Pocket PCs

[Brian Williams]

I don't know why I want one but...  I feel the need... I gotta have.....

Who makes the best and what should I get to use on it.
I do not want a palm, but a pocket pc.  


You know you gotta help out a pocket pc noob.

[TarpleyG]

I use mine as a phonebook and calendar.  Other than that, it is worthless to me.  If I had to replace it, I'd get something as small as I could get and probably with a monochrome screen...something like a Palm.

Greg

[Ex-MA Hole]

I'm on my 5th one- I have always owned Palm based.   My last few had all of the bells and whistles.  My new one is the base model- Tungsten E2.

That said, I would suggest geting a bare bones one for the first one.  It may not be for you, and if you go cheap, it may not be as painful when you leave it in a drawer to collect dust.

I can't live without mine.  I have not, with the exception of a sony model, every had one die, I jut decide I need a new one.  Mine goes with me EVERYWHERE.  I am lost without it.  It has my entire life all in one place.  Phone, Calendar, address, appointments- and, most importantly, pics of my Daughter.   It gets backed up on my desktop, so if it does die, I have a way to restore it.

My wife, on the other hand, used hers for about 2 weeks, decided it wasn't for her, and it sits, collecting dust.  She is the type of person that likes a yearly planner, and uses that.

No help picking one, I know, but I go palm for the simple reason- how many times a day does your pc crash?  My Palm doesn't.  Ok, once or twice it gets a bad program.  You hit the reset button on the back, and away it goes.

M

[jefnvk]

I don't particularly like my PocketPC, if I ver got a new one (doubtful), I'd go back to Palm.

The major reason I say this, is the way the two handle programs.  When you close out of a program on the PPC, it is still running.  You must manually quit it.  Do this too many times, and it gets quie slow and bogged down.  the Palm can only handle one program at a time, so his is never a problem.

I got mine when there was an advantage to the PPC, mainly faster processors, better screens and momre memory.  It is now pretty even between the two, I'd definitely buy a Palm over a PPC.

OTOH, programming for the PPC is MUCH easier than programming for the Palm.

[crt360]

I've had a couple of palm OS handhelds.  The first one I had was a Handspring Visor Deluxe.  No color, only 8MB memory, and used 2 AAA batteries.  I really liked it's ability to run for about a month on one set of batteries.  After using it for a few years I sold it and got a Sony with a color display, more memory and rechargeability.  I've used it every day.  It's gotten to where I have to recharge it every night, so I'm kinda looking for something new myself.

I'm not sure if I'll stick with palm or switch to the pc thing.  I basically only use mine for calendar, to do lists, memos, address book, mind-numbing puzzle games, and a few other things.  It's not capable of much more.  I've tried editing documents and spreadsheets on it, but that's a complete waste of time.  If the PCs can't do a whole lot better, I'll stick with a cheap Palm.

I, too, would be interested in hearing others' pocket pc experiences and recommendations.

[client32]

I've had both the Palm and Pocket PCs for work over the years.  I'm a fan of the Pocket PC.
That is probably based on what I have done with it.  The only problems I have had with it are some of the third party apps, but you get the same thing with the Palm.  Either don't install some random free un-maintained application, or backup before you do.

I don't know what you want to do with it, but last I looked the Dell Axiom and the HP iPaq are both pretty expandable.
If it turns out not to be for you, sell it on eBay and take a loss. (or claim it is demonic and make money)

If you have a busy schedule and are never in the office, one of the Pocket PC phones can be cool.  The office however does need exchange in the background to get the most out of these.  
http://onlinestorez.cingular.com/cell-phone-service/cell-phones/cell-phones.jsp?q_isPrepaid=false&q_targeter=PDA&source=INC230056&q_deviceId=cdsku9870111&WT.svl=img
http://www1.sprintpcs.com/explore/PhonesAccessories/PhoneDetails.jsp?navLocator=%7Cshop%7CphonesAccessories%7CpdaPhones%7C&selectSkuId=sprintppc6700&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1476427&CURRENT_USER%3C%3EATR_SCID=ECOMM&CURRENT_USER%3C%3EATR_PCode=None&CURRENT_USER%3C%3EATR_cartState=group&bmUID=1148506728788

[J.J.]

I have a nice dell axim x51v.

I listen to mp3's with it.  Watch movies, read books, and use the calender function often.

I need to replace the screen since it didn't survive a 2ft drop to the floor.  (I guess it landed just right or wrong)  Other than that I love mine. Ohh yeah I have gps so i never get lost..as often....

[Gewehr98]

Still using a relic here, a Samsung I-300 Palm cellphone.  I've almost worn the darned thing out, I find it handy because it's synchronized with my Outlook contact list, and I've loaded all sorts of neat software onto it, including a nice ballistics utility.  As soon as it finally gives up the ghost, I'll either find a spare from eBay, or get a newer, more compact version.  The only thing I don't like about it is the fact my wife can text message me.  I wish she'd never discovered that function.