PDA+ Cell or Smartphone?

G

gottjess?

New member
Hi guys, college-bound high school senior here looking for some advice. I am in need of some sort of organization tool (I was thinking a PDA), the ability to surf the web and check my e-mail on the go, and finally something I could text message people with ease.

1. Would it be more efficient to purchase a "smartphone" or separately purchase a cellphone that could easily text and browse the internet(Samsung SCH-u740?) and a separate PDA?

2. I'm rather confused as to what the functions of today's PDAs are. I have never owned one and the ones I have seen (couple of years old) basically functioned with calendars and that was about it. Do PDA's also go on the internet? My main point is that if there is any overlap in technology or features I feel I am wasting my money.

3. Anyone happen to know what service provider works best in New York (NYU area)?

Thanks!
 
I'm in the same boat as you. I am going to be a freshman in college next year and I thought I needed something to be more organized on-the-go.

The best option for you is to get a PDA Phone. It combines all the functions of the PDA and adds in the phone feature.

If you go with Cingular, I'd suggest you look at the Cingular 8525 (made by HTC), or the Palm Treo 750. These devices may seem expensive at first, but if you look at how many features they have versus a regular cell phone, you'd say it's pretty reasonable.

The Cingular 8525 has a great sliding keyboard with a great touchscreen. It runs on Windows Mobile 5. It also has Wi-Fi which lets you connect to wireless networks.

If you prefer a static keyboard, the Treo 750 is also excellent. Many prefer this over the 8525 because of its ease. It also has a slimmer size.

If these phones seem too thick for you, there is always the Samsung Blackjack.

All of these phones pretty much share the same features. They all have the 3G technology which lets you surf the internet at broadband speeds.
 
I suggest you do some research yourself to determine which carrier works best where you will using the phone - where you will live, go to school, travel, play, etc. There are holes in coverage for every carrier so you need to tell us which carrier will work best for where you will be. Talk to fellow students, etc and get their comments.

Then you can pick a phone. If you are looking for small and light, Cingular Blackjack or 8525. T-Mobile would be the Dash, Verizon or Sprint the Moto Q.
 
My advice: find yourself a good portable keyboard and a smartphone that'll work with it. You can use the keyboard to take notes in class if you're a good typist, and believe me, these are invaluable when it comes time to study.

Alternatively, what you could do is look for an older Palm (like a Palm V or Vx) and a GoType keyboard and a good cell phone. That's what I did and it was good stuff.
 
I am also in the same situation as you are and I just purchased an i730 on ebay. I mention this because while people have given you many great suggestions, you mentioned the u740 in your original post which is a CDMA phone for Verizon, which leads me to believe that you may have been thinking of choosing Verizon. The i730 is a great PDA phone with a full keyboard that is for Verizon. It has WiFi so you do not have to have an expensive data plan if WiFi is available to you. It is still sold in some areas I believe, and since there is a updated version of it coming out fairly soon, they can be found extremely cheap, which was very important for me, since I am basically broke. I believe that Verizon is selling them for 99.99 with a contract (and data plan, but you can cancel the data plan right after you order the phone), or you can get a regular free phone with your contract then check ebay and get one for even cheaper (I got mine for $75 and that included everything in the original box, plus extras. Good luck.
-z
 
I'd go with BB 8800 if its a cingular, as I think it provides more stability than WM. I do not use pda phones to type notes, but I really use the Calendar feature. You don't need to buy the data plan, but if you can afford it then it'll be great. If you are using T-Mobile, since they only have Pearl with keyboard that you probably won't get used to, I'd suggest a dash...
 
PDA's are capable of a whole lot more than they used to be.

I would just get an all-in-one device like a Treo 750/700wx or a 8525. They are basically PDA's with phones built in. All are pretty fast function wise, and use 3G comparable data speeds.

If you are looking for something for messaging and phone functions rather than web browsing and document management, I would get a Blackberry.
 
Thanks guys for the good advice. I am most likely going to use Verizon as a service provider (it's what my family uses).
Do you these PDAphones have Microsoft Outlook? I use the calendar and tasks function a lot.

Thanks!
 
My advice is to first decide which carrier will work best where you will be using the device. Then pick the device. No matter what you get, if it doesn't have a signal, it is of no use.

Carrying one piece of hardware is much easier than carrying two, so the Smartphone might be the better option. The main difference between the Blackjack and the 8525 (a PPC) is that the Blackjack only allows you to read word and excel files, not edit them. Plus the BJ does not have a touchscreen.

Also keep in mind with one of the smartphones you will also need a dataplan of some sort along with a text messaging plan. You will need to weigh the cost of this as compared to a cell + a PDA.
 
If you want the most fully-functional device, I would, from personal experience, recommend the XV6700 Pocket PC phone for Verizon (you can get one from eBay for $100-$150 nowadays), or wait for the XV6800 coming in the next few months.

The XV6700 runs Windows Mobile 5.0, and has a copy of Mobile Office, which lets you edit Word, Excel, and Power Point documents. It also has a great wide slide-out keyboard for easy texting. It will also sync either via cable to your PC or wirelessly(with a $45/month data feature) with Outlook.

It also has Wi-fi capablity, which differentiates it from most other PDA-style phones. And, on a side note, it has Windows Media Player, removable SD memory, and the ability to download tons of innovative PC-style programs (check out www.pocketgear.com) and even games, giving it a bit of a fun side, too
 
As far as text messaging, the XV6700 may be overkill. Since you are in College, and the cool factor is a pretty big deal, you may want to go with the Q.

The only major thing the Q lacks compared to the XV6700 is Mobile Office and Wi-Fi. It does run a different version of Windows Mobile, but this version is more than capable of drilling out texts, surfing the intarwebs, and email. The Q is a much smaller phone than the XV6700 and will be a better fit in your pocket.

I have the Blackjack from Cingular right now, and I love it.
 
There is actually an application now that allows you to create and edit Office files.

http://www.handango.com/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=1&osId=804&jid=XXA853D6X1DXD98815CCEXD49AE6X82X&platformId=11&N=4294922199&R=203512#description3


Also, adding onto the data plan thing, yes you must get a plan, but it can be $0 per month with a pay per use feature.
 
I am so in agreement!!
The E62 with Cingular worked great for a while, but not having a camera caused me to take it back.

The E61i with its added features appears to be the best solution, but it's only my thought.
 
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