suggestion for converting from paper to PDA?

I have used 3 PDAs (personal digital assistant) in my lifetime, previously the Treo 600 and Treo 650, and now the Blackberry Curve. I've been using the Curve for about 4 months now, and loved the solid construction the moment I held it and tried it out. I also love its versatility to connect up to Google Maps, internet, play videos and MP3 audios, and take pictures. Rumor has it that the new OS upgrade will record videos. The one function that I can't get to work is the data sync between my Blackberry Curve and my Outlook calendar. So, for now, I've decided to not use my PDA for that purpose. Now, I've got a co-worker who is looking to convert from a paper organizer to a digital handheld one. Here's how he describes his initial exploration:

In the next 60 days, I'll probably buy a handheld with Outlook, and slowly shift away from my pocket handwritten datebook.

I tried "thumbing" a Blackberry last weekend, and don't want to go that route. I think a fold-up keyboard would be too cumbersome and fragile (to carry in my pocket, as I don't want a holster). So I think my remaining options are the attached or a stylus.

Anyone know anything about the attached? Opinions on a stylus? Other options?

I'm guessing if he doesn't like the Blackberry, he'd definitely not like the iPhone, even though it is very cool. What do you use? What would you suggest?

Comments

[Paul Kuzma]

I have been using the Cingular 8125 for over a year. I love it. Their latest model is the 8525. I call it my "life in a pocket". Syncs my Outlook Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, Email ... whole 9 yards, in minutes. Everything syncs over the air; never have to connect it to machine. A little bulky, but better than anything I've seen for the features that is less bulky than this.

[myles]

i have used Blackberries, Dopods, 02s, and many other devices. I have also tried the iPhone (though its not officially released here in Australia).

The one I use now is the best so far. It is the HTC Touch.

http://www.htctouch.com/

It uses Windows Mobile v6, with Touch Flo on top. Uses a stylus. And being windows easily syncs with Outlook.

[JTR Hart]

Treo 700wx, WindowsMobile 5

The reason I like it so much is because in addition to syncing with Outlook, Gmail, and Google Calendar, I put an e-Sword Bible reader and Plucker on it so I always have something read when I have spare-time and no dead-tree-books handy. Plucker converts txt or html files into books so you can convert books and sermons into books and make annotations and markup the book while you read. The QWERTY keyboard makes annotating faster.

[djchuang]

Thanks for all the comments!

Anyone out there have experience with the Virtual Laser Keyboard http://www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com/ ? This looks like a great idea, but not having tried it, I'm not sure how well it works, and at a cost $179, it sure would be nice to have a retail store that carries it to try out.

[Antoine of MMM]

Finding a device with a touchscreen will help ease the ability towards getting data into the device. The Palm OS line of PDAs and Treo/Centro smartphones will be initally much easier to deal with and closer to the paper planner solution that the person already had. Syncing with Outlook on all but Vista is easy as well.

I use a Treo, and have used Palm, Symbian, and Windows Mobile devices, the key is not so much the input method, but the act of making sure that you are consistent with what kind of information you are putting there. If you only do a contact add there every 3 or 4 people you meet, it will be cumbersome everytime. Get into a rhythm and then flow from there.

The easiest input method is always a keyboard, then a thumboard, then a touchscreen, then a styli. Inputing information is all about how long it takes to get from your head to the page. Consider what it is that you want to write down, how long it should take, and then adjust what input solutions you use from there. I have a keyboard for my Treo for longer items like emails and posts, use the thumboard for SMS, small emails/posts, and the touchscreen to navigate more granularly. It takes practice to find a flow, but once you do, you will wonder how you did things before.

Best of blessings on the search.

[Jacob Vanhorn]

I have used Nokia 6620 Symbian Smartphone for the past two years. It worked great as a phone, and my experience has been that Nokia's phones are the sturdiest phones out there. I dropped it numerous times and left it out in the rain. It still worked fine. Once I got used to the alphanumeric predictive text input it worked great. I could rapidly input information. It connected through EDGE which is still like dial up. It had calendar, email, tasks, browser, etc. And there were plenty of third parties apps for Symbian products. The EDGE was too slow to use regularly, which is the primary reason I didn't buy an iPhone.

But I recently received the AT&T Tilt (8525) which is made by HTC. It runs on WM6, has multiple input methods (stylus, touch screen, graffiti writer, and a thumboard). I am still making the transition from alphanumeric but I think it will be fine.

I chose this phone because it data connects through EDGE, HSDPA High Speed, and WiFi. So far the transition from one to the other has been pretty seamless. Another reason I chose it is because it easily edits Word and Excel. Previous version of WM only had view capabilities without third party apps. It seems pretty solid. I have checked out multiple web pages and it seems to load pretty quickly. I have also been pleased with its overall speed. I rarely have to wait. I am still getting use to navigation through various menus. I also wish you could create more shortcuts. There are some things I use that I would like a favorites section for, rather than just a recently used.

The coolest thing is that with ActiveSync it syncs with exchange beautifully. I have yet to attach the phone to my computer to sync. It has all been done wirelessly after the initial setup which was easy.

I really like the phone so far. It is like a small computer in my pocket.

I was tempted by the iPhone, so why didn't I buy it? (iPhone lovers, please be gentle and don't attack)

The biggest by far is EDGE connectivity. It is just too slow for my needs. Sure it has WiFi, but if I am near WiFi, I would probably be on my laptop. I hope they add High Speed wireless connectivity in the future.

Next is that it doesn't have a removable memory card slot. The 8GB are generous, but a removable slot would have been great.

Next, you can't add third party apps without Apple's update removing them. If iPhone doesn't come with it, you can't add it.

Lastly, it doesn't currently sync with Exchange and many IT departments are not adding IMAP.

So far, I really like my AT&T Tilt (8525)