PALM.COMOf course you’d have to be living in a hole to not know PDA stands for Personal Data Assistant. Ok, maybe it’s the other way around. Anyway, this article is about those little handheld computers you occasionally see. If you have a lot of appointments and addresses to manage, these things are great, and much less bulky and precious than a day planner. I still have issues with PDAs, though-even the most expensive and feature-rich handhelds are still just not that useful. They have small displays, limited memory, and cumbersome keyboards or other input methods. The most tricked-out PDA will maybe be able to send and receive e-mail, support some modest web browsing, hold maybe an hour of MP3s, or shoot some low quality pictures. They don’t do any of those things terribly well, and for most students those features are hardly worth dropping $400 or more. For most of us, handhelds are good for more basic needs, like organizing personal addresses, calendar appointments, and maybe a few notes or to-do lists. So in my experience it’s best to save a bundle and just go with a solid, inexpensive handheld, and save the money for an iPod mini or serious digital camera.
Some basics
Most handhelds include a little attachment for connecting it to your computer, usually it’s a “cradle” (like a cell phone charger), but sometimes it’s just a cable. This allows you to “sync” the handheld with your PC, so you have identical copies of all your appointments and addresses on both. Synching also ensures all your data is backed up if you were to ever lose or break your PDA (another reason cheap is good). You can enter in new information on the computer and sync it to the handheld, or the other way around.
Entering the information directly onto the handheld is generally done by writing in the device’s handwriting recognition language. This usually means learning a new method for writing letters that the handheld can recognize. It’s much easier than it sounds, if you give yourself a chance to learn it.
There are two main players in operating systems for handhelds: Palm, the company that made the original PalmPilot, and Microsoft (wow, who would have thought Microsoft would enter a market after it already proved profitable). Respectively the two operating systems are called “Palm OS” (latest version is 5.2.x) and “Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003.” Palm OS is compatible with Macintosh computers, unlike (you guessed it) Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003. Palm OS handhelds are available from a number of different companies (including Sony), but the biggest bang for your buck is still from Palm.
Palm Zire
Street Price: $79 or less
This is the perfect handheld if you’re upgrading from an appointment book. It has a monochrome display, 2MB of internal memory, and PalmOS 4.1. All this should be enough for addresses, calendaring and other basic functions.
Palm Zire 21
Street Price: $99 or less
The extra $20 for the Zire 21 is well worth it. The Zire 21, has 8MB of internal memory, and the newer PalmOS 5.2.1. But more importantly it has a much faster processor; in fact it’s the same one in handhelds twice the price. That basically means searching and all basic operations will be much faster.
Palm Tungsten E
Street Price: $199 or less
The Tungsten E, may be better for the more tech savvy, or if you’re upgrading from an aging handheld. It has a color screen that can show videos, and is good for viewing and editing Word documents which can be done right out of the box. This model will also accept a range of upgrades, including one that allows for MP3 playback.
T-Mobile Color Sidekick
Price: $200 or more
Ok this is a bit of a splurge. For T-mobile subscribers, it’s a fully function cell phone build around a slick PDA. The color screen rotates to uncover a decent sized keyboard. While it’s not quite as diminutive as other handhelds, but it does allow you to only carry one device. But it can actually do a decent job of wireless e-mail, and even AIM. Of course, it’ll also handle all your addresses and appointments too. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to come with anything to connect it to your PC, but a cable is available.