Help me find the right PPC for my wife.

[bwaibel]

Hello all,

I'm a former pocket pc user, I moved to a smartphone because I don't really find that the extra features of PocketPC outweigh the extra size. Because of that switch, I've sort of fallen off of the PPC gadget lust bandwagon, and I'm not really up to date on the market. My wife, however, is in the market for a pocket pc, and all of her friends keep telling her to get a palm. It's all i can do to stall her while i try to find a good device for her, so here is what i think we need...

1. We have a MCE, and all of our music is digital, this is pro number one that i keep telling her about, so the device needs a storage card slot (we have large SD and CF cards), and needs to be able to play music well, tv/movies would be nice, but are not required.

2. She's a nurse, and wants to use the device for some medical software, i've already found a couple packages that she thinks would be great, but this requirement makes me think that good battery life is going to be essential.

3. It has to be small or cute or sexy or all three.

4. It can't lose it's memory when the battery dies like my old one did, she hates that about them, and brings it up every time i mention one.

5. She thinks $300 is way too much to spend, i might be able to fudge by giving it as a gift, but it can't be too expensive or she'll make me take it back. I think $300 is about the max, $200 would be better.

The main problem that I'm having is that I can't find good battery life information on any of the devices I'm considering. Is it reasonable to expect that any device will last for on/off use over a 12 hour work day, and 1 hour of music during a commute? The HP mobile media companions look nice, but are expensive. The Dell X30i is another device that I think fits the bill pretty well, and the X50's seem like they would work as well, but I have no idea how long the battery would last on any of them.

TIA for any help.
-Bryn

[SteveHoward999]

First, Palm still does not seem to have the horsepower or the multimedia capabilities that PPC have. But they can play mp3s and movies.


2. She's a nurse, and wants to use the device for some medical software, i've already found a couple packages that she thinks would be great, but this requirement makes me think that good battery life is going to be essential.


And you can get great medical software for Palm too ... Medicine and PDAs seem to go together very well.


3. It has to be small or cute or sexy or all three.


In the eye of the beholder ...


4. It can't lose it's memory when the battery dies like my old one did, she hates that about them, and brings it up every time i mention one.


That's what a backup is for. You can do a full backup to SD and have it restore in about 5 or 10 minutes.



Personally I think you need to go look at the devices. Near enough anything on the market will do what you ask, but if you wait a couple of months until Windows Mobil 5 is released you will get the opportunity of persistant memory and so not need to care about backups :-)

[jickbahtech]

The T5 might be worth a look. They're coming in pretty cheap now. Not a great PDA, but not a bad one. The screen is really nice, but I've heard they're still a little buggy.
For around the $300 dollar mark I think you're best bet would be either a low spec x50 or an ipaq 2110 or 2410. Both will be more than capable media machines for movies and music (turning the screen off for music will greatlt increase battery life too).
Both are going to be QVGA with dual slot (so both CF and SD cards will work). Neither will have persistant storage right now, but they will once the upgrade to WM5 comes out (maybe in winter? no ones really released any info on when). Personally I like the iPAQ (see my sig), but you'll see the x50 has a much bigger following. I'm just guessing, but I think the 2415 would have better battery life (though with that kind of work day a car charger would be a good idea), but I think the x50 looks "sexier" (though my 2750 isn't without its charm).
I would avoid the x30 and mobile media companions since they wont be getting the WM5 upgrade.

Getting ALL of the features you're looking for might not be do able under $300, but right around that price point shouldn't be unreasonable. Once she starts using one I don't think she'll mind an extra $50 or so. :wink:

[Menneisyys]

I would avoid the x30 ... since they wont be getting the WM5 upgrade.

But they are dirt cheap (on eBay, x30 Mid sells generally under 150 bucks), and if you don't need the capabilities of WM5, can be a very good alternative.

For around 300 bucks, you should go for the x50v on eBay.

[tut00]

I have recently switched from a Palm T5 to an iPaq hx2415... While I have been a palm fan for many years, I felt that they have not been keeping up with technology. Now, they have released life drive, and maybe there is hope.

Back to the point... The T5 does offer the ability to keep you data in the event of a power loss, which is nice, and will acomplish most of the tasks you ask of it as well as the PPC. However if Wifi is an interest (my main reason for the switch), then the T5 is not for you. I have been looking on ebay (to sell my T5) and think you can get one at a reasonable price.

If you are interested, PM me and we can see if we can work something out. I also have a vaja case which i was going to sell as well.

-John

[Darius Wey]

Back to the point... The T5 does offer the ability to keep you data in the event of a power loss...

Once your hx2415 gets the Windows Mobile 5 upgrade, it will be able to do the same. :)

[tut00]

And I can't Wait!!!!

[bwaibel]

Thanks all,

There are a number of reasons that I won't consider a Palm. I never thought I'd get so many recommendations to do just that on this forum!

Any way, that aside, I think the x50 entry level should do everything she wants. I just wish I could find more anecdotal evidence of what the battery experience will be like before I buy one.

Bueller?

[tut00]

While I do not have an Dell, I can tell you that I don't think that I would be able to make it through an entire day without some type of charge. But again, thats me and I am a very, very heavy user. I also use my wifi and bluetooth quite frequently.

But if its not used all the time, or you can find some time to charge it during breaks/lunch, you will probably be ok.

I guess you will just have to wait and see.

Have you posted a question to the axim forum??

-John

[xiaoxin]

it is also worth your while to have a look at asus'Mypal-A620+,if there is selling in your country.
however it is not unbeatable,a quite fast processor as its core so that to deal with Audio, Image and Video with ease.its screen show us smoothly with embedded WM2003.
apperance looks like cutely.we have no reason to believe of asus's manufacture.
most of all its price is only a bit more than 200$, you can regard it as a sort of choice if you like.[/quote]