Because of the increased work load we are having I am in the market for a new PDA (work is paying )

I am looking for something diverse. I don't have time at the moment to use it for anything other than work, but that will change eventually. I have been looking at the Asus 716, but I don't know if thats because of pure name or not.

Price ceiling is about $400. I would even be happy with a decent non-biased review site. I like the features of windows mobile 2003, but I have nothing to base it to the other OS's.

As far as PDA's go I can only recommend HTC devices.No other PDA's have anything on them in my honest opinion.

I'll update with a link for the HTC home page when I can find it , it's proving difficult at the moment.
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Update
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Linkage: http://www.htc.com.tw/company/index.html

Look under the products section. It's not actually the site I was thinking of though. To be honest you'd be better off looking on google for the HTC devices as that page takes the p!ss. I personaly own an HTC Alpine and will be looking to get a HTC Universal come the new year. Either that or a nokia communicator (I'm really liking the sound of those).

Good review / news site: http://msmobiles.com/

HTC Universal:

Why not roll your PDA and phone together with a Treo 650 (Palm os) or wait fro the Treo 700 (Windows CE). And on top of that, if you can swing it get the goodlink* software and get your work email, calendar, and contacts on your Treo. If you do get the goodlink, get the unlimited data plan on the phone.

*goodlink has to be supported by your business.


Otherwise I don't really deal with PDAs.

I have both the ipaq h6315 which has a bluetooth cellphone built in and the rx3715 which has all the features except the phone. I use the 3715 mostly for pic storage and mp3's. It has so many features I cant even list them all. My favorites are ofcourse the planner software and pc sync, nevo home control (control every remote unit in your house), you can buy a 2 gb sd card and store hours of music, and the built in digital camera. Search them on ebay, i've seen them at decent prices.. compared to what they want for them at compusa. When I researched pda's this is the best buy and bang for the buck. Let me know if you have any ?'s on them i'll b glad to help.

BOOOOO it's all about HTC Universal

Before I start spouting that "handheld X is the greatest because I'm a fan boy." It would be nice if you could tell us precisely what you want out of your handheld, otherwise check www.brighthand.com

Subdismal's lthread on this topic from last month. http://forums.pcapex.com/showthread....014#post418014

Timber, you use Good? Sorry to hijack the thread, but Good is fantastic software in comparison to Blackberry. As for the handhelds, I have a fleet (50+) Treo 600 and 650s running Good and they're ok, but don't handle abuse well. I'm parital to the iPAQs and will be moving onto either them or some of the iMate products sometime early next year. I would definitely get something windows based, as the next gen of Treos won't even have palmm on it. Another OS bites the dust...

That htc looks like a kids toy. The ipaqs look more professional.

The next gen of Treos will have both, WM and Palm OSes on them, Palm is not moving to Windows Mobile, they are just including it as an option on their hardware.

Thanks for clarifying

Quote: Originally Posted by Peng Lord Before I start spouting that "handheld X is the greatest because I'm a fan boy." It would be nice if you could tell us precisely what you want out of your handheld

Well, for work I need it to be a regular day planner, e-mail, wifi able, must have word and excel, and basically help me reduce the clutter.

For play it needs to have a decent number of 3rd party apps, media player and mp3 player. I already have 2 gigs of SD mem for my camera so it should also have an SD slot. Bluetooth is a big plus. Eventually I will buy a GPS package for it as well.

I DO NOT need it to be a regular phone. I have a nextel, I am a roofing estimator, and my phone rings every 60 secs these days. That means I often have to answer my phone going up a ladder or while on a steep sloped roof. I go through about 3 phones a year because they get dropped off a roof or ladder etc... I don't want to be one handing my PDA while on a ladder with 4 other things in my hands to try to answer the phone.

Quote: Originally Posted by Caspertg I DO NOT need it to be a regular phone. I have a nextel, I am a roofing estimator, and my phone rings every 60 secs these days. That means I often have to answer my phone going up a ladder or while on a steep sloped roof. I go through about 3 phones a year because they get dropped off a roof or ladder etc... I don't want to be one handing my PDA while on a ladder with 4 other things in my hands to try to answer the phone.

The rx3715 has no built in phone. But does have bluetooth and wifi. I dont use the pda to answer the phone. I use a bluetooth headset. The rx3715 is pretty neat, you can get tons of apps for it.

Caspertg:
Since you are looking for a straight PDA unit, the field is wide open. Palm, visor, iPaq, htc. A lot of it will come down to personal preference. From the units I've played with...and you mentioning that you're on a roof, I would probably stay away from the iPaqs. They seem to be more fragile than some of the other units. It's been a while since I've tossed PDAs around. visor use to make a durable little one.

MrCracker:
I don't personally have a treo with good on it. We're currently piloting them at work.

Quote: Originally Posted by Caspertg Well, for work I need it to be a regular day planner, e-mail, wifi able, must have word and excel, and basically help me reduce the clutter. For play it needs to have a decent number of 3rd party apps, media player and mp3 player. I already have 2 gigs of SD mem for my camera so it should also have an SD slot. Bluetooth is a big plus. Eventually I will buy a GPS package for it as well. I DO NOT need it to be a regular phone. I have a nextel, I am a roofing estimator, and my phone rings every 60 secs these days. That means I often have to answer my phone going up a ladder or while on a steep sloped roof. I go through about 3 phones a year because they get dropped off a roof or ladder etc... I don't want to be one handing my PDA while on a ladder with 4 other things in my hands to try to answer the phone.

OK well perhaps the HTC Universal isn't for you then, that said just because you have phone functionality doesn't strictly mean you have to use it. I find my HTC Alpine quite handy for wireless internet when I'm no where near a hotspot, for example.

As for the office related applications you mention all Windows Mobile devices come kitted out with them as stock. The hide-away keyboard on the HTC Universal does especially compliments those uses.

From the play perspective I think any windows mobile device will accomidate you. That includes the GPS.

I still hartilly recommend HTC although you mentioned a chance you could drop it? IS this only an option if you were actively using it as a phone? There are disaster proof devices out there...

Quote: Originally Posted by z0mbi3 IS this only an option if you were actively using it as a phone? There are disaster proof devices out there...

Correct, if I am using it as a phone then I can not avoid using it in bad situations (ie. on a roof) If it is just used for PDA functions then I can wait a few minutes to use it in a safer manor.

In my searching I havn't seen any HTC's for sale. Are they available in the US?

I can't believe their not. Most are quad band for a start. I'll put my google hat on and get back to you.

Not yet available. You can buy unlocked versions, but they are very expensive ~$700+ I'm waiting on these myself. I believe t-mobile is going to be carrying them. I think you're best off with an iPAQ for your needs.

If you can wait a few weeks for initial reports, it sounds like the Palm TX ($299) may fit the bill nicely, you could use that extra $100 in the budget for an inexpensive BT GPS reciever. Seriously though, check out brighthand and read the reviews, it doesn't sound like you need a super unit, in fact you hardly need a mid-range unit for your goals. Just make sure that whatever you get, you get a good aluminum or leather case for it, just in case you do drop it.

EDIT: check this link out, there are likely other progs out there, but this is the first google showed me. http://www.pdaestimator.com/html/products.html#roofing

Quote: Originally Posted by mrcracker Not yet available. You can buy unlocked versions, but they are very expensive ~$700+ I'm waiting on these myself. I believe t-mobile is going to be carrying them. I think you're best off with an iPAQ for your needs.

Interesting, you can get them over here

Quote: Originally Posted by mrcracker I think you're best off with an iPAQ for your needs.

amen.

http://www.mobiletechreview.com/iPAQ_rx3715.htm

I got my bluetooth gps receiver from geeks for like $80. Delorme has the best navigation software if u were to need it but then again gps software is also arguable on who's the best. I bought a mount kit for my car from a guy in canada. Actually, i'll take pics with the pda and post'em.