PDA's

[bj229r]

I'm guessing they are going the way of the dinosaur. I'm looking for something that can read/store tech manuals on pdf's...tired of having ripped up, torn manuals all over my truck. Don't need it to be a phone, or interface with the @#%%@#%@# space shuttle....any suggestions?

[Vulcan]

How big do you want it? IMHO most PDA screens aren't really suits for reading PDF's.

[gpwurzel]

I'm with Vulcan on this one - I'd suggest a netbook or a eReader to be more practical (if a bit bigger)

Better clarity too, bigger text etc


Wurzel

[Chalenge]

iPad or whatever MS comes out with after that... I am wondering what the ultimate device will be. Cell phone and mp3 player and camera and portable computer... etc all tied to your biometrics? Cant wait to see it but Im going to let you pay for it. 

[Spikes]

the Iphone/ipod have the ability through apps but it takes a lot to be able to get to do it. Ie jailbreaking, getting into the core files, uploading the file, etc.

[Ghosth]

There are a lot of readers out there, the problem is most of them are too small to do PDF's correctly.
The ones with a big enough screen are very expensive.

A netbook or cheap laptop may be the best choice. But then your paying for a lot of stuff you really don't need.

My advice, wait a year. Things are changing fast with Ereader tech, and netbook's.

[Pongo]

Take a look at the Sony ebook or amazon kindle.
They are exactly what your wanting if the price is ok for you. A year is alot of frustration.

[bj229r]

I have a laptop, just dont wanna deal with the 5 minutes it takes to boot up, and a E-reader/Kindle, etc are the size of a clipboard, which I ALSO dont want. Smart-phones which do this all require minimum $30 a month extra in frikkin high-speed fees, and Palm seems to be fading out of existence. I bought wife a Storm2...might check out what they look like on that before I go further...maybe they ARE too small

[715]

Some Archos 5 series tablets list PDF compatibility.  They have screens bigger than some PDAs or cell phones but smaller than netbooks/laptops.  However, some Archos tablets get some bad user reviews on Newegg and reviewers imply that some functionality requires added cost "plugins".  I don't have one so I have no clue, but you might want to check them out.  Spec pages on www.archos.com indicate which models read PDF (for example the Archos 5 does).

[Vulcan]

I have a laptop, just dont wanna deal with the 5 minutes it takes to boot up, and a E-reader/Kindle, etc are the size of a clipboard, which I ALSO dont want. Smart-phones which do this all require minimum $30 a month extra in frikkin high-speed fees, and Palm seems to be fading out of existence. I bought wife a Storm2...might check out what they look like on that before I go further...maybe they ARE too small

TBH I don't think you'll find anything you'll like. One of the new netbooks like the Lenovo ideabooks is good (they don't take look to boot, seconds usually if you have them hibernated or suspended). Or the dedicated stuff like the Kindle with E Ink which will give superior reading clarity. The ipad? Meh overpriced junk - I see it's been delayed again as well.

[Hoarach]

Your best bet is to get a windows mobile phone.  HTC brand phones are all windows mobile phones.  I have the HTC Tilt which I will be upgrading to the Tilt 2 in the summer.  From my experience, these windows mobile phones are what you are looking for and are practically mini laptops.

[RTHolmes]

the Iphone/ipod have the ability through apps but it takes a lot to be able to get to do it. Ie jailbreaking, getting into the core files, uploading the file, etc.

pretty sure they can view pdfs natively (ie without 3rd party apps or jailbreaking), whether you want to be squinting at a screen that small is another matter tho. maybe apple should make something like the iPod touch but with a bigger screen ...

[Ghastly]

The IPhone - considering how small the screen is - has amazingly clarity, and is far far more usable than someone who doesn't have one would generally be inclined to credit.  I can remote into my work system from my IPhone and monitor processes seamlessly.  I can easily view train schedules, etc.   Now having said that, I would not want to view technical data with any real amount of technical drawings embedded on the IPhone - I'm going to want something larger.  I'd suggest one of the inexpensive Netbooks, myself.

There are a number of third party apps that let you transfer, store and view PDF's on the I-Phone - without jailbraking.  I use File-App (which used to be FileAid) which works well.

But don't get an IPhone looking for a stellar PDF viewer - get one because you need a decent PDF reader, a decent GPS, a decent phone, a decent mobile Internet browser, a decent calendar system, and any combination of about 100,000 special purpose apps ranging from an application to allow someone with Celiac to choose appropriate food while eating out to a zombie shooter to news to a kazoo  - all with an absolutely stellar interface to tie it all together which really is so simple a caveman can do it - or my 5 yearold.

I've been in technology a long time - and I can't recall the last time a piece of technology lived up to and exceeded the hype as the IPhone does. 

If I had to get a PDA sized device for this purpose, it WOULD be my only choice.  But I think there are better choices.

<S>

[Skuzzy]

The iPhone may be a lot of things, but simple or easy to use is not one of them, from my perspective.  I dinked around with one for 10 minutes one day trying to make a phone call and gave up.  As that is all I need for a phone to do, the iPhone is way overkill.

The Wife has a Windows based phone and she hates it.  It is constantly locking up and losing information.  It will not run a full day without a recharge.  If she makes more than 4 calls it will not last the entire business day before running out of battery.

The only reason she is stuck with it is her company requires a phone to sync with thier Exchange server.  It is rare that I can actually reach her on her cell phone.  It seems to be either low on power or locked up.  She misses her Palm Pilot.  It just worked.  Today it seems we are on the path of 'new technology regardless of how inept or useless the implementation is'.

And Microsofts new mobile OS update is not backward compatible with the current OS.  Sheesh.  What a ripoff.

I do not know what I am going to do when my flip phone dies.  The ones that are available to replace it suck.

[bj229r]

I have a Windows-Mobile-powered handheld thingie that I process my service calls on, (it's ALSO supposed to be my company cell-phone, but it misses most of the calls, and if you stay on a call more than 3-4 minutes, you can't hang up, and must re-boot 2 or 3 times. Consequently most of us at work increased our personal plans so we can do our jobs, and not die some sort of south-park-exploding-head-type death. The only thing that seems to suck more than Windows, is Windows Mobile. At least you can stare at the pretty sunset while waiting for your mobile device to reboot...(Saw the Archos thing the other day 71S, I think I saw the same review as you. Used to have an Archos mp3 player too....my memories of that company are not positive ones). I'm getting narrowed down to one of those mini-notebooks, MAYBE an E-reader (REALLY dont know if they fo pdf's) or a frikkin smart phone...maybe a 'Devour' (rugged version of Android). Alas, Palm is fading out of existence