Compare PDAs - Top Ten PDA Computers
You may own a PDA (personal digital assistant) without even knowing it. So called "smart phones" are basically PDA's with phone functionality. The iPhone phenomenon reminds me of the early days of PDA's -- you see people sitting around in social settings tapping away on their iPhones and you can't help but see parallels between smart phones and PDA's. Palmtop computers, as PDA's were once quaintly described, act like personal information managers and allow Internet connectivity. Throw in a phone, and you've got an iPhone.
To compare the best PDA's, we looked at three categories -- features, memory, and customer satisfaction. Comparing the best PDA's is a difficult task, as the more popular PDA's tend to be of about the same caliber as their competition. Compare these top 10 PDA's to the pieces of junk at the bottom of the popularity scale and you'll see big differences.
These are the top 10 PDA's according to popularity -- these are the "best selling" PDA devices worldwide.
HTC Advantage X7501
Features -- A cool "finger gesture recognition" feature along with a more tactile keyboard means easier text-input. Included with your PDA is a detachable magnetic keyboard to use the Advantage on a flat surface. Comes equipped with both Internet Explorer and Opera 9.5, a browser currently only available on this PDA.
Memory -- 16GB of internal flash memory
Customer Satisfaction -- HTC calls this PDA "the ultimate mobile office", and most reviewers seem to agree. Some people complain about the difficulty of using its mobile phone capability -- you have to have a Bluetooth device or use the included (wimpy) headset -- but with double the storage of its popular predecessor, it is difficult to think of this PDA as anything but one of the world's best.
Palm Treo 755p
Features -- This is a slimmer and lighter Treo, 6.3 mm thinner and a few tenths of an ounce lighter. Bluetooth v1.2 allows easy use of wireless accessories like GPS navigation and Bluetooth headsets.
Memory -- 128 MB RAM, but only 62.8 MB of that is user accessible
Customer Satisfaction -- Though people readily admit that this new version of the popular Treo doesn't do much to expand the PDA's capabilities, they simply love this phone. Easy to use, a little bit lighter than the PDA before it, with a handy "silent mode" switch, the Treo 755p is a user-friendly PDA.
Apple iPhone 4
Features -- A faster A4 custom chip means faster functionality than other iPhones. 512 MB of RAM is nearly double the last iPhone model.
Memory -- 16 or 32 GB
Customer Satisfaction -- People who love Apple products start drooling when they get near a photo of one of these things. There's a built in market for any new iPhone, and when you combine that with an attractive new design, better memory and RAM, and a prettier screen, you'll have a popular product.
HP iPAQ rx5915 Travel Companion
Features -- 64 MG of SDRAM and a Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system make this phone's function very similar to the popular Blackberry Curve.
Memory -- Up to 2 GB of flash memory
Customer Satisfaction -- The big complaint about the Travel Companion is how heavy it is. For something meant to use "on the go", it is rather hefty. Other than that, this is a popular and well reviewed phone, with better wireless capability than most PDAs.
HP iPAQ hw6900 Mobile Messenger
Features -- An integrated keyboard makes this model easier to use than other iPAQs. This was the first PDA to feature Wi-Fi, EDGE, and Bluetooth capability, along with GPS.
Memory -- miniSD flash memory cards
Customer Satisfaction -- The big thumbs down on this device is the difficulty some people have had when they get out of range of an AT&T tower. Still, it is a popular device especially in the business world, probably owing to its easy to use interface and keyboard.
Samsung BlackJack 2
Features -- Windows Mobile 6, the inclusion of GPS, a new 2-megapixel camera, and much more memory and faster performance make this a great upgrade from the original BlackJack.
Memory -- 140 MB
Customer Satisfaction -- Though this phone does nothing revolutionary compared to the first BlackJack, the battery life problem is solved, so BlackJack users will love this version.
Cingular 8525
Features -- 3G networking, wi-fi capable, and a processor twice as fast as its predecessor, the 8525 is more than just a clone of another company's phone.
Memory -- 64 MB RAM and 128 MB flash memory (with 56 MB available at boot
Customer Satisfaction -- The addition of wireless broadband and the physical re-styling of the 8525 make it a popular option for people looking to spend less than $500 on their PDA or smart phone.
Palm Treo 750
Features -- This phone adds Bluetooth options, a 1.3-megapixel camera, and the ability to act as a mobile phone all over the world. A Windows operating system makes this smart phone cruise at top speed on Cingular's 3G UMTS network.
Memory -- 60 MB of user accessible memory
Customer Satisfaction -- The popularity of the Treo 750 surprises me, as the battery life is notoriously short, about seven hours per charge.
Palm TX
Features -- This PDA/smartphone has both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capability, a bright and attractive screen, and the best battery life on the market.
Memory -- 100 MB of Flash memory is user accessible.
Customer Satisfaction -- People love this phone because it is easy to configure the wi-fi settings, and because the phone looks good in their hand.
RIM BlackBerry Curve 8530
Features -- A track pad in place of the standard trackball makes navigating this Curve really easy. This Curve comes with Blackberry OS 5.0 installed, the only phone to feature this operating system. The Curve 8530 has wi-fi capability, unlike the popular Tour model.
Memory -- 256MB flash memory
Customer Satisfaction -- Blackberry users are just as obsessive as iPhone customers, and it is always interesting to see a mixed opinion about a Blackberry product. Many people who dislike this phone complain about the call quality, the small memory, the slow processor. On the other hand, this is a mega popular phone, so RIM must be doing something right.