PDA's - which and why?

[GoneWest]

I am coming to the conclusion that I need a small, simple, carry around "to do list" and/or appointments book.

Ah - remember the 'filofax' - yuppie tool of the future.

Well, the stores seem to be full of cute little electric critters these days - question is "Which one to buy"...answer is "What do you want it to do??"

Next question is "What are these things capable of doing?"

Is there anywhere to look at various specs of these machines? I asked in the local store and the best I got was that "the new one can scan bar codes"...but I don't want to scan bar codes (at the moment). So not a great sales pitch - but what functions should I be looking for...as well as "to do list" and a reminder that I should be somewhere else at the moment?

[Mac the Knife]

'Lo Gone - I'm not an expert, but someone discarded an elderly PalmPilot onto me last Xmas - at first I thought that it was an amusing toy, but now I don't know what I did without it.

I really don't believe that you need all the latest bells and whistles, like barcodes or Net access or 16MB RAM or colour screens - the core functions are the ones that you need rather than games and add-ons and all the PDAs have those. I think almost all can interface to your PC for backup and other stuff and you really need that.

I'd say the main choice is whether you want an actual keyboard (bigger) or whether you can live with screen tapping for data entry.

Why not get a Palm M100 for a start? It's the cheapest of the excellent Palm's, has all the core functions and if you want a proper keyboard or decide that you want to upgrade in 6/12 you'll have no trouble selling it.

Good luck!

[straightenup]

Im a junkie re these things palm is so simple and effective plenty of software ect
but the springboard which uses the palm operating system is better in the bottom end models.Psion is great if you are computer literate but i understand is folding up.
good luck.
keep the ball in the middle!

[Springbokkie]

I would go for a Palm, purely because it is simple to use and very light and has a lot of memory.

If you want to go for the bells and whistles etc... have a look at the Compaq Aero - albeit a little expensive, it has the standard Windows on it and is fairly easy to use.

[bcfc]

I use an HP Jornada handheld PC. It basically has the same s/w as a palm running Pocket PC. Big difference is that it has a keyboard and as I tend to write up reports and notes using this, its a must. It also has a built in modem so I can email via my mobile from the train (initially a gimmic, now very useful). Downside is that its a bit big & bulky for a suit pocket.

In short, I guess you have to ask yourself what you want it for and when you'll use it. I used to have a Psion 3a and this was excellent - sadly, they've just decided to leave the PDA market :(

[You want it when?]

Have a look at the Nokia 9210 Communicator - sure it's a big phone (read brick :) ) but you then have your mobile and diary / organiser in one lump. I used to carry a mobey and a Psion around but I've had a communicator for the last couple of years - it's great. Esp. as you can SMS people using a QWERTY keyboard - does their heads in :D

[fobotcso]

I think I just read somewhere that Psion are pulling out of the PDA market but I can't recall where I read it. This is an early "heads-up" for anyone thinking of getting a Psion. I'll update when I can (re)find the news item. It may have been in the British Computer Society mag.

[fobotcso]

Here's the Psion Press release of 11 July 2001 in which the change of Company strategy was announced:
http://ww6.investorrelations.co.uk/psion/press/ir22993.shtml

In a nutshell they are slimming down (250 redundancies) and going up market to the big hitters but shying away from the Bluetooth stuff as that market is not developing quickly enough.

Where we are it won't make much difference and you may pick up a Psion PDA cheaply from a Clearance warehouse. But long-term support will fade away. I would not buy one, personally.

I guess the hand-held competition was too hot for them.

[miss approach]

Used to have a Psion 3a and was v happy with it - have now converted to a Handspring which is a cheaper version of Palm (uses all the same software but has expansion possibilities as well).

Sad to see the end of Psion handhelds :( - the only reason I moved was to get compatible with work.