Choosing a PDA

So, you are ready to jump into the new electronic age – you have heard of all the useful features of PDA’s and have chosen to go out and purchase one. Then you realize how many there are!!! How do you decide on a model when there are so many options available? There are several steps that can be taken to ease the process of PDA selection. When you are juggling a Tungsten, Sony, PocketPC, Clie and Zire, the features of each Palm Pilot and reviews of each product should be considerations, as well as the various other products and other accessories available. However, sorting through the various features of each Palm Pilot and reviews of such is not the first step you should take.

Before you get to comparisons, features of each Palm Pilot and reviews, you should first really look at yourself and what you want out of a device. What is your level of technical knowledge and how quickly do you learn? How much money do you want to spend? What features are important to you? This assessment is essential to weed out a few of the options immediately. If you skip this step, you will spend days reading through the specifications of every model, many of which will not suit your needs.

Money is probably one of the first guidelines you should set. Before setting this in stone, you may want to review a couple of websites to get an idea what kind of price range you are looking at. Once you get a range, you should make a list of what features you would like to have, if available in your price range. All of the models come with the basic organizer features, such as a task manager, calendar, and address book. However, all of the models are not equipped with the bells and whistles, like digital camera, camcorder, or web access. You should consider how important these features are to you. Perhaps make a list of must-have features and another list of features that would be nice if they are available in your price range. With this list and an idea of price range, you can then start looking at what is available.

While you weed through the various websites, you should make a comparison chart to help keep up with the different models that you are considering. If you do not do this, you will probably lose track of what you have looked at, what you liked, and what you have already ruled out.

Once you have narrowed it down and have a list of a few models, you should search for reviews on each model. You can do this by typing in the model name with the word “reviews” in a search engine and a massive number of pages will come up. Reading through these can be daunting, but you need to know what problems other people have had with these devices. Some models are known for battery malfunction or falling apart right after the warranty expires; you do not want to be caught off guard because you did not want to do a little reading.

You are now ready to make an educated decision on which PDA to purchase.

James Perez is the webmaster of infopdas.com an informative site about PDA's. Get more information on pda accessories