lencaplan

This past weekend I was having a discussion about the fact that probably within the next few years, the PDA as we know it will become extinct. With all of he new Smartphones, and the declining market for real PDAs, they will probably stop being produced in the near future.

As someone who uses my iPAQs on a daily basis I am sorry to feel this way. Our conversation got down to which are the best models, and why.

To start, I have three iPAQs, and use all of them. Here is a breakdown of my favorites and why I like them.

If I had just one it would be the H5550. It is a workhorse, and because of its large memory, it is heads above any of the others except for the newer 4700 series. With the expansion packs, and slightly larger screen than most of the others is IMHO is about the best. The only negatives that I see are 1) it eats battery time. 2) it will not take a fasten on Thumboard. I much prefer it to the 4700. I do not like the controls on the 4700. The much sharper screen to me is overkill and has no real advantage over the H5550. The fact that the programs and data is stored in non volitile memory would be an advantage, but on my other units I have Sprite Backup backup everything automatically daily to an SD card in case of a problem.

Tied for my next most favorite are the H4150 and H4355. The H4150 would top the list if it had the larger memory of the H5550. The form factor is fabulous, an with both WiFi and Bluetooth is a just about perfect package. I usually carry this on my hip, where because of the small size is just about the perfect size.

All things being equal the H4355 is a fantastic unit and has the advantage of the built in keyboard. The only negative to me again is the smaller memory. The size is quite large, actually about the same size as the H5550, although thinner, but has fabulous battery time.

All three units are setup to work with my RAZR for GPRS so that along with direct connection and WiFi I am connected just about anywhere be it here in the US, or when I am in Europe. I carry an HP BT Keyboard, and a Pentax PocketJet printer, and any of these gives me a full office away from home.

I am curious what others are using and why they prefer it.

Len