Help in choosing a PDA please

Help in choosing a PDA please

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Please could someone recommend a PDA which will be used primarily for keeping an Outlook diary and contacts, and is really simple to integrate with Outlook on my desktop.
I may occasionally send emails, will definitely need to be able to write notes.but don't see me creating Excel files on it, though if I can view Excel, Powerpoint and other files easily that is potentially useful (can one run Powerpoint presentations from a PDA?). I don't know if one can view JPEGs on a PDA, but that would also be really useful for photographs.
I don't need it as a mobile.
A really good large screen is essential, with font size big enough to read - preferably without having to put put on reading glasses! .
And finally not costing the earth (£200 is OK, £300 is pushing it, and above that is not realistic).
Any advice would be really appreciated. Thanks.
David Evans

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By Claire Kelly
21st Mar 2007 09:43

PDA recommendation
Hi David
I am a bit wary of advising on this one in case you ask any really technical questions I cannot answer.But I thought why not tell you what i use and then you can find out all the tech stuff elsewhere. I use a Sony Clie and have done for about four years now. It was a gift from my husband so I am not sure about price but I use it all the time to keep my diary etc on outlook all in sync. I use Outlook for all my emails, tasks , calendar etc and the Clie picks all that up. It does have sms messaging but to be honest I just use my pc for email and so havent used that. It does have the facility to view files through Picsel viewer and it also has a memory stick slot which I have used to transfer files from my pc for viewing out of the office. I am sure that there are probably more features on the newer model but this one does all that I need and is simple to use.You can probably find out more on the Sony website

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By theaardvark
22nd Mar 2007 11:37

SPVs, XDAs,
For the last 4 or 5 years I have used Orange SPVs. The O2 XDAs are the same phones and most other networks have versions of them.

Under the monthly subscription I pay I haven't had to pay for a single one when bought from new.

They sync incredibly easily with Outlook and have a web browser that is almost as good as the full Internet Explorer. Excel, Power point and Word viewing software all come as standard.

I know you said you didn't need it as a mobile, but hey..... it saves you the £200 outlay.

Regards

Paul Taylor

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By User deleted
07th Jun 2007 09:02

XDA's
If you look at the other article on PDA's you will see my comments abouts the XDA's in this weeks edition.

I have an XDA Exec, and an XDA Mini, The Exec is my main one, but if you read my comments, it is a real pain as a phone, you miss an awful lot of calls, but it has an excellent key board, and big screen etc, and I wouldn't be without it, it was easy to set up for email. The Mini has never let me down as a phone, but the keyboard is fiddly, and my IT department had trouble setting up the emial connection to my work email, but he managed it.

It has Word, Excel, Powerpoint (but I haven't used that function), and I just plug it into my laptop whenever I am at work and it thinks for a minute then syncronises my outlook, diary and contacts.

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Nigel Harris
By Nigel Harris
06th Jun 2007 09:21

Easy
David, a basic PDA will do all you want - and more besides. I have been using a PDA since the first palm Pilots arrived in the UK, and for the sort of tasks you describe.

My main requirement has always been to have my Outlook calendar and contacts list in my pocket, and even a basic PDA will do this perfectly. I enter appointments on the PDA while I'm out, synchronise it with Outlook when I'm back in the office and my secretary can then see the latest diary details without me needing to brief her separately.

I can also view Office files and JPEGs (handy if you need to download a map onto the PDA), but I have only ever used the Word and PDF viewers, Excel on such a small screen is a waste of time.

If you want to be able to receive and send emails, go for a smartphone or BlackBerry. You can compose emails on a PDA to send later, and download the contents of your Inbox to read offline (inc attachments) but getting a PDA to access email can be tricky. As for Web browsing - on a 2-3inch screen? You must be joking!

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