Palm Reccomendations

[+Faderaven]

I was thinking of getting a Palm for pocket queries and was wondering if anyone had any reccomendations. Also, anyone know of any good deals?

[Rubbertoe]

If you don't think you are going to use it for anything more than queries here, and the general functions that are included in every Palm unit - I suggest the m105. That is what I got my wife for Christmas, and we're already using it. It has 8 megs of memory, so it can hold a ton of cache pages, and you can find them on eBay for around 70 bucks, new in box.

 

The Toe Pages

[+TeamBullivant]

Palm has a new unit out called the Zire. about the sams as the m105 but with only 2 mb of memory.

It's priced under $100 bucks. Might be anought for a few pages. I myself have the m125 which uses a SD card. I have a 64 mb card plugged in and have lots of cache pages stored along with 100 or so games.

[+Trikster]

If you're using the Palm for caching, and you plan on using it for anything other than city-bound, daytime caching, the Zire might not be the best choice. Of the many things they've done to cut costs on the unit, they've removed the backlight. If you're in high-contrast daytime shade or caching near dawn or dusk, you might just have trouble seeing the screen.

 

I'd go for the m105 if I needed something low-cost. It's got enough memory for the long run, even if you decide you want more software on it than what it comes with. For something smaller/nicer-looking/more feature-rich, try the m505, which is for sale on Half.com for $169 refurbished, eBay for possibly less.

 

[This message was edited by Trikster on October 27, 2002 at 11:22 AM.]

[+Harrald]

Don't get the Zire!! It's awful. I bought one on Thursday and returned it Friday. 2 meg isn't enough. I added the ebook software and 2 pocket query. That was all it could take. No addresses or phone numbers. Also you can't expand the memory on it.

 

Also unless you buy the USB cradle for the 105 you need to have a free serial port. The 105 was the last palm to not come with USB. If you can get the USB cradle cheap then that may be the way to go.

 

There is a factory refurb Sony CLIE PEG-S360 at overstock.com . This is the way I went. It's only $99 and has 16 meg of memory. I figure that if I drop it or break it I won't be to upset.

 

From the few hours I had the pocket query I was pretty impressed. No more printing pages. I can store 500 waypoints on my GPSr and the same 500 on a PDA. If I'm near a cache I'm prepared

[+Indy Diver]

I have a Handspring Visor and it has 8 Meg of memory. I use three different queries and load the all at the same time. (Over 1400 cache pages)

I also load national news since I hate network TV, this is my only source of news except the radio when driving my truck. It has a color screen and cost $185 right now at the right place. You can search the Internet. By the way this was a factory-reconditioned unit.

This unit comes with a rechargeable battery and every thing you need to use it for cache pages. I give it a 4 star rating.

 

Cache On!

Indy Diver

[azog]

The Sony CLIE is the top of the line. Any CLIE model has twice the screen resolution as non-Sony models (320x320 vs. 160x160). The color screens are transreflective, which means you can view the screen in any light condition, something which TFT screens have a hard time doing.

 

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Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you be also be like him.

[+trippy1976]

Is price an issue? Do you prefer color? What other uses will you have for the device?

 

I bought a Casio BE-300 about a year ago when looking for MP3 players. It's gotten new life in Geocaching as there is an ebook reader for it.

 

Then I found a mod I can do to it that allows me to put a hacked OS on it. Now I can have pocket streets and trips on it too.

 

It's full color screen is sharp, but doesn't peform EXTREMELY well in bright sun conditions. It's useable though if you find a nearby shady spot.

 

Comes with rechargeable batteries and USB sync, 16 MB (I think) of onboard storage with a compact flash expansion slot. I bought a bunch of little 8 MB flash cards for $30 once and use those to keep my ebooks on. You can load apps onto a storage card as well.

 

It's not the most stunning PDA on the market, but I think it's a pretty great value. You can pick them up for $140 right now. I think I saw one at Best Buy for that price the other day.

 

CNET pretty much echos my opinion. It's a relatively mediocre device unless you do the mod to it, then it becomes a sweet device. In any case it'll do all your basic PIM functions, music playing, web page viewing, and ebook reading right out of the box. Might be a good option if you aren't stuck on Palm.

 

http://computers.cnet.com/hardware/0-2709830-404-6474100.html

 

--------

trippy1976 - Team KKF2A

[+Faderaven]

for a refurbished Sony Clie PEG-S360. I'm winning at a bid of $50.00 as of right now. There's still over an hour to go so I'll let you know

[Rubbertoe]

Zire... can someone tell me the benefit of this unit? Other than USB instead of serial - I can't see why anybody would want one of those 2MB Zire units over an 8MB Palm m105. Just a slicker case, I suppose.

 

The Toe Pages

[Rubbertoe]

quote:

---

Originally posted by azog:

The Sony CLIE is the top of the line. Any CLIE model has twice the screen resolution as non-Sony models (320x320 vs. 160x160).

---

 

How does MobiPocket look on that higher rez screen? I've been wondering if it is an incredible difference or not... between that, and hearing that a lot (read: most) of the PalmOS software doesn't support the higher resolution screen yet - I'm just not sure I'm ready to jump to Clie.

[+GeoSharks]

I don't know where you are, but Fry's has the refurb Visor Deluxe for $79. I bought one months ago and it works fine.

[azog]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Rubbertoe:

How does MobiPocket look on that higher rez screen? I've been wondering if it is an incredible difference or not... between that, and hearing that a lot (read: most) of the PalmOS software doesn't support the higher resolution screen yet - I'm just not sure I'm ready to jump to Clie.

---

 

Mobi has a high-res version specific to the CLIE. If you install MobiPocket from their installer, it'll ask you what kind of device you have. I've seen other software which has this feature.

 

As for other software not supporting the high-res screen, so far, I've had no troubles. Sony has a control panel called "High Res Assist", which allows for older apps to work under the higher res screen.

 

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Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you be also be like him.

[+Faderaven]

...the S&H ranged from $7.00 to $39.99 plus $9.99 MANDATORY insurance!

[azog]

Faderaven,

 

Send me mail thru this BBS. I have an M130 which I'm not using. It's about two months old. Perhaps we can work something out.

 

http://www.palm.com/products/palmm130/

 

----------

Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you be also be like him.

[+Mr. 0]

I just picked up a Palm IIIc from Returnbuy.com for $59.99. For that model (yeah it's a little older) that was the best price I could find. It had 8megs memory, color screen, USB cradle, etc. It is a factory refurb, and I haven't received it yet (just bought it Saturday...so should be here Tues or Wed, I hope), but when I do I'll let you know what I think about it.

[+CYBret]

Staples is running Palm m105's for $89.00. Not a bad price for an 8 meg machine.

 

Bret

 

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.

When a man found it, he hid it again." Mt. 13:44

[+Ticklegrass]

There's one other thing to consider and that's the performance of Mobipocket. As far as palm applications go it's one of the most intensive out there. If you buy one of the cheap/old palm devices you'll end up with a processor speed of 16 or 20Mhz, the newer palms have 33 or 66Mhz which help. I'm running a 33Mhz Clie that is overclocked to 44Mhz for Mobipocket and it's still not great. If you've got $600 to spare you could get one of the new 200Mhz models, I haven't tried Mobipocket on these units but I'll bet it's a dream.

[azog]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ticklegrass:

I'm running a 33Mhz Clie that is overclocked to 44Mhz for Mobipocket and it's still not great. If you've got $600 to spare you could get one of the new 200Mhz models, I haven't tried Mobipocket on these units but I'll bet it's a dream.

---

 

What do you use to overclock the CLIE?

 

I moved away from PocketPC's (an HP567) to a CLIE, specifically for size. Looking at the new 200MHz CLIE models, they seem to be getting big, now. I think I might avoid the NX60, until they release a model with the same form-factor as the T series.

 

----------

Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you be also be like him.

[+Sissy-n-CR]

I thinking of the Handspring Visor Neos or Platinum over the Palm m105. It's supposed to have a larger, easier to read screen and comes with a USB cradle. Otherwise, except for a few different programs that come with them, they are the same. I've seen them for about $80 on Ebay, but nowhere locally that I've looked, so far.

 

Any thoughts on Visors V Plams?

 

CR

 

[+GoldKey]

Dell is entering the market on Nov 18th. For $199 you will be able to get the following

 

$199 Axim X5

Brilliant 3.5" TFT 240x320 QVGA 65K Color Transflective LCD 64MB SDRAM

300MHz Xscale

32MB SDRAM

32MB flash ROM

SD and Compact Flash Slot

USB or serial synch CABLE (cradle available as an upsell for this unit)

 

This unit has true multimedia, so you can use it as an mp3 player also.

 

There will also be a $299 unit that will have a few more features. You can't find those same level of features on any palm, or most Pocket PCs for that matter for less than 2x the price.

 

Here is a good Pocket PC site that has some reviews, etc.

 

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/index.php?topic_id=4628

 

Goldkey

 

"We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile. We are the Borg."

[+Sissy-n-CR]

quote:

---

Originally posted by GoldKey:

Dell is entering the market on Nov 18th. For $199 you will be able to get the following

---

 

I'm looking for the most bang-for-the-buck under $100, personally.

 

CR

 

[+GoldKey]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sissy-n-CR:

I'm looking for the most bang-for-the-buck under $100, personally.

CR

http://img.Groundspeak.com/user/72057_2000.gif

---

 

Understand, but the best overall bang for the buck is in the $199 Dell or the Viewsonic V35 for a little more, a Palm is the best bang for buck under $100, but that is because it is the ONLY choice under $100. I don't want to start a Palm vs PocketPC war, but IN MY OPINION, buying a palm for around $100 or a Pocket PC for $199, the extra money is a no brainer for all the extra features you get. I've owned both a Palm and Pocket PC, I think of Palm as a glorified organizer while a Pocket PC is a scaled down version of a real computer. I would not recommend buying a PDA just for caching, seems like a waste to me. If you want other things, MP3 player, usable internet access, etc and are willing to pay a little more, go for the Pocket PC.

 

"We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile. We are the Borg."

[+Sissy-n-CR]

quote:

---

Originally posted by GoldKey:

I've owned both a Palm and Pocket PC, I think of Palm as a glorified organizer while a Pocket PC is a scaled down version of a real computer. I would not recommend buying a PDA just for caching, seems like a waste to me. If you want other things, MP3 player, usable internet access, etc and are willing to pay a little more, go for the Pocket PC.

---

 

Okay, so I looked around a little and am fairly impressed with the PPC. However, I don't need the extras. I don't listen to music, I surf at home, I already have a voice recorder, and quite frankly, the only reason that I'm looking at a PDA is for caching. It's too hard to print out every cache page in the area and keep track of them. As it is now, Sissy is the navigator and has this massive binder with cache pages in it and still can't keep on top of things. No slam on her, it's a lot of work. We always have the pages we need, but if we go outside our itinerary, we're lost. I think a simple PDA will free her time up for more important things. A simple query and download the caches in the area and then we'll have them. No muss, no fuss. ...and not paying for things we don't need.

 

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the input. But I think a Palm is the way to go for us.

 

With that said, I've read reveiws where the Visors don't have the best backlit screen--not good for flashlight-cachers like us. Anyone iwth experience with this?

 

CR

 

[+GoldKey]

I have my old Palm III in a closet somewhere. I also have the snap on GPS for it with the mapping software. If that is what you need/want, contact me through my profile and I can make you a deal on the package.

 

Chris

 

"We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile. We are the Borg."

[+writer]

If you are thinking of a Pocket PC, check out the new models that will use the XScale chip from Intel. It has more muscle than the previous vendor choices in chips and should be pretty good on power.

 

Also, Palm should be moving to the same chip with a 32-bit OS, so you might think about waiting for a bit until you can get something that might get close to what the Pocket PC could offer.

[+GoldKey]

quote:

---

Originally posted by writer:

Also, Palm should be moving to the same chip with a 32-bit OS, so you might think about waiting for a bit until you can get something that might get close to what the Pocket PC could offer.

---

 

The newest Palm Tungsten Models use OS 5 which I don't believe is 32-bit and don't use X-scale. Since they just came out in the last few weeks, I doubt there will be a newer model anytime soon. Plus they run around $499 and don't have the features of the cheaper PocketPC's.

 

"We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile. We are the Borg."

[+Planet]

quote:

---

Originally posted by GoldKey:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sissy-n-CR:

I'm looking for the most bang-for-the-buck under $100, personally.

CR

http://img.Groundspeak.com/user/72057_2000.gif

---

 

Understand, but the best overall bang for the buck is in the $199 Dell or the Viewsonic V35 for a little more, a Palm is the best bang for buck under $100, but that is because it is the ONLY choice under $100. I don't want to start a Palm vs PocketPC war, but IN MY OPINION, buying a palm for around $100 or a Pocket PC for $199, the extra money is a no brainer for all the extra features you get. I've owned both a Palm and Pocket PC, I think of Palm as a glorified organizer while a Pocket PC is a scaled down version of a real computer. I would not recommend buying a PDA just for caching, seems like a waste to me. If you want other things, MP3 player, usable internet access, etc and are willing to pay a little more, go for the Pocket PC.

 

"We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile. We are the Borg."

---

 

I was looking into getting something of the kind yesterady, but I don't know anything about them. This $199 deal sounds like just what I need. As a Realtor, it would be nice to download the Multiple Listing Service every day and have it handy in the car. As a geocacher it would be nice to download the nearest caches. Now if I can just convince clients that there's a darn good reason to stop and check out each and every open space and park it would make my job so much more fun! Trying to sell a house this morning, the buyer mentions he's a techie geek. I sell him, his wife and kid on Geocaching, but I don't think they wanted the house. Geocaching is getting in the way of my work!

 

Cache you later,

Planet

 

"It doesn't matter whether you're going somewhere or nowhere, whether you're doing something or nothing. If you're doing it in a boat it's the best time ever!" -Water Rat from "The Wind in the Willows" by Kenneth Grahame (a book I picked up in a cache)

[+Ticklegrass]

quote:

---

Originally posted by azog:

 

What do you use to overclock the CLIE?

 

_

---

 

Use FastCPU if you want to overclock a palm. Go to www.palmgear.com and do a search.

[+writer]

>>The newest Palm Tungsten Models use OS 5 which I don't believe is 32-bit and don't use X-scale. Since they just came out in the last few weeks, I doubt there will be a newer model anytime soon. Plus they run around $499 and don't have the features of the cheaper PocketPC's. <<

 

Palm has been aiming at early next year, as far as I know, for the new models using the 32-bit OS. My guess would be that news will come out at the consumer electronics show in Las Vegas in early January. Figure that Palm wants to move out its current products for the holiday buying season before decimating potential sales with news of a next generation.

[+trippy1976]

The Casio BE-300 is a decent cheap hand held that has a color screen, lots of onboard storage, Compact Flash slot, and is a 166Mhz processor. Runs mobipocket well. I'm harping on the BE-300 I know but you can get them pretty cheap, like $140 new.

 

--------

trippy1976 - Team KKF2A

[+GoldKey]

quote:

---

Originally posted by trippy1976:

The Casio BE-300 is a decent cheap hand held that has a color screen, lots of onboard storage, Compact Flash slot, and is a 166Mhz processor. Runs mobipocket well. I'm harping on the BE-300 I know but you can get them pretty cheap, like $140 new.

 

--------

trippy1976 - Team KKF2A

http://www.mi-geocaching.org/

---

 

$59 more and get the Dell, 300 Mhz processor, lots more power, Compact Flash and SD, Top of the line backlit transflective color screen that is supposed to be readable outdoors, better battery life, newer version of operating system.............

 

"We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile. We are the Borg."

[+Faderaven]

at least ZDNet says so...

[+GoldKey]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Faderaven:

at least ZDNet says so...

---

 

Two models, one for $249 with $50 rebate and one for $349 with $50 rebate. I read the ZDNet article I think you are talking about and it just says under $300. Look at this CNet article, which is more specific and says $199.

 

http://news.com.com/2100-1040-965291.html

 

"We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile. We are the Borg."

[+GoldKey]

Here are the complete specs

 

Sleek, Ergonomic, Sophisticated Design

196g (6.9 oz)

128 x 81.5 x 18mm (5" x 3.2" x 0.7")

Power Button, 4 Application Keys, 5-way Navigator Button, Scroll Dial, Record Button, Headphone mini-jack

 

Productivity & Expansion Versatility

Microsoft Pocket PC 2002 Premium

Intel Xscale Processor at 400MHz or 300MHz

Brilliant 3.5" TFT 240x320 QVGA 65K Color Transflective LCD 64MB SDRAM

or 32MB SDRAM 48MB or 32MB Intel StrataFlash ROM

1 CompactFlash Type II Slot

1 Secure Digital / MMC Memory Slot

IrDA port

1440mAh Li-Ion Removable Battery with Backup Battery

Built-in Microphone & Speaker

2 LED's

Bluetooth supported via CompactFlash Type II Card

Wi-Fi 802.11b supported via CompactFlash Type II Card

Cradle with 2nd primary battery charging slot

Ships with Cradle or Synch Cable, AC Adapter, Protective Jacket, Extra

Stylus, System Documentation, Companion CD (SW Apps & Docs)

 

There are two configurations, priced at $299 (after rebate) and $199 (after rebate). These are the differences:

 

$299 Axim X5

400MHz Xscale

64MB SDRAM

48MB flash ROM

USB or serial synch cradle

 

$199 Axim X5

300MHz Xscale

32MB SDRAM

32MB flash ROM

USB or serial synch CABLE (cradle available as an upsell for this unit)

 

"We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile. We are the Borg."

[+Mr. 0]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mr. 0:

I just picked up a Palm IIIc from http://buy.returnbuy.com for $59.99. For that model (yeah it's a little older) that was the best price I could find. It had 8megs memory, color screen, USB cradle, etc. It is a factory refurb, and I haven't received it yet (just bought it Saturday...so should be here Tues or Wed, I hope), but when I do I'll let you know what I think about it.

---

 

Well I got the IIIc on Wednesday and I signed up for my charter membership, and d/led the pocket queries. My inital impressions after using is this weekend is....First off the IIIc is a little hard to read in bright light, but it didn't pose enough of a problem that I would stop using it for caching and so far that's my only complaint. The pocket queries are great, it beats lugging around my 3 ring binder with all the printed pages. I can just open up the palm and view all the info there, plus I can just open up the "memo" feature to jot down anything that I want to remember for my logs. Also, before I would only print out the caches I planned to visit that day....so if I had a good day and was left with some daylight and no caches in my list, I was pretty much done for the day because I would have to go home and print off some more. With the having them on the palm, I can have a much larger list. Now if I hit all the caches I planned, I can stay out and grab more, if I want. Reading some of the other posts in here, the PPC is pretty cool, but if you're not going to use any of the other features of it, then I wouldn't think it would be worth it. Right now I've got caches loaded on here several different ways, plus several games and other applications to keep my busy when I'm bored otherwise. I don't have much experience with the IIIc or any PDA for that matter, but my initial impressions are pretty good with this. And I think that the price, $59.99, was pretty decent for what I got. (Color screen, 8megs, etc...just no software except for the OS...but everything that came with it originally, like the applications on the palm and the desktop software, I d/led for free from the Palm website)

[+Faderaven]

quote:

---

Originally posted by GoldKey:

 

$199 Axim X5

300MHz Xscale

32MB SDRAM

32MB flash ROM

USB or serial synch CABLE (cradle available as an upsell for this unit)

 

---

 

Hmm. Very nice....any idea when these babies are supposed to be released?

[+GoldKey]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Faderaven:

Hmm. Very nice....any idea when these babies are supposed to be released?

---

 

November 18th. I know I will be calling Dell that morning to get the $299 model. Food for thougth, Samsung has just shown a new concept model http://www.brighthand.com/article/Low_cost_PPC

 

for a B/w Pocket PC. Rumor I have heard are that it might come in at close to $99, but it might be 6 months before it see the light of day. This model is being designed to take on the low end Palm organizers (Zire) and even the high end Royal brand organizers. This will directly address those consumers who really don't want to spend more than $100.

 

"We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile. We are the Borg."

[+Sissy-n-CR]

Well, the other day, I went and picked up a Palm m105 at Staples for $90. Intial impresses are good. Of course, this is the only one I've messed with. Graffitti is really easy to learn. Paid a little more than needed but being Staples, I'd have someone locally to deal with--this being my first PDA. I figured the little extra was worth it.

 

The only downside I can see at the moment is the screen is hard to read in twilight. Sometimes it's too dark to read without the light and too bright with the light.

 

I decided on the Palm because I read a couple of places where the Visor was hard to read in the dark. So, being that we are flashlight cache quite a bit...

 

Overall, I'm happy with the purchase.

 

CR

 

[+GoldKey]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sissy-n-CR:

Well, the other day, I went and picked up a Palm m105 at Staples for $90.

---

 

I'd have given you a much better deal on the III (mostly the same specs at the m105) and the GPS attachment. Anybody interested before I throw it in the GPS garage sale?

 

"We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile. We are the Borg."