Your Next Pda

[sUnShInE]

I've been thinking about my next pda alot lately. Not that I'm bored with my Clie T615C by any stretch... But a girl can dream, right?

I just looked at this thread and it seems, from the sample that responded, that we have a fair mix of both Clie and Palm owners here.

Obvious among the considerations of buying my next "Barbie Dream Pda", is that I'll get something with some kind of wireless capability, whether it be Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.

I'm curious:

1.) What's your next pda going to be?
2.) Do you do any wireless functions now? If so, what? Via Bluetooth or dongle?
3.) Do you plan to go wireless in the future? And if so, what for? (ie, email, web surfing, etc)
4.) How do you think going wireless might change your offline (read: iSilo) habits, if at all?
5.) Have you even thought about this at all?


Thanks for playing!

[gvtexas]

I was having the same thoughts this morning, sunshine. Weird.

When I had my Handera, I dabbled online with it using a Palm Modem...worked semi-okay for email, sucked for anything web-related...but might be REALLY cool for icq/irc, etc...where the window is small anyway.

I've just signed up for the T-Mobile wireless service and hope to spend some happy moments with laptop at Starbucks...so not sure that I would entertain doing the same functions wirelessly with a PDA...mebbe a big Sony, but even still...kinda limited. Bluetooth is even more limiting, although that might change. Be nice to turn on the coffee pot in the morning from my easy chair with my Clie! Nonetheless, I wouldn't buy a "next" PDA that wasn't connectable in some way...wireless...bluetooth...something. If for no other reason than to be "in place" for the next generation of goodies/services.

My next PDA is crying out to be the three Fs: Faster, Fatter (storage) and Free-er ($$$)! Simple requests that i'm sure Sony will butcher in some way or another, but do so in a way I can't resist, and I'll be forced to accept their ROM-based browser that opens AllThingsSony.com when I turn the unit on...

[sUnShInE]

Gee, do we have something against Sony?

I'm certain they'll come out with something fairly soon that will do everything that I want and not put me in the poor house. I felt that way about my current Clie.

Oh, how I would love to sit at Starbucks with just my slim and tiny pda and use their wifi. sigh

I apologize for not mentioning wifi in my intial post too.

[saw9000]

1. I currently have an NX70V, and if it were not for that, I would probably be saving my nickels and dimes for a NZ90. However, my next PDA will probably be something that Sony releases when OS6 becomes available. I am highly fascinated by some of the improvements promised by OS6, and think them worth waiting for. The RAM limit improvement from Palm SG and PalmSource comes at a time when Sony would still be able to build it into an OS6 device. I also hope for OS6 to include a revamped version of VFS, one which supports FAT32, in order to work with cards larger than 2 GB.
2. I do use wireless now, both through Sony's own Wi-Fi card (I used a Socket card with my 330) and through IR with my T68i. A bit kludgy when my handset has built-in Bluetooth, I know, but I just haven't found myself willing thus far to shell out for the Bluetooth MemStick. Besides that, I have both my Web browser and my e-mail client stored on my MemStick, and I don't have enough free RAM to pull them both back off the card at the same time, so I'm essentially stuck using IR and leaving the MemStick slot open.
3. I hope not for wireless access at all, but for more seamless wireless access. Where I work, there is no Wi-Fi signal, and my wireless phone doesn't get a signal, so I have no wireless at all (Thankfully, I'm in a computer lab, so it doesn't matter). However, there are a lot of places on campus where this is the case, and where I can't get data at all. I would like to see a less broken connection with my data, the ability to log on from anywhere, using either my Wi-Fi card or my wireless phone (preferably the card, because university data access is free), and access my e-mail. It would be nice to have data access on a whim.
4. While wireless access is nice for the very latest news, and for forum surfing and other communication, I don't think anything will soon replace iSilo and the like for handheld data. Wireless access is still too rare and expensive to be used in such quantities. The amount of data I load to my handheld with one sync from iSilo would bankrupt my data allowance from my wireless provider in three tries. In other words, if I didn't have iSilo and my PC, I would be able to sync about every two weeks, plus whatever syncs I could get in using my wireless card. In short, I don't think my iSilo habits will change very much.
5. Yes...I admit, I've thought about it a little
Scott

[sUnShInE]

Interesting Scott. I can see that you've thought about this!

I wasn't aware that they were working on OS6. I'm actually kind of scared of sticks that are more expensive than the handheld themselves. Using my cell to go wireless has also been something that I haven't been all jazzed up to do, which is partially why wifi seems like a better solution. As you point out, if you're in a place with a consistent hotspot, and one that isn't subject to dip-outs, that's a bonus.

Without a tech-centric office environment though, most of us are subjected to shelling out at airports or Starbucks...at least for the time being.

[saw9000]

Yep, OS6 is in development, and should be going golden master sometime in June. However, that date may end up getting adjusted, seeing as how the lead developer recently quit.

I refuse to pay that kind of money for an expansion card. I paid $0.33 US/MB for my Microdrive approaching a year and a half ago, so I'm not going to pay $0.64 US/MB now for a MemStick. It just doesn't make sense.

Using your wireless phone for wireless data is a workable solution, but unless you happen to have one of those rare, coveted unlimited use plans, the amount of data you can transfer is severely limited. Next, unless you have Bluetooth, you will need either a data cable or an IR connection in order to move data. Both tend to crimp my style, because they both preclude the simultaneous use of a keyboard by occupying the circuitry otherwise devoted to that purpose. IR, in addition requires line of sight, an inconvenience that I have come to know all too well. Finally, the connection will be anywhere from slow to unbearable. If you're trying to get any sizable data, then you will have problems there, too.

As for Wi-Fi, it's coming. For what it's worth, there aren't any Wi-Fi hotspots in the local airport or any of the Starbucks where I live. I'm also not lucky enough to live near one of the three or four McDonalds locations that have Wi-Fi access free with an Extra Value Meal I just happen to go to a university that has a few Wi-Fi AP's scattered about.
Scott

[gvtexas]

Originally posted by saw9000
For what it's worth, there aren't any Wi-Fi hotspots in the local airport or any of the Starbucks where I live.

When I got my T-mobile account, was very suprised that they don't support Louisiana AT ALL. I travel on biz to New Orleans several times a year, and was hoping to take advantage of the wifi-bucks connection....but alas, not yet.

[Saud]

next pda?

check these specs

Palm OS 5
400Mhz (Intel PXA 255!)
64MB Ram
Transflective screen
inbuilt WiFi







and here it is :

[sUnShInE]

OMG. Do you like, work for Palm or what? Yea, I just saw the new TC. It looks sweet but very expensive. 5 bills? Yeowch. Too steep for me currently, but that is one hot item.

[Saud]

Originally posted by sUnShInE
OMG. Do you like, work for Palm or what?

ok I got a
tungsten T (gift)
m515
Clie T615 (gift)
Mitac Mio 338 (pocket pc)

err you still think i work for palm


Hi... my name is Saud..and Im a PDA-Addict

[sUnShInE]

Can you hook me up with your gift-givers, cuz I could surely use some people like that in my life.

Better yet: Hook them up with Alexander, who can sure use a new pda. (insert image of me taking up a collection for our fearless leader )

Btw, a friend of mine is emailing me that she's begun scheming to sell off several pieces of her vast art collection to fuel her pda addiction. I think I can get you both into the same treatment plan for a bulk discount, given that neither of you will have any $ left after buying the T|C.

[saw9000]

I agree, handheld-givers are in short supply these days I'll admit, the Tungsten C is a tempting offering from Palm, but it doesn't have a soft Graffiti area. In fact, it doesn't have a Graffiti area at all. I've become attached enough to soft Graffiti areas and the extra screen real estate they bring that I don't want to live without one. I like the processor and RAM, though.
Scott

[sUnShInE]

I was out at Best Buy this weekend (suffer Alex!) and though they didn't have the T|C, they did have the Zire 71. If I was in the market, I think I'd consider this for my next pda.

(Sidebar: Why the heck is it '71'? Were there 70 models before it that we all missed?)

Despite the camera function and the mp3 player, both of which I have always doubted that I would use, I would consider this unit over the T|C. Yes, over the T|C.

It's not only a price point issue for me either. You seem to get a lot of handheld (144Mhz, 16Mb plus external) for your three bills. I read in the Brighthand review that this unit was not upgradable for wireless use. In fact, after noticing both a modem and bluetooth in the Sunday circulars, I have to disagree. According to Palm.com, you can use both. They have a sled modem... something, sadly, my Clie lacks. For some reason I seem to remember seeing an SD modem available for this too for pretty cheap. I'm not seeing it on the Palm website though, so presumably it's not OEM or they're not jazzed about it.

Anyway, as I prefaced in this thread, I'm happy with my T615C, and she seems to be happy with me. I don't think I'm going to upgrade until I find the Barbie Dream PDA. I would take another look at the 71 if I was going to though.

[saw9000]

If I were going to go for the Zire for $300, then I would probably go for the Tungsten C for $500. Like I said, I really like its specs, save the lack of a (soft) Graffiti area. I must admit, though, having a camera is addictive. The camera on my NX70V has become the feature I never knew I couldn't live without.
Scott

[sUnShInE]

Interesting. I guess I can see how the camera might come in handy once in a while, but it would definitely *not* be one of the key selling points for this unit. At least not for me.

Reading your graffiti comment again. Many of the gripes about new pda's are often things that are easily surmountable with the plethora of software on the market. Grafitti is no exception with something like Grafitti Anywhere, which I now use and l-o-v-e. It's one of those things that I now say, "How did I ever get along without it?!"

I think that for the crowd that would zero in on the T|C, they'd be more apt to go for a Crackberry and have consistent online usage. If there's an optional (read: small, maybe SD) modem for the C, they need to seriously promote that -- as well as entertaining low cost on-air rates.