Buying a PocketPC for the first time, Help me!

[NovaPhoenix]

G'day!<br><br>I'm from Australia, and I'm looking into buying a PocketPc for the first time.  I've been trying to do as much research as I can about the ones on the market so far, and I think I will be looking into buying a Ipaq.<br><br>If anyone could adivse me more on PocetPcs that would be really helpful :>  Also I'm a bit worried about speding a lot of money on a new PPC and then a new lot come out.  So any help on the basics would be great :><br><br>Thanx

[Moose or Chuck]

I like the Casio because it has a bigger 16 bit screen, iPaq has a smaller 12bit screen. But the iPaq is undoubtedly faster. Although the Casio can be overclocked, it's not quite as fast.<br><br>But new pocket pcs are coming out reasonably soon. If you can wait for a few more months, maybe 5, New 400MHz pocket pc's will be available from Compaq.

[Jaybot]

I hope you meant 'bigger' as in the bit-wise, because I far as I can tell, theyre the same size screen.  But yes the quality of the (screen and buttons and, well everything, except the processor and the speed of the PIM stuff) Ipaq is less.  Before you buy it, take a look at the Picture of Jason Dunn's (author of PPC thoughts) Ipaq.. it's on there somwhere www.pocketpcthoughts.com.  God, that thing is horrible.  But still it's up to you.  The biggest deciding factor for me was tha wiht the Casio, I didn't have to buy any expansion packs to use a CF card (which I already had a lot of, and you will most likely end up buying some).  Also, with the Casio, I have a Casio outlet store in my town, which allows me to upgrade if they ever have a new version come out, well kind of.  Still, the Ipaq is a good LITTLE PocketPC, it just has aolt of LITTLE problems.

[999]

If you can't wait I'd go for a Casio EM-500.  They're easy to get right now, and are dirt cheap as far as PDAs go.<br><br>The iPAQ, my personal preference, is rather hard to get (still), and can rack up some pretty outrageous prices after shipping, and whatever currency exchange/taxes/tariffs there are.  I've read some people spending upwards of $1000 to get an iPAQ.  I personally spent $660 for mine from a private retailer.<br><br>Just remember the "PocketPC Experience" can be achieved on any PDA, and you'll love every minute of it.  Just get a device that fits your needs, and you'll be pleased.<br><br>Note- I just learned the E115 was discontinued.  So take something into consideration if and when buying casio:  Product Backing<br><br>Casio has a horrible track record for turning a good purchase into a bad one.  What I mean by this is they have a knack of outdating their hardware lineup the same year it's released.  This is illustrated as follows:<br>E100>E105<br>E115>E125<br>EM-500>EM-707<br><br>I personally got burned on the E100 and E115 <br><br>Last modification: 999 - 04/02/01 at 12:26:10

[Dr. Phat]

did you grab it and run?

[NovaPhoenix]

What about this new Ipaq I hard about comming ont the market?  I'm not too worried about price for em, becuase they are sorta cheap here in Australia.  Also what other brands are brining out PocketPcs?  So far I only know of the HP Jonarda, Ipaq, and Cassopia.  What other ones are there?  And Where can I find info?

[Jaybot]

Go to Brighthand.com and search around there, there used to be a definitive list of every pocketpc available, it should be there still....

[Jaybot]

Ipaqs actually seem relatively easy to get now that the 3635 is out.  They've been in stock at every best buy every day for atleast a month now.<br><br>And I doubt we'll ever even see the amigo before July or August, the way it's going with the launch in the uk.. it's pathetic, don't bother.

[NovaPhoenix]

I was looking at the review for the @migo, just wondering does anyone know when its comming out?  It looks like I might get that instead of the Ipaq, but, thats if its not too expensive when it hits the markets here, and thats if I can buy it.

[Dan East]

I was in a Sears last week looking around the electronics department, and noticed a small glass storage case next to the cash register that was packed full of Palm devices (not a display case, just a storage place for the whole packages). Nestled inside was one iPaq and one Jornada. Nothing was on display, not even the palms. So, try a Sears if you want an iPaq. Don't ask the salesperson because they probably don't know what an iPaq is or that they even sell them. Look were the Palms are stored.<br><br>Dan East

[Vacant_Idol]

ha sears is funny,<br><br>I was there about 2 weeks ago looking around and say they had an a few palms, a jornada and a ipaq out on display so you could play with them.<br>They all had them alarm things hooked up to them, but when i looked at the ipaq the alarm thingy was hooked up to the sleeve so i poped the ipaq outa the sleeve and i said to my self "damn i could walk out with this".<br><br>So if guess you can get a free ipaq at some sears, but its probably not a good idea Last modification: Vacant Idol - 04/06/01 at 09:11:30

[Moose or Chuck]

;D hehe

[Moose or Chuck]

hehehe, so where do u live,

[Chris]

I have read the messages from other people in response to your message.  I personally think you should go with either the IPAQ or the Casio EM 500!  To put it bluntly the only thing other than speed and expansion issues that separates these two is the price tag.  I would say that if you are looking to spend in the area of $1000 go for the IPAQ (this price range includes keyboard, and expansion sleves which are necessary for CF memory expansion).  If you are looking to spend in the $400-500 range then i recomend the EM 500 (this price range includes keyboard).  The last difference to keep in mind is the CF vs. MMC issue.  MultiMedia Cards are tiny things that are about the size of a thumb on ly 1mm thick.  The go only to 64mb and are easy to forget somewere because of size.  The IPAQ requires expansion sleves for stupid reasons that i am not going to get into right now.  these sleves work with modems, CF cards....  Without these there is no expandibility at all on the IPAQ; the cost is extremely varied depending on where you shop for the sleves.  The expansion sleves do provide for better internet expansion then the EM 500's hook up modems.  In case you are wondering I own an EM 500.  It does not have as much memory as the IPAQ but it is more than enough for me.  the processor is 150mhz compared to the IPAQ's 206mhz.  The IPAQ can be easily overclocked to up to 240 mhz with no welding at all.  The EM 500 can be overclocked to 200 mhz however it is safer only to go to 180mhz, this requires welding however you can find a step-by-step guide to this at many different places.  (note: the EM 500's processor was made to be able to go 180mhz as you will see in the foreign E 505{at least i believe that is the name}.  Also note there is word of a company that can expand an EM 500's memory to 32mb.)  I hope this will help you pick the right Pocket PC

[randall]

The reason I didn't get an EM-500 was because it had 16 megs of RAM and a MMC. I really needed the 32 megs of RAM and a CF slot for expansion (which the e-125 and iPaq support).