Anyone with a PDA Phone?

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Jukie

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If any of our esteemed members have a PDA phone, did you soon get used to texting with the stylus?

Trying to decide between PDA phone and smart phone, should I first decide to get a new handset.

TIA, David
 
I have a Nokia 7710 smartphone, and I soon got used to text with a stylus, but probably not as quick as a regular phone.

With a stylus you soon realise that dialing and texting on the go is a no-no - something you take for granted with a regular phone.

I'd say a smartphone/pda is worth it if you'll be using the other functions more than you'll be using the phone functions. If you'll be using the phone functions most, then a regular phone really does it best IMHO.
 
O2 XDA Mini S - had it for just over a month, and its great - no need to use the stylus for texts, as it has a slide out keyboard ! Highly recommended !

Voice recognition for dialling on the move, so no need to even touch the phone - can do it through a bluetooth headset !

S.
 
Also votes for the O2 device, which I have too. Very nice.

Keyboard if you need it, or stylus tap the on screen keyboard. Predictive text still works when tapping with the stylus.

If you want to save space, the same device without the keyboard is called an O2 Atom.
 
My Sony Ericsson smartphone has a virtual flip, i never use it for texting, find it quicker to use the mini keyboard, impossible to do on the move though.
 
I also have the o2 XDA Mini S. Fantastic bit of kit, great PDA & decent phone too... Very nice.

As stated; slide out keyboard if you need it, stylus for handwriting, or tap the on screen keyboard.

Can't fault it, although having said that I'm not a huge texter...
 
I personally do not own an XDA but I know a few work colleagues who do and they all have seperate mobile phones as well! The reason is that they find they XDAs too bulky to use as a phone and they feel like pill***s holding a brick to their heads. I would say thata smartphone is probably a better option.
I have recently purchased a Nokia N70 and love it. Has a lot of PDA like functionality but is still a handy size to be called a phone.
Each to their own mind you.
Mac.

Ps just noticed that the previous posters were talking about an XDA mini. I haven't seen one but presume that it is smaller and therefore easier to use.
Just off on the net to see one.......

The dimensions of the XDA mini are almost identical to the N70 so they got the size right.
Hmmmm, maybe I should have got one of these instead. Doh!
 
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I'll second the texting on the move comment above. :) I cannot do anything with the XDA whilst in a taxi in Islington! Speed bumps +++.
 
I use a Handspring Treo 600 (PDA), I could go on for ages about what it can do but needless to say IMO its fantastic, so much so that for the past two years Ive renewed the contract, got a new phone (Samsung D500 last time) and sold it on..keeping the Treo for my own use. The only thing Id swop it for Is the new treo 650.
The only downside to the Treo is the camera is very poor, but I wouldnt care if it didnt have one although the new 650 addresses this.
If you need to carry lots of information, a diary, memos, photos, music, books, private info....etc youll love it. It can be synchronised with your computer or/and backed up with orange's own servers at he click of a button. Mine crashed once in three years and was restored from my PC in less than one minute.
Its also very robust.
Use one for six months and you'll wonder how you ever got on without it!
Its the only PDA with a qwerty keyboard, I can type a message and send it before your phone is even ready for use
 
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I've been using an XDA IIi for over a year. Texting with a stylus is not intuitive if you learnt how to on a mobile, and you can't do it one-handed. It doesn't really do anything particularly well: it's too big for a phone, the camera quality is poor, the bluetooth connection with my Motorola earpiece keeps dropping out (which rarely happened with my old Nokia) and internet access is only passable.

Probably the worst thing is that after using it as a phone you have to clean the screen before you can use it for anything else. Or am I just a greasy so-and-so?:confused:

It does run Tom Tom Navigator quite well (in between bluetooth drop outs) and calculates/re-calcuates routes quicker than any factory fitted nav kit that I've seen, including Comand. I might keep it for that or try the XDA Mini S that everone is recommending...
 
XDA Mini S is great ... Windows Mobile 5 (or maybe its just the new XDAs) has a 'phone-pad' option for input as well as the regular soft keyboard, and a real keyboard (backlit!) which allows you to do predictive text input with a finger on the screen, about as close as you'll get to texting on a normal phone keypad - quite good, I'd say, and especially if you are used to texting on a Nokia phone, or something.

Yeah, I hate the way the screen gets greasy / marked, so try to use with a headset as much as possible for phone calls - problem solved - comes with a nice stereo hands free wired kit, or just use any Bluetooth headset.

S.
 
scotth_uk said:
I'll second the texting on the move comment above. :) I cannot do anything with the XDA whilst in a taxi in Islington! Speed bumps +++.

Daren't lose the Nokia stylus either - although the manual says you get two, you only get one (shop tried every box they had at that and two other stores), and...

...Nokia don't sell them, nor will they send one for free!! :crazy: :confused:
 
beezer60 said:
Probably the worst thing is that after using it as a phone you have to clean the screen before you can use it for anything else. Or am I just a greasy so-and-so?:confused:

Well that's at least two greasy so and sos!! I've often wondered why the speaker/mic isn't on the back of the phone - would avoid the greasey issue.

The greatest thing about the Nokia 7710 is the hands-free function - it's as good as the best desktop conference phone I've ever used, so I never hold it to my ear - seems like a step backwards. That said I do look a bit of a kn*b walking around Waitrose on loudspeaker whilst my wife tells me what to get!!
 
IPAQ 6515 - with mini keyboard works OK for me..
 
I'm using an O2 XDA IIi. Though a little large when you add a leather/aluminum case, its amazing. The only quabble I have with it is that you cant talk for more than 2/3 hrs on a single charge. Other than that, its amazing!
 

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