+globalgirl Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 Oddball question perhaps, but for me, presently a priority. I'm determined to go paperless for caching and thus have been looking seriously at pda's but... I also recently took on a commitment to do some hotel reviews in the tropics and... for that a laptop would seem best. But the reviews are short, and - given that I can't afford to buy both a pda AND a laptop just now, I'm wondering... Is it possible to get a pda - with perhaps a plugin external keyboard for easier typing - that could hold short (say 4 paragraphs) text content (i.e. for of up to 100 hotel reviews)? IOW, I'd much rather invest in a pda for caching, but I'm hoping I could also use it for a bit more serious data entry. Am I dreaming? Quote Link to comment
+Stunod Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 Yes, most PDA accept keyboards and you can use simple word processing software on them. The software I use on my palm coverts the document to MSWord or Excel. Quote Link to comment
+Learned Gerbil Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 I once composed a 5,000 word report on a Palm IIIxe and folding keyboard. It was quite easy, although formatting back at base was necessary as it was not that easy to see layout. Since then, my employer has stopped me syncing my PDA due to unfounded security concerns. I have been issued with a secured Laptop which I refuse to carry with me as it weighs about a million times more than my PDA and will only run my employer's software. Quote Link to comment
+TeamK-9 Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 I was actually wondering this same thing. I already have used a PDA for caching, but it recently died. I've been living without, but recently, I've been considering getting a new one, this was inspired by my recent involved in the USGS national map corps. I'd basically need to be able to edit an excel or excel compatible spreadsheet while in the car. I could use my laptop, but it's older, and there is something seriously wrong with the battery, and for it to be of any use in the car, you have to plug in the inverter, and plug in the laptop charger. Quite frankly, I'd rather use my car's one cigarette point for something else. So is an external keyboard practical, or is it easier to just learn Grafitti? Quote Link to comment
+Stunod Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 I was actually wondering this same thing. I already have used a PDA for caching, but it recently died. I've been living without, but recently, I've been considering getting a new one, this was inspired by my recent involved in the USGS national map corps. I'd basically need to be able to edit an excel or excel compatible spreadsheet while in the car. I could use my laptop, but it's older, and there is something seriously wrong with the battery, and for it to be of any use in the car, you have to plug in the inverter, and plug in the laptop charger. Quite frankly, I'd rather use my car's one cigarette point for something else. So is an external keyboard practical, or is it easier to just learn Grafitti? Grafitti is not hard to learn, but for entering large amounts of data a keyboard is nice. Quote Link to comment
+LthrWrk Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 I have a Palm IIIxe with an accessory keyboard. Love it. Works great. Quote Link to comment
coureur des bois Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 HI ! Did you try Palm Tungsten C wint a little keyboard incorporated ? I use it forGPS link . Very satisfied. Keyboard enough for big reports but good enough for extendes notes ... Quote Link to comment
+globalgirl Posted February 12, 2005 Author Share Posted February 12, 2005 Great! This is looking very promising. I did look (personally) at a Palm Tungsten E vs. a Palm Zire 31, and the color resolution on the Tungsten E was waaaaaaay better than the Zire (for just $50 more, new). And while I see Palm Tungsten C's on Ebay for under $300, and they have a wee built in keyboard that looks pretty kewl, am wondering... Just how handy is that wee built in keyboard vs.... Must admit, for my money, I'm leaning towards a Tungsten E (on Ebay buy now at just $167 with 1 yrs. warranty). It doesn't have the built in keyboard like the C, but question is - can't I get an accessory keyboard for it? Looks like Palm sells a wireless keyboard for just $60 and an ultra-thin keyboard for $100. Question is, will the Tungsten E support/have a plug in for an external keyboard, or... do I need to get at least a Tungsten T3? The Tungsten E has just 32MB vs. the C and the T3 with 64, but... surely 32 will do for a few hundred short hotel reviews and/or a 100 or so caches, no? I think I read somewhere here that 16MB is plenty for geocaching, so wouldn't 32 do? Seems to be boiling down to: definitely a Tungsten over a Zire A Tungsten E if I can get an external keyboard for it Else.... A Tungsten C if that keyboard isn't too cramped or... Tungsten T3 if that's what it takes to add an external keyboard (i.e. the E won't accept such, yes? no?) Whaddya think? Am I on the right track? Yippppeeee, I'm so glad to hear I don't need to buy/lug around a laptop when I'll mainly just use the pda for caching plus occassionally some simple word processing (yeah, I know - famouslastwords!) Quote Link to comment
+Sputnik 57 Posted February 12, 2005 Share Posted February 12, 2005 I also recently took on a commitment to do some hotel reviews in the tropics and... for that a laptop would seem best. But the reviews are short, and - given that I can't afford to buy both a pda AND a laptop just now, I'm wondering... Am I dreaming? Did you need someone to go along with you? I have 60C so we won't get lost! Oh, and a laptop and a PDA too. Quote Link to comment
+globalgirl Posted February 12, 2005 Author Share Posted February 12, 2005 Did you need someone to go along with you? I have 60C so we won't get lost! Oh, and a laptop and a PDA too. LOL Sputnik - and here I was trying to be discreet. Yup, truth is I "have" to go down to both Jamaica and Costa Rica to review all the first class hotels (about 80 in each country). The latter I've specialized in travel to - for the past 20 years. Ah, but I've only recently become corrupted with geocaching - and now - oh my, I simply can't WAIT to go find the 7 caches in Jamaica, and about the same in CR. Goodness, but it surely doesn't GET much sweeter than that! <o.k. end gloat> Sorry but can you tell I'm a tad excited? Quote Link to comment
+embra Posted February 12, 2005 Share Posted February 12, 2005 Must admit, for my money, I'm leaning towards a Tungsten E (on Ebay buy now at just $167 with 1 yrs. warranty). It doesn't have the built in keyboard like the C, but question is - can't I get an accessory keyboard for it? Looks like Palm sells a wireless keyboard for just $60 and an ultra-thin keyboard for $100. Question is, will the Tungsten E support/have a plug in for an external keyboard, or... do I need to get at least a Tungsten T3? The Tungsten E has just 32MB vs. the C and the T3 with 64, but... surely 32 will do for a few hundred short hotel reviews and/or a 100 or so caches, no? I think I read somewhere here that 16MB is plenty for geocaching, so wouldn't 32 do? Seems to be boiling down to: definitely a Tungsten over a Zire A Tungsten E if I can get an external keyboard for it Else.... A Tungsten C if that keyboard isn't too cramped or... Tungsten T3 if that's what it takes to add an external keyboard (i.e. the E won't accept such, yes? no?) Whaddya think? Am I on the right track? Yippppeeee, I'm so glad to hear I don't need to buy/lug around a laptop when I'll mainly just use the pda for caching plus occassionally some simple word processing (yeah, I know - famouslastwords!) I've been using a Tungsten T for a couple years and am moving to the E. The 32MB RAM is quite ample, and if you start crowding that you can get an SD card for virtually unlimited memory. The one notable drawback of the E is a non-universal plug. So the wireless keyboard would be the way to go. This has the added benefit that the keyboard should migrate with future upgrades you may have. It folds up to something slightly larger than a pack of cigarettes, but allows for reasonable touch typing. Look at the keyboard section links at the Gadgeteer. So I'd say your thinking seems grounded in the PDA realities. One other thing I'd throw in is that if you enjoy audiobooks at all, Audible.com is giving a $100 credit towards Palm PDA's (including the E) at PalmOne with a one year subscription at $15/mo. I've been listening to books and a daily news program while commuting. Since I'd been doing that for a while, I went ahead and made the year commitment, so I'm getting an open-box E for $60 (they are even throwing in a hard case as a current promotion). Quote Link to comment
+Team Shibby Posted February 12, 2005 Share Posted February 12, 2005 (edited) Did you say you would be doing 100+ reviews of tropical hotels?? Any chance you could stuff me into your luggage, I'll supply the laptop, pda, gps AND I'll carry it all wherever you need me too!! edit: I see sputnik beat me to it!! Kar Edited February 12, 2005 by Team Shibby Quote Link to comment
+Mudinyeri Posted February 12, 2005 Share Posted February 12, 2005 If you happen to go with a used Palm V - still an excellent PDA even though they've been out of production for some time - I have a folding keyboard I would let go for $5.00 + shipping. PM me if you're interested. Quote Link to comment
+NightPilot Posted February 13, 2005 Share Posted February 13, 2005 Absolutely go with an IR keyboard. It will work with any model, and uses its own batteries (which last for months) instead of drawing power from the Palm. Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.