EmailBest Reviewed
PDAs
- Best overall PDA Palm TX *Est. $260
- Budget PDA Palm Tungsten E2 *Est. $190
- Enterprise PDA HP iPAQ 210 *Est. $396
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Best overall PDA
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity
- Expandable memory
- High resolution 3.7-inch screen
- Mac/PC compatible
- Battery not removable
- Mediocre battery life
February 2009. CNet.com has the best coverage of PDAs in general. PC Magazine also assigns a score to each PDA, making it relatively easy to see how each one rates. MobileTechReview.com has very detailed coverage and assigns scores to each PDA, but its website is a little harder to navigate. While Consumer Reports' ratings are highly credible, only ten models are covered. There are more than 600 owner reviews at Amazon.com for the Palm TX.
The Palm TX has received excellent reviews over time and remains the top choice among a variety of reviewers despite the fact that it was released in 2005 and Palm hasn't offered an updated standalone PDA model since then. Reviews say the Palm TX has a lot of features for the price, most notably a 3.7-inch high-resolution color screen, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Microsoft Office compatibility and 128 MB of non-volatile internal flash memory (expandable with an SD card). However, reviewers are less impressed with the mediocre battery life and since the battery is not user-replaceable, you can't carry a spare to stretch PDA time on a long flight. If budget is your primary concern and you can live without wireless, the less expensive Palm Tungsten E2 (*est. $190) is a solid alternative that's highly rated by reviewers.
Our Sources
1. CNET
CNet.com says it doesn't consider PDAs obsolete and still updates this top-five list. Unfortunately, the original reviews for each PDA listed were done three to five years ago. The Palm TX still remains the highest-rated PDA because of its price, large color screen and host of features, including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. There's also a full review, video and about 300 owner ratings.
Review: Best 5 PDAs, Bonnie Cha and Editors of CNet.com
PC Magazine gives an Editors' Choice award to the Palm TX with the major negative being stingy battery life (tested at four hours with the Wi-Fi off). Otherwise, there's a large screen, a good browser and reasonable price.
Review: Palm TX, Sascha Segan, Oct. 12, 2005
These thorough reviews are based on hands-on use and raise good questions like why Palm won't make the battery user-replaceable (because the PDA would have to be larger). Lisa Gade's review gives the Palm TX a score of four out of five, praising the display and ease of use.
Review: Palm TX, Lisa Gade, Oct. 12, 2005
4. ConsumerReports.orgDetails/Subscribe
Although Consumer Reports bases its ratings on hands-on tests, just 10 PDAs are rated. The Palm TX is included in tests and is rated for ease of use, battery life, display quality and other factors. All but two of the tested PDAs are ultimately recommended by editors.
Review: Ratings: PDAs -- Handheld, Editors of Consumer Reports, July 2007
5. Amazon.com
Well over 650 owner reviews combine to give the Palm TX a good average score; more than two-thirds rate it four or the maximum five stars. Some of the negative reviews indicate the Palm TX has been a rogue gadget in their pockets, rebooting itself or turning itself off or on.
Review: Palm TX Handheld, Contributors to Amazon.com
PDAs Runners Up:
8 picks by top review sites.
7 picks by top review sites.
4 picks including: Amazon.com, MobileTechReview.com…
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HP iPAQ 110 Classic Handheld - Windows Mobile 6.0 - PXA310 624 MHz - RAM: 64 MB - ROM: 256 MB 3.5-Inch TFT 802.11b, 802.11g, Bluetooth 2.0 EDR
 from Amazon.com New: $269.99 In Stock.
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