Which PDA should I get?

[iamic]

Ok, the iPad (http://www.xsorbit1.com/users/dennx/index.cgi?board=thelounge&action=display&num=1048936351&start=12) isn't cutting it anymore, so for the sake of conversation with the few that dare to lurk around here, I thought I'd ask for your opinions.

I'm thinking of: Palm Zire 71, Palm Tungsten T, Sony Clie TG50, etc... I'm also interested in the PocketPC models (HP, Dell, Toshiba...) but I'm concerened about the limited ability to sync it with my mac.

I like the idea of something with Bluetooth so I can sync with my BT equipped PowerBook and a BT phone I plan to get.

[Jackonicko]

If you use the abbreviation BT for Bluetooth you'll get us Brits very confused. BT is British Telecom to us - a very, very, very common abbreviation which is part of ordinary speech.

Also BT for Bluetooth is illogical - Bluetooth is one word, isn't it?

Is BT commonly used over there? If not, why not let's come up with something neater. Bt would do, at a pinch, but B'th would be better.

Re PDAs, IMHO they all suck, and will all continue to suck until someone comes up with proper cursive handwriting recognition. I've had a Palm for years, and never use it because it's still easier to use pencil and paper.

[iamic]

I was just being lazy and didn't want to type out 'bluetooth' two more times. I realized the 'British Telecom' connection, but I figured you'd all get my meaning. Anyway, I don't know what the proper abbreviation is (you'll never catch me saying b'th because it involves typing with my pinky finger...:) )

To stay off the topic a little longer, a two+ letter abbreviation for one word is not necessarily illogical and appears in accepted English language often:

ca. - circa
cf. - confer
aux. - auxiliary
etc. - et cetera (three letters for two words)
as well as many other usual dictionary abbreviations: adv. adj. abbr., Engl.... abbrevations for months, elements (Mg, Cd, Rn...), scalar measurements (km, kg, etc.)

I think you guys are just going to have to change the name of your telecom company. Sorry. :D

Well, about the PDAs, I'm not too excited about the Graffiti, etc writing recognition scheme either, but I need something, so I'll have to learn to live with it for now. Whatever they come up with, I sure hope it's not cursive recognition, as I stopped writing in cursive about ten years ago.

[Kesh]

I'd say either the Zire 71 or Clie TG-50 would be a good place to start. If you're not interested in Graffiti, the TG-50 might be best. It has a built-in keyboard, scroll wheel, voice recorder, MP3 playback and Bluetooth. However, it's a bit low on memory (only 11 Mb of the 16 Mb are usable). Very good for multimedia, especially when the Memory Sticks go up to a full gigabyte now.

The Zire 71 is a little cheaper, uses Graffiti and lacks the voice recorder, keyboard, scroll wheel and Bluetooth. Instead, you get the full 16 Mb of memory available, SD expansion cards, 5-way control pad and a built-in camera. It's a bit better for gaming, as many new games take advantage of Palm's audio chip, while the Sony units won't run them. Also, the 5-way pad is a good controller, while the Sonys need an add-on control pad to be comfortable.

[Jester]

I went from an Ipaq to a Palm Tungsten since I was really not using all of the functions of the Ipaq. The Tungsten has been a great addition. It's size and weight are excellent. The screen has good resolution with a decent backlight. Transfering data between my Mac and PC is a snap. If you go with the Tungsten, don't waste your money on the Palm cases as they are horrible. I went with the Vaja.

Good luck in your decision!

[Kenny]

Im not sure if they're able to sync to a mac, but you should definately check out the Dell Axim's (X5).

Very very nice pda's.

[ToddW]

I used to have a palm powered PDA, but now I use an iPaq. If you are using a PC I would recommend going with a PocketPC 2002 powered PDA. The easy association with Microsoft office is a lot better than the Palm (granted I used a Palm 3XE, so I'm not sure if Palm made any improvements). If you are using an mac I think palm would be the best bet!

[harry]

Originally posted by Jester
I went from an Ipaq to a Palm Tungsten since I was really not using all of the functions of the Ipaq. The Tungsten has been a great addition. It's size and weight are excellent. The screen has good resolution with a decent backlight. Transfering data between my Mac and PC is a snap. If you go with the Tungsten, don't waste your money on the Palm cases as they are horrible. I went with the Vaja.

Good luck in your decision!

Jester this is exactly what I did and I agree about the Vaja cases. I had one for my ipaq and it was the thing I missed the most when I switched. My Tungsten T is a pleasure to use and quite simple. The Zire 71 does look cool ( and I tested one at CompUSA) and it's very quick. The camera is so-so, but is useful for a quick snap or two. The one draw back to the new Palms is that 5.0 does not work with all Palm applications. And one last point; if you use document direct you'll have very few problems with MS Office docs. DD does a much better job of display and allowing you to do basic work on MS WD docs than does the native version of Word on a PPC.