Looking for PDA suggestion

> Can anyone suggest a pda that would fit my needs while syncing with
> my Mac? I am somewhat willing to switch phone providers provided that
> all the options are right for me.

iPhone, without a doubt.

--

// Bob Perrey

>Can anyone suggest a pda that would fit my needs while syncing with my Mac?
>I am somewhat willing to switch phone providers provided that all the
>options are right for me.

I recently switched from a Treo (600) to a Blackberry 8300 (aka
"Curve"). I really like the Curve a lot. The UI took me about half a
day to get used to. It seems snappy compared to my old Treo. I used
Mark|Space's "Missing Sync" for my Treo and found a very reasonably
priced "sidegrade" over to their Blackberry version on their website.
I installed it on my Mac and moved all my contacts and calendars over
to the Blackberry within a minute. Very painless, very easy.

<http://markspace.com/missingsync_blackberry.php>

I've found the Blackberry to be an excellent PDA (as good as the
Treo) PLUS being an excellent phone and very useful Internet device.
It's handling of mail is fantastic, especially if you manage multiple
mail accounts like I do. The web browsing functionality is far better
than the Treo, as is the phone. It has a large screen and is only
slightly smaller (but MUCH thinner!) than the Treo, but weighs a
fraction of the Palm device. My only complaint about the Blackberry
so far is the keyboard is NOT AS GOOD AS the Treo's. I'm not saying
it is bad, just not as good, especially for somebody like me... a guy
with big meaty thumbs. ;) The Treo's high/pointy keys were easier to
type on for me.

I've been using PalmOS based phones for a long long time, starting
with the Kyocera 6035 (best. phone. ever.) so I put a lot of thought
into my recent purchase. I had the opportunity to "test drive" a few
devices before I bought, namely several Treos (650, 680, 700, etc),
several Blackberries (8X00s, and Pearls), and the Apple iPhone.

The Blackberry's maturity and UMA availability is what finally sold me on it.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unlicensed_Mobile_Access>

I also switched providers, from Verizon to T-mobile. UMA, in the form
of their "Hot Spot Home" service, is what sold me on T-mobile.


I considered an iPhone, but honestly felt that it was not really
ready for my day to day use. I wrote up an article about why I chose
against an iPhone here:
<http://chuck.goolsbee.org/archives/461>

I expect the iPhone to mature into what will likely be the best
mobile phone available. Until then I chose a more mature, useful (for
me) platform.


--chuck goolsbee
VP Tech Ops
digital.forest
seattle, wa

On Sat, 27 Oct 2007, design1 wrote:

> I am a Mac user who uses an old school Palm Tungsten E2 as a schedule
> and contact organizer. [...] I would like to now update my life and
> just have one device for phone, email and contact/calendar. I have a
> Blackberry 8700c that was given to me by a friend but I haven't even
> tried it [...]
>
> I am based in New York City and have Cingular as my phone plan. [...]
>
> Can anyone suggest a pda that would fit my needs while syncing with my
> Mac? [...]

What, you mean besides the iPhone? :-)

Surely it does all of the things you're asking for, plus lots more.

The one thing it lacks is the PalmOS, but it sounds like you're willing
to consider alternatives to that anyway.

I was a Palm user for almost 10 years. I thought they were great, and in
a lot of ways, I still do.

But I don't miss them. They were good. This is better. Much better. :-)


--
Chris Devers

On Oct 28, 2007, at 2:16 AM, <tidbits-talktidbits.com> wrote:

> Can anyone suggest a pda that would fit my needs while syncing with
> my Mac? I am somewhat willing to switch phone providers provided
> that all the options are right for me.

Think different. Why not an iPhone!? It does everything you are
asking for. Better camera, display, music playing, readability,
keyboard, features... The only thing I miss is a few games, but that
will change.

As for Entourage, skip it. Mail, Address Book and iCal work 300X
better. If you do decide to go Palm (wanna buy my Treo 650?) use
Missing Sync and skip Palm Desktop totally.

Dollar for dollar, feature for feature the iPhone is easier to use.
You got a Mac for a reason.

Steve L.

The iPhone might someday be the way to go, but until it (and the iPod) allows you to freely browse and download all types of files (such as if you want to leave your laptop at home and download MacOS updates or other large applications while mobile) and is fully unlocked I can't say it's the best choice yet. The Palm TX is a decent WiFi PDA that is a small Internet browsing device that does let you download all file types, though without the phone. You can get a pretty good deal on a number of good cell phones from Wal-Mart for less than $100 or some great deals on Quad-band world wide coverage, unlocked phones on the Internet for under $150. Look for phones labeled as "European Versions" & "Unlocked" and be free to choose who provides your service.

-----

DON'T BE A SLAVE TO THE SERVICE PROVIDERS!!!!!!! If people really knew how they are being "played" with seemingly sweet phone deals and convoluted high profit connection plans they would take hammers to their so called free, but locked and restricted, phones and buy only unlocked phones and shop around for service like most of the rest of the world does. Sorry for the rant, but some time times I just can't help myself.

On Oct 30, 2007, at 1:26 PM, Steven Lunetta wrote:

>
> On Oct 28, 2007, at 2:16 AM, <tidbits-talktidbits.com> wrote:
>
>> Can anyone suggest a pda that would fit my needs while syncing with
>> my Mac? I am somewhat willing to switch phone providers provided
>> that all the options are right for me.

I recently switched from a Treo 650 to a Sprint Mogul (HTC 6800),
which is a Windows mobile phone. I liked a lot of the things about
my Treo, except the outdated OS often crashed, probably due to the
fact that I was getting "push" email on it and it was doing multiple
network operations in the background with a non-multi-tasking OS. I
was not inclined to switch providers because Sprint's data network
around me is very solid and fast.

My experience on the Mogul has overall been good. Windows Mobile 6
is definitely more complicated than Palm OS, but it is a lot like a
computer. I had to start thinking "computer" not "PDA." I have
added a "skin" to the home page to make it a little more palm-like,
with touch controls for various tasks. I like the widescreen for web
browsing and the Sprint EVDO network is very very fast.

I sync my data with Entourage by setting up a personal exchange
account on mail2web.com. My calendar and email syncs over the air in
real time. When I make a change in Entourage it shows up on my Mogul
in a mattter of minutes. You *do* need a pc to backup and installing
some apps or buy the Missing Sync for Windows Mobile. I don't find
I need to connect it to my pc very often. And Entourage can
automatically sync to Address Book and iCal if you like.

In my Treo days I found iCal very slow and hard to use. I found
Missing Sync at times very unreliable. And I couldn't sync my email
to my computer.

If you are looking for something like that and is a little more
iPhone-like, you could look at the new HTC Touch, which runs an
iPhone-like skin over the Windows Mobile 6 to make it more touch
friendly.

There are so many options now, but I think it depends on what you
want to do and what learning curve you want to tackle.

In my mind:

iPhone - Pros: gorgeous, easy to use, Mac sync, wifi Cons: Lack of
choice in provider and 3rd party apps, expensive

Palm OS - Pros: Simplicity, 3rd party apps (and lots of them)
Cons: Aging OS (prone to crashing IMO), no wifi, need to add Missing
Sync

Blackberry - Pros: Palm-like ease of use, push email, 3rd party
apps Cons: Mac sync not always reliable

Windows Mobile - Pros: Pure power, 3rd party apps, push email (with
exchange server), many models to choose from Cons: more complex,
need to add Missing Sync for Mac sync.

There you go, clear as mud, huh? :)

--
David Stubblebine
Norwalk, OH

On 2007-11-06 8:28 AM, David Stubblebine wrote:
>
> Windows Mobile - Pros: Pure power, 3rd party apps, push email (with
> exchange server), many models to choose from Cons: more complex,
> need to add Missing Sync for Mac sync.
>


I use an HTC Wizard (Win mobile 5, rebranded as a Cingular 8125). All in
all the phone is good, and all in all Missing Sync handles synching to
iCal and AddressBook well (I use IMAP email on the phone, no need to
sync email).

BUT ... the tradeoff for "pure power" is "crappy Windows user
experience". As one typical example ... on many screens within the
Settings CPs, there is an Options button. Clicking on it brings one to a
screen that says, "There are no options for this feature."

heh.

kazar
--
Datatude, Ltd. -- http://www.datatude.net/
tech strategies & database solutions

How about PDAs that don't act as phones? I sometimes miss my old Palm because of its text editing and data storage capabilities. I can see the point of internet access, but I can't afford ATT's data plans. Their basic phone rates are bad enough. A basic wifi PDA would be good enough. When I look at iPod Touch, though, it seems to be all about media. What about those of us who deal mainly in text?

Mark Stoneman

<http://onmymac.blogspot.com>

On Sat, 17 Nov 2007 04:03:20 -0800, mrstoneman wrote:
> How about PDAs that don't act as phones?

You can still get the Palm T|X, with WiFi and Bluetooth but
no phone. It's ideal for me. I can use Bluetooth or WiFi
over my home wireless network for syncing. The T|X came
with Documents to Go, so I can work on text and .doc files
and read PDFs. I use Datebk6, as well, and the large
screen lets me see a whole busy day's worth of appointments
and my top-priority ToDos without the annoyance of
scrolling.


---
K
Kat Nagel

mrstoneman wrote:
> How about PDAs that don't act as phones? I sometimes miss my old Palm because of its text editing and data storage capabilities. I can see the point of internet access, but I can't afford ATT's data plans. Their basic phone rates are bad enough. A basic wifi PDA would be good enough. When I look at iPod Touch, though, it seems to be all about media. What about those of us who deal mainly in text?

I prefer a smartphone with wifi. They're like an iPhone with Palm OS or
Windows Mobile. Use it at home or in the office for free (connect via
wifi). Pay the data rates when you don't have wifi coverage.

Dmitri Borovoy