PDA Search Update

[teyrnon]

On the off chance anyone might be interested. As some may recall I made a post about considering going with something electronic to replace the latest paper notebook. I've been using hardbound blank books since the late 80s as a combination journal and notebooks. I have very nearly an entire shelf full of these that are filled with my scribblings. Unfortunately lately I've developed issues where handling paper makes me sick. It was the driving reason I started using ebooks and dedicated ebook readers about midway through the last year.

I still haven't gotten anything to use a PDA. The past month I've been considering the iPod Touch and it looks like a nice enough device. Not exactly impressed with it though. I've fiddled with one in a store recently and while it might be usable the on-screen keyboard seems rather awkward.

I'm thinking a small netbook would probably be the best thing at this point. An 8" model or something. I could even load it with a few of my favorite open source compilers and use the various utilities I've written over the years on it.

Anyone have any thoughts to add? I'm as undecided as ever.

Comments

[sdaemon.livejournal.com]

onscreen keypad on iphone/ipod touch takes some getting used to. I like mine fine, but it does make me grumble now and then (especially the autocorrect feature, which seems to have a very odd vocabulary).

mini netbooks are nifty, but I'm finding linux-based ones more difficult to come by these days. microcenter doesn't carry a single one.

I've never been big on PDAs. But I really do like my iphone. Granted, I don't like my monthly iphone BILL, but that's AT&T's problem, not apple's.

[cybermystic.livejournal.com]

To an extent Apple can be blamed because they've locked you into using AT&T as your provider if you want to have an iPhone. :)

I didn't notice any autocorrection when I was fiddling with the Touch at the store. How odd of a vocabulary are we talking?

Yeah, Linux netbooks are harder to find. Did Microcenter ever carry the Linux based eee PCs? Anyrate Dell offers an Ubuntu option for their netbook class offering. Asus sadly appears not to be shipping netbooks with linux anymore. Microsoft got to them. But I think the Asus hardware is still compatible with the netbook remix of Ubuntu so if I got one I'd probably try installing that on it.

I know I need to avoid Acer's netbooks as they seem to use hardware that is notoriously unsupported in Linux.

[sdaemon.livejournal.com]

not super-weird... I've heard of most of the words it autocorrects to. You just have to keep an eye on it, and cancel it when it is suggesting a correction that is wrong. It *does* learn, which is good. If you use a particular new word or piece of slang or whatever often, it will eventually stop trying to autocorrect it to something else.

But, the big thing would probably be the monthly phone bill. Unless you're wanting to have an $85/month commitment for limited-minutes service (though I've never gone over my limit), you're better off with a netbook or PDA. The 3G coverage *is* nice if you want active internet anywhere around town...though I've had mixed results actually *getting* that coverage out in that part of the world. Lilburn is distinctly problematic. Stone Mountain is covered for the most part unless you're too close to the mountain itself. This is a problem with all carriers, not just AT&T.

For my job, it's very handy having active internet with email and web and more in the palm of my hand. It just ain't cheap, and there are places I go outside the city where the coverage drops sharply.

[cybermystic.livejournal.com]

Well, I was considering an iPod Touch which I don't think has a monthly charge. Or am I missing something?

I'm leaning towards a netbook rather strongly at the moment though.

[jigsawdiva.livejournal.com]

I don't have help to offer, but I am in the same sort of market. Let me know what you do decide please. It will be quite a while before I can afford to get anything.

[cybermystic.livejournal.com]

I'll probably write about here when I finally get something. Probably with pictures. :)