Travel Technology - PDA died - What should I replace it with?

I know there are likely several threads on this topic in this forum. I've tried to search for them but for some reason the forum will not allow it - it will give me an error message.

Anyway, my trusty Palm M505 (ancient, I know) finally died today and I need to replace it with something in relative short order. I've checked out CNET and other review sites as well as individual product sites but I want the opinions of fellow travellers.

Here's some background. I travel primarily within the US and Canada approx. 3 days per week. Blackberry is not an option for me as my company gives them to executives who don't travel only. No use trying to buy one myself and hooking it up to corporate email (ditto for Treo) as they will not allow it, even after offering IT a bribe.

I love the Palm interface but am willing to consider a Pocket PC. Any suggestions on Tungsten E, T5 or C vs. Ipaq or Toshiba. MP3 player is not required. Contact management, calendar, task list, memos and Excel, POwerpoint, Word access plus PDF viewing are most important. Cost is a factor - I'd like to keep it under $400.

Please give me your thoughts and suggestions.

I love the Palm interface but am willing to consider a Pocket PC. Any suggestions on Tungsten E, T5 or C vs. Ipaq or Toshiba. MP3 player is not required. Contact management, calendar, task list, memos and Excel, POwerpoint, Word access plus PDF viewing are most important. Cost is a factor - I'd like to keep it under $400.

Please give me your thoughts and suggestions.

I'm an avowed PocketPC fan.... so I won't comment on the Palm solutions. I would suggest you drop the Toshiba from your list and add Dell to it... but again that's more personal bias than anything real except that the Dell PPCs are first rate and well priced. Also consider what feature set you want.... I like having a VGA screen, but wouldn't kill myself over it. I require WiFi and Bluetooth, and require that it NOT have a camera... and those all are NOT negotiable for me.

Suggest you check out some of the better PDA sites out there for more info and tips..... My personal fave is 'PocketPC Thoughts'... but don't go looking there for Palm info.

Cheers,
D.

Thanks for the info. I'll be looking into the PocketPC.

Since I will likely be one of those people with a blackberry within a year or so, and I have a PowerBook as a personal computer, what is the functionality like between a PocketPC and an Apple? I've seen on this site that it is possible, but does that mean the functionality is good?

Also, I was almost sold on the Tungsten C. Are there any users out there with good/bad things to say?

The Dell Axim X30 w/wifi & BT is has great price/performance.

I just recently got a Dell X50V and a Palm T5. There are a lot of advantages to the Dell which included, to my surprise, a shorter set up and learning time than with the T5. Now that Im more familiar with the T5 I have been a lot happier with it. It might be your best bet since you are familiar with the Palm software and might have some third party applications as well. Be aware though that you may have to load updated versions of your programs for the T5. It might be a better bet also if you use a Mac. They have some good deals now with free wireless keyboards as I recall. If you want to get a PPC however, I would strongly recommend the Dell. It is a really nice device; fantastic screen, user changeable battery, WiFi, Bluetooth, CF card slot and SD card slot all built in.

I know there are likely several threads on this topic in this forum. I've tried to search for them but for some reason the forum will not allow it - it will give me an error message.

. . .

Please give me your thoughts and suggestions.

E-mail one of the moderators and ask them to search for you, since they still have search capability while the update to the software is still pending. There is no shortage of threads on this subject.

Most PDA enthusiast are die hard Palm OS or MS. I have owned 5 different Palm based PDAs -- so I may lean slightly towards that OS. I love my T3 and the T5 is very tempting.

OK the main point of this post was to point out the "rumors" of the T6/Tungsten 2005. As someone who spends the majority of their free time on PDA based websites (wow that sounds sad) my guess is that none of the rumor is true -- but still interesting.

http://www.1src.com/scripts/show/907-Rumor__T6_Tungsten_2005.html

I lost my Tungsten C a year and a half after purchase, and replaced it with..
a Tungsten C

If you like WIFI, it's the best Palm out there. If you don't care about WIFI, you might want to consider a Tungsten T5.

I have the Treo 600 and love it. One of my colleagues just got the 650 and I have PDA envy galore. Bright screen, lighted keyboard. Wow, what a unit!

I lost my Tungsten C a year and a half after purchase, and replaced it with..
a Tungsten C

If you like WIFI, it's the best Palm out there. If you don't care about WIFI, you might want to consider a Tungsten T5.


I wanted both Bluetooth and WiFi. So I got the T5 and a Palm wireless card. I dont think the Palm Bluetooth card works in the T3. While I would rather have both built in (as they are in the Axim) using the WiFi card lets me have both. The wireless card and software for the T5 work well enough. Im pretty happy with the combination. The card even comes with a VPN client that will work with our Cisco VPN at work.

How's battery life on the T5? I would consider getting one of those next if it's decent. The only other problem is the wifi card. There's only one slot and the wifi card doesn't have enough memory to replace my sd card.

I bought a new Dell Axim X50 w/WiFi. I wanted a PDA with WiFi and was reasonably priced. The Axim also has dual CF/SD slots which is a great plus. The SD card for storage/MP3s and the CF for peripherals without having to swap.

I've had Palms before and the OS is far easier to use, but the features of the Dell induced me to buy it instead. Palm has been on the slower side with WiFi innovation than PPC.

You can find pretty good coupons to get the Axims lower than list price. I got mine for $299.

Thanks to all for the info.

I'm still leaning towards a Tungsten C as I like the thumb keypad. I will be looking into the Axim very closely as well. I will be making my purchase over the weekend as I've been travelling all week with no time to get to a store or on the web. Life without a PDA is not fun.

Having both I would say you really cant go wrong with either. I think they both have a lot to offer. There is some Palm software I just dont want to do without and nothing in the PPC world really matches it in my opinion. On the other hand the mail and browser are definately better on the Dell, as are the communications. Depends on your application and preference.

I asked a similar question here a little while back (6 weeks maybe) and ended up buying the Dell Axim X50v. I had no problems moving from Palm to PocketPC. For some great information, reviews and comments on all things portable (Palm and PPC), have a browse through http://www.brighthand.com/ . And for everything you ever wanted to know about Dell Axim's (and a lot you never even thought you didn't know), have a look at http://www.aximsite.com .

http://www.aximsite.com .
I love that site. Great resource for Axim owners and PPCs. The forums are great--almost as fantastic as FT. ;)

I'd go with a PFA ^

Becareful which Model you pick though.

I love that site. Great resource for Axim owners and PPCs. The forums are great--almost as fantastic as FT. ;)
Agree. Without www.aximsite.com I would not have got anywhere near as much out of my X50v. having spent some time there before buying it, I knew to do the ROM upgrade before anything else - it needs a hard reset and hence have to reload all apps etc. Also learned how to make the most out of the true-VGA mode (using OzVGA) and how to use the ThinkOutside drivers for the Bluetooth Keyboard and not the drivers provided by Dell.

what is the functionality like between a PocketPC and an Apple?
Out of box with the default apps, you will have no syncing functionality.

There are a couple of PocketPC syncing solutions available, however, for about $30 or so. I have given up with PDAs since I got my BlackBerry, but I recall that once I got it set up, things were reasonably happy.

i have just buy a HP RX3715
wifi & Bt integrated
very very good ^

I lost my Tungsten C a year and a half after purchase, and replaced it with..
a Tungsten C

Exactly my experience.

In the months that I replaced the first stolen TungstenC with a PocketPC I hated every minute of it.

I had the very first Palm Pilot as a youngin, then finally went to a Palm V, which I kept forever and loved it. T'ill it was stolen and I'ved since gotten a T|3 and this past weekend just got a T|5, love the Palm OS, Love windows - on my desktop. If I were to suggest anything, it would be either the T|3 or T|5 .

-Vincent

Bought a Tungsten C.

I love the thumb keyboard rather than using graffiti. The wifi was easy to set up and works very well. The only problem I've had is with sending email (I use a .mac account) from the PDA. I t always fails to connect to the server and I haven't had time to figure it out yet.

Anyone have any suggestions?

I have the Treo 600 and love it. One of my colleagues just got the 650 and I have PDA envy galore. Bright screen, lighted keyboard. Wow, what a unit!

The 650 will be a great replacement as soon as they get the bugs out of it. Cingular has just released a firmware and software update, and Sprint is also about to release one. It freezes frequently and there are constant soft and hard resets needed on the 650 which are extremely annoying.There are also continuing issues with the volume on the internal speaker and the speakerphone features on the phone that need to be corrected.

The 650 will be a great replacement as soon as they get the bugs out of it. Cingular has just released a firmware and software update, and Sprint is also about to release one. It freezes frequently and there are constant soft and hard resets needed on the 650 which are extremely annoying.There are also continuing issues with the volume on the internal speaker and the speakerphone features on the phone that need to be corrected.

I ahd the same problems on my Treo600 and they never managed to completely solve them, so don't get your hopes up too high...

I ahd the same problems on my Treo600 and they never managed to completely solve them, so don't get your hopes up too high...

Many of the freezes are caused by third party software conflicts that are not part of the ROM. In addition, Versamail is also a culprit.

Many of the freezes are caused by third party software conflicts that are not part of the ROM. In addition, Versamail is also a culprit.

That is certainly true. However, I would contend that it doesnt matter. I have noticed the newer Palms seem much less stable than new Pocket PCs and even than older Palms. It is almost certainly issues with software and Versamail does seem to be one of the culprits.

But what good is the device without the software? In my experience I think that using a new Palm OS device I find it to be less stable than using a new Pocket PC device. One of the main advantages to Palms is that they have much more software available than to Pocket PC devices. But that has a downside. I dont think you can blame the freezes completely on the third party software. Operating systems are supposed to be protected. And from the user viewpoint it doesnt matter. If you are a user you are likely doing so to use the software, and if you are I have found freezes to be an issue.

That is certainly true. However, I would contend that it doesnt matter. I have noticed the newer Palms seem much less stable than new Pocket PCs and even than older Palms. It is almost certainly issues with software and Versamail does seem to be one of the culprits.


I do not have any history with Pocket PC's to comment on them. However it is well known that Versamail has issues and that is why many people use Snappermail instead. Aside from the Versamail that is part of the ROM on the Treo 650, the remainder of the original software is ok. I suggest to friends that when they install 3rd party software, that they should do it one program at a time and watch for freezes and resets resulting from the new software. Often times people purchase several programs and install them all at once.