Technology best PDA for the wards

centro is palmOS only - you can get all the programs you inquired about on it and more

DOctorJay said:

centro is palmOS only - you can get all the programs you inquired about on it and more

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Can I download them from the internet onto the Centro?

Doowai said:

Can I download them from the internet onto the Centro?

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yes you can download them - some you can download directly on the centro via your phone internet connection, others you will download to your PC/MAC and then upload to the centro - if you have a card reader i suggest using this as your transfer mode as it's much faster for bringing over programs.

Does centro come in an unlocked version?

Doowai said:

Does centro come in an unlocked version?

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I checked on amazon and couldn't find it, you could also check about buying it direct from palm.com. i think it's like $79 with a 2 year agreement through at&t right now.

J

DOctorJay said:

I checked on amazon and couldn't find it, you could also check about buying it direct from palm.com. i think it's like $79 with a 2 year agreement through at&t right now.

J

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I want the unlocked one so I can use it with my T-mobile plan

Doowai said:

I want the unlocked one so I can use it with my T-mobile plan

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Palm doesn't have a unlocked GSM Centro model. You may want to look around on ebay to see if there are fully unlocked Centro's that will work with any sim card.

don't you think centro is too small for comfort?

SugPlum said:

Palm doesn't have a unlocked GSM Centro model. You may want to look around on ebay to see if there are fully unlocked Centro's that will work with any sim card.

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If Palm does not offer an unlocked version, how do others get one?

marooner said:

don't you think centro is too small for comfort?

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Yeah, pushing those little buttons is annoying

went though this thread and couldn't understand/decide much.

Can someone please tell me which PDA downright ROCKS on the ward. for once, I want my investment in tech worth something.

I'd really appreciate any the input.

KentW said:

If you're looking for a PDA mainly for clinical utility, get a Tungsten T|X: http://www.palm.com/us/products/handhelds/tx/index.html

Plenty of memory, tons of apps, great widescreen display, and Internet accessibility (WiFi). No smartphone compromises.

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Are you sure it has WiFi? I thought it just had bluetooth

KentW said:

The E2 has Bluetooth only; the T|X has Bluetooth and WiFi. The specs are on the Palm site (follow the link in the previous post).

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You are right, I was confusing the two

InternationlDoc said:

went though this thread and couldn't understand/decide much.

Can someone please tell me which PDA downright ROCKS on the ward. for once, I want my investment in tech worth something.

I'd really appreciate any the input.

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The KING of all PDAs - Palm T|X. If you have specific questions about that particular product, try this forum for help (also check out the many user reviews for the T|X on the main site).

i'm looking into buying either the att tilt, blackjack or the motoQ

which one would be the best for medical use

i'm really leaning towards the tilt

FowlersGap said:

i'm looking into buying either the att tilt, blackjack or the motoQ

which one would be the best for medical use

i'm really leaning towards the tilt

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tilt, anything without touch screen is terrible (think of trying to use your pc/mac without a mouse)

Thanks for the posts so far...

I have had a Samsung clamshell phone for the past 4 years. It is old-school and on its last legs.

I also have a HP iPAQ 1800 that I bought for 3rd year, but hardly used it. It was just too slow. Browsing via WiFi is not 'comfortable' and trying to do any texting (either email or word processing) was like typing with one finger= Stone Age. The best use for the iPAQ has been for listening to audiobooks.

I want to get a smartphone that:

1) is quick to start up and easy to navigate (esp in the ED)
2) supports a decent amount of medical software
3) easy to do text messaging on and email
4) makes calls
5) plays audio and video
6) browse the web without the annoying resizing glitches
7) has a camera
8) is slim enough that when I put it in my front pocket, it doesn't concern people that I am too happy to see them

I know, a formidable list. Any help would be appreciated.

any opinions?

nymbarra said:

Thanks for the posts so far...

I have had a Samsung clamshell phone for the past 4 years. It is old-school and on its last legs.

I also have a HP iPAQ 1800 that I bought for 3rd year, but hardly used it. It was just too slow. Browsing via WiFi is not 'comfortable' and trying to do any texting (either email or word processing) was like typing with one finger= Stone Age. The best use for the iPAQ has been for listening to audiobooks.

I want to get a smartphone that:

1) is quick to start up and easy to navigate (esp in the ED) centro
2) supports a decent amount of medical software centro
3) easy to do text messaging on and email centro but keys may be small, matter of preference
4) makes callscentro
5) plays audio and video centro - but you'll need to download a 3rd party app for video - i watch full length movies on my treo 650 on flights
6) browse the web without the annoying resizing glitches centro
7) has a camera centro
8) is slim enough that when I put it in my front pocket, it doesn't concern people that I am too happy to see them centro

I know, a formidable list. Any help would be appreciated.

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after the centro the at&t tilt is probably your next best bet (but you did say you wanted it to start up quick and be easy to navigate so centro wins) until enough medical software is available for the iphone

DOctorJay said:

after the centro the at&t tilt is probably your next best bet (but you did say you wanted it to start up quick and be easy to navigate so centro wins) until enough medical software is available for the iphone

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Do you work for Palm or Centro?

J/K, thanks for the advice.

Get something with a touch screen. It will be so much more user-friendly. Plus, you may really regret having a device that lacks a touch screen.

I'm in the same dilemma. I'm an AT&T user and just need something for the wards. I've been waiting for Apple to come out with a newer version iPhone (I don't want buyer's remorse if I get the current version of it and then in a few months they come out with a newer one), but since it's not looking like Apple is coming out with one (it's been like 2 years already! or has it been 1?). Anyways, I came across the LG Vu, and was wondering if someone could give an opinion on this?

The Tilt seems great, too, but it seems that pretty much all of the phones out right now are at least a year old and that it's almost time for newer versions of them to come out.

I hate technology...just make me something I can like!

anxiousnadd said:

I'm in the same dilemma. I'm an AT&T user and just need something for the wards. I've been waiting for Apple to come out with a newer version iPhone (I don't want buyer's remorse if I get the current version of it and then in a few months they come out with a newer one), but since it's not looking like Apple is coming out with one (it's been like 2 years already! or has it been 1?). Anyways, I came across the LG Vu, and was wondering if someone could give an opinion on this?

The Tilt seems great, too, but it seems that pretty much all of the phones out right now are at least a year old and that it's almost time for newer versions of them to come out.

I hate technology...just make me something I can like!

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It's coming out very very soon. iPhone 3G... Have you been living under a rock?

TMP-SMX said:

It's coming out very very soon. iPhone 3G... Have you been living under a rock?

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I've originally said that the 3G iPhone would be released 18 months after the first iPhone was released. It appears that I may be wrong with this statement given all the recent rumors. However, I find it highly unlikely that Apple will release the 3G iPhone next week at WWDC. Why? I have yet to see any FCC approval for a 3G iPhone. Perhaps it will be announced at WWDC, but offered later in the year. It's unlikely, although not impossible, for the FCC to approve a 3G version within the week.

All the cool kids in my program seem to now be buying the Blackberry Pearl. I'm going to purchase a smartphone, and have narrowed it down to either the Pearl or the Centro (I'm w/ sprint). After reading these posts, I'm leaning more towards the Centro, since 1) I currently have a T/X so I'm used to PalmOS 2) Palm seems to have more med program options. Wondering if anyone has opinions on the Pearl vs Centro?

Just to inform, the Unlocked Centro can be found on ebay. Also, there is unlocking software and unlocking keys that you can purchase to unlock all! Since there are many sites to utilize I suggest that you just google unlocking....

Happy unlocking!

iPhone 3G comes out July 11th. More medical apps should come with epocrates and modality already showcasing public demos.

you can buy an unlocked GSM centro on expansys.com. the US site had them the other day for $300, or the HK site also has them. apparently they work fine on t-mobile.

I'm split between a blackberry or an iphone. It seems there are more medical apps coming out for the iphone than the BB? Anyone using either or has an opinion to share ?

Do you have to purchase this I-silo program to even view the hospitalist handbook (UCSF)?

I guess if you just want a straight up PDA, this review won't help, but if you're looking for a smartphone, I'll pass along my opinion, as I just went through the process of purchasing one. There really are a bewildering number of options, but in the end I narrowed it down to about 5-6 models. In addition to reading reviews on cnet and elsewhere, one thing I found very helpful was to check out videos of phones on youtube. This gives you a lot more of a feel for the phone than just reading a review. If you are locked into a service plan already, your choice will probably be easier, as each plan only offers certain phones.

Treo 755: Initially this was my top pick, but upon further research, the form factor just seemed too clunky. Aside from minor changes, it doesn't seem like Palm has really made significant upgrades to this phone in quite some time. Seems like a solid phone, but perhaps has fallen a bit behind the curve?

Centro: Another palm offering, this struck me as an attempt to make a Treo for the masses - smaller and in colors. Since I really wanted a PDA first, and a phone second, the small screen and keyboard didn't fit my priorities.

BlackJack II - seems like a pretty good phone, but the lack of a touchscreen was a dealbreaker for me. Again, a little too much phone, too little pda.

Blackberry - didn't appear to be as much medical software available as for Palm or Windows.

AT&T Tilt (aka HTC Kaiser) - this is the phone I ended up going with for a couple reasons. Number one, I got a substantial discount off the monthly rate thanks to an employee discount program, which made AT&T by far the best deal. I picked up the phone as a refurb for $150; if you're a new customer, you can probably get the same or an even better deal.

Secondly, and most important to me, there is a large and very active developer's community devoted to hacking the HTC phones with various upgrades and features, making the phone very customizable. Since it seems like tech companies are rarely able to deliver on both hardware and software, I like having third party options available for running the device.

Out of the box, the phone is loaded with AT&T bloatware, but it's pretty easy to strip it down and throw a new ROM on it, and once you do, it's quite fast and powerful. Definitely not perfect, but so far I've been happy with it, and I've actually ended up using some features I didn't think I'd need: Google maps with the built-in GPS has already saved my ass a couple times as I wander a strange city looking for my rotation.

A final note: If I didn't need a phone ASAP, I would probably have held out for the Diamond TouchPro.

So I am debating between a Palm Tungsten E2 and the Palm TX.

I just want to be able to run Epocrates, Tarascon, etc. and have it work with my new computer, which has Windows Vista.

I'd rather buy the cheaper Tungsten, unless it wouldn't be sufficient. Can anyone help me out here?

Just wanted to let y'all know that I went with the Centro.

I had a great deal:
- I had an ad from a local store that had free Centro (after $100 mail-in rebate) w/ activation and 2 year plan
- I brought that in to Sprint (the above store did not have any Centros left), and they honored the deal
- In addition, tell them that you are an employee of public hospital X and they will give you a 23% (public sector) discount off the plan
- They will try to give you a 10% "private healthcare employee" discount unless you specifically state that you are at a public hospital
- All in all, I am paying less than $50 a month per phone (on the family plan) for 1500 anytime minutes shared, and *unlimited* data/web and text messaging

How is the Centro so far? It works great, smaller than I thought, but pretty sturdy and I don't have any problems with the small keys. The only thing is that sometimes when you're surfing the web, it will soft reboot on you. Only does that on my phone, not my gf's, so maybe it's an errant setting on my part. Will let you know if this is a persistent problem.

Have not installed any med software yet, but plan to shortly. Also will let you know if I encounter any problems.

Thanks again everyone for the advice!

Well everyone, iPhone is out! I however, did not get one. I went with the Palm Centro in white for AT&T. Although the nice blue one is being introduced, they didn't have it at the store I went to, and I thought it was worth it to avoid the lines at all the other phone stores. So far I've figured out how to sync it with my iCal (KEY!), browse the web, download the facebook program (probably a bad choice in retrospect), use google maps, sync my gmail email, etc. Speeds are okay for me, but this is my first smartphone, so the functionality in and of itself is blowing me away, and I don't mind waiting for a page to load on the internet. I've been tentatively looking around for medical programs but haven't purchased any yet: my PA program hasn't started yet and I'm sure there will be updates, etc. before it is time for me to hit the wards.

As far as typing is concerned, I have actually been surprisingly efficient at typing texts, emails, etc. I am female, but my boyfriend actually did better typing on my phone than on his trial run at the apple store with the iphone....FWIW...

Hi all,
Just read through the thread. I had a Palm TX on the wards as a resident and highly recommend it if you are okay without the phone feature.

I now upgraded to a Centro because I wanted to carry around less devices - palm/phone/pager all in one (I have my pages sent to the phone). However, I'm VERY frustrated. It seems that the Centro can't handle all the medical software I have (I'm using about half the available memory, or 32 MB). It's identical to what I had on the TX which ran smoothly with it. Whenever I switch from the phone to the palm apps, there are 10-30 second delays while I wait for it to follow my command. If I'm in Epocrates and someone calls, it won't come through for 10-15 seconds, and by then it's switched to voicemail.

I have lots of medical software, having given talks on the subject and written some smaller programs for iSilo. I have epocrates, the Hopkins antibiotic guide (both about 5MB), and lots of smaller iSilo programs. I don't want to have to switch back, and am considering giving up and going with a blackberry (but I don't want to have to pay the $30 monthly data plan fee, which is one of the nice things about the Centro - if you don't use the web a lot, you can pay as you go, AND I have about 300+ memos that I've accumulated since med school that I would apparently have to individually copy and paste in to the blackberry).

I also don't want to switch to AT&T, otherwise I'd go for the iPhone in a heartbeat, since I'm a mac user.

Just want to know if anyone has had this problem after installing large medical programs on their centro?