What PDA should I get?!?!?!?! :D

bioflavonoid · February 3, 2003 5:34PM

Hey guys, I was wondering what PDA I should get. I'm looking for something under 500, or around 500. Pocket PC seems to be my preference right now. Are there any Sharp Zaurus owners out there? --- Linux seems like a kickass OS for it ... I would appreciate any suggestions...I was thinking about the Dell Axim X5, for 350 ... the new iPaq is a crapload of money ... the Zaurus seems cool, but is it fast enough (200 MHz (am I falling for another MHz myth?))? The Tungsten T seems cool, but it lacks 802.11b ... anyways, any help is much wanted.

bioflavonoid · February 3, 2003 5:35PM

Dangit, I accidently posted in General Discussion... my bad?

drumbug1 · February 3, 2003 6:40PM

[quote]Originally posted by Bioflavonoid:

Hey guys, I was wondering what PDA I should get. I'm looking for something under 500, or around 500. Pocket PC seems to be my preference right now. Are there any Sharp Zaurus owners out there? --- Linux seems like a kickass OS for it ... I would appreciate any suggestions...I was thinking about the Dell Axim X5, for 350 ... the new iPaq is a crapload of money ... the Zaurus seems cool, but is it fast enough (200 MHz (am I falling for another MHz myth?))? The Tungsten T seems cool, but it lacks 802.11b ... anyways, any help is much wanted.

<hr></blockquote>

For a couple hundred dollars you can get Apple's Newton MessagePad 2100. You can even get a 802.11b wireless card for one. That way you don't have to use a Microsoft or Palm OS and you can just write anywhere on the screen. Although discontinued, the Newton is still very much alive. Check out the NewtonTalk mailing list at newtontalk.net if you don't believe it.

Anway, you can get these on eBay, at Shreve Systems and a couple other places.

Now if only I could trade in my MessagePad 120 (no wireless or ethernet) for a 2100....

[ 02-03-2003: Message edited by: drumbug1 ]

drumbug1 · February 3, 2003 6:42PM

[quote]Originally posted by drumbug1:



For a couple hundred dollars you can get Apple's Newton MessagePad 2100. You can even get a 802.11b wireless card for one. That way you don't have to use a Microsoft or Palm OS and you can just write anywhere on the screen. Although discontinued, the Newton is still very much alive. Check out the NewtonTalk mailing list at newtontalk.net if you don't believe it.

Anway, you can get these on eBay, at Shreve Systems and a couple other places.

Now if only I could trade in my MessagePad 120 (no wireless or ethernet) for a 2100....

[ 02-03-2003: Message edited by: drumbug1 ]<hr></blockquote>

Huh... would you look at that? I'm a member now....

*sorry*

bioflavonoid · February 3, 2003 6:54PM

Ya, a Newton IS tempting, but... I wish Apple could come out with a sub 500 dollar pda so my troubles would be over!

No, not an iPod! My family has 4 of those already...

ari · February 3, 2003 7:15PM

The Tungsten T without question. I sampled one last week and was very impressed. It was both fast and powerful. The screen was excellent. The casing was well designed, although the sliding design *may* take getting used to for some. And, of course, the ultimate plus, it doesn't run PocketPC.

bioflavonoid · February 3, 2003 7:41PM

I wish there were some 802.11b adapters for the palm though... does anyone know of any that I have overlooked?

ghost_user_name · February 3, 2003 8:54PM

Sony Clié NX60. I have one, and it rocks. 320x480 screen. 200MHz processor. 16MB of onboard memory, CF slot, memory stick slot. The screen is gorgeous, it can take a wireless card, and memory sticks come in flavours of up to 1GB starting in April.

Best PDA I know of. It isn't THAT much bigger than other PDAs. Really, go look at one. You can't beat the Sony for raw features. For multimedia it rocks. I can play back MP3s, record voice memos, show off my photography on the high res screen, wireless internet, etc.

torifile · February 3, 2003 8:54PM

[quote]Originally posted by Bioflavonoid:

I wish there were some 802.11b adapters for the palm though... does anyone know of any that I have overlooked?<hr></blockquote>

I'm not sure if the SD Wifi cards that are coming out will work with the TT, but there are some coming out. Sorry don't have a link right now.

lungaretta · February 3, 2003 9:11PM

[quote]Originally posted by Bioflavonoid:

I wish there were some 802.11b adapters for the palm though... does anyone know of any that I have overlooked?<hr></blockquote>

there's the xircom <a href="http://www.intel.com/network/connectivity/resources/doc_library/data_sheets/np2053_1_02.pdf"; target="_blank">wirless module</a> that is 802.11b compliant although i'm not sure how TT compliant it is though.

i have it for my palm 505 (that sits collecting dust ever since my ipod arrived on the scene). it works pretty well and it's quite nice to have broadband to one's palm

kneelbeforezod · February 3, 2003 11:34PM

The Zaurus is great, although it's closer to being a laptop that fits in your pocket then a PDA. It's definitely deficient as far as personal information management features are concerned (the address book and calendar are nowhere near as good as on the Palm OS) - but who cares when you have a suite of office apps (Hancom) that manage all commonly used formats, the best mobile web browser out there (Opera), MP3, Ogg Vorbis and DivX players, everything from FTP clients and web servers as well as a built in keyboard?

If you could stretch to $700, Dynamism.com is importing and localizing the Japanese only <a href="http://www.dynamism.com/zaurus/index.shtml"; target="_blank">SL-C700</a>.

If you want to stay within the $500 range, the SL-5600 should be about that. More memory, a faster processor and (much needed) longer battery life then the SL-5500 makes it worth the extra $150 or so.

Oh yeah - I guess I should add that the Zaurus syncs badly at best with Windows boxes, and almost not at all with Macs. I have to backup to an SD card and FTP the file over my WAN...still, can't say it hasn't made me more resourceful...

[ 02-04-2003: Message edited by: kneelbeforezod ]

bioflavonoid · February 4, 2003 6:33PM

[quote]Originally posted by kneelbeforezod:

The Zaurus is great, although it's closer to being a laptop that fits in your pocket then a PDA. It's definitely deficient as far as personal information management features are concerned (the address book and calendar are nowhere near as good as on the Palm OS) - but who cares when you have a suite of office apps (Hancom) that manage all commonly used formats, the best mobile web browser out there (Opera), MP3, Ogg Vorbis and DivX players, everything from FTP clients and web servers as well as a built in keyboard?

If you could stretch to $700, Dynamism.com is importing and localizing the Japanese only <a href="http://www.dynamism.com/zaurus/index.shtml"; target="_blank">SL-C700</a>.

If you want to stay within the $500 range, the SL-5600 should be about that. More memory, a faster processor and (much needed) longer battery life then the SL-5500 makes it worth the extra $150 or so.

Oh yeah - I guess I should add that the Zaurus syncs badly at best with Windows boxes, and almost not at all with Macs. I have to backup to an SD card and FTP the file over my WAN...still, can't say it hasn't made me more resourceful...

[ 02-04-2003: Message edited by: kneelbeforezod ]<hr></blockquote>

So, is a fast little devil? I'm definitely for a Zaurus as long as you it isn't "slow." I am worried about the syncing with my mac though... I have Virtual PEECEE, will that work with it?

O, and one more thing, M3D Jack: I tried out the clie today, it's pretty sweet I'll give you that!

kneelbeforezod · February 5, 2003 11:17AM

Well, the speed at which apps open and run on my SL-5500 is more then acceptable for a handheld device - and that has a 200mhz processor and utilizes less memory - so the 400mhz SL-5600 should be plenty fast. The SL-5500 takes a fraction over a second to start up (which actually is slow for PDAs, particularly if you are used to Palm OS), but opening the file manager or Opera happens just as fast as opening up Safari or a Finder window on my 1ghz TiBook.

Syncing is definitely an issue, and not just for Macs. About 50% of the time the sync software supplied by Sharp crashes on my PC, and I have had problems with data being overwritten after I specified that it should not be touched. Palm OS is miles ahead here. However, if you don't mind hacking around a bit, you can find some freeware apps developed by Zaurus enthusiasts to help sync on the Mac (ToDo Monkey and Address Monkey are two, although both require WiFi/Airport). I have no idea if the sync software will run on Virtual PC, although you could ask around <a href="http://www.zaurus.com/dev/board/"; target="_blank">here</a> and see if anyone has had any experience with this.

What makes the Zaurus really cool is that there is are a lot of great open source apps being ported to it, not to mention scaled down Linux distros that can be substituted for the Sharp ROM (I think that an early beta of Debian for the Zaurus recently became available). Of course, you could also buy an iPaq and replace PPC Windows with handheld Linux, but then you wouldn't have the built in keyboard for using the terminal.

I live in New York, so one of my favorite things about the Zaurus is that - with the addition of a WiFi CF card - I can use open wireless networks throughout the city for web surfing and email. When I'm leaving work, 5 minutes using the network from the office across the street nets me enough reading material for the subway journey home.

The Nokia Communicator is the only handheld device that I'd consider replacing the Zaurus with, although I'd wait and see what the next gen communicator looks like. Sony's new NZ90 is nice too, although you'd get tied into using Sony memory sticks and Sony brand WiFi cards (not that there is anything wrong with those formats...but its the principal of the thing).

[ 02-05-2003: Message edited by: kneelbeforezod ]

bioflavonoid · February 6, 2003 5:21PM

[quote]Originally posted by kneelbeforezod:

Well, the speed at which apps open and run on my SL-5500 is more then acceptable for a handheld device - and that has a 200mhz processor and utilizes less memory - so the 400mhz SL-5600 should be plenty fast. The SL-5500 takes a fraction over a second to start up (which actually is slow for PDAs, particularly if you are used to Palm OS), but opening the file manager or Opera happens just as fast as opening up Safari or a Finder window on my 1ghz TiBook.

Syncing is definitely an issue, and not just for Macs. About 50% of the time the sync software supplied by Sharp crashes on my PC, and I have had problems with data being overwritten after I specified that it should not be touched. Palm OS is miles ahead here. However, if you don't mind hacking around a bit, you can find some freeware apps developed by Zaurus enthusiasts to help sync on the Mac (ToDo Monkey and Address Monkey are two, although both require WiFi/Airport). I have no idea if the sync software will run on Virtual PC, although you could ask around <a href="http://www.zaurus.com/dev/board/"; target="_blank">here</a> and see if anyone has had any experience with this.

What makes the Zaurus really cool is that there is are a lot of great open source apps being ported to it, not to mention scaled down Linux distros that can be substituted for the Sharp ROM (I think that an early beta of Debian for the Zaurus recently became available). Of course, you could also buy an iPaq and replace PPC Windows with handheld Linux, but then you wouldn't have the built in keyboard for using the terminal.

I live in New York, so one of my favorite things about the Zaurus is that - with the addition of a WiFi CF card - I can use open wireless networks throughout the city for web surfing and email. When I'm leaving work, 5 minutes using the network from the office across the street nets me enough reading material for the subway journey home.

The Nokia Communicator is the only handheld device that I'd consider replacing the Zaurus with, although I'd wait and see what the next gen communicator looks like. Sony's new NZ90 is nice too, although you'd get tied into using Sony memory sticks and Sony brand WiFi cards (not that there is anything wrong with those formats...but its the principal of the thing).

[ 02-05-2003: Message edited by: kneelbeforezod ]<hr></blockquote>

Thanks, I just may have to get a Zaurus... Of course, if there are new ipods in a while that get my attention (not as a pda, but as a cool(er) gadget) then I may get the ipod.

What PDA should I get?!?!?!?! :D

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