New PDA or Laptop Help Wanted

xanimal · 03-20-2006, 07:06 PM

I have finally reached the point where my laptop has become an anoyance. I have been using my Dell Inspiron 4000 (PIII 800) for about 5 years now and I believe it is time to retire it. The battery no longer holds a charge so when I go to a place with wifi I have to fight to find a place with a power outlet. Then I have to put in the PCMCIA Wifi Nic, Then I have wait for the pc to boot XP. Dont get me wrong this is a killer machine, but its time to look for something new.

So here is what I need/want in a PDA and/or Laptop:
This will be used for one or two of my side businesses.

Ultra Portable
built-in Wifi (a must)
Bluetooth (optional, if its a PDA then I would need one for a keyboard)
Need to be able to send/recieve email easily whereever I am at via wifi
View webpages easily and legibly
Open Office Documents and PDFs
Audio/video playback
Possibly edit PHP code when needed.
Simple setup and go. (I only have an hour for lunch, so I dont need to be waiting on a pc to take 5 minutes to boot.)

Last but not least, Price for someone on a tight budget.

Thanx
Steve

sama · 03-20-2006, 07:29 PM

imate jasjar? it's got UMTS support as well as wifi bluetooth and keyboard + standard gsm. bit chunky for a phone, but not so chunky as an organiser. might be branded by some isp in the us

xanimal · 03-20-2006, 07:59 PM

At $1000 I would have to pass and just get a laptop. I should say that I would be on the phone taking care of orders on occasion. So it would not need to be a phone.

got2liv4him · 03-21-2006, 08:19 AM

dells laptops are nice... for a pda I have the Palm Lifedrive, and I like it, I like it alot

JimmyFitz · 03-21-2006, 08:32 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by xanimal

...
So here is what I need/want in a PDA and/or Laptop:
This will be used for one or two of my side businesses.

Ultra Portable
built-in Wifi (a must)
Bluetooth (optional, if its a PDA then I would need one for a keyboard)
Need to be able to send/recieve email easily whereever I am at via wifi
View webpages easily and legibly
Open Office Documents and PDFs
Audio/video playback
Possibly edit PHP code when needed.
Simple setup and go. (I only have an hour for lunch, so I dont need to be waiting on a pc to take 5 minutes to boot.)

Last but not least, Price for someone on a tight budget.

Thanx
Steve

I have used Pocket PC's for years. Get the right one and you can do all those things above, but they are a serious compromise due to the small screen. If you are used to a laptop, and you want full web browsing experience, a handheld is going to dissappoint you. I suggest you get another laptop.

mick0uziel · 03-21-2006, 03:30 PM

I have the I-mate Jasjar, it broke my bank account but for all the things that you need to do (minus the smaller screen), it does everything. wifi + bluetooth, read docs and pdfs and spreadsheets. can be integerated with bluetooth gps receiver. now dont think of these as a repacement for your winxp system, windows mobile is coded differently and so there are specific programs you can install. i got a 2gb sd card which is more that enough right now. emails are great and if you use ms exchange server, now the new firmware allows push email which kicks in automatically. the only problem i have with this is i cant find a software to control the ppc using my pc, like make calls or something, but audio gateway works if you have a bluetooth dongle that supports this feature. ANYONE knows of a program that works like phoco for windows mobile? for a smartphone, this is a dumb setback. thanks

eugenen · 03-21-2006, 07:01 PM

Look at the Dell Latitude line. They are built a bit sturdier than the Inpsiron's. I have a Latitude C400, I believe D410 is the current model like mine. Its lightweight, has a magnesium case (sort of a metal, when i dropped it it dented instead of cracking). I've had it for about 3.5 years now and its still running great. Only real problem I had was the pcmcia slot got a loose solder joint from carrying it in a bag with a wireless card inside. I replaced the pcmcia wireless with an internal minipci and dell sent me a new system board under warranty and even let me replace it myself rather than sending it to their repair center. They even replaced my 1.0GHz board with a 1.2GHz. It doesn't run super hot like most cheaper consumer grade laptops since its designed for a business user who will use it all day long.
I bought my own wireless instead of taking Dell's so I could install what I wanted (mini pci is standard so that was no problem). I bought an atheros chipset based a/b/g so I can use it anywhere and downloaded the atheros drivers from madwifi. I always leave it in standby and resume when I get to the office and standyby to go home. I have had one kernel panic and that was when my external cd burner died, other than that it just keeps running unless I shut down to upgrade. Added ram, an 60G Hdd and just recently pulled out the 60G for a 120G drive. Picked up a spare drive tray on ebay and have the original drive from dell in it as a test system.

P3rv3rt B3ar · 03-21-2006, 10:02 PM

How about nokia 9500?

fullfills your requirements. Since i bought that, i havent need my small convertible tablet/laptop for anything else than to play role of carputer and ebook.

xanimal · 03-21-2006, 11:31 PM

Thanks for the suggestions guys! Looks like I need to save up a little more to cover the costs of one of these. In the meantime, anyone know where to get a battery for the Dell without spending a fortune?

bgoodman · 03-21-2006, 11:34 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by xanimal

Thanks for the suggestions guys! Looks like I need to save up a little more to cover the costs of one of these. In the meantime, anyone know where to get a battery for the Dell without spending a fortune?

If you find a source let me know.

I'm in need of a battery for a Latitude C400.

Don 944 LA · 03-22-2006, 11:35 AM

Pocket PC 400Mhz + ( Wifi, Bluetooth )
Case with extra Battery & Pcmcia slot
Pcmcia adapter card for CF ( this gives you SD,CF, &Pcmcia)(entire movie on a 512 CF card)
Comes with Word/Excel
Get Adobe Reader for PPC
Wince (wireless manager) + WLan (network browser)
Comes with a web browser.
There are many video & Audio players available plus it comes with Media Player that works great.

My PPC is over 5 years old and it's still modern, although, my Wifi is external card. I watch movies, Divx TV shows etc ... quality is good.
I have even done some web design on it.
It easily connects to bluetooth phone for network/Internet.

I use laptops, but I will never get rid of my PPC, it's a must !!!

Don

turbocad6 · 03-22-2006, 11:51 AM

that "last but not least...." clause in your original post prevents me from making any recomendations to cover everything else your looking for

JimmyFitz · 03-22-2006, 09:48 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Don 944 LA

Pocket PC 400Mhz + ( Wifi, Bluetooth )
...
I use laptops, but I will never get rid of my PPC, it's a must !!!

Don

In spite of recommending a laptop in my earlier post, I agree with you Don. I love my Pocket PC. I always have it with me. It can do all the things xanimal says he wants to do, BUT... it is no replacement for a real PC. If I go anywhere away from home for more than one night, I bring a laptop with me too.

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