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Purchasing Advice for a PDA

T

TwistedMetal

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 1, 2008
7
0
Hi all,

I am looking for a PDA for my Wife. Neither do i nor she has any experience with a PDA. It should help in the better organisation of programmes. The most important feature which it should have is Appointments and Reminders. We are not at all interested in Internet capability on the Device.

Budget: not more then 200 Dollars.

Because a lady would use it therefore it should look a bit nice ;) Maybe a good colored screen??

Actually would somebody be kind enough and tell how else a PDA can be useful? What else is it mainly used for?

Thanks.
 
A PDA? I don't think they're useful. I've tried. It was like 7 years ago, but I truly did try to integrate it into my life. Paper ended up better than the PDA, and yet using paper wasn't great either. :eek:

Just put everything into iCal, set alarms to her appointments, and then sync her mobile phone with her Mac. That's what I do. When I have an appointment, my mobile phone rings and reminds me. No, I can't write onto my Sony Ericsson, but I never wrote directly into my PDA anyway, so meh.
 
Get a iPhone instead.

But if you want a PDA, dont get a Palm onr, they suck. I speak from experiance.
 
tefleming said:
Or you could get her an 8gb ipod touch with the January apps.
Click to expand...

Yep, my iPod touch works fine as a PDA, and you will get the new apps too, without paying or jailbreaking. But if it needs to be connected all the time, the iPhone is better.
 
i have used Palms and Windows Mobile PDAs, and now I have my iPhone.
The effectiveness of any system you use will depend on your ability/discipline to add new things (appointments, to dos's) and to review them and act when you need to.

If you really want a stand alone PDA the Palms are very good and simple to use. You can get a very nice deal either on eBay or Craigslist.

If you prefer to use your cellphone, you can do that also, as suggested in one of the previous posts..

Anything else could be out of your target price.
________
Publica
 
Last edited:
Some more curiosity :)

Thanks to everybody for contributing. It seems Ipod touch and iphone are quite favourites.

We cannot buy iphone at the moment :(

About Ipod touch: I saw that some features in Ipod touch need Internet. How does this work? Does one need a contract with the Telephone company for the Internet (as for Iphone) or is there a wifi which can connect to any wifi hotspot anywhere and use the internet? For example, if we just go to a Cafe, can i use their the free wifi facility and get into the internet for checking mails? And how about at places where the wireless access is secured. Does it give a possibility to fill up the registration forms. And does it support all the Security encryption Standards (WEP, WPA etc).

About the Jan applications. Are these type of new additions and updates available all the time or are they only for the new users who buy the full hardware new?

As i have not much idea about PDAs and organisers, can you please tell us how the appointments and reminders work on the Ipod touch? Does it ring or is there an alarm or a vibration or something?

Maybe this question is annoying. What can a PDA do more than the ipod touch?

Thanks once again for your informative contribution and patience :)
 
No, you do not need a contract with any particular internet provider to use the Touch.

And, yes, you can easily fill out forms or accept conditions to use wifi at panera and so forth.

And if you want to sign up for a monthly service plan like Boingo or T-mobile to use non-free hotspots, you can do that as well.

Naturally you will need some sort of internet connection, free or otherwise, to check your email or to use things like Google maps of the iTunes music store.

Probably the biggest advantage of palm and windows based PDAs right now over the Touch is the availability of third party apps.

But that may change with the SDK coming.
 
TwistedMetal said:
About Ipod touch: I saw that some features in Ipod touch need Internet. How does this work? Does one need a contract with the Telephone company for the Internet (as for Iphone) or is there a wifi which can connect to any wifi hotspot anywhere and use the internet? For example, if we just go to a Cafe, can i use their the free wifi facility and get into the internet for checking mails? And how about at places where the wireless access is secured. Does it give a possibility to fill up the registration forms. And does it support all the Security encryption Standards (WEP, WPA etc).
Click to expand...

The iPhone supports WiFi and all the encryption protocols.

TwistedMetal said:
About the Jan applications. Are these type of new additions and updates available all the time or are they only for the new users who buy the full hardware new?
Click to expand...
They come on all new iPod Touches.

TwistedMetal said:
Maybe this question is annoying. What can a PDA do more than the ipod touch?
Click to expand...

I don't thing anything really... Palm's offerings are pretty bad, and WinMobile devices suck. Applications, I suppose, but there well soon be enough of those for the iPods...
 
Check out the palm Z22. It's an absolutely basic PDA and I think it costs $99, and it has everything you need organization wise. It doesn't have internet, it can't read microsoft office, but it keeps me organized and it fits in my pocket.
 
Thanks for the quick responses.

One advantage of Ipod touch on other PDAs might be that Ipod touch is an ipod too, for listening music and movies. So if she cannot integrate the PDA in her life, than atleast it can be used as an mp3 player + for checking mails while drinking a coffee at a Cafe ;)

And can one keep installing new applications from time to time on this device? Or is it just, once what is delivered on the hardware is full and final?

Thanks once again :)
 
TwistedMetal said:
Thanks for the quick responses.

One advantage of Ipod touch on other PDAs might be that Ipod touch is an ipod too, for listening music and movies. So if she cannot integrate the PDA in her life, than atleast it can be used as an mp3 player + for checking mails while drinking a coffee at a Cafe ;)

And can one keep installing new applications from time to time on this device? Or is it just, once what is delivered on the hardware is full and final?

Thanks once again :)
Click to expand...

That's right, that's the thing about the iPhone, also, the iPod part is very nice. I haven't had to carry an iPod + phone like I used to.

And remember, it's more than just mp3s now, pictures and movies look great on it also. My Mom uses hers to show off pics and home videos of her grandkids everywhere she goes. :)

And new applications have already been issued for it and can be downloaded onto older iPods. Same with general operating system updates that come through iTunes. Certainly what you get is not final by any means.
 
Okay, Maybe this would be the last question (for today atleast ;) )

How can we protect the screen from scratches and marks? Are there some recommended covers or screens or something?
 
Speakers for Ipod Touch

Hi all,

Can anyone suggest nice speakers for ipod touch? We saw a lot of speakers on the apple website in Acessories but we have no idea which one are suitable. They do not need to be disco speakers but should of course produce nice sound. And if they can be transported in a suitcase then its really fantastic. But nice sound quality is a must :)

Thanks in advance for your help.
 
I'd suggest looking at a skin from www.bestskinsever.com. They are much cheaper and cover more area on the phone than an Invisible Shield does. I just wish I knew about this site before I bought one of these skins off ebay for twice as much. Oh well, what's $5 in the end, right?
 
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