I want to get a good quality PDA as cheaply as possible; these are the features I want:
*More memory than I’ll ever need for addresses, e-mail addresses, phone numbers, etc.
*The ability to take notes at meetings or make grocery lists, etc., and upload them to my computer (preferably to MS Word)
*The ability to store/transport some color images (doesn’t have to be a lot- basically I just want a personal digital photo album)
I couldn’t care less about it being able to surf the net, check e-mail or anything like that (I’ve no intention of paying for wireless service for it).
Could you please recommend one that you think might do the trick?
Thanks
PS- I’m using PDA generically; if it happens to be a brand name (like Xerox or Kleenex), any brand is good
PPS- My main computer is a Hewlett Packard PC, so I can’t use anything that’s Mac only
And PDA is the generic term… ‘palmpilot’ and ‘pocket PC’ are the brand names most commonly used in place of generic terms.
By the way, for MS word interactivity, I reccomend ‘documents to go.’ Looks like it doesn’t come with the Zire, but it isn’t as expensive as moving up to a professional PDA.
If you want to take notes, I’d look at something like this Palm Tungsten C. It’s a little pricey but there’s almost no learning curve with the keyboard like there is with Palm’s Graffiti handwriting recognition software.
Palm isn’t the only company to make a PDA with the keyboard, by the way. You’ll probably be able to find one cheaper, too.
I just bought a Palm Tungsten C a few months back and I can’t live without the thing. It does all the things mentioned above, and goes far beyond that. The wi-fi is almost worth the cost of purchase alone. It is more expensive, but over the course of years it’s worth it. This model has the little thumb keyboard which is a godsend, because I loathe the stylus.
as I understand it, a short-to-medium range wireless digital connection, that will let your PDA connect to your computer or your internet, say, while you’re in the vicinity of your home, as long as you have another wi-fi box for it to connect to.
I will 2nd the recommendation to get a PalmOne Zire 31. It has everything you are looking for. FYI, here is a link to Palm One’s site that compares the features of each model of Palm OS unit they have.
Regarding text input…
The standard for inputting text into a modern Palm OS device is “Graffiti 2.” It is relatively easy to learn, but you do have to learn it. If you don’t like that there are various programs available that allow you to modify the way you input text into your PDA. I happen to use TealScript, but there are other programs that you may like. A search at http://www.1src.com will give you everything you would want for a text input alternative.
The above is if you decide to get a Palm OS unit.
If you end up getting a Windows Mobile unit, the standard is “Jot.” My understanding of it is that it’s rather intuitive, but still rather slow. I’m sure there are also text input alternatives for this platform as well.
I agree with the above recommendations: get one using the Palm OS, not the Windows one. The Palm OS is faster, cheaper, & more reliable than Windows, and there is more software written for it.
I don’t know about specific models, since I haven’t been looking lately. I’m quite happy with my Visor Deluxe (even though it’s antiquated compared to the newest models). But it works fine for me.
Yes. It’ll come with sample versions of software called “Documents 2 Go” or something like that, and you can try it out and see if you want to pay for the full version.
I’ve had a Sony Clie SJ33 for a little over a year now, and it’s been dropped, knocked around and generally put through hell and still works as well as new. I would recommend getting a screen protector, it’s basically a clear sticker that is a real PITA to get on straight, but they take a lot of abuse and last me several months and when I peel off and old, dirty, scratched one, there’s a brand-spankin’ new screen underneath:D
If I don’t feel like using Graffiti, I just tap the “a” at the corner of the input area and it calls up a keyboard on the display, I believe Palms have the same feature.
I’m another Palm Tungsten fan, but I have the T3. I bought it approximately 6 months ago, and was amazed at how quickly and fully I came to rely on it.
I, too, needed the MS Office compatibility (for me it’s Word and Excel, gained through Documents 2 Go), but one of the other features that sold me is the calendar application: I have 8 categories of appointments/events to keep track of, and with the T3 I can assign a different color code to each category and then see them all a month at a time (if I want; there are plenty of other views, too).
There are several ways to take notes, including a built-in voice recorder. For data input, you have the option between Graffiti (yech) or tapping a digital keyboard (which I’m totally used to now) with the stylus.
For digital images, the T3 rocks: the 320x480 stretch display rotates from portrait to landscape, and is awesome. My pictures almost look better on the T3 than they do on my computer monitor!
I’m starting to feel like a used-car salesman, so I’ll stop now. Basically, I agree with the Palm recommendations. Happy PDA hunting!
