PDA - Which one?

[omegaRED]

Well, i`ve done some freelance work and earned a nice amount of cash, which i`d like to spend on a PDA. Or a phone. Nevertheless, i`m much more inclined towards a PDA right now, so i`m looking for suggestions. These are the PDAs i`m considering right now.

- PalmOne Tungsten E - Cheap, looks nice, if i make an order until April 8th i get a 128MB SD card. No BlueTooth tho.
- PalmOne Tungsten T5 - Not so cheap, bigger screen, more features than the T|E, 256MB memory, Drive mode (a very nice and useful feature, since i want to use the PDA as a Flash disk), Bluetooth etc. However, 400$ is the absolute maximum i`m willing to pay, and i`d like to get a PDA for 300-350$ ideally.
- PalmOne Zire 72 - It`s got Bluetooth. Not so nice looking as the Tungstens (IMHO), built-in camera (dont know whether it`s a pro or a con ), cheaper than the T5.
- Tapwave Zodiac 2 - Bulky, but nice screen, good sound, feature rich. On the downside: size, landscape oriented.

So... What i`m looking for is a decent PDA, MP3 player, Flash disk, Bluetooth would be a plus, as would gaming capabilities too. I dont need WiFi. Also, feel free to suggest some other PDA, preferably in the 300-350 $ range.

[lecter]

The Tungsten T3 should be a pretty good deal now and USB Drive Mode is supported with 3rd party software on the PDA itself...I think it's much better than the T3, since the slider allows for a nice pocketable size without sacrificing screen space.

The Zodiac2 is a really great machine if you don't mind the fact that it looks like a gaming device...in terms of specs it's the cream of the crop and if you can get one, by all means do. Also, IIRC it's not just a landscape device, you can have the screen & virtual keyboard in portrait mode as well.

Of course there's the option of Windows Mobile...I saw a very sweet deal here, at around 400$ for the Toshiba E830, which has Bluetooth, WiFi, VGA screen, dual slots, etc. If you just want Bluetooth you could look at the ASUS A730, which also features a VGA screen.

[Helevitia]

You may be interested in this:

http://www.brighthand.com/article/Tungsten_E2_Coming_April_10?site=Palm

[omegaRED]

Thanks for the suggestions!

I`ve just seen a friend of mine, who, incidentally, got himself a Dell X3i from work week ago. Let me tell you, that`s a fine piece of hardware. Infact, seeing how i can get a X30 (612MHz XScale, Bluetooth AND Wi-Fi) for approx 300$, a 512Mb SD card for 50$ and a spare battery for another 50$, i think i`m sold. I may buy the spare battery later, but nevertheless, i think it`s a very good deal, and i hope i`ll be getting one as soon as i find someone to get me one from the states.

I`ll have a Tungsten E for a week from tomorrow on, for 'testing purposes', so i`ll have a chance to compare it with the X30. Will inform you of the results

[Rakido]

The new Palm's Neo and Hero don't sound that bad too

[Wombat]

Oooo. I like the Neo. I might have to get that.

[Taz]

i`d like to spend on a PDA. Or a phone.

Could combine the two and get a Palm Treo 650

[Wombat]

Could combine the two and get a Palm Treo 650

I've been hearing so many complaints about the quality of the Treo 6xx line.

I really like the concept, but the actual product hasn't been good enough.

[Helevitia]

I've been hearing so many complaints about the quality of the Treo 6xx line.

I really like the concept, but the actual product hasn't been good enough.

Having had the Treo 650 for 4 months now, there is very little to complain about IMHO. If you are interested in knowing about a specific feature or problem, I'll be happy to give you my experience on it. Also keep in mind that they just released an update for Sprint users.

Also, I purchased a rubber skin for it which, IMO, is the best thing you can buy for it to keep it protected. The downside is, if you wear the phone on your waist ( I don't) then the phone will not fit in the belt clip.

[Taz]

I've been hearing so many complaints about the quality of the Treo 6xx line.

The Treo 650 is manufactured for PalmOne by HTC, they also manufacture pretty much all the other PDA's/Smartphones out there There have been software issues with the phone but as Helv has mentioned an update has been released which cures most/all of them. As the european models have only just been released they should already have these updates.