Need a new backup brain/PDA

[redbird]

I didn't read carefully enough; yes, Win7 supports a version of PalmOS, but that version won't support my m515. And I went ahead and overwrote everything, instead of doing some complicated dual boot system.

I think that leaves me choosing between a smart phone and an Ipad. And running off just the portable for a little while: synching is valuable, but doesn't need to be daily.

Thoughts are welcome. Lighter is better.

Comments

[serene]

iPad is not exactly light, and it's not exactly small, when compared to a PDA. Huge, in fact. If you can easily carry an 8.5x11 spiral notebook around (single-subject thickness), though, I'd say go for it. I do like it a lot, but I wouldn't buy it as a PDA, personally.

[serene]

(I actually probably wouldn't buy it at all; someotherguy got one for free from work and I've been using it quite a bit the past week or two.)

[voidampersand]

Were you using Palm Desktop to connect your Palm to your PC? It looks like Palm has been dropping support for older Palm devices from newer versions of Palm Desktop.

http://kb.palm.com/wps/portal/kb/common/article/33529_en.html#windows

Windows 7 has an XP compatibility mode where it actually boots a copy of XP in a virtual machine to run the application. It comes with Windows 7 Pro/Ultimate, but it looks like you might be able to download it.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/default.aspx

If you decide to get a new PDA, the iPod Touch is pocket sized and cheaper than an iPad. You would need to get all new apps. But that would be true if you got an Android or WebOS device, and I don't know how long Palm is going to keep supporting PalmOS devices in the future. You might be able to find a newer PalmOS device pretty cheap.

[finch]

Just for the record, I do have a Palm smartphone, which I bought specifically to replace my old PDA and my old phone, and I do like it.

[evolvedcucumber]

Suggestions: If you end up needing a new PDA, look at ebay. I just got one a few days ago (*reminds self to go comment and review for sam_tech*) and it seems to be working fine. It's a visio? I think? I'm not very tech-savvy.

I upgraded to Win7, and haven't had any issues with anything. I still use Firefox, and Thunderbird.

All of my Microsoft Office seems to work, not that I use it except to view class stuff. AbiWord (my processor of choice) works fine. I was warned that iTunes might not function properly, but have had no issues to that effect (which is good, because I have upwards of a week's worth of files, both music and books, that would have been lost.)

I don't use a lot of different programs in my day-to-day life, and I stopped installing messengers a long time ago (I just use the online versions if I know someone wants to chat), so that's all the info I've got for ya.

But the whole point of this was to try to lighten your stress load, at least a little.

[ellarien]

Oh dear.

Have you considered an iPod Touch? As far as I can make out, it's basically an iPhone without the phone/camera part, and rather more portable than an iPad. A colleague has one that he uses for a lot of the same things I do with my Palm TX.

[ckd]

Agreed. That's what I used for about a year after giving up on Palm but before I switched to my iPhone.

[timill]

Some questions:
What do you plan to use it for?
Who is your cellphone provider (if any)?
Do you have opinions on OS (Android/Blackberry/WinMo/whatever)?
Size: is the iPad too big?

[redbird]

What I want is something to replace my PDA; address/phone book, appointment book (on the order of 1-10 appointments/week, but with the capacity for "repeat on regular schedule" if possible), calculator, notepad (which stores things like frequent flier numbers, haiku, and snippets of conversation), and ebook reader. Ideally a shopping list app (which should be trivial) and a version of the MetrO software for directions by mass transit. Bubblet would be nice. (I have some other stuff on my Palm, but that's what comes immediately to mind).

Cell currently is Virgin Mobile, but I'm a pay-as-you-go customer with no contract, and their network is no better than anyone else's in this corner of town.

No opinion on OS.

Yes, the iPad is too big.

[timill]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/03/technology/personaltech/03smart.html is interesting: "iPhone, Windows Mobile and BlackBerry users can increase their odds by loading the free MetrO app, which covers roughly 400 cities worldwide. And Android users can hedge by loading the free AnyStop app, which covers 125 cities globally."

Otherwise everything you list should be available built-in or from the various Marketplaces, usually for free. Even Bubblet seems to be widespread (available for Android, Blackberry & WinMo at least).

The Android 2.1 Calendar supports repetition either one-off, daily, weekly, monthly (every 1st Sunday or every 6th of the month) and annually (I happen to have an HTC Droid Incredible on loan at the moment). I expect other calendars are similar.

After that it comes down to contract/network if you want a phone.

[kistaro]

If you have no particular need for cellular data, get an iPod Touch. It will do everything you've just asked for (actually, that's about how I use mine), without tying you to AT&T for $50+/mo for two years. It's also cheaper for the same storage capacity, if you care about media.

If you don't care about media, you might want to get the 32GB version anyway, as opposed to the 8GB version, since it has twice the RAM and a faster processor; it will be able to support pseudomultitasking in OS4 once it's released.

If you might want it as your phone, however, or you want a wireless data plan, you'd prefer the iPhone. In that case, wait, because the next generation of iPhone is going to be released before the end of the month (see also: the Gizmodo incident).

[janetl.livejournal.com]

I was a dedicated Palm PDA user, and now I adore my iPhone. I believe an Android will give you much the same experience.
I use the iPhone for the things that I used my Palm for*, but others as well. I like being able to use data on the internet instead of just synching to my computer. I do despise it as a cell phone, which is presumably AT&T's fault. My old Verizon LG had much better sound quality.

Things I used my PDA for: Calendar, contact info, password safe, book catalog, reference info, occasional book reading.
Things I use my iPhone for: the above, plus email, maps, reading blogs, Wikipedia, occasional blog posting, and showing friends my pictures on Flickr.
While it's not a full replacement for my camera, I often use the phone to take pictures, edit them, and post them to the Internet.

[papersky.livejournal.com]

Z's very happy with his iPhone, which does all the gadget stuff you want plus has internet. Indeed, the only downside I can see is the fact that people can call you on it.