Advice On A New Pda

[richardkemp]

Hi all!!

I'd like advice RE a PDA to use primarily as an organiser and mp3 player (so must have 3.5mm headphone jack).

Thumboard is a must, I can't abide on-screen character recognition.

Dont mind model age, am open to suggestions at all budget levels. Wifi, phone capabilities, SD card slot and usb hard drive functionality are bonuses but not at all essential.

For a guide, I like the look of the Palm Zire 31 and the Zaurus SL-C3xxx series.

Cheers



PS I say keyboard as a must, but the Zire 31 doesnt have one... I like it because its cheap! ....though equally I like Zaurus's despite the price because theyre so damn cool.

[richardkemp]

Loads of views, no posts?

Can someone at least point me towards a list of zaurus's and all their specs. I should add I'm not averse to buying second hand, though a new unit would be nice.

[snk4ever]

Loads of views, no posts?

Can someone at least point me towards a list of zaurus's and all their specs. I should add I'm not averse to buying second hand, though a new unit would be nice.
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HTC universal ? But it's not cheap and slow with windows mobile. Linux is making good progress though but not quite ready yet.

[Chero]

Hi,

You give us little information so it's not easy to answer.

What do you expect ?
If you only want mp3 and organizer (pim ?) and a keyboard then I'd say HTC tytn or hp hw6xxx. Both are phones but they are pocket pc-s as well and they have a keyboard.
The downside is they both run Windows Mobile which can only run "feature-poor" apps. I have a hp hw6515 to use as a phone, camera and for PIM, but I use my zaurus as my "laptop in my pocket". The only reason I bought the hw6515 was because it had a full keyboard to send sms-s.
If you want to get really organized and also run a full-featured spreadsheet or a database program or a word-processor, full-X, ... and don't mind to learn linux I'd go for a zaurus.
If you want to know what a Zaurus is and what it can do, check Meanie's site..
There are a lot of online-shops you can buy them, just google or search oesf. I could name a few, but I don't want to forget the others so I won't do it.

Chero.

[Chero]

Loads of views, no posts?

Can someone at least point me towards a list of zaurus's and all their specs. I should add I'm not averse to buying second hand, though a new unit would be nice.
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=167155\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

HTC universal ? But it's not cheap and slow with windows mobile. Linux is making good progress though but not quite ready yet.
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Is Linux "not quite ready yet" or are you "not quite ready" for Linux ?    
What's Linux missing to be ready ?  

Chero.

[snk4ever]

Is Linux "not quite ready yet" or are you "not quite ready" for Linux ?   
What's Linux missing to be ready ?   

Chero.
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Thanks for the nice comment.
Please look at:
[a href=\"http://handhelds.org/moin/moin.cgi/Universal]http://handhelds.org/moin/moin.cgi/Universal[/url]

I quote:

Support for this phone is still in heavy development. While basic PDA functionality is allmost complete([WWW]feature_list), sound and the GSM chipset is only partially supported.

Please note that I did not test it myself.
And I use Archlinux as my main OS on my laptop. I don't claim to be very linux capable but at least enough to use it on a daily basis.

[Chero]

OK,

Still a bit off topic, but maybe linux is not ready for the HTC universal, but there are other linux-mobile-phones.
Also, richardkemp wasn't looking for a phone but a pda. There are some very-ready linux pda-s.
Didn't mean to offend anyone, but most people that say linux isn't ready yet can't name a thing you can't do with linux. You meant "linux on HTC universal isn't ready yet" and maybe you are right there. I didn't test it yet, but I must say G(PE)² looks promising ... Once it's reported to be working on the Beetle, I'll surely give it a go.

Sorry,
Chero.

[adf]

OK,

Still a bit off topic, but maybe linux is not ready for the HTC universal, but there are other linux-mobile-phones.
Also, richardkemp wasn't looking for a phone but a pda. There are some very-ready linux pda-s.
Didn't mean to offend anyone, but most people that say linux isn't ready yet can't name a thing you can't do with linux. You meant "linux on HTC universal isn't ready yet" and maybe you are right there. I didn't test it yet, but I must say G(PE)² looks promising ... Once it's reported to be working on the Beetle, I'll surely give it a go.

Sorry,
Chero.
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Along those lines, after years of zaurus ownership, i'd be careful to be sure ALL your hardware is supported, probably by buying something with linux on it, take a good look into how "open" any given linux pda is--especially softwaer support of the guts- is kernel development possible? are the add-ons standard and supported  by linux someplace?- That kind of thing.

I'm guessing, since you want linux on a pda, you want a pocketable powerful device, like a zaurus or an n800. if pocketability isn't an issue wait til the eeepc comes out (unless they decide to gouge on the price)

[richardkemp]

As it happens I do own an HTC Universal - I've been using it for a while but the sound has completely stopped working, and since I'm not averse to using a separate phone (its just convenient) I asked for non-phone PDAs.

I am therefore used to windows mobile, and I know very little about linux... with a Zaurus I would probably be a GUI only user for 95% of the time!

Thanks for all the tips and suggestions, my research continues....

[snk4ever]

Chero: maybe my sentence did not express what I wanted to. I'm not a native english speaker and therefore, the meaning that you get out of what I write might not be totally accurate ^^.

That said, you homepage describing pdaXrom+xfce makes me eager to try this combination. Is it up-to-date ? Because I see in your signature that you own a C3100 and on the website it seems that you owned a C860 (I ask this because I have a C760 and there is less and less updated info about thoses models now).

[Chero]

Chero: maybe my sentence did not express what I wanted to. I'm not a native english speaker and therefore, the meaning that you get out of what I write might not be totally accurate ^^.

That said, you homepage describing pdaXrom+xfce makes me eager to try this combination. Is it up-to-date ? Because I see in your signature that you own a C3100 and on the website it seems that you owned a C860 (I ask this because I have a C760 and there is less and less updated info about thoses models now).
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I'm not a native english speaker either ...

Really off topic now :
The site is outdated but things still work. If you want the ipkgs I used, I could put them online somewhere.
Isn't pdaXii13 working on a C760 ? If it does work, you could try the ipkgs on "z.drun.net" by kkazakov. He compiled xfce4 4.4.0 for beta3/pdaXii13. I'm running these on r198 (not ready for C760 as far as I know)

Maybe we should move this conversation to the pdaXrom thread.

Chero.

[Capn_Fish]

It should be up-to-date, with the possible exception of the links (haven't checked, though). The latest Xfce4 packages that I am aware of are here:

http://wasp.drun.net/zaurus/xfce-4.4/

They're for beta3/ii13, so they should work on just about any pdaX version. If not, try updating your packages with kkazakov13's (sorry, no link, but the above link is to his Xfce4 feed). I know some of his stuff doesn't work without them.

[mars]

I'd like advice RE a PDA to use primarily as an organiser and mp3 player (so must have 3.5mm headphone jack).

Thumboard is a must, I can't abide on-screen character recognition.

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Based on your requirements, if you consider a Zaurus, I'd say pick up a used C-860, put Cacko on it, and maybe look at the kdepim apps. You can put a big CF card in it with your mp3 files (or ogg if you use something like kino). It will be solid and easy to use.

If you can get by without a built-in thumboard, you could consider a Nokia n800, which would allow you to use a bluetooth keyboard and has built in wifi. Mp3 playback works great. There is a choice among the internal as well as user developed apps. The N800 also hides it linux roots fairly well if you don't want to take advantage of it.

If you don't care about any keyboard there is the ipod touch (I don't think it has bluetooth). You should get the pim and media capabilities you want. Of course you would need to be among the majority who crave all things apple -- which I'm not.

I think the Zaurus 860 with Cacko should make a cheap (used) and dependable platform for pim and mp3. The C-1000 would be more expensive, but is really only useful if you want the full zaurus experience of changing roms and getting your feet wet with linux.

I haven't used a Palm in years so can't comment. A pocketpc would satisfy your needs, but I don't know if they have thumb boards.

hth