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View Full Version : buying a PDA--what kind?


Beowulf
09-15-2002, 01:50 AM
i want to buy a PDA, i had a Jornada 680 before with CE 2.1, and 16MB ram. it was bad because no programs were available and had no mem and was too big. so with that in mind, i am looking on ebay and hoping for a smaller, color PDA with a newer operating system that i can use as a appointment book/dictionary/bible/voice recorder. I think i want 64 megs of ram, but i don't know how much i need--32 may be enough. what do you think I could get? I am really hoping to spend less than $230 on ebay. i am looking at ipaqs, 3600 series--is that a good series, or what?

spursdude
09-15-2002, 02:13 AM
ipaq 3600 series is a few years (i think) old, and doesn't have the latest operating system natively installed, although you can upgrade it.

i would honestly get a new pocket pc, with pocket pc 2002 operating system (any models on the market right now have this).

you may want to look at the toshiba e310. it's the smallest pocket pc on the market, and has 32MB RAM, which i honestly think is fine. you will need to get a SD card, which will allow you to store tons of software, music, or videos. as long as you make sure to install software to your storage card, then you will always be fine on memory. as for small, you may want to wait for a bit, because there are a lot of thin pocket pcs coming out fairly soon. the e310's price is excellent as well. you can find it for $300 new, even on amazon.com.

you could also look at the audiovox maestro. the battery life isn't up to par compared to other models, but it's got a nice size (fits comfortably in my pocket), has 2 slots (compact flash and SD), and is cheap (i got mine new for $290).

as for "appointment book/dictionary/bible/voice recorder", any modern pocket pc can do all these tasks. in fact, i think that any pocket pc period can do this.

bottom line - i think the e310 is your best option. perhaps some ipaq people will disagree with me. :D

ECOslin
09-15-2002, 05:47 AM
Pick one with overkill battery capacity.

I've got an Audiovox Maestro and I can recommend that it exceeds all my expectations in all areas except battery life. I'm a strong believer of cross-compatibility, such as my camera uses compact flash as well as both my PDAs and my computer can deal with them.

Pick out a battery that, to quote my previously expressed opinion, you could start your truck with.

My IBM z50 has a primary battery(11.1v 3.0Ah) that will run it for 14 hours(specs say 16, but I've never got that). My Maestro has 1 unknown Lithium-ion battery which specs say 8 hours, I get maybe 3.25 hours and they go by sooner than I'm usually aware. I get the initial low battery warning at 1 hour to dead battery.

Screen is important(Can you read it in sunlight? or with no backlighting?), Compatibility is important(PC2002).

Listen to all the awful problems that people on this board rant about for a couple of weeks before choosing. Make a list of the gripes people have.

It's your money, until it's someone elses.

Edward

Beowulf
09-15-2002, 05:58 AM
thanks for the great advice. I just bought a ipaq 3635 online for a great price, but i think that i am going to sell it again on ebay and try to make a profit, so i will still be looking around and trying to figure out what PDA i want. I was considering the toshiba one mentioned--no great deals on ebay at the moment though. I think i may just end up waiting until the next generation of PDA's comes out, then i can buy a top-of-the line current model for a cheaper price. i read somewhere that CE 4.0 was already out. cool--but that means PDA prices will go down and I may not make a profir

spursdude
09-15-2002, 06:17 AM
i just checked amazon.com - toshiba e310 for $250, with the rebates expiring october 31st. considering that you will get a new, current model for just $20 over your asking price of older, used pocket pcs, i think this is an incredible steal.

ecoslin is right about listening to the rants. i've noticed the most bizarre, unexplainable problems on ipaqs. no offense meant here, but it's what i've observed.

as for battery life, i think that the e310, amazingly enough, has better battery life than the maestro.

CE4.0 is out? hmm....the only real current models i've been seeing are all pocket pc 2002. anyways, you'll hafta consult somebody else here.

Merlion
09-15-2002, 04:15 PM
I think you should go for a PPC2002 device, just so that you have a wider selection of programs, & more updated programs, to choose from. For a PPC at that price point, I did some seaching & I think these 3 are what you're looking at:

A) Toshiba e570/Audiovox Maestro
B) Toshiba e310
C) iPaq 37xx/Upgraded iPaq 36xx + CF sleeve

I considered being able to get connected to get your emails, online information, etc. a basic function of any PPC. That means, for these models, you'd need a CF slot for a modem, or a Wi-Fi card, LAN card, Digital Phone card, Bluetooth card, etc. That leaves out the e310. I think Toshiba has a Bluetooth SD card & if you have a BT phone, you can go that route. Otherwise, the e310 is out. However, if you're sure you'll never need to get connected with your PPC, & never need to use the CF standard, then I think the e310 is your best bet. It's the smallest & has an adequate bty life. It has also the best performance of the group, & its video performance is phenomenal! 32MB of RAM is sufficient, just install most of your programs on the SD card.

Choice (A) is much smaller than (C). The e570/Maestro also has integrated SD & CF slots although it's smaller. The SD slot can be used for storage, & the CF slot for I/O purposes. CF is a very established standard & I used it to review & organize photos taken with my digicams when I'm outside. All my digicams use CF cards & I make a point of only buying CF digicams, which isn't a problem coz most digicams use CF storage. I also use CF cards as portable storage betw my notebook computer & my desktop computers. Pple complained about (A)'s bty life though.

The iPaq 37xx is similar to the 36xx except that it's running PPC2002 natively. The 36xx can be upgraded to PPC2002, so it's also a valid option (but you'd have to buy the upgrade). Some of these models include a CF sleeve, if not then you'd have to buy one (added cost). CF is not only necessary for I/O purposes, or memory expansion, but also as the only non-violatile storage on these PPCs. Your data on these PPCs resides on violatile memory. If your bty ran dry, or you cut off power inadvertantly (via accidents?), or do a hard reset, all your data & apps you installed will be gone. The power button only puts your PPC on standby, so its on all the time. When you can't be synching often, like when you travel, please remember to back up all your stuffs on the CF or SD card. Many pple also complained of (C)'s bty life. However, you can get a CF Expansion Plus Pack which is a CF sleeve with an integrated bty, so you can have extra bty power. Or you can go for the Pitech Dual CF sleeve, which has 2 CF slots in a slim format. A Silver Slider CF sleeve will be the smallest soln, but it'll still make the iPaqs the biggest of the PPCs.

Soooo, it's all up to you! :)

Merlion
09-15-2002, 04:55 PM
WinCE .NET 4.0 was released Jan 7 earlier this yr. The lastest version (upgrade) just released 2 months ago was 4.1. There's no news of any impending new version of the PocketPC suite. From what we're hearing, the next batch of Pocket PCs will still be using PocketPC 2002 (the software), which was built on WinCE 3.0.

There's definitely a version of PocketPC .NET in the works, but I don't think there're devices built on it being released anytime soon. Chances are, if they have a new version of PocketPC (the software), it'll just be an incremental upgrade of PocketPC 2002.

jimr18
10-03-2002, 01:36 AM
The Viewsonic Pocket PC with 64 meg...soon to be available..will be a $299 list price item. Surely worth checking out!

Dave Conger
10-03-2002, 04:09 AM
beowulf, check out the Toshiba e310 or Audivox Maestro as new products that still are very close to your price point. They will differently be good products for quite a while and are well worth the cost (which is really inexpensive).

Merlion
10-03-2002, 09:07 AM
Beowulf, I don't know whether you've bought your PPC, but now there're quite a few choices coming up. There's the $299 ViewSonic V35 slated for Nov 1. And Toshiba Germany has just released the e330, an updated e310 with specs similar to the V35, in Germany a couple of days ago. It'll likely make its way to the US & the price of the e310 should fall way below $300 quite soon, since the e330 is selling for about USD300 in Germany. Now, Toshiba has a $50 rebate for the e310, so there's more reason to believe that the e330's gonna make its entry into the US very soon. HP has also announced a new entry-level iPaq 2000 series to be released in the coming shopping season for about $300. ViewSonic is a new-comer in this arena, but it's worth keeping an eye on. Toshiba & HP's models are probably the better buy, if all else are the same just because of their experience in making PPCs.

Anyhow, there're these models to keep in mind, in addition to those mentioned earlier. I'm not surprised if there're more entry-level PPCs that'll be released in the coming mths coz there seems to be a battle for the economy-priced market. This also means that prices of current models should drop soon.
You've gotta bare this in mind though. All these new entry-level PPCs do not have an integrated CF slot, which severely restricts their I/O expansion capabilities. PPCs with & without a CF slot are like different categories of devices, you can use all kinds of CF I/O devices with a CF slot.

2002F1Fan
10-04-2002, 01:32 AM
i just checked amazon.com - toshiba e310 for $250, with the rebates expiring october 31st. considering that you will get a new, current model for just $20 over your asking price of older, used pocket pcs, i think this is an incredible steal.

ecoslin is right about listening to the rants. i've noticed the most bizarre, unexplainable problems on ipaqs. no offense meant here, but it's what i've observed.

as for battery life, i think that the e310, amazingly enough, has better battery life than the maestro.

CE4.0 is out? hmm....the only real current models i've been seeing are all pocket pc 2002. anyways, you'll hafta consult somebody else here.



Tigerdirect.com has it going for $199 after $100 rebates.

jizmo
10-04-2002, 06:36 AM
Here in Finland e310 is sold for mere 560-590 euros. :lol:

http://www.mbnet.fi/hintaseuranta/tuote.asp?TID=9148

I really have to start buying these items overseas, phheww .. :roll:

/jizmo