About Lisa DesGroseilliers Expertise I can answer anything about the Palm OS platform. I have been using a PalmPilot / PDA ever since they became commonplace. I can help you with which model to choose and tips on how you can program it to fit your "stressed and/or busy" lifestyle. I have a Treo 650 SmartPhone which uses the Palm 5.0 OS. Sorry, do not have enough experience with the Windows Mobile platform.
Experience I self-taught myself how to use PDAs and the first smartphone I used was the Treo 600 about 2 years ago. I moved to the 650 several months ago (Sept 2006). I use it since I have 2 jobs and it has helped me to keep my 2 jobs organized and relieve the stress from following multiple schedules. Also, I can show you how to use your phone as a recorder.
Organizations International Webmasters Association 2004-2007 (http://www.iwanet.org)
Expert: Lisa DesGroseilliers Date: 2/17/2008 Subject: which one to buy?
Question 1.whats the difference between a XDA and PDA?
2. Among the blackberry pearl,O2 atom life PDA and a HTC PDA, which is the better choice in all aspects like looks, cost, performance, etc etc when looking as a techie? which is more techie gadget?and why?
Answer Hey Siraj!
Congrats on your decision to buy a digital assistant. It is true that the choices between them are getting harder to make everyday, and I am glad you have contacted me to help you with yopur purchase.
For your first question, an XDA is a PDA but a particular brand of PDA from Windows Mobile. Here is a link from Wikipedia that explains their history - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O2_Xda. An XDA is really a PDA and Cell phone put together. The most popular brand is HTC. X stands for the crossing of voice and data, P stands for Personal.
Now this is the hard part. It really all depends what you are going to be using the phone for the most. They all have audio capabilities (mp3, wma, etc...), they all have bluetooth 2.0 and at least a 2 or more Megapixel camera. I will provide you the main differences and responses to your question, but will also give you links to each phone so you can read more about them.
XDA Atom Life - This one has an FM radio, the most on-board memory of all the phones, an SD expansion slot, and a video camera. This phone would be the most expensive because it is Windows Mobile. Windows Mobile phones tend to be more expensive. Here is a link to more specifications - http://www.seeo2.com/product/XdaAtomLife/template/XdaAtomLifeProductInfo.vm.
Blackberry Pearl - Of the 3 you asked about, this is the most popular one. If you want a phone that can be used anywhere and people can relate to, this would be the one. This to me would be the most techie/gadget because of the e-mail possibilites, audio, camera, phone, text, etc... There is much more you can do with this, and it is NOT Windows based. That is why I think it is more techie-gadget because it is not Windows and can do even more than a Windows Mobile phone, if not the same. It is the most popular, it is always being updated and features being added to it. The other two are more expensive, but do not necessarily have the ease of use as a Blackberry. Here is the link - http://www.blackberrypearl.com/performance/specifications2.jsp.
HTC PDA - The info I am providing here is for the HTC Touch Cruise, which is the top of the line model from HTC. HTC and XDA are very similar. Much of the features are similar, except its camera is 3 Megapixels and the battery life is longer. It also has an SD expansion slot and Windows Mobile. The only difference between HTC and XDA is price, looks and features. Now, if you feel more comfortable with Windows Mobile, by all means HTC or XDA may be more for you. Here is the HTC link - http://www.htc.com/product/03-product_htctouch_cruise.htm.
I hope this helps you!
Have a great weekend!
Lisa D.
