PDA Reviews

I should begin by saying this is the first GPS I have bought, so in my criticisms, I am not comparing it to other GPS units (which may be worse).

First of all, it seems to be quite a good portable unit. It locates the satellites quite quickly, gives position + estimated error in 1 no-nonsense screen. Also seems quite robust - it went for quite a tumble down a 10m cliff face, ending up in a deep pool of water - and all worked ok afterwards :-) (phew!).
The hardware seems great - however the software has some usability bugs that should be fixed.

Taking it along on a long 4wd trip in Australia in May 2004, here is a list of my gripes/criticisms:

1) The auto route navigation is pretty poor. A few times it came up with some crazy routes to get from A to B ... via Z!!

2) Also with the auto route navigation: When zooming in, the purple route marking doesnt correlate with the road its trying to mark. The more you zoom in, the worse it gets. Zoomed into a city streetmap, its completely unusable as the route marking is not even visible on the screen - or if it is, its impossible to work out what streets it is marking. Until this bug is fixed, I certainly would not buy this for auto navigation.

2) The way that route recalculation grabs focus from *whatever* you happen to be doing at the time is a major pain. You may be in the middle of a tedious "Find" operation only to have all of your effort dashed as it snatches you back to your route map and loses whatever you had typed. Grrr!

There are a number of other usability issues - and being a software developer, they stand out to me. The software needs a bit of work before I would give it 4 stars.

Garmin GPSMap 60C with Auto Navigation Kit (CitySelect 6.0 Europe)

Good:
- Display well readable in almost all lighting conditions.
- Fast map redraw.
- Good satellite reception.
- Long battery life, even with backlight. Worked more than 11 hours with backlight at 25% on 2100 mAh NiMh.
- Runs on two standard AA batteries, including rechargables.
- Well structured menues, quick and easy operating.
- Fast map data transfer using USB.
- Quickly produces very good follow-road routes.
- Follow-roads routing can be adjusted for different vehicle types and pedestrian.
- Graphic turn instructions.
- Routable basemap.
- Can automatically recalculate when leaving the route, i.e. after missing a turn.
- Maps are detailed and up to date. Even correctly shows the new ways on the parking lots of a recently reconstructed nearby mall.
- Portable dashboard mount (beanbag) works.

Bad:
- Backside is curved, thus unit will wiggle when put down.
- Battery cover lock on backside may scratch surfaces when unit put down.
- Single-handed operation is difficult.
- USB jack is very tight. Be careful when removing plug.
- No tactile button action feedback (except for power button).
- Inserting unit into mount kit is unhandy.
- Car Mount kit does not automatically provide external power or antenna connection.
- External power does not recharge batteries.
- Intermittent problems with USB connection.
- No detour function, will attempt to route you back into a traffic jam.
- Audio alarms too quiet, can easily be overheared in the car.
- Turn-by-turn routes lose quality with route length.
- Automatic route recalculation after leaving the route occurs a bit too late.
- Route color is sometimes hardly distinguishable from road color.
- Detail maps for longer tours don't fit into memory, memory not expandable.
- Basemap has less detail than found on other Garmin units.
- Autozoom will zoom out too much (better turn off).
- Still a few bugs in the firmware (3.0), beta firmware (3.01) not reliable (lock-ups).

Conclusion:
Excellent unit. Most of the drawbacks are tolerable. I wished Garmin would add a detour function and optical alarms (to make up for the quiet audio alarms).

This is one fun GPS. This is my 3rd Garmin GPS, and I've used many others. Except for the slightly larger size, it is significantly better in every way to the eTrex series, which are still fine GPS units.

The boot time is fast, and the aquisition time is fast. You can program just about every thing you could imagine on the GPSMAP 60C, yet in spite of the functionality, this is the easiest to use GPS Garmin has ever made. Several things that really make it easy to use are (a) simple, clear menus, (b) all buttons (except power) are on the front, and have large, clear, high-contrast text labels (no tiny molded icons to squint at). In map mode, the pan and zoom buttons are always available - you don't have to go into a pan mode, and map redraw is much faster than on the eTrex series, which is nice. (c) display is big and clear - in the dark or in the sun, (d) very effective use of color in menus, maps, and status screens. You can even select among different color screens. The Quad helix antenna seems to work very well - at least as well as my old GPS12, and noticably better than my eTrex Vista, which had trouble in the trees. The USB interface makes downloading maps very fast, and 56MB holds more maps than you'll hike in a summer. If Garmin ever comes out with higher-resolution maps, the 56MB will be really nice.

I was able to figure everything out without the manual, but then read the manual cover-to-cover last night. It is well written, well organized, and has good illustrations. The manual is just the right size - small enough to be friendly, but has all the detail you need to get the most out of the unit in easy-to-read fonts.

On the downside, I found the buttons always getting accidently pressed when I had the unit in my daypack - I haven't found a keyboard lock-out mode for when I'm hiking and want the unit on for tracking (cell phones and ham radios often have this lockout feature). I don't use the belt clip, but the unit didn't come with the little plug that goes over the belt clip hole, yet the picture in the manual showed one. I noticed the demo unit at the local store also did not have this button.

The two biggest enhancements Garmin could make at this point are (a) higher resolution topo maps for Mapsource, and (b) a way to have the Mapsource topo and road databases in the unit at the same time.

I read that some folks said that they did not receive any communications software. I received a CD with my Handspring 33.5 modem that had AvantGo and OneTouch Mail from JP Mobile. I recommend the Handspring Blazer internet browser.... The AvantGo software is free but uses a web-connect hotsync to get your daily off-line web channels. You can get the latest download... for version 4.0. OneTouch email was free and works great for the price. Multi-Mail was bought by Palm and is downloadable.... Free trial periodof 15 days.

The modem was easy to use and install. I use rechargable AAA NiMh 1.2V @ 650mah. I have 12 so when I rundown, I just slip in a fresh charged set. I feel that fax and 56 K is not what I need so the Handspring 33.6k baude is a great price...

The Handspring modem is one of the middle class modems on the market, and Amazon is offering at a great price! If you want to connect to the internet on your handspring at a good price, then this is your best bet. Although it may not be the fastest OR the thinnest in its class, it functions very well. Besides, on a tiny screen with limited content, you don't need to have a 56k modem for the connection to be fast. And, if you don't mind, carrying around an extra half-inch on your palm isn't that bad. You would be amazed with what you can do with a palm pilot hooked up to the internet. On the go, I often synchronize avant-go, connect to AOL anywhere, and browse the web all in the palm of my hand. So, if you want to be truly "connected" then buy this modem while they last.

This modem is awesome! I'm 14 years old and have the targus stowaway keyboard it helps a lot writing emails (and this review) I can also buy things too, it's almost like having a full computer with you all the time. This will help my mom a lot when she needs to work and i want to chat with my friends. (lol) people have written that it was hard but it was simple for me.

I purchased the EM500 as my first PDA, along with a 64MB MMC card. The card allows me to store vast amounts of data and music on MMC, compensating somewhat for the barebones 16 MB of RAM permitted in this device.

Due to technological changes by Microsoft, the EM-500 and most other Pocket PCs on the market as of August 2001 cannot be upgraded to the new Windows Pocket PC 2002 operating system.

Assuming you need to buy a PDA before the new generation of Pocket PC 2002 PDAs reaches the market, the EM-500 is a great choice.

The video quality is excellent. The unit design is simple, sturdy and elegant. The included applications are more than sufficient for the average PDA or MP3 user. The success of the character and handwriting recognition software in translating simple messages was a pleasant surprise.

For added convenience, buy Casio's EM500 docking cradle.

I love PDA's (and computers in general, for that matter) and this is an excellent device. There was a time when I swore by Palm's pda's, but while Windows CE (now known as Pocket PC) has evolved to near-desktop power, the Palm has remained virtually unchanged. Of the Pocket PC's available, this unit is the best compromise of size and power. It packs a 150mhz cpu (more powerful than the HP Jornada, less than the Ipaq), 16mb of ram, and an amazing screen capable of displaying 16bit color. The Ipaq and HP Jornada can both only do 12-bit color at best. All of that is packed in a comfortable, small device that feels extremely solid in the hand.

While I do believe the EM-500 is probably the best unit available, it does have a few draw-backs. The miserly 16mb of ram is hardly enough... if you buy this make sure to get a 32mb or 64mb memory card to go with it. My other complaints are minimal: lack of hardware volume control, location of IRDA port... but none of these minor issues really impact the usefulness of the unit.

Definitely a great PDA, and well worth the money

This is a great pda for the price and it works well with windows which is a major plus. I am a med student and use mine to reference material quickly (it makes me look like a genius). Anyway, it has lot of other app as well so you can use it to play your fav song... on the train/bus or edit email or read a book... I COULD GO ON AND ON... anyway, good deal especially if you find one used.

I have been a loyal fan of Compaq. I owned 2 desktop presarios, one handheld and one palm size. The Aero has been very disappointing. I bought it May 1999, the internal battery broke Labor day 1999. I cannot recharge it or even turn it on. The only choice that customer service gave me was to send it back. I sent it back to Compaq, they gave me a refurbished unit swapping out my 4-month old unit. The new unit will not sync with my PC. The reason being that Windows CE recognize that it is another Aero with a different serial number. I spent more than 10 hours figuring out what to do and move file by file back to the Aero. Compaq did not restore my data and their customer support is useless. They just hang up on you when they cannot answer your question. When I try to turn the unit on in March 2000 (last week), the same thing happened again. I called customer service and they said the same thing, send it back and they will give me another refurbish unit. Now I tell them that my warranty is going to expire in June 2000, and they told me that if it happens again, it would be $200 to fix it. I have not had a problem with the handheld (C-Series) and I do not know what is wrong with the design of the Aero. I told Compaq that $500 is too much to spend on something that will only last 1 year and breaks down 3 times. I asked for a partial refund and has been denied. I will think twice now about buying another Compaq.

I find this Aero quite a good buy. I got it ...and enjoyed it. After a while something happened to the screen, and after debating with every type of Compaq representative on the phone, they fixed it. This happened again more recently, and I went through the same process.

In conclusion, it is a very good unit. But Compaq is not as good.

If you are as busy Parent like I am, you need this product! At the end of the day, I just pick up my Aero from the pod and I can review all my unread Outlook mail messages at home or at the playground. I can dial in but with kids you never know what room you might be in. I can also review my meeting plan the next day and know how early I need to get everyone up and dressed. The best feature is the recorder. One button and you can record your grocery list or other TO DO's. More Diapers!

I'm not a PC wiz by any means but it was really easy to learn to use. It's a time saver!

I have a palm IIIe in it and the fit is VERY tight. In order to close it I have to scoot the stylus over to the side of the pda and then I can barely zip it closed. Not enough room left over to even think about putting anything else in it. It also doesn't have as much protection as I had hoped, the sides are floppy and the neoprene is not all that thick. Overall, I'm very disappointed.

This case really only fits devices that are the same size as Palm Pilots. Palm devices that are slightly larger - like my Uniden - just don't fit. It is a very nice case, I just wish it fit or that the size was actually listed on the advertisment and I didn't have to cross my fingers until it got here - so much for crossing my fingers.

I have had this case for about a year now, and have thoroughly enjoyed it. It has protected my Palm IIIx from at least two drops that might have resulted in permanent damage.

It is quite snug, but I am able to carry my driver's license and two credit cards in it. I use it as my wallet in most cases, but if you need room for more cards or money, you might want to get a bigger case. And, as another reviewer said, it would be nice if there was at least a wrist strap to hold onto. When fully loaded the unit is kind of "fat" for lack of a better term.

The velcro that holds the unit in is adequate but not as tenacious in it's grip as some I have seen in other cases. This is actually good, as I normally take the unit out to HotSync. If you use a HotSync cable, however, you would not even need to remove the unit. Just lift the bottom of the unit slightly, attach the cable and perform the sync. Very handy.

The neoprene holds up pretty well, although it is somewhat prone to picks if tossed in and out of briefcases or coat pockets, or dragged across rough surfaces. Nothing that causes permanent damage, however.

The graphics look good and game-play is smooth, but things quickly get repetitive. I enjoyed my first few rounds, but got bored with it after that with a feeling of 'been there, done that.' Also, the documentation is terrible, meaning that some shot features (such as spin) are apparently in the game but I have no idea how to access them.

The animations of Tiger swinging and putting are very good, as are easy controls and varying of courses. However, be aware that when aiming your shot down a fairway, you have to "drag" the course along with your stylus. when i got really into the game, i realised that i was making scratches across my visor's screen. Just be careful...

This is great game, considering that the Visor is not a gaming platform. The option to choose courses and types of play help keep this game interesting and fresh. The only problem I had with this game was the way you have to 'drag' your way around the course.

If you drop it, the cover and the hinges could come off. Good luck finding the hinges again! Now when I use my keyboard with my jornada, i have to do without a cover becasue those flimsy little hinges are long gone. And I overpaid for mine because I bought it ... at my local Brandsmart. Should have come to [Amazon.com], but it was an impulse buy. The keyboard also seems to add a lot a heft to the pocket pc, even though it doesn't feel that heavy on it own. Other than that, it's great. It beats the hunt and peck method you would otherwise have to use! And it lights up so you can use it in the dark.

The HP Jornada "thumbboard" has a nice feel, quite comfortable for long typing. The accompanying software driver is stable, and installation is simple.

Unfortunately, the method used to attach to the Jornada is ungainly - remove the lid, then shove the little pins on the keyboard face into the old hinge slots. To make matters worse (much worse), the keyboard blocks the sync/power cable connections, so you have to at least partially remove it in order to put it on its cradle to sync or recharge. I'd expected better from HP.

After 2 weeks using my Jornada 568 with the pocket keyboard, I can honestly say it is one of the best accessories I have ever purchased for any handheld. As a former owner of several Palm and Handspring units, I tried nearly all of the available keyboards -- the Palm/Targus stowaway keyboards, the GoType models, and even the Seiko Thumboard for Palm 505. My favorite was always the Palm foldaway -- it had a tiny form factor for easy storage, but opened up to a near full size keyboard, with excellent tactile response to the keys. It also worked without a hitch, everytime! The only problem with it was that you needed a flat surface to place it on in order to use it -- you could not set it on your lap.

With this pocket keybaord, HP has really come through with a great product. After a quick install of the driver, I connected the PK to my 568, launched the PK software to configure the device, and was typing away -- all in a matter of minutes. The keyboard works for all applications that take text entry, and I've so far had no problems whatsoever. The keys are spaced just far apart enough for me to type relatively quickly, and with few errors. The keys have a nice feel to them to, with a slight tactile response that signals you've properly pressed and released each key. I'm 6 feet tall with fairly large hands -- if I can type on this with ease, most folks will likely have no problem.

I also like the way the keyboard comes with its own protective cover for the unit -- it slips on over the Jornada in place of the cover the unit comes with, and only adds about a quarter to half an inch to the length of the unit. It's still slim and short enough to carry in my shirt pocket.

Finally, the unit is just darned attractive -- the Jornada was already a good-looking Pocket PC, but the keyboard gives it a whole new and compelling look -- if you see one, you'll really want to try it out!

On the down side -- for one, you need to remove the keyboard in order to charge or sync. It's a minor annoyance, but if you only sync once a day or so, like me, you can leave the keyboard on most of the time.

My only other minor gripe is that the keyboard covers up the hot keys on the Jornada, and I would have liked the keyboard to have included its own hot keys for just this reason. I've yet to figure out whether I can program the thing to open apps based on keyboard shortcuts, which would greatly enhance my PK usage. The keyboard does, however, include power on and off buttons, and a slider control on the side that allows you to lock the Jornada to keep it from turning on accidentally. That's just more smart engineering, which seems to have been behind this product from the beginning.

I'm fairly new to the Pocket PC world, having spent all my prior PDA time with Palm units. I still like Palms, but my Jornada 568, with the always on, ultra-portable Pocket Keyboard, has become my new favorite PDA. I take it everywhere, and highly recommend both the Jornada and the Pocket Keyboard.

The case is very nice good fit and the time viewing window is great. The problem was the belt clip! It broke the second day I had it.

I read the reviews before deciding to purchase this case and was forewarned of the problems with the clip that others had experienced. I was optimistic and took a chance that I would'nt be so unfortunate. Oh Well...the clip was broken, right out of the box (guess I'll have to try and substitute with one from an old cell phone). As for the case, it's great. It fits snug & protects the handheld, appears to be well made, sharp design, and the window on the front that allows you to view the clock is nice. With the exception of the clip, absolutely the nicest case I was able to find.

Good product. Other reviewers have stated that the clip broke for them. I have not had that problem. They may have fixed it. The metal spring goes all the way to the bottom of the plastic part of the clip so the plastic should not break now due to the stress of the spring. This case is probably the best belt clip case out there. It is not nessary to be wearing a belt to carry this around, it will clip your pants. It is fairly easy to get off the clip and use. You can also remove the Palm Pilot from the case it self since it is a holster type of case and not one where the Palm is afixed to the case. Overall it is a good product. I would like to have seen a simlar case that is not made from leather to get the price down, after all this case is a 1/3 of the price of the m100.

The case is very nice good fit and the time viewing window is great. The problem was the belt clip! It broke the second day I had it.

I read the reviews before deciding to purchase this case and was forewarned of the problems with the clip that others had experienced. I was optimistic and took a chance that I would'nt be so unfortunate. Oh Well...the clip was broken, right out of the box (guess I'll have to try and substitute with one from an old cell phone). As for the case, it's great. It fits snug & protects the handheld, appears to be well made, sharp design, and the window on the front that allows you to view the clock is nice. With the exception of the clip, absolutely the nicest case I was able to find.

Good product. Other reviewers have stated that the clip broke for them. I have not had that problem. They may have fixed it. The metal spring goes all the way to the bottom of the plastic part of the clip so the plastic should not break now due to the stress of the spring. This case is probably the best belt clip case out there. It is not nessary to be wearing a belt to carry this around, it will clip your pants. It is fairly easy to get off the clip and use. You can also remove the Palm Pilot from the case it self since it is a holster type of case and not one where the Palm is afixed to the case. Overall it is a good product. I would like to have seen a simlar case that is not made from leather to get the price down, after all this case is a 1/3 of the price of the m100.

Great tool for taking quick pics as long as you don't need high res or macro focusing capabilities. takes pretty decent pictures if lighting is good, and it obviously beats having no picture if you're not one to carry a camera around. You can't beat always having it with you, which is where your Jornada is if you depend on the PDA the way I do!...check out hp.com or best buy for much better price

ok....with the hp jornada 525....it kinda [wasn't good], but it was the pda not the camera...the 525 is a great little pda but it doesn't have the resolution to use the camera well! when i got my jornada 568 this little gadget takes pretty good pictures, much lighter and clearer than on the 525!really glad i held onto it cause this tiny little accesssory is easy to carry and i can take pictures anytime i want...it has lots of setting for night, action, zoom ect....being a nurse at a nursing home there are alot of wonderful moments when i say why don't i have a camera,,,now i do!

This is not a professional-grade digital camera with lots of bells and whistles and a manual which requires a masters degree in photography to read. This is a convenient, easy to use, and compact camera for people like me who occassionally like to take pictures. Best of all, if you always have your Jornada with you anyway...now you can have a digital camera, too, without making extra space in your purse or pocket.

This is one of my favorite accessories for my Jornada. As mentioned before, there is no flash. Pictures taken in low-light will therefore be grainy and generally low-quality. But in good lighting, especially in daylight, this camera takes beautiful pictures. The maximum resolution is 640x480, and I've found that to be more than adequate for casual photography. At that resolution, with the highest quality settings, and in daylight...this camera will take pictures rivaling top standalone digital cameras. The pictures are extremely web-friendly and look great on a web page.

The software included with the camera is very good. You can leave the settings on "auto" in most cases and get great results. If you experiment (or know what you're doing), you can use the manual settings to achieve better results in low-light conditions and other special circumstances (such as capturing fast motion). The zoom feature, as with most digital cameras, achieves only marginal results. It's nice to have, regardless.

There are a lot of other features in the software that offer good flexibility and power. All the basic functions are there--shutter speed, exposure, gain, etc.

I suggest the first thing you do is pump up the image quality and size of your pictures to maximum. Each picture will take more free memory on your device, but the quality is worth it. You can always transfer your images to a storage card between photo-ops.

The camera, itself, is very small. It's a painless addition to carry, and is well-protected in the included case. I love the fact that you can use it without opening the cover on your Jornada, if you choose to. We all know how difficult the Jornada screen is to see in the sunlight. The built-in viewfinder and shutter button let you operate your Jornada just like a regular camera. Simply turn it on and it's ready to point and shoot.

I have taken hundreds of pictures with my Jornada and have been very happy, sometimes even amazed, with the results. I've received "oohs" and "ahhhs" from people who use professional grade digital cameras costing hundreds more. But for me it's the genuine portability that really makes it worth the price.

I use my Jornada for just about everything. It is my address book, calendar, planner, MP3 player, photo album, alarm clock, movie player, game machine, notebook, organizer, spreadsheet, checkbook, oven timer, calculator, Internet portal, safe, alarm clock...well, I could go on but you get the idea. And with this accessory, it is my digital camera, too.

I appreciate the feature of being able to record a voice memo along with a picture. I've used this feature to do comparison shopping in stores. I'd find a product I was interested in, take a snapshop and record where I found it and how much it cost. There are so many ways to use it!

Sure, a standalone digital camera might take better pictures. Might. But thanks to my Jornada and accessories like this one...I'm able to carry a very small purse and still carry more devices than most people could fit in a duffel bag. A big one.

- Heather