My (un)trusty WayPoint 205 pocket PC has died. It was a buggy, unreliable thing that suffered from all the evils of Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 2003 OS and serious hardware flaws, but it was nifty and lovable all the same. I especially liked the fact that I got it for a fraction of its advertised price, and that it was a capable GPS navigation platform even though that isn’t what I needed it for.
Here’s my dilemma:
What I need most in a device is a calendar, an address book, a notepad, the ability to upload email from my PC (or directly), and compact size. So, the most obvious choices would be a Blackberry, an Iphone, an Ipod Touch, or some other multimedia device since the classic PDA market is dead these days.
But I have a sweet legacy cell phone plan that gives me 2500 minutes for under $30/month, so I don’t want to change cell plans (which I’d need to do to activate a Blackberry or Iphone), and I rarely listen to music on the go, so I don’t really need an MP3 player, and I can’t much fathom watching movies and TV shows on a 2.5-inch screen. I also don’t send many text messages.
I had all but settled on a low-end Ipod Touch, since those are available for a reasonable price these days, and I could get used to having WiFi web access on the go, but I just read that Apple is disenabling the calendar functionality in the Touch to decrease the feature overlap with the Iphone. So that’s a dead idea.
If you’re on a GSM plan, there are a wide variety of PocketPC phones available, usually without SIM lock so you can use them on any GSM plan – just pop in the SIM from your old phone. Many offer Bluetooth and/or WiFi support, and some have built-in GPS receivers that will work with third-party nav software.
PDAdb.net has a comprehensive list of devices and has a pretty decent search function so that you can narrow your search down.
I’ve got a Samsung Blackjack, and I think it’s the best smartphone I’ve ever had (and I’ve had them all). I don’t know if it’s for everyone, though. Functionally, I think it’s pretty similar to the iPhone (which I will probably try next in a year or so).
Where did you read that? I keep fairly up-to-date with iPhone news, and I haven’t heard anything about that. There was some jabbering about it when the Touch first came out, because it didn’t have a Calendar, or was missing a button, or something, but I am pretty sure that was just a technical issue that has been resolved by now.
In fact, in June, Apple is opening up the iPhone and iPod Touch to third-party applications, so you’ll be able to add all kinds of additional functionality.
That story is from September, when the iPod Touch was first released. The story was accurate, but the issue has long since been fixed. Apple says it was a bug in the initial firmware release.
Hmmm…then my problem may already be solved! Although I’m enjoying playing with the power search on 3wayGeek’s link. I had no idea there were so many cool devices out there. (expensive, though :eek: )
I’ve got an HTC Touch, and just love it. It runs Windows Mobile 6, and it’s easy to set up to sync your mail, contacts, tasks, documents, music, whatever. HTC added a ‘touchflo’ interface on top of Windows, which uses gestures to navigate and carry out common functions. It works really well. It’s got a good touch screen, good battery life, and because it’s running Windows Mobile it’s got thousands of apps available. It’s also much smaller than an iPhone or iPod Touch. It fits easily in a pocket.
My wife and daughter also have one (Bell is giving them away with 3 yr contracts). We just went on a trip, and my daughter spent the whole time in the car chatting with friends on MSN Messenger. Very cool.
In Canada, if you are with Bell you can get unlimited internet for the phone for an additional $7/mo over the basic cell plan. That’s about as cheap as mobile internet gets, including the plans for the iPhone in the U.S.
I’d never had a PDA, so I can’t vouch for better or worse, but I got an iphone last year and I’ve never been more in love with a piece of technology. I just adore the thing. I don’t think I’d be as happy with the touch though, because “Internet everywhere!” is so much more convenient than “Internet when I can hook into wifi.”
I’m posting this from my new 32-gig Touch! I can see why you’d appreciate the Internet everywhere, but so far I’m having good luck with wifi, and…no data plan!