[RESOLVED] Too many PDAs. One that doesn't break the bank?

[Jono]

I have owned a couple of cheaper Sharp, so called organisers, which were fine for what they cost. Then I recently bought a Psion Revo (which ended up been a nightmare with the charging problem it had).

Since then I have been looking for a replacement over the last three months and I have a good idea of what's available and what the prices are.

It's the old debate of the Palm OS on a Palm or a Handspring Visor; a Windows CE Device in the form of a Pocket PC or Palm PC - and then which brand? And without breaking the bank!

I can live without colour and MP3s, but I do want to be able to efficiently write emails and letters while away from my desktop, without being weighed down (and of course be able to run my schedules too).

These are the thoughts that have come to mind:

Can you comfortably write letters on these devices without using the stow-away keyboard?

* Good battery life - preferebly no need to buy second charger.
* <250 Grams.

Is it fiddly or annoying to take the device out of its case to put in the synch cradle?

I'm concerned that leather cases don't provide sufficient safety - what suggestions are there?


Thanks - I'm looking forward to getting rid of my paper diary.

[MacGyver]

My recommendation: get a Palm IIIxe, with a PalmGlove Neoprene Case. I have the PalmGlove, and it protects the Palm very well. The Palm device attaches inside with a piece of velcro, so it's easy to remove when you want to stick it in the HotSync cradle.

Optionally, you might want to consider an add-on folding keyboard, if you intend to write a lot of memos and emails with it. But see if you can get used to the Grafitti handwriting language first, before you shell out some more bucks for the keyboard. I can write about 20 words per minute, but I wouldn't want to write extended text with only the stylus.

I have used Sharp organizers and the problem I had with them was that the screens would eventually start loosing pixels (often after the warranty had expired) until the device was unusable. Now I use a Palm and would never use anything else. If the device craps out, or is lost, or stolen, I can buy a new one, Sync it with my PC, and I'm back in business!

Expect between 2-4 weeks of battery life on two alkaline AAA batteries, depending on usage.

[JungleMan1]

Originally posted by Jono:


I have owned a couple of cheaper Sharp, so called organisers, which were fine for what they cost. Then I recently bought a Psion Revo (which ended up been a nightmare with the charging problem it had).

Since then I have been looking for a replacement over the last three months and I have a good idea of what's available and what the prices are.

It's the old debate of the Palm OS on a Palm or a Handspring Visor; a Windows CE Device in the form of a Pocket PC or Palm PC - and then which brand? And without breaking the bank!

I can live without colour and MP3s, but I do want to be able to efficiently write emails and letters while away from my desktop, without being weighed down (and of course be able to run my schedules too).

These are the thoughts that have come to mind:

Can you comfortably write letters on these devices without using the stow-away keyboard?

* Good battery life - preferebly no need to buy second charger.
* <250 Grams.

Is it fiddly or annoying to take the device out of its case to put in the synch cradle?

I'm concerned that leather cases don't provide sufficient safety - what suggestions are there?


Thanks - I'm looking forward to getting rid of my paper diary.

Yes, people get used to Graffiti pretty fast i hear. But there's this utility called Jot that will recognize your real handwriting.

Get a Palm if you don't need the bells and whistles of a PPC, and if you want battery life instead of watching video on a 1.5 inch screen.

IIIxe is a great model if you can still find it...$149 at best buy, although Palm has stopped making them in favor of that stupid new m105. If not get a Palm Vx or a Visor Deluxe I have found the Vx as low as $240 and the Visor Deluxe sells for about $200.

[Dogwood]

Palms are very good. But if you want future versatility, go with a Visor. I have had one for 2 years. I love it. You can get a modem to snd and rec email. There are many programs that can be downloaded that are very useful. As a tech I use mine to track time on different jobs, and bill accordingly. It uses 2 AA batteries, which last a long time. The sync with the computer works great. I have never had one problem. The price was a lot better than the Palms. The engineers who developed the palm left palm and formed Handspring.

[d0cman]

I have an IBM Workpad 30x (essentially identical to the palm IIIxe's but with only 4MB RAM (who needs more for letters?)). It's robust (I've dropped it a couple of times), has a hard plastic flip cover to protect the screen, the buttons are solid (unlike those on the newer palms/workpads), and it's easy to use in the cradle. I use a leather case for it that clips to my belt and having owned it for over a year I have had no problems. I'm sure that if I stuck with the original leather case that it would be kaput by now.

By reference to IM's comment, Grafitti is very easy to learn and comes in very handy for jotting down notes, writing emails and there is lots of software out there for it.

I've seen it listed at a few stores, so I believe it's still available for only a couple hundred

[JungleMan1]

Doesn't the Workpad C3 have an identical form factor to the Vx? Does it support the same devices as the Vx?

[d0cman]

A little known secret is that if you look at the back of any workpad, it has the 3Com or Palm logo on it. I believe that the only difference between the new C3 (model 8602-50X) and the new Vx id cosmetic only.

[Cromicus]

Originally posted by D0cman:
A little known secret is that if you look at the back of any workpad, it has the 3Com or Palm logo on it. I believe that the only difference between the new C3 (model 8602-50X) and the new Vx id cosmetic only.

I have a Workpad C3, and it's great.

[Jono]

What is the Jornada 548 like?

I was looking at one and comparing it to the Compaq Ipaq 3630 - the Jornada seems more robust (the only downside been a slower processor and marginally darker screen). The Ipaq has better options though, I understand.

Does anyone know what the Casio E115 and E125 are like - from pictures I've seen they look a little more flimsy compared to the Jornada.

Can you take just the charger with you when going on the road for the Jornada?

[cyberhh]

I personally think that the Palm Connected is the best deal - $199.00 and $9+/mo for the wireless internet and email services.

[http://forums.windrivers.com/cgi-bin/forum1/noncgi]

Originally posted by Jono:
Does anyone know what the Casio E115 and E125 are like - from pictures I've seen they look a little more flimsy compared to the Jornada.

Actually, it's the other way around. The metal cover on the Jornada looks like a good idea, but the hinge is VERY flimsy. I was fortunate to have bought the extended warranty on it, because I wound up taking it back three times because of broken hinges! They finally let me exchange it for the Cassiopea E-125, which has worked flawlessly ever since.

The Cassiopea has the nicest screen of all the Pocket PC's. The screen on the Jornada is unreadable outdoors, even in a shadow, while the Cassiopea is readable in all but direct sunlight. The Jornada also seems to take longer for the screen to 'heat up', it's very dim when it is first turned on, then gradually gets brighter. The Cassiopea does this as well, but it's much less noticable. And the Cassiopea has more colors (16-bit) than the Jornada (12-bit), has a clearer image, and the screen is slightly larger.

The Cassiopea's speaker is also a bit better than the Jornada, it's almost suitable for listening to MP3's without headphones! (It's about as good as an old transistor radio). The Jornada's speaker sounds quite tinny. Both sound about the same through headphones, though the Jornada is more prone to skipping while playing MP3's.

The Cassiopeia also has a Type II Compact Flash slot which accepts IBM Microdrives (Not recommended on battery-only due to power drain) and RAM cards larger than 128M. The Jornada is Type I, which limits it to 128M.

The Cassiopeia also has a 4-direction 'joypad' useful for some games. The Jornada doesn't have one, which makes Pac-Man nearly impossible to play on it.

Downsides to the Cassiopeia: It's bigger, MUCH bigger. It's nearly twice as thick as the Jornada after you put it in it's case. The backup battery is not rechargable, when it drains, you have to buy a new one (standard lithium button cell). There are some minor problems with certain games, patches are available. The Jornada has a few very useful utilities that the Cassiopeia lacks (like a task-manager), but these can be replaced by third-party freeware programs. The headphone jack is on the side, whereas the Jornada has it on the top. I could plug in my headphones into the Jornada and slip it back into my pocket, I can't do this with the Cassiopeia. The Jornada has more 'quick launch' buttons than the Cassiopeia. The Jornada also looks like something out of Star Trek, while the Cassiopeia looks like an ordinary pocket TV. The Jornada's IR port is on the top, making it easier to beam stuff to people, the Cassiopeia has the port on the side which makes it kind of akward to beam anything.

[Jono]

What is the opinion on the Compaq iPAQ Pocket PC H3130 mono unit.

I hear that the cradle is flimsy, but apart from that they have a pretty fast processor and I don't need colour. I figure that it would have the benefits I'm after being a CE device and a battery life that's acceptable too?

What is the good, the bad and the ugly as far as this Compaq device is concerned?

What cases are being used to protect such devices? - something that integrates well with daily use.