PDAs again

I have an iPAQ h2210/5, which has exceeded my expectations in every area so far. If I didn't need a CF slot, the h4150/5 would be good, as it's got BT and wifi built in, tho' range is an issue for me, and my Socket SD wifi card seems to do pretty well.

My friend who had been using Palm-based machines up to a year ago decided to move over to the Pocket PC platform. We both did a lot of online research and ended up with a Toshiba e750 because he had a Nikon digicam and 3 compact flash cards. The Toshiba was one of the few models with built-in wifi, available SD AND compact flash slots plus more than 64 MB RAM. It does not have Bluetooth which is not so important to him. He would have bought the Axim except the new model doesn't have both CF and SD slots.

He's expecting the unit today so I can give you a follow-up report if you'd like. Just let me know.

Mekon, how's the Nevo software???

Hi Arun

Yeah, the Nevo software is great, and it works superbly with the h2210 (another reason to by the h2210, as the 4150 has the IR unit on the bottom). It happily controls all my TV/hifi gear, works with a 15 year old portable TV that we'd lost the remote for, and works the video projectors at uni. It even turned off my noisy neighbour's tv when pointed at their window .

The only caveat is that the remote setups that are stored within the database aren't brilliant - ie the Naim CD one is set out over 3 pages, and doesn't have all the functions. However, these are easily changed, and the learning function works like a charm. Oh, and my mate can't get his to learn the handset for his Pace cable tv box.

Did you see the new Tosh 805 with the VGA screen? Lots of money, and given Tosh's record on support, a risk, but a lovely piece of kit.

BTW, anyone with a pocket PC really ought to get a copy of TodayPlus. It's a today screen interface that puts shortcuts, rss feeds, weather forecasts, and all your POOM functions in one collapsable place. I am using an older build until I see a newer skin that I like more than the one I have. It does the job of three different programs that you would normally pay for, and it's free!

http://www.dark-mojo.com/TodayPlus/index.php

There are loads of skins, including one for you iPOD lovers:

Well here's a quick update. After an excrutiating night with Outlook problems (damn IMAP), we got everything working well. The Active Sync is genius -- works flawlessly. PPC is a good platform and the options for installing programs is far better than the Palm. However, once things are installed, it gets confusing. For some reason, a few games were installed in the Programs folder and in another case, two copies of the same application appeared on the Home screen. We don't really understand the difference between folders and locations yet and we can't seem to move icons around as easily as we could with the Palm. Talk about a steep learning curve! Also the Palm Desktop is much easier to use than Outlook.

So if you're used to the Palm way of things, I suggest staying with Palm. Also the software available is incredible and mostly free. If you want a challenge and are ready for some serious learning, PPC is a good option that has potential.

Mekon, the e805 is a nice toy! Amazing screen. Very expensive though. After spending the $650 CDN on the e750, my friend won't be paying for any software as he still has a few hardware options he'd like to invest in for the PDA. If you could send me a listing of free software that you think is worth having, I'd greatly appreciate it.

audio42@hotmail.com