I really know little about them. Until recently I thought they were pretty much just for storing addresses, but I’ve gleemed from a few sales flyers the idea that some of them can store text documents. I like this idea. It would be nice to be able to cart around something small, besides an actual book, that would let me read some stories. (I don’t mean e-books, but normal documents in note/wordpad or word.)
I’ve looked at some a places like e-bay and half.com and I’ve come to the conclusion that I have no idea what brands and models I should be looking for, and since the specs rarely include things like “notpad or wordpad or microsoft word compatable” my search is floundering.
I’m looking for something inexpensive(under $75 used), no frills(like color screens), that will help me decide if I’d like to invest in a more expensive one later. It doesn’t even need to be able to edit documents, just reading a text file I can upload to it is good enough to start with.
What would you recommend I try to find for my first PDA? Oh, and I’m not kidding about not knowing much about them, so what are the practical uses besides storing documents and addresses, that are worth knowing about?
I recommend that you try borrow one, if possible. I borrowed a Compaq IPaq and realized in about 30 seconds that these things are not for me. How can anyone use those horrible, cramped user interfaces? I prefer scraps of paper.
I’m not anti-technology - I work in the IT industry and have used laptops extensively, but PDAs seem like a waste of space to me.
You should be able to pick up a used or even refurb Handspring Visor Deluxe with 8 mb ram for under $75. They are Palm operating system-based, use two AAA standard batteries, and can utilize thousands of software titles.
PDA’s can do a lot and I would recommend you search this forum for many similar prior discussions. Also go to palmware.com and see what the software functions provide you with. The basic strengths are scheduling, address/phone, quick note taking, calculator. I draw rough sketches of stuff right on the screen freehand, make checkbook entries using pocket Quicken, read public domain classic novels from Memoware.com, have a current Seattle Mariners schedule, a tide table for the US west coast, and sometimes play a few goofy games or even shoot’em ups. The other redeeming feature is the ability to synch the data with your personal computer very easily.
Many folks love 'em, others can do without. For under $75 you have a rather small amount of money at risk, so what the hell.
A good document software program is Documents to Go. It allows you to load MS Word and Excel files onto your handheld and view/edit them there. My Sony PDA came with the program loaded on it, alternately you can buy it in a store or download it from the company’s site.
Some common things I use on my PDA:
built-in memo pad program for keeping track of movies/CDs I want to buy
Handy Shopper, a freeware program that I use to keep my grocery shopping list. It works great for other list-making needs as well.
map program by Rand McNally that has the Chicago-area map loaded into it, nice when you need to find a certain street/tourist attraction/etc when you’re not entirely sure of the location
units conversion program for converting to metric, which I use at work
games to play on my long train commute to and from work
Documents to Go - I made a spreadsheet with my train and bus schedules in it, and loaded it onto my PDA
Some more expensive PDAs have MP3-playing capability. My husband has one that he listens to music on. His also takes the same type of memory card that our digital camera does, so after taking photos, he puts that card into his PDA to show people photos on a larger screen than the little one on the back of the camera.
Some people are fine with paper-style day planners, but I found I had a lot of trouble remembering/wanting to carry it around with me. I like electronic gadgets though, so a PDA works great for me. No more walking into a store and not remembering what I need to buy, what shade of makeup I usually get (I entered that), what movies were on the backup list to rent if the first choice was gone, and so on.
If you REALLY need to cart around and use Micrsoft Word documents, you’re effectively limited to WINCE (Microsoft Windows CE) based units, also known as Pocket PCs. These units are aimed at corporate users that don’t really care how much it costs.
Microsoft file support in Palm’s OS is via 3rd-party utility programs such as “pedit” or “quickword.”
The problem with this is WINCE PDAs cost more than Palm PDAs. Entry point for WINCE is around $300, and for Palm, it’s $99 (or less, at places like Kmart and Target), for a new Palm Zire. A “gotcha” with the Zire, though, is it’s only got 2 meg of memory, which will hold a surprising number of addresses and appointments, but won’t do so well at holding Word docs. Palm’s next model up is the $299 Zire71, which has a beautiful color screen and 8 meg - this is what’s living in my pocket right now.
I’m not positive about the basic Zire, but the Zire71 has a battery that recharges when the unit is docked, so you never need to buy batteries. Almost all WINCE units also have rechargeable batteries.
Geoduck I’ve been looking into your suggestion. They sound quite interesting. However, I’m wondering about the colors. Do they mean they do something differently depending on color (blue, orange etc), or is it just a fashion choice like different colors of gameboys?
Drachillix gifted me a PalmPilot for a wedding present and it sits in a drawer. I liked the alarm aspect of it but found inputting data tedious, even after I learned to use the stylus to write instead of having to type everything. I don’t like the calender–prefer my paper notebook. It was too heavy to carry in the pocket of my scrubs at work, so it lives in the kitchen junk drawer. He loves his–took it to Disneyland with our maps and schedules and hotel info.
I bought one a couple of months ago, for exactly the reasons you describe. Mine’ s a Psion Revo (called the Diamond Mako in the States). It’s a really cool “clamshell” design (like a mini laptop about 6in long) with a small keyboard that’s perfectly usable as long as you don’t want to use it to type a novel, but it’s outstanding for reading text files on the move. Dead easy to connect to your pc or laptop and the software can convert Word or Text documents with no trouble.
It’s only b&w screen but that isn’t a drawback. 16mb memory is enough for loads of text documents. It also has a calculator, jotter for short notes, calendar and games. You can use it to send email or surf the web using the Psion Travel Modem. It has built in rechargable batteries and comes with a charger you just plug in to the mains electricity.
I got mine on eBay(UK) for about £100, it looks like you would probably pay the equivalent in the US.
The only drawback is that Psion have stopped making the Mako/Revo. But don’t let that stop you. Fans of this particular machine love it, to the extent that they’re snapping up all the machines that come up for sale. It is different from anything else around - as different as a Mac to a PC- and like the mac, its so cool! At least go and look at them on eBay, see what you think of it.
Forget about using a Palm or Win CE PDA for any kind of really efficient text editing on the go. I have (and have used) several varieties and text input and editing on these beasts is tedious at best. They will work for storing small documents and reviewing them later or for editing documents on your PC and them syncing (storing) them to the PDA.
If doc/story review is your main objective you will want one with expansion card capability and these start around 150.00 or so for the Palms and 250 or so for the cheapest Win CE units.
You can get near new 8 meg M-100 Palms for around 50 +/- or so on Ebay. The 2 meg units aren't really going to be that useful with docs. The color units are easier on the eyes but have to be recharged more often. The latest screens on the better Win CE units and Palm Tungsten C and T units are *much* clearer and sharper than the earlier and lower level Palms but these PDAs start at around 300 and up.
I don’t mean to hijack elfkin477’s thread, but could you elaborate a little more on this?
See, a friend of mine and I are working on a book and I was thinking that a PDA (looking at the Dell Axim) and a foldable keyboard would be more efficient than writing long-hand but without the bulk of my ancient laptop. If I’m mistaken in this, and it sounds like I certainly may be, then better to know now than $170 from now.
I used to have a GoType keyboard to use with my Palm V. It’s a tiny keyboard but you can touch type on it once you get used to it. It was useful for taking notes at conferences and lectures. I’ve also used the folding keyboard but didn’t like it as much - it’s flimsy and can only be used on a large flat surface (desk or table).
As I said it’s OK for taking notes, but for substantial writing the small screen can get annoying. Maybe it’s just me, but I find the narrow screen claustrophobic. Also keep in mind that the battery only lasts for about 8 horus on most models - more than enough for a few days of typical PDA use, but not enough for taking notes on an all-day meeting.
I’ve got a small laptop now so I no longer use the Palm for writing, but I still have an outliner program on my Palm and use it for planning presentations and papers.
You might want to look into the Alphasmart Dana. It’s a cross between a laptop and a Palm - it runs Palm software but it has a wide screen and a full-size keyboard. The price is also somewhere in between (just under $400).
(Microsoft Windows CE) based units, also known as Pocket PCs. These units are aimed at corporate users that don’t really care how much it costs.