I'm looking for a PDA, a package for no more than 300.00. No more than 300.00 means that I don't have to go buy tons of cables, memory card, case, etc.

I only want to buy one, and keep it for a while. I'd rather not get trapped into planned obsolesence.

I'm looking for one that I can use for email, if necessary. An integrated camera isn't important to me. Ability to move data to/from Outlook is important. What features should I be looking for?

For those that have PDAs and use them, do you have a recommendation of what to get, or not get?

I use a Kyocera 6035 smart phone (search on ebay around $120!!)... It's a nice sized phone, with Palm OS 3.x on it, and it's got nice integration between the phone and your contact book. AND.... I just got a pocketdyno mini (www.pdyno.com) , and I'll be able to cable it up and do dyno pulls how cool

Also, I forgot that wireless access is built in... it's somewhat slow at 19.2K tops, but I can get email very easily.

I'll be upgrading soon to the color Kyocera 7135.

I've had pocket PC's, but they don't have half the battery life of this thing.

-DMA

I went from a Palm III to an IPAQ. The IPAQ has more power than my first five computers ever did. Pictures, games, you name it and it can do it. Trouble is, my Palm III did everything I ever needed it to do and more. Stay cheap and upgrade in a few years but 90% of what the expensive ones can do are cool but you just don't always need it. ( my business bought it for me so I took it)

Yes, battery life is definately high on my list. I don't want to have to put it on a charger every night.

I've seen various models of the IPAQ (nice displays), but the prices I've seen are in the 500 range.

Over the years, I have stayed with Palm. Currently have a 515, big bright color screen (works well as a flashlight at times), internet compatible (but not wireless), permanent built-in battery - which I like a lot - if you sync to a desktop you're also charging the battery when you insert it into the cradle - sooo user friendly - lasts for days and days before needing a charge. Very rugged.

As others have said, forget the bells n'whistles.....

Type III is great also. But cannot be left in it's leather case, placed under a 914 driver's seat and withstand driver's seat being pushed back with great force. Other than that......

I have a Sony Clie (Or as I call it, the Miss Clie) SJ-20. Has an incrediable batt. life. I can leave it off the charger for days and it still works fine.

Great display as well (better than Palm).

Tom

Check out the Dell Axim. They run $200 for the base model. You can get a wifi car for it as well. It run's on pocket PC 2002.
Eric

Bummer for me on the Kyocera 7135. Looks like the perfect device for me, except...

I just emailed them and it only supports Verizon. I have been looking for a new device (currently using a Handspring Visor with a VisorPhone Module. I got suckered into getting Cingular with the VisorPhone since that is all they would support at the time.

Now I'm stuck with Cingular since my business phone number is established. I know that you are supposed to be able to transfer phone number to other carriers come November, but I also know that that will be a big cluster-f*ck come time to do it since all the carriers are fighting it.

Anybody have any suggestions of devices that are compatable with Cingular? Phone, sync, internet, email, IM...

sm

Nah, if you have mad skillz you can unlock the phones. Look at www.qcp6035.com forums. I don't know about Cingular, but there are phones that work on many carriers, alltel, sprint, etc.

I tell you, I've dropped my 6035, left it out all night in the car in the cold, etc.

I've never had to replace a LI battery, had the phone last all weekend on a single charge, etc. Here's the best part:

I actually program for the pocketPC platform, so I know it well, but I still prefer this device. If the battery dies, it recovers very gracefully, usually just time to get the charger.

My Ipaq, however, bit me. I had dumped tons of info into it one week while at a client in NYC. New contacts, itineraries, specs, the whole bit. It died the next morning before I could charge it. I had to let it sit uncharged for 6-7 hours until I could return to my hotel where the charger was. In that time, it ate everything, and was "Welcome to Ipaq" when I charged it. Yikes! I've never lost anything on the 6035 (or any palm for that matter) no matter how abusive I am with charging.

I like to have a provider I can call and yell at when the phone that is supposed to work with their service isn't working as advertised!

Has anybody had any experiece with the Nokia 9290 Communicator? Price looks right, Cingular is on their list, and it looks like it has a ton of features. Bad marks have been given for no vibrate mode (I don't care), and big funky styling (don't care much about that either).

sm

I recently switched from the Palm/Handspring platform to an iPaq 5455 (PocketPC). The thing rocks overall, but they are definitely still a bit "bleeding edge". I would not recommend a Windows Mobile PDA to anybody who's not fairly technical, cuz there is a ton of twiddling to do with firmware and driver updates, network config settings, and so forth. I wasted HOURS the other day f*ing around with some poorly tested/documented updates from HP.

But when it works, it is really cool. I have a Bluetooth phone and I can use the AT&T GPRS data network to get 'Net connectivity from basically anywhere in the world. The model I got also has 802.11b built-in. It uses SD cards for removable storage, has a nice 320x240 color screen, and performs your basic address/task/calendar PDA functions fine (I synch to Outlook). It can play MP3's, MPEG's and WMV's (subject to its horsepower and screen size limits). Browse the web and read email. Work with MS Word, Excel, Access and Adobe Acrobat files.

You can even use a Terminal Server client to connect to other Windows boxes...so when you're out at the track in the desert and you get one of "those calls" from a customer, you can remote control a machine hundreds of miles away.

Cost is an issue but they are coming down all the time. The model that cost my company $700 earlier this year is now more like $400 street price, and that was a top-of-the-line model. The memory cards etc. just keep getting cheaper too.

There are various hardware plug-ins too. I have a jacket that connects it to a monitor, TV or projector and could do Powerpoint presentations at a customer site right off the PDA.

I am not a big Bill Gates fan, but in my personal experience the Palm based units just can't do some of this stuff, at least not as "seamlessly".

I just recently got a Palm Zire 71. I'm not sure of the particulars for email (maybe a blue tooth expansion card?) but I got it for under $300, and a larger memory card for ~$50. Takes great pics, and battery life seems to be good as well. I can play MP3s for a good 4-5 hrs and it'll only drain about 1/3 of the battery. YMMV.

Jen

Thanks for all the info, folks.

Sounds like I need to do a bunch more research. Good thing I'm not in a big hurry.

-Rusty