PDA that isn't a phone--IPod Touch, other?

[AHASRADA]

I have a Palm Pilot that I absolutely love. It is small enough to fit in my purse and I use it to store all my contact info., my calendar, grocery list and a multitude of other lists, even a food diary and weight journal.

 

Unfortunately, I have had it for 5 years, and I am soooo afraid it will just die on me one of these days. There is so much vital info. stored in there, it would be a major blow it lose it all. My dh keeps telling me to back it up, but I can't even find the connector that came with it to back it up to the computer.

 

Anyway, my bday is coming up, and my mom said she and my dad have been thinking they could get me something to replace my Palm. The problem is, they don't make them anymore. The only current Palms are phones, like a Blackberry, which I don't want or need.

 

She mentioned an IPod Touch or an IPad, but honestly I don't know if they would serve the same purpose. I know they both store photos, audio, video, etc. and access the internet, none of which I really need, but they would be nice perks. However, these gadgets would be useless to me if they cannot efficiently store and retrieve my contacts, calendar and lists, have a clock and calculator, etc.

 

So, do you know of anything that would serve the same purpose as my Palm, and without so many additional functions that it becomes difficult to retrieve the vital info. I mainly want to store?

 

If you have an IPod Touch (I'm afraid an IPad would be too big), would it serve my purposes well? Anything else that would be better?

 

Thanks!

[TXMomof4]

I'm pretty sure the Itouch is very similar to an Iphone (which is what I have). I love the ease of use as far as all the contact info, calendar, clocks, everything. I had a blackjack before and was shocked at how much easier the Iphone is to navigate. Like I said, I"m 99% certain the Itouch is the same - minus the phone.

[Jann in TX]

There are so many great apps that will do what you are needing--PLUS more that you could not imagine.

 

DH and I have I-phones (and I have an I-pad too). My oldest dd has the I-touch and she uses it to keep organized in college--plus games, music and occasional wi-fi internet when she is at a 'hot spot'.

 

The I-Touch will do everything your old PDA did and MORE!

[sparrow]

I definitely recommend the iPod Touch for the needs you specified. The Touch can do everything you mentioned and much, much more. Do I sound like a commercial ;)? Seriously, I love mine. I love the ability to have internet access for weather. We used ours on vacation last year to outrun a storm :001_smile:.

[valkett]

The iPod touch would definitely fit the bill. The new ones have a camera... will take pics, store photos, contacts, email (on a wifi network), and so much more. Apps for creating docs, reading (and annotating) pdfs, playing games. Download iTunes (free) and check out the app store to get an idea of what is available. Many, many apps are available for free.

 

I have an iPhone and an iPad.. love them both.

 

Val

[Matryoshka]

The I-Touch will do everything your old PDA did and MORE!

 

I'm not the OP, but I could've written her post. I think she may agree with me that... I don't want it to do more. My current Palm already does more than my original Palm - it has internet, photos - tons of other stuff - all kinds of stuff I don't use - or want to. I just want my calendar and contact info. That's it. The rest of the stuff is just making the darn thing more expensive.

 

Also, I have years worth of info in there, and I know how to use it - if I someday am forced to buy a new PDA, can it sync with all of my old Palm Desktop stuff, or would I have to start from scratch.

 

And... the thing I love most about my Palm is that it syncs to my Desktop. 90% of the time I use Palm on my desktop, not my handheld. It's just so nice to be able to sync it so that I have my calendar in my puirse - but I input and view it mostly on my desktop. Do these newfangled doo-dads do that, or is it just mobile?

 

Heck, I'm such a luddite... :tongue_smilie:

[dsmith]

I was a diehard Palm user, and no one could convince me that anything was going to be better than a Palm. I eventually lost the cable and couldn't sync anymore, and then the charger went and couldn't be replaced. I ended up getting a Blackberry, since my phone died at the same time. I hated using it for anything other than a phone and a camera - I couldn't understand how people were so attached to the darn things. I ended up buying a Touch so I could listen to music, and I now use it for everything! I love it more than I loved my Palm. I use it for email, calender,contacts, notes, to do lists, recipes, music, audiobooks, ebooks when it's too dark to use my Kindle, showing off photographs, amusing my son while waiting anywhere, amusing myself, US geography for ds, alarm clock, watching Glee (shh!), watching inappropriate movies while ds is awake, checking the weather, calculator, paying people for purchases with paypal, checking my bank account quickly, ebay auctions, exercising, tracking Weight Watchers, and watching Netflix. As you can see, I spend way too much time using it.:001_smile: Oh, and it was free by using my Visa extra points to buy Amazon gift cards, and using those to buy the Touch. Got one for dh too, and he loves it over his iPod Classic. If AT&T wasn't the only carrier, we would both have iPhones.

[shannatheshedevil]

iPod Touch. You can simply use it for the things you listed and it is very user-friendly. No one is going to make you use the internet and apps.

[kim.4dogs]

I bought my iPod touch just because I wanted a portable calendar. I love it! I do have my calendar on my computer and it syncs to the iPod. I'm not sure if you can sync your contacts to your computer, but there is probably a way to do it?

[vonfirmath]

I have a Palm Pilot that I absolutely love. It is small enough to fit in my purse and I use it to store all my contact info., my calendar, grocery list and a multitude of other lists, even a food diary and weight journal.

 

Unfortunately, I have had it for 5 years, and I am soooo afraid it will just die on me one of these days. There is so much vital info. stored in there, it would be a major blow it lose it all. My dh keeps telling me to back it up, but I can't even find the connector that came with it to back it up to the computer.

 

Anyway, my bday is coming up, and my mom said she and my dad have been thinking they could get me something to replace my Palm. The problem is, they don't make them anymore. The only current Palms are phones, like a Blackberry, which I don't want or need.

 

After using Palms for nearly 15 years, I too came to this conclusion. The best replacement out there right now is the ipod touch (perhaps connected up to Google calendar). (I do NOT want my phone to be my PDA. I replace the phone way more often and I don't want to pay the data charges)

 

So I bought one yesterday and will be starting down this path.

[knit247]

I was a diehard Palm user, and no one could convince me that anything was going to be better than a Palm. I eventually lost the cable and couldn't sync anymore, and then the charger went and couldn't be replaced. I ended up getting a Blackberry, since my phone died at the same time. I hated using it for anything other than a phone and a camera - I couldn't understand how people were so attached to the darn things. I ended up buying a Touch so I could listen to music, and I now use it for everything! I love it more than I loved my Palm. I use it for email, calender,contacts, notes, to do lists, recipes, music, audiobooks, ebooks when it's too dark to use my Kindle, showing off photographs, amusing my son while waiting anywhere, amusing myself, US geography for ds, alarm clock, watching Glee (shh!), watching inappropriate movies while ds is awake, checking the weather, calculator, paying people for purchases with paypal, checking my bank account quickly, ebay auctions, exercising, tracking Weight Watchers, and watching Netflix. As you can see, I spend way too much time using it.:001_smile: Oh, and it was free by using my Visa extra points to buy Amazon gift cards, and using those to buy the Touch. Got one for dh too, and he loves it over his iPod Classic. If AT&T wasn't the only carrier, we would both have iPhones.

 

:iagree: Ummm - what she said... I was also a Palm fan and couldn't imagine ever liking anything else as much. I have the iPod Touch and use it for everything!

[vonfirmath]

Could some of you other used-to-be Palm folks lend a hand by pointing to apps you enjoy/use a lot? I'm having problems navigating.

 

Preferably I'd like apps that can be used when not connected to wifi since I do not have wifi everywhere I go. (or at least do not have the password to access the wifi networks)

[knit247]

Could some of you other used-to-be Palm folks lend a hand by pointing to apps you enjoy/use a lot? I'm having problems navigating.

 

Preferably I'd like apps that can be used when not connected to wifi since I do not have wifi everywhere I go. (or at least do not have the password to access the wifi networks)

 

Here are several that I use on a daily or at least weekly basis:

 

Books:

~Stanza - I knit a lot and love to put my patterns in this app so that I don't ahve to waste printer paper.

~NIV Bible, from Tecarta - I like this app b/c you purchase 1 version which can be accessed w/o WiFi, but you are able to access all other versions that they carry free on Wi-Fi.

WiFi

 

Education:

I have two entire pages of apps just for my DDs. Everything from math games to physics puzzles (Finger Physics is awesome) to a virtual tour of the Louvre.

 

Games:

Not too many of these, but I do have a few for the girls (oh, OK - and for me as well) Let's just say you shouldn't get Angry Birds unless you want to spend the next three hours hurling birds at pigs. Don't ask...

 

Health & Fitness:

I have the WW app and also have used Lose It! Love them both & use them often - when I am dieting!

 

News:

I have several news sites on my iPod Touch. I read the news each night in bed - It's the only real time I have to do it!

 

Productivity:

~Awesome Note - I use this for my To-Do list and also as a place to store all sorts of info: from the kind of vacuum bags we use, to what fabric DD needs each month for her quilting class, to an entire password-protected folder (with subfolders) for gift ideas. This app is the best!!!

~Shopping List (Grocery List) - there are "better" ones, I suppose, but thsi does everything I need it to and it is really pretty IMO

 

Reference:

I have everything from a dictionary to the Constitution and Bill of Rights. I use the dictionary (from Dictionary.com) almost daily!

 

Social Networking:

~Facebook

~Textfree Unlimited - I like this b/c I do not have a cell phone that can txt to the US & I can use this to TXT with my two best friends back in the US

 

Travel:

I use several apps for travel and specifically look for ones that do not require WiFi. That way I can use them while in other cities or countries (I just downloaded one for a trip we are taking soon) without having to worry about finding a WiFi signal.

 

I HTH! I have many, many more apps, LOL! These are my top picks, though!

[Julie in CA]

One of the things I liked about the Palm was the desktop thingy, so I could, for instance, type out my list on the computer and then sync it to the Palm. Does it work that way for the iPod Touch too?