PDAs Reviews

We found many good PDA (personal digital assistant) reviews, led by those written by the editors at CNet.com and PC Magazine. Both sources use established benchmarks to measure performance and speed. Battery-drain tests and features analyses are also an important part of the review process. MobileTechReview.com also does an impressive job and includes detailed benchmark test results for Windows-based PDAs. Laptop magazine's reviews are not quite as detailed, but are competent and easy to read. Consumer Reports magazine has not revisited the topic of PDAs in quite some time, but their 2005 update contains many still-available models.

Sales of traditional PDAs continue their steep decline. In August, analyst firm IDC reported that 2007 second-quarter sales were down 43 percent over the same quarter in 2006. That sharp drop is why some companies, such as Dell, have stopped making PDAs altogether.

However, demand for combination PDA/cell-phone devices -- called smartphones -- is rising sharply. According to critics, more people are looking for a single convergence device to handle phone calls, e-mail and mobile-office functions, rather than carrying both a PDA and a phone. See our report on smartphones if you're considering a combo PDA, which includes the Apple iPhone and Blackberry phones, among others.

The Nokia N800 is unusual in that it uses the open-source Linux operating system. While that's great for the geek-centric, it can be the source of endless frustration for business users expecting the functionality of a PDA running either the Windows Mobile or Palm OS. As befitting a device that's called an Internet tablet, the N800's strengths lie in its web applications. Those include a Flash-enabled web browser, instant messaging, Internet radio, RSS feed reader and e-mail client. Connectivity is via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Though there is no built-in phone, there is support for Skype Internet calls.

Lots of reviewers rave about the N800's Internet functionality. Even The Wall Street Journal's Walter S. Mossberg, who otherwise pans the Nokia N800, says "Web browsing is a pleasure, because pages render much like they do on a real PC, and you can see a much larger portion of each page than you can on a typical phone." The e-mail client is only fair. Basic protocols -- POP3 and IMAP -- are supported, but it won't work with Microsoft Exchange mail.

Business applications and support are on the thin side for the Nokia 800. Reviewers note that you can write text files and view PDFs, but not Microsoft Word files. Because the Nokia uses a Linux system, there are a few commercial software programs available for it. However, you can get open-source Linux software. For example, GPE PIM is a ready-to-use suite of personal information manager (PIM) applications, including contacts, calendar, to-do lists and more. It works well according to reports, but there's no way to sync the software with either Windows or Mac applications.

The consensus is that the N800 might be a great device for those who use and are comfortable with the Linux operating system. For the rest of us, especially business users who need more compatibility with Windows applications, there are better choices. As Mossberg notes, "third-party software is a great thing, but it isn't a substitute for strong software from the manufacturer."  ... Continued

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

Overall, we saw the best reviews for Palm OS-based PDAs. The PalmTX has a beautiful display, plenty of power and will sync with both PCs and Macs. The Palm Z22 and Palm Tungsten E2 are also both called excellent for their price. The Windows Mobile-based HP iPAQ hx2790/hx2795 is powerful and well built, but expensive. Reviewers say the HP iPAQ rx5915 is the best GPS/PDA combo.