Advice on the T3 and T5

D

doubtless

New member
I've decided to buy a Palm ( I think) but don't know what to buy.
I need to download a medical dictionary and other medical information.
I doubt I'll ever use WI FI since it's not available in my area. I'm a real
dummy with anything technical, so it has to be easy to use. I've read
many reviews on these two, but still can't decide which would be best
for me. I notice the T3 has no replaceable battery and not as much
memory, but has more positive reviews than the T5.
My main reason for choosing one of these is the weight. I need something
sleek and lightweight to carry iin my lab jacket pocket. Would someone with some knowledge about these please advise me?!
 
I don't think you'll find a T3 at this point, so you may be "deciding" over nothing. The T3 would be my recommendation hands down for many reasons IF you could find one. I think the T5 is "fair," however, especially with the "fixes," which the T3 also required if we all think back. I would buy one if my T3 crapped out - which is why I'm upset I can't get another T3 as a spare. If I could I doubt I'd own another palm - it's just fantastic and very malleable in terms of "tweaks;" the T5 is not.

I am thinking that by XMAS there will be a new Palm of some kind - and my family doctor went from a T3 to a T5 without much problem. Hope this helps/p
 
I've seen the T3 several times on ebay, and considered buying one there.
Actually, I'm not sure what I need I just know it has to be simple and easy
to use. My main use for the device would be downloading medical books, so
some other PDA might do just as well. I had even thought about the smartphone, but don't know enough to know if it will do what I need.
Thanks for your info.
 
I have a T5 and love it - it is easy to carry around in my pants pocket and once I got through initial problems which stemmed largely from trying to upload files from previous pdas, all has been well. The reason I went with a T5 was for the battery life - much better, I understand, than the T3. Downside for me is that there is no voice recorder on the T5 and that was useful in assessments that I did. I am a psych and have several textbooks using iSilo - DSMIV for example. I think I would also look at the Tungsten E2 if you are looking for something cheaper and a colleague of mine is very happy with his Zire 72S, both of which would do the job you are after.

Angela
 
I strongly caution anyone from buying a T3 on ebay without some type of warranty. I just got burnt on a satellite radio receiver I purchased on ebay. With the eccentricities of PDA's I would be reluctant to purchase one without a warranty. I had difficulties when I purchased a "refurbished" T3 from Overstock.com so I now have a very expensive paper weight because there wasn't a very good warranty.
Yes, I would have preferred to keep my T3 when I had one that worked. However with all of the factors and timing involved I was not able to just that. I dropped my T3 one too many times and it could not be repaired. I needed a Palm for my work.
I purchased a T5. I am not about to look back. There have been glitches that have been more than a nuisance at times. With the recent updates from Palm.com, the slightly frustrating T5 has become a reliable T5.
Therefore, I am happy I have T5 and I am not about to look back....
Carol Casey
 
Thanks so much for all the advice. I have recently tried an Axim x30 PC and found it rather difficult to download material. I am an absolute idiot when it comes to these sorts of things, and find computers to be "black holes" that frustrate me. However, I had a student a few weeks ago who used a PDA for several of her reference books, and have decided surely there is something simple enough for me! I much prefer dealing with humans, and when I found this site felt sure I would find the advice I need.
 
I have used the T3 for a long time. I have ePocrates, Med.Abbreviations, CME watch, Med.Eponyms, LabReference Values, Stedman's Med.Dictionary, Street Drugs, and use all of them frequently at work. From what I have seen and heard, I would stick with the T3 if any way possible. If size is a problem, you can always add a memory card. I use a 512mb, but then again I keep a complete backup on the card as well as many of the programs themselves. Any questions, feel free to answer here, or send me a private message. Probably anyone here would like to follow any question and following threads. drbaer
 
I moved from a T2 to a T5. My T2 was an excellent and reliable device. The T5 is not. Whilst I agree with Carol that the 1.1 update did fix a number of problems, there are still several unresolved issues which, frankly, Palm seem to be dragging their feet over. I don't know what the situation in the US is like with regard to the T3 but I'm pretty sure you can still get them in the UK.

Personally, I would recommend a T3 over a T5 right now, but if Palm get their act together and sort out some of the remaining problems then I'd go with the T5.
 
My real drawback with the T3 is the question about the battery. It says it's not replaceable. So what happens when the battery itself is useless? Do these batteries work like the cell phone batteries? I'd hate to know the palm would have to be replaced when the battery can no longer be recharged.
Can anyone tell I'm not in the loop here with these "new fangled devices"?
 
Mine have never got old enough to worry about the batteries! I guess I plan on upgrading every 18 months to 2 years and they do seem to last that long reliably. I expect mine to be able to last a whole day with pretty much constant use and at almost 12 months, my T5 can certainly do that although I am noticing that it is not quite as effective as it used to be. I have used it pretty much all day every day though if not for taking notes, then for reading texts or listening to books. I think once you get into the swing of PDAs you will want to upgrade to the next best thing pretty quickly!
 
I recently went thru this very same debate when my Tungsten T died. I finally decided on the T3 over the T5, The main reason was (contrary to alot of opinions) I REALLY LIKE the slider design. I always carried my Tungsten in my front blue jeans pocket. The slider design just fit nicely. Hence the decision to stay with the slider style.

I was fortunate enought to find a New T3 on ebay for less than I originally gave for my TT. It came, works great and I could not be happier.
 
So in your opinion a new one on Ebay would be ok? Lately I haven't seen any, but maybe one will show up. I have seen several that say they are "as New" and never used. Of course I guess that's just as good as the person selling it.
 
I have a T3 have used it faithfully for a long time and most of my apps are medically oriented, which I think was your original question. I faithfully us ePocrates (ePocrates.com) for drugs info, drug interactions, lab values etc. But is an annual subscription for pricing. I also use MedAbbrev.com (abbreviations), CME Watch (free, I think from ePocrates), Medical Eponyms (http://eponyms.net by Andrew Yee,MD), Stedman?s Medical Dictionary (there are several available, I use the PocketLingo.com version, they are all annual subscriptions, I believe and about the same price), and Street Drugs v1.01 by palmtree.ca). Some of these are general, some are more specific to my job, but they all work and have served me well on many occasions. See also my reply about Medical Spanish dictionaries, todays date also, in this forum.

Rick
 
In addition to all that have been said - I would also vote for T3. Especially if you are into medial stuff. The reason is that T3 has 3 times more _memory_ than T5, despite what you might think looking at it's specs. And this is vital for resource -hungry applications such as medical dictionaries, and other heavy programs. Also, not everything might work for T5,because of different memory structure, but every single app written for palm will work on T3 (except maybe very few extremely old games, from Palm III times).
 
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