PDA's - Pocket PC vs. Palm OS

[Anath]

I just found out the other day that we are required to by a handheld by MSII. I was planning on getting one anyway, but I don't know much about them.

Pocket PC -- you can run like Word and Excel
Palm OS -- well, isn't this the std?

I really dont' know much beyond that. Would anyone suggest one over the other?

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[neutropeniaboy]

Required to have one by MSII year? How arrogant can your program be?

Anyway...I recommend the Palm platforms. There are more useful medical applications for the Palm platform, and the units themselves are much cheaper.

PocketPC advocates will wow you with the amount of memory and capabilities PocketPCs have. Well, you need all that memory just to run the damn thing. And watching movies on your pocketPC? Why? Listening to mp3s on your PocketPC? Why? Get an mp3 player & a Palm for still less than a PocketPC.

Palms are smaller, more widely disseminated, and much easier to deal with than PocketPCs.

Besides, your colleagues are more likely to have Palms anyway.
•••quote:•••Originally posted by Anath:
•I just found out the other day that we are required to by a handheld by MSII. I was planning on getting one anyway, but I don't know much about them.

Pocket PC -- you can run like Word and Excel
Palm OS -- well, isn't this the std?

I really dont' know much beyond that. Would anyone suggest one over the other?•••••

 

[Anath]

Thanks.

As for such features/programs that would be similar to word or excel (I'm assuming there are?) -- is there an import feature from a program on a palm to upload your file into word or excel on your PC?

I don't understand why you would call requiring a handheld for year 2 as arrogant. It's much simpler to buy that than a laptop or PC as some schools require. Nothing wrong with "modernizing" and making things easier and more accessible for us.

Then again, maybe I'm not so agitated about it b/c it means I'll be getting a new toy. :wink:

 

[neutropeniaboy]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Anath:
• Thanks.

As for such features/programs that would be similar to word or excel (I'm assuming there are?) -- is there an import feature from a program on a palm to upload your file into word or excel on your PC?

•••••Check out palmgear.com. I'm sure there are many of those types of programs out there. I haven't found a need for them, so I don't use them.

•••quote:••••
I don't understand why you would call requiring a handheld for year 2 as arrogant. It's much simpler to buy that than a laptop or PC as some schools require. Nothing wrong with "modernizing" and making things easier and more accessible for us.
•••••It's arrogant, IMHO, for your school to suggest that you need one in order to do well in their classes and cirriculum, when clearly the use of a handheld device is fluff for a 2nd year medical student. My old school really stresses having a laptop for class -- why? How does that help people take notes when there are figures? For the palm, graffiti is so slow for taking notes.

Virtually pointless for the 2nd year student. For the 3rd year student -- a big help.

 

[Anath]

Perhaps it's not necessarily to take notes in class, but to have reference materials readily available for study purposes?

Also, it's actually not exactly pointless. EVMS stresses and has a mandatory curriculum in which standardized patients are incorporated and we're to go to practice on them so to speak, every week beginning in year 1. Perhaps it's used for that? Who knows -- I'll find out soon enough.

Either way, I can look forward to a new toy. Thanks for the link

 

[PTjay]

My Palm m500 came with a program called documents to go. It let's you create word documents and excel spreadsheets and sync them with your desktop/laptop. You can edit the documents on your pc or your palm so you don't need to buy the more expensive pocket pc.

I just spoke with a resident to find out what people are using and if there is a big switch to the pocket pc. So far he has noted that most are still using the palmOS platforms and there are residency programs that provide residents with a palm. Everything gets synched at work so they all have updated schedules, contact information (all those changing phone numbers), etc.

I love my m500 and it didn't break the bank - get the keyboard for it and you can use it in class as a substitute for a clunky laptop to take notes. There is a wealth of free programs out there for the palmOS as well - check out palm.com in the software section for more stuff than you could possibly ever download.

Enjoy your new toy!