New to PPC.

[KevinGuy]

I will hopefully be purchasing a new pocket PC in the near future. I am looking for recommendations.

Some things that I want it to have and what I will be using it for:

WiFi Network Enabled
BlueTooth Enabled
MP3 Player

Looking for a decent GPS unit to buy also. - How do these work compared to stand alone devices? (This will mostly be used for Hiking/Hunting/Traveling)

I will be using it for School, Work, and Personal use.
- Mostly for Synchronization with Outlook
- Writing some papers for school - What keyboard would you suggest?

That is about it.

Also;

Is it possible to have a SanDisk CF card specifically for say Mp3's? - If so I would like the unit to have that also.

Do Pocket PC's have USB on them, for an external storage device for Homework.... Etc. Basically something that is removable from the Pocket PC while still being compatible with all other PC's out there.

Thanks.

--Kevin

Price Limit: This unit doesnt have to be the best of the best, I just need it to do the things listed above. - Anything that will do this. Basically as low as the price can get.

[Jeff Rutledge]

I'd suggest that you look at either the HP4155 or HP4355. They both have Bluetooth and WiFi integrated. The 4355 has a built-in thumb keyboard as well. If you're not wild about that, then you could use an external keyboard such as the Targus Universal Wireless keyboard. HP also makes a foldable keyboard as well.

For GPS, if you go with either of the devices above, then you can use a Bluetooth GPS receiver. That has the added benefit of being able to connect to a Bluetooth-enabled laptop. Also, if you update your PPC to another model, it will still work with your GPS (as long as it has Bluetooth too).

The only catch with the models above is that they don't have CF slots so you can't use a CF slot. But you can use SD memory instead which does the same thing. You could use a card just for mp3's, but I'm not sure why you'd want to. Basically, the mp3's are just files on the memory card. So you can fill it up with mp3's, pictures, word documents, whatever you want.

You could also get an SD card reader for your computer and that would allow you to move files between your computer and PPC. Just beware that some formatting can get stripped out when you sync the file to your PPC.

Hopefully that gives you some info.

[David Prahl]

Another route you could go would be the HP 2215. It doesn't have wifi built-in, but you can add it with a $40 expansion card in the CompactFlash slot.
http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/articles.php?action=expand,13980

As far as GPS goes, I'd just get a stand-alone $120 handheld unit. More rugged, smaller, cheaper, and better battery life. (You could hook it up to your PPC with a serial cable, too). Right now BT GPS is pretty expensive.

I would get the full-size Stowaway keyboard from Thinkoutside. I had one with my Palm m105 two years ago and it worked pretty well.
http://www.thinkoutside.com/products/ipaq-oview2.html

You can put anything on a memory card, including MP3s. If you have a memory card reader at home you can pop the card out and quickly transfer a ton of stuff from PC to PPC (or vice versa).

[Wiggster]

I think what you're looking for is the Toshiba 800/805. It's got 128 mb built-in RAM, built-in CF and SD, built-in WiFi, and USB Host compatabilitiy. The USB Host means that USB devices, such as an external hard drive, can be connected to it, provided there are drivers for the Pocket PC. It's not the cheapest device; I can only find it for around $530 here (http://pocketpcthoughts.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=1618239/ut=43a2bab4de84d39e), but you want a lot of stuff from it ;) The only thing that this doesn't have is Bluetooth, but you can find that in CF or SD cards. It's also got that quirky high resolution mode that so many people are excited about.

And you'd be a fool not to check out a review (http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/toshiba-e805-review.html) to make sure it's what you want.

[Falstaff]

I'd reccommend the Toshiba e755, you might be able to find it for as low as $350 (I did), and it has dual slots (SD, CF), integrated wi-fi, 64 MB RAM, 32 MB non-volatile memory, 3.8" screen, the same USB compatibility listed above for the e805 (I believe). I really like mine, and I have the Belkin keyboard and it works great.