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Pocket PCs etc. Which do you personally recommend, having used it yourself?
cranioscopical:
I'd like to ask the collective brain here, at Donation Coder, which devices it recommends. My hope is to have answers ONLY about devices that the brain has used itself, not about interesting-sounding stuff of which it has no direct experience.
I now use (here comes the collective laugh) a Palm IIIxe.
That's because:
* I can run it from AAA batteries available at any corner store
* It lasts for ages without needing to be recharged in any way
* I have several, so losing one is really no big deal
* My requirements are fairly minimal
This is a list of all that I must have :
* A calendar
* An address book
* Some kind of note-taking/keeping function
* A couple of calculators/converters
* A reminder function
* Some way to secure sensitive data
* Small enough size to fit in shirt pocket
Having laboured mightily in my childhood to learn how to do real, joined-up writing I'd also like to deploy this amazing skill and enjoy handwriting recognition that doesn't depend on letter-by-letter entry or a special, esoteric, pseudo alphabet.
Any expert responses will be much appreciated.
Ruffnekk:
I'm using an old Orange SPV M500 with Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition. It suits my needs which are minimal as well. I really only need a calendar to keep track of my appointments. Another feature I use a lot is Notes. The SPV M500 has excellent handwriting recognition and it is not limited to letter-by-letter. You can write a complete note and click 'Recognize' to scan the entire message and convert it. I think 90% is a good estimate of the correctness of this method. There are some letters that get mixed up almost by default, like a 'k' becoming a 'h' and a 'v' becoming a 'u'.
This pocket pc is also a phone, so I naturally can store and retrieve contact information quite easily.
The size of the device is ca. 10.5 x 5.5 cm (4 x 2 inch) which I think is just large enough , but not too large. The only major drawback is the battery, which is exhausted quite fast if you use the device a lot. If I use it only occasionally the battery will last for about 2 days, but if I use it more frequently then it will last for about 4 hours tops.
tsaint:
I used a palm 3, then handspring visor then a tungsten t1 then finally a th55. The th55 is a joy to use.
Of course sony stopped making them a while back.
Why ...screen, form factor, battery life (drat, no aaa). A bit slow perhaps compared to the last palms, but as I get older, I'm
getting slower anyway.
Has wifi - only wep tho, and I didnt buy the bluetooth which I should have.
tony
rjbull:
* I can run it from AAA batteries available at any corner store-cranioscopical (February 11, 2007, 05:55 PM)
--- End quote ---
That's a real plus point, but, does it have non-volatile memory? If your battery goes flat, do you lose everything?
cranioscopical:
Ruffnekk: I'm using an old Orange SPV M500 with Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition.
--- End quote ---
Thanks for the reply! That all looks good but for the battery life (I'd forget to recharge it). So, you take a charger along with you if on a trip? How long to bring it back from the dead? Is the data still there when you revive it?
tsaint: The th55 is a joy to use
--- End quote ---
Thank you, too! Looks as if you've travelled the road I'm about to walk. I refer to a Palm on average about every three days. I know that's not often, but when I need it, I need it.
If I did this with the th55, and simply looked up, say three contacts and the calendar, what would be your guess about time between recharging?
That the th55 is out of production might be both good and bad. Bad because I can't walk into a store and pick one up. Good because I may find one on eBay or some such.
rjbull: does it have non-volatile memory? If your battery goes flat, do you lose everything?
--- End quote ---
Oh, thank you, very good point! It's amazing how blinkered I can be. I haven't thought about that at all. I just made the tacit asumption that everything works as the Palm does. With the Palm, I can't get any data until I replace the batteries and sync with data elsewhere. However, if I see that power levels are low, I *can* do something about that no matter where I am.
So, a unit with non-vol memory would give me access to 'lost' data if, say, I returned to my hotel room and recharged the device? If so, I guess that makes recharging time--from dead to minimal functionality--a big factor in purchase decisions.
Boy, this is a great way to get information, thank you all. And thanks for further anticipated responses!
I ought to be able to recharge a device on a daily basis, but I forget.
The reason I have several of them is that they're scattered around (one in each briefcase, one in each jacket, one in each car...) to save me from my forgetful self.
I can see I'm going to have to modify my behaviour with repect to that.
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