Good PDA for college in the range of $100-$300

[sheltem]

I'm looking for a good PDA for typing notes in class easily. Long battery life would be nice. I don't really care about my PPC or Palm playing multimedia files.

[jdhill]

In that price range, your only Pocket PC choice is an AudioVox Maestro. This model has been discontinued but is still widely available for the discounted price of $299.

[Dave Conger]

I hate to say it on a Pocket PC site, but an inexpensive Palm (like a Handspring Neo or Sony SL10) could be something to consider. Then get a nice keyboard to go with it and you are looking at a price of $200-250 total. If you go with most any Pocket PC you are looking at over 300 for a device and a keyboard (unless you get lucky on a good deal).

[ECOslin]

Check out the same arguments on:

'Complete Newbie...What PocketPC is the best value?'

I've also mentioned Palms for students without money.

Edward

[Willmonwah]

I would recommend the Toshiba e310 ($399). It's super light, thin, and it's battery is great. Go to TechDepot.com and check out the refurbs. They're priced at $299.99 and come with the same warranties as the new ones, at a $100 savings.

HOWEVER, if you're into wireless net access (most colleges have some type of wireless network), go for the Maestro, as our colleagues have already suggested. It's battery won't last too long however, as without the frontlight, you can only keep it on for eight hours, so it's probably less than two hours with the light and WiFi going.

The Maestro has both SD (memory and bluetooth) and CF slots (LAN/WiFi/memory/etc.) and can be equipped with a great keyboard for 52+ s/h. Search for it on the boards for more info.


William

Refurb e310: http://www.techdepot.com/product.asp?ProductID=1239767&CatID=47&IID=857

Best Palm under $300: http://www.techdepot.com/Product.asp?ProductID=474606&iid=936

Maestro: CompUSA $299-329

[sheltem]

Do you think it'll be a good idea to buy a Jornada 56x pda? I've seen them on Ebay for $300 and that seems like a pretty good deal to me, although HP is phasing them out...

[Janak Parekh]

Do you think it'll be a good idea to buy a Jornada 56x pda? I've seen them on Ebay for $300 and that seems like a pretty good deal to me, although HP is phasing them out...
The 56x units are great, too, and I'm sure Jason will tout their strengths shortly :D Their one glitch was/is the dust problem, but from what I hear it is (mostly) under control.

--bdj

[sheltem]

If I get a good screen protector, will that stop any potential dust problems?

[Brad Adrian]

You should be able to find a Jornada 525 within your budget. It doesn't support as many colors, but offers great flexibility and expandability.

[Jason Dunn]

A Jornada 565 on ebay and a Stowaway keyboard would do the trick nicely - go for it!

[sheltem]

hm i got a brand new jornada 568 for $390, good price?

[Dave Conger]

hm i got a brand new jornada 568 for $390, good price?

Sounds like a good deal. My quick lowest price search only game up with 568's for over $420...lucky you!

[Zero101]

I really think a palm is the best way for you to go, considering your price restrictions.

You can get a Palm M500, which is a beautiful, slim PDA (although monochrome) and a stowaway keyboard (to make the note-taking easier) for $300 even. Cheaper, if you look around for some deals.


Pocket PC's are great, and I personally think they are the best high-end PDA's on the market.... but Palm is still king of cheap, small, easy to use PDA's. And if someone just wants a low-end PDA for taking notes in class, I can't see how a Palm wouldn't fit the bill perfectly.

[Dave Conger]

I really think a palm is the best way for you to go, considering your price restrictions.

Looks like you are a little late...Sheltem already bought a Jornada (see above).

For the $100-300 I agree with you, a Palm OS device could be the way to go.

[ECOslin]

$100 to $300 dollar range.

I was watching Ebay for a time, and this is how some devices went.

1370156640 CASIO EM-500 POCKET PC / MP3 FACTORY BOX MINT $178.05 21 Ended --
1370960191 Like New Audiovox Maestro Pocket PC PDA-1032 $272.75 13 Ended --
1371469634 LIKE NEW - HP JORNADA 565 WITH 256MB CF CARD $366.00 20 Ended --
1371012252 Audiovox Maestro Pocket PC+128MB CF II Card $306.00 23 Ended --
1371164366 HP JORNADA 565 POCKET PC **COLOR DISPLAY** $285.00 4 Ended --
Item number, Description, End price, how many bidders, current status.