I want to buy my wife a PDA for X-mas but I'm not sure which one to get.
Palm, HP and Handspring look attractive.

I pefer one that is internet ready and has a good OS. How much memory is
adequate? Anyone have experience with them. I'm looking for something in
the $300 - $500 range.

Thax in advance

 

I'd stick with Palm or Handspring ... since those 2 platforms rely on the original Palm OS which seems to be the most abundant OS available for handhelds. Also, these two companies have been making PDA's for some time now so their products are pretty reliable and there are tons of add-ons you can get. I have a Handspring Visor Prism, which is the color capable one and it's awesome. It's not very thin if that's what you're looking for. When it comes down to it, see what your wife would need and pick the appropriate model, since every model has a unique user in mind. Go down to the store or search online and just look at what the model differences are and use your judgement. Good luck!

 

Like he said...

 

Some websites to help you out.

www.cnet.com

www.zdnet.com

 

Well well...it's funny you should ask! I bought the Palm m505 about 3-4 months ago. Started using it right away...loved it. Well about 2 weeks ago, I put it in the cradle and found in the morning that it had died. It just stopped working. Tried everything...hard reset...all that stuff...nada.

I contacted Palm and their policy when this kind of thing happens is to replace it...with A REFURBISHED ONE!

Not very happy about that little detail! Did I BUY a refurbished one for 400 dollars...??! I think not!

Well, I got the new one a few days ago and putting that one in the cradle now, the mf'ing battery won't charge past halfway!

So tomorrow, I'm going to call them again and tell them I want a BRAND NEW ONE or I want my money back!

Right now, if I am able to get my 400 dollars back, I'm off the www.compaq.com for an iPaq. You wouldn't be able to call me a happy Palm customer right about now. But we'll see how the conversation goes tomorrow. I liked the unit, it's thin, has a nice screen...pretty expandable.

I'll post what happens when I get through this...but the whole ordeal has irked me. I think the Palm OS has a brain-dead contact manager interface...it took me HOURS to get all the contacts arranged after I sync'd the first time. This could have been avoided has I categorized each contact prior to sync'ing, but I don't do that in Outlook. Still...the Palm OS works pretty well, just a little bit, ummm...obtuse, in some ways.

We'll see...

 

Thax for the info everyone...
good luck on yours, Greg

 

i have the sony-n710c which is color, 8 meg rom, and has an expandable memory port. the decision might come down to what type of digital camera you might have. the memory stick allow you transfer images directly from the camera to the palm unit. if you don't have one. then the choice would be whether you want color or monochrome.

if you're going for color, i'd get the sony n760c (just like like n710 but with palmOS 4.1). i'd recommend the palm m505 except that the screen brightness is less than desired. if you're going for monochrome, i'd suggest the sony peg-t415 or the handspring visor pro (this one has 16 meg of internal memory compared to 8mb for the sonys).
i'm partial to the sony's because they're operating on the palmOS 4.1 and allow true 16-bit graphics and a sharper screen.

almost all palm units are internet capable. you just have to dish out dinero for the accessories and subscriptions to the service.

you probably want to check out their website too for sale prices.

http://www.sonystyle.com/micros/clie/
http://www.handspring.com
http://www.palm.com

hope this helps,
ric

 

If all you need is a simple PIM (personal Information manager), then the cheapest thing you can get would be best. Personally, I would go for a more functional one with color - the HP PocketPC devices are good. But you'd be spending closer to $500. If you check out some sales online (www.techbargains.com has a good listing), you may be able to get one of the pocketpc devices (Compaq, HP, Casio) for closer to $350.

 

Take iPaq. I have my Palm Vx for quite awhile. Just very reasonly, I bought a iPaq. Let me tell you, it is so much nicer than my Palm. Also, it is in Color (front lighting), you can see it under the sun. The CPU is 206Mhz CPU, will out run any Palm in the block. I also got a CF add-on, and have my 1GB microdrive on the way for MP3 storage. You just can't beat a PDA with 1GB storage on board and rocking MP3 at the same time you are doing your schedules. One more thing, this thing completly sync with your outlook (for god sake, it is a pocket outlook on your palm). Unlike Palm, at least mine is having a hard time sync with outlook right.

Get a iPaq, you will like it.

 

Here's food for thought. I just talked to a guy at JP Morgan Chase who has been using his Apple Newton since 1994. Did you know that it has two PCMCIA slots? He says he's got meeting notes from 1994 onward. Pretty damn cool, if you ask me.