PDA-Mac interworking

C

Captain Peanut

Registered
Guys,

Does anyone recommend a good PDA that will interwork, with out too much effort on a mac (OS X) and a PC (yeap sorry about that one... got to use it for work....)

How about the Ipaq does that work with macs heard good things about it, but not sure how or if it could sync up....


Cap Pea
 
I am using a CLIE PEG T415 from SONY.

I typically keep the USB (really fast) Cradle at home on my G4 Cube and sync there with my various apps under MacOS X. I downloaded Palm desktop for MacOS X off the Palm website. I typically install stuff using this computer.

I sync with Outlook calendar & contacts at work using the SONY provided SW through the (slow) Ir port (you may want to get a second cradle).

Everything works ok.

What are the applications you want ? My main criteria was power vs. size... You can't put an Ipaq in your pockets, its too big and too heavy.
 
Stick to the indy products, would be my opinion. Forget about IPaq, surely will give you some hick-ups. So there's only a few good PDA's to choose from: Sony, Palm and Handspring (why not wait for the Treo 270?), all operating under Palm OS.
The only bottleneck is that there's still not much software which operates with Palm 4.x and OSX, but if you have time/patience, your waiting will be awarded!

M.

:p
 
I've actually been considering an iPAQ myself, but I don't think it interfaces with a Mac either. I currently have a Palm m505, but I'm thinking about selling it. It was cool for a while, but a big hassle for the little that it does for me. I mean, if it could get on the net like the iPaq, I would be all for keeping it, but it doesn't. I have an 802.11 wireless network access that I could use the iPaq with to get on net and check e-mail in real-time but not with the Palm. I did finally find a module for m505 that did 802.11 but it cost maybe $50 less than what I actually paid for the Palm, so it definitely wasn't worth it. I believe the company that makes this module is the only one who makes this type of module for the Palms. So they have a monopoly on the market and can charge whatever they want.

Anyone have any suggestions? I'd love to stay with the Palm devices, but I want 802.11 with real-time web and e-mail access via the device and MacOS X compatibility.
 
It can depend on where you're located. In Holland for example, where I live, the telecom operators are offering GPRS (2,5G), which means I can stay 'connected' to the internet and receive my emails in real time. Only bugger here is that the bigger your emails and attachments are, the higher your bills will be.
If and how WiFi works with a Palm M505, I don't know exactly, but I guess Palm or a third party must be offering a solution for this way of wireless networking.

So my suggestion to you, don't sell your Palm just yet, but have a look at something like this W-Lan module http://www.intel.com/network/connectivity/products/xirpwe1130.htm and find out if which operator in your area is offering 2,5G. Ofcourse then you should calculate the expenses.

Succes!

Melmoth
 
It really depends....
Dont dis the iPaq...its a nice little machine (even if it runs windex OS :p). The only problem is mac networking. You could use an iPaq PC-card sleeve and a waveLAN card and use it to interface with devoces on your home (or work) network that way. Or you can just keep it cradled and share a connection with a PC.

When it comes to networking outside of the house/work, you can use a cell phone and a cable (or you can go cable-less depending on the phone).

I use my Ericsson T68 phone (which has bluetooth communications) with my iPaq 3870 (also bluetooth enabled). With this combo you can use your phone to get your iPAq online in almost no time on a GSM network.

If you dont want to use GSM you can buy a network card (I think its called Aerial or something like that) that uses the CDMA standard, so that youcan connect with sprint or verizon, verizon is running on a 1x network which provides "high speed" mobile access. Theoretical speed of 1x is 144k
 
Melmoth wrote:
So my suggestion to you, don't sell your Palm just yet, but have a look at something like this W-Lan module http://www.intel.com/network/connec.../xirpwe1130.htm and find out if which operator in your area is offering 2,5G. Ofcourse then you should calculate the expenses.
Click to expand...

That's actually the wireless module I'd like to get. I didn't know Xircom was Intel until clicking your link. Damn Intel!!! I believe they're the only ones that make this module. Last time I looked, it was like about $350. Now, I would probably get it if it was in the range of $80 to $120, maybe a bit more, but not much. I just think that paying $350 for a module for my m505 that I only paid about $400 for, is way too much. I think that makes it more expensive than some of the other Palm PDAs that it also works with. That's just ridiculous. I mean come on, I can get a Wireless 802.11 (Wi-Fi) card for like $60 or less. There can't be that much more that's integrated into this module that would drive the cost up so much.
 
From what I remember you have to get an addon for PCMIA cards. The iPAQ allows you to put one of the regular 802.11b cards in this slot, which I already have. To bad there isn't something like this for the Palm. The addon is like somewhere in the neighborhood of $50 to $100 someone told me. So the whole iPAQ addon with the WiFi card would be like $100-150, compared to the $250-300 for the Xircom card, if you can find it now. It used to be listed on the Palm site as an accessory, but they have yanked if from their site for some reason. Now I can find very few places that still carry it and those that do, sell them in bulk. They at least want you to buy a pack of 5 for like $1200, or 20 for like $4500. Still pretty expensive if you divide it out, but I would only want one, if any.
 
you can get pocketPCs to wrok with macs now with "Pocketmac" or so I've heard, check this forum for a thread on it...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top