Do You Use a Pocket PC and/or Palm Pilot? REALLY use it?

[Armstead]

Just wondering what otehrs experiences with thse little pocket computers have bee.

I few years ago I went pocket computer crazy. First had several Palms, then got me an Ipaq Pocket PC. Was a combination of a toy and effort to use it practically.

Partly it's because I'm a "gadget guy." I just loves gadgets, especially electronic ones.

But also because I tend to be a little, er, organizationally challenged. So I write notes and phone numbers on little scraps of paper and then lose them. I figured having an electronic note taler this would keep me organized.

For about a year I was very conscientious, and carried it with me everywhere.

But the novelty wore off. Also I found that they are really a pain in the butt to use to take notes, especially in situations where you have to write fast.

So I left my Ipaq in the corner for a while, and the battery died.

A couple of days ago I recharged the battery and am now trying to get back into the habit of using it.

[Rick Myers]

1. I've had a palm-based Sony Clie

And I keep TRYING to use it, but basically it's an expensive backup to my old well-worn paper daytimer. A few games are fun to kill time, and a couple utilities (like a starfinder) are cool...

I keep forgetting to hot-sync it, and don't carry it everywhere. I practically never use Graffiti, I switch to the keyboard emulator and it's faster for me. Note taking is a PAIN in the PALM...

[SOteric]

2. I use a palm-top docking station frequently

There are several tasks that I have where I have to repeat the same sequence. I've created a checklist of the sequence in the palm top. Additionally, I dock the palm-top to my PC and download /upload schedule changes, notes and new address information. My palm-top has both a stylus, (which is really fast for ticking off completed tasks on my checklist) and a tiny, fold out keyboard. They keyboard is really easy and fast to use (as opposed to relying on the stylus and letter recognition input), but I have considered that this is due in no small part to the fact that I'm not a large person. I don't think my very large brother would be able to train his hands to quickly work the keyboard without getting in thier own way.

[Armstead]

7. Oh those tiny litle keyboards

I have really skinny fingers, but those keyboards look like you can't hit one key at a time.

[SOteric]

10. I really don't have any trouble with them.

Like I said, mine is a folding keypad, when you completely expand it, it's bigger than the average cell phone and only slightly smaller than an evening bag.

[MuseRider]

3. I tried and sometimes I still do

OK getting things put on it but for me it was mostly a toy. Once I downloaded Free Cell on it I no longer minded waiting for hours for my boys to get home from a school tennis trip. Sat in my car and played away. Yup, it is a toy.

[Armstead]

8. They are great for games

Rat Splat was always a favorite.

[Kolesar]

4. I have used my dayplanner for 5 years and would recommend it

I think it is a great organizational tool. I follow (most) of their organizational schemes and it works nicely for me. I love being able to file post it notes or letters in it.

I am afraid to transition to an electronic tool that would go obsolete. Good luck, though!

[Armstead]

9. The Post It notes are handy

I mostly jot down scribble notes when using it away, and then reenter the info when I'm at the computer.

[Ivory_Tower]

5. I needed a couple of "killer apps" to keep me hooked

I had a Palm V for about three or four years, and recently broke down and bought a Sony Clie (more than I needed, but I'm a bit of a gadget freak).

I mainly use the calendar as an alarm clock for my meetings (several each week), and as a "nagger" to remind me to get to work on various tasks throughout the day.

I use the address book to, um, store addresses.

But the keepers for me were two third-party apps: "Cloak" which is a password-protected password manager (since I have about two dozen different logons for various systems, not to mention credit card info, etc.); and "Bonsai", which is a terrific outliner/to-do list manager.

Both of those programs definitely made the Palm V worthwhile, and I ported them to my Clie with no problems.

I also keep some games on the Clie's memory stick, and have actually used the built-in camera for some things for work.

Using it to take notes can be a hassle, though, and I still keep notebooks for various projects at work, but I do use the memo pad for other things, like keeping "how-to" information for lab setup, etc.

The one thing I miss about the Palm that I don't have for the Clie (at least not yet) is an optional full-size keyboard -- it makes taking notes much easier.

And I hot-sync religiously, at least two or three times a day when I'm at work! I use the Palm Desktop, Bonsai, and Cloak at my PC at least as much as I do on the handheld. (I still need to get this stuff configured at home, too, but I spend too much time on-line...oh well...)

Good luck getting back in the habit.

[TreasonousBastard]

6. I use a Palm all the time.

Main thing is the calendar, and a few programs I downloaded.

It's also handy for e-books, and reading and editing large documents when I'm killing time somewhere.

Notetaking is a pain without a keyboard-- Graffiti is technically interesting, but PITA to use for anything more than a quick calendar note, and scribbling on that little screen usually ends up in illegible squiggles no matter how hard I try. It's as slow as Graffiti if you want something readable.

It still beats trying to remember which little notepad I wrote something in, or scribbling notes on the back of an ATM receipt when nothing else is around.

I have absolutely no intention of signing up for the online services, though.

[PDittie]

11. Have had my m130 about a year

I write notes and enter them on a full-size keyboard just prior to Hot-synching daily.

The e-Reader has been my killer app. Just finished "Seabiscuit" in time to see the movie this past weekend. Begala's "Is our Children Learning?" and others have gotten read while I stand in line, wait for an appointment, eat lunch, etc.

I also use AvantGo, the online web page download which gives me some market data, sports news, etc.

I have only 'beamed' a few business cards, though.

[Enraged_Ape]

12. Have a Handspring Visor Pro that I use at least twice a day, every day

The calendar feature mostly (can't beat it). I'm a hospital-based physical therapist, so I also have the Merck Manual, a musculoskeletal database, drug database, anatomy charts, etc., that I refer to quite often. Most of the MDs I see have them as well.

Beats the hell out of carrying a stack of medical books around!

[ikojo]

13. Pocket PC and Palm

I have the following:

Palm IIIc
Pocket PC (bought in 2001)
Dell Axim Pocket PC (bought in 2003)

I am a self confessed gadget-aholic. I love my Pocket PC and Palm IIIc. Like the original poster I used them a lot when I first got them but once the novelty wore off they sat.

I bought a Dell Axim and use it more regularly. The one thing I like about it is that I can download books and newspapers. When I need to tend to use the restroom for a longer period than normal I can take my Pocket PC with me and I have something to read, unbeknown to anyone! It certainly makes some things easier.

I also have a wi fi card for the Dell Axim and it's pretty cool surfing the Internet on it.

[supernova]

14. Had a Handspring Visor Deluxe

until the thing died on me, the OS when unstable and crashed a lot. Yes, I used it regularly, the calendar and the address book especially. And it kept me from writing on little bits of paper that I frequently use and lose. Everything all in one place. I even did my grocery list on it. Ditto stuff I might like to buy next time I'm in a particular store.

When I get my next job (sometime in THIS life?) I'm getting a Handspring Treo (organizer/mobile phone combo).

[tsakshaug]

15. lost without it

I use my palm 505 all of the time. When I come into work, I hand it to my assistant, who then synchs to her computer, which adds any info she has added in the past day, and then synch to my computer so I know what the heck is going on in my life today. I take meeting notes on it all of the time, using graffitti. My email system will synch with the palm getting my calendar out to the people that need it.
All in all it is great.
I gave my wife one two years ago, she used to carry her address book and calendar in her purse, she now just carries the palm. I have converted several "daytimer" users to the palm.
In my private life I am generally a luddite, at work I am the head geek

[PapaClay]

16. Lived by it at work,

Not so much lately as I am "on the dole."