Pocket PC vs Smartphone vs PDA

[echang2]

This June, i will be a rising 3rd year medical student. A bunch of my classmates are talking about getting handhelds next year. Many of them got the Palm TX. My first question is what's the advantage/disadvantage of getting a PDA vs a smartphone? My biggest problem w/ a pda is that i would rather not carry 2 devices (PDA and phone) around and would like to send emails w/ my handheld device.
I plan on starting a new cellphone contract and am thinking of getting a smartphone/pocketpc phone at a discounted price. Currently, I am debating between the Palm 750, Cingular 8525 and the Motorola Q. My question is this: is it important to have a touchscreen (like the 750 or 8525) to run the programs or can one get by using a smartphone instead? I also do not plan on getting the data service and would strictly use the hospital's wifi.

Right now, i'm leaning towards the Palm 750 because it's smaller than the 8525 and i read that there's a miniSD chip that allows the 750 to have wifi. Any input would be greatly appreciated!

[Admin]

The 750 looks really good although the lack of wifi might be a problem. I don't know if the sd wifi card will work: it only lists the following devices as compatible:

COMPATIBLE WITH:
Treo 700wx
Treo 700w
Tungsten E2
Tungsten T3
Tungsten T5
Zire 72

The 8525 is a very good device and has all the features you would need for using in a medical setting. The only downside is that it is a bit more bulky which makes it a bit more difficult to use as a phone.

The MotoQ is a smartphone which means no touchscreen. In my opinion this is a real negative if you are planning on using medical software. There are also less titles available for the Smartphone version of Windows Mobile than there are for the Pocket PC Phone version.

In summary, if you don't need wifi I would seriously consider the 750. If you can find out about the wifi card then it might still be good.

I would choose the 8525 over the MotoQ as it is a proper Pocket PC.

I'd also consider getting a data plan. I use mine all the time for checking email, browsing the web etc when I'm outside of any wifi zones.

Let me know how you get on.

[echang2]

Thanks for the help! Can you tell me why it's such a disadvantage using a phone without a touchscreen (Ive never used any medical software)?

What hardware are you currently using and can you recommend any others? Thanks

[Admin]

The main problem with a lack of touchscreen is that it takes a bit longer looking things up and navigating around software. There is also an issue of a lack of medical software available for non-touchscreen smartphones (i.e. Windows Mobile Smartphone).

I used to use a smartphone all the time as I found the Pocket PC Phones too bulky to use as a 'normal' phone. I would also carry a non-phone Pocket PC as well. Now, I'm using the i-Mate K-JAM which is small enough to use as a normal phone but also has the benefits of the extra software and touchscreen.

My advice would be to try out a few devices yourself in a phone shop and see which one 'feels' best. I really like the feel of the treo devices. They are nice and slim so would feel good as a phone but the lack of wifi would concern me.

The K-Jam that I use is a nice size and weight and has just about everything I need. It would be better if it had a '3g' phone instead of 'gprs' but we don't get very good '3g' connectivity around here anyway so its not too much of an issue for me.