What type of PDA do residents use?

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Chris_P

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Which PDA do you use at work? I'm writing some articles for <a href="http://www.doctorsgadgets.com" target="_blank">www.doctorsgadgets.com</a> and it would help to know what gadgets people use and which ones they are intending to get.

Thanks

Chris
<a href="http://www.doctorsgadgets.com" target="_blank">www.doctorsgadgets.com</a>
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Thanks for the responses.

Would anyone care to comment why they are getting what they are getting?

My advice would probably be to get a Pocket PC as they are more future proof. Would you agree with that?

People who have bought a PPC - are you happy with it or do you wish you had saved your cash and got a Palm instead?

Chris
 
The only way to go for medical uses is the palm platform. Most of the medical apps out there are written for Palm only.

The best to get if you like a LOT of memory capabilities is the Handera 330. It can accept CF cards and SD cards at the same time. Right now I have a 512MB CF card in mine FILLED with medical apps and entire textbooks like harrisons, cecils, etc, etc.

If you do not want the storage capabilities of the handera, you could get a sony clie. more expensive and less capability to store tons of info, but good still.

regards.
 
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Handera rocks hands down. It is such an awesome technical gadget, that I haven't had the chance to explore all of its capabilities (despite having it for several months.)

Do I impress my friends with it? NOPE... It isn't nearly as perty as their clies!

Ho hum.

Mindy
 
Obviously this is a matter of personal preference.

Here is my preference; The Sony Clie.

I much prefer this to the Handera for a number of reasons that I have outlined before, but will repeat.

1)Speed - The new sony is currently much faster running at 54 hz
2)Screen - Color screen is fantastic on the clie. I could never look at a dark dingy grey screen again having used the Clie.
3)Memory Stick - Currently the handera has the advantage in terms of raw size, but the Clie currently has memory sticks up to 128mb. For the vast majority of people, this is more than enough. Further, the 256mb sticks are due out any day, making this advantage small. Finally, the memory stick storage devices work quicker than other storage devices, making it a faster machine to navigate than a handera.
4)Toys Toys and more Toys - Clie has a camera, mp3 player.
5)Keyboard - The new clie has a clamshell keyboard that increases the units' utility.
6)Full screen view - The graffiti area on the new clie is completely collapsable, making it one of the largest pieces of screen real estate out there on a Palm based PDA.

--All in all, we all have our own preferences, and there certainly is a vocal group who love their Handera units. I have tried em, and for the life of me cant see why anyone would prefer them over a clie, other than cost. The Clie is the absolute hands down Medical PDA. Further, you can get em dirt cheap if you shop the internet, making them as economical as a handera.

YMMV

K.P.
 
klebsiella,

i was not aware of the collapsable grafitti area on the new clie..which models feature this?

that was a big selling point for me with my Handera. Now it seems the handera only has a upper hand with the storage capabilities and voice recorder (you can record audio direct to CF or SD cards with the handera 330)

regards..
 
The new line of Palms will be out this Fall and will for sure be the way to go. They'll be running the new Palm OS 5, and have new ARM processors which allows them to run at 15x the speed of previous Palms.

They'll incorporate all of the things people love about PocketPCs, yet take up the same battery power/slim size as the current generation Palms.

-G
 
Hi Ligament,

The new Clie is model number Nr70v. It does indeed have collapeable graffiti. It doesn't have voice recorder, but a much improved speaker that delivers much better sound. I forgot to mention the jog dial and back button for easy navigation as well as flip keyboard on board. The unit is really something to drool over. A number of you will be able to pick these up courtesy of your residency program, as many include a stipend for an educational purchase.
 
•••quote:•••Originally posted by ItsGavinC:
•The new line of Palms will be out this Fall and will for sure be the way to go. They'll be running the new Palm OS 5, and have new ARM processors which allows them to run at 15x the speed of previous Palms.

They'll incorporate all of the things people love about PocketPCs, yet take up the same battery power/slim size as the current generation Palms.

-G•••••Palm is a has been product manufacturer. Their units are ancient in the computer world. Sony is so far ahead of Palm, that by the time these new units are out, Sony will have something 10 times as good.

I would stay away from anything from palm for one reason, as a palm brand, they are an endangered species. The Sony units have caught on like wild fire and palm is strongly considering exiting the PDA market completely, opting to focus on the software end, something they are much better at. Buying a palm now is an expensive gamble on an inferior piece of equipment.

K.P.
 
what software can you use with the sony clie? It seems there is not too much software out there for the sony so you are just paying for a camera and mp3 player!!! My advice is to stick with the palm! They are reliable, easy to use, and have tons of great software. My advice is to buy an mp3 player and a digital camera if you want one.
 
Birdman,

I'm afraid you have been misinformed. Sony actually pays Palm licensing fees to use the Palm operating system on their PDA's. What this means is you can run anything on a sony branded PDA that you can run on a Palm PDA. Again, Palm makes decent software, just lousy PDA's, IMHO.

I wouldn't recommend buying the sony for the mp3 player or camera, these gadgets are mere gravy. The Clie has much more going for it than that.

For more discussion on this topic, please visit:

<a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DoctorPalm/" target="_blank">Doctor Palm Yahoo Group</a>
 
•••quote:•••Originally posted by Klebsiella:
•Birdman,

I'm afraid you have been misinformed. Sony actually pays Palm licensing fees to use the Palm operating system on their PDA's. What this means is you can run anything on a sony branded PDA that you can run on a Palm PDA. Again, Palm makes decent software, just lousy PDA's, IMHO.

I wouldn't recommend buying the sony for the mp3 player or camera, these gadgets are mere gravy. The Clie has much more going for it than that.

For more discussion on this topic, please visit:

<a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DoctorPalm/" target="_blank">Doctor Palm Yahoo Group</a>•••••Thanks for the link! :clap: It couldn't have come at a better time for me. The other 2 web pages I have up right now are Best Buy and Circuit City b/c PDAs are now required at our school for 3rd year, and clinical orientation where we get all our new software is next week!
 
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•••quote:•••Originally posted by birdman:
•are the memory sticks different for the clie than for the palm?•••••As I delineated above, they indeed are different. Sony products use a proprietary storage medium called a 'memory stick'. These storage devices have the advantage of allowing faster access times than smart media or Compact flash. Additionally, they are more durable in my opinion. Momentarily, sony will be releasing memory sticks that store 256mb and above.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone.

It seems like you lot are still in love with your Palm OS devices! Maybe there's more life left in the Palm platform than the analysts would have us believe.

On the other hand, I think we'll be seeing a lot of new PPC devices this year (check out the new <a href="http://www.newmediamedicine.com/doctorsgadgets/toshibae310.htm" target="_blank">Toshiba e310</a> - almost as slim as a Palm!)

If you want to keep up to date on handheld and medical news I've set up a <a href="http://www.newmediamedicine.com/doctorsgadgets/news.htm" target="_blank">news feed</a> on Doctor's Gadgets.

I'm also going to write a few articles about how docs use handheld devices and the results of this poll will be in the first one. If anyone has any ideas or wants to write an article email me <a href="mailto:[email protected]" target="_blank">[email protected]</a> or write the article on the <a href="http://www.newmediamedicine.com/doctorsgadgets/phpBB2/" target="_blank">discussion forum</a>. You can see the reviews I've already written on our <a href="http://www.newmediamedicine.com/doctorsgadgets/reviews.htm" target="_blank">reviews page</a>.

Thanks again everyone!

Chris
Doctor's Gadgets - <a href="http://www.doctorsgadgets.com" target="_blank">www.doctorsgadgets.com</a> - news, reviews and discussion about handhelds in medicine
 
Chris,

Your clip about the Clie is erroneous. The new Clie that has been introduced within the past two months has more processor muscle than you allude to. Please update your website if you want to be factually correct.

K.P.
 
•••quote:•••Originally posted by Chris_P:
•Thanks for the replies everyone.

It seems like you lot are still in love with your Palm OS devices! Maybe there's more life left in the Palm platform than the analysts would have us believe.

•••••Our hospital's patient tracking softward is only compatible with Palm OS. We have no choice (but I'd probably stick with Palm anyway).
 
Thanks KP. I've changed the Clie review title so that it says 'Clie PEG-T615C/L' instead of just 'Sony Clie'. I'm in the process of trying out the new clie so I'll stick a review up when I'm done.

Let me know if there's anything else that's confusing.

Chris
<a href="http://www.doctorsgadgets.com" target="_blank">www.doctorsgadgets.com</a>
 
For those of you interested in the Clie, here is a nice timeline on upgrades soon to come. Note that the 1gb sticks will be here relatively soon, effectively eliminating any concerns over memory. Additionally, transfer rates, which are currently the fastest, are slated to improve dramatically as well.

<a href="http://66.77.21.129/memstick/future.html" target="_blank">Sony Memory Stick Information</a>
 
Hello all, along the line of this thread, I have a question.

I am a soon to be third year heading out to the world of patient care. Which programs for the Clie have you found to be most useful? What should I look into getting?

Thank you in advance,
Steve
 
What do you think of the new XScale intel PDA processors that are coming out? I heard they are 20-30X faster, using 1/10-20th the battery life of current PDAs. I think I'm going to wait things out until those new PDAs.

Also any thoughts about the new combined PDA/cellphones, ie Treo?
 
Kelb, do have any idea just when they will be coming out with the 256 memory stick??
 
By supporting the new XScale chip Palm is stating that its buying into the same technology that has made the pocket PC a success. The XScale is basically an upgrade of the strongARM chip used to power most of the pocket PC devices. I'm pretty sure that pocket PC manufacturers weren't going to carry on using strongARM forever but Palm has peeped up to say that its in the race too. This means that its possible that the new Palms will be just as powerful as the new pocket PC devices that are coming out. If they use PalmOS 5 then they will be more functionally limited than if they use the PPC OS but I'd bet money on the hardware arm of Palm plumping for the Pocket PC OS and the software arm developing for mobile phones and other less powerful devices.

Chris
 
•••quote:•••Originally posted by Voxel:
•What do you think of the new XScale intel PDA processors that are coming out? I heard they are 20-30X faster, using 1/10-20th the battery life of current PDAs. I think I'm going to wait things out until those new PDAs.

Also any thoughts about the new combined PDA/cellphones, ie Treo?•••••Vox,

Here is my take on the 'next greatest and latest.' I buy when I need something period. I am starting residency imminently, and my PDA will be my right hand. If these new processors will indeed be that much better I will upgrade and sell my current unit on ebay. The real draw of the new arm processor isn't speed so much as battery savings. The latter is a real selling point. I can overclock my nr70v, and it runs plenty fast, honest. The battery is a problem, but I suspect the arm will still have issues.

In any case, I need something now, and there will always be something better on the horizon. I aint waiting.

My strategy has always been to get the best unit dirt cheap, sell on ebay within the year, and upgrade to the new unit if it is indeed that much better. Has worked like a charm. Usually the upgrade costs next to nothing or I even turn a profit. In either case, I am always using the best sony has to offer. The nr70v is really that good.

YMMV

Senior Goofus out
 
•••quote:•••Originally posted by birdman:
•Kelb, do have any idea just when they will be coming out with the 256 memory stick??•••••Birdman,

As you can see from my link, it should be out imminently. Further, 1 gig memory sticks will be out by years end. Memory is not a reason to skip the sony. It's a reason to BUY a sony. I will update this thread once I find em.

Stay tuned

K.P.
 
•••quote:•••Originally posted by Chris_P:
•By supporting the new XScale chip Palm is stating that its buying into the same technology that has made the pocket PC a success. The XScale is basically an upgrade of the strongARM chip used to power most of the pocket PC devices. I'm pretty sure that pocket PC manufacturers weren't going to carry on using strongARM forever but Palm has peeped up to say that its in the race too. This means that its possible that the new Palms will be just as powerful as the new pocket PC devices that are coming out. If they use PalmOS 5 then they will be more functionally limited than if they use the PPC OS but I'd bet money on the hardware arm of Palm plumping for the Pocket PC OS and the software arm developing for mobile phones and other less powerful devices.

Chris•••••More functionally limited? How so?

People on this board are looking for a PDA solution that caters to the medical world. PocketPC is a terrible choice 'functionally' as a good portion of medical programs, particularly the better free software, only runs on Palm OS. I couldn't run epocrates if I wanted to on a pocket PC. This is a 'functional' dead-end in my opinion.

I'm just glad a premier hardware maker has stepped up to innovate and deliver some of the best PDAs out there. Thank you sony.

K.P.
 
I think that different people will need different types of handhelds.

If you are planning on upgrading within a year or so I'd agree that a Palm OS system might suit you best. There's tons more software for the Palm and many hospital have integrated Palms into their IT systems.

If you are not planning on upgrading so soon I'd recommend a pocket PC as they seem (to me, at least) to have more power and flexibility. They will be a whole load of new manufacturers releasing PPC machines this year (Dell have just announced their plans to release a PPC based machine) so prices will come down and people will start releasing more medical software.

Its always difficult to predict the future in these things, but my feeling is that Palm has had its day. If you spend a lot of money on the top of the range Palm or Sony then the chances are you will be disappointed as new software stops being produced for them.

I used a Palm in my JHO year and it was a life saver. It really helped me get organised. Epocrates saved me searching for a forumulary in the nurses station on occasion but the real benefit of my handheld was in organisation - I set up a database, timetable of ward rounds (I was working for 6 consultants at the time) and other important things I had to do (eg submit theatre lists, attend pre-assessment) and generally got my life sorted out. As an SHO I now do all these functions on my Ipaq (apart from epocrates) plus I have the benefit of using the voice recorder on ward rounds (yes - you'll get a lot of grief when you first try this!) and I can play MP3s and games when I'm bored.

Your idea of selling on ebay when you want to upgrade sounds like the best idea - get a palm or sony now and then upgrade should things start looking shaky in the future. I think I'll have to try that:)

Chris
 
Chris,

I appreciate your input, but I still cant understand how a platform that is used by over 70% of the PDA public is outmoded. PocketPC has enjoyed dismal growth specifically in the medical community. Players like Sony have only served to reinvigorate interest in this platform from the would be pocketpc users. Palm OS is here to stay, and sony is undoubtedly playing a major role by delivering the best PDA's money can buy.

Again, Pocketpc might be worthwhile for you, but for those interested in actually running the wealth of software out there, there is no decision other than palm. It's similar to the IBM and Apple wars. Clone PC's won simply because that was the platform the vast majority of software was written for. Same thing applies here too. The only difference in this analogy is that Apple was actually a better piece of hardware. With sony on board, the 'best' PDA's are now running Palm OS.

This is obviously a matter of opinion. I'm interested in running much more than scheduling software on my PDA. I have 128mb filled to the brim. PocketPC are clunky, heavy, and incredibly limited from a software perspective. I think the future of Palm OS is much brighter than pocketpc.

I'm keeping my sony :)

K.P.
 
I'd would genuinely be interested to hear what software you have and how much you use it. When I first got my Palm I filled it up with things like the Merck manual and other medical guides but found that I didn't really use them at all. In the first year of work I found that I needed much more help getting organised and remembering what tests needed doing on various patient than I did looking up eponymous syndromes or medical facts.

Do you think that students use palms in a different (more educational) way than do docs on the wards?

I'm not saying that these programs are useless (things like epocrates are really very useful) and it does come into the equation when weighing up what hardware to buy. Palms have definitely got the best range of software but I really do think that situation will change.

Equation could be "usefulness of medical software available x chance of still being able to get the best new software in a years time = what handheld to buy".

I've probably thought about it too much and am getting myself in a hole! Maybe its best just to advise people to get whatever feels right for you personally. They aren't that much money and at least if you buy a Palm you'll be happy for the next few months...

Chris
 
Hey--a little off topic, but still relevant. I'm having problems using some medical software on my Sony Clie memory stick (Taber's and Merck). Anybody have similar difficulties and know a quick fix? Sony hasn't been all that helpful. Thanks!
 
Hey Fourth time,

I had the same problem. The memory stick integration with the Clie is kinda crappy. but if you do have a reader (eg: iSilo or Reader) that reads the database from main memory but not from the memory stick, you should get one of the following programs:

1) MSMount
2) PiDirect II

These programs allow your clie to use a specific directory on the memory stick and fool the clie into thinking that it is part of main memory. Then store your files in that directory and voila! It'll be slower loading programs from the memory stick, but that's the price you pay... works like a charm though
 
"What type of PDA do I use?"

An ipaq. There are many reasons why and I'll list a few and point you to a great site <a href="http://www.medicalpocketpc.com" target="_blank">www.medicalpocketpc.com</a> that explains it all. To boil it down its basically personal preference--what do you want out of a PDA? I wanted voice recording, MP3 playing, multi-tasking, and easy compatability with my windows-based box. I got it in an ipaq. I wouldn't have gotten it in a palm (two years ago).

There is a misconception that PPC software is far behind that of palm. Two years ago, that was the case. Now, its much different. A lot of palm users say PPC software is expensive. For all of the good apps, thats true. Thats true as well for all of the good palm apps. They are just as expensive as the PPC apps. The reason every palm user seems to have every palm app is that palm apps are easily hacked and shared.

There will only be a handful of applications that a person uses 95% of the time on their handheld. I use a drug database (DrDrugs), reference book (5mCC), dictionary (tabers), Lab value reference ( <a href="http://mobile.neulabs.com" target="_blank">http://mobile.neulabs.com</a> ), and solitaire. If I had a palm I would use the exact same things, so I opted for the more robust machine, the ipaq. It fits me. I have a whole bunch of dentstudent friends that would argue tooth and nail for the palmOS. It works for them. Cool. So since I bought a PPC I can't play head to head pong with them, thats okay. I'll get over it.

Sony has an awesome handheld in the clie, which I think is saving the palm empire. Palm has been playing it cool, watching PPCs take more and more of the market. I'm glad sony came in and created a device that is leaps and bounds ahead of anything palm has created. Kudos to sony. If I had to choose a palm it would be the clie handsdown.

*not even $.02*
 
I think its true that most commercial software (apart from epocrates) is available for both formats now. The big difference is the number of free programs that have been made for palm over the years. I don't know how useful these are compared the commercial stuff but it might sway you if you don't have a lot of cash.
 
One question:

I'm sure this has been asked before, but where is the best place (on the web or elsewhere) to get a good price on a PDA?

Thanks,

Sheerstress
 
sheerstress:

try www.pricegrabber.com. there are a lot of vendors for each product so it might be prudent to check each one out before buying. the prices here are generally much cheaper than bricks and mortar retail.
 
I got my ipaq 3870 (I think that's what it is) from ecost.com for significantly less than anywhere else on the shelf or on the web.
 
is doctorsgadgets.com down? can't open it ...
I've found another good source of news, reviews and discussion about handhelds in medicine:
www.visionhelp.us
 
In response to the ePocrates only being on palm....you can use Tarascon Pocket Pharmacopoeia which i find to be more useful than ePoc. It may be too much for some people but it is very comprehensive and has calculators and charts included. Its in beta right now so its free. They may charge for it when it comes out of beta but what the heck its free now and it should last you a while.

As for the palm vs ppc debate...I have both. My palm is sitting in my desk drawer for about 6months. I recently got a Dell Axim ppc for around $275 and I LOVE it. I have all the same programs on it as i did on the palm. The handwriting transcriber is better than using that damn graffiti

heres a link to the tarascon...http://www.tarasconpublishing.com/store/palm.asp


just found this new news on the site:
"The Tarascon Pocket Pharmacopoeia? has been the most popular and most trusted source of portable drug information since 1987. All Tarascon drug information is meticulously peer-reviewed by drug information experts and practicing clinicians of multiple specialties. Handheld content will be updated monthly throughout 2002, then continuously in 2003. We are committed to keeping this product free through December 31, 2002, and anticipate a $25 yearly subscription thereafter.
"
 
I got the new dell for $299 and I'm pleased. I've never been to impressed with the 'free' stuff for palm and now that pharmacopia is available for free for ppc i got no problems. plus all the commercial stuff is available for pc. Just about every resident and many of the attendings at the hospital i'm working at has upgraded to, thinking about or changed to ppc.
 
Sorry if someone has mentioned this already... if you have a pocketpc and a 1gig microdrive or compactflash, Uptodate (uptodate.com) is now available for the pda (sorry, no palm support). I believe medical students qualify for the discounted subscription price. I haven't made the plunge on a microdrive yet, so if anyone has used the pda version of uptodate, please post comments. Thanks.
 
Originally posted by eyehope
Sorry if someone has mentioned this already... if you have a pocketpc and a 1gig microdrive or compactflash, Uptodate (uptodate.com) is now available for the pda (sorry, no palm support). I believe medical students qualify for the discounted subscription price. I haven't made the plunge on a microdrive yet, so if anyone has used the pda version of uptodate, please post comments. Thanks.
Click to expand...

I'm going to get it as soon as I return home (cable modem).

I have a subscription to UpToDate, and yes, you do get a discount. It's still expensive (I think I paid $180?), but I really like UTD. It's much better than MDConsult in my opinion. Those guys do a great job of researching the various topics.

Plus you get online access... it's great for quick lookups in the hallway while on rounds and such.

By the way, if you own a desktop and a laptop, you can install the CD on both machines. The EULA (end-user license agreement) states otherwise, but when I emailed them, they gave me permission to install it on both. I ended up copying the entire CD onto my hard drive of my laptop. I love it!
 
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