PDA v Notebook
Sep 4, 2005 | 9:19 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: PER Australia
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Posts: 128
PDA v Notebook
Hi all,
I'm in the process of deciding whether to purchase a PDA or notebook. a few years ago this would have been a simple choice "notebook" but my needs have changed and it appears that the PDA technology has become quite advanced.
I used to fly almost every week for business now its about once every three months or so with the odd family vacation on top.
I'm looking to try and stay in touch with email, read the odd book and maybe a movie or two on the pda or notebook.
BTW i'm based in Australia with nearly all travel is in Australia or Asia, having said that we are planning a family vacation to t Europe for next year.
All ideas and sugestions are much appreciated.
Cheers
I'm in the process of deciding whether to purchase a PDA or notebook. a few years ago this would have been a simple choice "notebook" but my needs have changed and it appears that the PDA technology has become quite advanced.
I used to fly almost every week for business now its about once every three months or so with the odd family vacation on top.
I'm looking to try and stay in touch with email, read the odd book and maybe a movie or two on the pda or notebook.
BTW i'm based in Australia with nearly all travel is in Australia or Asia, having said that we are planning a family vacation to t Europe for next year.
All ideas and sugestions are much appreciated.
Cheers
Sep 4, 2005 | 9:57 am
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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I've owned pretty much every PDA there is. And none of them come close to what a nice small notebook can do for you. Granted; technology has improved, and some PDA's can be tricked out with Bluetooth keyboards, a mouse, VGA out, modems etc... but at the end of the day the operating systems and software simply do not make them practical alternatives for real life applications. For a one or two day trip you might be ok, but even a simple task like sending an email on a PDA can be a nightmare.
If I were you I'd look into a sub-notebook or perhaps even a micro notebook like an OQO or Toshiba Libretto.
If I were you I'd look into a sub-notebook or perhaps even a micro notebook like an OQO or Toshiba Libretto.
Sep 4, 2005 | 9:59 am
#3
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Manchester, United Kingdom
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When I'm flying on my employer's dollar, I carry a laptop because I need to remotely access corporate specific applications and databases. When I'm travelling on my own dollar, the Pocket PC does pretty much everything (music, movies, reading material, Internet access, IM, email access and Skype calls home).
The newer generation of Microsoft Pocket PC PDAs are very flexible devices.
Regards
I
The newer generation of Microsoft Pocket PC PDAs are very flexible devices.
Regards
I
Sep 4, 2005 | 10:10 am
#4
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Panama City Beach, FL (ECP)
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I would carry my laptop with me on flights, but its just too big and the battery life on mine is horrible. Instead I use my Dell Axim when traveling. I havent really found it to be cumbersom, but it handles everthing I need to do when traveling. Email, Internet, Enterainment, Take notes, etc. I also like the fact that I can walk around with it in one hand while at the airport or and access all my information.
Sep 4, 2005 | 10:47 am
#6
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Originally Posted by Ger
Thanks,
I should have specified that price is an issue too. Also I have heard of people getting 1 or 2 movies onto their pda. How do you do that?
Cheers
ger
I should have specified that price is an issue too. Also I have heard of people getting 1 or 2 movies onto their pda. How do you do that?
Cheers
ger
i) Record programmes and movies from DSTV to DVD.
ii) Use a piece of software called Lathe (there are others) to encode the movie into DivX format.
iii) Use Beta Player (now called The Core Media Player) to play the movies.
Note: My movies currently take up a lot of space because I encode them at 640 by 480 for my PDAs VGA screen. However, I understand that Beta Player will happily up scale 230 by 240 movies to fit the screen so three movies on a 1GB CF or SD card should be quite feasible.
Edited to add a couple of FT links:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...ht=Beta+Player
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...ighlight=Lathe
Note: as per one of the response to my thread on Lathe, you are probably better off saving the dollars and going for the earlier Pocket DivX encoder at the moment.
Last edited by Internaut; Sep 4, 2005 at 10:56 am
Sep 4, 2005 | 11:42 am
#7
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Panama City Beach, FL (ECP)
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Personally Ill download or record to my PC. I then use Windows Media Encoder to take the files down to 320x240, and I mess around with the compression settings to get my files to acceptable size. I then use Windows Media Player on the PDA to watch the movies/tv shows in full screen. On my 1gb SD card I currently have 1 movie, an episode of Futurama, 3 episodes of the Amazing Race, and an episode of the apprentice.
There are also some DVD to PPC rippers that supossedly work pretty good and can be found on sites like pocketgear.com and handango.com.
There are also some DVD to PPC rippers that supossedly work pretty good and can be found on sites like pocketgear.com and handango.com.
Sep 4, 2005 | 1:51 pm
#8
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Bay Area
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for personal use on holidays, the PDA is best. It's small, light,
and you can carry it during the day.
Having both a Pocket PC, a Palm, and a PDA/phone, the Palm
is slightly better. Generally speaking, the Palm battery lasts
longer and the apps are slightly better.
You'll need to have Metro (worldwide subway maps and direction
finder), the airline schedules for, say United, and if you travel
by rail, the railroad schedules.
For me, the United schedules are better on a Palm than a PocketPC.
The palm displays all combinations, the PocketPC does not -at least
for the cities I travel to.
and you can carry it during the day.
Having both a Pocket PC, a Palm, and a PDA/phone, the Palm
is slightly better. Generally speaking, the Palm battery lasts
longer and the apps are slightly better.
You'll need to have Metro (worldwide subway maps and direction
finder), the airline schedules for, say United, and if you travel
by rail, the railroad schedules.
For me, the United schedules are better on a Palm than a PocketPC.
The palm displays all combinations, the PocketPC does not -at least
for the cities I travel to.
Sep 4, 2005 | 10:11 pm
#10
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Panama City Beach, FL (ECP)
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I recommend the Dell Axim x30 or x50. The x50 has a lot more power, a better screen (QVGA?), built in WiFi and bluetooth. My x30 which is cheaper, but it still fine. My x30 didnt have WiFi, so I had to buy a SDIO card. Of course there is an x30 with WiFi. Ive used both and they are both solid devices. You can also get a refurbished one from Dell at a decent price (my x30 was only $130 from the Dell website).
From what I hear the HP iPaq's are good, but I havent used one in a long time. Also the Asus MyPal looks like a good PPC also.
Also if you are going to plan on using Skype on a PPC, then you will need a PPC with alteast a 400mhz processor (which rules out the x30), as it gets somewhat choppy.
From what I hear the HP iPaq's are good, but I havent used one in a long time. Also the Asus MyPal looks like a good PPC also.
Also if you are going to plan on using Skype on a PPC, then you will need a PPC with alteast a 400mhz processor (which rules out the x30), as it gets somewhat choppy.
Sep 4, 2005 | 10:24 pm
#11
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Originally Posted by Ger
Thanks
I think the pda is looking like the option. Any thoughts on type of pda?
ger
I think the pda is looking like the option. Any thoughts on type of pda?
ger
These devices often go for as little as $325 US on Dells website, you should be able to find a similar deal down under.
Sep 5, 2005 | 7:47 am
#12
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I'm very happy with my x50v. I use it when going away for the weekend to store my travel information and for wifi. I stay at Hampton Inns a lot, so I use the wifi to see if I have any mail, then if I really want to write something long I go down to the business center.
I do plan on downloading skype at some point to test it out before my next trip out of the US, but I'm not sure how common free wireless connectivity is in various parts of the world.
If you buy a PDA, buy ListPro from Illium Software - they have PocketPC and Palm flavors. It's addictively useful, especially for organizing information on your device to support a long vacation.
I do plan on downloading skype at some point to test it out before my next trip out of the US, but I'm not sure how common free wireless connectivity is in various parts of the world.
If you buy a PDA, buy ListPro from Illium Software - they have PocketPC and Palm flavors. It's addictively useful, especially for organizing information on your device to support a long vacation.
Sep 5, 2005 | 8:46 am
#13
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: BWI
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Posts: 349
I've been using DVD-Decrypter followed by AutoGordianKnot to encode DVDs for my Treo650.
I use 100MB for a 40minute TV show. I can put a handful on a 2GB SD card, and still have plenty of room for music, books, other stuff..
I use 100MB for a 40minute TV show. I can put a handful on a 2GB SD card, and still have plenty of room for music, books, other stuff..
Sep 5, 2005 | 9:39 am
#15
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Originally Posted by Ger
Sounds like the Axim is the way to go. Are there any essentials I should look at in a pda?
ger
ger
The Axim takes CF and SD cards, find a good deal and get 1Gb or 2Gb cards for it. If you plan on doing movies and music you'll be needing the space.