Does anyone here have any experience w/ PDAs? I need some suggestions as to what are some good ones to check into. I dont need one that holds photos or plays music but i would like the screen to be sharp. No need for one that doubles as a phone thou. Im thinking about the T5 but i dont want to be rash in my decision. Bluetooth interface w/ my Motorola phone and Dell laptop would be a good option to consider. Any suggestions guys?

 

Dell x50.

 

just got my HP rx3715 about 3 weeks ago...got mine used, and it was a great deal...i balked at the price for it new, and if i had to pay full price for it, i wouldnt have gotten it...but, it's awesome...i cant figure out how i ever did stuff without it...

i had a black n white sony clie a friend gave to me for cheep...basic functions, and it did it's job okay...the one thing i didnt like about the palm OS was that it wasnt as familiar as the pocket pc software to use (i'm fairly comfortable using windows)...and software (locally) isnt as easy to come by anymore...it also had an older OS on it so that may have been an issue as well, cause i couldnt use it to view pdf files with the freebie program i had- had to buy a program to view them...

also, i like that on the pocket pc, it'll open up word and excel files easily...also can do powerpoint presentations with software...

i didnt think i'd use the features of the HP pda, but i use the camera every so often, and the ability to open up word/excel/pdf is awesome...also had wireless internet and bluetooth...even doubles as a remote for my home entertainment system, but i hardly ever use that feature...

i would seriously look into one that features wi-fi though...LOTS of hotspots and unsecured networks all over the place, and it makes waiting around not so boring...i keep mine with me almost all the time, and if i'm bored, the games/web surfing/email begins...and can keep a dvd rip of a movie on there...as well as the ****...and the color screen makes ALL the difference in the world...dont settle for a B&W, you wont be happy... (i dunno if the T5 is color or not)...

ps- sorry if some of this seems incoherent...its 2am, and i'm ready to go to sleep...

 

I was looking at the HP hx4700/5 also. Seems like a very nice but its a bit over the price range. Where did you get yours used? Friend or somewhere online?

 

the speedhawaii forums...check there...

and sams club just dropped their prices on the HP 3115 and Hx4700 (i think its 299 and 399 now- not too sure though, so double check)...they were going for 350 and 449...

 

the HP RX4705 has been discontinued, however it serves probably the only unit that allows you to reflash the OS to Mobile Media 5(it runs on PocketPC2003SE atm)

399 is a great price if you can get it, all i know is that my dept is out of stock on all 4705's currently.

 

Wh is it discontinued? Are they replacing it w/ a better one?

 

Best i can find now is $467 for a HP RX4705. How is the 4700 compared to the 4705?

 

I'd get the Dell...it seems to be better as far as performance and value.

I have a Samsung SCH i600 smartphone which I love but will most likely upgrade to the new Samsung Smartphone next year. My one only has a 200mhz processor but the new one has like a 500mhz processor.

 

I have a Dell x50v. I got it on sale at Dell for $399, and that included an extra battery. It has a full VGA resolution screen (nice screen!), built-in wireless, a secure digital and compact flash memory card slots. It's a hell of a unit for the price. I can do all my normal business stuff with it, the dual flash memory slots are great for reviewing my digital camera pics on it (just pop in the CF card from the camera can view), and it will smoothly play all my video file formats in landscape fullscreen-mode no problem. It even has decent graphics on games.

 

HX4705 > Any Dell Axiom

The resolution on the 4705 is far far more superior than any of Dell's lineup. Those whom have seen it before as default and also with the "real" resolution mod know what I mean. The program is called SE_VGA.

 

I have a Dell Axiom X30 everything worked perfect <----past tense sp?, I say worked because the little rectangle area where the charger plug goes into the PDA cracked and the reps at Dell don't seem to understand the piece I'm talking about, anyways it's a good piece of equipment, but that may be the Achilles heal for the PDA.

 

Please do your research before making such comments.

This is simply not true. A co-worker has one of those. It is an excellent unit, but it costs $200 more than the Dell X50v. It does not have superior resolution than the Dell X50v because it has the same *exact* TFT panel. They both have the same exact memory (64mb ram, 128mb rom), the same memory card slots (SD & CF), the same screen resolution (640x480 with both landscape and portrait modes supported), the same processor (624mhz), & the same wireless built-in (wifi & bluetooth).

I'm not ******* the HP because it is an awesome unit, but it was not superior enough to warrant an additional $200 at the time of purchase for me. People still trip when I show them videos in landscape at 640x480 resolution. They look awesome on that screen, and playback in a completely smooth manner even though they reside on the SD or CF cards and not internal memory. Also, Yes, I have SE_VGA on my Dell, and it works great.

Like I said, both units are awesome, and one would do well by checking out the reviews on the web before buying any PDA. There are plenty of good sites such as www.pocketpccity.com, etc.

Good luck on getting right one for your budget/needs.

 

Oh please, don't even start, I didn't even mention about price, plainly, I said the HP is a better unit. Don't forget the NavPoint Cursor navigation built in the unit for GPS navigation/games. I've been working in this specific industry for 3 years, the Dell doesn't even come close out of the box.

 

You specifically said: "The resolution on the 4705 is far far more superior than any of Dell's lineup", which I retorted as being completely untrue. I understand if your ego will not let you admit you were wrong about that statement, but please try.

I won't argue which is the overall better unit. The HP is *slightly* better, just at a much higher price-point over the dell, for very little extra value obtained in my opinion. The only feature it has over the Dell X50v that I can see is that little touch panel, and it's arguably no better for game and/or GPS navigation than the directional controller on the Dell. I used it, and it was clumbsy to use, a point not missed by some of the PDA reviews (authored by people with many years of industry experience), which qustion the value of that feature on the HP as well. BTW, I don't care how long you were working in any industry. That does not endow you with the right to make such a factually inaccurate statement as the one quoted above without risk of correction.

Here's a feature the Dell has that the HP appears to be lacking. The Dell has a easily removable battery and a spare socket to charge an extra battery right on the charger base, allowing the user to charge the PDA and a spare battery at the same time. They also included a spare battery for no extra charge when I bought mine. Very usefull on the road.

Both are good units, the HP is slightly better, and I've used both and decided the Dell was the better unit for my use. You clearly have not even used the Dell, otherwise you'd have known it has the same resolution, same speed, same memory capacity, same wireless abilities, and the same memory card facilitation, as the HP.

If you want to clearly paint the picture of how superior the HP unit is, please do it with facts instead of generic boasts of your industry experience. You could start by listing the specific features the HP has over the Dell that makes it so superior.

People, please just go and read the reviews and make up your minds on what unit(s) you want. You should not be taking either of our statements as gospel, because there are way too many good reviews out there to aid your purcahase decision.

I'll try to refrain from further comment on this as I'm very busy and simply do not have the time to commit to some internet argument on PDAs.