Q. Hi Judie,

I just read your review of the Palm Zire 21, which I was considering. 

I am about to purchase my first PDA and I don’t want the camera, cell phone, etc.

You’ve convinced me that the Zire 21 is probably TOO basic - and mentioned that there is something a step up from that - what do you recommend that is more advanced than the Zire 21 but not too far up the PDA food chain?

Many thanks,

Nancy

P.S. - I am also considering a PDA that would use WiFi spots to check email

A. Hi Nancy,

Well, that review was written in 2003, so while the Zire 21 was a good basic PDA, it is no longer even available from Palm. But, there have been some updated versions that still retain the basic Zire functions while adding some better features. Let’s take a look…

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Q. Hi Judie,

What’s the state of affairs with Pocket PC Phone devices these days (Not Smart Phones but true PPC phones). I’ve concluded that it’s still best for me to have two devices because so many do one or the other better. Like my first printer, scanner, fax machine. It was a good printer and fax.  I need to have a really good phone and a fully customizable PPC. I’m also committed to Win Mobile due to years of software purchases.

Thanks,

L e x

A. Hi Lex,

[Ed. note: I should mention that it wasn't even half a day after Lex sent me his question before he also forwarded two excellent and related posts that had been made on Mobility Site. The first post was about David Haskin's article Another Nail In The PDA's Coffin and the other was entitled Smartphones...Why Have They Not Taken Off?, which referenced a question asked in C|NEt's feature comparison report, Sleek and Sexy Smart Phones With Big Brains.]

Since you specifically asked about the state of true Pocket PC Phone Editions (and not Smartphones), I’ll let you know what I think: choices are decent - as long as you don’t mind a 2.8″ screen. HTC is cranking out various Pocket PC Phone Edition models, there is the Treo w/wx, and TechFaith Wireless (i-mate’s new partner) is also making quite a few PPC PE models. These are all fully customizable Pocket PCs, and many of them offer quite a few connectivity options out of the box, including GSM/GPRS, CDMA, WiFi, Bluetooth, and Infrared.

The bad news for anyone that actually uses their PPC Phone for more than quick information lookups is that 2.8″ screens seem to be here to stay. The day of the >3.5″ phone screen appears to have ended with the HTC Universal and Sharp-Willcom W-ZERO3, which I feel is a complete and utter shame. I hate that we seem to have lost the option to get anything larger. Every time I see an announcement for an otherwise promising PPC or PPC PE, the first thing I look at is the screen size, and anymore, they are all sub 3″. While this is probably fine for many people’s usage, it is not good at all for those that must do extensive work away from the office on spreadsheets, databases, documents, or yes…even reading eBooks. Convergence is king, but there is a massive trade-off. Not everyone wants their main PDA to also be their main phone; not everyone needs the smallest and cutest package possible.

Oh gosh - I seem to have stepped onto my soapbox…sorry!

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Q. Hi Judie,

I have a question. Have you seen a CF or SD card anywhere that has both WiFi and Bluetooth?

John

A. Hi John,

Unfortunately I haven’t yet seen any CF or SD cards that combine the two wireless technologies, which seems pretty surprising. The closest thing I could find was a USB WiFi & BT dongle.

Q. Dear Judie,

I would like to start by telling you that I love you work. My latest device will be the 838Pro thanks to your review, and I wanted to know when the new Ipaq rx5915 will be reviewed since I really want to buy it but before I do I want to hear what you think about it.

Thank you,

Evan 

A. Hi Evan,

I think that the HP iPAQ rx 5915 is a very interesting device, but I haven’t yet decided if I will be buying one.

I like that it has a 3.5″ screen, built in navigation, BT & WiFi, 2GB ROM, and…feh, never mind. I just ordered one. It should be here in 5 - 7 days. Ha!

I’ll let you know what I think once it arrives.

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I often get tech-related questions that I think more than one person would benefit from hearing the answer to, so I have decided to start a new feature. Once a week (or so) I will pick one or two emails I’ve received from readers and post them with my answers.

Of course, my advice is never the last word on anything and I am the first to admit that I don’t know everything, so I fully expect Gear Diary readers to weigh in if they have a better, simpler, clearer, or more interesting answer. Capisci?

So without further ado…

Q. Hi Judie,

If I may I wanted to ask a question about the hp pocket pc’s. I have the hp3955, the hp2210 and the hp4705. I believe that you once used the hp2215. My question is in reference to the hp3955 but probably applies to all models. I can’t seem to find an answer anywhere to this question [I contacted hp but they were no help]: How do I make information that I enter in my Contacts go to either the IPAQ file store or other (CF or SD card) permanent memory? I had many files in my Contacts and when my battery ran completely down every file was lost. Thus, I need to make sure that any future information entered into Contacts is in some kind of permanent memory. It looks like my main and back-up battery are ok–I just let the battery completely run down.

Any help would be appreciated,  

Ron

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