New PDA

[popz41]

hmmm i plan on buying a PDA soon, and i was wondering whether i should go for the

Palm TX

or

Dell Axim X51

Their both roughly same price range, $300ish

Im currently Macless, running Windows , but i do plan on buying a powerbook this summer.
Im really just looking for somthing portable to be able to surf and check my email on.

thanks

 

[mkrishnan]

I have and love the Axim... well, I have the x51v. If it were a choice between that and the TX, I would be very much in favor of the x51v, because of the VGA screen. Between the two lower res devices, I'd probably go for the Palm. But AFAIK, the surfing experience is much better on the Axims and on Windows Mobile than it is on Palms. The mail app is very nice, although nothing overly special....

Some things to be aware of:

1) Currently, there's nothing that will let WM5, the operating system the Axim uses, sync with a Mac. Neither of the two companies that make third party software have announced a promise date on releasing updates, and they've been working on it for several months... It'll come eventually, presumably, but it seems to be relatively complex.

2) WM5 also has compatibility issues with a lot of existing Windows Mobile software.

But all in all, I really do like my Axim. I love the fact that it has two card slots, so I can use my CF cards from my DSLR in it. And Acrobat is gorgeous on the VGA screen.

I go to an Axim site...this may be a biased take, but... here is a thread there about the x51v and the TX...

http://www.aximsite.com/boards/showthread.php?t=109496&palm+tx

 

[teerexx52]

I have had both PPC and Palm. Right now I have the Palm T/X. The main reason is the ease of which it syncs with my Powerbook. I tried to sync with PPc and had difficulties. The Palm has a nice screen and I have not had one soft reset since I have owned it. Overall, it has worked well.

 

[beige matchbox]

How about the fujitsu siemens loox 720? i bought one over the dell because, well, it does what i want, and it's not a dell

Not sure if its still current, anyway, i use it mainly for GPS and game emulation, and it rocks

 

[mariahlullaby]

I have the X50 (fairly similar) and love it. However, I've never had a need to sync it so if you plan on syncing it a lot, I don't recommend it. The screen is GREAT, the processor is zippy, the wireless is great, plays videos, etc. Worth the money IMO.

 

[Lyle]

Right now I have the Palm T/X. The main reason is the ease of which it syncs with my Powerbook...

Let me note that, in my opinion, the synching between the Mac and the Palm handhelds is not all that great. Many people have recommended using the Missing Sync software and I'm probably going to check that out. On the other hand, I've never tried to sync between a Mac and a Windows-based handheld, so I may just not know how good I've got it.

But back to the topic at hand. I just got a Palm T/X for Christmas and am loving it. Have never seen one of the Dell handhelds in person, but it sounds like they're very nice also. I just wouldn't buy anything from Dell on principle.

 

[natallica]

One word of warning...

My boyfriend and I have been using Palm hardware since the Palm III and never really had problems until we decided to update to the Tungsten E's last year. Their QA is nothing short of a joke. We ended up swapping out each of our units at least 5 times during the warranty period as they kept dying. Now, we're out of warranty and problems remain. Here are some of them:

Alarm doesn't work: known issue w/some of the TE's that can only be solved by swapping units. When unit is off, the alarm won't play fully. You'll only hear one faint beep -- which kinda defeats the purpose. Someone at Palm support actually tried to sell this to us as a feature!

LCD Squeal: some units (including mine) have screens that give out a loud, high-pitched noise when turned on.

Power button: these just stop working. I think it's a contact issue. I have to use one of the other buttons to turn the unit on and have to use a software util that someone wrote in order to turn the unit off by tapping a particular spot on the screen w/my stylus.

Less of a problem and more of an annoyance: Palm used 2 different manufacturer's LCDs. One kind actually doesn't display whites properly and shows them as pee yellow! ;-)

My boyfriend has also had his completely freak out lately. It made him wipe out all data before continuing -- luckily he syncs regularly.

I haven't had many problems w/syncing on the Mac. I use the Palm conduit w/iSync.

I don't know if these are just problems w/the cheaper Palm units, but I think that their QA has majorly gone down. I had to buy a good e-mail capable phone for work last year and chose to go w/the Blackberry 7100 instead of a Treo because of my fear of their QA!

Can't Apple give us a new PDA? ;-)

-- N

 

[mkrishnan]

LCD Squeal: some units (including mine) have screens that give out a loud, high-pitched noise when turned on.

Eeep! That's no good!

Less of a problem and more of an annoyance: Palm used 2 different manufacturer's LCDs. One kind actually doesn't display whites properly and shows them as pee yellow! ;-)

People on Aximsite mentioned this too, but I didn't know it was only one of two manufacturers... that's right up there with the Apple "guess which Mini you'll get" extravaganza....

It is funny that it seems like the basics have gone to the wayside as PDAs get more complicated. I understand all the interest in GPS and so on, but there is something wrong if the basic PIM functionality isn't bulletproof after so many years of development....

 

[applekid]

I love my Palm TX. Bought it only a couple of months ago. The only quirks is with the keyboard. I usually need to reset to get the keyboard responding when it's been off for a while (partly because Palm hasn't released official drivers, yet). WiFi and Blazer have surprised me as far as compatibility with websites go. The software selections seems to have changed greatly since my ownership of the Palm m100. You used to be able to get decent apps for free, but now it seems if you want quality, you've gotta pay a bit. I especially love Graffiti this time around. You can make the area disappear and reappear, but you can also see what you're writing as you write in the Graffiti area. Very handy.

The big screen is really sharp and bright. I use mine at the library where I work with middle schoolers, and I let the kids see the pictures we're taking thanks to the SD memory slot. The whole feel of the Palm and Palm OS just feels great for my needs. It comes with Documents to Go which is pretty good for my MS Office needs. And the stylus is heavy which feels good in your hands. The battery lasts long enough. I rarely dip below a 20% considering I am often online and editing documents with my Palm.

My only concern looking at the future is the lack of a easily replaceable battery. Gonna have to pull off an iPod

EDIT: Yes, my Palm suffers from the high-pitch squealing sound, too. Don't know why it happens, but it happened a week or so after purchase. It's annoying if you have it up close to your face. I recommend buying the extended warranty through PDAParts.com. It apparently works even though the price seems a little iffy ($40+ through Palm vs. $6 at PDAParts)

 

[natallica]

Eeep! That's no good!

No...it's not. Being a musician, things like this annoy the crap out of me!

It is funny that it seems like the basics have gone to the wayside as PDAs get more complicated. I understand all the interest in GPS and so on, but there is something wrong if the basic PIM functionality isn't bulletproof after so many years of development....

I know exactly what you mean. I do love the sheer simplicity of the PalmOS. The other issue w/the hardware side is that if you work in a government facility (as many people here in D.C. do) you cannot have a PDA or cell phone w/a camera, bluetooth, or wi-fi. It's getting increasingly difficult to find ones without!

-- N

 

[RichP]

If you want it basically for web and email, check out the new Nokia Internet Tablet (770) http://www.nokiausa.com/770. They retail for about mid 300s.

I just got one over the Palm offerings. It does web much better, email is same, other stuff isnt as strong, YET. Its based on Linux, and there is a lot of software development for the platform. They sell these things at Compusa, so you can go check it out in person, the screen is INCREDIBLE, and the overall design is very clean and relatively easy-to-use.

 

[Lyle]

Yikes. I have not yet run into any of the problems mentioned by natallica, but I'll be on the look out for those. I did just experience what is apparently a known problem with VersaMail crashing, and luckily, the "fix" is on Palm's web site. (VersaMail is the e-mail app that comes with the TX.) I hope that there will be a software update soon to remedy that problem.

 

[mkrishnan]

If you want it basically for web and email, check out the new Nokia Internet Tablet (770) http://www.nokiausa.com/770. They retail for about mid 300s.

Wow, I thought it was bigger, but the size of that is actually not that much bigger than an Axim....

Does it support WPA?

The only big caveats I see with it are that it it's something of an unknown in terms of software expandability, and it uses RS-MMC, which means that memory cards will be much harder to get / smaller / more expensive. If it used CF, getting a 4 or 6 gig CF drive on it and throwing in a few gigs of documents would make this awesome.

But it still seems very nice.

 

[Veritas&Equitas]

Another vote for the Axim. All the way.

 

[cubist]

You will not be able to get a PocketPC machine to work with a Mac. PocketPC's have poor battery life - you have to charge them every day.

Yes, Palm has had quality problems, especially with the Tungsten E.

I would like to suggest an alternative: get a used Palm M515 from a good seller, ebay ID "itsnothere". He has M515's for $105. These are rugged and reliable PDAs with a bright color screen. It does most of what the Tungsten E does, has Graffiti 1 which is much easier to use than Graffiti 2 or Jot, and it's slim enough for a shirt pocket.

If you want really long battery life, a month or more, you should look for a used M500 (monochrome). Sure, it's no good as a portable picture album, but you won't need to bring your charger on every trip you make.

Also, it's been said many times, forget about using iCal and iSync if you're a serious PDA user. iSync is OK, but iCal is a piece of junk.

 

[natallica]

It does most of what the Tungsten E does, has Graffiti 1 which is much easier to use than Graffiti 2 or Jot, and it's slim enough for a shirt pocket.

You can replace Graffiti 2 w/Graffiti 1 on the TEs w/a hack...Graffiti 2 is terrible!

-- N

 

[YS2003]

I haven't had many problems w/syncing on the Mac. I use the Palm conduit w/iSync.

When you sync via iSync, does the address book, date book, and others are synched with Apple's iCal and Address Book?

I am using Palm's HotSync with one of PBs (10.4.3) and Palm Desktop.

 

[natallica]

When you sync via iSync, does the address book, date book, and others are synched with Apple's iCal and Address Book?

I am using Palm's HotSync with one of PBs (10.4.3) and Palm Desktop.

Yes. I don't like the Palm Desktop, but I do like iCal and the Address Book and enabling Palm syncing in iSync lets me work with them.

-- N

 

[Kelson]

Hipster PDA

I recommend the Hipster PDA, please see http://www.43folders.com for more details.

- Kelson

 

[TDM21]

The high pich squel you hear from your PDA is the transformer that powers the backlight. I have an Apple Newton and it too squels when the backlight is on.

 

[mkrishnan]

I recommend the Hipster PDA, please see http://www.43folders.com for more details.

Yes, this will be great for surfing the web.

 

[mustangpcc]

help installing bluetooth keyboard driver to iPAQ4700 via powerbook

I have a Powerbook G4 and have recently purchased an iPAQ 4700. I was able to install and set up with Missing Sync and everything seems to be working well. I also have a Universal Smart Keyboard for use with the PDA but have been unable to install the driver on my Powerbook to setup the PDA & keyboard since the installation programs are PC format instead of apple. I know the PDA will work with mac, and the keyboard is for the iPAQ, but don't know if I can use the Powerbook to get the link going between keyboard and iPAQ. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I really need the keyboard to use the PDA in my work.

Thank you,

PCC

 

[bousozoku]

I'd choose the Palm T|X any day over the Windows device. (I saw and tried the Nokia device yesterday at CompUSA. I say "good luck" to anyone who buys one.)

Of course, I have experience with a Handspring Visor Deluxe, so it's more intuitive than the Dell Axim, even though I've used Windows extensively. I would consider the usual Windows sloppiness to be an potential problem. While, PalmOS may not be as cohesive as it once was, it's grown a lot and has filled in a lot of gaps since the early days. I'd say that it still has less of a potential to be a problem.

If you can learn to write with the stylus, I'd say that input on the Palm device would be quick. Little keyboards on devices seem too small even for my thin fingers. (I might find out for sure with the Treo 650 but it felt like I made a lot of mistakes in the store.)