What do you use a PDA for?

dub45

A few of us had a disucssion today in work as to what people actually use PDA's for. One lucky person had actually been given a present of one recently but felt it was not very practical for anything except playing games on the bus home.

So I said I would put a post on boards and ask what people used their PDA's for. So over to you...........

Peteer

Hi,

I've Got a Palm Tungsten and this is my regular use list.

Address book
To Do list
Calendar
SMS messages
Dialing Phone No.s
Note Pad
Photos
Memos in Meetings
Calculator
Voice Memos
Flash Light

Thats the main uses that spring to mind.

The other half likes to play Tertis clones and the likes.

The things I use less often but still nice to have are Doc's to go, Plucker for reading a selection of text versions of web pages - when I can remember to update it. Web pro when I am without an computer internet connection, very slow on dial up with a bluetooth connection to a T68i and again Mail on the same set up.

Thats my quick list of uses.

What kind of use or value the person in your work will get depends, I suppose, on the type of OS and connectivity available.

Best of luck,
Peter

radiospan

I don't have a PDA, and as a student I don't think I'd have much use for it.

My Nokia 6600 has some of the features you'd find on a PDA, and I never really use the calender, etc on it.

sunbeam

I sometimes put a thesis chapter on my 6600 (previously 9210i) and do some very basic editing on the three hour bus journeys to/from college. Take a few notes on it too.

I've never been organised anough to use calendars or to do lists, so apart from that I just use internet, email and tetris.

bp_me

Hi, I have a Zire71 and use the following applications regularly:

Date book - for keeping track of assignments due.
Uni Matrix - for keeping track of my class scheudle (assigned to Star)
Today - mimics today screen of PPC
Chem table - periodic table with detailed information on each element
Easy calc - scientific calculator with graphical display for upto 6 functions
Lingo - language to language dictionary (different packs available)
Avant Go - web clipping
Ballistics - cool game
solitaire
Real One - for when I don't have my Zen with me
Scrollbar5 - fixes the buggyness of OS5 scroll bars

Used less frequently:
Docs to go

Rarely used:
Acrobat reader for palm.

phobos

I muck about writing apps for mine, which was my primary reason in the first place for purchasing one. So you could class it as purely a test environment for ideas, etc.

The initial question, "what do you use yours for?" is a good one. The kind of applications that people tend to use on their PDAs are quite simple (To Do, Callendar, Organiser, Text editor, etc), and subsequently don't require a processor of a few hundred MHz along with 64MB RAM to work successfully. Nor do they require a colour screen. But the "coolness" factor tends to give such features a leg to stand on. Having said that I did run Quake on my Ipaq before and it looked class but the problem with applications that actually "push" the device will most likely be awkward and unusable. The line between mobile phones and portable computers is quickly narrowing, but we still have serious HCI issues to content with in order to maintain portability without loss of functionality and end up with a useful product. The reason (I believe) PDAs haven't taken off yet is because using little stylus', virtual keyboards and shady character reconition software on a small screen isn't practical. So it begs the question, "should we revise what we use PDAs for?", because writing large documents, etc surely isn't practical considering the input methods we have at our disposal.

What I would like to see is handsets with high(er) data storage capabilities. Many of us carry around USB keys, etc and also mobile phones. I say merge the two. Granted it's nice to be able to play MP3s, preview vid clips and images on our phones, but as regards anything that would take a significant amount of typing, I say to hell with it.

;-phobos-)

jt

Hi
I use a sony ux50 mainly to link with Outlook 2003 (using pocketmirror). I also use the camera for work shots but the camera ain't great (a previous eyemoduleII was a better camera).
I'm also using bonsai on the sony to do outlines of projects before they start.
I use the built in web browser and mail package on bluetooth dialup with nokia 6310i. This setup works great most of the time. A most successful addition to the software onboard is handrss which has actually c ut down on the browser use.

alb

heh, this thread is only confirming what I figured already - that people don't really need PDAs at all. Most of the things listed here are easier to do with a little pocket notepad and a pencil or even the organiser functionalities on a top reange mobile phone... and the other is tetris.

bp_me

alb wrote:

heh, this thread is only confirming what I figured already - that people don't really need PDAs at all. Most of the things listed here are easier to do with a little pocket notepad and a pencil or even the organiser functionalities on a top reange mobile phone... and the other is tetris.

Yeah, but they are cool toys for us who never grow up.

OY

In a business setting they can be awesome. The company i work for have all of there 'remote' users use PDAs to sync up with the outlook accounts. That way they can wirelessly view, delete and send e-mails.

As for using them for personal use...a waste of money. It is just a glorified mobile phone in my opinion. But it depends on the context of use!

flywheel

Originally a Personal Digital Assistant was a portable device that could handle your personal info (e.g. PIM data like calendars/contacts/lists) and perhaps some extra apps or info storage - now there are many devices that can handle this type of data and more from low end mobile phones to high end devices running Palm OS/Windows Mobile/Symbian - so the term PDA can describe a whole host of devices with different capabilities

Certainly people often get a Palm/Pocket PC without thinking beforehand what tasks they want to use it for - they don't investigate it's features or look at how to expand it's capabilities - many of these devices must spend a lot of their time rarely touched or used to their potential either because the user didn't really need one in the first place, or hadn't the time or interest to look into using it further - checking out any of the various enthusiast sites or online software stores can give a feel for what can be done with one of those devices

How much of an ‘assistance’ a personal digital assistant can be depends how much effort is put into using the functionality on offer

Last trip I brought an XDA II with me which saved me lugging a laptop around, and used it for E-mail/Mobile Web/IM; put a couple of Futurama episodes, albums and games on it to keep me entertained while traveling; cached a load of sites for later reading with Avantgo; loaded Vindigo on it to guide me around; threw the Think Outside full size keyboard into the bag to type up Docs; had all my schedule/contacts/reminders synced from Outlook… and it woke me up in the morning .

When all that isn't needed a Series 60 or UIQ device can cover most of those tasks, even a mid-range phone can be sufficient - it all depends on what tasks I need/want/think I have to carry out....

A Palm/Pocket PC may not be the best solution for some or appropriate in different circumstances –e.g. a mid-range handset like the T610 works fine for checking email/diary/contacts/tasks where bringing a XDA II wouldn't be practical / necessary like heading on a night out - so there are plenty of options out their to fit the needs of those who investigate whether the capabilities a device offers may be of use to them or relevant / beneficial to the tasks they want to carry out…

This was a decent article on the Smart(er) Phones vs. Handheld PDA debate that gets played out a lot:
Smart Phones Will Not Mean the End of Handhelds

BrianG

jt

PDAs can be used for maintaining websites (foneblog, typepad etc.) You can't do this with a paper notebook.

Bernie Goldbach at irish.typepad.com advocates combining the use of paper notebooks and assorted digital devices (eg. nokia 9210i, sony ux50)

PDAs are great for spending hours configuring settings. Can't waste that much time with a paper notebook;-) (now how do I get the bluetooth connection going again since the last hard reset?)

flywheel

always wonder why some think that those who *use* PDAs abandon using pen and paper?

Wasted

Use my Sony tg50
To read books Using MobiPocket reader (Have huge selection of .txt that i convert and store on memory stick)
To watch movies I have shrunk usin Pockect DVD Studio
Find out whats on in the night sky with a real time planetarium
Replacement remote control for my Amp
Surf the Web, Get the weather and news
and play a palm version of the classic Elite which you young guys missed out on.

Tom Dunne

Games - sega emulator, Atari emulator, MAME
Alarm clock to get me up in the morning.
Watching DVD's on the airplane
Avantgo and general Internet.

Oh, and synching with the PC for contacts/meetings etc.

Ok, ok, it's a big toy. I admit it.