PDA vs Smartphone/PDA Phone

[DJFuji]

After having my $500 Toshiba E750 Pocket PC stolen while at work, i'm contemplating a replacement. I picked up my original PDA for $300 in december, but i can't find it for that low anymore.

But in either case, i hated carrying both a cell phone and a PDA around. I'd like something that did both.

On the other hand, i don't want a 2-in-1 device that does a crappy job at both. And what happens if i want to switch cell phone carriers? It seems to me that we switch phones a bit more often than we switch PDAs. I suppose that depends on your preference, but having sprint, i just don't want to switch to another carrier in a year or two and be stuck with a PDA that doesnt have a working phone. And I just haven't seen any PDA phones that are as powerful as my toshiba e750. I want something with a large screen, lots of power, CF card slots, and maybe even wifi, but i dont want to pay a grand for it.

Maybe i'm asking for too much. My original idea was to pair up a powerful pda (the e750), and a cell phone with sprint's unlimited vision plan using an aftermarket cable to get nearly unlimited wireless internet. (in addition to what i could use at a hotspot). Yeah i'd have to carry around two devices, but that's a rather small price to pay for portable divx, mp3, pda, and googling on the fly.

Opinions?

 

[Freejack2]

Get the Hitachi G1000. Has a 400mhz processor like the E750. Only 32mb of ram but that's what sd/mmc cards are for.

Other option, get the cheapest vision enabled phone Sprint makes which is $179 or cheaper if you qualify for an upgrade and some pda.

 

[AnyMal]

Originally posted by: Freejack2
Get the Hitachi G1000. Has a 400mhz processor like the E750. Only 32mb of ram but that's what sd/mmc cards are for.

Other option, get the cheapest vision enabled phone Sprint makes which is $179 or cheaper if you qualify for an upgrade and some pda.

That mother is HUGE!

 

[SportSC4]

i would get a small ppc and a separate phone. i had my ipaq 1910 stolen (sigh, all those lost contacts and important dates) and was debating the same thing (but now am waiting for palm os6). the cons outweight the pros. i would find a small ppc w/ an arm processor (those intel processors aren't too fast considering how many mhz they push). a small ppc isn't a big deal to carry around.

 

[DJFuji]

$650 is kinda steep. And i've often wondered about how those 2-in-1 things work anyway. A standard PDA has 4-6 hours of standby time or so. But a cell phone should ideally be on for longer than that during the day. So is there like a separate "phone" mode that stays on normally and you only activate PDA mode when you need to?

The toshiba 2032 looks tempting, if only because it has expansion slots, the divx-friendly 206mhz ARM processor, and it only costs marginally more than the E750 by itself.

On that note, though, how does vision work with these phone-pda combos? Can you get an unlimited vision plan and get essentially unlimited web access via the phone? Or does said vision only cover their sprint-exclusive sites? I know with a vision phone and PDA combo, you can actually access the full web with virtually unlimited bandwidth...

On the bright side, i can always use the G1000 as a club to beat people over the head if needed...

 

[Freejack2]

I have a Palm/PDA from sprint. It's an older model so my browser on the phone isn't the best but I can go to any website on it or hook it up to my notebook and browse the web.
I don't know where you got the idea of virtually unlimited bandwith. They claim speeds up to 128k but for the most part it's 56k modem speeds. You can transfer all the data you want but it's going to be at 56k.

 

[JimRaynor]

$650 bux? Yikes..

 

[DJFuji]

Originally posted by: Freejack2
I have a Palm/PDA from sprint. It's an older model so my browser on the phone isn't the best but I can go to any website on it or hook it up to my notebook and browse the web.
I don't know where you got the idea of virtually unlimited bandwith. They claim speeds up to 128k but for the most part it's 56k modem speeds. You can transfer all the data you want but it's going to be at 56k.

by virtually unlimited, i meant that there's not really any cap on how much data you can transfer. In other words, there's no imposed "xx megabyte" limit on data transfers. You have the unlimited vision plan?

I wish they'd just make a cheap CF card phone that can be used on their regular plans so that i can "add a phone" to my PDA.

 

[DJFuji]

anyone know where to buy insurance for my next PDA? Assuming the store you purchased from doesn't offer it...

 

[AnyMal]

Originally posted by: DJ Fuji
anyone know where to buy insurance for my next PDA? Assuming the store you purchased from doesn't offer it...

Sprint PCS offers insurance

 

[DJFuji]

on phones they don't sell?

 

[JEDI]

Can't the axim X3i do phone calls with an attachment?

 

[DJFuji]

sprint sells a CF card device that turns your PDA into a phone, but they make you sign up with their "data only" plan which 1) costs wayy too much, and 2) you get charged every time you use the device as a phone.

 

[BlamoHammer]

Treo 600

--End of Thread--

 

[Freejack2]

Yep I have the unlimited vision plan. Other than an initial mistake by them I've never been charged anything above the plan for it.
I prefer to carry around one device, it's convenient. However if I ever change carriers I can throw this phone in the garbage. Sprint and Verizon haven't sold an interchangeable pda phone since the Kyocera QCP6035. Sprint has been ok so I have no current plans to change carriers.

Originally posted by: DJ Fuji

Originally posted by: Freejack2
I have a Palm/PDA from sprint. It's an older model so my browser on the phone isn't the best but I can go to any website on it or hook it up to my notebook and browse the web.
I don't know where you got the idea of virtually unlimited bandwith. They claim speeds up to 128k but for the most part it's 56k modem speeds. You can transfer all the data you want but it's going to be at 56k.

by virtually unlimited, i meant that there's not really any cap on how much data you can transfer. In other words, there's no imposed "xx megabyte" limit on data transfers. You have the unlimited vision plan?

I wish they'd just make a cheap CF card phone that can be used on their regular plans so that i can "add a phone" to my PDA.

 

[DJFuji]

*sigh* Looks like Ebay is my only shot to get another E750 without paying an arm and a leg...