Foo - Inexpensive PDA recommendations?

I would like to buy an inexpensive PDA to keep up with my progress and other items. Recommendations? Im sort of looking at the Palm Zire 21. But I have no clue as to what I want really.

What is your budget? Personally, I wouldn't get anything without color and at least a 320x320 screen. For $199 the Tungsten E is an awesome deal.

Not over $200. ;)

I concur! Get the Tungsten E. I saw it on sale at Best Buy for $179, and it came with a charger, leather half-case, and also MP3 adaptor. You really can't go wrong. I bought the M500, and only use it occasionally. Make sure you will use it. I now put most of my data in my laptop. Luck!

Urbanmonk

Not over $200. ;)

You have to clearly define what you'll use it for and only then will you know which model to get.

I will second the vote for the Tungsten E although I'd have a hard time convincing someone that they NEED a color PDA. Beside color, the Tungsten E will give you tons of flexibility for the future.

-mark

I use my PDA for the calendar, memo pad, address book, and task list. I also play a game or two on it and read e-books. I do not use it for intenet, e-mail, or any other kind of communication. I have the Sony Clie TJ25 and like it. It was not all that expensive--maybe $ 150. It has rechargeable battereis, a color screen, and an annoying cover that tends to come off. The little feature it has that I find absolutely invaluable is a wrist strap. I've broken the displays on two PDAs by dropping them, and I would have dropped the Clie a couple time had it not been for this strap. It's a goofy feature, I know, but I don't think I'd buy another PDA without it.

Ok Thanks for the info. Ill just have to get out and look at different models and features. Im a newbie to PDAs also. Thanks for the info.

Ill be doing about the same as Prosody.

I have an older Palm- I believe the Palm VII. What I hated about it was that the batteries went dead like every other day, and if I didn't back up the info, it would delete all my information.

Do all the PDA's mentioned have this same problem? What's the battery life on them? What happens if the batteries go dead? Is the information lost? Do any of these PDA's have the bluechip technology? Wifi capabilities? How's the memory?

Just wondering, because I'm going to be purchasing a laptop, and I also thought about getting a PDA too, but I was so burned from that Palm that I'm just turned off by PDA's.

Koffee

Koffee-
I think all Palms (except maybe the lower-end models) now are rechargeable - the cradle you sync them with to your desktop also is a charger, so your battery problem has been solved, at least with all the newer models I've seen (including the i705 that I have).

Synching to a desktop "backs up" your data so you don't lose it if the Palm happens to go dead - that's the only way to keep a PDA reliable, IMO.

Koffee,
The PDA that you had, had only 4mgs, I think; and I think it only had replaceable batteries rather than rechargeable. As someone noted earlier, most have a hotsync to back up your data. And a charge usually lasts about three weeks+ for me; I have a B+W screen, though. The new PDAs are equiped with a lot now, and are excellent if you are one of the few who actually use them. If you need telephone numbers at hand, it's great; if you do a lot of memos, it's great; if you play a lot of games, it's also great. But remember, it's just one more thing to carry around and worry about dropping. I jot things down on a notepad and log into my laptop when I get home, or on a memory stick, which I carry; of course you need to have access to a computer. Most newer computers will recognize the memory stick. Personally, if I had to decide again, I would buy a $29 Rolodex electronic organizer (same size), which also has 8 mgs of memery, is rechargeable, has hotsync, and does the same things my $179 M500 does--but that's me.

Urbanmonk

I would like to buy an inexpensive PDA to keep up with my progress and other items. Recommendations? Im sort of looking at the Palm Zire 21. But I have no clue as to what I want really.

Just bought the Zire 21 a few days ago. OK for my needs. Still learning tho. Paid $71 shipped on Ebay.

If you can find them new still, get a Handspring Treo 90. Handspring was bought by Palm. They now only make cell phone/PDA's. The 90 was the last model they made that was not a cell phone. It's color, good memory, uses a SD card. Try www.staples.com They should be fairly cheap now.

I've never had a problem with my Palm batteries (Palm V, rechargeable), but I use it at work, so it usually sits in the hotsync cradle for most of the day, 5 days a week. The Tungsten E deals seem very good.

--J

I would like to buy an inexpensive PDA to keep up with my progress and other items. Recommendations? Im sort of looking at the Palm Zire 21. But I have no clue as to what I want really.
I have a palm 515 and it works fine and I believe you can get one off Ebay or elsewhere for about 100 bucks. Just remember stay away from the palm 500. It's functions are fine but the lighted screen can not be adjusted and is just too dark in most situations... the 515 is brighter.

good Luck!

Zapper