which entrylevel PDA

[sathyan]

I hope this is the right place to post this. If not, please advise.

My Palm Pilot Professional (1997) has died and needs replacement. I was
thinking of getting the Sony Clie SJ20.

Any thoughts ? Are there any other PDA's under about $200 I should be considering?

Requirements:
Palm OS - PPC would be OK
8MB memory
B&W
backlight
pocketable
takes some form of memory cards
Address/DateBook/Notepad
can display images

what I don't need:
wireless
mp3 playback
camera

want I want to do with it:
use as a notepad - need to write text AND sketch simple diagrams
address book
schedule
read sync'd web pages (esp. daily newspaper)
read/respond to email (via sync.)
read ebooks
store bus schedule (HTML)
graphing calculator
read/write documents (DocsToGo type app)

its OK if these require additional software purchases

my research to this point points to the Sony Clie SJ20 but the Palm m125 may also work

Questions about the Sony:

1. Memory Stick - Can one load files onto the MS via USB thru the PDA
or does one need a MS card reader?
2. OmniRemote - Does this PDA have sufficient IR range to use as a
universal remote?
3. Is it robust enough?

thanks,
sathyan

 

[Yomicron]

I have a Sony T415, but I believe the feature set it very similar

1. Memory Stick - Can one load files onto the MS via USB thru the PDA
or does one need a MS card reader?

Yes, the Clie will function as an MS card reader if you want.

2. OmniRemote - Does this PDA have sufficient IR range to use as a
universal remote?

Again, I'm not sure about the SJ series, but the T series has an enhanced IR port, with a 15ft range, it has the highest range of any PDA.

EDIT: I just checked out the specs of the SJ20, it doesn't look like it has the enhanced IR port, which means you are only going to have a 2-5ft range, which is typical for PDAs