I would like to get a PDA as I am self employed and sick of operating a personal diary and work diary separately. Managing emails and internet on the move would be nice but not essential. I don't need it to function as a phone.
I run windows XP at home.
It seems to me that I can get a decent one for about £300 and I have been considering the HP HX2490 or the HP RX1950. The Palm PDAs look pretty good value but don't seem to run windows as such so I am not sure if it will be that easy.
My main criteria are that I can connect it easily to my PC with a cable (preferably USB) rather than messing around with bluetooth. Also I don't want to have to convert files into different types, I just want to be able to transfer easily from one to the other.
My main objective is to be able to run Outlook on my PC and the PDA.
If the thing can access the internet via WiFi it might come in handy. If I want a GPRS connection presumably I would have to hook up to a service provider and get a SIM card or whatever the PDA equivalent is.
I see in various technical specifications that some PDA's have expansion slots. What are these for? Do I need them? (Sorry, novice here)
Anyone have any comments or recommendations?
Hi Bella,
Welcome to TechLore! These are great questions, so lets see if we can get you some answers.
The first major distinction you need to make is whether or not you want a seperate PDA, or a PDA/phone hybrid. Having a PDA connected to a cellular carrier makes it easier to get online when on the move, so the hybrid is the ideal choice for this. If you currently have a data capable phone with Bluetooth technology, you can normally connect a PDA through it, but it gets a lot more complicated. Wi-Fi for connecting at home or through hotspots is a must. Getting the hybrid gives you a chance to condense how many devices you need to carry with you, but more importantly, it forces you to keep your PDA with you at all times... and that means you're more likely to use it. Read "Living Life With Your Pocket PC" to get some great suggestions on how to integrate a PPC into your lifestyle.
Today, I'd be hard pressed recommending a Palm OS based PDA to anyone that wants to sync files. Plus, if you really want Outlook on the go, then you're going to have to stick with a PDA running Windows Mobile 5.0, which should come preloaded with the Mobile Office Suite. You can easily sync these with a USB connection at home, which will most likely be attached to the charging dock.
Most PDAs will have an expansion card slot, the type really depends on the PDA, but you'll see Compact Flash or SD as the most common. These allow you to add in memory cards for more file storage, wi-fi add on cards, GPS capabilities, and more. Typically you'll at least want a memory card for file storage. The other stuff depends on what you want to do with it.