Palm Downloads

[+sturgeongeneral]

I was hoping for recomendations for a pda. Any recomendations or favorites? Inexpensive is also good. Thanks for the help.

[+gnbrotz]

I use a Palm m125. Here are a few reasons I like it:

• It was inexpensive ($125 a year ago)
  
• It' NOT color like it's current counterpart the m130 (improves battery life)
  
• Though it has 8mb memory which is plenty for caching, it also has an expansion slot. I've purchased a 128mb card for that, and probably have room to store a lifetime supply of cache/benchmark data on it
  
• It takes regular AAA batteries, not a built-in one, so recharging in the field is not an issue
  

Also, while not exclusive to this model, I have a cable that will allow it to connect to my etrex for real-time map tracking and upload/dowload of gps data. This is handy for long trips when you'd like to bring more waypoints than your unit will hold or want to save multiple tracks and don't own or don't want to bother with a laptop.

[+briansnat]

I have an M500 and it does the job. I think any Palm device will work just fine. So just look for an inexpensive one. I do like the idea of removeable batteries as in Gnbrotz's M125. This isn't available in the M500, although I only have to recharge it once every couple weeks, so it isn't a major issue.

[+GeoBond007]

If ya want real simple I have a palm 100($25.00) at Amazon last time I checked at Christmas. But is monochrome 2MB of memory and runs on 2 AAA. I have a premium membership to get PQ's. I have cachemate $7(smittyware.com) cool program that allows you to store your PQ's. I have 400 waypoints on the palm now can't remember the size it takes up. But with sync up its fast and the yellow only hold 500 waypoints so that's all I need.

 

GeoBond007

Edited January 10, 2004 by GeoBond007

[+sbell111]

I use an m505 and love it. Cathy still uses her 3c without complaint.

[+treemoss2]

I bought a Sony J22 and with rebates it cames out to $69.

Is still available I think (Office Depot) but maybe only with rebates that means you'll get it for $99.

It is color screen with 16mb internal memory and takes a memory stick up to 256 mb.

Also comes with charger and a USB cable.

 

I would never have gone to a PDA, but that price was a no-brainer for value.

[+harleycache]

I'm new at this sport, so take my words with a grain of salt, but, I just got a SONY Clie SJ-22. After mail in rebate, total cost is $94.00.

 

High res color screen (turning the backlight off in bright day light seems to help, and conserves battery), 15 MB available RAM; expandable w/Memory stick. It uses a rechargeable Lithium ion battery.

 

OS is Palm OS v. 4.1

 

So far, I'm finding this one is very good for my geocaching needs and am very happy with it.

[+JoelCam]

I use a Sony Clie SJ-20 with an additional 64 Meg Memory Stick. Had it just over a year. I added a Holux GM-210 GPS receiver to it. It powers the Clie, and recharges it while in the car... it came with a air vert holder for placing it on your dashboard, and Delorme XMap Street Atlas Handheld edition, so I have great street level mapping. I use that to find the find my way to caches in the car, then switch to my Garmin RINO for the final walk. You can look up streets for the maps you Hotsync to the memory stick, so it works great for my job too. (Wrote the whole thing off as a business expense) Also, I downloaded several types of caches in my area and use Mobipocket to look up caches by type for what ever I may be in the mood of finding. Works real well.

 

For non-caching use as a Palm Pilot... a rechargable battery is a must. Sony adds a lot of software bundled with their Clies. I like the hi-res screens. Color is nice, although mine is grey scale. The memory sticks can be used in other Sony products like MP3 players, digital cameras, and some of their TV's. One of their models have Wi-Fi which would be cool to surf and update your cache info while out and about (ie. during a stop at a Starbucks).

[+av8tors32]

I have been through several different palm style solutions. I finally moved to a phone/PDA integrated solution. If you frequently carry a cell phone, I strongly recommend an integrated solution to cut down on the number of devices you need to carry/recharge.

[Larry H]

I'm using a Palm Tungsten E . In addition to all the previous mentioned uses, I added a 128 MB memory card and stereo head phones and now it becomes a pda and a MP3 player. I can store 30 or more songs on it , more then enough for a morning of caching.

[+NightPilot]

I have a Zire 71. Plenty of memory, color display, and the camera is handy for documenting whatever you do.

[+SBPhishy]

I have an old Palm III and it works great. It cost 30 bucks, and if i break it, it's no big deal.

[+GeckoGeek]

I was hoping for recomendations for a pda. Any recomendations or favorites? Inexpensive is also good. Thanks for the help.

One item I wanted to point out. While the items listed are good, one criteria for a PDA for geocaching is .... cheap. They are not rugged devices. They are not waterproof or drop resistant. As such, if you take a unit "into the wild" something bad will happen sooner or later. So it's best if it's not an overly expensive unit. A used one will do well.

 

Another thing to consider is if it has any serial port capability to connect to a GPS to transfer data. The Palm III has, as does the Sony SJ22. The Tungsten does not.

 

As for your everyday unit - how much do you want to spend?

[Major Catastrophe]

I may win for the oldest PDA; I use a Palm Pro, $35 at a flea market. It only has 1 MB of memory, no IR, no serial port, and because the newest OS it can run is OS2, it won't run most of the software that's available these days. I just copy and paste the cache page into a memo on the PDA, then edit out and delete the unrelevant parts. I also downloaded the HintDecoder program to simplify using the encoded cheats when needed.

[+Learned Gerbil]

Aquapac do PDA protectors as well as GPS protectors. There is much to be said for not handholding handheld devices when Geocaching, and Aquapacs allow you to hang whatever is inside from your neck or wherever else you want to tie it.

[+oneeyesquare]

Ditto's for the Aquapac!! Been using mine the last month or so. PDA is right there when needed, tuck it inside my jacket when not.

[dougdrums]

I may win for the oldest PDA; I use a Palm Pro, $35 at a flea market.  It only has 1 MB of memory, no IR, no serial port, and because the newest OS it can run is OS2, it won't run most of the software that's available these days.  I just copy and paste the cache page into a memo on the PDA, then edit out and delete the unrelevant parts.  I also downloaded the  HintDecoder program to simplify using the encoded cheats when needed.

Man, and I thought my Palm IIIc was getting old! Although, I still use a OKI 900 cell phone. They don't build them any better than that.

 

I would reccomend the Tungsten E. It seems to have great power for the price.

Edited January 15, 2004 by dougdrums

[+GeckoGeek]

I may win for the oldest PDA; I use a Palm Pro,

For quite some time I had a Palm Pro that had 3MB of memory. I even bought a IIIxe but didn't get around to converting for a year. Then the Pro finally bit the dust. I guess it didn't like being in my back pocket.

 

I'm not sure if it's was the physical stresses from sitting or from my lunchtime burritos.....

 

Anyway, since I'm not using the old Palm Pro anymore, I guess I can't challenge you for oldest.

[+wildlifeguy]

just bought a M515 for 125 bucks on ebay. No complaints so far! Will be going out caching with it this weekend!

 

Peace!