Thinking about getting a PDA

[Neo-K 182]

well, due to my graduation i got a lot of money from it. and since i'm starting college, job, and a few other things i figured that it wouldn't be such a bad idea to go pick one of these up again. i have an old Palm m105 but i'm giving that to my dad cause he needs one. so i was thinking of getting a new one myself.

 

i've researched them a bit, but because i dont really know much about them or how good they are for the money, i cant really make any good judgements.

 

so heres the deal.

i'm looking for any type of PDA, either Palm OS or Pocket PC, preferably under $200, but it can go a little big higher.

mp3/movie ability is a plus

has to have an expansion slot (though i'm pretty sure they all come with memory slots now)

preferably 16MB+ memory internal

good battery life. (my m105 only lasted like 2-3 hours, i'd like this one to last 2-3 times that)

 

well thanks guys, i've gone here for help before and you guys seem to be the best.

 

 

P.S. i know this is PC Chat and that this is a PDA thing but i kinda figured it would be alright to have it here.

[magical_trevor]

 

well, due to my graduation i got a lot of money from it. and since i'm starting college, job, and a few other things i figured that it wouldn't be such a bad idea to go pick one of these up again. i have an old Palm m105 but i'm giving that to my dad cause he needs one. so i was thinking of getting a new one myself.

 

i've researched them a bit, but because i dont really know much about them or how good they are for the money, i cant really make any good judgements.

 

so heres the deal.

i'm looking for any type of PDA, either Palm OS or Pocket PC, preferably under $200, but it can go a little big higher.

mp3/movie ability is a plus

has to have an expansion slot (though i'm pretty sure they all come with memory slots now)

preferably 16MB+ memory internal

good battery life. (my m105 only lasted like 2-3 hours, i'd like this one to last 2-3 times that)

 

well thanks guys, i've gone here for help before and you guys seem to be the best.

 

 

P.S. i know this is PC Chat and that this is a PDA thing but i kinda figured it would be alright to have it here.

Get a Windows Smartphone.. i've got an Orange SPV C500 (in the USA it's called lots of things, like the Audiovox SMT5600, Imate SP3 and Dopod something or other). It basically runs a slightly stripped down version of Windows for Pocket PC, and it plays MP3s, WMAs and just about any other type of media available. It also has a MiniSD slot which means you can expand the memory from the included 64mb up to a GB.. with a 1GB mini-SD card you can store about 3-4 movies at an acceptable resolution and a whole load of audio tracks.

 

Of course if you already have a decent phone then this will be of little use to you..

 

edit- it doesn't have an expansion slot (other than the Mini-SD slot and a slave mini-USB port), but it has a good battery life, I can normally get 3 or 4 days of reasonable use out of it, and it can charge over USB as well as mains, which is useful.

Edited June 11, 2005 by magical_trevor

[Bond996]

Unless you have cingular as your cell-phone provider already, DO NOT get a smartphone. With any other provider they have horribly poor support for them and intentionally cripple their features. If you do get one, I reccomend the Treo series from Palm. I believe the 650 is the flagship model

 

My brother has a Sony Clie TJ37. It's extremely good, has a wireless, a camera, runs Palm OS 5, gets days of battery life, and has an MS slot. However, they stopped making them.

 

I'd kind of avoid Palm's PDA's. Their quality has gone downhill, and a lot of their units seem to have problems shortly after purchase. However, Windows Mobile based ones have taken off in terms of excellencicity. Dell has excellent models, as do HP/Compaq.

[SIP YEK NOD]

we got my sister one of these for christmas, and its awesome. its 300 dollars, but you arent going to find a good one for less. the specs

 

 

Built-in 1.2-megapixel camera to capture photos and video clips; auto white balance and 3 special effects (sepia, black-and-white, blue); video playback capability with expansion card (sold separately) 

 

 

  Palm expansion slot accepts Secure Digital, MultiMediaCard and SDIO cards for added memory and data transfer capacity 

 

 

  Audio playback of MP3 music files stored on optional expansion cards (required; sold separately); built-in speaker and stereo headphone jack 

 

 

  Synchronize with Outlook to back up and exchange information between Palm and computer (Windows only) 

 

 

  Create and edit Word- and Excel-compatible files; view Adobe Acrobat files 

 

 

  Organization applications help you manage images and videos just as easily as schedules or contacts 

 

 

  Agenda view keeps you on track and allows you to drop photos into your contact list or launcher background 

 

 

  Built-in Bluetooth capability for wireless freedom (Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone and ISP required for e-mail and Internet access; both sold separately) 

 

 

  Voice recorder with microphone 

 

 

  Palm OS 5.2.8

 

you can actually record movies with it(and a sd memory card).

[magical_trevor]

Unless you have cingular as your cell-phone provider already, DO NOT get a smartphone. With any other provider they have horribly poor support for them and intentionally cripple their features. If you do get one, I reccomend the Treo series from Palm. I believe the 650 is the flagship model

 

They don't come 'crippled' as far as I know, but even if they do, you can flash different ROMs onto them, and some people have even managed to get linux running on them.

 

But you are right about support, here in the UK the 'tech' support guys can't understand anything that isn't a Nokia, but there are plenty of website out there to help you, and the smartphone platform is very versatile...

[Neo-K 182]

well i already have a phone i like so that one's already out.

 

@SIP: that one is pretty damn nice. i think i'll just save up my money and get that one.

[Bond996]

well i already have a phone i like so that one's already out.

 

@SIP: that one is pretty damn nice. i think i'll just save up my money and get that one.

Can be had for cheaper.

 

I was offered one of these for free if my parents opened a bank account, and I chose not to get it to save them the hassle because I did not like the looks of it. After reading reviews it seemed to break too quickly, and I knew I wasn't going to use it a lot, so I didn't get one. I am not saying to not buy one, but I would reccomend that you read reviews on various websites offering them to make sure that you won't be throwing away money.

 

I'd go with Dell.

[memento27oasis]

dude, don't buy a pda. You'll never use it. Unless you spend like 2 hours commuting from place to place every day, there's no point. Do you really need to check stocks while ordering a burger from McDonalds? No. Look, technology in the next 2-3 years will kick today's butt, so your 400 dollar pda will suck balls. The games are crap. If it's games you're wanting, buy a psp.

[Neo-K 182]

@Bond996: yeah i read some reviews and kinda changed my mind on that one. my parents now say that because the new desktop i'm getting is cheaper than what we thought, they'll help pay so i can go get a pocket PC now.

 

@memento27oasis: i wouldn't buy the PSP even if it was made of candy. and for my life and the things that i'm doing a PDA is actually useful. it'll be good for college cause it's small and portable and i'll be able to keep/write my notes it it. if i get a Wi-Fi ready one i'll be able to go online and send e-mail ect. keep my address and phone numbers in a place. and if it comes with an mp3 player/camera which i want i'll have that to. and as for the games. the games only suck depending on which ones you get. personally for a Palm i wouldn't get anything other than card and board games. maybe that Zap! game just cause it kicks ass.

[Bond996]

@Bond996: yeah i read some reviews and kinda changed my mind on that one. my parents now say that because the new desktop i'm getting is cheaper than what we thought, they'll help pay so i can go get a pocket PC now.

 

@memento27oasis: i wouldn't buy the PSP even if it was made of candy. and for my life and the things that i'm doing a PDA is actually useful. it'll be good for college cause it's small and portable and i'll be able to keep/write my notes it it. if i get a Wi-Fi ready one i'll be able to go online and send e-mail ect. keep my address and phone numbers in a place. and if it comes with an mp3 player/camera which i want i'll have that to. and as for the games. the games only suck depending on which ones you get. personally for a Palm i wouldn't get anything other than card and board games. maybe that Zap! game just cause it kicks ass.

Bewjewled and Dope Wars on the Palm are absolutely essential. Mp3 playback is nice to have, but its more novel then useful. Cameras are absolutely awesome as well. Plus, going into college, you can set up your PDA to check your email, and leave the messages on their servers until you download them from your desktop computer. It's very useful.

 

Personally I find a PDAs best application to be to not notetaking, but contact information, and a calender. I want a $100 device that keeps my dates and times to do things, and my phone numbers in something better then my ipod or my cellphone. PDAs get that done, and nicely.

 

BTW, whatever you do get, turn OFF the bluetooth if it has it. Don't get hacked.

[SIP YEK NOD]

for anybody who says pda's are useless: i typed all of my notes in university with my clie peg-615c and an fold out keyboard. then after class, stuck it in its cradle, hit the sync button and had all of my notes right there on my computer. they are a fraction of the cost of a laptop, and you can carry them anywhere.

[Bond996]

for anybody who says pda's are useless: i typed all of my notes in university with my clie peg-615c and an fold out keyboard. then after class, stuck it in its cradle, hit the sync button and had all of my notes right there on my computer. they are a fraction of the cost of a laptop, and you can carry them anywhere.

Ehh I kind of feel note taking for a class on a PDA is a bit of a pain to do. I would much more readily buy a cheap used laptop and use that.

[memento27oasis]

Listen, have you been to college? From the way you type, it doesn't sound like it. Let me explain. You'll prolly take 16 credits your first term, the average 'full time' amount. That's four classes. You take a 200 page notebook, clip a pen on its spine, and throw it in your backpack, which, if you commute long distance you'll definitely need to keep food, water bottle, clothes, whatever you need. Now, you take that notepad and write down everything you need to in class. Typing or writing notes into a little pda is

A)geeky,

B)dumb,

C)unreliable,

D)people will laugh,

E)hell transfering to pc then scrolling through word to find notes,

F)geeky, oh wait, I said that,

G)you can't drop it on the ground accidentally,

H)pda's can be stolen,

I)nobody steals notepads,

J)you don't need to check stocks or email while at McDonalds, that's just stupid,

K)you'll never play the stupid games on them cuz you'll look like a geek

 

I could go to z, but I don't want to right now cuz I'm checking stocks on my pda to see how my third quarter nasdaq 300 NSE KNd's initial turnover bull market rate of decline is.

[SIP YEK NOD]

somebody sounds jealous

[Neo-K 182]

i have to agree. he's jealous, and an asshole, but that's besides the point.

 

and yes laptops can and will be stolen.

 

@Bond: yeah that's pretty much what i want it for, notetaking, contacts, e-mail. mp3/camera is a plus i'd really like though.

 

@Sip glad to see i'm not the only one that's gonna do that lol.

[San Andreas Nut]

i own a Palm Tungsten T2 & its Fu*king awesome, my dad gave it to me after he got a real nice HP Pocket PC one of the new ones with a camera and windows media player etc.

u should get one they have probably gone down in price now.

The T2 has an mp3 player, picture viewer, documents to go, powerpoint to go,games & tons of d/loadable programs etc. it takes sd cards aswell which makes it even better!

 

 

link to T2 page & my palm topic :-)

[SIP YEK NOD]

with my clie i got a little tv remote control program. it pretty much works with a universal remote. when i first got my palm, i went into the brick with their wall of tv's and started f*cking around with them. i ended up getting kicked out

[Luke15]

Listen, have you been to college? From the way you type, it doesn't sound like it. Let me explain. You'll prolly take 16 credits your first term, the average 'full time' amount. That's four classes. You take a 200 page notebook, clip a pen on its spine, and throw it in your backpack, which, if you commute long distance you'll definitely need to keep food, water bottle, clothes, whatever you need. Now, you take that notepad and write down everything you need to in class. Typing or writing notes into a little pda is

A)geeky,

B)dumb,

C)unreliable,

D)people will laugh,

E)hell transfering to pc then scrolling through word to find notes,

F)geeky, oh wait, I said that,

G)you can't drop it on the ground accidentally,

H)pda's can be stolen,

I)nobody steals notepads,

J)you don't need to check stocks or email while at McDonalds, that's just stupid,

K)you'll never play the stupid games on them cuz you'll look like a geek

 

I could go to z, but I don't want to right now cuz I'm checking stocks on my pda to see how my third quarter nasdaq 300 NSE KNd's initial turnover bull market rate of decline is.

You sound Jealous, or Obsessive. Who gives a f*ck what you use, its their own responsibility and choice dumbass.

 

Anyway, i was considering getting a pda, for mobile internet ect . Are there any PDA's which havee very similar software to windows xp?

[Neo-K 182]

@Luke: all the PocketPC's run on the handheld version of Windows. it's not really like XP, but still has the windows feel. all the Palmone handhelds run on the Palm OS.

[Bond996]

@Luke: all the PocketPC's run on the handheld version of Windows. it's not really like XP, but still has the windows feel. all the Palmone handhelds run on the Palm OS.

All PocketPC's run Windows Mobile. Palm's run PalmOS. Some other PDAs from various companies run Symbian OS or custom Linuxes.

[SIP YEK NOD]

custom Linuxes.

custom lini*

[Neo-K 182]

giving this a little bump cause i've decided to either go with an HP IPAQ or a Dell Axim. both have pretty much everything i could want, but i wanted to run it by you guys to see what you guys think/know of those two.

[memento27oasis]

Sorry to use such harsh words, but I have been through two years of college, living on campus and off and know how things work. I can tell you that, even if you commute long distances, you will not accomplish much on a little pda during that time. You can easily spend more time doing crap at home or school, you don't need a pda.

 

I completely understand that ultimately it's your choice to buy one, however, you'll be part of a minority that uses them in college, a minority branded "geek". Sure, it may be usefull at times, but in regards to using plain old notebook and pencil, refer to Tom Hank's quote in Castaway:

 

"Elvis, 50 million fans can't be wrong"

 

well, 50 million college students can't be wrong either. The majority is right on this one.

 

That being said, if you have your heart set on it, go ahead, by all means, you'll feel better and have fun with it. If you can afford it, go for it. I wouldn't.

[Neo-K 182]

considering i'm going to college for computer graphics/modeling/applications, there already gonna think i'm a geek. lol.

 

but naw i see your point. and belive me it's not something that hasn't crossed my mind. but i feel that for me and in my life it will come in handy, and i have the money for it, so i'm going to use it.