Welcome to pdaPhoneHome. We have found that many people come to pdaPhoneHome wondering which pdaPhone they should buy, and quickly become overwhelmed with all the information that is available here. This forum is a place you can go to get the advice of the experts and possibly shorten the time figure out which pdaPhone is right for you.
In order for you to get the best help, please follow the instructions and post a new thread with the following questions answered. It is easiest to do a copy of the following text, then hit New Thread, then paste the text in the body of the new thread.
1. What PDA and/or mobile phone do you use today?
2. Are you locked into a mobile carrier (i.e. Verizon Wireless, Sprint PCS, etc.), or do you prefer a particular carrier? Do you know if one carrier has better coverage in places that you need to be? (PLEASE SEE THE CARRIER NOTE BELOW)
3. Where are you based? Do you stay in one place or travel a lot? Do you travel internationally... how much and where? Do you intend to use your pdaPhone there?
4. Do have a preference of Palm, Pocket PC, Symbian, Smartphone OS, Blackberry, etc.?
5. Are you likely to run it the way it came out of the box, or do you intend to load a whole lot of extra applications and stuff on it? Do you know of anything now that you will need to run?
6. How important is wireless data access, and for what would you use it? (i.e. Web browsing, VPN, Remote termnial Access, Instant messaging, etc)?
7. Will you need to view Microsoft Office documents on the pdaPhone? Will you need to edit them?
8. Will you need access to an email system?
a)Is it corporate (Exchange, Groupwise,Lotus, Other?) What Version? Do you want email wirelessly or do you want to do it in the office with a sync cable/cradle? Can you get your Corporate email configured for mobile access or do you need to run a desktop redirector?
b)Is it Pop3/Imap? Who is the service provider?
9. Do you do SMS messaging a lot (telephone to telephone messaging)?
10. Do you want to use a GPS with the pdaPhone for mapping and navigation?
11. What is your size preference.. very close to the smallest cellphone, or you don’t care.. function over size?
12. How will you carry it... pocket, belt, purse, etc.?
13. Do you prefer a particular form factor… flip-phone, candy bar, etc?
14. Do you prefer a QWERTY keyboard, numeric dial-pad, or stylus?
15. Do you want to play a lot of video games on the pdaPhone? What kinds - puzzles, strategy, action adventure, etc.?
16. Do you want to listen to music on the pdaPhone? What kind... mp3, streamed, etc.?
17. Do you want a camera on the pdaPhone?
18. Do you have any other hardware you intend to use with the pdaPhone? Do you intend to use any Bluetooth devices? What types of devices?
19. What kind of battery life do you need?(Always near a charger, battery life is not an issue or Need the battery to last several days) How many hours do you expect to spend talking on the phone? How many hours of data?(Web browsing, push email, VPN, IM etc)
20. What are your budget limits (pdaPhones range in price from below $100 for older used models to nearly $1000 for high end models without a carrier subisidy)?
After you post your answers, we will do our best to help you pick the right pdaPhone. This is a shortcut to doing the research at pdaPhoneHome to find all the details. Obviously, we are not responsible if you are not happy with the pdaPhone we recommend, so don't come back and shoot us if it doesn't work out. We are just trying to help!
The answers here are from our team of volunteers, so sometimes it takes a few days for us to get an answer in. In some cases, this is because we are doing some research, and in others we just haven't gotten to it. Be patient, we will answer everyone that has posted answers to these questions.
Most of our support team is US based, so our best information will be available for US carriers. But our total user base is global, and in most cases, other members of pdaPhoneHome will jump in and help if you are posting about another country.
The more information you can provide, the better we will be able to give an opinion.
CARRIER NOTE - Many people ask us to recommend a carrier. It is nearly impossible for someone on a forum to give a credible recommendation for a carrier to you. The reason is that coverage varies widely from one mile to the next. It is best to talk with your friends about what carrier they have, and what kind of coverage and satisfaction they have with it. Some things to consider when speaking with them are what carrier they use, where exactly it DOESN'T work well, where it doesn't work at all (dead spots), how many bars they get in places that would be heavily used by you, what kind of customer service they receive, where they bought their phone. Given this information, you can make an informed decision where YOU will get the best coverage. Don't listen to anyone on a forum about carrier preference as it is completely useless information unless they know exactly where you live and work.
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