[ARCHIVED THREAD] - PDAs - Who Owns One? (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 1/9/2006 2:01:16 PM EDT
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In traveling through the mall a few days ago I took a look at a bunch of PDAs for the first time. They seemed pretty neat and I'm just curious about getting more information on them. Who owns one and what brand/model? The only one I know of are Palm Pilots. Can do you do anything on them besides fill in calender dates and write down phone numbers? Benefits? Drawbacks? Etc etc. Thanks. 
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| I have the Dell Axim X51v. I thought it would be a good tool for keeping track of appointments. Turns out I use it mostly as an MP3 player/gameboy. But it also comes in handy as a television remote control. IMHO, unless you have so much going on you can't keep track of it all, don't bother. |
I have an iPaq H3850. It's awesome. Other than calender dates and phone numbers, you can do a lot. Mine came with Windows Media Player, Word, and Excel. There's a bunch of other programs on it that I don't use, and download.com has a bunch of programs for mine, including a TI-83/4/9 emulator. Also, there's a version of Windowblinds (Windows GUI skinner) for it, called Pocketblinds. I was looking into putting Linux on it too. Get one. I got mine because it was cool, not because it was useful, but it's sure as hell useful. All my past PDAs (some noname casio thing, and a Palm m100) broke, but my iPaq is still kickin after something like three/four years. Serves as an MP3 player too if you don't cram too much music on it. There's probably a lot of better stuff out there by now, but I say get a PDA. |
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I have an Axim x50v. It runs Windows Mobile 2003 and the VGA is beautiful. That and my Bluetooth GPS and I'm all set. The Windows Mobile 5 upgrade is supposed to be causing real problems with the x50s and x51s. There's all kinds of programs you can get for it. Look at www.pocketgear.com I use mine for maps, geocaching, astronomy, games, Internet at moblie hot spots. |
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Thing I used my iPaq for: - Translator in 5 languages and dictionary (SlovoED) - Mapping and GPS software (Pocket Streets) - Units converter and calculator (Coolcalc) - Task manager (Listpro) - Voice recorder that records in MP3 (NoteM) - Contacts - Calendar - Plus everything else you can do with Pocket Excel, Word, etc... I say used because I accidentally wiped it and am now using a Treo 650 in the interim which does about half of the above. Waiting for the hw6900 to come out which will do all the above plus act as a phone with built in GPS. |
jj
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When I was a freshie in High School a select number of freshies were allowed to lease, buy, or rent Palms for this "Student Empowered Teaching" program. The program looked promising. But the Palm was used for very little, and they tended to break down, and kids used them more for playing games during inappropriate times. The program was cancelled at the end of the year, and the superintendent and a few of the teachers that were major sponsors of the program left. As to the Palm itself, I used it to write things, it had an address book. IIRC it was a Palm xe. |
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I use my Palm every day. I even use it for long range shooting with the Horus Vision Atrag software. horusvision.com/hv.cfm?pg=prsf |
| Palm T3. Wouldn't be without one for work. Tracks appts, address/phone #'s of co-workers, clients, etc., syncs with PC and has alarm from 1 minute to 1 year. Takes pictures, can be tied in with GPS device and has a keyboard extension plus can be used as an on-the-fly writer. Worth its weight in gold and it carries easily in pocket or bag. |
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here is one in the EE that i want to buy.. but i cant due to bills,., . gonna post the link so you can buy it instead of me cause i cant afford it right now.. link  ]
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Blackberry 6500 check email through Outlook browse the web phone calls std. PDA functions- calendar, alarms, note taking, address book, etc. charges from the USB port on my laptop or PC which is also how I download info as well bought it because I had to have it for work. Problem is, in a few months they'll offer twice as many functions in a package half the size. |
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I've got a HP, it uses Windows brand Operating System. It's OK, kind of a PITA to sync sometimes. I mainly use it for the mapping program mapopolis.com. Lets me find places in a real hurry when the brain ceases to function. (need to do that sometimes on the fire truck) I bought a Rhino sleeve for mine to protect it. I can also download our entire personell manual and Operating Procedures into the little puppy. Plus I got (or had) a dictionary thesarus on there too. It's like a having a quick reference file right in your pocket. |
| I have used several in the past few years, latest was a Dell Axim X5 and now I am using a HP Ipaq 3115. I love it but it is used mostly as a toy or gadget, not really useful enough for major applications. I use the wireless internet, address book and calendar features mostly. |
| I have an iPAQ hx4700. Mostly I used it at work to stream audio like Rush and Hannity. The building I worked in could not get radio. I don't work there anymore but still use it as an mp3 player, storing pictures and video, phone #'s, and shopping lists. The WI-FI capability was really why I got it. |
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Had a palm V. OK. Got a Treo 600. Really liked it. Then it crapped out. Work bought me a Kyocera 7135. Really like it. Cell phone, hundreds of contacts, each with 3 or 4 phone numbers and e-mails. Calander that keeps me straight. Hot synch with all my computers. I'm sure it could do more, buy that's all I need. |
You can do anything imaginable on a PDA......You just can't do it all well. The more capability a PDA has, the less likely it is to be user friendly. There are all sorts of doo-dads and software available for them, which can have you sinking enough money into one to build a decent desktop. |
You MIGHT be able to surf the web. Handhelds are notoriously difficult to support on wireless networks. Don't think that it will be like having a laptop. Not to mention the truly sucky experience of trying to actually input data into the damn things. If you use outlook to manage your e-mail, calendar, and contacts, then a Windows based PDA might come in very handy for you. It will let you take all of that with you as well as Office documents, presentations, and you can add other useful software too. (PalmOS PDAs are now good with Outlook too...) If you don't use Outlook, skip it. Most people are better off with a 10 dollar day planner than these uber PDAs. If you like electronic toys, you may love the PDA. If, however, you want something that will be useful and helpful in managing your life, PDAs suck major butt. I know. I have been using them since they came on the market. I have yet to find them essential to my daily life. And I work in IT. |
So YOU'RE that one guy that actually bought the Ngage.  Just got my wife a Palm Zire 31 for Christmas. Within 2 days, it was loaded with all of her appointments, classes, and important dates for the coming year, all of her contacts for home and work, and all sorts of other day-to-day stuff. It almost seems like she hasn't put it down since she got it. Not bad for $110. |
Generally if one does not need their PDA to be a wireless inventory scanner, a portable medical referrence, a portable PowerPoint presentation device, or a GPS system, they are best off by buying one of those 99 dollar Palms and sticking with that. The cheap Palms are more than adequate for PIM functions and an occasional fun game. |
| The thing that has kept me a Palm fan for so long is that I can integrate my ACT! database with it. Having managed multi-state regions for nearly a dozen years, there have been times when I had over 6,000 names in it, and a full calendar to boot. It was a snap synching my PC database into the Palm, and kept me as organized as I could be. A Palm Pilot and ACT! were always two essentials for this (former) road warrior. |
+1 Palm User since '96 I have had less problems with my various palms than I have had with ANY other piece of portable electronics. MS vs PALM vs. Linux It depends on what you want it for, that'll determine the OS Palm OS is tighter and there are more apps. Also it syncs with Apples. Battery life is better. MS OS- Intergration with Windows and microsoft software is very good, with anything else, none. Linux- Don't know enough users to have an informed decision. |
 HP iPAQ rx3715 The wife got me one a few months ago to replace the 4155 that my 16 y.o. daughter broke the screen on, and the Elvis took it (disappearated). Of course, then my 2 year old has to break the next one, and HP wanted $269 to fix it. The wife found one @ Office Depot for $249. We're gonna send the broken one to an independent repair shop for a new screen - quoted $120-160. Ther biggest thing is compatability with Outlook - that way, the wife can schedule stuff around the house, and I can schedule electrical jobs, and classes & trainings for the FD, and we don't wind up with a messy argument. I also use Excel for job workups and inventories. I've been able to use most WiFi hotspots w/o any problems, but I have yet to successfully sync my BT phone and iPAQ. |
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I have one that I use everyday. It suports my timber cruising/mapping/GPS software. That is all I use it for. Any other application would be useless to me. It has a gazzillion features that I don't use. For example I get a phone number or a contact I write it in my notepad because it takes less time and I know my chances of loosing the note pad are less than having a system crash. roboman, if you are getting one just because they are "neat" save your money or buy something else more usefull like a gun. Unless you have a dire need for one it won't be worth your money. Just my $.02 |
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I got a Treo 650 for Christmas. The surfing is slow as it's not broadband capable but it's fast enough to be useful especially using the Lite Version of ARFCom. the QWERTY keyboard is very nice, the touch screen is not as responsive as I'd like it to be, it will not allow you to send videos through the default apps. The cam and video camcorder are decent, the phone features are excellent with the exception of the Jabra headset which cuts out often and normally has a lot of static. There is a large selection of aftermarket apps that typically run $15 and up. I like the PALM OS a lot, it's much better than the Windows Mobile OS in my opinion. There's a huge aftermarket for accesories also. |
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I was looking at PDA's before Christmas. IT guy at work says the PDA's will fade. Phones that do the same thing or a small laptop is money better spent. Unless you have to have one right now. If that is the case, he said to be sure it has wi-fi and bluetooth capabilities. Make sure that it can interface with your regular computer (windows based op system on pda). Stay away from Palm. |
HP IPAQ. I don't know how the memory correlated to PC memory, but I haven't managed to fill it up. I have several Excel spread sheets with serial number/equipment/name data, and just loaded Adobe Acrobat reader and put a fairly large PDF on it. I will have balistic data on it when I get around to compiling it.
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