device advice for keeping a personal diary/blog

[mperetz]

I'm trying to figure out which form factor to buy.
My goal is to get a device - PDA/Smartphone/laptop, whatever.
I want to be able to open it, type in my thoughts and my experiences - and shut it off.
I want to spend less than $1,000 and I use Apple computers.

I don't really want to wait for boot-up times. I don't own a smartphone or PDA at the moment.

I just want something with a good, full-sized keyboard that I can use anywhere. I don't have to be "online" to create the entries - I can post them to my existing blog later - via Wi-Fi or whatever.

I'm having doubts that I'd be comfortable using a two-piece set-up like a Palm TX or pocket pc with a wireless keyboard. It sounds a bit cumbersome and clumsy - especially since I will probably be doing some of this typing from my bed, which is when I end up thinking a lot.

I know I can get a used 12" powerbook or iBook - but I'm a bit scared of buying used. And then you have to go through lengthy start-up/shut-down... I would also have to get a used one at the under 1000 price point. And frankly I'd rather not spend nearly that much!

anything I get MUST be OS X compatible - it's what I use on my main computers

[burtcom]

For jotting down "thoughts" I don't think you need or really want a full-size keyboard -- assuming you want a small device you can keep with you to use when your muse strikes :)

I find that my Windows Mobile phone with a slide-out keyboard works fine in this case.

So take a look at devices like the ETEN M700 and the many HTC phones with slide-out keyboards.

[r@dimus]

A laptop might not be such a bad idea in your case. Instead of fully shutting down when you're done you can configure it to put itself into a standby mode when you close the lid. It takes a good bit less time for a laptop to come out of standby that for a full startup.

If you're going to use a laptop in bed you'll probably want some kind of lap desk for it. If you're going to have a lap desk then it would be easy to use a PDA and keyboard combo. I have a Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard for my Dell X51v and they work very well together. Add a Bluetooth mouse and it's even better.

[Brad Adrian]

I agree that the current Bluetooth keyboards are pretty comfortable to use with a Pocket PC. My complaint, though, is that it can sometimes take a minute or so to activate the Bluetooth radio, make the connection with the keyboard, start the driver, etc. It's still faster than booting WinXP, but it's not usually a "flip-it-open-and-start-typing" experience.

If you enjoy actually writing with pen and paper, like many writers do, you might think about using an application like Calligrapher for handwriting recognition. It's not nearly as fast as typing, but the recognition is remarkably quick and accurate.