Apple friendly PDA's. Advice please!

[bumfilter]

Hello!

As part of my job, I need to check and use email a lot. I used to lug my PowerBook (15 inch) with me but carrying it around on my shoulder for hours on end, every single day is a bit too much. That along with the possibility of someone nabbing it while I pay for my coffee, has made me think about buying a PDA.

Now, I could use my phone (SE K700i) to check emails but the screen is small, the keypad is small and the amount of emails makes it more time-consuming than it ought to be.

Can anyone recommend a Mac OSX friendly PDA, that has bluetooth built-in, possibly even Wi-Fi? All I need to do with it is check emails (through a web interface I've written), so basically, has something like Internet Explorer. Something that can take good notes would be great too.

I've been looking at the Dell X30 but:

1. It's a Dell
2. It's a Dell
3. It's a bit too much for what I need it for.

Any ideas? Or does anyone here have a Dell PDA? Maybe they aren't all that bad.

Thanks for any help you can give me!

 

[jleonette]

Palm Zire 72

I bought a Palm Zire 72 about a month ago and have been very pleased with it so far. It has bluetooth (no wi-fi). I can connect it with with my SE T637 for email and web surfing. It's nowhere near as fast as wi-fi, but it gets the job done and I don't need to access a hotspot in order to get on the web. Rumour has it that Palm (or a 3rd party developer) will eventually bring out a wi-fi SD card for this model.

 

[bumfilter]

Thanks for your input jleonette!

 

[sen_almighty]

I bought a Palm Zire 72 about a month ago and have been very pleased with it so far. It has bluetooth (no wi-fi). I can connect it with with my SE T637 for email and web surfing. It's nowhere near as fast as wi-fi, but it gets the job done and I don't need to access a hotspot in order to get on the web. Rumour has it that Palm (or a 3rd party developer) will eventually bring out a wi-fi SD card for this model.

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-3243_7-5144102.html?tag=promo2

 

[Crikey]

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-3243_7-5144102.html?tag=promo2

Wow, check it out. 67% gave a thumbs down to one of the SD WiFi adapters mentioned, and 33% gave a thumbs down to the other. Sounds like a technology that is not ready for prime time, although a larger sample set would of course be nicer.

Last I read up on it, none of the SD WiFi cards on the market had drivers for PalmOS.

You could get a PalmOne Zire 72 or Tungsten|T3, with Bluetooth, a PalmOne Tungsten C, with WiFi, or a PalmOne Tungsten W or Treo 600, which connect directly to certain wireless phone networks. All of today's Palms sync up easily with your Mac using either the included Palm Desktop software or using Apple's iCal/Address Book/iSync software.

Or you could get a Sony Clie (cheap now on closeout as Sony exits the US PDA market, and the TH55 has WiFi and Bluetooth and a 480x320 screen; cheaper models have WiFi and regular size screens) or any brand of Pocket PC or whatever they are called now. With a Sony or PocketPC, you'll need third-party software to sync with your Mac.

I have a Tungsten|T3, and I like it (it has a fast CPU, lots of RAM, and a nice 480x320 screen). I don't use the Bluetooth that much. I also don't use it for e-mail that much, since any keyboardless device with this small a screen just doesn't give me the e-mail experience I want.

Serious e-mail geeks tend to like either the PalmOne Treo 600 or the RIM Blackberry/Sidekick Hiptop type of device; have you checked those out?

Good luck,



Crikey