Been looking into picking up a PDA, have done a little research....
would like:
-WiFi
-Bluetooth
-VGA screen
-Exchangeable battery

Would use it to track and keep a record of clients, daily schedule, and to keep myself entertained between appointments by mean of games or WiFi hotspot..bluetooth is required to sync with phone and laptop

Anyone have any recommandations or experiences with whats out there? I have been looking at the Dell Axim x51v and the HP iPAQ 4700. Looking to keep the price <$400

Any help would be appreciated

 

Why not a pda phone? One less thing to carry if you combine em...

 

thought about goin with the phone..but dont want to have a bulky phone when out at the bar, etc...

 

Pocket PC > Palm

 

I just got Dell's Axim x51v last month, and I love it!! I had a PDA phone (Verizon/Samsung i700) for about a year and a half... and I'll admit... it was kinda cool at first... but walking around with the "brick" just got old...

I'm not familar with the HP iPaq 4700, but I love how the x51v has both SD AND C.F. expansion slots! I use them for saving all kinds of stuff instead of using the main memory storage... (view pictures taken from my digi camera, download music, etc. etc.), you can also back up all your info (calendar, contacts, etc.) on either card, a feature that my old i700 didn't have.

At work AND at home I have wireless internet... so the wifi feature comes in handy... it works great!!! BUT the battery life just drains when the wifi is turn on...

....the screen's awesome, you can see pretty good in direct sunlight...

has bluetooth, but I haven't used that feature yet...

the only thing that I'm piss about is that... with Dell... you never know when it's gonna go on sale (like right now 11/12/05), and I paid about $100 a month ago

 

I heard that battery life was an issue, but wasnt Windows mobile 5.0 supposed to make it run more efficiently? Also, can it be charged while in use or does it have to be shut off?

 

...well, it's safe to say that the battery goes a lot faster when you have the wifi turn on... but maybe, before 5.0 came out... they were even worst. And yes, you can still use it durning charging... I do it all the time... while it's on the cradle.

..oh, by the way, the Dell PDA does have exchangable battery... in fact... I'm pretty sure, on some packages, it comes with an extra battery, I wish now, that I had gone with a package deal...

 

One of the key architechtual changes with Windows Mobile 5.0 is the use of the persistant memory. Persistent memory is non-volatile, which means it does not need electricity constantly in order to retain data. The use of the persistent memory architecture is what allows Windows Mobile 5.0 to extend its device's' battery life. The percentage of the power saved will depend on how much RAM you have and how much is in use. Judging by today's technology, I would say there will be at least a 8 - 10% change in power saving.

The really cool thing about the utilization of the persistent memory is that this will enable hardware manufactures (Dell, HP, Toshiba, Palm etc.) to make PocketPCs with possible integrated micro harddrives. Similar technology is already applied in Palm's LifeDrive and other PDA phones. We should soon expect to see PocketPC devices with 4 - 8 GB storage spaces.