Professional Advice and reccomendations Needed!

knowing that there are hundreds of pocket Pc's on the market today, i was wondering after hours of research, what would be the best PDA that is definitly Light, fast (preferablly 400Mhz) and cheap, as well as reliable. And sofar i have not come across one that matches these qualities. I need desperate help. I have found many different types, but they all have finiky problems, Can someone lend some experience here?

Although the ACER n25w is only Sony memory stick compatible. Does anybody know of any negative reasons for getting this device. As it is cheap, but i dont know if it is reliable? Any reasonable advice on a reliable, fast and cheap Pocket Pc is and will be GREATLY apprieciated. Ian

*master*

[9Ballr]

Hi there! One good source of information I have found is PocketPC magazine (http://www.pocketpcmag.com/). In addition to lots of news, how-to articles and product reviews, it also has a huge centre-spread chart of all of the PPC models currently on sale, with a breakdown offeatures, specs, cost, bundled software, etc. for each. Check out a copy at your local magazine seller.

I use an iPaq 3650, and have been very happy with it. I've been doing similar research to yours, as my PPC is a few years old now and I'm starting to think about a replacement. From the information I've been able to glean from various message forums, some models have had more problems than others. The series I've heard the most good things about is the iPaq 39xx. It has a very good screen, excellent battery life, built-in Bluetooth in the 3970, and lots of features, including the 400 MHz PXA250 CPU. Wormy (our fearless leader) has a 3970 and I'm sure he will attest to how good it is.

One thing you may want to consider is that Intel has just released the successor to the PXA250 CPU: the PXA255. It runs at the same clock speeds as the older processor, but features a 200 MHz system bus, as opposed to 100 MHz on the old part. Apparently this results in significant real-world performace gains; some have even cited the performace difference as being greater than the jump from the 206 MHz StrongArmto the 400 MHz PXA250. Some manufacturers are already shipping new models based on the updated CPU (e.g. the Toshiba e750). You may want to opt for one of these, if your budget permits, or you may wait to see if the new products drive down the cost of the previous generation. One further note on upcoming technology is that Microsoft will soon announce the Pocket PC 2003 OS. Depending on how soon you choose to purchase, you might want to hold off soyou can get it pre-installed.

Lastly, and of course this is just my personal opinion, I'm going to steer clear of Sony memory stick. I've seen enough proprietary technologies come and go (and more than one from Sony!) to give them a wide berth. Remember Betamax? VESA local bus? MicroChannel Architecture? Neither do a lot of people. At this point, the best bets for removeable storage in the PPC space are compact flash and Secure Digital. I can put a CF card in my camera, and then move pictures to my iPaq or to my PC on the card. You can't say that for memory stick, unless everything you own has a Sony label on it. CF is still the leader, but SD is gaining and will soon pass it. However, both will be supported well for a while yet.

Check the Pocket PC news section at Bright Hand (http://www.brighthand.com) and other news sites for the latest news and trends in the industry. And be sure to check in here again if you need any more help or info. Good luck with your purchase.

Cheers! :)</P>

Thanks for the help, those sites that you gave me are great! I didnt know microsoft's 2003 OS is comming out soon. So I think it is best if i wait a while, plus this should be good as they may have fixed a few of the tedious bugs that I have been hearing about. :) Plus ill have saved up enough to get any pocket Pc on the market. So I may be back for your great advice when im about to make the leap and spend my savings, Thx again.

[tcolling]

Hi - </P>

I can't tell you which brand and model to get, but I can recommend the brand to <U>avoid</U>: DO NOT BUY TOSHIBA Pockect PCs

Their device designs are not well thought out, even though they look slick, and they do not provide adequate support to the users who are stuck with coping with their designs.ÂÂ*ÂÂ* Also, they do not support newer versions of the PPC software, even though they could do so.

Regards,
Tim
A very dissatisfied Toshiba e740 ownerÂÂ*

[COopa]

if you're interested, try the review of Ipaq 2210, it is the best PPC in 2003 i think, as it is small, cheap, transflective display, bluetooth, the processor is the fastest amongst other IPAQ, compared with 3970 and 5450, (www.pdabuyersguide.com), it has built-in CF and SD (support SDIO), removable battery (it is the main issue with the ipaq 3600 to 3900 series) if you're a heavy user of PPC, after approximately 1,5 year, your internal battery usually goes off because Li-polymer battery only have 350 lifecycle most, this means if you fully charge the battery and fully discharge battery in a day. the battery life only last for 350 days approximately. :( please refer to the li-polymer battery. or refer to www.danionics.com (ipaq standard battery supplier)

so my suggestion is ipaq 2210. Powerful device, new operating system WM2003, it cost about US$400 or in Australia it would be around 750 brand new not arrived yet until mid JULY 2003