PDA's recommended

[Disco007]

If any one has any good recommendations on a quality PDA for under $400 I would appreciate it. I am currently interested in the ZIRE 72. You can get it with a bluetooth GPS system for an extra $200, but how could that be any good. Just wanted some info thanks everyone.

RJ

 

[Roverjoe]

I just got a Verizon Palm Treo 650 and it seems pretty cool. I'm not crazy about the way the phone feels when holding up to your ear. Will post after a few days of use.

 

[Randy]

If any one has any good recommendations on a quality PDA for under $400 I would appreciate it. I am currently interested in the ZIRE 72. You can get it with a bluetooth GPS system for an extra $200, but how could that be any good. Just wanted some info thanks everyone.

RJ

Dell Axim. They just came out with a new version, the x50, and 20% off coupons are flying around all over. In fact, if you email me I'll give you the coupon code for 20% off of one (expires 11-30-04). I bought an Axim X30 624mhz about 2 months ago and they came out with the X50 2 weeks later. and then sent me a coupon for the new one.....bastards.....anyway, I love my x30.

 

[curtis]

I currently have a few: Treo 600, HP iPaq 2210, Palm Tungsten C, & a Palm m130.

Out of the bunch the best PDA is hands-down the HP 2210. Not even a contest. The much-hated Windows CE evolved into an amazingly cool OS with WIndows Pocket PC 2003. The Palm OS used to beat out the PPC just for its simplicity. The PPC units are now easier to use and MUCH more powerful.

But alas, I use the Treo 600. It sucks as a phone, but is really cool for internet. I like it enough to deal with the Palm OS, but miss the PPC terribly. And it syncs with my work email. Great - like I need that following me everywhere...

It all comes down to needs, but I would definitely reccomend whatever $400 HP product is out. Go to CompUSA or some other store and try out a few for fit & feel. Buy whatever makes you happy.

 

[rmuller]

Another interesting product out is the T-Mobile [danger] Sidekick2.. its a phone/pda.. I ended up getting it for free on amazon.com after rebates, and on top of my regular phone plan, I only pay 20/mo for unlimited data and its pretty fast. It offers a browser, calendar, AIM, todo, address book, and even telnet/SSH [$10 extra one time free].. It also has a 640x480 camera on it.. I believe there is also a program you can buy [for a few bucks], that'll sync up to Outlook.. but it also syncs realtime to the T-Mobile website, even all your pictures.


I love this thing, Ive had 4 different palm pilots in the past and ended up stop using them after a few months.. but this thing is totally different.. easy to use, not *huge* as a phone, and cheap monthly.

 

[Apexdisco]

I've got a Tungsten T3 up for sale.

Check it out ---> Palm Tungsten T3

If you or anyone else here is interested in it, I can probably come down on the price a little. I'll even throw in some nice Sony ear bud headphones so you can use the T3 as a MP3 player.

 

[curtis]

Holy hell!! Are the Palms worth that much? My Tungsten C retails for $399 from Palm One and they include a bunch of free stuff. Yours retails now for $349 with the same stuff. If you have a line on selling this Palm crap for major bucks I will be happy to sell it to you so that you can resell it

 

[skydiver]

I've got a Toshiba E755 (Windows Mobile '03) which I love. I bought 3 of them last November - one for me, one for my wife, one for my dad. 400mhz, 802.11b, 64mb internal ram, CF & SD slots. They've got a new 8XX model which is definately in your budget. Works awesome for GPS navigation with a CF GPS adapter and an SD ram card to hold map data.

Also, like Randy mentioned, the Dell Axim is kickass too. That was my 2nd choice.

-Tommy

 

[AndyThoma]

Okay, those using the email phones, I thought of getting Emma a Blackberry 7100t and attaching it to our t-mobile account. She uses a tunstin E right now and wants to be able to get outlook mail remotely and sync to her outlook away from work. Is that a good choice? She hates dealing with syncing and charging the palm. Also she hates having to carry a phone and a pda with all her other crap she carries to and from work and school. She really doesn't need a palm/CE if she can deal with her outlook and email.

 

[rmuller]

Andy, you should really look into the Sidekick2 from t-mobile.. It's great for email. You can either use their free provided account, or you can set up any of your POP3/IMAP accounts on it. The qwerty keyboard on it is really easy and painless to use..

I haven't had mine yet sync to an exchange server for Outlook though, but once I log-in to t-mobile.com on my sidekick it gives me a link and it says:

"You can now synchronize your Sidekick Address Book, Calendar, and To Do items with Microsoft Outlook for only $9.99!" [extra one time fee]

 

[vabiro]

Okay, those using the email phones, I thought of getting Emma a Blackberry 7100t and attaching it to our t-mobile account. She uses a tunstin E right now and wants to be able to get outlook mail remotely and sync to her outlook away from work. Is that a good choice? She hates dealing with syncing and charging the palm. Also she hates having to carry a phone and a pda with all her other crap she carries to and from work and school. She really doesn't need a palm/CE if she can deal with her outlook and email.

Andy,

I have had the Blackberry and the Sidekick (a.k.a Hiptop), and for someone that is not using the Microsoft Exchange Server in thier office, the Sidekick is the best choice of the two.

Even with the Exchange Server and Outlook, the Blackberry still requires the Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES) to be installed, or a copy of the desktop redirector to be running. Either can be a PITA for different reasons.

For simple access to POP3 or IMAP e-mail accounts the Sidekick can't be beat. Half the price and a better web interface and attachment handling. Better screen resolution is a significant advantage in this and Web browsing.

The BB is the gold standard, but in a recent review "MobilePC" magazine called the Sidekick the one of -if not the - best phones they have ever tested. They also raved about it's PDA functionality.

Victor

 

[rmuller]

Also, Snoop Dogg & Paris Hilton endorse the sidekick2!!! [see most recent tv commercial]

 

[AndyThoma]

We need her to be able to access her MSN because she uses that for school purposes. Also she needs access to her work email remotely. I know she does that at home and I thought it was a outlook exchange setup, but I don't know for sure. Can that be done for both? What do I need to find out to get this working (i.e. pop3 vs an exchange server)? I know I can contact her work IT for those answers, but what do I ask for? Also you guys said the magic word, to me anyway, cheaper! I'll look into the sidekick

 

[AndyThoma]

Also, Snoop Dogg & Paris Hilton endorse the sidekick2!!! [see most recent tv commercial]

Sells me, since they are always going to be more important than me.

 

[curtis]

Andy - one of her only real solutions would likely be the Palm Treo 650. Also hailed by the venerable Mobile PC Magazine as the best theve ever seen (They like everything)

Either way, she will need to run Notifylink. It is currently in Beta at State ITS and will soon be a state standard to sync with GroupWise. Notifylink will not run on proprietary OS's like the Sidkick has. Plus there is a hell of a lot of software available for the Palm powered Treo. The Sidkick looks pretty cool, but that OS kills when it comes to customizing.

I will show you my Treo 600 next time we hook up. Its worst feature is the sound of the phone, but the rest works and works well.

 

[rmuller]

Andy, do you have an exisiting T-Mobile account? If you do.. does she have one under her name? If you want to start an account under her name with a new contract, you should be able to pick it up for next to nothing [if not free!]

Here is a link to the Amazon.com offer

If she just wants to access her email, that can be done over POP3/IMap, which are both included free in the phone.. but if she wants to completly sync up her work calendar or to-do lists, you need the desktop interface which is $9.99 so thats not bad.. personally, I found that the calender/todo lists that are included with the phone, and accessible/editable over the web are great.

And by "MSN" do you mean just her mail on there? I'm 95% sure you can get that with POP3 so you can set it up on that phone..

If you want a ton of information, check out http://www.hiptop.com/ ... the sidekick2 is just an alias for "hiptop2", so anything pertaining to that is revelant.. there are some decent forums on there.

In regards to customizing of the sidekick.. it is possible but not the easiest.. you have to hook it up to your computer via USB cable and use a developers kit on it.. definitely doesn't compare to something such as the PalmOS or Win-based OS's on phones, but then again.. do you really need it to?