Never used a PDA, need some advice on the uses of one.

[Piemagic]

Hello im considering buying an ipaq H2210 but i'm not sure what PDA's are capable of. I would like to keep address', phone numbers etc, but i would also like to know can i edit photos from a digital camera by taking the memory card directly from the camera into the PDA, does software for that exist? Also can i keep a workout schedule on the PDA and are there spreadsheats and alarms etc. Also which is the better OS, Palm or Windows? Sorry if i sound ill-informed, just never used a PDA. Any help will be appreciated, thanks.

[Society]

Welcome!

There are tons of things you can use a PDA for (appointments, calender, word processor, spreadsheet, music player, e-mail, instant messaging(chat), etc.). The Ipaq 2210 that you're looking at is one of the more popular Ipaq's out right now (probably because of the dual expansion slots). Like a windows based pda's it comes with Software that is basically an adress book. It allows you to store Names, numbers, addresses, e-mail, birthdays, etc. There is software for everything you mentioned that comes with the 2210. The photo editing isn't something I've done much with so hopefully someone else will post as to what options you have for that. Hope this helped.

~Soc

[WallyQ]

The 2210 will be more than enough.

Firstly, I'll give my somewhat biased opinions on OS's. I would suggest the PocketPC OS over PalmOS.
- The file management system is more intuitive and works very similar to windows. This is advantageous for your situation, since you would probably like to manage your photographs.
- Application interface, I find that it's a lot easier to use programs... not sure how to explain this one
- Having the ability to close particular programs in the background is a plus. From what i know, you can't really do that in palmOS
- BUT... palmOS is more stable and requires less CPU juice to run. But PPC 2003 has come a long way and I'll stand behind it...


As for photo editing software, I do a lot of graphics design and sometimes i have ideas and such that I just need to jot down. Or if I'm away at a meeting and want to get a point through, drafting on my PDA allows me to take it home, whereas a piece of paper I'll lose.

The program I chose to buy is Conduit's Pocket Artist 2.7. I read a lotta reviews and decided on this one. I was SHOCKED at how many features this program had and how "useable" it was. IT EVEN DOES LAYERS!! Plus it has a lotta filters and color adjustments. It even has a feature called "Fix Overflash" which I assume is directed towards photo editting.


Just make sure your PDA can read your digital camera media, ie. for the 2210 CF and SD media.

[Piemagic]

thanks for your help guys, also if i had a wifi adapter in my pda, could i use it with my wifi broadband at home to surf the web on my PDA or is that not possible?

[Sul]

Yes sure you can surf the web like that. But remember you probably will have to buy some good browser software for your pda in order to surf comfortably.

[Piemagic]

is internet explorer installed on a pda or is there an I.E equivilant?

[AnswerDude]

Originally posted by Piemagic
is internet explorer installed on a pda or is there an I.E equivilant?
Yes, all Pocketpc has pocket internet explorer pre-installed. However, it has limited features, functionality and performances compare to the desktop version. That's the reason for 3rd party browser recommendation. There are several 3rd party browsers and add-ons available.

[Piemagic]

answer dude do you know any websites where i can find out the uses for a pda? thanks.

[AnswerDude]

MS provides a good starting place;
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/default.mspx

You can go thorugh tutorial to see basic functionality;
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/resources/support/pocketpc/ossupport.aspx?language=en&os=2003&devicename=hp+iPAQ+2210%2f2215&deviceid=48&deviceType=PPC

This site gives you extensive reviews of various makes and models;
http://www.pdabuyersguide.com/ppc.htm

And here's an old thread on this forum titled "The coolest thing you have ever done with your Ipaq", it should give you some idea;
http://www.pdastreet.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=26154