How useful is a pda??

[hunter2000]

I am thinking about getting a handheld and was just a little worried about what I would be able to do with one. Do they have enough features to justify the cost?

Thanks.

[G19]

Personal Digital Assistants are mainly for people who travel for businessand need to look up phone numbers, addresses, appointments and other information, without having a steady home base. However, because computers are fun and we live in a demacracy, the PDA is your if you want it. Actually, anybody would find them usefull, as long as they actually "used them" The capabilities extended to the web, email, fax and games. You're looking at $200-$600 to get one. The price range seems to increase for sheer volume of info capacity the larger, more powerfull ones contain. There are also some addons, (like games) as well as carrying cases, adapter plugs for hook-up to your PC desktop and replacement styluses. If you like all that, heres a link to some: http://www.viewz.com/aol/palmpc.shtml

Give it some thought. It could be an awesome tool for you.



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A-Open 300W 5-bin ATX case
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DX8 Win98SE
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---COL3:17

[G19]

Oh, yeah and another thing. Go to your local comp store and ask them if you can fiddle around with one of thier PDA brands before you buy. At least you'll know if you can deal with the limited resolution and tiny stylus operated functions.

[hunter2000]

What brand do you suggest? I was thinking about a handspring.

[briareus]

I guess the question is what do you want to do with it?

[AMDdave]

Man i would reccomend getting one just to have a portable computer thingy to play with. I am on my second pda first was palm IIIe and now i have a handspring Visor deluxe and man does this thing rock all kinds of addon possibilities that my palm didnt and works great for appointments and clas assignments do.

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Dave Adams
AMD 450
256 MB
16mb voodoo3000
DVD W/realmagic decoder
"A fast little computer
for whats under the hood"
Plus other goodies
This is my system only till i get my new one.

[kenny48]

very useful.. just dont get a windows CE machine

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epox 8k7a
amd 1000mhz
radeon le

[Adisharr]

Originally posted by AMDdave:
Man i would reccomend getting one just to have a portable computer thingy to play with. I am on my second pda first was palm IIIe and now i have a handspring Visor deluxe and man does this thing rock all kinds of addon possibilities that my palm didnt and works great for appointments and clas assignments do.



I second the handspring visor line as I know quite a few co-workers with them that enjoy them and find them very useful.. Plus it's relatively low cost compared to the color CE machines..


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- You can milk anything with nipples -

[Invent]

I have worked with most of palm's and handspring's pdas. I would go with visor prism (I like the color) or for a cheaper price and you want color go with palm's IIIc. If you dont care about the color display then go with handsping's visor edge or platinum. (Dont go with the newer palms the OS has problems)

[Fusion_Face]

those things are pretty worthless in my opinion. if you think you need to reference a handheld for your events and phone numbers fine. other than that it isn't very good. the internet sucks on it. what good features it does boast do NOT justify the price tag. and that new style of writing you have to learn is a real pain. invest in one of those portable keyboards if your that interested in pdas

[Sprint_ST_NYC]

I have to stick up for Windows CE machines here. I have a color Ipaq and I can state truthfully that it's changed my life. My checkbook is balanced for the first time in years!

The amount of utility they've managed to shoehorn into these things is pretty amazing. Right now I use mine to:

-Read email and reply to it while I'm on the subway, etc.

-Edit my word documents

-keep track of expenses

-play MP3's

-play light games (Tetris clones, card games, Pacman etc)

-administer my NT servers remotely and wirelessly using terminal server and an 802.11b card

-administer routers and Unix boxes via a Telnet client

-use Avantgo to read articles in cached Internet sites (New York Times, etc)

-Keep track of my friends and family via contacts

-Keep track of appointments and scheduling

-Read e-books (I actually like them. Just finished Pride and Prejudice)

And once I get my Microdrive, I'll be able to watch MPEG movies on it. Oh, and when I installed Transcriber (on the Activesync CD), I'm now able to use real handwriting recognition. The thing reads my cursive (which is utter crap) with about 95% accuracy. More if I actually attempt to write neatly.

I'll agree that the Palms are a better PDA. Fewer "clicks" are required to get to where you want to go. However, if you want something with real power, a PocketPC is definitely the way to go.

Did I mention I can plug it into my cell phone and check my email anywhere I am? For no extra cost besides the air time?

[Jr916]

Whats wrong with Windows CE machines, they work gret. I have the old HP Jornada that has a full size keyboard and i have never had any problems with it.

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"You don't cuddle with
Max Power, you strap yourself in and feel the G's"
Homer Simpson

[Aurora]

Christmas of '99 I believe I received a Palm IIIx from a friend as a gift, they knew I REALLY wanted one. At this time I used the palm to record all the address/shuttle/flight/hotel info when I traveled (which was frequently). I used my Palm to record expenses during trips (when I came home it was a quick sync and a print out to mail off my expense sheet). I also used the Palm for playing games on the plane instead of lugging along a gameboy as well.

Istarted carrying my Palm everywhere for about 3 months - using it for schedule reminders and even grocery lists. It was very handy. I really used it the most for work though, mainly when I traveled. During like my third trip with the Palm (on the plane on the way home), I realized the batteries were low and needed to be changed.

When I changed the batteries, one didn't go in right and you only have so many seconds in which to change batteries and not lose your info. Since my last Sync had been before I left I lost quite a bit of info. Beacuse of the ease in which I lost so much of my info (and the wasted time in depending on my Palm while traveling for work I became very frustrated too easily.

For well over the past year my Palm has set in its cradle on my desk and has not been used. I do however use the Palm software on my PC frequently, it has an excellent scheduler and calendar. http://www.sharkyforums.com/ubb/smile.gif

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News Gal - SharkyGames (http://www.sharkygames.com)
News Gal - SharkyExtreme (http://www.sharkyextreme.com)
GameGirlz (http://www.gamegirlz.com)

[briareus]

The Pocket PC's are a bit overpriced IMO. I guess whether a Palm device or Pocket PC is "useful" or "worth it" just depends on your needs, interests, and values. I find my Palm Vx to be quite cost effective.

Everyone parrots that "Palms are good for appointments and such" but they are obviously capable of so much more. Pocket PC's have additional functionality, but they aren't really functions that matter to me.

As for replacing batteries, I believe that you get about 1-2 minutes. You're not really rushed all that much. Additionally, you should sync often and consider something like Backup Buddy. Handspring Visor users can opt for a backup module.

[Sprint_ST_NYC]

Originally posted by briareus:
The Pocket PC's are a bit overpriced IMO. I guess whether a Palm device or Pocket PC is "useful" or "worth it" just depends on your needs, interests, and values.

Ipaq 3135 w/ 16MB $150. Takes all standard Ipaq accessories and runs almost all software. Uses standard (cheap) CF storage. 'Nuff said.

[briareus]

Originally posted by Sprint_ST_NYC:
Ipaq 3135 w/ 16MB $150. Takes all standard Ipaq accessories and runs almost all software. Uses standard (cheap) CF storage. 'Nuff said.

Isn't 16MB a bit underpowered for a PocketPC? I'm not sure about the "runs almost all software" business either.

[Sprint_ST_NYC]

Originally posted by briareus:
Isn't 16MB a bit underpowered for a PocketPC? I'm not sure about the "runs almost all software" business either.

Sorry, wasn't clear. Meant "runs almost all software the color unit runs." Some color games etc. don't work too well, and some screen rotation applets either.

As far as the 16MB goes - You can stretch that quite a bit by not installing every darn thing, but it is a bit skimpy. The cool thing about the 3135 is that it accepts standard Compact Flash - no funky proprietary memory. You get can get 8 MB or 16 MB CF cards for a song, and then install any apps or data on there that you want. Or you could spent $120 (almost as much as the base unit!) and get 256 MB...

[This message has been edited by Sprint_ST_NYC (edited August 29, 2001).]

[G19]

Interesting but logical stuff below.

Excuse the fluffy nature of my findings, but according to this poll, PDA owners preffer software application and screen quality above all other features. I voted on this one right with the crowd:
http://b2.bord.net/KENAPVWZM/F18/thread?632&showpoll=1

[This message has been edited by GARRIN19 (edited August 29, 2001).]

[THERMAL]

yeah im considering getting one for college the following year. This may sound like a waste but im really into gadgets and gizmos but one of the main things i want in the pda i get is the gps system, that just sounds really cool to be able to keep track of all your appointments email info and know exactly where you are.

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1.4 GHz TBIRD
SY-K7V Dragon
256 mb ddr
TNT2 M64
15 gb hd
12x DVD
8x iomega cd-r

[Avon]

I have an Compaq Aero 1550 which I got as an end of line bargain.

If you look at specialist websites you can pick up some good deals that way (not being from the US I don't know where to look there).

I like Win CE because I use my machine primarily for e-mail and for keeping mobile notes of my thoughts. If, however, you just want an upmarket diary, Palm OS has a huge resovoir of applications and I, personally, quite like visors.

On the whole, I think they're good news. In my book it beats have to carry a notepad everywhere.

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As the greatest computer scientist of them all once said:

"I'm not expendable, I'm not stupid and I'm not going."

[This message has been edited by Avon (edited August 31, 2001).]