Planning to invest on a handheld for under $200?
Jan 08 '02
The Bottom Line If you¡¦re having trouble finding a great handheld at a fraction of the professional handheld, you will need guidance. It¡¦s worth it.
When it comes to investing on a handheld, there are many choices that are offered out there in the market, but not everybody needs the best and the most powerful handhelds that are available. There are people that would like to buy a handheld or Personal Digital Assistant, but they do have constraints on doing so, because it¡¦s just too expensive for some people, especially for students. But there are many choices to get a good deal out of your money for buying a handheld. Besides, nobody wants to slave over their choices for a budget handheld computer.
What to look for?
What people should at least look for in a budget handheld is the ease of use. All of the budget buyers should at least expect a Palm OS 3.1 for their handheld. What about capacity and expandability? Well for that, it depends on the buyer what they will be doing for using their handheld computer. If they¡¦re using the handheld computer solely as an organizer, then 2MB of memory (non-expandable) is basically enough like the Palm m100. However, many would like to expand their handheld storage capacity in the near future though. It¡¦s possible to do that with the Handspring Visor lineup including the Handspring Visor (Base), the newer Palms (m125, m500 and m505) offer a Secure Digital (by Panasonic and Toshiba) slot for content storage and for the Sony Clie handhelds with their Memory Stick.
But for many buyers, an 8MB handheld is preferred, this is due to the fact in which you can store more data in those handhelds than their 2MB cousins, where you can store more images or run any other multimedia applications. Those are ideal for everybody, because of the extra capacity; they can remember a few more things like special recipes, frequent contacts and even important appointments. Again many people who plan to buy an 8MB might want to look for expandability. Many do provide storage solutions for the handhelds, but only the Handspring offers the infinite expandability from their Springboard technology to offer special modules that go beyond just storage capabilities. Few of which in particular include the GPS navigation, Visor Phone and a traveling massager.
Another thing is that they should at least look for a synchronization cable or cradle for their handheld. This way, they can back their information that was recorded from the handheld or to upload the information that was important in the computer like resumes. However, for the cable the disadvantage is that the cable doesn¡¦t provide a stable base for the handheld and it can be accidentally bumped to the floor, but it¡¦s better suited for traveling with your laptop computer. But for the cradle, the problem is that it can take a bite out of your desk space, especially when you¡¦re using the in-flight table in an airline seat. But it¡¦s ideal for your desktop where you¡¦ll be synchronizing the handheld most of the time.
What about interface and compatibility? Most people who are planning to buy a handheld are concerned for that, especially for the Mac users. For the Sony Clie PEG S320, it only offers PC compatibility; despite the USB cable. For the Palm m100, m105 and Vx, it only offers a serial interface. It may offer Mac compatibility for those units, but special software is required, in addition to the special serial to USB adapter. Whereas for the Palm m125 and the Handspring Visors; they¡¦re Mac ready right out of the box because of the included USB cradle.
What features should they look for? Well they should at least look for a to do list, notepad, scroll button, calendar, phone book, calculator, clock and many more. Again, you should look for storage expansion, because once you¡¦ve outgrown the handheld capacity, you¡¦ll need more space for more content.
Price
Most important of all in considering a handheld on a budget is the price. Nowadays, you can buy a handheld for less than $90 at online stores such as ebay to get the deals. But do expect very basic specifications like 2MB of internal memory, possibly no cradle and/or cable and beware of the software bundle though. But if you can spend a little more, you can get yourself an 8MB handheld. But for this category, I wouldn¡¦t recommend spending more than $200 on a handheld. Do look for great deals from online stores such as computers4sure and ebay.
Recommendation
(Least to Most)
Under $100- Palm m100, Handspring Visor Base (Deluxe [refurbished or at ebay])
Under $150- Palm m105 and Handspring Visor Deluxe (or others in select online stores)
Under $200- Palm m125, Sony Clie, Handspring Visor Neo (possible high end handhelds in select online stores)
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