yesthattom | Help me buy my next PDA

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Help me buy my next PDA

Sidekick?

Treo?

Treo-after-they-switch-to-MS? (Is it true that they are going to do this?)

Blackberry?

Other options?

I want to carry one box with me instead of my current laptop+cellphone+PAA. (PAA is my Personal Analog Assistant).

Most important: I want to be able to read email anywhere. I’d prefer to just let it access my IMAP server (which is open to the internet anyway). Either way, when I delete a message on this device, I want it deleted on my real mail box too. If I can do this, I can eliminate my need to constantly be carrying my laptop around. I’d like to be able to reply also, of course.

Very important: I want the PDA aspect to support really good todo-list management software. PalmOS can be augmented with DateBookV or Life Balance; The MS PDA software has FranklinCovey software available to augment it (though I hate Covey’s politics... he’s an christian coalition crusader).

Very important: I want VerizonWireless service. They have the best coverage around here.

Not important: BlueTooth. It’s nice, but I can connect a cable when I need to sync it.

Sort of important: An SSH client would be nice.

I know a lot of my friends have Sidekicks and Treos but I haven’t used either enough. If anyone is local and would let me use theirs for an hour or so it would be appreciated. (LOCAL=New Jersey)

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hr_macgirl has a Verizon Wireless Treo 650, though I think she considers it one of those "as a PDA, it's an okay phone; as a phone, it's an okay PDA" deals. It runs PalmOS 5.4. (The 670? is the upcoming MS Treo IIRC.)

Email: SnapperMail Enterprise supports IMAP, including SSL and STARTTLS, and SMTP AUTH, also including SSL and STARTTLS.

PalmOS, so it'd run DateBook/LifeBalance if they run on 5.4, and pssh or any other PalmOS ssh client.

though I think she considers it one of those "as a PDA, it's an okay phone; as a phone, it's an okay PDA" deals.

My early impressions are that the first is true, but not the second. It's a perfectly good PDA - almost identical to my old Palm Tungsten E, except smaller and with more memory, plus a slot for a memory card. As a phone, it's a bit big and bulky, and without using a headset it sounds fairly tinny and bad. (But I've been asking people I've been calling and they say they can hear me just fine.) I also love how the two integrate together - open my Contacts, find someone, tap on their phone number to dial it. Handy.

It might just be a difference in preferences between Graffiti users and thumb keyboard users.

hr_macgirl is the former, though I'm the latter (I have a Tungsten C, and wish they'd do a C form factor of the TX).

Ah, well that is an easily solved problem with Graffiti Anywhere (http://www.escande.org/palm/GrfAnywhere/index.html). I do Graffiti on my 650 just fine.

I've heard the Sidekick isn't nearly as robust/business-friendly as the other options, so I'd be very careful about picking that option if I were you. (It's more a toy for high school and college students than a business user's tool.)

Treo turned MS? *shudder* What on earth for? I avoided all of the Baby-Windoze products for a reason.

Sounds like you want Treo or Blackberry, both of which Verizon does. The big difference between the two seems to be how robust Enterprise type support is. If that's an option for you at work, a Blackberry might be a better choice. Assuming, of course, that you don't have a Mac like I do. I basically figured out that a Blackberry wasn't a practical option for me, nor do I have the need for the robust Enterprise support since my company consists of just me.

I've only had my Treo for 24 hours. But in that time I've gotten it setup the way I wanted, successfully made/received phone calls, sucessfully sent/received e-mail, successfully recieved SMS, successfully browsed web pages, and gotten all of the information/software that was on my Palm onto it.

The Sidekick is definitely aimed at the consumer market as you say (they openly admit this when asked). That said, the people I know who have them seem to be pretty satisfied.

Personally I'm avoiding replacing my phone with something that can do too much (I'm afraid I'll develop the disorder I call "Hiptop Autism") so I'm not really qualified to discuss these things any further. ;)

I lurve, LURVE, LURRRRRRRRRRVE my Treo 600 on VZW, and would recommend the 650 on Verizon without question.

Palm is, in fact, launching a Windows Mobile Treo specifically for Verizon next year (the "700w"), but it appears to be... very much a 1.0 device. Unless you're already heavily invested in the Windows CE/Mobile platform, I'd stick with the PalmOS versions for this generation, since the 650 is not only cheaper than the 700w, but also has a higher-res screen. (Not to mention being available now.)

A bit more detail about your personal needs:

There are several completely functional SSH clients for the Treo 600/650. I've used them to do emergency software releases from various bars and restaurants all over Manhattan. :)

Snappermail, mentioned above, is hands-down the best Palm mail client. Annoyingly, SSL-IMAP support is only in the "enterprise" version, which is $60, but I found it to be entirely worth the money.

Amusingly, some maniac just got Linux to boot on the 650, which promises a long and interesting support lifetime long after Verizon drops the model.

The problem with the Sidekick is that it is ENTIRELY a carrier-controlled device. You can't upload new apps to it unless they're approved and offered by your wireless carrier, and you can't get your data OFF the damn thing except through ugly hacks that scrape your carrier's website. The sad thing is, I know people who had the pre-release Sidekicks (aka the HipTop) and LOVED them, but the actual resale models are hopelessly crippled, and are really aimed at teenagers with nonstop IM habits more than professionals. In any case, Verizon doesn't offer the Sidekick that I know of -- it's basically only T-Mobile.

While I don't loathe my Crackberry (at least one of my coworkers does), I've got two problems with it. First, the UI is less than ideal, even once you know the keyboard shortcuts. Second, the company that makes them (Research in Motion) is having some court troubles that may lead to bankruptcy and possible collapse, making them perhaps not the best idea for new implementations.

Right now I have both a Blackberry 7230 (The T-Mob) and a Treo 650 (Cingularly-bell-like-ular) on my hip (we're in transition between carriers).

Form factor? Blackberry. Solidly built, great feel.

Useability? Treo. It's a Palm. There's a huge wealth of software available for the platform. Blackberry has a much more limited RAM base, the Treo has more system RAM and takes SD cards (and allegedly SDio cards, too).

Reliability? Blackberry. Treos are notoriously badly built (vis the class action suit against PalmOne). The software is ummm... Well, it's OK now that the third rev is out (I'm running 1.17 on mine). That said, I only have extended personal experience with the Treo 600, not the 650, and more of our 600s worked than not. Let's say that I wish my $400 Treo was as reliable as my $70 router.

Oh, and FWIW, I don't like the 7100x BBs. They have a more candy-bar form factor, but you eschew the goodness of the full keyboard, so why bother?

There are free SSH clients for the Treo (and a VNC client!), there is a $100 ssh client for the BB.

Is RIM going to be able to provide useful service after the lawsuit against them is finally over? Who knows?

The BB does SMS "better", though that might be more a T-Mobile thing than a BB thing. It definitely works on both units.

I'd avoid the Windows based Treo. Do you want to tie your livelihood to v1.0 of anything? Especially something Microsoft's touched?

Verizon has both.

FranklinCovey works with the Treo, too. My boss is using it right now.

Ask more questions if you like, since I have both.

Oh, and to be clear, even the stoooopid default (but free) mail client on the 650 (VersaMail) does SMTP+TLS+AUTH, it's what we use and I can vouch that it works. It also does IMAP+SSL (though I haven't tested that yet).

I have a Sidekick II, and I've used Emmett's Treo.

The Treo is the more sophisticated of the two - it is javascript-enabled and so the web stuff is better on it. But it is more expensive.

There is an SSH client that I was able to download onto my Sidekick, so that I can read my panix and numenor mail. And I can use LJ with it, and it really kept me in touch with the world well when I was in the hospital. I like my Sidekick II.

You might ask folks who have 'em if you can play with their phones... that's the best way to know.

i dig my treo... would recommend the 650.

I just did an informal evaluation of this for a planned purchase early next year. My personal requirements are:

1) Really good web browser. Pretty much everything else, with a couple of exceptions, can be accomplished with this, including email (I'd use the SquirrelMail installation on my server).

2) SSH client, for when I have to log into the server remotely.

3) Good set of apps and ease of installation (i.e., an open architecture).

4) Ideally uses Sprint PCS, for both account (I presently have an unlimited data account with them) and technical (CDMA 1xRTT is superior to GPRS) reasons.

5) Must be a good phone in terms of ergonomics and build quality. I do about 2,500 minutes/month, so it's going to get used a lot.

Based on that, Blackberry and Sidekicks flunked, and Treo looks like the winner, except possible on #5.

If you chief priority is checking your email, then usually the best answer is a Blackberry. We gave our new president a Treo 650 with SnapperMail and it works, but it's very slow to sync email (it's not EVDO, just regular 1xCDMA). We're getting him a Blackberry which syncs nearly instantaneously.

However, we have been unable to figure out how to get a Verizon Blackberry to sync to an IMAP account (we're using the BlackBerry Enterprise Server for Groupwise to sync email.) It looks like IMAP is supposed to work (as in it's in the docs) but the web server where you configure the device doesn't let you select the mail protocol and ports which to me means it's POP3 only.

You can get either the 7250 or 7130e from Verizon. The big difference is that the 7130e is a phone form factor and the 7250 has a full keyboard. The 7130e is advertised with EVDO, but the 7250 can be upgraded to EVDO with a firmware update if you know how.

My only caveat (besides the possible IMAP issue) is that it seems Verizon's BlackBerry business is geared towards corporate accounts. They'll sell you a BB as a consumer but that doesn't seem to be their market (we have a VZW corporate account and the hardware is basically free, and we get 19% off all plans. They also gave us free BES software--a $4000 value, but they seem to give it away for free all the time. In addition, we can use the BES software with any vendor's BlackBerry.)

I have an SSH client for the Blackberry which works pretty well. It supports Bluetooth although I've never really used it (I don't use the BlackBerry as a phone.)

Honestly as an organizer/datebook the BlackBerry isn't great. It's really designed to augment an enterprise desktop package in that regard. It's very cool to have appointment requests forwared to it, accept them on the handheld, and your enterprise calendar is updated.

I don't know if your new employer supports BlackBerries but if they do that'd be your best bet IMHO.

I'll be happy to show you around my BlackBerry next time I see you.

Hrm. I don't really like PDA/cellphone combinations because the form factor isn't conducive to talking well (it's not shaped like a phone, and even the short conversations are annoying -- for longer ones, sure, use a headset).

Also, all the oil from your face and hair gets on the screen. Ew.

That's my preference.

That being said, I recommend the Razr. I believe it does e-mail, and it's a PHONE. It might not have PDA capabilities though :(

I love my treo 600 with sprint service. I lust after the 650, but I won't buy the next gen one that has M$ crap under the hood. As far as protecting the screen, just get some PDA screen protectors and apply them. And my treo is built like a tank. I can't tell you how many times I've dropped it (and on unpleasant surfaces including wood, tile, asphalt, etc). The corners are a bit dinged, but the recessed screen means that it's still in perfect shape (and the phone still works fine).

I like the Samsung i730 from Verizon. It supports EVDO and I've benchmarked it at 300KB+. One caveat -- it's a PocketPC that happens to work as a phone, not the other way around. Battery life isn't the greatest because of that. However, to my knowledge it is the only device on the market that supports WiFi, BlueTooth, GPRS and EVDO all in one package.

For more info on this (and other phone devices) check out www.pdaphonehome.com. They have reviews and a forum that will give you all the dirt on just about every device out there.

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