Technology PDAs - All *I* Need To Know About 'em

[jakstat33]

i'm an msII getting ready to buy a pda for yr3 and beyond, but-- don't know what i'm looking for as far as pocketpc/palm, features, memory, etc etc..... can someone clue me in with some specifics including name/model that i should get and why... i don't plan on using the pda for anything besides clerkships/rotations/residency... simply put, medicine. (maybe a few mp3s here and there)... thanks!

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[neilc]

i use mine on the wards and to listen to mp3's, and i love it. have the palm tungsten e. it was a bit of a pain at first, they didn't have some accessories (international adapters or replacement stuff) but most everything is available now. plenty of memory, mp3 player is cool, love it. if you get a 256 memory card with it, you are set. i also bought a little digital camera hook up thingy that is pretty fun. not great photos, but fine for sending some entertaining pictures back home.

 

[Kalel]

I would get a palm os, maybe a sony clie (black and white to conserve battery power) with at least 16 mb of internal memory. You should look to spend ~$100 for your palm. I wouldn't use it to play mp3's, you can buy a separate mp3 player for that; you are going to wear out your battery faster if you use it to listen to mp3's all the time.

 

[neilc]

i agree that the battery life isn't great...but, it charges pretty darn quick, and it doesn't take much to plug it in. for me, it is easier to have to just carry this palm, and really not much else around. i can put the charger in my locker and charge it up between patients or when i chill in the call room, perfect. no worries about an mp3 player to carry around or get stolen either...personally, i think it is crazy to buy another mp3 player unless you listen to it tons, or you can't be bothered to charge up after a few hours of use.

 

[jakstat33]

would you recomend buying new, or trying to find something on ebay? and what are the absolutely necessary progs to get... right now i am thinking dictionary, pharm program, and maybe something like a harrison's?

thanks in advance

Originally posted by Kalel
I would get a palm os, maybe a sony clie (black and white to conserve battery power) with at least 16 mb of internal memory. You should look to spend ~$100 for your palm. I wouldn't use it to play mp3's, you can buy a separate mp3 player for that; you are going to wear out your battery faster if you use it to listen to mp3's all the time.

 

[neilc]

buy it wherever you are comfortable. i prefer dealing with stores or whatever, just cause i am a wussy when it comes to spending money. i prefer to spend more and increase my comfort level,

must haves are:
5 min clinical consult, epocrates, johns hopkins abx, dictionary, lab guide

i have some other freeware, and some random texts for different specialties, but you can browse around out there and see what suits you. but, the above is pretty all encompasing.

oh yeah, i have a decent patient tracker too, i like that.

enjoy your new toy!

 

[bts4202]

What do you guys think is the best PDA out there right now. If money were no object, what PDA would you guys get?

 

[texdrake]

For Palm: The newest Tungsten

For Pocket PC: The only two I like are the Dell X3 or X3i and the Toshiba 405 or 805. The first ones listed have no wireless, the second of each company have wireless.


My personal choice is a pocket pc. I like how well it integrates with windows...but if you school doesn' have an epocrates or clinical pharmacology contract you will have to pay for it as epocrates doesn't have a free Pocket PC version. If you own a mac...buy a palm.

 

[BubbleBobble]

If all you want to do is check references with it and not play MP3s, then consider a Sony Clie SJ22.
It's the cheapest hi-resolution color handheld out there - I got mine for about $65 after rebates.

 

[bts4202]

how large of memories can you get with the sony? I have been looking at the tungsten T because of the large memory and nice monitor, etc. What do you guys think? Does Palm link with windows?

 

[patelakshar]

If money were no object, what PDA would you guys get?

http://www.sprint.com/pcsbusiness/devices/pda/hitachig1000.html

pocket pc, camera, phone, keyboard....what more could you want...

 

[BubbleBobble]

Originally posted by bts4202
how large of memories can you get with the sony? I have been looking at the tungsten T because of the large memory and nice monitor, etc. What do you guys think? Does Palm link with windows?

Most Sony Clies have 16 MB of memory, which is a lot. If you need more, there is a Memory Stick slot on the side.

Palm (through the Palm Desktop) can synchronize with Windows machines. In fact, the newest version of the Palm OS (Cobalt, coming soon) will not have Mac support.

 

[aphistis]

Originally posted by BubbleBobble
Most Sony Clies have 16 MB of memory, which is a lot. If you need more, there is a Memory Stick slot on the side.

Palm (through the Palm Desktop) can synchronize with Windows machines. In fact, the newest version of the Palm OS (Cobalt, coming soon) will not have Mac support.

I've got a Clie TJ35, which isn't a particularly flashy PDA, and it came with 32. The MP3 player is great, too.

 

[GO_MEDPEDS]

I really like my Tungsten|T3 for the expanded screen... it really makes it easier for reading and looking at diagrams, etc.

I would probably avoid purchasing PDAs from eBay unless there is still a warranty... there is just too much that goes wrong with these things to trust one that is not brand-new (unless you really just want to pick one up cheap).

I guess you need to figure out what you want/need in your PDA in order for you to get the most out of it and be content with your purchase:

1. Do you want Wi-Fi (is there a "hotspot" where you can get wireless LAN access)?
If so, you may really want to invest in the Tungsten|C.

2. Do you want to be able to play MP3s?
Most of the newer Palms and Clies have MP3 capabilities, and PocketPCs will have MediaPlayer.

3. Do you want/need a camera?
Several of the Clie models and the Zire 71 all have built-in digital cameras (not great quality, but certainly usable).

4. Do you want/need a phone integrated into your PDA?
The Treo 600 is a combo phone/PDA.

5. Do you want/need a built-in keyboard?
The top Clies and the Tungsten|C have keyboards.

6. Do you want something that is good for playing games?
The Tapwave Zodiac is designed for hardcore gaming as well.

Feel free to visit my Yahoo! Group for additional PDA info, downloads, and links:

IUSMPDA

 

[FionaS]

My golden rule is - Does it Crash?

I have a Palm (had it over 2 years now) and it's never crashed or done anything mad.

My friend had a Pocket PC - well, in theory she had it, it was always away for mending etc - and now she has seen the light and got a Tungsten |E (which I covet - mines an m515) which hasn't crashed yet

If I really needed to buy a PDA right now, then with my current budget I'd get a Tungsten|E, but I'd like a Tungsten|T3...

 

[jakstat33]

Is there a newer version of the Tungsten T3 coming out anytime within the next 3-4 months??? this is what i've decided on, and would like to get it soon to familiarize myself with it-- but am willing to wait if a newer model is due to be released...

thanks in advance!

 

[BubbleBobble]

Originally posted by jakstat33
Is there a newer version of the Tungsten T3 coming out anytime within the next 3-4 months??? this is what i've decided on, and would like to get it soon to familiarize myself with it-- but am willing to wait if a newer model is due to be released...

thanks in advance!

Probably. There is always "something better" coming just around the corner. The new Palm OS might be in the next Tungsten handheld, if that's important to you.

However, you're almost always buying the cheapest thing that satisfies you now, or else waiting to buy the best thing now cheap later.

 

[bts4202]

I just got the Tugsten T3, thanks for all your help everyone

 

[JKP]

Great having palm AND phone same device. Cheap: $100 at Verizon. Used to be $700 when it first came out. Very long battery life.

 

[coconut lime]

what is a good freeware medical dictionary? how about a medical spanish dictionary?

 

[KyGrlDr2B]

Originally posted by jakstat33
Is there a newer version of the Tungsten T3 coming out anytime within the next 3-4 months??? this is what i've decided on, and would like to get it soon to familiarize myself with it-- but am willing to wait if a newer model is due to be released...

thanks in advance!

The rumor is that there will be a tungsten e2 on the market this year.

 

[shigalosis]

http://www.palminfocenter.com/view_story.asp?ID=6413

Hrmm... do we wait till the new ones come out, hoping for a better product or a price drop on existing products? Or do we buy now and have a new toy?

 

[johnthestreak]

whats a good website to download med programs onto your pda for free? the free-er the better.
and how many programs should you have on your pda?
thanks
john

 

[jakstat33]

Originally posted by shigalosis
http://www.palminfocenter.com/view_story.asp?ID=6413

Hrmm... do we wait till the new ones come out, hoping for a better product or a price drop on existing products? Or do we buy now and have a new toy?

...the specs posted for the e2 on the rumor site are no different than what the t3 already comes fully equipped with... ergo: get a new toy NOW!

 

[Scooby Doo]

Hmm.... bumpity bump...I wanna get one of these guys soon...

Questions:

If you're putting mp3s on these...can you only fit like 4 or so mp3's on them? or can you fit a gig onto one of the PDAs?

Anyone know of any sites that have coupons right now? for maybe tungsten E, t3, or whatever

I don't have a laptop, but I can't DO anything on my PC at home...so I was wondering if I got a palm, would I be able to run kaplan qbank on it? If I was at a library and wanted to do some questions..or is the screen way too small?

Is the wireless connection available only on certain models?

Thanks in advance from someone who has no techy knowledge for PDAs...

 

[southerndoc]

Scoob, long time no see (former Geek Medic here).

It depends on your bitrate of mp3 encoding and the amount of storage space you have. You can buy smartmedia, securedigital, etc. cards that your PDA supports. You can get them from 32 MB all the way up to 1 GB. You can store music on those (that's what I do). You can change them out with different mp3 players. 128 MB will store about 10-25 songs, depending on bit rate. For the most part, you'll lose sound quality by putting more songs on it. I usually make a compromise -- somewhere in between for number of songs and bitrate.

 

[Scooby Doo]

Scoob, long time no see (former Geek Medic here).

It depends on your bitrate of mp3 encoding and the amount of storage space you have. You can buy smartmedia, securedigital, etc. cards that your PDA supports. You can get them from 32 MB all the way up to 1 GB. You can store music on those (that's what I do). You can change them out with different mp3 players. 128 MB will store about 10-25 songs, depending on bit rate. For the most part, you'll lose sound quality by putting more songs on it. I usually make a compromise -- somewhere in between for number of songs and bitrate.

Ah...hey geek
Nice...ok..thanks for the mp3 info... How many cards can you put in your PDA? Do all of them come with extra slots?

 

[southerndoc]

Ah...hey geek
Nice...ok..thanks for the mp3 info... How many cards can you put in your PDA? Do all of them come with extra slots?

You can only put one card in at a time, but the cards are small. Buy a case that will hold your SD cards. I bought a case from Vaja Cases (www.vajacases.com). They're expensive, but nice (all leather) and most come with slots to hold extra SD cards. It's easy to pop them in and out.

By the way, you can get a 128 MB card for about $45-60.

 

[GO_MEDPEDS]

There has been talk about the T4 being released, but honestly Palm usually waits until the 3rd quarter to release new palms. The main thing I would wait for is OS6 (Cobalt)... multitasking will be available and the programs will probably be much more stable and powerful.

You can actually play mp3s without buying a memory card... you can use Kinoma Producer to convert a song into a Kinoma .pdb format and then use the Kinoma Player to play the songs. Obviously, you really won't be able to play that many tunes this way, but it may be worth a shot if you can't afford a memory card or just want to try out using the Palm as a mp3 player.

If you are going to buy a memory card, I would suggest getting the most memory you can (256 minimum, 512 if you can swing it). Lexar (brand) is the fastest SD card I've seen.

 

[doctor7]

What do you guys think is the best PDA out there right now. If money were no object, what PDA would you guys get?

i have an hp5555...it pimps anything out there on functionality (minus silly camera): it comes with 128mb, wifi, bluetooth and (in case any other pda dare compete) a biometric fingerprint reader...but, alas, functionality is not practicality. you don't need most of that for the wards. just get something that looks nice since vanity is more important in the long run . the new axims look like a good deal...assuming they don't have reliability issues of the older axims.

 

[WSUreds]

Can someone explain to me what bluetooth is? I'm definitely PDA illiterate.

 

[southerndoc]

Bluetooth is a wireless technology that was developed by IBM. It's slower than WiFi (802.11b/a/g), but it's more versatile.

It's designed to allow many peripherals to communicate with each other. Many cell phones now have Bluetooth, although it's just now becoming available in the US. A Bluetooth-enabled phone can communicate with a Bluetooth-enabled PDA. So you could look up a phone number in your PDA and have it sent to your cell phone to dial it (so you don't have to enter in the number). Or you can surf the web off your PDA by connected with your cell phone via Bluetooth.

Many printers will soon be Bluetooth-enabled. The idea is no wires connecting your peripherals with your computer. Keyboards and pointing devices are already widely available in Bluetooth versions.

You can also communicate with your friends. There's nothing like using your PDA to chat with all the students during surgical M&M. Share the answers to the questions you get pimped on!

Lastly, Bluetooth has created "toothing..." You can Google it to find out what it is.

 

[jakstat33]

Bluetooth is a wireless technology that was developed by IBM. It's slower than WiFi (802.11b/a/g), but it's more versatile.

It's designed to allow many peripherals to communicate with each other. Many cell phones now have Bluetooth, although it's just now becoming available in the US. A Bluetooth-enabled phone can communicate with a Bluetooth-enabled PDA. So you could look up a phone number in your PDA and have it sent to your cell phone to dial it (so you don't have to enter in the number). Or you can surf the web off your PDA by connected with your cell phone via Bluetooth.

Many printers will soon be Bluetooth-enabled. The idea is no wires connecting your peripherals with your computer. Keyboards and pointing devices are already widely available in Bluetooth versions.

You can also communicate with your friends. There's nothing like using your PDA to chat with all the students during surgical M&M. Share the answers to the questions you get pimped on!

Lastly, Bluetooth has created "toothing..." You can Google it to find out what it is.

Has security become an issue with all of this wireless transfer of information?