Need help on PDA's and GPS systems

Discussion in 'The Lounge - Off Topic' started by michael78, Oct 3, 2004.

  1. michael78

    michael78 Terabyte Poster

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    What are PDA's used for. I ask this because I'm looking at buying a GPS system as I travel up and down the country for my job but my sense of direction is pathetic to say the least. I am stuck between buying a tomtom go (Which is a dedicated GPS system) or a PDA (HP IPAQ 2210) and buying a GPS addon.

    My question is what is a PDA used for and what type of things can you do with one. ie what type of appz can you use on them, games and other things.

    Also has anyone got a tomtom go or a IPAQ 2210 with a GPS system and what do you think of them. Pro's and cons.
     
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  2. wizard

    wizard Petabyte Poster

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    PDA = Personal Digital Assistant.

    Basically I see it as a sort of electronic filofax full of appointments, phone numbers etc..

    Not too sure what else you can use them for.
     
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  3. nugget
    Honorary Member

    nugget Junior toady

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    I have a friend that just bought a HP 5550 (I think, maybe 5520?). Really cool and the GPS was top notch. He had the maps for France, Germany and Italy and some of the other countries like Serbia and Czech Republic. He found his way without a problem for 6 weeks on his tour.

    OTH I have read a review that the TomTom Go is the same crap in a new look.

    If you get the HP PDA, then get as bit a memory card as you can.
     
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  4. Phil
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    Phil Gigabyte Poster

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    I bought an ipaq HP 4150 earlier this year and love it :) I take it everywhere. I was like you when my mate showed me his last year, couldn't see what good it would be, I wouldn't be without it now. They come with a PDA version of office, the 4150 has Bluetooth and Wireless built in so connecting to the internet for a spot of browsing is quite easy. I bought a 512 mb SD card for it and loaded it with mp3's, there's a headphone socket on top, so if I'm in the office alone at work I just hook it up to the speakers. However the one killer App on it for me has to be the game worms :) doesn't matter where I am, if I'm stuck in a queue or on the train, wherever, then worms comes out to kill some time. I thought about getting a bluetooth GPS addon but don't do enough travelling to justify it really.
     
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  5. Phoenix
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    Phoenix 53656e696f7220 4d6f64

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    I've had experiance only with the iPaqs (now known as HP xxxx)
    they were great, and as mentioned, the GPS is top notch on them
    the iPaqs were a tad bulky, but the newer HP ones are a bit more slimmed down, and they use MS PocketPC, so you will find a familiar interface

    good thing about a PDA/GPS combo is you can take the pda out with you and use it!
     
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  6. Fergal1982

    Fergal1982 Petabyte Poster

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    my flatmate and i were looking at the Fujitsu-Semens LOOX 720 model here and found it to be a great model. it includes an integrated camera, wifi and bluetooth capabilities, and its a USB host (meaning it can actually control USB devices).

    PDA's are more than just electronic filofaxes. they're like mini PC's. they have memory expandability (LOOX 720 can go up to about 5 gig), they can (some of them at any rate) run PDF's, Excel spreadsheets, Word Docs, they have a stripped down version of windows, they can play music, you name it. you can even install games onto most of them, albeit simple ones (like card games). and you can access email using them too (providing you have a suitable wifi/bluetooth/etc connection!)

    not all models have that, but thats just the general idea!

    Fergal
     
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  7. Nelix
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    Nelix Gigabyte Poster

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    At work we tested a whole range of PDA's from various manufacturers before making our final decision. Our final decision was based on usabilty, size, screen clarity, weight, connectivity and battery life, to name but a few. After extensive testing we decided on 2 models, the Dell Axim X5 and X3i, the technolgy Unit use the X3i and to be quite honest they are brilliant, the X3i in really slim, light weight, has bluetooth and wireless built in and has a 433MHz processor.

    I use mine for watching DVD's and MP3's whilst travelling amongst other things including mail replication terminal services to servers etc.

    EDIT: forgot to mention that some of our regional orgnisers use GPS/Tom Tom on there's and they even speak to you to tell you when to turn a corner, all you need is a GPS SD module and the software, we are also looking into a barcode reader for some of them to track equipment when at conferences atc.
     
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