wireless PDAs - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Craven Morehead · 10-28-2003, 09:59 PM

Does anyone have experience with wireless PDAs. In the market for a new one and seriously considering wireless capabilites. Leaning towards Palm as it seems to have leaped Windows recently.

thanks.....

cliche · 10-29-2003, 12:06 AM

My only advice is to be careful as 802.11 cuts your battery life a great deal. On recent experience I'd say that the browser in Pocket PC 2003 is a great deal better than anything I've seen on the Palm (but please correct me if anyone knows a good Palm browser; I've been having all sorts of problems with them)

Kurl · 10-29-2003, 06:12 AM

I have a Samsung i700. this is both a phone and PocketPC. The phone connects to the internet through Verizons 3G network which is about as fast as a dial up modem.

It works great and it uses IE. Most of the webpages will come up just fine. The only thing that it doesnt seem to do well with is any webpage that has forms like my fantasy football. The forms dont alogn well with the correct boxes.

Other thatn that this is a great phone. It is about $550 USD and the plan is 80 a month. That includes unlimited data transfer and 2500 peak minutes with nights and weekends free.

It supports POP3 email clients like Outlook and can synce your mail whenever yoiu want. Doesnt have to be connected to your computer to sync. I Have mine wirlessly sync with Novell GRoupWise 6.5 and that alos seems to work pretty flawlessly.

Its a nice phone / PDA combo. and yiou dont have to carry 2 devices.

But yes, the battery life has much to be desired. I can go about 2 days before recharge with the slim battery and about 3 with the extended life battery in.

losthellhound · 11-02-2003, 08:33 PM

*cough* BlackBerry *cough*

arch13 · 11-02-2003, 10:55 PM

The Tungsten C has fine battery life and has built in wifi on the palm platform which far surpasses Pocket PC (but lets not make this a pissing contest).
I used a TC for a while and loved it while experiancing only slight differnces in Battery drain by toggeling the wifi on only as needed. (many hacks will create an icon in the launcher to do this)

Also, the Sandisk SDIO card for palms that uses wifi is expected by Dec, which will make all Palm Tungsten devices wifi able.

My advice is go with the platform that won't ever give you a "bsod", and hasn't failed me ever.

Sledge · 11-02-2003, 11:33 PM

Don't be fooled by units with Bluetooth. It isn't the same thing at all. I love my Tungsten T, but it's not Wi-fi ready by any means.

Both Palms and PPCs are really coming into their own recently, the former becoming exponentially more powerful, the latter becoming much less cluttered and clunky. Enjoy your shopping.

rubicon · 11-03-2003, 07:39 AM

There is a similar thread about selecting a Palm vs. PocketPC and I think wi-fi was part of that dicussion.

I've used PocketPC and Palm and I keep returning to Palm. It's way simpler, compatible with multiple computers running different OSes (ie: you can sync with a Mac, Linux, and PC interchangably), and the battery life is better.

Some things the PocketPC can do that Palm can't are just gimmicky: running an MS-DOS emulator. Big whoop. I've tried running a MAME port on PocketPC and it failed miserably - ssslllooowww. There's a MAME port for Palm OS called XCade but I've never tried it (I need a faster CPU).

What's your primary need with having wi-fi in a PDA? It's difficult to surf the web due to screen size or limited browser features. I occasionally check email using my Palm and my mobile phone via traditional dial-in.

I'd go with a Tungsten T3 and wait for a SDIO wi-fi card.

charliex · 11-04-2003, 02:00 AM

i have mame for my ipaq works great, MS even used it to make the pocket arcade pacman stuff. I wrote a couple of emulators as well, and i can get well over 100 fps. Even my smartphone can run mame.

one version of the ipaq had a bug in the firmware that misreported the hardware setup and caused it to run really some gfx apps really slowly.

i like pps, never been a fan of the palm, but only in the sense of windows vs macs, i like what i am used too. Though the PPC is a lot faster than a palm device and i wanted that

iktoweya · 11-04-2003, 02:17 PM

i have an HP jornada it has the pocket pc OS on it and i think it works really well. i recieved mine free and i dont recommend buying one. they cost too much. however, i do recommend the pocket pc OS. it is really easy to use

Craven Morehead · 11-04-2003, 09:43 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by rubicon
I'd go with a Tungsten T3 and wait for a SDIO wi-fi card.

And I think that's just what I'll do.

Also, thanks for the heads up on the SDIO wi-fi card. Didn't know that was coming out. I have wi-fi at home and when I travel it would be nice to be able to check email in airports/Starbucks/etc. Not for heavy browsing.

arch13 · 11-04-2003, 11:16 PM

A good place to start learning about the T3 is the "official" palm user forums run independently by bright hand.
here is the link for the front page.
Be aware that about 10-15% of T3 users have reported problems with sandisk SD cards above 64mb and that palm is currently working on the issue. (though the way some complain at some forums, they'd swear 100% of customers are having trouble)

Glad to hear you choose a palm

Craven Morehead · 11-20-2003, 08:27 PM

UPDATE: Picked up a Tungsten T3 and I love it. Palm has really progressed quite a bit since my now retired V. Will get the wi-fi card later, not an immediate need. Actually will pick up a SD card for MP3s before I do wi-fi. Palm has also released a software upgrade to resolve the SD card issue. Best of all the day I stopped in to buy it at Best Buy they dropped the price $60!

Thanks for all the responses and help.

arch13 · 11-20-2003, 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Craven Morehead
UPDATE: Picked up a Tungsten T3 and I love it. Palm has really progressed quite a bit since my now retired V. Will get the wi-fi card later, not an immediate need. Actually will pick up a SD card for MP3s before I do wi-fi. Palm has also released a software upgrade to resolve the SD card issue. Best of all the day I stopped in to buy it at Best Buy they dropped the price $60!

Thanks for all the responses and help.

Glad to hear it!
Fell free to post questions. I'm a palm junkie and would be happy to answer them.

ratbastid · 11-21-2003, 12:59 PM

Oh MAN is it all about the Handspring Treo 600!

I don't know if you mean wi-fi or cell when you say "wireless", but the new Treo is clearly the machine to be reckoned with in the smartphone space.

i8one2 · 08-13-2004, 06:51 PM

My DellAxim X-30 with bluetooth and wi-fi built in, has completely changed my ideas of what I need to carry around. I'm even considering loosing my sub-notebook because my dell pocket pc, can do most, if not all of what a notebook can do, except burn DVD's...

10-28-2003, 09:59 PM	#1 (permalink)
Craven Morehead Custom User Title	wireless PDAs Does anyone have experience with wireless PDAs. In the market for a new one and seriously considering wireless capabilites. Leaning towards Palm as it seems to have leaped Windows recently. thanks.....

10-29-2003, 12:06 AM	#2 (permalink)
cliche Rookie Location: Oxford, UK	My only advice is to be careful as 802.11 cuts your battery life a great deal. On recent experience I'd say that the browser in Pocket PC 2003 is a great deal better than anything I've seen on the Palm (but please correct me if anyone knows a good Palm browser; I've been having all sorts of problems with them) __________________ I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones. -- John Cage (1912 - 1992)

11-02-2003, 08:33 PM	#4 (permalink)
losthellhound Thats MR. Muffin Face now Location: Everywhere work sends me	cough BlackBerry cough __________________ "Life is possible only with illusions. And so, the question for the science of mental health must become an absolutely new and revolutionary one, yet one that reflects the essence of the human condition: On what level of illusion does one live?" -- Ernest Becker, The Denial of Death

11-02-2003, 10:55 PM	#5 (permalink)
arch13 Loves my girl in thongs Location: North of Mexico, South of Canada	The Tungsten C has fine battery life and has built in wifi on the palm platform which far surpasses Pocket PC (but lets not make this a pissing contest). I used a TC for a while and loved it while experiancing only slight differnces in Battery drain by toggeling the wifi on only as needed. (many hacks will create an icon in the launcher to do this) Also, the Sandisk SDIO card for palms that uses wifi is expected by Dec, which will make all Palm Tungsten devices wifi able. My advice is go with the platform that won't ever give you a "bsod", and hasn't failed me ever. __________________ Seen on an employer evaluation: "The wheel is turning but the hamsters dead" ____________________________ Is arch13 really a porn diety ? find out after the film at 11. -Nanofever

11-03-2003, 07:39 AM	#7 (permalink)
rubicon Stop. Think. Question. Location: Redondo Beach, CA	There is a similar thread about selecting a Palm vs. PocketPC and I think wi-fi was part of that dicussion. I've used PocketPC and Palm and I keep returning to Palm. It's way simpler, compatible with multiple computers running different OSes (ie: you can sync with a Mac, Linux, and PC interchangably), and the battery life is better. Some things the PocketPC can do that Palm can't are just gimmicky: running an MS-DOS emulator. Big whoop. I've tried running a MAME port on PocketPC and it failed miserably - ssslllooowww. There's a MAME port for Palm OS called XCade but I've never tried it (I need a faster CPU). What's your primary need with having wi-fi in a PDA? It's difficult to surf the web due to screen size or limited browser features. I occasionally check email using my Palm and my mobile phone via traditional dial-in. I'd go with a Tungsten T3 and wait for a SDIO wi-fi card. __________________ How you do anything is how you do everything.

10-29-2003, 06:12 AM	#3 (permalink)
Kurl Upright	I have a Samsung i700. this is both a phone and PocketPC. The phone connects to the internet through Verizons 3G network which is about as fast as a dial up modem. It works great and it uses IE. Most of the webpages will come up just fine. The only thing that it doesnt seem to do well with is any webpage that has forms like my fantasy football. The forms dont alogn well with the correct boxes. Other thatn that this is a great phone. It is about $550 USD and the plan is 80 a month. That includes unlimited data transfer and 2500 peak minutes with nights and weekends free. It supports POP3 email clients like Outlook and can synce your mail whenever yoiu want. Doesnt have to be connected to your computer to sync. I Have mine wirlessly sync with Novell GRoupWise 6.5 and that alos seems to work pretty flawlessly. Its a nice phone / PDA combo. and yiou dont have to carry 2 devices. But yes, the battery life has much to be desired. I can go about 2 days before recharge with the slim battery and about 3 with the extended life battery in.

11-02-2003, 11:33 PM	#6 (permalink)
Sledge Pasture Bedtime	Don't be fooled by units with Bluetooth. It isn't the same thing at all. I love my Tungsten T, but it's not Wi-fi ready by any means. Both Palms and PPCs are really coming into their own recently, the former becoming exponentially more powerful, the latter becoming much less cluttered and clunky. Enjoy your shopping.

11-04-2003, 02:00 AM	#8 (permalink)
charliex Junkie Location: North Hollywood	i have mame for my ipaq works great, MS even used it to make the pocket arcade pacman stuff. I wrote a couple of emulators as well, and i can get well over 100 fps. Even my smartphone can run mame. one version of the ipaq had a bug in the firmware that misreported the hardware setup and caused it to run really some gfx apps really slowly. i like pps, never been a fan of the palm, but only in the sense of windows vs macs, i like what i am used too. Though the PPC is a lot faster than a palm device and i wanted that

11-04-2003, 02:17 PM	#9 (permalink)
iktoweya These pretzels are making me thirsty!! Location: 105B	i have an HP jornada it has the pocket pc OS on it and i think it works really well. i recieved mine free and i dont recommend buying one. they cost too much. however, i do recommend the pocket pc OS. it is really easy to use __________________ i miss K-Wise

11-04-2003, 11:16 PM	#11 (permalink)
arch13 Loves my girl in thongs Location: North of Mexico, South of Canada	A good place to start learning about the T3 is the "official" palm user forums run independently by bright hand. here is the link for the front page. Be aware that about 10-15% of T3 users have reported problems with sandisk SD cards above 64mb and that palm is currently working on the issue. (though the way some complain at some forums, they'd swear 100% of customers are having trouble) Glad to hear you choose a palm __________________ Seen on an employer evaluation: "The wheel is turning but the hamsters dead" ____________________________ Is arch13 really a porn diety ? find out after the film at 11. -Nanofever

11-20-2003, 08:27 PM	#12 (permalink)
Craven Morehead Custom User Title	UPDATE: Picked up a Tungsten T3 and I love it. Palm has really progressed quite a bit since my now retired V. Will get the wi-fi card later, not an immediate need. Actually will pick up a SD card for MP3s before I do wi-fi. Palm has also released a software upgrade to resolve the SD card issue. Best of all the day I stopped in to buy it at Best Buy they dropped the price $60! Thanks for all the responses and help.

11-21-2003, 12:59 PM	#14 (permalink)
ratbastid Darth Papa Location: Yonder	Oh MAN is it all about the Handspring Treo 600! I don't know if you mean wi-fi or cell when you say "wireless", but the new Treo is clearly the machine to be reckoned with in the smartphone space.

08-13-2004, 06:51 PM	#15 (permalink)
i8one2 COMPLETED and A TRAINER Location: BEAN_TOWN	My DellAxim X-30 with bluetooth and wi-fi built in, has completely changed my ideas of what I need to carry around. I'm even considering loosing my sub-notebook because my dell pocket pc, can do most, if not all of what a notebook can do, except burn DVD's... __________________ LEATHER, LATEX and LACE "SSC" "Nothing That Gives Pleasure is Bad" Quality is for those who know what they want and are at peace with what they have. "S/M is about emotion; the erotic tension between my impulse toward something and my resistance against it."-- Virginia Barker