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View Full Version : What made you get a PDA?


maniladude
11-29-2004, 09:34 AM
Hey all,

Worse than not knowing which device to get, I'm not even sure now if I really need a PDA in my life right now. I worry that soon after buying one, I might find that "the old ways" of getting by (pen, paper, clipboard and sharp memory) might work better, or will just plain be easier to do than fiddling with handwriting recognition trying to write on my PDA whilst juggling binders and books on the go, and that the huge (for someone my age) investment will go to waste.

After all, I can't COMPLETELY junk paper, I'd think it would still work better to take notes on paper than on a PDA, if only because of all those diagrams. And even if I did go completely digital, who's to say that everyone else around me would? I'd have to digitize all that paperwork, something I'm more than a bit reluctant to do..

Is this a credible concern? What made you guys buy the Palms or PPC's you own now, and what do you do with them? How/why did you realize that they were worth having around? Are they really a useful substitute to good ol' paper for you guys?

Thanks for any replies

Mr. H.
11-29-2004, 05:35 PM
I have been PDAing/PocketPCing for years. So I have come to find them a vital part of my everyday. If you have a need to minimize your load [phone book, daily planner, laptop, etc] this is a great way to go. I have the ipaq 4155. It has become an appendage that I can not leave home without. It is my assistant in every sence of the word. From carrying numbers, addresses, appointments to word & excel docs, and music files.
It's compact but power packed!!!

Its a shame that HP is discontinuing the line; its been a big seller for them [try finding one in a store nowadays...all gone]

Mr. H.

webdaemon
11-29-2004, 05:53 PM
I do just about everything digitally. I even keep my office phone messages in a Word document. I find with a PDA I have everything I need in my pocket all the time. Phone numbers, email addresses, street addresses, maps, notes, word and excel files I need for work, etc.

I even use it for my shopping list, no more leaving the house having left it on my fridge.

You mentioned your need for diagrams, well you can do those on a PPC as well.

I don't do anything on paper anymore since I always have my PPC with me.

uzetaab
11-30-2004, 02:49 AM
The thing I like about PPCs that they are so versatile.
A piece of paper is not going to beep at you to remind you about that important appointment or that you have to take the garbage out.

Having search functions are a lot better than thumbing through pages.

using one device as your diary/address book/music player/fiction book etc means carrying less.

being able to carry info that you wouldn't normally take is usefull as well. For example, I have a book list so I can wander into a book shop & not buy a book I already own. I'm a big reader & it can be hard to remember which books I've read.

beer980
11-30-2004, 03:01 AM
Well I have decided that I will get one to organize my life. With work, a pre-teen daughter and building a new house I need some additional help. All that aside I can afford a good one and look forward to all the features they offer.

FrozenIpaq
11-30-2004, 03:20 AM
Friend had a Clie---Me want better----Me get Pocket PC
use it for everythin in life now

KimVette
11-30-2004, 04:47 AM
GPS, MP3s, and eBooks all in one convenient package!! =)

Lorenzo
11-30-2004, 05:47 AM
I use my ipaq on a daily basis and don't know what I would
do without it. I just purchased the new 4700 and just love
it. The screen in fantastic and I'm starting to get use to the
touch pad.

But, sometimes I do write a phone number down on paper, but
I use the ipaq for everything, surfing, e-mail, passwords, contacts,
calendar appointments, gaming, editing pictures.. you name it!

Once you go IPAQ you don't go back..

Lorenzo

fivepetpalace
11-30-2004, 05:54 AM
Besides carrying all my contact information, calendar, pictures of family and friends, shopping lists, passwords, financial accounts, quicken, music, movies, to do lists, games, word and excel documents.....

0X It makes a nice glowing flashlight. 0X

Ripper014
11-30-2004, 07:59 AM
Don't listen to any of them... you need paper... there is nothing that can replace it... and YOU... you need it. I don't think a PocketPC is in your future...

IpaqMan2
11-30-2004, 09:19 AM
I originally got a PDA some 4 years ago. I had used a Franklin Day Planners for about 7 or 8 years up to that point grew very depended on keeping myself organized and on top of things. At that point I came accross a a Palm V by accident that some had lost. Before returning it to the owner I played with the PDA for 2 days :devilboy: and realized it did everything I used my day planner for and so much more and all in a much smaller package.

2 weeks later I purchased my frist PDA and loved it... But spent literally many months going through growing pains learning to make the PDA fully able to completly replace my Day planner and finding add on software that did exactly what I wanted my PDA to do.

Eversince than I have pretty much been Paper and Pen Free in my life. I've learned to use my PDA for everything and keep more or less a digital log of my daily doings, notes, and thoughts and now find it awkward when I have to use paper and pen.

But than again I am always fine tuning my PDa so it always has the information I need and can always do what I want.

Besides... Once you get use to Cutting and pasting with the information in you use in your daily life like what can be done a on a PDA and than moved to other applications and PIM information, you'll never see life the same with just a PEN! :lol:

Darius Wey
11-30-2004, 01:03 PM
Don't listen to any of them... you need paper... there is nothing that can replace it... and YOU... you need it. I don't think a PocketPC is in your future...

I'll be honest. While I'm a Pocket PC fanatic, I still doesn't see them as paper replacements just yet, so what you said Ripper014 has some merit to an extent: But I wouldn't rule out a Pocket PC altogether though. There are times when you need paper, and there are times when you need a Pocket PC. Ever since I entered the mobile device market (and that was a LONG time ago), I have never looked back. It gives me the mobility when I want it (not just for note-taking, but for essential PIM management, the added media experience, etc.). Paper, OTOH, still has its role in society. :) I'd see a Pocket PC as a complement to paper, not a replacement.

Ripper014
12-01-2004, 12:50 AM
Don't listen to any of them... you need paper... there is nothing that can replace it... and YOU... you need it. I don't think a PocketPC is in your future...

I'll be honest. While I'm a Pocket PC fanatic, I still doesn't see them as paper replacements just yet, so what you said Ripper014 has some merit to an extent: But I wouldn't rule out a Pocket PC altogether though. There are times when you need paper, and there are times when you need a Pocket PC. Ever since I entered the mobile device market (and that was a LONG time ago), I have never looked back. It gives me the mobility when I want it (not just for note-taking, but for essential PIM management, the added media experience, etc.). Paper, OTOH, still has its role in society. :) I'd see a Pocket PC as a complement to paper, not a replacement.

I don't disagree with anyone posting on this thread... I love my PocketPC... and it does everything that I expect from it... (notice I did not say want...). However... when someone is looking for a reason not to buy one because of the advantages of paper... this person will not be happy with a PocketPC...

I have a friend who can not be convinced to use a PocketPC... addicted to paper.. and uses their brain to record information... I love it when they need a phone number and ask me to retrieve it from my PocketPC... I usually say... "what you can't find it in your pda...? (head) or your PAD... (their answer to a PDA)... and smile...

Don Tolson
12-01-2004, 01:21 AM
I tend to use my iPAQ as a truly 'pocket' PC. I frequently take it to meetings (wtih my Bluetooth keyboard) to take notes, etc., then transfer to the desktop, do final cleanup and distribute within an hour of the meeting finishing.

I've also used my iPAQ to do powerpoint presentations.

As others have posted, it is an essential part of keeping me organized -- not only at work, but including home, kids activities, social occasions, etc. etc. etc.

Unfortunately, it's also become a 'mini-game system' for my wife and kids to play with in the last hours before we go to bed, so it's sometimes difficult to get to it to put in that task I need to remind myself of for the next day.

PoweriPaq
12-01-2004, 01:22 AM
One reason, a TOY. When I first got my ipaq 3955, it was a toy for me rather than an organizer. Organizer 2%, Toy 98%.

Now that I got my PDA phone, which replaced the need to carry two device... 2% Organizer, 25% phone, 3% Alarm, 15% Showing Off with Multimedia to watch Movies that my Palm User friends can't, 50% surfing the internet and the rest of the percentage is a toy (5%).

Eversince I got the PDA Phone, I can't use it as a gamer tools anymore due to an akward position of the buttons and some buttons don't work for games since it's a on hook and off hook button for the phone apps.

I also noticed that people think my pda is just a pda, until I make a call out of it and I surprised quite a few people and starts wondering why would anyone be using a phone as big and heavy as a brick. Thank goodness I have a bluetooth to switch over when my hand gets tired.

So why did I get a PDA in the first place? Mostly to keep me entertained, but now that I got a PDA phone, entertainment just went up. I surf the internet day in and day out with slow GPRS.

Sven Johannsen
12-01-2004, 01:56 AM
To quote Flip Wilson.."Da Debil made me do it."

I got tired of having a calendar and contact list on my work desktop, a calendar and contact list on my home desktop, and a day planner, none of which ever matched. The paper was probably the most complete calendar, but it never reminded me of things, like the PCs did. The work PC probably had the best contact list, but it was never with me. An electronic way of getting them all in sync was needed. Started with an Everex Palm Sized PC and went from there.

Pat Logsdon
12-01-2004, 03:29 AM
My first PDA was a Casio E10 that I happened to spot on the "El-Cheapo" table at my local Office Depot. The box had been opened, it had been returned twice, and was marked down to $78. Throwing caution to the winds and risking righteous wifely wrath, I bought it.

At first, I used it for calendar stuff, and then just as a conversation piece. Then I stopped using it because my company gave me a Franklin planner. I got excited again with the Casio E-125, and haven't looked back since. :)

Until recently, I used paper for general note taking and scribbling/doodling, but I've become hooked on PhatPad in the last few weeks. Now my fountain pen is lonely. ;)

Darius Wey
12-01-2004, 09:40 AM
Until recently, I used paper for general note taking and scribbling/doodling, but I've become hooked on PhatPad in the last few weeks. Now my fountain pen is lonely. ;)

Obviously, the bigger the screen, the better the experience too. ;) PhatPad is definitely a great application. Now I use a stylus-pen instead.

tanalasta
12-03-2004, 03:50 AM
Now my fountain pen is lonely

Actually, seeing as my rather expensive fountainpen hasn't got ink in it - I occasionally use it to write on my pda.

All you need is a decent quality screen protector. There are many times where I can't be bothered getting the stylus out and just write wiht the end of a retractable ballpoint even.

Now on topic:
I got my PPC - why?
1. A lot of my colleagues were getting them. Peer pressure :oops:
2. I really really hate carrying tons of textbooks around - and it impresses everybody when you can look up something in 5 seconds on your pda coz you have the latest guidelines or drug-compendium on something that fits in your pocket.
3. I originally thought I could use it as a cheaper laptop replacement - I was wrong. You can't write presentations on your pda. However, what you can do is proof-read them. Nor can you surf the web at T1 speeds. 8)
4. It has since proven to be a most efficient and effective diary. When it doesn't hard-reset itself :|

gvanjr
12-03-2004, 12:22 PM
Portable pr0n......j/k.

Needed to stop relying on paper alone for contact info and notes. The games and other......things....are just a dsitraction from work.

emuelle1
12-03-2004, 06:27 PM
I'm a geek and I can't resist the gadget.

All that aside, I started with a Franklin Planner. Even the compact size wasn't always easy to lug everywhere, and the $40 a year for refills made me realize how little I use it. My wife gave me a Cassio Cassiopia PV400Plus that she wasn't using anymore, and I started adapting the Franklin system to it. But the interface was older, and I couldn't add anything to it. I looked at the Palm Zire, which was just coming out. I talked my mom into buying me one for Christmas, but the 2 Meg memory just wasn't any fun.

A guy at work was offering an Ipaq 3765 for $120, so I took it. They're just now coming down to that price on Ebay and Amazon, so it was a really good deal.

Over the last year and a half or so, I've experimented with several things. I stick to freeware, and you can find a lot of good and useful programs, but I am drooling over some paid ware. I like that I can take Outlook with me, including my email. I get some newsletters that I never feel like reading at home, but you get dead time while you're out of the house and it's perfect. I keep Pocket E-sword on it, and I've been using that in church rather than carrying a Bible with me since my son was born. My wife doesn't offer to carry my stuff and it's hard to carry books and a baby in a car seat. I can keep .pdf's, ebooks, MP3's to listen to in the car, ... the possibilities are endless.

I still use pen and paper for several things. However, I think the computer was invented for people just like me who are sick of being asked if we can improve our writing. In the Navy, I just started telling everyone "If I couldn't improve my writing for my 3rd grade teacher, I sure can't improve it for you". On the phone, I'll sometimes scribble notes to add to Outlook later.

Now, if only my wife would let me upgrade to something wireless...

I think they're great things, and I recommend them.

drop
12-03-2004, 06:55 PM
It is very reasonable to explore the benefit of a product before committing serious $$$ to it. After all, PDA is not cheap.

You could get more bangs for your bucks if you are willing to explore the functions of a PDA and invest some money in purchasing the many wonderful apps that could really utilize the computing power of the device. PDA could be thought of as a mini computer. So now, you have a little device in your hand that could compute. What could you do with that much POWER 8O :lol:

To me, I got a PDA because I want everything in one place. I like devices, appliances, whathaveyou that serve multiple functions. Pocket PC is that and more. It takes the place of so many things. I can't imagine my life without it.

ipaq_wannabe
12-03-2004, 08:25 PM
....

2 weeks later I purchased my frist PDA and loved it... But spent literally many months going through growing pains learning to make the PDA fully able to completly replace my Day planner and finding add on software that did exactly what I wanted my PDA to do.

....



yes, the learning curves... in my case too - had to go through months (maybe even a year) just making my PDA so useful, and me used to using it (digital input, etc.) to the point that i can completely dump any paper-based whatever. at work, im the only individual that is fully "digital" - no paper notebooks, paper day planners, etc. etc. everything is done through my handhelds (and have about six of them)...

ipaq_wannabe
12-03-2004, 08:26 PM
....

Besides... Once you get use to Cutting and pasting with the information in you use in your daily life like what can be done a on a PDA and than moved to other applications and PIM information, you'll never see life the same with just a PEN! :lol:

well said...

:D

ipaq_wannabe
12-03-2004, 08:30 PM
Don't listen to any of them... you need paper... there is nothing that can replace it... and YOU... you need it. I don't think a PocketPC is in your future...

I'll be honest. While I'm a Pocket PC fanatic, I still doesn't see them as paper replacements just yet, so what you said Ripper014 has some merit to an extent: But I wouldn't rule out a Pocket PC altogether though. There are times when you need paper, and there are times when you need a Pocket PC. Ever since I entered the mobile device market (and that was a LONG time ago), I have never looked back. It gives me the mobility when I want it (not just for note-taking, but for essential PIM management, the added media experience, etc.). Paper, OTOH, still has its role in society. :) I'd see a Pocket PC as a complement to paper, not a replacement.

I don't disagree with anyone posting on this thread... I love my PocketPC... and it does everything that I expect from it... (notice I did not say want...). However... when someone is looking for a reason not to buy one because of the advantages of paper... this person will not be happy with a PocketPC...

I have a friend who can not be convinced to use a PocketPC... addicted to paper.. and uses their brain to record information... I love it when they need a phone number and ask me to retrieve it from my PocketPC... I usually say... "what you can't find it in your pda...? (head) or your PAD... (their answer to a PDA)... and smile...

at least where i work at - im proud to say that whenever people need to find quick information (almost any information), they say "just go to ipaq_wannabe, and with his handheld, he'll have it for you in a jiffy..." and so far, my handheld hasnt failed me (of course, it is our own responsibility to have the information in our handhelds as updated as possible) - so much so that im dubbed as something as a "information repository" - and people usually say when im not with my handheld, "unusual??"

Paula
12-04-2004, 08:46 AM
My main reason for buying a PPC? A bad memory.
The PPC will never replace paper for note taking in class, but if you revise your notes at the end of the day as I do, your PPC (with or without a keyboard) will be a great asset to you. I have all the key points/issues in word and note documents, organized on my PPC for easy reference.

My other main reasons for buying a PPC? Games, books, music (before I bought my ipod), videos. Then there is the mundane stuff like phone numbers, address, special dates, appointments audio reminders, etc.

If you are afraid of the $$ commitment, look for refurbished units.

Oregon Trail
12-04-2004, 09:27 PM
I like things to be efficient and a PPC is very efficient. There are as many uses as you want to make for it. Think of it as carrying the functionality of a PC around with you. What do you use your PC for? You can probably use a PPC for the same uses. My current favorite use is being able to carry around a library and read wherever I am, including dark places. Try doing that with paper and no lights.

uzetaab
12-19-2004, 03:26 PM
Damn. I just realised that I left something out of my earlier post. You can't & wont completely stop using paper.

You'll still use paper in class, but the thing with a PPC is that you will be able to organise your life, in a way that you can't do without either a PPC ar a secretary.

Basically a PPC is a diary. But it also does a whole bunch of other stuff as well.

I wouldn't even try to use one to take notes in class. Unless you were recording a lecture. That they can do quite well.

emuelle1
12-20-2004, 12:45 AM
I still use paper. Often, on the phone, I'll scribble notes on a yellow sticky or anything else in arm's reach. Later, I'll organize anything pertinent into Outlook or my Pocket PC, whichever is closer.

Ripper014
12-20-2004, 03:12 AM
Scribble notes...? Use Phatpad... it is a great replacement for a scribble pad... I have it on the start menu for quick access..