What Got You Started In Powerful Mobile Devices?

[Ed Hansberry]

I am curious as to what your first PDA style device was, limiting it to devices made with ultra-portability in mind, those with a specially designed OS with instant on capabilities, not just a desktop OS shoehorned into a small formfactor.

[Phillip Dyson]

My very first device was the Psion Revo. I thought EPOC was a great OS, but ultimately I didn't see too much of a future in Psion hardware.

My next device was the iPaq 3600.

[Jason Dunn]

My first "real" mobile device was a Velo 1. Ah, those were the days - broken hinges were the all the rage.

[racerx]

I got started with the Sharp Wizard many moons ago. Then had a Psion 3c, and progressed through several Palm models before starting my foray into Pocket PCs with the iPAQ 3600. I'm currently on my 5th iPAQ model! 8O

[Small Town Man]

My very first was an Epson Handy Terminal (see attached picture)
The device was runnig CP/M had an detachable printer, barcode scanner and a touchscreen (there was a device with rubber keys too).
The program had to be flashed into an EPROM ...
http://compispezi.homeip.net/handyterminal.jpg

[profe]

Early Cassiopeia (105, I think), (pre-B-300) bricklette. Best indoor screen, worthless in the sun. EB holster case on belt, super-geek style, made my pants hang low, like when I was in high school in North Hollywood. 8)

Currently using HP 4700 on belt in an EB holster--I love the magnetic closure!

[surur]

I started with a Palm IIIe, and I used it for everything. I was surfing the web via IR and a mobile phone, I was keeping all my shopping lists, keeping all my passwords, even printing via IR.

I'm not sure I would call a early Palm a powerful mobile device however. Even then I was lusting after an HP PDA.

Surur

[Jonathan1]

See my history below...

[jimwilliams]

My first powerful mobile device was a Post Slide Rule. Didn't have to charge it and I could read it to 17 decimal places! Then bought a four banger calculator ~ 1971. Ahh, life was good. Then got into programable calculators - owned 5 or 6 HP's. I was doing things faster than my co-workers could do on the TSO. I was then given a HandSpring Delux (8MB), but we won't talk about that machine except to say I did write a note to my Dad on it once while sitting on the China Wall. And then came the PPC!!!! Wow! I gave my HP-48SX away when I bought my first - a Compaq Aero (black & white). Imagine - excell spreadsheets on the go!!! And then I got a Dell X5 - Yahoo! - Color!! Also got a GPS CF card for the Dell. Now I'm using an Ipaq 2215. I needed faster graphics with a newer GPS program. This little PPC is still serving me well so I have no present plans to up grade. i.e. - I don't know of any newer PPC that can do anything that I need any better than my 2215. Man, I'm glad to live in this time of age!! - Oh, did I tell you I'm an engineer? - Jim Williams

[RobrechtV]

My dad used to buy the latest Psion handhelds, so the second latest always went to me. I started with an "Organiser II" with two rows of screen characters, then a second generation Organiser II with a four row screen, then a series 3 and finally a series 3a when he got his series 5.

I used to program a lot for the Organiser II, including a graphical menu system like the one on the Series 3 ("mCard" or something) and an OPL version of Streetfighter II!! That last project never really took off, unfortunately. You may remember that "graphics" on the Organiser consisted of eight (8!) user-definable 8x5 pixel characters... cutting edge...

I have a Qtek 9090 now, by the way.

[billbuckner]

Apple Newton MessagePad 2000, unless you count the HP-41 CV
http://www.hpmuseum.org/3qs/41c3q.jpg

[alese]

I started with original 128Kb Palm Pilot in 1997, then upgraded to PalmPro and added the OS3 2Mb upgrade module to get it on par with Palm III.

Palm lost me when they released Palm V - big dissapointment, no color same basic HW as Palm III, went to WindowsCE and never looked back...

[Mark Kenepp]

I remember a similar thread (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12416) a few years back.

Oh those Casio Databank Watches :)

[bbarker]

This is the best-designed poll of this type I remember.

Oh those Casio Databank Watches :)
I had several of those! They were great. Before that, back in the 1980s, I had a calculator-style device the size of 2 or 3 credit cards stacked up. It was my watch and phone book.

I got a Cassiopea A-11, one of the first Windows CE devices, as soon as it came out. I saw it at the Comdex where it was introduced and drove over to a Las Vegas computer store and bought one that night. It was a small clamshell model. Soon afterward Casio released the E-10, its first PDA-style model. My son has that one now and it still stands up pretty well against today's form factors. It seems it was about as small as my X50v and lighter. But the screen was dim, especially when you needed the backlighting.

From there I went to a Cassiopea E-105, the early color model. I left the company that gave me that and replaced it with a Compaq Aero, a thin black and white model. Two weeks later I left it on top of my car when I drove away. I got another E-105 to replace it because I wanted the color and speed more than the smaller size. But then Microsoft announced the Pocket PC so I returned the E-105 and went back to that reliable E-10 while I awaited the PPC's April release.

I got an HP Jornada 468 the day they became available. I eventually replaced it with a Jornada 568, which I loved. I was pretty ripped when HP bought Compaq and did away with the Jornada line, which met my needs better than the iPaqs of that day. It wasn't until a year ago that I finally replaced the Jornada with a Dell Axim X50v, which is the most solid and reliable PPC I have owned.

This is a fun trip down memory lane.

[Craig Horlacher]

Back when the only handheld people knew was the palmpilot I got the hp omnigo 120 and absolutly loved it! Far more functionality than any palm at the time. Loads of buiilt in utilities and applications. I still think there has never been a handheld with as many useful tools built in. For instance:
- word processor (no spell check though)
- spread sheet
- database (you could actually create data entry forms in it)
- advanced scientific calculator with graphing and unit conversions
- jotter tool for quick notes in "ink" or text
- and many more I can't remember

[AKAJohnDoe]

First post in this thread (http://discussion.brighthand.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=775877) describes my PDA's ancestry.

[brianchris]

Sony PIC-1000 with the "Magic Cap" OS.

That was quickly followed by a PSion series 5 which lasted awhile, then a PlamV which did NOT last awhile.

Jumped over to PocketPC's the first couple months after they launched and have never looked back.

[KTamas]

I almost bought an Motorola A008, but I've ended up with an Compaq IPAQ 3670. With CF-Sleeve. That thing was BIG, just really big...but it was a good device. And just on the second day, I just found a little switch on the bottom of the device, and I already knew that the power button just suspends the device, so I said something like "Yay, a true power off! I can get more battery life! Let my try this...". And there goes my first accidental hard reset...you should've seen my face when i was turning on the device with that little switch and i was finding out that I've just deleted everything from my PDA...

(or, you can count some no-name "data bank" I've had, with a basic calculator, and you could enter something like 100 names and phone numbers. If you dropped it, or hit it a bit harder, it forgot everything...)

[SailingNut]

I got started with the first digital credit card calculators that could store names & phone #s.

The closest real mobile handheld was the Sharp Zaurus - which I still have and open affectionately on occasion. It had some great speed entry capabilities and the first Excel-like spreadsheet.

I've had 7 pocket PCs since then from the Cassiopeia E110 to my current Dell X50v.

More - bettter - faster!!!!

[JLittle1]

My first 'portable' computing device was a Osborne but my first handheld was a HP95LX with DOS and Lotus 123. It was a great device with excellent calendaring and address book software. The keyboard has yet to be matched in any device since... Other devices were some other HP device running Windows, an Apple Newton, a Palm, a Handspring then a HP Jornada. Now I am using a Dell x30 but thinking seriously about going the HTC Universal or waiting until the new Treo comes out.

[bugsy]

hp 95/100/200lx. Those were some great devices and in some respects well ahead of there times.

[snayar]

I started long ago when the Casio Boss ruled the earth! but since that didn't have a touchscreen I then should mention that I actually started out with a Texas Instruments Avigo (http://www.ti.com/avigo/) which strangely enough still has online support!!!

I also still keep my Avigo somewhere in my closet. :lol:

Best wishes for all!!! :)

[kudron]

I had an Atari Portfolio...

[cmariotti]

Atari Portfolio was ahead of it's time by a long shot. What a great little machine.

HP 48SX (really a glorified calculator)

Philips Nino, again, great machine... Just stopped using it 2 years ago.

Never had any of them break on me, used them for years.

Of course, my iPaq 4150 is now busted, have had it for just under 1 year and the SD slot is toast. No reason, just stopped working one day.

Miniturization comes at a cost of fragility.

[pstork]

I started out with a PDA called the Casio B.0.S.S.

[Thinkingmandavid]

I started with a Psion Revo. It was great and typing on the keyboard was easy, but it went bad.
Two weeks after I purchased my Revo, I also purchased an IBM (palm V basically) and used it until it would not work. For a time period I switched between the two. I then went to a ppc, but I cannot remember the model of the first one but right now I am on a 1710 (because of warranty exchange I got less from best buy).

[jgrnt1]

My first was a Sharp Wizard. When I lost it, I bought a Rolodex Rex. As limited as the Rex was, it was still incredible, no thicker than the PC Card connector which was on one edge. You could sync it by putting it into a PC Card slot (the Rex itself went in the slot, not an adapter). Then I got a Palm IIIxe. Next was an iPAQ 3650, with way too many extras -- the stock CF sleeve, two Silver Sliders, a Krussell CF case and a CF to PC Card adapter. After that I had a Toshiba e550g -- great device with an excellent 4 inch screen, but the lack of Toshiba support killed it. Replaced it with a iPAQ 2215 and then my current iPAQ 4700.

[gregmills]

The Texas Instruments Avigo (http://www.ti.com/avigo/)!

It kicked its peers by Palm in every area but got exactly zero marketing. It had a bigger screen, soft input area, predictive input, T9. It rotated into landscape mode. It had a wicked cool integrated flip cover.

The developer community got some momentum going for a while but in the end couldn't keep up third party software that was coming out for the Palm.

Here's the Gadgeteer review (http://static.the-gadgeteer.com/Avigo-review.html) if you've never heard of it before. It was awesome!

[Mr. PPC]

My first "real" mobile device was a Velo 1. Ah, those were the days - broken hinges were the all the rage.

That was my fisrt one too, It was also when I first met Jason. :D

[wizardmaster2k]

As a sophmore in High school, I saw the Casio EM-500. Pocket Doom!! Hells yea, then I went from there..

[Zidane]

My first was a TI-95 calculator which I programmed with some basic PIM functions. I eventually graduated to a Palm III (really just an upgraded Palm Pro) when I started working with Franklin Covey tech support. Then, I was customer #11 with the Handspring Visor. After that broke, I moved into the PocketPC camp, where I'm going to stay.

[vmobilesoftware]

I started with Sharp ZQ-M402 128Kb and still waiting for a Pocket PC in the same form factor :)

Sharp ZQ-M402->HP Jornada 525->iPAQ 2215->iPAQ 4700

[sickens]

i worked retail where we sold alot of PDA's, and i remember when the casiopia e-125 came out and i was impressed with what pocket pc's seemed to offer. Well, then out came some more powerful ipaq's and they were way outa my price range and I really didn't actually pull the trigger on one myself untill the toshiba e310 came out (late 2001?)... i still paid about $500 for it and it didn't do a whole lot, but i used it religiously - now my wife uses it for an organizer, it's still in use today!

toshiba e310 > hp ipaq 2210 > toshiba e740 > dell axim x50v & Bell Blackberry 7250

[arnage2]

For me it all started with the Handspring Visor Deluxe 8mb. Eventually i moved to pocketpc for its more advanced multimedia. Then kept going back and forth between PPC and Palm os5 devices.

[epdm2be]

I started with a Psion LZ64. Then much later I bought myself a Psion Series 5
especially since I was Acorn dealer at that time and Acorn also sold rebranded Psion PDA's under their own name (series 3 and 3a).

I later gave the black Series 5 to my dad and bought a 5MX which had a nicer tone of grey instead of the rubberized black (which sometimes peeled off). I loved these machines.

When I finally sold my 5MX to my dad I bought a HP Jornada 568. This was my first Pocket PC. I hated it. It had the well-known dust under screen problem asociated with many Ipaq's and Jornada's. Again i sold this with a GPS antenna to my dad because he wanted a true GPS-receiving unit. Especially since I was unable to find a GPS antenna for his Psion 5 MX. I bought the black series 5 back because he having 2 Psions was simply ridiculous and I allways prefered the Psions functionality above the Jornada. Though featurewise I thought the HP Jornada was way batter then all the **** that apeared after the compaq take-over.

Now this PPC is in use by my stepsister who still uses this as her agenda and GPS navigator. I have no idea whether she actually can see a road through all the pile of dust that must be crawling all over her screen now ;-) I also shortly had a Toshiba E800 which went broke. The shop refunded me though I'd rather would have wanted a new E800 since this was the first PPC which I actually liked. This because of the troubles associated with Toshiba leaving the PDA-market. In the end I bought an Asus 620BT GPS-kit which was at that time the a powerfull and fast QVGA PPC (for pocket gaming) and the price was right for bundle with GPS antenna. This device is still in use today. Even with my current car which now has a CD-based navigation system more to do because I can't get the dumbjack sold for a decent price.

I doubt if I'll buy another PDA if the surrent one breaks down because my current car has an in-car navigation system which is good enough for me. I loved the Psion machines but I hated the PPC. I always had problems with them. They freeze, they broke down too easy (I have my 2nd Asus right now; the first one had a dead pixel in the middle o/t screen). I still hate them but I tollerate them because they where the cheapest sollution for GPS navigation compared to in-car systems.

As for the future. I currently own a IMHO very well-equiped GSM not smartphone though I did use a Sendo X for a short time... the bugger broke down as well though I did like it. Again I got a refund instead of a new Sendo X :-( Anyway The Sony K750i that I currently own has a well-enough agenda, can play some nice java games though it ain't a PSP yet, has a teriffic camera and has a good enough MP3-radio player... and I can telephone to you ;-) So why would I need another PPC again?

Regards,

EPDM

[alabij]

Well apart from the databank calculators my first true PDA was the Palm IIIc. Wow, then I thought it was just freaking cool to have so much power in my pocket. Pictures applications, you name it the palm had it then. Sadly I sat on it and it cracked.
Then I moved on to a couple of touch screen PDA phones. One was from LG via Sprint. Then I moved on to the most beautiful phone ever: Kyocera QCP 6035. It was a palm but it was great. It had a wonderful form factor.

One day while watching TechTV, Microsoft showcased the Pocket PC Phone Edition. I couldn't sleep for weeks. So I went to Best Buy and got me one. I've never looked back at Palm since then.

Now I have the IPAQ 6315. A shameful device but I got a contract with T-Mobile so I don't want to leave

[Bruno Figueiredo]

My first device was a Philips pocket calculator that could store up to 50 phone numbers. Then, it was a Casio DataBank 16kb (A10 if I recall right). It could backup to a PC with a serial cable. Then I upgraded it to a new DataBank with 32Kb.

My first PPC was a Toshiba e570, that I upgraded a month ago to a K-Jam.

[KISSONLINEMobile]

My first was the Casio Zoomer, running the Geoworks OS.

I still have it around here somewhere... :D

[jnajera]

The magical Palm M100, I have been chasing the dragon since and now am a full blown gagitolic. :pimp:

[bigkingfun]

My first "powerful" device (although I use that term loosely) was a Palm Pilot (Professional I think?) that was upgraded with extra memory and an IR interface to make it similar to a Palm III.

I did have a credit-card sized device that held names and phone #'s before that, however. If I recall, it had 32K of memory and I couldn't conceive of ever filling that up.

Come to think of it, I had a Timex Datalink watch before the Palm. I remember holding my wrist up to the monitor while flashing lines programmed it for me. No Activesync problems back then :)

[wirelessbeachbum]

Wow this brings back memories...my first device was the Casio BOSS... You know I still like the design on that device. Then came the Phillips Nino my first Microsoft powered device.

Phillips Nino (the monochrome screen)
HP Jornada 468 (my first Color Screen)
Kyocera 6035 (my first Palm OS)
HP Jornada 568 (still own with about 3k in accessories...any bidders?)
Samsung i300
Treo 300
Samsung i700
Blackberry 6750
Samsung i600
Blackberry 7750

My two current devices are:
Audiovox xv6600
Blackberry 7250

These devices are just the ones I personnally carried, whoever I have used just about everything that has been out because of the nature of my job.

[yvilla]

The Franklin eBookman.

[cal_j]

It was great to say that I started out with the Apple Newton Messagepad. For being just a kid with another "toy" it worked great! It was retired into the box for one of the Palms. Traded that for a junk labtop & now i'm where I am today. HP iPaq rx3115. Useful for many things good & bad
:wink:

[WyattEarp]

My first device was the Sharp Wizard OZ-7000. That was a while back.

[Steve Jordan]

I started out with one of the credit-card sized organizers. Sure, I put names and numbers in there, but I really used the Notes section. At the time, I had a chemical-related field job, and I put copious chem notes in there! I used them as long as they lasted... they were always flimsy, and sooner or later, you always broke the screen, and that was it. I do consider them the first PDAs, simple as they were.

From there, I got the Casio Zoomer (rebranded by Radio Shack), which I used to write my first novel, and experiment with e-books. (I still think Geoworks was an OS that could have gone the long haul.) From there, the TI Avigo, then the Diamond Mako, to my present e330 PPC.

[wirelessbeachbum]

I started out with one of the credit-card sized organizers. Sure, I put names and numbers in there, but I really used the Notes section. At the time, I had a chemical-related field job, and I put copious chem notes in there! I used them as long as they lasted... they were always flimsy, and sooner or later, you always broke the screen, and that was it. I do consider them the first PDAs, simple as they were.



I never broke one...but I think mine got machine washed....

[Jerry Raia]

HP71B. I still have it and use it from time to time. OK I'm old too. :lol:

[rickd94]

Started with HP 95LX, and it was a long time ago

still have and use the HP 200LX

[daS]

I'm surprised that your survey left out one of the most sucessful handheld computers ever: The HP 95/100/200LX series.

These were the DOS-based devices that started selling in 1991 and many are still in use today.

I bought a 95LX to give its "electronic organizer" features a try. By the time the 100LX came out I was hooked and in 1994 I started my own company to sell software and hardware accessories for the HP LX series. That business did well even after the first generation of Windows CE Handheld PCs hit the market.

Sadly, HP gave up on the 200LX type device. If they hadn't I'm absolutelty sure that they would have produced an OQO-like machine five years ago. :?

[Steve Jordan]

Frankly, I was a bit surprised the Newton was in the survey, and the Zoomer wasn't. But hey, there were a lot of those second generation PDAs, and most of them received so little notice outside of their dedicated users. If the Doonesbury strip hadn't singled out the Newton to make fun at, it might not be in this survey either.

But mostly, I was surprisd that the mention of the credit card sized PDAs wasn't in the survey. I consider those to be the first generation of PDAs. First generation was marked primarily by the fact that they were not designed to be expandable, so you were stuck with a small set of functions. But as those could include contacts, time and appointments (with alarms), notes, built-in radios, ring-tone generators, file folders, and displays ranging from 1 to 5 lines of text, they could be pretty functional.

[Ed Hansberry]

I'm surprised that your survey left out one of the most sucessful handheld computers ever: The HP 95/100/200LX series.

Really? More successful than the Palm III, the iPAQ 3600, the Dell Axim X5? I had no idea they were that popular. Of course, I did say not just a desktop OS shoehorned into a small formfactor. :wink:

My first device was a Nini 320, the 8MB device with the modem included. Even back then I could find a fax line and borrow it to dial into the LAN, use Windows CE Services to sync with my desktop PC that I left logged in and sync.

[Jonathon Watkins]

The Psion Siena and then the Psion Revo before Pocket PCs. I have them on a shelf here beside me. :)

[wirelessbeachbum]

I'm surprised that your survey left out one of the most sucessful handheld computers ever: The HP 95/100/200LX series.

Really? More successful than the Palm III, the iPAQ 3600, the Dell Axim X5? I had no idea they were that popular. Of course, I did say not just a desktop OS shoehorned into a small formfactor. :wink:

My first device was a Nini 320, the 8MB device with the modem included. Even back then I could find a fax line and borrow it to dial into the LAN, use Windows CE Services to sync with my desktop PC that I left logged in and sync.

I used a Socket Digital phone card pluged into the CF slot of my Nino to connect to the internet over the wireless network. It was a QNC connection at 14k but was pretty impressive at the time.

I used the same socket connection for years to connect to my company connection using my HP's and terminal services. I would activate customers phones using these programs..it was quite funny now, because I would type and wait for the system to catch up with me...talk about lag time.

[MadBison]

HP95LX, then HP100LX, then HP200LX. Still have the 200LX, but it is just an automatic infrared device now.

I WISH I could find an equivalent to the "Solver" calculator on the 200LX. I cannot find anything anywhere. You could type in a formula, name all of your variables, and then you could give the calculator values for any of the values, and when it had enough, it would figure out the remaining value(s). You could give it the answer, and all but one of the values for the formula, and then it would figure out the missing value. Very handy for "What if" scenarios.

David

[WorksForTurkeys]

Not counting the HP, TI, and Casio programmable calculators (I still have the HP65, 80, & 85), I think my first PDA-ish unit was a Sinclair..now I feel old.

[Jerry Raia]

I almost forgot my HP41 and HP75D :mrgreen:

[gary]

HP 95LX then 100LX They were great!

[Renius]

I started with a Atari Portfolio with MSDOS 2.11 in 1.990

[PR.]

Started with a Psion 3c then went to a Series 5 then the 5mx. Still the best PDA I've ever used it might not be able to play videos or music but when I start writing a Word Document I know I will finish without needing a reset.

[martin_ayton]

Psion 3 -> Psion 3a -> Psion 5 -> Psion 5mx -> Xda2s

Oh boy I loved thosed Psions, particularly the last one. There is still nothing to beat the 5's keyboard: it wipes the floor with my Stowaway BT keyboard. I liked word processors that were worthy of the name: soft resetting so infrequently that I had to look up the manual to find how to do it; being able to run a month on 2 penlight batteries; a stylus that was comfortable to use, and which stayed in the dock after well over a year's heavy use.

What killed it for me in the end was the lack of development of the sync software meaning I was increasingly less able to sync with modern versions of outlook. Also, I needed a converged device: I want to pick up my wallet, my keys, and my 'phone and be good to go.

I still miss my Psion...

[Don't Panic!]

An HP Joranda 545 was my first real "Powerful PDA" I had an electronic organizer before that but it was just an address book, calendar, calculator type of thing, Hardly powerful.

[pocketpcadmirer]

i first got into digital organiser when i was just 9(i dunno why the hell i needed a organiser at that small age)..perhaps i had to satify my geek desire.
As you can see in my signature wen I got 14 years old I got Palm zire 71..then I bought ipaq 2215 on my trip to malaysia(nice clean country)..3 months ago, when [b]I got 89.5% in my exams, my father bought me a XDA O2 mini.
And there are 4 phones too on my list !!

Sunny :)

[caddesigner]

I am curious as to what your first PDA style device was, limiting it to devices made with ultra-portability in mind, those with a specially designed OS with instant on capabilities, not just a desktop OS shoehorned into a small formfactor.

I started with a Sharp Wizard, My first true Pocket PC was the Casio E15.

[spiderprof]

I started with an HP 200LX, which I still use regularly. This was followed by an HP Jornada 568, which I use everyday. I find both useful but for different things: The 200LX has been filled with many robust DOS programs I use for biology research & teaching (e.g database, statistical analysis, spreadsheet, word processing), while the Jornada has a similar (but smaller) set of applications, though with things like TextMaker and PlanMaker on board, I can work on the SAME Word and Excel files I have on my office PC without conversion, unlike with the LX. And of course, by having the Jornada in its cradle when I am in the office, appts and so forth in Outlook are immediately available on the Jornada when I have to leave due to ActiveSync.

[Faenad]

My first serious device was a HP38G Graphing calculator.
First "pda" was an Oregon Osaris (a Psion "clone"). Great device, I used it a lot and have great memory of Epoc.

[Rob Alexander]

Velo 1 was my first device. I lived in New Zealand at the time and had it shipped in from the US at no small cost. I had been going back and forth between buying that and a Palm Pilot, but Jason's online review of the Velo 1 was the deciding factor for me and I've been using WinCE devices (and listening to Jason) ever since.

[Ken Mattern]

My first was the HP handheld Jornada. I still have it and it still works! From there I moved to the first Jornada Pocket PC and it still goes on. Right now I have, all are running, the original Jornada 445, an Original (sample only) @migo, two Dell x50's, a second generation Jornada 465, an old iPAQ and an iPAQ 5455.

I think that's it!

Ken

[clbsvi]

Started with a Palm Pilot IIIe. Then an IPAQ Aero 2185. Then an IPAQ H3765 with an attached "Sled" with an extra battery and a PC/CF card slot w/256MB CF card. All still work but the H3765 batteries are dying. Current device is an IPAQ hx2495 using the same 256MB CF card. WiFi on this device works great with a companion Centrino Toshiba M45-S269 laptop. BlueTooth DOES NOT WORK on either the Toshiba or the new IPAQ. IMHO, Bluetooth sucks like a deep space vacuum and should be outlawed for all but the most dedicated Geeks. I thought I was a fairly competent Geek myself until I started trying to make BlueTooth work. My suggestion: Flush BlueTooth and go exclusively to WiFi with the ability to run the WiFi power output up and down with a software-type slider control, to save battery drain. Current IPAQ hx2495 is a continuation of the excellent HP 2110/2115 line and works great except for the blankety-blank BlueTooth.

[tigger8740]

The VERY first mobile device I ever used was an HP LX200. DOS 5 Based... The first mobile device I purchased was an HP OmniGo. loved it. Moved to a Casio Cassiopia, then, several Palms and am now using a work provided HP 4350.

[tigger8740]

I remember a similar thread (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12416) a few years back.

Oh those Casio Databank Watches :)

DoH! I forgot about those! I had one and everyone was geeking out over it!

[desertrat_blog]

Why is WinCE (all versions) included in the list of choices? The introduction says "not just a desktop OS shoehorned into a small formfactor", WinCE machines are clearly such a beast. I remember when the first WinCE machines came out, MS stated their goal was to bring the Windows experience to the palm top. In this respect they have largely succeeded as the two most important features of Windows - bugs and instability - have been faithfully implemented in WinCE.