* > * Best PDA * < *

[Nkcowboy]

Ok. What is the best pda overall? Looking for one 400 or less, color screen not Needed, but nice. Do you think that A palm device is better or a pocket pc?

 

[waytoomuchcoffee]

What are you going to use it for?

 

[Cknyc]

I have a palm V. It is a great little device to read news, email, and use for schedules and phone numbers. I wouldnt reccomend it for anything else.

 

[Vegito]

At least one with 8mb since you can add all the sites to it and stuff..

i opt for the handspring visors due to the ability to add gps devices to it.. of course at an additional cost...

I think the sony one is pretty good if it's color... those memory sticks hold a lot... not sure if it's palm or not..

my friends got the compaq ipad.. though it's heavy and stuff, plays mp3 out of the box, price is like a handspring with a mp3 addin but color...

 

[MulLa]

I have a Palm IIIc. Since you say that you don't really need colour I would recommend the Palm Vx since it has the same functions as the IIIc which I am familiar with. The Palm series have large market share thus ensuring the vast amount of downloadable software.

 

[shiznut123]

i really like the visors, but they are over 500 dollars. go with the palm v

 

[Bignate603]

my father just gott the palm V. Compared to my sister's handspring it seems much better. It's much smaller and it inside it's case will easily fit in any pocket. It even feels better in your hand because it's metal and has nice weight distrubution. I like the feel more than the plastic handspring. That's personal opinion however. The palm V has rechargeable batteries wich are a big plus. The handspring uses double A's.

 

[Nkcowboy]

It sounds like a Palm is what I should go for. But I have read several (reliable) places and heard from people who own PDAs that Handspring is the one to go for if you don't want color..is this true?

 

[Nkcowboy]

?

 

[waytoomuchcoffee]

The Handspring Deluxe and Palm IIIxe run about the same price. They are good entry level ones. Go to both web sites and compare. The Vx is the same as the IIIxe basically, but is thinner and recharable for more price. The best b/w Palm right now is the Visor Platinum if you want speed, and Sony Clie if you want a thin form factor. About the only downside to the Handsprings is that they don't use flash memory, which means you can't update the OS. However, the next few OS upgrades are concentrating on new hardware, so you probably won't need them anyway.

I ask again however what you plan to use it for? For word processing or dialing in/accessing the web when away from home? If so, get a b/w Pocket PC. For datebook and memo type stuff? Palm is better, IMO. Palm is an organizer first and foremost. A PPC is more of a mini desktop computer. They both have their pluses and minuses.

 

[RossMAN]

These are PDA's with prices that do not include potential discounts

Compaq iPaq (good luck finding one in stock)

Here comes the tough part choosing between a Palm or Handspring Visor PDA.

Whichever you decide to buy I'd get it by Sunday, 12/31 from Amazon.com you can save $50 off $200

It all depends on what you want from your Palm, what do you plan on doing, how often will you be using (not playing) with it, how much writing are you going to do, which kind of applications will you be running, would you like USB straight out of the box (Handspring Visor), are the Handspring Springboard Modules appealing to you?

If you want the most bang for your buck get the Palm IIIxe for $149 after coupon &amp; $50 rebate.

Unfortunately the top of the line awesome Palm Vx for $349 is out of stock, no wonder, it's a hot seller.

If you want to try the Handspring Visor side of life, try either of these three models:

Handspring Visor Platinum for $249 (the fastest Palm PDA on the planet)

Handspring Visor Prism for $399 (the color quality is 1,000 times better than the Palm IIIc)

Handspring Visor Deluxe for $198 (totally loaded, awesome PDA with USB out of the box)

So without knowing more about what you want from your PDA I can just offer general advice.

 

[dcdomain]

IMHO the Palm Vx/V is probably the most well built and stylish pda out there. The Visors are definitely not over $500. In fact, the Visors are probably the most economical pda's out there, (don't even consider the Palm M100, ugh). Their most expensive one, the prism is around $399, as Rossman pointed out. The Palm Vx usually sells for that much.

However, if you are going to pay that much to get a pda (referring to the Vx/Prism) I think you should just go with the Compaq iPaq pc pocket. But if you perfer to stick with the palm os, try the Sony Clie. Can be had for less than $350. Was just looking at the Best Buy circular, and they have the Clie for $349.99. Same price as the Palm, stylish, but not as well built. If those two silver pieces on the sides were made of aluminum instead of plastic... I'd consider it... of course the Clie does have a lot more memory, and a jog dial for the same price as the Palm Vx.

 

[joeryu]

visor platinum hands down, only 250 at amazon if you hurry...

 

[Eug]

I agree with the assessments. The Visor Platinum is by far my first choice for value, and it's about half the $500 somebody mentioned. The Palm IIIxe is not quite as nice, but also a good choice. The iPaq is OK if you've got money to spend and like colour and lots of extras (which I consider superfluous in a PDA). The Palm V is underendowed for memory. The Vx is OK, but costs way too much for just being a nice-looking IIIxe.

See my sig for more info about the Visor (although I haven't updated it to include the Platinum yet).

 

[waytoomuchcoffee]

Another nice things about a Platinum/Prism, if you do go the Palm route, is that you can overclock them up to 45 or so with the lastest version of Afterburner. Keep in mind the Plat/Prism's stock speed is 33, while the stock Palms are 16-20.

Eug! The faq is great, but you are running a Cele 533A@880 and haven't updated the o/cing part in a while! Afterburner is at 3.0s now, and you didn't mention Quickbits at all! Shame on you

 

[Vegito]

I have 1 plat and 2 deluxes... all acquire from amazon, though I dont see a difference in speed. you get a visor only if you like to expand it with other stuff.. I keep seeing these modules and love them. But if you just want a PDA thats small enough, a Palm Vx.. don't even try a 2MB model, it'll just KILL you..

 

[dcdomain]

Here's a link you might be interested in: http://www.cnet.com/giftguide/0-3219993-8-3217249-8.html?tag=st.gg.3219993.latest.3219993-8-3217249-8

And then there's also that new one? The $150, it's the size of a pc card, you can connect it to your notebook... can't think of the name off the top of my head.

 

[ragiepew]

If you like a really small form factor take a look at a Xircom REX 6000. They aren't out yet (i dont think...) but they are the size of a credit card... only a little bit thicker. You dont get the web and/or games/apps but you have a schedule, tasks, addressbook, notes, and all the other main apps that are required for a PDA. Also its only ~$150. I use to own a Palm and then a Visor but they were just too bulky, I ended up giving my palm away and trading my visor for a Geforce .

 

[RossMAN]

Lots of good responses in this thread. Have any of you used the Visor Prism? I don't really have a need for color but I heard it's phenomenal.

 

[Michael]

I used a Palm Professional for quite a few years (it even said US Robotics on it). I managed to get a Plam IIIc for a super, super low price (around $200) and have been enjoying using it. I bought a Palm V for my wife for last Xmas (in an Accompany.com deal) and she really likes it, especially the small size.

If you just want a PDA - phone numbers, schedule, and such, the Palmpilots and Visors both work very well. The Windows CE machines can do more, but why?

I Use my IIIc to write emails with and I received a Landware keyboard for Xmas. They fit in my coat pocket (it is a somewhat large pocket) and the combo will allow me to write out emails while riding the train to work.

Entering lots of info via the handwriting interface is a pain. Quick notes work fine.

Michael

 

[RossMAN]

The Windows CE machines can do more, but why?

Shouldn't that have said,

The Windows CE machines can barely do more, but at the cost of disappointing battery life, why?

hehe

I'm still waiting for Palm and/or Handspring to get together with Nokia and blend the Nokia 6190 with the Palm Vx or Handspring Visor Prism!

 

[NFS4]

Bah humbug...I get 6 - 10 hours of battery life with my iPAQ (6 hours with my 80MB CF installed). It does all that the Palms do and so much more.

I'm just waiting for my PCMCIA jacket to arrive for my iPAQ so that I can get my wireless networking grove thing on

As for handwriting on PocketPC's, it's not nearly as cumbersome as on Palms. You can write on the screen as you would a regular piece of paper and have the software recognize your handwriting and turn in into text.

 

[waytoomuchcoffee]

Michael, what is a Landware k/b? I use a Palm folding one myself, it is an amazing piece of mechanical engineering. Folds down to a size a bit bigger than the Palm.

In terms of entering info with the Palm handwriting interface, there are lots of ways to improve that. One is Tealscript, which is a replacement for the Graffiti system. It lets you customize your strokes to how you actually write. Two other methods are on-screen keyboards. There are numerous on-screen keyboard replacements, many free. Two I have used are the Fitaly keyboard and the (free) Quicktype. Both of these let you tap a section of the screen on a virtual k/b, or you can actually tape a new keyboard template over the graffiti area. If you slide your pen after your tap, you can do stuff like capitalize, put a space after the letter, cap and space, etc. You can input pretty fast, about as fast as 2-finger keyboard typing.


Btw, the best comparison between the PPC and Palm I have seen, by someone who uses both, is here

 

[Eug]

<< Eug! The faq is great, but you are running a Cele 533A@880 and haven't updated the o/cing part in a while! Afterburner is at 3.0s now, and you didn't mention Quickbits at all! Shame on you >>

Duly noted. Soo much stuff, so little time. Actually, I haven't even mentioned the Prism. OK. New Year's Resolution: Do this by the end of next week.

 

[Michael]

waytoomuchcoffee - the Landware keyboard doesn't fold as small as the Palm ones do, but the keys felt much better to me and it got pretty good reviews on the sites I checked. It came with a couple of programs and a hotsync cable that works from the keyboard.

I've been using it a bunch this week and I like it. The Palm keyboard is a little smaller.

Search under &quot;landware&quot; on Amazon.com if you want to see it.

Michael