PDAs?

[Red]

I'm starting to look around for PDAs. What should I look for when buying one? Does anyone recommend a certain model?

[Anonymous]

It depends on what you want to do and how much you want to spend on something that can be easily lost or damaged.

I have had two Palm devices. I bought a Palm III years ago and a low end (refurbished) Sony Clié to replace it when it quit working. I still have the Sony but it's function has been usurped by my new cell phone, I have found that I don't do that much data entry on the hand held and my phone keeps all the numbers and appointments I need.

What I would like to have is the Sony P900 cell phone which combines the PDA and cell phone functions but it is a bit big (inevitable for its functions I guess) and, at about $700, much too expensive for my needs at the moment.

I feel that these sort of things must either be cheap enough not to matter or vital enough to pay the price. It's up to you to decide how this falls out. In either case, remember that the function and the data are what is valuable. The device is ultimately disposable.

[stefan]

I was a happy user of my old Psion 3a, but the case is falling apart so the main function-keys stopped working. The screen and keyboard and all the rest is fine, but I can't directly switch between applications anymore.

There are two suggestions:

Either go for a cheap second-hand one (e.g. on Ebay). I was looking at a nice Sony Clié, but haven't bought anything yet.

Or go for a new one. The cheapest one (a Palm Zire) is less then $100 but it's old technology: PalmOS 4.0, 2 MB, black/white, ... For a few bucks more, you have an 8MB Zire. It'll work fine and is all you really need.
Among the new ones that are more powerfull, I think the Dell Axim models look nice (they are small PC's though, so not the best choice if you are on Mac) and they start at about $200. Around that price point, a lot of nice models become available, like the entry Sony Clié models.

If you want to spend $500 you have so much choice that it is not funny anymore.

FWIW, my trusty old Psion had 2 MB memory (unusual in those days) and is about half full, using about 250 adresses and my calender and a few spreadsheets and databases and some games (somewhere, haven't played them anymore). I never found the 2MB too limited.

I hope that cellphone & pda become one and stay usable. I don't want to walk around with two of these "machines".

[JCovarrubias]

cutting edge:
http://www.ipaqabilities.com/reviews_articles/articles/0504-coming_attractions_vgaipaq.php

[aahatimo]

stefan wrote:
I hope that cellphone & pda become one and stay usable. I don't want to walk around with two of these "machines".

i made that 'converged' move over a year ago to a kyocera 7135. it is a palm 4 unit (not palm 5 capable), tri mode flip phone. it is a bit bulky, underpowered compared to a few others and is sometimes quirky. but it beats carrying 2 "machines".
'smartphone' forum link: http://pdaphonehome.com/forums/portal.php