Need advice on what to buy!

[mplough]

Well let me start off by saying that I currently have a Sony Clie UX50; OKAY! stop laughing!!
The problem is that our IT guy is a weenie and won't take 30 minutes to get me on our wireless network at the office. He says he can't fugure it out, which is probably the truth :D!
So the only thing we are 'allowed' to have access to the network is Pocket PC.
Well I'm no warrior for Palm or PPC. So no flaming please.
I have $600 to spend here so I need input , these are my units of choice at this point:

-hPaq 5555
pros: wireless, bluetooth, removeable battery, 128 meg memory, buttload of sleds and cases. BIG SCREEN!
cons: Price

-hPaq 4155
pros: small, same as 5555
cons: half the memory

-hPaq21xx
pros: price, bluetooth, battery, NICE FRIGGIN SCREEN
cons: no 802.11, have to add CF card

-Dell Axim 3Xi
pros: Nice screen, PRICE
cons: no CF but do I 'really' need it with builtin 802.11? Wait time, 10 days to 'build'

-Toshiba e805
pros: Everything the 5555 has except a BIGGER screen with VGA and 480 x 640 resolution, 1300 mah battery
cons: have to wait 3 weeks before it hits the street, Toshiba has a bad history of upgrades and customer service

Well, I'll be checking email with this, using HanDbase, Word and Excel. WIll probably play monopoly and other time wasters, MP3's.
If anyone could school me on current iPaq models it would be appreciated

[Thinkingmandavid]

So like uh, what are you doing with your ux50? selling it on ebay to use the money for a ppc :D
wow, school you on the latest of hp ppc's. well i think going to the website and using the comparison button is one of the best ways. If you want to make it easy one yourself I thinking three fall into easy
55xx make it easy for wireless connection.
22xx have that option with two slots, less weight.
43xx has a keyboard so that for certain can be useful.
The problem is that one ppc does not have all of the goods.

What would you be using it for most of the time, and I literally mean the majority of the time?
If emailing then the wireless one...just get a keyboard to go with it.
Actually, the best thing for you to do is to go and try all three out and see which one you like best. Which feels the best in your hands that you feel most comfortabel with? taht to me is a good starting point along with being educated on the subject you are referring to .

[mplough]

Actually 'most' of the time it wil be in a case on my hip, LOL! Seriously though. I will check email 3 or 4 times a day when I get to the office. I will mostly use Word and Excel for looking up service codes and service related info. I will also use HanDbase to keep track of inventory.
And usually I will play Bejeweled (Diamond Mine) for that after luch experience :D:D.
I have never played any intense Pocket PC games though I will probably try given the right unit.
I have played around with all the iPaqs. The 19xx is a lot like my old PalnVx, small comfortable. The 21xx is also nice with a MUCH better screen and the 55xx is alot like my old 3765 only alot nicer in regards to screen and button layout.
I was looking more for performance issues with each. I'm trying to get a better feel for which unit would be the best.
So far it looks like the 21xx with a compact flash 802.11 card.

[christak]

You won't go wrong with a 2210/15. I have one along with a CF WiFi card and CF modem... SD memory and CF memory cards are usually in the unit... Really lightweight and the two card slots are super for expandability... Good performance and screen. Battery is very good, but my 3950 was a bit better (larger too)...

8)

[Thinkingmandavid]

MOney wise the 2215 is probably your best choice. I dont know of another model near that price that will be able to give you what you are looking for. Since you wont be checking email that often, I would not bother spending money on the 55xx series. The 22xx is plenty for what you want to do. It has the bluetooth, has the cf for modem/cf wi fi, and has the sd for wi fi as well. no matter how much of documents you create you always have cf and sd cards :wink:
ecost always has good deals on their cards so it seems to me that for now is the best way to go.
I know there are others with both slots but more expensive, a good example of this is the Fujitsu Loox, it is awesome :!: :!: :!:

[Chris Spera]

I'd consider the 4100 series iPAQ. They are small like the 1900's and offer both Wi-Fi and BlueTooth. If I had to choose between my 1945 and the 415x, I'd probably go with the 4100...

Let us know what you finally go with, ok?


Kind Regards,


Christopher Spera

[mplough]

I will. I am going to Atlanta tomorow. I am hoping that the metro area stores will have what our po-dunk stores here in Savannah don't.
I noticed that BB carries the new Toshiba e450. I'll check that on out. According to Toshibas website they make no mention of the SD being SDIO; if it's not then that one's out. Not to mention the akwardness of having a square d-pad...hmmmmm.
If they have the 41xx I may go that route, especially if the footprint is the same as the 19xx models. I still have a Krusell case from my short stint with a 1910. I hated the keys and d-pad on that model, the 41xx look better. If I buy a 21xx for $399 and add a $70 wifi CF card that really saves me no money. I know you can get them cheaper online but I have learned (for me anyway) I'd rather spend a few extra buck and have the ability to walk in to ANY BB or Circuit City and pull out my extended warranty and know I'm leaving with a new unit when trouble occurs.
Either way I will post what I get

[Thinkingmandavid]

Good idea to buy with the extended warranty, BUT buy the cf card ecost. they are really having some terrific prices so dont cheat yourself by buying those at best buy. :wink:

[mplough]

Well I was asked to report my findings and/or decision and I am STILL undecided.
For crying out loud this process is taking longer than buying a car!
Well I went to Atlanta last week and went by Circuit City. The salesman convinced me to take advantage of the 14 day "Try Out Period".
So I did, I purchased a Toshiba e405 for $299.00. Took it back to the Hotel and it was 'charged' in 45 minutes. Skeptical I let it charge all night. I used it for about 35 minutes Monday and by 5PM I was at 50 something percent battery.
I took it back and alas, that was the last Toshiba. So I forked over some more cash and got the iPaq 415X. Charged it and ran Media Player with the sample video looped for 1 hour. After being in my pocket all day and showing it off all day for maybe a total of 15 minutes, the iPaq had 87% battery power left after a looping video. Not too shabby.
Let me say the iPaq is VERY nice but side-by-side to the e405, the whites on the 415X ARE yellow'ish'. If you never look at the Toshiba you do NOT notice it.
Well, I was cruzing back home and passed by a C.C. in Macon, Ga. I stop in and they have a Toshiba e405 and I decide to go it again.
This time the Toshiba had similar results! This time I decided to wait until I had recharged the battery left the power plugged in and did a hard reset. This seemed to reset the battery power meter because the Toshiba charged for another 20 minutes before going to 'green' status.
I like the form factor of the e405 but I still can't decide what to do. Here are my options, some help or email me a slap in the face please!

* Toshiba e405/$299
No case available yet
Simple PDA no frills/$129 for WiFi SD
* Toshiba e805/$599
Mother of all PDA's
Battery life may be REALLY weak running VGA
128 meg of memory/2 meg video memory
*Dell X3i/$349
Built in WiFi
Add another $50 for extra battery
Paltry battery life
*Dell X5/$249
CF and SD
Can get a DSI case, Extra battery and CF WiFi for another $100.00
*iPaq 415X/$449
Good Pda as tested
Cases are out
*iPaq 5555/$599
High onboard memory
Slick design, built in WiFi
*Asus MyPal620BT/$349
Bluetooth and Compact Flash
Best stats of any PPC to date
Excellent battery life

With all of that stated, I am kind of leaning toward the Dell Axim x5 because it’s solid, has 2 expansion slots and excellent battery life. Not to mention a 1 year ADVANCE replacement warranty. I called Dell and the new x5s are shipping with PPC 03. The Asus is also awesome...
What to DO!

[Chris Spera]

Please remember that Toshiba has a good track record of ABANDONING their Pocket PC's inside of a year. You may buy a decent device only to have it orphaned shortly after you buy it. NOT GOOD!

I'd count them out straight away.

I haven't seen the Dell X3, that might be a good get, but the lead time on them is rotten. So you may have wait 4-6 weeks before it ships. Also not cool when you can go down to any BB or CC and pick up something else.

The screen on the 1945 does look a little yellow, and I wouldn't be surprised if the 4000 series has the same problem; but you know what..? Who cares? Its a small flaw IMHO. Relatively speaking, you're not going to notice it unless you compare it to another screen. If you only have 1 PDA, then it won't make a difference. I have about 4 PDA's. I only notice the yellow tint when I look at my 1945 screen at an angle.

I think the 4100 is still a good choice for you. I haven't seen anything from ASUS, so I can't comment on those.


Kind Regards,


Christopher Spera

[mplough]

well I haven't "seen" an a620 either but the specs are damn good. Did a search on google for cases, no go. Not to mention that EBCases nor Vaja make a case for the Asus. So I went with the Dell.
\Got the new PXA255 400 MHZ, runs more with current 2100 iPaqs and the like. I also got an 'accidental coverage' for 1 year added to the already 1 year advance replacement for $19.00. I also got another standard 1440mah battery for $49.00. At checkout with coupons I got it all for $349.00. Not too bad. I also picked up a WiFi CF card for $40. It ships out Thursday.
I didn't like the extended battery on the X3i, it sticks out like a sore thumb, hard to fit a case around that, ;)
The standard battery on the x3i is weak, especially for running WiFi.
Thanks again,
\Mike

[starbot]

why did you decide to go with the axim over the ipaq 2215?