[maxintosh]

I've always been a bit of a PDA nut, but now I've had a bit of a crisis.

My first PDA was a used Newton 120-the technology was incredible to me at the time. Next, I owned a Palm V... it was about 1/20th the size but not nearly as cool. I had an eMate for a while, before it broke, then a Tungsten|T, a Newton 2100, an HP iPaq 2210, and last a Tungsten|T2.

I've sold everything except my Newton 120, that spends a lot of time in a drawer. Here's why. The iPaq sucked, period. The Tungsten|T/T2 was a slick little device, but it had limited multimedia capabilities, and Graffiti 2 is a HUGE P.I.T.A, so forget writing e-mails. Plus, Bluetooth was a bit shaky on the Tungsten series. Also, its organization abilities are sufficiently replaced (for my simply needs) by my Sony Ericsson T610. Carrying around two devices is burdensome.

So now, I'm in a bit of PDA withdrawal. The problem is, nothing on the market really appeals. I'd love something more in the factor of the Newton; pocketable isn't so much a concern since my phone does quite well for roaming around town. I'd like a small, hard-drive based light mini-computer for use in class, as a portable web browser, and to watch movies on. A screen the size of the Newton, Inkwell technology, and a built-in HD. Nothing on the market fits the bill for someone who wants advanced capabilities but isn't concerned with cramming it into a device the size of a credit card.

So basically, Newton needs to return. Not as a Tablet Mac -- it doesn't need to replace a desktop/laptop, just compliment it. Go places where you don't want to take your expensive, heavy, machine, but still want comfortable access to the vitals.

What do you think? What is it that you do with your PDAs?

[JVB_2112]

I had a Newton Message Pad 100 and still have a 120 kicking around. Since the Newtons I've also owned a Philips Nino, Palm V, and a Palm M515. I recently bought a Tungsten T3.

I really like the T3. The Bluetooth connectivity is great. I sync via Bluetooth with my Powermac, and use my Powerbook as a Bluetooth access point.

I only use my T3 for contacts, schedule, memos, to-dos, and Avantgo. I don't watch movies or play games on it.

JVB

[OreoCookie]

A friend of mine has bought a PDA about two years ago.

Half a year after he bought it, it was spending its time in the cradle, doing nothing.

I got my contacts and my calendar on my iPod, and probably also on my next phone. I don't need a PDA. And with more and more capabilities crammed into phones, probably you won't either.

[PB2K]

I ordered a Sony Clie nv70x. along with a bluetooth memorystick (outrageously expensive).

I am planning to use it as a digital adressbook, camera, GPS and game-platform. It's mainly to impress colleagues. I want to learn about PDA's because the differences between laptops, PDA's, pocketcamera's and mobile phones are rapidly fading.

I like big screens, but I dont like to have to sit with a 17" powerbook in the train just to check an adress. A PDA would be handy in that circumstance, as the screen of a mobile phone would be too tiny.

[dlefebvre]

I've been using a Clie SJ33 for almost a year. It became a part of my brain sincing it back and forth at work and at home. I never missed a meeting or forgot a phone number. Until yesterday. It probavly fell off my pocket and I lost it in the snow. I'm sad... Very sad...

[joe]

Originally posted by maxintosh:
What do you think? What is it that you do with your PDAs?

I have a Sony Clie T415 (ultra-thin, grey scale, hi-res). I mainly use it as a portable rolodex for work and to take notes at different job sites. The built-in calculater is nice in that the buttons are so large you don't need to use the stylus. Sony's thumb wheel also let's you avoid the stylus too. I wish all PDAs had that feature, it's a major timesaver. The T415 is the thinnest and probably the smallest PDA I've found. It easily fits into my toolkit. It can do a lot more than I need for work - audio, IR remote, photo albums, etc. It also has some software to work with M$ Word and Excel docs. But I don't really need more than the built in memo. Graffiti is OK. I'd probably prefer to use a PDA with built-in mini keyboard vs Graffit. But they tend to be larger than the T415. And the small form factor was the main reason I went with this model.

Since I use it stricly for work, I don't need the multimedia features you're looking for. And I'm not aware of any PDA on the market with a built in hard drive - unless some of the Flashcard compatible PDAs are able to use those mini-IBM hard drives the digicams use. Sony's high end PDAs have excellent multimedia capabilites though - higher res, wide screen, faster cpu, mp3 and video capable, etc. The UX50 has both 802.11b and Bluetooth as well as built in digicam, keyboard, and QuickTime. So they're getting closer. But I think the PDA you want may be still be another year or 2 away.

[CambAngst]

My PDA is also my cell phone, a Sprint-flavored Treo 600. I adore it. First and foremost, it's actually a very good phone. It gets good signal, reception is great and the battery life is quite satisfactory. The Palm functionality is very good. It runs Palm OS 5 (my biggest beef with the Treo 300 was that it was running an outdated, hack-job OS). The SD card slot is useful. The built-in camera is crappy, but it didn't really factor into my decision to buy the phone, anyway. It's USB2.0, so it syncs in a snap. Nicely integrated with iCal and Address Book. Price point is still pretty high, but I expect that to come down.

[jparisi]

I use my T3 for -

Banking - Pocketquicken
Navigation - Mapopolis w/GPS
Contacts - Address book
Passwords/Personal info - SplashID
Photos - Splash Photo
Games - Bejeweled
City Info - Vindigo

[KP*]

I've owned PDAs from all three major PalmOS manufacturers and have been with Sony for my last two (NR70V and NX80). I'm getting a little tired of their proprietary stuff and lack of Mac support, so I'm watching to see what they and Palm will do when OS6 comes around sometime early next year. So far the Clies are far ahead in terms of multimedia, but it looks like Palm is finally trying to catch up.

A few months ago I had to purchase a PowerBook for a new job, and since my job requires me to drag my 'book everywhere, the advanced features of the Clie have become less useful as the 'book can do the same stuff only easier (and can be deployed almost as fast). When my job is over I might find myself more PDA-reliant again, but I've been neglecting it a lot lately. It's still indespensible because I use it for calendar and contacts, and as a general repository of every piece of information that anyone working on my show could ever need. I also use the camera on it to take pictures both for work and pleasure. But considering all the software I've got on it, it feels like I'm only using 10% of what I used to use it for.

I'm not totally satisfied with my current PDA (the Clie NX80), but nothing else on the market appeals to me enough to make me give it up, even if money was no object. BTW if you're looking at Clies, you should visit the very active forums a www.cliesource.com

One other thing, if you have Graffiti2 and can get a hold of someone with one of the last Graffiti1 PDAs (like a Tungsten|T, Clie NX70) you can copy the Graffiti files onto your PDA and get Graffiti1 back. It's very cool! I would have thrown this thing against a wall a long time ago without that trick!

[AC Rempt]

I've also had several PDAs over the years, from a Newton 130 to a Palm III to a HP PPC to a Sony T610, and recently, I sprung for a T3 for the Bluetooth connectivity and landscape screen for writing on the road. I also hope to sync it with my 12 inch PB via Bluetooth.

So far I love it, and I don't see what the big problem is with Graffiti 2. I think for regular writing of quick notes, it works quite well.

The screen on the T3 is the best I've seen on a PDA, and the size is just right for sticking in my pocket. I plan to carry a few photos and maybe a movie or two when it's warrented, but mostly, I'm going to use it for contacts and calendaring as well as some light writing. I think I'm gonna get a lot of use out this machine.

[Arty50]

I bought a T2 this summer and it's been a godsend. I always hated carrying around a calendar and address book. They take up a lot of space and are inflexible in that adding new contacts (running out of room, not enough data fields, etc.) and rescheduling stuff (eraser marks, not enough room) can be a serious pain in the ass. And as a result of not wanting to put up with them, I wasn't a very organized person.

Now it's like a complete 180. I have a device that fits in my pocket, handles all of my contact with aplomb, and has a screen big enough to show my full day on the screen. I know some cell phones duplicate these features, but most of them don't have expandable memory nor do the have screens anywhere large enough to suit my calendaring needs. I'm a much more organized person since I've gotten this, and it's even helped me stay in better touch with my friends. I wasn't exactly great about entering info into my old address book since I rarely carried it with me.

As for mulitmedia, frankly that's all just a bonus to me since I rarely use, much less need, that functionality right now. My purchase wasn't really based on these options. I took a look at the cost of the unit and compared it to some of the traditional organization options out there. Frankly, buying a Palm is much cheaper than dealing with and paying for the constant updates traditional paper dayplanners require.

As for Graffiti 2, I don't really have any problems with it. I'm finally starting to get the 'k' down, and that's been the only real hurdle. From all the forums I read when I was researching my purchase and this one now, it seems like all the people who are complaining about Graffiti 2 are prior Palm owners who were overly used to Graffiti 1. And there are solutions for those people to revert back to version 1. Frankly though, I picked up the new version very quickly and so should any other new Palm user. It's really simple.

[Cellery]

I've owned about six or seven PDAs, but they always seem to end up in the drawer after the new toy factor wears off. My last purchase was an iPaq 1945, and though it was cool, I now have stuff on my iPod and T616 phone, which I carry around anyway. I have my eyes on either Palm's new Tungsten T3 or an iPaq 4155, but for once I am actually okay with what I have now. All the functions I would use of a good PocketPC/Palm can be found in the phone/iPod combo.

Sony MagicLink > Newton 2000 > Palm Vx > Palm m100 > iPaq 3630 > iPaq 1910 > Tungsten T > iPaq 1945

- File storage (a bonus)
- Music playback
- Contacts
- Calendar
- Can make phone calls
- Bluetooth synching
- Games

[DigitalEl]

I've owned about six or seven PDAs, but they always seem to end up in the drawer after the new toy factor wears off.

LOL - I thought that was just me. Previous Palms have been given to the ex-wife or sold on eBay and I honestly can't tell you the last time I touched my iPod... But damn it looks good sitting on my desk. Shame really, because they're all damn fine devices.

My current Sony Clie TJ25 is still in the "new toy" stage. I love carrying around dozens of pictures of my daughter, plus all the usual Address Book/Calendar/To Do List stuff. I've even tossed my wallet and got a leather Clie case with credit card and cash slots. It'll be interesting to see if I'm still carrying the thing around in six months... Especially since I now want the Clie TG50.

Pocket PC users, do those machines sync with Macs as well as Palm-powered devices do? And what desktop apps do you use with it. I actually like the long-in-the-tooth Palm Desktop 4.1.

[PB2K]

I have my Sony NX70v now, I also have a bluetooth memorystick.

It's a pretty cool gadget, though it's not useful if you dont use it for every opportunity possible. I installed some PALM games on it, but I cant figure out why some games end up being displayed 'stampsized' while others are displayed fullscreen. I havent set up my powerbook yet, I can see the Clie, but it asks for a password while i cant see where I can create one.

I really like the option to remotecontrol your tv and vcr by the PDA.

Eventually it will all fit on your wrist

[Meshghi]

Originally posted by Cellery:
I've owned about six or seven PDAs, but they always seem to end up in the drawer after the new toy factor wears off.

That about sums it up for me too. I've gone through about 8 of them, and still have a few in a drawer or in storage. All my contacts are in my iPod and in a printed address book. For calendar functions and reminders, I've gone back to pen and paper.

For other stuff I use my desktop at work or my laptop everywhere else.

[pimephalis]

I purchased a Palm Tungsten E recently (as in, about two weeks ago), and I am in love with the machine. Prior to this, I had a Handspring Visor Neo, which is now my wife's.

I used the Handspring daily, and its use has been particularly heavy over the past six months given that I'm now working in a large organization which uses MS Outlook () for email, contacts, calendar etc. However, beyond being a fancy daytimer and rolodex, it didn't see much use. I had tried to use it for reading (either using Avantgo or Plucker) but found the resolution frustratingly low and insufficient.

The tungsten E, on the other hand, has absolutely gorgeous fonts and resolution, making it even easier to read than my monitor at work. I find myself downloading articles of interest, printing them to PDF and them reading them on the subway. I now read most of my news that way, and most opinion pieces as well. It's a heck of a lot less bulky on the crowded trains than a news paper or large book, and just slides in and out of my pocket when it comes time to embark and debark.

Finally, now that my wife also has a palm compatible device, we've taken to synchronizing our family calendars and christmas shopping lists (thank you Handyshopper). In all, I'm loving my new PDA.

[Freeflyer]

I've had a variety of pda's and ended up getting rid of them all. A little while ago I was given an ipaq that I've played with, but not used much. I now have a decent use for it as a home automation controller/monitor.

With a wireless network in the house, a cheap pcmcia adapter, and a spare wireless card I now have something that can sit by the bed, but check everything in the house via web pages, view webcams oustide the house if i install them, check things like the garage door is closed (only ever occurs to you after you go to bed!).

Looks to be an interesting project to keep working on.

J.

[Truepop]

My first one was a Casio running a crappy casio made os that didn't have a calc on it and only synced with outlook for windows. I used it on a trip to japan as a notepad to write words and phrases down and so it did it's job very well.

my second was a Helio and I used the voice recorder on it before I trashed it trying to install linux... my third was a second Helio and this time I did get Linux on there. my fourth was my favorite and best and most used Clie S300. The first sony pda 3 days after they were for sale. great little device that stuck with me. my fifth was a second-hand iPaq which I liked because the os on it was more like an os than any of the other pdas but the unit os was still crap. I linux'd it.

My last one is a T3 which I can't get enough of. PocketQuickens, Bluetooth is a neat little toy, the games are great, the photos are great, and until I get quit moving around and get a cell phone (I don't stay in one place long enough to make friends to call or to keep a contract), this pda keeps me in line with long distance contacts (the ones you will forget the numbers too), and the rest of it all as you know.

Plus the voice recorder is great.

[Graymalkin]

I tried an old Palm IIIx a couple years ago ostensibly to keep my contacts and calandar organized. What really happened is I ended up playing a lot of games and only rarely used it for its intended purpose. My cell phone stored my friends' phone numbers and Grafitti made it damn near impossible for me to write detailed notes on any appointments I made so I usually forgot what it was the appointment was for. I decided not to buy the IIIx from my friend. It didn't do enough useful crap for me to really need it.

Fast forward a few years. I still use my cell phone for keeping phone numbers on, BT and iSync make this easy. It doesn't however make a good appointment keeper. It will beep when I've got an appointment coming up but it is harder to input an appointment on the phone than it was on the IIIx.

Now however I've got a bit more use for a PDA-like device. I ride more buses and trains than I used to so having schedules for both would be really useful. Forty five minute train rides can get a little boring so being able to read a book or play a game would be cool. Wi-Fi is getting more and more omnipresent so a net connection doesn't eat into my cellular bill (2�/KB).

[dennis cheung]

I bought the Zire 71 for work related purposes + a little entertainment (mp3 player). I didn't think I'd use the pda at all bout now my life and work revolves around it.

I use it for all my contacts, all my passwords (keyring) for work, pictures for work purposes, and memos and calendar.

Using it for a password holder is absolutely a life saver. I can now generate a different password for every single machine I admin, forums, online merchants, and even banking.

I am now looking to upgrade because I really would like to be able to sync between my phone (t610) and my new pb with bluetooth. I do suggest anyone looking to get a pda to hold out until palm os6 comes out unless you are going to get a pocket pc (crap) -=)

[maxintosh]

I scrapped my T2 and am going back to an m130 (I had one a while ago). Why? I lowered my expectations of a PDA. I'd like to use my Palm to get organized in class. The m130 is a great design because it's rugged, cheap and you don't have to WORRY about it!

That's the big thing about PDAs. Everyone worries about scratching them, dropping them, what cases fit, etc. etc. It's so tedious. The m130 is really, really basic but I think that will be a step up, strangely enough.

With the m130, I could throw it in a bag, scribble all over the screen, tap on things with my finger and not think twice about it, because the screen is plastic and even if it is damaged, it's no big loss.

*shrugs* I'm excited to see what Palm OS 6 brings, though. Maybe I'll get a pimpin' PDA and keep my m130 for school work. It's gotta have WiFi and a keyboard, tho.

[dannyillusion]

I use my original Tungsten for Excel and Word editing and writing longer notes in the calendar.
In my opinion it seems like that's the only reason for getting a PDA if you have a new cellphone...

[spiky_dog]

heh, i _worked_ for palm (as an intern), and during my stay was given two devices. and i gave both of them away, go figure

my life is regular enough that i can remember things.

[iDriveX]

Just got a Palm Tungsten C and it's really great. I don't take my laptop out of my house and don't really want to, but since I have a T-Mobile account, getting my mail, browsing the web anywhere where there is a Hot Spot is really easy. My entire house is also 802.11b and it's nice not to have to go upstairs and get the laptop if I need to find something really quickly on the internet. I also really like the thumbpad on the C vs. Graffiti, it works a lot easier for me. It doesn't take me 10 minutes to put a new contact in any more. It's also indispensable at work, I have a ton of appointments and to-do items at work and it really keeps me focused and organized.

[Ron Goodman]

I work as a paramedic and the single most valuable app on my Palm is ePocrates, a perscription drug database.