Any opinions on these? I don’t know a lot about them, apart from the preachings that come from Iron Ladys every 2nd post or so, but wouldn’t mind hearing what they’re capable of. If one was to buy one, what should he/she look for??? I wouldn’t mind using it as an electronic dictionary and keeping track of test results etc. Can you check email without connecting it to something? And what do they go for here in Taiwan? And I suppose like all tech gadgets, they’re only going to get better, right? Sorry, many questions, but have been thinking about this one for a while.
Don’t know much about all the differences, but I have a Palm hand-me-down from my husband. It’s a dinosaur maybe 4+ years old, simple, I like it. Basic stuff (addresses, sked, memos, todo list + handy shop for shopping lists which I got for free, and another freebie that lets me doodle stuff).
My husband recently upgraded to a Sony Clie. He uses his a lot more than I use my Palm. It’s his brain; he’s never without it. Doesn’t use it for email but keeps track of curriculum, teachers, students, schedules, everything on there and is really good about synchronizing his desktop and handheld a couple of times a day (I haven’t done this in maybe a year). Also plays mp3s and I think you can also set it up to use it as a digital camera.
Myself, I like paper and pen too much. I like how I can tape stuff to the wall or mirror; stick it up on the door or fridge with a magnet (not that any of that helps me very much). I’m scatterbrained so sometimes I forget to look at the Palm and see what’s on it for the day.
Some might say buy the best one you can afford (since they’re always coming out with new features) but I’d say keep it simple… maybe one of the basic Palms that I’ve seen at FNAC for under 5000.
It’s great. I really love it. I had a m100, and there’s a huge difference.
If you have Office, you can download your spreadsheets from Excel onto your Palm. That’s what I do. You can download any document. Also, you can also load up pics on your Palm. I’ve got GPRS on my phone, so I can surf the web on my Palm, as well. It certainly beats using my Motorola, as it’s pretty slow and the screen is small. You can use the IR on your phone to the PDA. No wires, but you can’t really move a whole lot. I know they have a modem, but not sure how the whole thing works out.
My husband got me the Palm cuz they just came out with these Expansion cards. They are separate cards that go into your memory slot, and you can get games, travel guides, books, translators, etc. You can check out
http:// www.palm.com
and go to the Products page.
Acer is scheduled to launch two new models on 9/26 (I believe), and they look pretty good from what their Web site has to say. Seems like they do everything the Palm/Visor handhelds do, have a better screen resolution, include a built-in MP3 player and recorder, have color screens, have good battery life, improve your Chinese and make people like you. Well maybe not the last couple of items but they seem to have a lot of attractive features. You can drool over them at:
Don’t know if the launch date might be earlier or they might already be out in Taiwan, as I have been trying not to look at the color PDAs lest I be tempted to buy one.
I personally don’t like upgrading stuff all the time; I prefer to wait til whatever I’m using dies and then replace it. But there is something I’d like that I’d be willing to spend a little money on.
I’d like to be able to see my calendar, address book, and todo list in one view on my Palm instead of switching between them all the time.
[quote=“jrc”]I’d like to be able to see my calendar, address book, and todo list in one view on my Palm instead of switching between them all the time.
Jennifer[/quote]
Although I hate them (they STILL haven’t paid me, and they write to me admitting it and offering me “reduced cost advertising” in return for forgetting all about it!), try Palmgear.com. I know I saw an app that does just what you’ve described above. Just put some keywords into the little search box, or browse the category that seems most fitted to that kind of app, and I’m sure you’ll find it. A lot of people have the same idea, I think.
But, ALWAYS buy your software directly from the developer whenever possible, please! (Check their e-mail link; it often points to their own personal web site of the same domain name!) as Palmgear is a disreputable company for payments. I mean, sending me an e-mail saying how they have “faced challenges in the last year”…hmmmph! When did I agree to be an investor???
Amos, as previously stated you can do almost anything with them, for the most part what a computer can do. I have a Palm M130, cost around US$250 and comes with tons of free software. It’s internet capable although I haven’t seen any use for that function yet. I have a super Chinese-English dictionary on there, with character recognition software and all the other cool stuff, and I got it for just under US$50 which is a STEAL if you compare the price for those handy electronic dictionaries all the students here use.
For the most part you can transfer documents from PC to Palm. I keep my check book, all my writing (Word files), Excel spreadsheets, etc. on my Palm and can easily transfer it from one to the other.
In addition, as also previously stated, you can buy tons of cool things that can be used on cards (a mini floppy sort of thing) like games and just about any kind of software under the sun. Memory expansion cards are also available up to 128MB as far as I know, which is more than a buttload for one of these little things.
Or do you do the work on a computer, carry the palm all day, press a few buttons, return home and do your work on the computer. That’s what I see people do on the MRT
A Palm with a Chinese dictionary, MP3 and video would really swing it for me. Plus isn’t it a hassle to carry around these things all day?
How about a USB card, costs 1500 NT and you can carry tonnes of stuff around on it on your keyring
I don’t know about the MP3 capabilities as mine doesn’t have these options. I have a color screen but not sure if it will play video. Pictures do work for sure, however.
Mine is very compact. Even in its soft case I can fit it in my jeans pocket, or preferably in my backpack, and not at all a hassle to carry around as it’s 1/4 the size my old dayplanner was.
Well, I just spent my afternoon and early evening in a nice coffee shop in Tamsui, overlooking the harbor. I wrote a 4000 word essay for school, translated part of it into Chinese, and did some work using Excel for my job. I also ran some of my Chinese flash cards while I was stuck on the bus from Hsinchuang earlier in the day.
I probably wouldn’t get all this stuff done if I hadn’t bought the folding keyboard that goes with the Palm (Handspring Visor Pro, in my case). That really makes the difference. About the only thing I really need my PC for is graphics stuff or going on the Web (although I could get wireless Internet for the Visor if I wanted to pay for it, but with the amount of spam I get it wouldn’t be worth it.) I’ve also got one of those hard metal cases for it, as it goes everywhere with me and takes a lot of abuse.
So I’d say, yes, people really DO work on their Palms. I try to sync every day though because I’m afraid of losing said work; but once I got the hang of "where do the files go when you sync’ it’s been pretty easy.
As far as I know, you can buy an expansion module for the Handspring Visor series (it snaps into a compartment on the back of the PDA). They have all sorts of things, GPS units, digital cameras, MP3 recorders, etc. You would have to buy the wireless modem, I guess, and then sign up for service from some provider. I’m not sure how it would work in Taiwan but I’m sure somebody provides it. Probably your best bet would be to go to FNAC or to what’s-its-name near the train station there – there’s a reasonably good Palm/PDA store on the 2nd floor towards the back, although they don’t stock Visors because “they’re too hard to get.”
Don’t know if the Acer model will do this but I can’t imagine it wouldn’t, with Taiwanese being as crazy as they are for cell phones and wireless stock reports and stuff. Or, if this one doesn’t, probably their next one will. I’m interested to see how much it costs too! Just a few more days (and unfortunately that coincides with payday too – yikes!!)
Apparently only the Acer s60 is going to be available in Taiwan, while the Acer s50 will not be. That means you have to go for the model with the MP3 if you buy it here.
The price quoted at the PDA shop in Nova (across from Mitsukoshi by the Train station, 2F, towards the back) was NT$12k - for the s60. Pretty reasonable I thought.
They say it won’t be in stock for at least another week or two.
But the hassle is that they say only the version with a Chinese interface (ZHONG weN ban) will be available in Taiwan. However, Palm or Sony have English interfaces.
I may get in touch with Acer themselves and see if they know of anywhere in Taiwan where I can get the Acer s60 with an English interface. But I don’t expect to have much success with chasing them up on this one.
So, it looks like the best choice may still be the Palm m515 (NT$12k), or Sony PEG-SJ30 (also NT$12k). The Sony seems the better of the two in the sense that it has better sceen resolution than the Palm. But maybe it has some disadvantages I am missing (the battery life is shorter due to the higher res screen). Also, the Sony is just not as cool looking! It has a kind of ‘clunkier’ look to it.
Has anybody used any of the above? Any comments/comparisons? Reliability/durability differences?
I would be looking to install a Ch-Eng. dictionary on it, plus flashcard software, and use it for study.
Does anybody know where I can get a PDA with internet capabilities (wireless), can play MP3s, has Word and Excel, and has an English interface? I’d also like an English/Chinese Dictionary, although I’m sure that software is easy to get. Also, what kind of PDA should I look for?
I had Palm (briefly) about a year ago. Loaded it up with books, downloaded via my PC, and took on a trip around New Zealand. The book feature alone saved me a pile of weight, and was almost worth having the thing for just in itself.
But I couldn’t justify it at the time so I took it back with some BS story, got a refund, and bought a Sony digital camera instead.
Ever since then I’ve been regretting it, and seeing the prices here I’m just trying to pick which one to buy. I’ll probably stick with Palm, just 'cos I still have the Palm software on my computer and use it for all my diary, planning, etc.
I love the Sony camera (my second one) and am generally a fan of their stuff. Think I’ll go for the Sony PDA as it uses the Palm OS, and is compatible with my memory cards etc. (Someone told me you have to convert your photo format before you can copy them onto your PDA.)
It’s an expensive toy, and one the human race has survived thousands of years without, but I want one anyway and can justify it to myself. It enables me to work when and where I like, so I can make better use of my time and have more free time to play. (And a coffee shop is a better place to work than an office, right?) It’ll pay for itself if I don’t have to spend so much money in bookshops, and I’ll probably take better care of it than I do all those little scraps of paper that are currently stuck all around my desk.
Give me another week and I’ll let you know what I think of whatever I buy.
PS Anyone need or want to offer e-books? Maybe I should start a new thread?
