Pda In Bright Sunlight

[+GeoWomyn_SF_CA]

Hi All,

I am about to buy a PDA but my deciding factor will be which one can I read outdoors in bright sunlight?

 

I am thinking of a PalmIIIxe, a Palm 515, or a PalmOne Zire 31.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Thanks!

[+IVxIV]

My Sony Clie is not too easy to view in bright sunlight,, so I only cache on cloudy/rainy days

[+Joe Smith]

I had a color cie too and the sun did wash it out.

 

You need a black and white, or if you want color it HAS to be one with a TFT screen. Most Pocket Pc's have them, and some of the newer garmin gps units. I'm sure that the palm units have them too, but it might be a bit more expensive.

 

 

Joe Smith

[+Renegade Knight]

Anything with a transflective screen will be readable in the sunlight.

[+Marky]

My Zire 72 is okay, but the screen protector makes it worse, I think. Maybe I should remove the screen protector and see if that's so.

 

--Marky

[+Jeeters]

You need a black and white, or if you want color it HAS to be one with a TFT screen. Most Pocket Pc's have them

I've got an iPAQ 4150 that has a tft display and it's not all that nice to to try and read in in sunlight at all. you can read things if there'a good contrast between the letters and the background, but the colors themselves become pretty washed out and the display looks more like B&W than color. (I'm talking about in bright sunlight of course; in doors it looks beautious )

[+NightPilot]

If legibility in bright sunlight is the only criterion, then get the IIIxe.

[dampeoples]

If all you use it for is basic scheduling and caching, then get an older, monochrome unit. Same basic PDA functionality, readable anywhere. Oh yeah, and cheap

 

I have a handspring visor deluxe. I think they an be had for $20 or less.

[+EScout]

My Sony Clie TJ25 works well in the sun. It has a color 320X320 screen, memory stick expansion and you can use it with a USB or Serial cable. Serial is needed if you want to connect to a GPSr. It is small and light and runs Palm OS 5.2. discontinued but you can find them new, for about $100, which is a good value.

[+Xangxa]

If all you use it for is basic scheduling and caching, then get an older, monochrome unit. Same basic PDA functionality, readable anywhere. Oh yeah, and cheap

 

I have a handspring visor deluxe. I think they an be had for $20 or less.

I agree: if viewing in sunlight is a high priority, nothing beats a monochrome screen.

 

I have a HP iPAQ 4155 PPC with a color transflective screen. It washes out readily in sunlight. In fact, I just turn the backlighting off completely to conserve battery power when caching. I hold it at just the right angle when I want to read the screen. It can be done in sunlight, but it's not nearly as readable as a monochrome Palm.

Edited March 8, 2005 by Xangxa

[+TetrAmigos]

I've owned my Dell Axim X30 for just under a year now, and with the ClearTouch screen protector, I've been able to balance readability in direct sunlight pretty well by cranking up brightness (and always carrying a spare battery).

 

A towel to throw over your head like the photographers of old is a cost-effective method, too.

Edited March 8, 2005 by ArmchairPilot

[+GOT GPS?]

transflective:

- (adj.) A type of LCD screen in which the pixels are illuminated from both the front of the monitor’s screen and from behind the screen, combining the illumination characteristics of both transmissive and reflective technologies. Transflective LCDs work under any lighting condition, from complete darkness to bright sunlight.

 

palmOne Zire 72 Special Edition Handheld

- Palm OS OS, 32 MB Installed memory, 16-bit (64k colors), Transflective Color TFT, 320 x 320 Resolution, MP3 Player,

 

Palm One Tungsten C 64MB PDA, 320x320 Transflective Color Screen

 

Hp Ipaq Rx3115 Mobile Media Companion

Hp Ipaq Hx2755 Pocket Pc

 

These are just some of the newer ones with TFT screens.

[+GeoWomyn_SF_CA]

A towel to throw over your head like the photographers of old is a cost-effective method, too.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I decided to go with a Palm One Zire 31, which does not have a transflective screen. Since money was a concern and I did want a color screen and a fast processor, I went with this model. I tried it in the full sun and if I make a canopy with the cover and the case I can improve the visibility of the screen. I can not see it as well as I hoped for but it is still quite readable. The image shown here does not capture what the screen really looks like but it does show you how I shield it from the sun.

 

As a last resort I will definitely throw an “economical” towel over my head.

 

[+TetrAmigos]

Good luck with it, and keep us posed on any techiques you may develop after using it a few times in the sun.

Edited March 8, 2005 by ArmchairPilot

[+Alan2]

Works great for viewing. I'm still working on the manual controls.

 

[+TetrAmigos]

Well, my new Holux BT GPS unit came in today, so I figured I'd test this "sun" problem out with my PDA and report back.

 

The result? I can actually see my PDA in direct sunlight much more clearly than outdoors-indirect sunlight. I currently own a mid-X30 PDA made by Dell. Yet another triumph with this little box.