PDA-fi: Recommend Me a PDA?

[dj_mocok]

Well, not really for me, but for my partner. She just got a new job as a secretary, and she's been a "pen&paper&post-its" person all her life.

I know that a simple PDA is better for her since it's easy to use, but I'm just wondering, if it's too simple, will it be too simple for office-use? (and most importantly, will it be reliable? worst thing can happen is if the thing suddenly stops working and all your infos are in there)

I was looking at Palm Z22, it's so cheap and looks like very user friendly, but is it really useful enough?

I don't know, I've never used PDAs before, so I got no idea. Which PDA do you recommend, and why?

PS: Don't care about mp3, video, etc... most important is it's a very solid personal assistant. Well, maybe if it is compatible with softwares that business people use, then it's a plus. (what programs do business/office people use?)

Thanks.

 

[Bizzel]

If you want something that gets the job done without the need for endless tweaing, get a Palm. The only downside I can see is that you used to have to use Graffiti to enter data (there's always the on-screen keyboard of course, but I mean in terms of handwriting), I don't know if that's the case anymore.

 

[nismo96]

I'm a big PalmOS user and can wholeheartedly recommend a Z22 or other entry level model for basic PIM use. I'm not in love with the basic Palm Desktop app, you can also choose the much superior MS Outlook, or even sync to an online calendar such as Google or Yahoo's calendar. If your friend wants to carry around Word, Excel, or other office documents, I would probably recommend a Palm Tungsten E2 or similar device since it will be bundled with a nice office suite. Graffiti isn't hard to learn so don't be afraid of the learning curve involved there.

 

[dj_mocok]

The Palm Z22 has very attractive price, but feature-wise it looks very simple (it kinda worries me, lol). But really, the main purpose is to have organiser, birthdays, to do lists, reminders, a bit of note-taking (eg. during meeting), personal memo...

I don't think there is a need for checking emails/word documents using the palm.

What she worries more is, what if the PDA suddenly died and she has all the data inside?
Is there such feature as "one touch backup", so every end of the day, she can just connect the PDA to a PC, and then press button, and every info will be saved into the PC, so if it's broken, she still can see everything from PC?

Plus it only has 20MB memory (non-expandable), I don't know whether it's a lot or not. Maybe you can store lots of birthdays, but how much personal memo can you store in that thing?

 

[nismo96]

The Z22 is more stylus/touchscreen dependent since it has only two function buttons rather than the four buttons other models offer. That's not a big issue since you can access all the built-in or 3rd party apps you put on the PDA via it's interface.

As for backing up the device, hotsync it as often as you want and you'll have the data on the PC.

 

[dj_mocok]

So does it come with it's own software for hotsync, so that you can view everything using PC quite easily? (I assume it's pretty hard trying to view the whole to do list and reminded by reading it in a form of long list of word document)

 

[dj_mocok]

So you guys reckon Z22 is good enough already? I read from the reviews that some people's units broke down after a year of use. I know it's cheap PDA but this is a bit concerning.

 

[nismo96]

As you know, the Internet is full of complaints by people who are upset that something doesn't work. People with no problems seldom jump online to praise their >$100 purchase. The Z22 isn't a top of the line unit, but should stand fine to normal use.

 

[Edwood]

Get something with a thumb board like the Treo or something. (I don't know which current Palm has a thumb board.) If your partner is not technically inclined (if she's a post it note gal, then I'm guessing no.), she will probably get frustrated with graffiti really fast.

I gave my wife all my old PDA's, my old Palm V, my old Clie T615. They all just collected lint in the bottom of her purse. Nearly every PDA has syncing software to back everything up, so I wouldn't worry about it. Better yet, get a PDA with non volatile NAND flash memory, so if it runs out of power, you don't lose all of your data.

-Ed

 

[dj_mocok]

The Z22 has non volatile memory, but what's difficult about Graffiti? I never used PDA before so I'm not sure.

 

[dj_mocok]

Wow... I tried grafiti 2 demo, and it's so frustating. Basically I have to learn how to write all over again.

Maybe it is indeed better to get a PDA with thumbboard.
But most of them are expensive ones I see.


PS: Even if you eventually get used to it, will it effect your handwriting style in real life?

 

[varro]

I would test the pda before buying. I liked ipaq more than palm. I had Ipaq 3630 about five years a go, and recently tested palm z22. For example Palm's screen was far worse, and the pc-software was quite bad.

 

[firefox360]

Here are reviews on various Palm OS handhelds:

http://palminfocenter.com/news/3628/...phone-reviews/

They might help you out with making a decision. Really though, Palm OS is pretty much the same across the board for all Palm handheld, so the differences between the models in terms of OS functionality isn't that different, just mainly hardware differences.

I myself personally use a Palm Tungsten T3, which I believe is the last of the truly great Palm handhelds. It still has a faster processor than most of the current Palm models (exception would be the LifeDrive). In terms of a Palms ability as an organizer, it is truly superb with everything you need, yet it's also simple at the same time. Although with that said, I think Palm in crippling it's new organizers and rather concentrates all it's efforts towards its smartphones. They've pretty much forgotten about the market that started their business.

 

[KenW]

I ditched my PocketPC for a smart phone. It's the way things are headed. Having a phone/PDA/PPC in one device is my choice. I'm presently using the XV6700 and couldn't be happier.

 

[carlosgp]

I have used both Pocket PC and Palm platforms. I like both, but each one has its strenghts.
Palm: my favourite model was the T3. Compact, strong and very well constructed. I like it better than the recent T|Xs. By the way, I do not like treos.
Pocket PC: I use a HP HX4700. Wonderful 640x480 screen! The best I have seen. Perfect for ebook reading. VGA pdas are nice to use with Pocket Informant, IMO the best PIM in any platform. Fujitsu-Siemens Pocket Loox n560 is a nice recent VGA model with GPS. HTC P3300 is an all-in-one powerhouse. It has GPS and phone included in a really small size.