SWF Seeks PDA

March 10, 2006 7:10 AM

Seeking PDA or similar for reading and note-taking.

I'd like to have something (much) smaller than my 12" iBook for reading pdfs and .doc files for class that (and this is the vital part) will allow me to highlight and take notes on the document as I read. I'd also like wifi/email/IM capability. If it would sync up with iCal, that would be extra super icing on the cake. Price? Cheap as possible, but I'm more interested in seeing what's out there.

(Yes, I've been through all the various askmefi PDA threads, but they don't seem to answer this particular set of needs.)

posted by youcancallmeal to computers & internet (7 comments total)

I have both a PocketPC (HP h5550) and a Palm Lifedrive and sync them both my Powerbook using Mark/Space products. Never had a problem with either of their applications but the company did annoy a LOT of people with the upgrade pricing policy they used for Missing Sync for Windows Mobile when Tiger was released.

I prefer the Lifedrive as it has a ton of room with it's 4GB hard drive but the Tungsten TX has everything the Lifedrive has except the hard drive. Sadly, I've never had decent PDF display on the Lifedrive but Word docs can be displayed no problem.

If you want IM, Word docs and PDFs, I recommend a Pocket PC, probably an HP one. There is just that much more choice when it comes to the software.
posted by bouncebounce at 7:23 AM on March 10, 2006

I have a Dell Axim PDA. It does most of what you want, but it might be a bit too small, especially for note-taking. It sounds like a small tablet pc, one of the ones without a keyboard, would fill the bill. Or maybe this super small Fujitsu convertible? As you get closer to buying, I found the forums over at Tabletpcbuzz.com very helpful.
posted by LarryC at 7:44 AM on March 10, 2006

Ow... Well, one of the big problems with most (untagged).PDF on PDAs is that you wind up either looking at a useless thumbnail or scrolling around like mad, due to the screen resolution/size issues.

IIRC, this market (Electronic documents with markup capability) is supposed to be the exact market the Tablet PC is aimed at - Annotator is an example of a relevant app - But if you're looking to lose pack weight/hassle, I don't know if the current crop of Tablet PCs are worth the expense. My misgivings in reccomending one are compounded by the perception that the TabletPC OS seems to be in perpetual beta.

Almost anything you can buy nowadays, and a bunch of legacy PDAs will sync with iCal/iBook - Check with Mark/Space to see what The Missing Sync supports.

On preview: Yeah, what they said!
posted by Orb2069 at 7:51 AM on March 10, 2006

The ability to highlight and take notes within a PDF viewer is a software issue, not a hardware one.

That said, Palm's TX has both WiFi and Bluetooth and comes with a decent email program and Documents to Go, which can display and edit Word and Excel files, and view Powerpoint presentations. (If you have a PC as well as a Mac, you can use it to convert slideshows into an editable format.)

PalmPDF is an excellent free PDF viewer (much better than Adobe's); Mark/Space's Missing Sync will sync the TX's calendar and to-do list with iCal (and the contacts list to Address Book, plus a fistful of other features I'm very pleased with).
posted by S.C. at 7:58 AM on March 10, 2006

Oh my God. It sounds like someone might actually want Origami.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 9:14 AM on March 10, 2006

Yes! Yes! A better PDF viewer! Thank you S.C., I've been lookoing for some time.

N.B: The new version of Documents to Go will supposedly read PDFs, but I don't know if it's any good.
posted by RikiTikiTavi at 11:21 AM on March 10, 2006

I don't think a PDA would work all that well for what you describe. You would find it very difficult highlighting in Pocket Word and the PDAs are very small and very limited compared to what you see on your laptop.

I carry both a Palm and a Pocket PC. The palm has several sets of dictionaries and the Pocket PC I use for word processing. But, I do all my editing and correcting at home on my desktop. That Origami might be the ticket, but it depends on how limited the word processor and PDA viewer are.

If possible I would borrow a PDA and try it out.
posted by phewbertie at 4:38 AM on March 12, 2006