Replacement PDA

[novemberfog]

So on a crowded metro train in Tokyo last week, I found that someone stole my PDA (with PlecoDict and a 32 MB SD card!) out of my bag. It was one of the US$199 Palm Tungstun models. It was three years old and I did use it a lot so I am not heartbroken or anything. (Just feel a lot more suspicious of people in the train when they rub against my bag now)

I need to get a replacement PDA now. I would ask for Mac OS compatibility, but he Tungstun would not sync with it anyways, thus I am open to all brands and types. I just need something for PlecoDict, as I don't use any of the other features of a PDA. I would like to get a PDA that is affordtable, yet it has features like a back-lit screen. Any recommendations?

[badr]

huh?

Palm lags behind pocketPc in a few things but they have always been apple compatible.

I have been using them since my old 501 and have been through a zire71, E, E2 and currently a lifedrive.

It's true that the palms sold do not officially support Mac OS X but that is more of an issue with Palm as a company no wanting to deal with hiring extra support staff to just deal with Mac users. You can still sync palms (even the treo) with your mac using the palm desktop and even the apple isync plugin.

For a budget solution, I sould recommend the E2 as it is a solid unit. The TX is a little pricier but neverheless good. I own the lifedrive but wouldn't recommend it over the TX because it is slow and subject to a few random resets.

[roddy]

I need to get a replacement PDA now. I would ask for Mac OS compatibility, but he Tungstun would not sync with it anyways,

I'm not sure that's a Mac problem, I've had Palms randomly refuse to sync before, although my TX is pretty well-behaved now - occasionally refuses to sync wirelessly, but always works when plugged in. That said, if you only ever need it for Pleco, you only need to get that installed and then you never need to sync again, no?

Roddy

[aeon]

The Palm software supplied for MacOS is dire. However, Mark/Space make The Missing Sync for MacOS X. It's excellent and will do everything you need in style.

[badr]

I stopped using palm desktop a while back and moved to using the isync plugin ( google for it). That way, I keep my ical and address book synced on both my palm and my ibook.

The palm conduit is only used when i have to install application usually.

However, I have never tried syncing wirelessly, always through USB.

[novemberfog]

I have an iBook with OS 10.4, and neither palm desktop nor the OS X sync app can recognize my Tungstun device. However, on a windows computer (at work), palm desktop has no problems seeing the device. I cannot figure out how to fix the problem, honestly.

That said, if you only ever need it for Pleco, you only need to get that installed and then you never need to sync again, no?

Well...I sometimes get tired of studying Chinese and don't use my PDA for a week or two....and forget to keep it plugged into the AC adaptor...and thus the memory is lost. It has only happended three or four times, but I think it is bound to happen again in the future.

Guess I will just try to get a palm model again. Sure hope Pleco will be able to transfer my license even though my device has been stolen.

[mikelove]

Well...I sometimes get tired of studying Chinese and don't use my PDA for a week or two....and forget to keep it plugged into the AC adaptor...and thus the memory is lost

This isn't a problem with the newer Palm models; they've switched to using flash memory, which retains its contents even when the battery runs out. The Tungsten E2 / Z22 / TX / Treo 650 all use flash memory.

And yes, we can certainly transfer your license to a new Palm - just set up the new Palm with the same HotSync Username as your old one and your old keyfile will still work.

[roddy]

Actually, if you have problems syncing you might want to go for a T5 - it has a flash drive mode which, when turned on, makes it function like a USB drive and you can transfer files across manually to both card and internal memory. Might solve some problems.

[fulgentius]

You can probably save money by getting a TX and acquiring one of a few different apps for Palm which will make a TX (and probably an E2, I suppose) into a mountable drive. I have one called "Card Reader" but honestly I haven't had call to use it much yet.

Proabably cheaper than a T5 and anyway the T5 lacks certain other features of the TX.

[roddy]

Right enough - I've got the Card Reader app myself and it works great - mainly use it for moving media files onto my TX without having to pull the SD card out and put it into a card reader.

That said the OP doesn't need the extra features. That also said, it sounds like with a new PDA he won't need to sync or transfer files at all.

[novemberfog]

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

If the palm models have improved in regard to synching, I might use it for more things. When I first bought my Tungstun three years ago, I had no trouble synching with OS 10.3.0. But I recall installing an patch to the system, and from then on the device would not be recognized by palm desktop or isync.

I think I will take a look at the E2, and take the opportunity to upgrade to the ABC dictionary for PlecoDict as well.