Minimalist
The minimalist comes in two varieties: the no-frills type and the convergence type. The no-frill minimalist wants a simple, compact, light PDA, while the convergence minimalist can't see carrying a separate cell phone and PDA when smart phones combine the two. If you suspect you're a minimalist, see if you have any of these characteristics:
- You use the word efficient a lot.
- You get a warm, fuzzy feeling when you hear the term all-in-one.
- You send single-word e-mails whenever possible.
- You don't want something you'll never use.
| No-frills minimalist picks: |
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HP iPaq Pocket PC rz1710
CNET rating: 6.7
With a combination of small form factor and great performance, the rz1710 is solid entry-level PDA--just be prepared to pay a price.
The good: Thin and light; long battery life; multimedia capabilities; nice screen.
The bad: Expensive; no user-replaceable battery; lacks Bluetooth and Wi-Fi; no cradle.
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Palm Zire 31
CNET rating: 6.6
The entry-level Zire 31 should have users singing a happy tune with an affordable price tag, added memory, a fast processor, and MP3 playback.
The good: Fast processor; 16MB of memory; color display; MP3 and RealAudio playback; expansion slot.
The bad: Battery not user-replaceable; no camera; no protective case.
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Palm Z22
CNET rating: 6.2
The Palm Z22 provides an affordable, very basic, and easy-to-use PDA suitable for first-time buyers and technophobes.
The good: Light and compact; 32MB of memory; lets you view and store photos; affordable.
The bad: Low-resolution screen; touch screen isn't always responsive; doesn't play music files.
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| Convergence minimalist picks: |
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Palm Treo 650
CNET rating: 8.3
Though it has its shortcomings, the PalmOne Treo 650 offers solid performance and adds some key features to maintain its reign as smart phone leader.
The good: Improved display and keyboard; integrated Bluetooth speakerphone; 312MHz processor; Palm OS 5.4; multimedia e-mail support; world phone.
The bad: Meager integrated memory; no built-in Wi-Fi; cumbersome Bluetooth setup; average audio quality; low-resolution camera; headphone jack isn't standard size.
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Samsung SCH-i730
CNET rating: 8.3
Small, light, and powerful, the Samsung i730's high-speed data support and built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi make it an excellent choice for those who have to stay connected at all times, though the crippled Bluetooth support may spoil the party for laptop road warriors.
The good: Five-way wireless support (IrDA, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, CDMA 1xRTT, and EV-DO); speakerphone; comfortable slide-out QWERTY thumb keyboard; two batteries included; excellent third-party software support.
The bad: No support for modem use with a laptop; Wi-Fi and phone can't work simultaneously; Wi-Fi is a battery hog; no camera in initial Verizon release.
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RIM BlackBerry 8700g
CNET rating: 8.0
The RIM BlackBerry 8700g offers T-Mobile consumer and business users a robust, user-friendly messaging device and cell phone with great performance.
The good: The RIM BlackBerry 8700g offers easy e-mail setup and adds support for popular instant-messaging clients. The quad-band 8700g also comes with an Intel processor, EDGE speeds, Bluetooth 2.0, a speakerphone, and a full QWERTY keyboard.
The bad: The BlackBerry 8700g's keyboard feels a bit cheap and slippery. Also, there are no expansion options, and we encountered some problems viewing PDFs on the device.
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Nokia 9300
CNET rating: 6.3
The Nokia 9300 includes handy features for corporate users, though some of them could use work.
The good: The Nokia 9300 features a nice, wide color screen, a QWERTY keyboard, and a speakerphone. It also supports multiple e-mail accounts and Bluetooth.
The bad: Some downsides of the Nokia 9300 include its heft, its awkwardly placed expansion slot, its nontactile, nonbacklit keyboard, and its lack of Wi-Fi and a camera.
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