I need a PDA but wich one...

[RemyCanad]

Well I basically have decided on the Compaq iPaq Pocket PC but the problem is all the versions of it. I went to best buy to check them out. They had the H3765 and the H3870 on display. Well I decided that the H3870 was not worth the extra 150 dollars for just bluetooth and more colors. So I went home and took a look at egghead. They have a 3760 but no 3765... I am not sure what to do! And in the Tiger Direct catalog they have a 3650 and all it looks like it has what the 3760 has but with 32 megs less of ram but its only 299.

Heres the price breakdowns.

H3650----299.99
H3675----499.99 (then a 50 dollar rebate) 450.00
H3670----445.00
H3870----360.00

What doe you guys think I should do?

 

[gunf1ghter]

Yaa... those model numbers are kind of confusing.

The 3760 is exactly the same thing as the 3765... the difference is that the 3760 is the OEM or direct channel version (online stores, direct company/corporate sales, etc) and the 3765 is the retail version for places like Best Buy.... both of these models should have the 64 Meg regardless of what the websites you have read say. The RAM is fixed on the motherboard (I have taken mine apart and saw that it is soldered onto the Mobo).

The 36xx series is dis-continued... you can get good deals but you will be getting a PC that did not come natively with the Pocket PC 2002 Operating System... you might have to buy the OS upgrade and I believe that it has less RAM.

The 38xx series offers 50% better battery life than the 37xx series (a big plus if you use it as an mp3 player, etc)... it also has a 16 bit color display (great if you want to watch DIVX movies on it, or look at photos, etc).. the 37xx has a 12 bit display.... also the highest end version of the 38xx series has bluetooth.. I believe that both of the 38xx units offer an SD slot for a secure memory upgrade without having to put a seperate sleeve on the unit (which is what you do with the 37xx or 36xx and then you are limited to CF or Microdrive).

Anyway, it is confusing, PM me if you need more info... my general advice about these things is that they are completely obselete in 12-18 months, so don't blow more than you have to. The 3760 is a great unit for only $399... as long as you can handle the lower battery life.

 

[gunf1ghter]

BTW, I don't know where you got those prices, but they don't look right.

36xx series units should be available for about $300.
37xx series units should be available for about $400
38xx series units should be available for about $500+

 

[KDOG]

I am looking into getting one too, but I think I'll hold off until the next gen comes out and the prices drop on the ones out now...

 

[gunf1ghter]

Well, no offense... but you can always play that game...

If you can wait until the new fall 2002 crop of PDA's come out, do you really need a PDA at all or would it just be another cool toy? I mean, I pretty much have got to have one for my job... I travel a lot and have to keep track of tons of critical details, customer contact info, flight itinerary, etc. I couldn't get by without it.

 

[kgraeme]

Well no offense...but people have been keeping track of information for millennia before the invention of the PDA.

That, and the Ipaq isn't the best device out there anymore.

 

[gunf1ghter]

Well, although people have been keeping track of information for thousands of years, I have a hard time imagining that in antiquity that had to keep track of Megabytes worth of data... those that did certainly didn't need it to be portable.

I definitely prefer my slim little PDA to carrying around a full briefcase with journal, address book, etc (this is what my partner carries with him we do the same job).

If you don't think that the Ipaq is relavant any longer, please provide RemyCanad with an alternative device he can look at.... it would be helpful if you indicated why you think that the Ipaq is suck.

 

[RemyCanad]

gunf1ghter:
Woops I messed up on the price of the 3870 its 560!

Well thanks for the comments. You said the 3760 is only 299. Where can I find that price?

Also I need a PDA now, my job is a computer tech for my school. And there is not set job I do, I just get tons of projects to do. So I need one to keep everything in order. I am gonna go crazy if I dont!

<FONT face=Verdana size=1>kgraeme:
</FONT>What PDA is better than the ipaq? (Also I have used the palm os and I just don't like it. )

 

[gunf1ghter]

when I checked pricegrabber.com on Friday Buy.com had 26 of the 3760's in stock for that price... they might even have a free shipping coupon if you look around the web.

 

[RemyCanad]

Well its now listed at 487, I guess I will have to go with new egg 447

 

[gunf1ghter]

sorry, it's the 3765 that's cheaper right now, here ya go

 

[kgraeme]

The Ipaq is a good device and despite gunf1ghter's attitude, I don't think it "is suck". Doing a feature comparison though, you will see that the Jornada 56x and Audiovox Maestro are superior in features. See this thread.

 

[cbuchach]

Well, even though you listed all MS devices I would have to suggest a PalmOS device. It is my belief that a PalmOS device can fulfill the role of any PocketPC device (not including custom apps) as software exists that can really bridge the difference between the two in the majority of cases. The PalmOS can run thousands of Palm based apps and can sync between pretty much any (at least that I have found) Windows app. Please check out the PalmOS and its available apps before you surely commit to the PocketPC platform.

 

[gunf1ghter]

well, no offense, but even all the review sites say that the Palm is a tinker toy compared to the new crop of pocket pc's... the palm is in major need of an overhaul

 

[cbuchach]

The PalmOS does need to upgrade its processor support, but that is already in the works with OS 5.0. However, I, I guess, challenge anyone to name an app/MS application derivative that the PalmOS can not support. There are apps to support Outlook Calendar, e-mail, address entries, Powerpoint presentations, Acrobat files, good games, databases, and all that.

I recently purchased a Sony T615C as an upgrade for my old Palm/3com IIIx and have been VERY happy with it. PocketPC PDA's have advanced a lot, but after purchasing a PalmOS-based PDA I have not been able to think of an application that can not translate to the PalmOS, besides proprietary applications. So I guess I am asking for someone to offer a situation in which a non-PalmOS based device would not be a workable solution.

 

[anthrax]

I would love to so Adobe Acrobat file run on a Palm O/S based PDA...?
I know the ther readers exists ..but how does it look...I don't know.......
can support, and can support it well is very different...
isn't palm still based on 160 x 160 screens?
Try MP3..palm O/s devices don't support that natively....

Pocket PC is the way to go...Palm got left behind while Pocket PC evolved...

 

[kgraeme]

<< So I guess I am asking for someone to offer a situation in which a non-PalmOS based device would not be a workable solution. >>



Terminal Services client
Our building has wLAN. With a 802.11b CF card in my Jornada, I can connect to any of our servers via Terminal Services to get the full benefit of working natively on that box. From home or on the road, I can pop in a wired ethernet or modem card and do the same.

Multimedia
Video: WMV, AVI, MPEG, DiVX, Real. I can watch any of these formats and have on long plane trips.
Audio: WMA, MP3, Real, streaming and local. I can and do listen to any of these formats with full stereo sound without paying anything extra.

GPS and Weather Reports for pilots
Anywhere Map and Anywhere Weather are designed for pilots to add GPS and NEXRAD weather to their PPC. Sure there are GPS units for Palm, but nothing on this level designed for pilots.

I like the Palm, and there really is a lot more software that in many ways is a lot more mature for the Palm than for the PocketPC. It drives me crazy that there isn't a Pocket Quicken for PocketPC. It drives me crazy that I MUST use Outlook to synch my PocketPC, and that doesn't even work right in some cases. But given all that, I still prefer and even require a device that has Terminal Services, easy an standard expandability with CF, and multimedia ability so I don't have to carry around another gadget as well.

 

[RemyCanad]

Thank you thank you thank you!

You just saved me 47 dollars. I owe you one!

 

[gunf1ghter]

No problem, glad to help you out!

 

[RemyCanad]

Hmm, I finally got around to buying one and found this.

Manufacturer Refurbished W/Warranty

Should I be concerned? It does have a warranty but it does not say for how long.

I need a reply fast, they only have 13 left. And I have to buy tonight or I won't have time until tomarrow night and they might be all out by then.

 

[RemyCanad]

^bump^

 

[joohang]

<< Terminal Services client
Our building has wLAN. With a 802.11b CF card in my Jornada, I can connect to any of our servers via Terminal Services to get the full benefit of working natively on that box. From home or on the road, I can pop in a wired ethernet or modem card and do the same. >>


Cool.

Check this out, btw.
SonicMobility

 

[Fiera]

The 3635 and 3650 have 32mb ram and 16 mb rom
the 3670 has 64mb ram and 16 mb rom
the 37xx and 3800 have 64mb ram and 32 mb rom

Compaq had a free(+ shipping) upgrade to PPC 2002 for the 3600s if you bought one in a certin time frame.

 

[thirdeye]

Have you checked out the new Sharp Zaurus SL-5500. As far as I know Staples is the only retail store to have them right now (believe it or not). They are a very sweet little PDA running Linux. Check them out. The price isn't bad either after a pricematch from Amazon.com

 

[gunf1ghter]

I think he's decided pretty well on the pocket pc and specifically the Ipaq.

I would seriously question the value of a Linux based PDA (at least today)... see above for examples of what the pocket pc can do.