PLease Help me find the best PDA..

I've been looking at the palm tx,palm zire 72, and the palm z22,(but really looking at the special edition palm zire 72, because of all it's features). Now I've been thrown the idea of a pocket pc...What is the difference between the two? What is a simple definition for the two. Is it true you can get free wireless internet, similar to laptops(depending on area)? And if so, there really is no need to carry round a laptop if emailing short messages is all I'd do.Also, should I shell out more money and get the extended warranty.

PDA is a pretty general term that can descirbe a lot of different types of digital organizers.

PocketPC:
* Run Windows Mobile operating system.
* Manufactured by a number of companies, including HP, Dell, and Acer.
* Originally known as PockPCs because WindowsMobile used to be called PocketPC.
* The term fits because WindowsMobile is very similar in layout and functionality as Windows, which runs on most PCs.
* The term can be confusing because some think that it's a PC that fits in your pocket, but that's just not true...it's still a PDA.
* Are geared for those that prefer Windows and/or power users.

Palm:
* Run the Palm operating system, with one lone exception (the Palm Treo 700w smartphone).
* Manufactured by Palm Inc, though Sony used to also make PDAs running the Palm OS.
* One of the original PDA makers, many people still refer to any PDA as a Palm, or a Palm Pilot, the second generation of Palm devices.
* Are geared more towards those that's either don't like Windows or are new to PDAs...they are typically found easier to use for first-timers.

There are also others, including Symbian-based PDAs, the Blackberry, etc, but that's another story, one that costs more than $100-$200.
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To your second question, yes, it's true that PDAs are capable of accessing the internet wirelessly. However, this requires two things:

* The PDA must be WiFi-enabled, which only the Palm TX has pre-installed. The others would have to have a SD WiFi card, which costs around $80, and is something the Z22 does not support.

* You must be within range of a wireless network or a hotspot. These are designated locations, typically coffee houses, mailing centers, book stores, airports, etc, that offer free WiFi access. These locations are limited, and some charge for the service. For more information I'd suggest ]clicking here for a guide to wireless internet access on the PDA.
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The Palm Zire 72 has been ''retired'' though you can still find it on Amazon and from select retailers. For the price it's pretty good, especially with the 1.2MP camera and multimedia capabilities, but it does lack WiFi. The TX is a better over-all PDA (faster, more storage space, better display, etc), but it does lack the camera and costs $299, exceeding your price range.
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Finally, I've never seen the need for the extended warrenty. Usually if the unit is defective you'll begin having problems with the first month or so and be able to have it replaced. If all's ok, and it makes it through the first year, it's probably going to keep on trucking. I still have a 6-year-old Palm that works, though it became obsolete, and thus replaced, a long time ago. That's usually what happens...it becomes insufficient before it becomes broken. Considering the original cost of the PDA, and the average life, I just don't think it's worth it, though some have benefitted from such.

Hope this helps,
John


P.S. I have locked your other thread so that the discussion can continue here.

Thanx sooo much John. Cnet should hire you. Now I have to make my decision on needs vs. wants. My ma always tells me I have "Big eyes", wanting everything I see. I like gadgets, stuff like these keeps me occupied. What kind of battery life am I expecting from a PDA? Are there any user replacement batteries PDa's you know of. The thing with the net is it gives you so much info, for ex. amazon.com has tons of PDA's to choose from but who knows if half of them is worth even looking at.

Would there be a problem getting a pda that's discontinued? I know sometimes when a product is discontinued there's no support(example, my relatively new digital camera, kodak ez200) Boo kodak =0(

In response to your other post, the battery life of a PDA hovers around 4 hours, though that is a variable depending on the brightness of the screen (it's adjustable), the speed of the processor at any given moment (I have a 624MHz processor, but can underclock it natively to save battery power), and if you are using Bluetooth or WiFi, which drain the battery. In another way of looking at it, the battery can hold up for several years, though after the first year or so you'll notice it will drain faster than when it was new. (How much of a difference depends on your usage of it.)

PocketPCs pretty much all have user-replacable batteries, and extra batteries, and extended batteries (which double the runtime from 4 hours to 8 hours), can be purchased from the manufacturer and third parties. Just be careful who you buy from...a lot of the dealers sell cheaply made batteries that may explode, damaging the PDA (not covered by the PDA's warrenty) and possibly injuring you. Palms, on the other hand, do not have user-replacable batteries, or extended batteries. If you need it replaced during the warrenty period you must ship it back to Palm, and after the warrenty period your best bet is to purchase a third-party or used battery off Ebay and try to replace it yourself, as it would be your last resort before replacing the PDA.
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As to discontinued PDAs, it's not hard to get one...Amazon and online sites usually have older models at heavy discounts, and Ebay and the like are always filled with used models. Support-wise, it's debatable. Manufacturers rarely issue any updates for a PDA that's been put out to pasture. If you obtain it through an authorized dealer, the warrenty will still be valid, meaning you'll receive technical support, though if something goes wrong they won't exactly have a lot of extra units or spare parts laying around for repair/replacement. The way I see it, if you find a really good deal go for it, provided the PDA isn't more than a year or two old, but otherwise stick to something on their current lineup. PDAs become obsolete within 6 months, on average, but at least then you have a little more security than with those that are already being forgotten.

Hope this helps,
John

The difference in the number of applications for the PocketPC isn't really that great. PalmGear may beat PocketGear (it's sister site) by 40%, but PocketPC trumps the Palm on Handango by 10%. After you add in sites like Astraware, Handmark, and the encyclopedia of software from PocketPC Magazine, the finish line is masked by a cloud of dust by two huge lists of software. I've had more success finding desired software for the PPC, but Palm developers (Morning, Bob) sure do make for an interesting competition.

John


P.S. The Dell with a 3.7'' VGA screen is the Axim X51v (and previously the X50v), which is priced at $499, though it's on sale for $399 more often than not. The HP hx4700 also has a a 4.0'' VGA display, though it was recently retired pending HP's new lineup set for the coming months. It's regular price was/is $599.

going over to a Windows based PDA is the lower resolution screen. It seems to me that Microsoft should have adapted to higher resolution by now (higher end VGA devices aside). It seems to me as though they are lazy, they don't want to put out any effort. Kinda like how the American auto manufacturers were in the seventies when the imports kicked their butts. They seem to want to squeak by as minimally as possible. And I consider a 320 X 320 display on a PDA a minimum. But at least Palm is at the minimum. Microsoft refuses to go up to the minimum...for whatever reason.

High-quality VGA screens were first supported by Windows Mobile 2003SE, which came out in early 2004. With that release being almost two years ago, Microsoft can't really be blamed for a limited quantity of VGA devices. That loads falls on the PDA manufacturers (Dell, HP, Acer, etc). Of course, they're simply following demand...not many want to fork over the money for a PDA with a VGA screen, so they focus on PDAs with standard QVGA displays.

Now, you could say that part of the issue is that Windows Mobile only supports resolutions 240x240 (smartphones), 240x320 (QVGA), 480x480 (usually VGA smartphones), and 480x640 (VGA). Palm supports the resolutions 160x160, 320x320, and 320x480, giving them the ability to provide better resolution than the average PPC without going VGA.

Eventually the price of VGA displays will drop enough to make them the standard, but until then, and I hate to say it, Palm will remain the better choice for PDAs with good displays if you don't want to pay for the VGA.

John

pay for the higher resolution...or VGA...displays. It's that there is no Smart phone (PDA/cell phone...Treo style) available in the Windows format.

I suppose supply and demand are what is holding Windows based PDAs back. So sad.

Actually, if one were to consider the cost of Treo style PDAs from both camps one could conclude it isn't about hardware cost. Palm based PDAs with their higher resolution displays are generally less exspensive than Windows based PDAs with their lower resolution displays.

Certainly the fault should set with Microsoft because the hardware should be relatively similar in cost to produce. So that leaves the added cost of the operating system. Miscroft apparently charges so much more for their software that hardware manufacturers cannot produce the desired display quality at a cheap enough cost. If this is the case then Microsoft is holding the display progress back.