(long, but requested details provided: TH55)
Katy,
If one of your primary concerns is battery life, I'd take a long look
at Sony's new TH55, which lists for $399. It seems that Sony was
particularly sensitive to the fact that, as a general rule, a PDA with
a comparatively large screen as well as a built-in WiFi component,
usually spells death as regards battery life. And they did a great job
of tackling it. Bottom-line, in terms of my real world usage-- even if
you play background music throughout the day; and enter
tasks/appointments, memos, addresses throughout the day; and engage in
several hours of WiFi surfing; and read numerous articles---- the
battery seldom dips below 50%. Translated, that means that if I'm
taking a weekend trip, I no longer have to be concerned with taking
the charger.
Despite a screen which is twice the length of most PalmOS devices, the
TH55 is a slim, trim, sleek, and sturdy, which means it's convenient
to carry. It has a built-in smoky transparent flip screen, which sits
up at an angle while in use-- sort of like a baseball cap.
It also offers a first for such devices-- stick with me while I try to
exlain this from a hands-on perspective. Like every other Palm, it has
the native 4 core apps (addresses, memo's, ToDo's and DateBook). But
it also has a parallel set of apps, dubbed the "Clie Organizer". It
reads and uses the same DB's as the native apps; but, it also has
separate DBs, which will read handwritten text added directly to those
apps. Example: you have previously entered, via Graffiti or one of the
standard "text" methods, a 2:00p.m. appointment for March 3, 2004.
Someone calls and tells you to bring XYZ to the meeting. You can:
-- go to the standard DB and Graffiti in the additional info
-- ditto via the Clie Org's DateBook
-- enter a true handwritten note, directly on the March 3rd page, next
to the 2p.m. appointment.
Think of it as pretty much superimposing BugMe's handwriting feature
over the native apps.
To better accommodate the above feature, the 4th hard button is
dedicated to still another new/unique feature: the Data Assistant.
Think: apps such as DayNotez allow you to create, say, a ToDo from an
entry. The D.A. is similar, but more powerful. Usage examples:
-- I'm on the Net, WiFi surfing via the built-in (magnificent)
NetFront browser. I see a blurb about a book I might want to read
later. I select the relevant text, hit the 4th hard button, & choose
"New MemoPad data". The highlighted text shoots to the memopad app
(simultaneously, standard and Clie Org), where I'm taken in case I
want to add a note. Since D.A. by default lands you in the Sony-ized
versions of the stock apps, I can handwrite my comment.
-- Same surf, but I want to email the blurb instead. D.A. has that
option as well.
There is also a "Free Notes" app. You can handwrite whatever, up to
two screens' worth.
Final example. You're in the car, at a traffic light <g>, and decide
to take a quickie voice memo. Later, you want to link that voice memo
to a ToDo entry you're making. You open a new-feature contents area,
just above the virtual graffiti area, and drag & drop it to that new
ToDo entry. There's also a handy camera-- you can similarly drag/drop
a pic to whichever Sony-ized app.
=====
Suggestion: you're on the right track gathering opinions. Once you
narrow down the list to a tentative few, if it's a Sony, go to the
relevant forum at cliesource.com to find out about bugs you might
encounter. If it's a PalmOne device, hit Brighthand.com and
PalmOneCity.com's forums for the same reason. I initially got a T-C,
but I knew going in that I was taking a chance, as Brighthand's forums
alerted me to serious quality issues. Sure enough, within the first
ten days, the screen fried itself, and the device kept wiping out it's
MAC address. Because I had educated myself before, I didn't panic.
Knew what was happening, so I just returned it and grabbed the TH55 in
its place.
BBRenegade
"Katy" <fairytale_4@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:<104a9ertdnd7tcc@corp.supernews.com>...
As an alternative. you might want to look at the iPaq series. For example,
you could pick up h1940 iPaq for less than £200 on eBay (£270 (ish) retail),
with decent battery, good software (pocket Outlook, Excel, Word) plus loads
of 3rd party software. But best of all, Blueooth, so you can sync without
any cables or cradles. And it'll wirelessly connect to a bluetooth mobile
(Nokia 6310i, Motorola V525 etc) to let you connect when out.
And yes, I am biased, I own a shiny new h1940. used to have a Sony Clie but
it was rubbish compared to the iPaq!
regards
Paul
"Katy" <fairytale_4@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:104a9ertdnd7tcc@corp.supernews.com...
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