I use a Sanyo phone with a data cable on my laptop to get internet while in the car. Is there a way to do the same thing with my Sanyo phone and a wifi pda? I like the look of the new $299 models.

i love my pda

i don't wanna carry a laptop around and i'd feel self-concious using one in a lot of places - waiting for a bus using the laptop? come on!

i don't want it in the same package as my phone either - ever had someone on the phone asking for someone's phone number - and you can't get it from the phone cos you're on the phone so you gotta hang up and ring them back? i'd feel self-conscious using a headset too so i could see the screen.

surprisingly enough, i was able to look up a phone number on my phone while talking! I didn't think it was possible, but it is. Either way, I would not want a combo phone and anything else either at the moment. My phone alone gets enough wear and tear, just being a phone/text messager.

The PDA prices are absolutely ridiculous if you take into consideration their size and limited power for an example a 300MHZ/56MB HP IPAQ is about $250 on ebay while a 20GB IBM Laptop is about $155.

lol, a laptop for $155? I wouldn't get my prices from eBay anymore if I were you. The price goes up as people bid on things. That's why they call it an auction site. I guess you didn't know that.

Oooops! My mistake I forgot to mention its a 300MHZ laptop

You still don't get it. Its not comparing apples to apples, no pun intended. A 300 Mhz laptop was still about $4,000 brand new. You want someone else's leftovers, go ahead. The screen is probably about 10.4" maybe only 8", and it may have a 20 gig drive. Have fun trying to load windows xp on it, or getting memory capacity enough to run apps. I bet it doesnt' support more than 256 meg of ram.

A PDA is a smaller version of NEWER technology. That's like comparing a 2002 car to a 1992. They may be the same model, but they are totally different when it comes to features.

Okay, time for a dissenting opinion. I hate "smartphones." Why? For the most obvious reason, they aren't very smart. If they have Windows Mobile on them they crash constantly. And, if they aren't crashing, they're ringing while I'm trying to get something done.

I use my palm for work, yes, actually getting something done. I don't take it with me everywhere I go, only when I need it. So I want to strap some brick of a smartphone to my belt? Talk about looking like an idiot. Of course, I could buy one with a smaller screen, but then I can't get anything done.

I won't even go into battery life, that one should be obvious. And, of course, I would want some phone company (like verizon) disabling features on my "smartphone) to benefit their bottom line. NOT!

I'll keep my palm (just bought a new TX) and continue trying to find a phone that can do one thing...make call with some decent clarity and hang on to a signal for 5 minutes.

There are definitely plusses on both sides of the PDA vs. smartphone decision. Have you seen this smart phone?:

http://reviews.cnet.com/...05-6454_7-31138516.html

That's the one I have, and it's great. It fits perfectly in my pocket (no belt clip please), has Windows Mobile, and doesn't crash.

And it has a feature I really like: it syncs up with my Outlook calendar on my desktop, and automatically goes between normal and silent mode when I'm in a "meeting." So you don't have to worry about it ringing at a bad time.

Um... you didn't just post a stupid comment about someone calling you while you were using it did you? You are complaining that while you are using a device someone isn't reading your mind that you may be doing something else on your phone other than receiving calls, and that's the smartphones fault?

I think in your case you need a phone for dummies, because that would appear who is operating it.

So let me get this straight, you carry a palm, but you don't like smartphones. Granted they are not perfect, but you look like a dweeb carrying your mobile on your hip, but holding a pda in your hand with a writing instrument, doesn't say you are a total geek?

And Verizon doesn't disable the features on your phone, they program the phone so they can support it. They sell accessories and features to be supported at the time you buy the phone, so if you do something that is beyond their ability to support you, all of a sudden that's the phone companies fault?

If you notice the phone shows "Verizon". That means they can do whatever they want with it. You can buy the SAME EXACT phone unlocked, and it will do everything you want, but Verizon won't support it. Evidently you have never worked on support issues with users that are complaning and calling in every 5 minutes that their phone isn't working becausse they are too damn lazy to read the manual. That's why they disable features, because give a user and inch, they will take EVERYTHING with it, so they keep you from doing things they can't control.

Good keep your palm. I hope you enjoy it. I think the real issue here is the "smart" phone is beyond your capabilities.. So don't use it, have fun with your limited function, single purpose, aged palm pda with no connectivity. You don't "hate" smartphones, you "hate" that you don't know how to use them properly

Are you a born a******, or was it a acquired skill? Not only are you wrong on more points than I want to waste my time correcting, but your presentation of your alleged argument is so childishly insulting that it reveals the weakness of your feeble claims. Feel free to post your opinion, when you actually develop one, and grow up enough to let others have their own.

I have 2 Palm Pilot's sitting in the bottom of a drawer. As I look back now I ask myself why did I buy those they where completely useless to me. The task I used them for most was to play solitare while I waited for my wife at the grocery store or picking her up from work. So why did I buy them? Someone advertising showed me I had a need for it.

If you want a product to stick around, make sure there is a natural demand for it. If you create the demand through advertising it may work short term, but sooner or later it ends up in the bottom of a drawer.

im glad to see these yuppie republican glamour gadgets disappear...people look stupid using them

Actually, cell phones have not eliminated PDA's, "smart-phones" have. There is a difference. Blackberry, Good, Nokia, etc. make Smartphones which are more than a cellphone. In any case, what killed PDA's was their failure to drop price in relation to market duration. Even flat panel monitor's have dropped faster than PDA's and that says a lot. That's what is stalling other products as well. PC's in general are doing well because of price cutting competition. That is not happening in the PDA market. Smartphones will take over, but they too will hit a limit: wireless broadband availability. People want streaming video and music if they're going to spring $300-$400 USD for a smartphone. When WiMax (or something like it) finally hits the suburbs, the market for smartphones (or whatever you prefer to call them) will explode.

Umm... did you read the _second_ sentence of my comment?

Many smartphones now also include bluetooth or 802.11b wireless capability.

I agree too that WiMax will create a boom in smart phone sales (if the standard is ever completed).

Actually, wince is correct in his comment about the avg. cell phone. Average cell phones actually carry PDA functionality, and smartphones MORESO. So while they don't eliminate PDA use, they certainly help.
So really, lets say the average user wants Mp3s, a camera, a datebook, contacts/address list, PC connectivity? It's stuff you find on the avg 2005-2006 cell phone. Get an actual smartphone and you're exactly on par with most PDAs...especially now that smartphones can utilize SD cards (which are made up to 2gb so far). Why then buy a PDA which lacks cell phone functinality, than buy a smartphone with full PDA functionality?

'zakly

Actually, the phone technology is the limiting factor. And the fact the people will use them in areas where their convenience exceeds the "useful" factor. People have enough trouble talking on a phone while driving, we don't need people watching videos and listening to music, or trying to lookup stock quotes while driving. Yeah, just what we need more people getting into accidents.

Mobile technology runs at 14.4 data speeds. They were NEVER intended to have video, streaming audio or even net access. They were to be simple devices, hence SMS (Simple message services). Text messaging, replies to one line emails and glorified beeper capabilities is ALL the network was supposed to handle. People are pushing for greater bandwidth, for what? If you want net or stock quotes, I think you can wait a whole 30 minutes until you get home. Or use a laptop with those features, but a smartphone is devised to give SOME ability to do SOME things, they were NEVER designed to REPLACE the laptop.

WiMax in the burbs has nothing to do with whether or not a PDA will be successul. ITs still a phone. That's primarily why people buy it. its just convenience that it HAPPENS to let you do other things.

As another user put, its marketing. They make you believe you need this technology, but its a new gadget to do some cool things. That's all it is.

Cell phones have eliminated the need for PDAs. Especially with the recent offerings of smart phones. I was going to buy a PDA until I realized I could get the same functionality in a cell phone, AND it was cheaper than the PDA.

I don't see the concept of a PDA lasting much longer. It will likely just dissolve into the cell phone market IMHO.

Well lets see.....a 400 dell laptop, or a less robust 400 HP PDA with a much smaller screen and the limited Windows CE, or worse.
While a PDA is small, businessmen generally always carry around a laptop or briefcase anyway. I have a PDA, and it was instantly backbenched when I got my MP3 player...so it really depends on HOW business people use it. With phones doing most of the necessary PDA functions (the ones on the go, like receiving and being able to fire off a quick email, check contacts, browse the net'), there's no real need for PDAs anymore, save maybe as miniGPSs, but now phones are doing that as well. The PDA market is dying slowly but surely. Whatever PDAs were unique for, is now replaced by the cell phone, and for most other functions, the longer battery life, more powerful and cheaper notebooks will take care of them easily.

smartphones aren't too bad as far as a pda goes the carrier subsidy makes them more affordable. it also makes it more attractive in a phone form.