PDA or Palm

[+skyhawk29]

I want to start using paperless caching and would appreciate ideas on which is better "PDA or PALM. Need one with expandable SD card Memory. Also what is needed price wise , medium or higher price unit. Prefer color screen due to poor eyesight in dim light.

Thanks in advance.

Skyhawk29--Chuck

[+Scrappy_Chiq]

I want to start using paperless caching and would appreciate ideas on which is better "PDA or PALM. Need one with expandable SD card Memory. Also what is needed price wise , medium or higher price unit. Prefer color screen due to poor eyesight in dim light.

Thanks in advance.

Skyhawk29--Chuck

 

Hey there Skyhawk29!

 

I have both the generic PDA (ok, not generic...just old) and the Palm. I only use the Palm for my paperless Geocaching though. I have a Palm Treo 600. I absolutely love it. (It's also my cell phone and my way to keep organized.) I would say it's in the medium price range. There are definitely more expensive options out there. It just depends on how many functions you plan on using with the unit.

 

The only downfall is that it has a bad spot on the LCD and it can cause issues when trying to view the coordinates. I had another Treo that I used strictly for caching, but I let it sit for a month or so, and the LCD cracked. I realize this doesn't happen to all units-I'm thinkiing the change in temperature in our house and it's location didn't help much. It is a unit that you can expand with the SD memory card.

 

Once you've purchased the unit and card, you can download MobiPocket Reader and read the listings on there. I love being able to do that! In fact, I was out enjoying our Indian Summer day today and wanted to find a cache at the local park. For some reason it didn't load when I loaded my PQ into my unit, but there it was in my Treo-so i put the coords in by hand and off I went!

 

Good luck-and once you go paperless-you won't want to go back!

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

Palm is but one brand of hand-held computer commonly called a PDA - A Personal Data Assistant device.

 

There are many makers and types of PDA.

 

The two most common operating systems for PDAs are made by Palm and Microsoft.

 

PDAs are therefore Palm-based (Palm Operating System) or Pocket-PC based (Microsoft Operating System).

 

Which PDA is 'best' is completely dependant on the feature set you need and the OS you prefer.

 

Good luck!

Ed

[+TrailGators]

The most important thing to consider for paperless caching is to select a device that you can read outside Some devices have very poor screens that are unreadable outside.

[+Lasagna]

You can make either platform work. Cachemate, one of the more popular packages for cache management, runs on both Palm and Microsoft. I've used a Treo (with PalmOS) , HP iPAQ (with Windows Mobile 2003), as well as a Cingular 8125 Smartphone (running Windows Mobile 5.0).

 

Cachemate is pretty straight forward with GSAK on the PC to create the extracts.

 

However, actually I prefer to use the Plucker Reader (or Vade Mecum on the PPC) as it is more like navigating the GC site. I use GSAK to export the HTML and SunriseXP to create the Plucker file.

 

Lately I've been just using my Blackberry and for that (when not just access the GC site directly), I use Mobipocket Create to convert the HTML extract from GSAK into an eBook and then Mobipocket Reader to navigate it on the handheld. (Actually, if someone's found a better solution, drop me a line).

Edited November 11, 2006 by Lasagna

[+J&W602639]

I recently made the leap into paperless caching myself, and it is great! You're gonna love it. I'm not sure what else you need the pda for, but I got a Palm z22, it does not have external memory but it has 32 mb and that is PLENTY space for storing caches, i dont know how many it will hold but 500 takes less than 2 megs. There is also space for all the built iin calender and contacts plus all the other goodies you will want to start using once you see play with them some. It is also about the least expensive on the market, I think a good value for the money at $99.00, and it's user(beginning user) friendy.

I bought the "Cachemate" program for it for $9.00 I think from their website, I useGSAK on the pc to send the files. Took just a little getting use to how to go from making a pocket query and sending it to GSAK to the palm, but after a couple of times its really pretty easy. I can't say about any other programs, this has been all I've tried so far, and I figure if it works...stop right there!

Oh yes, one more thing, you will need to become a premium member to be able to get the pocket queries, if you aren't already.

Good Luck in your paperless caching!

[+hkyplr]

You can make either platform work. Cachemate, one of the more popular packages for cache management, runs on both Palm and Microsoft. I've used a Treo (with PalmOS) , HP iPAQ (with Windows Mobile 2003), as well as a Cingular 8125 Smartphone (running Windows Mobile 5.0).

 

Cachemate is pretty straight forward with GSAK on the PC to create the extracts.

 

However, actually I prefer to use the Plucker Reader (or Vade Mecum on the PPC) as it is more like navigating the GC site. I use GSAK to export the HTML and SunriseXP to create the Plucker file.

 

Lately I've been just using my Blackberry and for that (when not just access the GC site directly), I use Mobipocket Create to convert the HTML extract from GSAK into an eBook and then Mobipocket Reader to navigate it on the handheld. (Actually, if someone's found a better solution, drop me a line).

I have the 8125 Smartphone and am wanting to go paperless. I just want to make sure that Cachemate will work with Windows Mobile. It seems like a lot of people like that program, I also use GSAK. Thanks for your help.

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

I use a mapping program called PC-Miler, developed for truckers, that has FAR more accurate and up-to-date maps than anything else I have used (I also own Streets&Trips, Street Atlas, Mapsend, MapsendTopo, and MapQuest and have all of them loaded on my laptop - PC-Miler is still my favorite!).

 

The same company, ALK Technologies, makes a laptop version that I have used for a year or so and now a PDA software that I had a chance to play with recently... that I now have to have, and you might consider!

 

Windows Mobile / Pocket PC version

 

Treo700 Palm Windows Mobile version

 

Ed

Edited November 12, 2006 by TheAlabamaRambler

[+geofireman]

Ahhh, Alabama Rambler. You are reffering to Copilot Live from Alk Technologies. I use this on my HP PDA and it is hands down the best GPS navigating software out there for roads. It has won MANY awards. I like to plug the coords into my PDA's CoPilot to get me close. Then I use my handheld 76CSx for the "kill". It does cost more than others, but as is the all to often (and TRUE) saying, "You get what you pay for".

Edited November 13, 2006 by geofireman

[+Lighteye]

You can make either platform work. Cachemate, one of the more popular packages for cache management, runs on both Palm and Microsoft. I've used a Treo (with PalmOS) , HP iPAQ (with Windows Mobile 2003), as well as a Cingular 8125 Smartphone (running Windows Mobile 5.0).

 

Cachemate is pretty straight forward with GSAK on the PC to create the extracts.

 

However, actually I prefer to use the Plucker Reader (or Vade Mecum on the PPC) as it is more like navigating the GC site. I use GSAK to export the HTML and SunriseXP to create the Plucker file.

 

Lately I've been just using my Blackberry and for that (when not just access the GC site directly), I use Mobipocket Create to convert the HTML extract from GSAK into an eBook and then Mobipocket Reader to navigate it on the handheld. (Actually, if someone's found a better solution, drop me a line).

 

Yep, MobiPocket is free, and will run on even the most inexpensive Palm based devices. I have been using it for nearly a year, and it does the trick admirably. If you are only using the PDA for paperless caching, which BTW is a great idea, just about anything will do. Check your local CompUSA,Bestbuy, or Staples for the special of the day. You should be able to walk out for under a $100 with a new PDA with expandable memory.

 

I use a Palm Tungsten T5 myself, but is is used for a lot more than just caching. I keep MS Office docs on it, one of them being addresses and phone numbers of free wifi hotspots in whatever city I happen to be in. That has saved us a few times. You need to know what all you are going to be using it for before narrowing it down a bit, as there hundreds if not thousands of different PDAs available nowadays.