[wellylug] Wanted: Palmtop/handheld recommendations

Jamie Dobbs jamie.dobbs at orcon.net.nz
Mon Aug 25 21:51:23 NZST 2003


Wow! Thanks for all of the information, I can't seem to find the emulator
software that you gave the link to so may have to fire up Google tomorrow
and see what I can find as it will be a good way to work out if a Palm is
the right thing for me.


-----Original Message-----
From: wellylug-admin at lists.naos.co.nz
[mailto:wellylug-admin at lists.naos.co.nz] On Behalf Of Robin Hinde
Sent: Monday, 25 August 2003 9:39 p.m.
To: wellylug at lists.naos.co.nz
Subject: Re: [wellylug] Wanted: Palmtop/handheld recommendations

On Mon, 25 Aug 2003 16:41, Jamie Dobbs wrote:
> My wife is thinking about buying me a palmtop for a pressie at some stage
> and I'd like some advice on a well priced palmtop to handle the following:
>
> * Phone/address/email contact list
>
> * Some games (such as the PopCap (www.popcap.com) ones eg. Bejewelled)
>
> * Holding documentation such as the PHP manual (which is available in
> Palmpilot doc/Palmpilot iSilo formats) - this is probably the most
> important thing
>
> * Maybe MP3 playing
>
> * Would be very handy if it supported a couple of different memory card
> technologies such as MMC and SD
>
> Keep in mind that she won't be wanting to spend more than a few hundred
> dollars (probably around $600-$700 absolute maximum), I know that might be
> a lot to ask but I'd welcome some suggestions.

I'm a Palm owner, but decided to try a low end device instead of spending
lots 
of $$ on something that might not be as useful as I thought it might be. But

I certainly had a good look before making this decision. I eventually bought

a refurbished Palm IIIxe (mono, 8MB) for $145.00 on Trademe. I'm very happy 
with that, as how you imagine you will use your PDA and how you actually use

it are quite different. Witness the high rate of sale of near-new units on 
trademe.

Beware of prices on trademe - they are more often than not outrageously
high.

Things are changing on the Palm front; many current devices now run
PalmOS5.0 
or 5.1, but PalmOS6.0 is due fairly soon, maybe in a matter of months. 
PalmOS5 main aims were to move from the older PalmOS4.1 onto newer (non 
Motorola) processors (and so didn't offer anything new to the UI), but 
apparently PalmOS6.0 may contain significant UI changes. So the rumours go 
:-)

So, it might be a good idea to consider a Palm that is OS upgradeable.

The Tungsten T is a very nice though heavy unit that is capable of playing 
MP3s (but you supply the player and earphones), and is currently discounted 
as it is being replaced by the T2.

The Zire71 has one of the best screens of the Palms, and will play MP3s; but

AFAIK the OS isn't flashable. You might not need the camera, either.

Sony make an excellent range of Palm devices, most with good hires screens. 
They make one that IIRC is around $500 (the PEGSJ22G) that includes MP3 
playback, remote control functions etc, but they have only with more recent 
models moved away from producing memory stick only devices. Top end Sonys
are 
more expensive than laptops.

If I was to upgrade from my Palm, I'd probably go for the Sony. Even though
it 
runs PalmOS4.1, there are hacks available that give you almost PalmOS5 
functionality.

BTW there is a huge amount of software available for Palms, much of it free,

and some of it open source. Also, there are good emulators and simulators
for 
Palm devices that run under Windows and Linux, a good way to learn about
PDAs 
before you even buy. If you need any roms, drop me a line.

I use my Palm for normal PDA functions, as well as for holding documentation
- 
either .pdf or plucker. Plucker runs on Linux, and is good for offline web 
browsing as well as storing documention.

A couple of relevant articles:-)

http://www.computers.org.nz/megabyte/2003/05/art06.htm

http://www.computers.org.nz/megabyte/2003/07/art02.htm

HTH,

-=rjh=-

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