PDA possibilities

[ffutures]

I've been using an iPaq for about three months now and I am getting nowhere with handwriting recognition - I still have to enter some letters three or four times before it will work, and it doesn't seem to be showing an sign of improving. This may be because I'm left handed, but I've tried drawing letters lots of different ways and none of it seems to help.

I've tried an external keyboard, but while it worked it was just another thing to carry and / or lose, and it was so wobbly that it would be impractical on a train journey or anywhere crowded, the sort of places where I'd want to use a PDA rather than a laptop.

So I think I'm going to have to look at PDAs with proper keyboards again.

What I had before was a Psion Revo, which was never particularly reliable and died on me completely in the end. Also had way too little storage, and no easy route to Mac compatibility. I might consider Psion again but it would take some convincing.

What I think I want this time is something with enough memory and speed to run a decent software suite, e.g. Pocket Windows CE with its word processor etc., plus a reasonable amount of additional software available including the odd game or two, ebook reader, etc.. Good battery life is essential, colour isn't but would be nice. USB file transfer, PC and Mac compatibility, non-proprietary storage e.g. SD card or similar, not memory cards that only one company makes and cost a fortune. WiFi and Bluetooth are possibly useful but again not essential, especially if they can be added as a card or something, and I DON'T want a mobile phone.

The big thing is that the keyboard and screen need to be at least Psion sized - I can't see writing seriously on a Blackberry or similar. I also don't want to spend a fortune.

What I've looked at a few times is the HP Jornada 720 - they come up on eBay fairly often, usually selling around £70-80. I could just about afford that if it's OK, but I don't want an expensive mistake, and I don't know a huge amount about them.

So... Any suggestions, or any alternatives I should look at? Anyone used the Jornada?

Comments

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

What sort of WP etc. software do they have? I've never owned a mobile phone - my life-style just doesn't seem to need one - so I really have no idea about this stuff.

[heliograph.livejournal.com]

iiiiiiPhoooooooone!

But more seriously, I've always assumed the Euro phone market was way better than ours, but there are plenty of phones available that have full keyboards and run productivity software. Even if you don't use the phone part, you've still got fast network connectivity where-ever you go.

The Nokia E90 is nice: http://www.nokia.co.uk/A4353377
It folds open to reveal a bigger screen and full keyboard. It is vaguely Jornada-like.

The Nokia E70 has a nifty fold open split keyboard (half on one side, screen in middle, half on the other), so it is handy and compact, but the screen is smaller than the E90's.

I have a friend that works at Nokia, so that's why those are both of my examples. I dunno what rates/etc are like over there, but in the US the cos of the phone is subsidized by the plan.

Again, it is hard to walk through any shopping area without being assaulted by cell phone salesmen, but even if that isn't so over there it should be easy to find places where you can try out these devices.

[w00hoo.livejournal.com]

Definitely if the phone itself does the job that you want it to do, and it's been out a while (6 months+) you should be able to find it on Ebay at a reasonable price. I'm pretty sure it'll work without a SIM in it, but if it does need one you can pick one up for any network from between £0 & £5 as a Pay as you go. I've got an old phone with an Orange Pay as you go SIM in it that I haven't put money on for over a year. It has around a tenner on it. Every so often I turn it on and use the Orange 2 for 1 film offer to get a free cinema ticket. It's saved me around 20 quid so far. I've a friend works as a programmer for Nokia and gets to play with all the toys, I'll dig out his email address and see if he has any suggestions from the last two years. There's definitely a Windows compatible operating system (?Opera?) on some of them and you generally have the option of Bluetooth, IR and custom USB cable connectivity. The one biggie might be memory capacity, the cards aren't generic and only go up to a gig or two. Having said that I think there are enough around that they may not be silly money.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

The E90 definitely looks worth considering - thanks for the pointer.

[lawbag.livejournal.com]

They have a mini version of Windows, and run a Mobile Word and Mobile Excel programs which are compatible (via the link cable that comes with the device) with your proper Windows programs.

With the keyboard you are able to clatter out a reasonable rate of letters, while they are no laptop, its easier to whip out a large phone than a bulky laptop.