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PDA's, Pocket PC's, Oh my!

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  • mel
    replied
    Re: PDA's, Pocket PC's, Oh my!

    Anyone thinking about buying a Sony Clie PDA better hurry.

    Sony is pulling out of the PDA market in a few months.

    This will be a setback for the Palm OS.

    Leave a comment:


  • DaFerret
    replied
    Re: PDA's, Pocket PC's, Oh my!

    My first PDA was a Revo. Cool little thing. I guess you could say it was also my first "laptop". :P Anyhoo, I moved over to the Visor when they had the cool color shells and since I could "upgrade" to newer versions when they came out, I was instantly hooked. I stayed with Handspring up until the edge, but then the Sony Clie got me. My last Palm powered PDA was the Sony NX-60.

    Now I have the HP iPAQ 4155 and haven't looked back. There are a few things that make me long for a Palm Powered, like the interface of the third party software avantgo, but I've been more than happy switching to a PocketPC. Gods, I can't believe I just said that.

    The clie was a brick compared to the iPAQ and the 4155 has integrated wireless AND bluetooth. And, it uses SD cards and that is cool because my new digi cam also uses SD cards.

    Donna, unless you can get a good deal on PocketPCs or are willing to spend more, you may want to just stay with Palm type devices like the clie (which are nice because they are Sony). Technically, I didn't need the iPAQ since most cheaper PDAs can handle what I use a PDA for (notes, email, appointments, etc.), but the lightness, multiple integrated wireless connectivity, better multimedia support (playing a music video on the PDA with pretty nice quality is a fun icebreaker!) and better integration with MS products swayed me into coughing up my life savings.

    Sorry for such a long post.
    Last edited by DaFerret; June 4, 2004, 10:04 AM.

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  • Leimamo
    replied
    Re: PDA's, Pocket PC's, Oh my!

    My only PDA is a Tungsten E. When my husband first bought it for me, I went crazy downloading games and little programs which I added to the SD card. Then I started downloading ebooks and found it was much lighter to tote around the PDA than it would be to tote a book and it fits nicely in my purse. I also converted some CDs into MP3s and added those to a 256MB SD card so I can listen to music while I read.

    One of the programs that came in the software bundle is called DataViz Documents to Go which reads MS WORD,EXCEL and POWERPOINT. It can also sync to your Outlook Program so you can add appointments on the desktop then sync it to your palm.

    Oh and don't even get me started on the games I've purchased. I'm so addicted to Mahjongg, Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit and a whole bunch of other freeware games.

    What I love most about my palm is that it's so easy to use that my 4 year old grand daughter can operate it.

    Leave a comment:


  • helen
    replied
    Re: PDA's, Pocket PC's, Oh my!

    Originally posted by Donna
    The cost factor was what caused me to look into the electronic option. Not to mention all of the bells and whistles that go along with PDA's in general. But then again, PDA's can easily become VERY expensive, too, as we well know.

    I guess I'll need to do some more research on the different features of various PDA's before jumping at the first one I see. It's very interesting to see what everyone else is using and what they use it for. Thanks for the input!
    For me a PDA would be an extension of whatever holds the important stuff in this case a PC running Outlook 2000. On that application email messages is most common thing I do but I am not interested in storing, composing or reading email on a PDA.

    The feature I like about Outlook is the Notes, which is the electronic version of Post-It notes and I keep all sorts of trivia information on it. Kind of important information but not enough to justify the overhead of putting it in a Microsoft Word file. I thought I got good at organizating the notes, like using categories, colors of the notes, and even using different folders.

    When I got the Palm IIIe I had to make adjustments in how I used the notes. The most major one was categories. The Palm IIIe could only handle at the most 16 different categories and only category per note since I had some notes that had 2 or more categories assigned to it. Took me some time to re-think this category scheme.

    Another change I had to make was that the Palm IIIe limited the size of a note entry. I can't remember the size limitation, but only a few notes was affected and the work around was to break it up into smaller notes. For instance one thing I stored on one note was my dvd collection. This was done so that I wouldn't buy a duplicate dvd by mistake, in fact it was this note that was truncated. Luckly a couple of lines were missing and redid it by having each dvd it's own note under the category of "dvd".

    This size limitation also affected the Calendar and Task applications which had space to put in notes about whatever it was I was trying to do.
    Last edited by helen; May 5, 2004, 12:06 AM.

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  • Donna
    replied
    Re: PDA's, Pocket PC's, Oh my!

    Incidentally, Office Depot has a $100 rebate for all PDA's that are $299+...

    Leave a comment:


  • Donna
    replied
    Re: PDA's, Pocket PC's, Oh my!

    Good heavens. I'm more confused than ever! So many attractive choices...

    I was a Franklin planner advocate for a long time before the advent of the PDA. I would always look forward to December when I would go to the Franklin Covey store and browse through the pretty planner refills and pressed flower bookmarks. I've always felt that these sheets of paper were painfully overpriced, but somehow I justified buying it anyway. It's easy to drop a couple hundred bucks every year -- just buy the refills and "upgrade" your leather binder.

    The cost factor was what caused me to look into the electronic option. Not to mention all of the bells and whistles that go along with PDA's in general. But then again, PDA's can easily become VERY expensive, too, as we well know.

    I guess I'll need to do some more research on the different features of various PDA's before jumping at the first one I see. It's very interesting to see what everyone else is using and what they use it for. Thanks for the input!

    Leave a comment:


  • mel
    replied
    Re: PDA's, Pocket PC's, Oh my!

    The first "PDA" that I bought is a Sharp Memo Master that I keep in my car (I have 2 of these).

    The 2nd and current PDA that I still use is my Palm IIIc that I got at the end of Year 2000. It's a great little gizmo that I use most exclusively for the address book and memo pad functions. I have dozens of notes and articles that I keep in this thing. It can't be beat as a basic word processor whenever I am away from my other computers (I have the optional Palm keyboard which allows you to type everything in just like a regular laptop).

    I am one of those guys that will never ever buy anything made by Microsoft, so when it is time to buy another PDA I will most certainly be getting one running Palm OS, even though Palm has recently stated that support for the Macintosh will be discontinued .

    Still I am hoping the day I upgrade is a few more years or at least months off. The only thing I am leary about any PDA or other portable device is the preponderance of manufactuers to sell these things with built-in rechargeable batteries. PDAs and other similar devices (such as MP3 players) should have removeable batteries so that we can swap this stuff in and out and not have the built-in battery die and make a completely useful and expensive device useless.

    This battery issue has been one of the factors that has kept me away from buying an iPod music player. Too many reports of premature battery failure which either renders your iPod useless, or a trip to the Apple store to have it replaced (at big bucks if you don't buy Applecare or whatever it is they are selling to guarantee your battery) or risk replacing it yourself. Not very palatable options to me on a device that sells for $250 on the low-end and $500 on the high end.

    I think anything that I pay a $100 or more ought to last at least 5 years without breaking down or wearing out... and anything over $500 ought to last 10 years. I can't fathom to think about Palm, Handspring and other portable devices breaking down after only a few years. We have to pay big money for this stuff when they are new. They should last!
    Last edited by mel; May 1, 2004, 10:29 AM.

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  • Glen Miyashiro
    replied
    Re: PDA's, Pocket PC's, Oh my!

    It really depends on personal preference. Some people are better suited to paper, and others to silicon. I tried for years to use a Franklin dayplanner, honest I did. I listed my projects, I prioritized them, I carried over the ones I didn't finish to the next day. I couldn't stand it. It was such a relief when I got a PDA and finally found something that worked for me.

    That said, I certainly have nothing against books. I love books. I read all the time. The staff at my neighborhood library automatically head for the "reserve" shelf when they see me come through the door. I have books everywhere - probably too many. But for keeping my life under control, paper never did it for me.

    Leave a comment:


  • scrivener
    replied
    Re: PDA's, Pocket PC's, Oh my!

    Originally posted by pzarquon
    I figure, it beats carrying around a Dayplanner with frayed pages.
    The main reason I haven't switched to a PDA is that I just love my frayed-paged planner. I love having pages I can flip through. I love having a place to stick a business card when someone hands me one. I love cleaning the thing out once every few months. I love browsing Office Depot at the end of the year, looking for inserts that will make me enjoy using my planner.

    I don't carry a wallet (I just hate 'em), so I love, too, having a reliable place to keep my ATM card and driver's license, my credit card and frequent-buyer punchcards.

    I love gadgets as much as any of the rest of you, but in the long run, what they say has always been true: nothing beats a good book.

    Leave a comment:


  • pzarquon
    replied
    Re: PDA's, Pocket PC's, Oh my!

    My dad has the Treo 600, and it's a piece of work. Since I carry both a Sprint cell phone and a Sony PDA on my belt every day, more than a few people have suggested I get a combination device. But... the Treo 600 ain't cheap, and more significantly, a combo device means to upgrade one component (PDA or phone), I need to upgrade both.

    I expect I'll be changing phones far more often than I'll be changing PDAs (I used a Palm III way past its retirement date), so separate it is for now.

    Generally, I think I rely on both equally. A cell phone is becoming an almost standard piece of equipment in professional life. But because I'm scatterbrained, I also need my PDA, at least for scheduling and phone numbers and addresses (everything else is just gravy). I figure, it beats carrying around a Dayplanner with frayed pages. Remembering birthdays is a snap. And you can't type "Donna" into a Dayplanner and find all your entries in 3 seconds.

    That said, I love the aforementioned gravy.

    My PDA is an older Sony Clie NX-70. (I prefer PalmOS to the Microsoft options... even if that means giving up some of the high-end flashy software.) While I use it most for the basics, I admit I like having the big screen, the flip clamshell with keyboard, the Memory Stick slot, speaker, mic and headphone jack (for voice memos, video clips and MP3s!), the built-in, low-res digital camera, the expected Sony tweaks to the interface... it's not a small gadget by any means, but it's useful and fun. Of course, the Clie line has advanced quite a bit... and you can get the one I have now, new, for less than half of what I paid.

    My phone is a Samsung VGA-1000. Now, phones are evolving even faster than PDAs, and I imagine this thing, only two months old, is already out of date. But I like it... if only for the increasingly irresistable built-in camera. The pictures are just as grainy as the ones coming out of my PDA, but they sure can get put on the web pretty quick.

    As for wireless? I'm curious about Bluetooth, but I'm only familiar with WiFi. My apartment is WiFi'd, both for our computer network (4 PCs and two laptops) and for our TiVo. I also have the WiFi card for my Clie PDA, but I have to admit, it's hard to find a reason to browse the web on a tiny device with limited browser support when I also have a Vaio laptop within arm's reach. (As you can tell, I like Sony gadgetry.) I still carry it around though. Who knows if I might want to fire it up in a WiFi-enabled coffee shop someday and blog a complaint about the service (or the nearby dry cleaners?).

    The only thing about WiFi that nags at me is security. WEP is cracked and not all devices support WPA. I've got WEP enabled and my network locked to specific hardware (via MAC addresses), but it can still be compromised. I take comfort in the fact, though, that within range of my couch, there are five other detectable wireless networks, four of them not secured at all and with names like 'default' and 'linksys,' which are pretty much invitations to make trouble. WEP/MAC isn't completely secure, but like The Club in your car, it should at least encourage most evildoers to go pick on someone else!

    Leave a comment:


  • Glen Miyashiro
    replied
    Re: PDA's, Pocket PC's, Oh my!

    My Visor Deluxe died last year after a few years' good service, and because I needed a replacement in a hurry, I took the cheapie way out and picked up a Zire 21 from CompUSA as a "temporary" solution until a better one showed up. It's OK. I use it mainly for the calendar and address book functions. I agree with Helen that rechargeable batteries are annoying, but I've gotten used to tethering and untethering the thing at my desk every day. It's the price you pay for having always-on mobile gadgets, I guess.

    What I'm really lusting after is a Treo 600, but I can't justify the monthly cell bill considering my extremely minimal cell needs. But if I had one, I could consolidate my three daily pieces of gear (PDA, phone, camera) into a single easy-to-carry gadget. Very very tempting...

    Leave a comment:


  • helen
    replied
    Re: PDA's, Pocket PC's, Oh my!

    It's been almost a year since my Palm IIIe stop working and to be honest I don't miss the use of a PDA.

    Speaking for myself, if I do get a new PDA, I do want one that uses disposable batteries (a couple of AAA, but I can live with AA powered), be able to use an optional keyboard. Of course I am willing to trade using rechargeable batteries if the darn thing can back up the information to memory cards (double points if it uses CompactFlash cards as the medium).

    Standard palm applications like calendar, task, notes and phone list is good enough for me.

    Leave a comment:


  • Donna
    started a topic PDA's, Pocket PC's, Oh my!

    PDA's, Pocket PC's, Oh my!

    I have an old funky Visor PDA and I feel terribly behind the curve, technology-wise. Although I am usually not on the bleeding edge, I like to be somewhere near the more current devices.

    So now there's a ton of choices... I'd like to know which one you're using and why you like it (or don't like it) so that I can make a more informed decision about upgrading.

    Also, are any of you using WiFi or Bluetooth technology on your handheld device? If so, what are you using it for? Anyone blogging from their handheld yet?
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