# Purpose of a PDA?



## jgoodman00 (May 6, 2002)

With all the recent talk about PDA's:

What do people use these for?

I have one, but cannot think of a reason to use it :...


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## BreTT (Oct 30, 2002)

> With all the recent talk about PDA's:
> 
> What do people use these for?
> 
> I have one, but cannot think of a reason to use it Â :...


If the company that you are working for produces a version, it is a good way of getting cheap publicity if your employees use it in meetings with customers.

I've used mine for downloading news pages etc when I am docked so that I can read them on the train etc. Of course if I had a bluetooth phone, it would be a little easier to download mail from my mail server i.e. I have to use the ir port even though the PDA is bluetooth enabled.

The thing I use it most for, though, is to pretend I am doing something vitally important when the burd is talking to me i.e. playing Tetris or something.


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## paulb (May 6, 2002)

Pocket porn


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## coupe-sport (May 7, 2002)

reading The Times in meetings... good old Avant Go


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## raven (May 7, 2002)

Yep - it's a great way of reading the newspaper when in a meeting. I have a detailed map of the City in mine which is very useful. Also, reading those emails you can never be bothered to read at your desk. Downloading old SMSs off my phone via Bluetooth is quite clever, especially if you never get round to deleting them off your phone. 

Having said that, I spend a fair bit of time wanting to throw it away (mine's a Compaq iPaq) because it's so annoyingly unstable.


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## W7 PMC (May 6, 2002)

I think mines gonna get most use in its GPS guise. Using the TomTom software, it makes a very high quality/low cost sat nav solution.

Games on planes & in airports passes the time of day, plus it may start me reading on longer journeys, without having to actually lug a book around. Its also proving useful as the obvious diray & calender etc.

Sure it would be better if i could suss this wireless issue out


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## scoTTy (May 6, 2002)

I got a Psion 5MX (yeah yeah it's old ) but it gets used all over the place :

Pocket terminal for wandering around computer rooms.
Preparing documents, powerpoint on train, flights, etc
Making notes in meetings, etc (It has a real keyboard unlike most modern PDAs)
Diary for time reporting, not missing anniversary etc
Games (of course) including a Sinclair Spectrum emulator
Street map software
Encrypted database for storing passwords, usernames, credit card details etc,

but the thing I find most useful is my address book. Since the Psion can produce dial tones, I just look up someones name and hold the handset close to the Psion and press dial. No more misdialed numbers.

The only problem is this means I can't remember anyone's phone number! :-/


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## BreTT (Oct 30, 2002)

> Having said that, I spend a fair bit of time wanting to throw it away (mine's a Compaq iPaq) because it's so annoyingly unstable.


Young man - the hardware relies on the software. Unfortunately, Compaq iPAQ's use Microsoft software, so what do you expect? I have seen an iPAQ running Linux.....

That said, I have a newer iPAQ and donated my old one to the burrd - the new version of Microsoft's software is a *lot* more stable. IM me if you want to compare versions of the software etc.


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## Gren (Jul 25, 2002)

Diary
Address book
To do list
Finances
Reading web pages
Travelling (time zones, weather, conversions)
Games
Games
Games

Gren


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## garyc (May 7, 2002)

Diary 
In box 
GPS navigation
Universal remote control
crap quality MP3s 
mobile porn 
e books


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## jgoodman00 (May 6, 2002)

So, they are not actually as useful as the manufacturers try to lead you to believe.


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## garyc (May 7, 2002)

> So, they are not actually as useful as the manufacturers try to lead you to believe.


do you believe that PCs change you life? therein lies your answer.

The industry biggies are postioning PDAs as access devices for digital content of all descriptions. It will come, but there is a long way to go. As they improve in connectivity, functionality and bandwidth management, then they will start to displace PO sales, just as laptops have done to desktop pc market.

Don't hold yer breath though.


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## paulatt (Oct 28, 2002)

Why carry a mobile phone and a filofax or diary?
Just have a PDA.

I've got an iPaq which is pretty, nice screen but awkward to set up and unreliable.

Also got a Handspring Treo PDA which I use all the time. It runs Palm op sys and is great for reading emails, newspapers, playing scrabble and games in meetings, on plane or in car.

Yes, I know having 2 PDA's is a bit ridiculous and they do take up a lot of room in my handbag !!


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## jgoodman00 (May 6, 2002)

Connectivity difficulty was the main reason why I asked the question. If they could connect at a good speed wirelessly from anywhere, & actually download you email etc, then I think it would be an invaluable tool. However, downloading email onto it, to carry it around with you seems a little pointless, when you cant actually send a live reply.

Most of our clients use them, reasoning that it stops them from being double-booked for meetings. However, when I asked them what would happen if their secretary booked them an appointment, whilst they were out of office booking a similar appointment, they could not answer, proving the failing of a disconnected personal organizer. :-/

The finger-print recognition is seriously cool though ...


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## vlastan (May 6, 2002)

The XDA gives you GPRS connectivity. So this is what you really need!


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## bash-the-monkey (Jun 5, 2002)

just got a Sony NX70V - very cool

Use it for ebooks, slapping Simpsons & other tv shows to watch on train and stacks of games!!

Plus you can (with a little jiggery pokery) put a DVD onto a 128 M memory stick 

Bash
www.bashthemonkey.com


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