clunky for quick use. I think I may be able to cut some of the clutter by using infrared but I'm not sure and it would be much easier just to buy a paper.

Two weeks of constant travel have put AvantGo to the OJR equivalent of a stress test. I've tried it as a newspaper substitute on a train, as something to keep me occupied during a late-night solo meal, as a guide for restaurants in Philadelphia and as a way to keep informed when I'm offline with a few minutes to spare.

By switching my options for the Times, I could read all of the front-page stories on a very fast train between Philadelphia and New York. It's not as easy to read as the print version but the ink doesn't rub off and the text size can be enlarged. Using a somewhat clunky process that required re-synching, I could view a stripped down version of my Yahoo page and check stock prices in my fake media portfolio and follow the links to news headlines. Unfortunately, following the links often led to old headlines and expired pages. Still, it's been useful enough to keep me coming back. Unlike the news briefs offered by Yahoo (using Reuters) and USA Today, CNN's news items are actual stories with detail.

It's not fair to even consider AvantGo as a substitute for anything a small part of a news outlet's output. By its very nature it can't be. It can, though, provide a few choice items or a quick dip into an area that interests you. It isn't a reason to buy a PDA and it shouldn't be unless you have wireless and really, really need constant access to information.

Is it worth it for news organizations to have an AvantGo page? I'm not sure how many people are actually using the service so I can't quantify it in that regard. As a news consumer trying to make the most of my time and gadgets, yes -- as long as you do it right.  This is a Goldilocks kind of thing  if it's too small, it's not worth my time; too complicated, probably not worth the news outlet's time. Get it just right and it makes sense for both.