Im looking into buying myself a PDA. I wanted some feedback from you guys here at the board to see what your opinions are.

the three I am looking into buying are the Dell Axim, the toshiba e335, and the Palm 515.

Any other suggestions? Feedback on these three?

What belongs to PDA?

What belongs to PDA?

People on this board are so picky

Well, what are you looking for? There must be a reason you're looking at those three, so what about them stands out? I haven't heard of them, so that's why I ask.

The thing that turns me off from the Palm 515 is the lack of wireless connectivity other than IrDA. I dont know much about handhelds which is why I posed the question hoping for some valid feedback. Im also going wireless in my home for my laptop and thus having a wireless option with a handheld can come in handy. I could go a step up with the toshiba e740 but that's a bit much for me right now.

The Dell Axim and Toshiba e335 seem to be similar. Im also looking to stay within a lower price range of around $300-350 if at all possible.

I was pretty impressed with the Toshiba e310. I am not sure what makes the e335 different. I have heard there were many problems (battery life, etc.) with the e740 that may have been worked out in the later revisions.

The Dell Axim is too new for just about any of us to comment on. From what I've seen, it looks too bulky for my tastes.

You may also want to consider the Viewsonic PC V35. I think it's going to come out at $299.

Wireless Palm 515 ? Look no further than:

http://www.80211-planet.com/news/article.php/1355791


(OK - this might not meet your needs if you want it Right Now (TM) )

Regards

Mark

I wanted some feedback from you guys here at the board to see what your opinions are.

If it's a phone number, keep it in your cellphone. If it's anything else, write it in a paper notebook using a pen. No PDA currently competes with pen-and-paper for ease-of-use or durability. I bought a Palm out of a vague nagging feeling that a modern-day techie shouldn't be using pen-and-paper for that sort of thing -- I used it for maybe a month or two until toy syndrome wore off, and it now sits on a shelf. Its benefits simply didn't outweight the hassle. I've powered it up twice in the past three years, and both of those times were to use the neato planetarium software a mate had beamed me, 'cos I don't have any neato planetarium software on the PC.

Peter

Yeah. I've got all the phone numbers I need in my phone.

My address book and calendar are kept in Microsoft Outlook. If I could be bothered (and could find any decent sync software), I'd keep my calendar in my phone too.

I use fusionOne to replicate my Outlook data between work and home (and onto my laptop). So, I'm never that far from my data anyway.

The other benefit of fusionOne is that I can get at my data using WAP -- I must remember to enable my GPRS service. Unfortunately, fusionOne is a bit lacking when syncing with Nokia phones.

Generally, however, if I'm not within range of my toys, I've got my girlfriend with me. She's much better at organising my social life than any PDA would be.

I never use any of the four PDAs that I've got/had. The most useful was the Psion 5 as it had a keyboard - I used it to write university essays on the train. If you're still after mobile email and so on, consider one of the new smartphones such as the Nokia 7650. It has all the basic PIM functions and since it's a phone, you are more likely to have it with you when you need it.

The question of how useful PDAs are came up on Slashdot recently.
http://ask.slashdot.org/askslashdot/02/11/24/0224251.shtml?tid=99

Before anything saves time it has to cost time. My m500 and I are inseparable. But in order for it to work well I had to configure it to my needs. I have about three hacks and a number of program packages. The beauty of non paper technology is the ability to never write things down twice and searchability.

I don't balance my checkbook, my palm does. I don't keep track of my hours, my palm does. In my case I have numbers that I don't use often enough to keep them in my phone but when I need them I need them now... my palm fits the bill.

I, unfortunately, am now also looking for a new handheld. As of yesterday my beloved Rex6000 seems to be broken. It's a real shame because I was able to keep that thing in my wallet and carry that around with me everywhere. It was one of the best designs I had ever seen, and it's been discontinued and the ebay auctions are going for half again what I payed for mine.

So I have a few questions for you guys which will help me tremendously:
1) PocketPC v Palm v Other: who wins?
2) What is, hands down, the smallest PDA on the market?
3) Are there any new cell phones out this season with good PDA integration? I don't like the "hiptop" all that much, and that 7650 that someone was talking about doesn't appear to have a US counterpart.

The World's Smallest PDA

You know, if I wore a watch*, and that thing wasn't so dorky looking, I might actually consider buying one


*I don't wear a watch, which was one of main reasons I carried the Rex6000 around in my wallet

On a more serious note, if you are looking for something small and compact, try the Palm Tungsten T

If you want an all-in-one phone/PDA, take a look at the Treo 300. I know that revlmwest was thinking about purchasing this one but he's not a sprint customer. There are other models though, like theTreo 180 and I think its the Treo 90?

Fossil has a new watch that's a full 2mb Palm; Actually looks rather nice.

I agree, that Fossil one looks pretty great. Unfortunately, I see absolutely no indication of when that particular model will be released. Do you have any info on that?

*edit*
nevermind, according to cnet, it won't be out until April. I guess it won't be on my Christmas list. According to that article, it's also going to retail for $300! I can't say that it's worth it, quite frankly.

*edit edit*
oh, and in case this is useful to any PDA owners out there, if I got that watch, I'd probably also get one of these

Hmm, I really though I replied to this before, but I guess not.

Anyhow, saw the HP iPaq 1910 in person today. If anyone is looking for a PocketPC device that is the size of a Palm V, it's finally here. I was very suprised by the size, and am tempted to grab one, since my iPaq 3650 goes unused due to the bulk.

I just picked up an iPaq 5450, but I am as big into PDAs as I am all things Empeg. The lure of integrated bluetooth and Wifi (no cards, no expansion jackets, no muss... no fuss) was just too good to pass up.

In a previous life, I was a huge Palm zealot, but I have since turned to the "dark side" and I have been thrilled ever since.

Rob

Well, it looks like I won't have to worry about the watch. My girlfriend already gave me a watch for Christmas.

Are there any other cool, small PDA's out there? The idea of having a Clie in my pocket all the time doesn't appeal to me. I also don't need all those features.