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Top 10 PDAs

Hybrid devices that combine phone and PDA functions are improving.

Sean Captain

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TREO 600 GSM/GPRS COMMUNICATOR CELLPHONE PALM ORGANIZER WIRELESS (Handspring-1034NA) PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated:

1. Palm TREO 600 GSM/GPRS COMMUNICATOR CELLPHONE PALM ORGANIZER WIRELESS (Handspring-1034NA)

Palm 5.2.1H OS, Stylus, thumb keyboard input, 160 by 160 resolution, approximately 3000 colors, 24MB RAM, SD slot, Price when ranked: $600

Bottom Line: High price is offset by benefits such as a brilliant screen and handy features, including a speakerphone. The device also offers fine phone sound quality.

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SIDEKICK COLOR VSW /T-MOBILE W/SIM (T-Mobile-610214609243) PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

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2. T-Mobile SIDEKICK COLOR VSW /T-MOBILE W/SIM (T-Mobile-610214609243)

Danger OS, Thumb keyboard input, 240 by 460 resolution, approximately 65,000 colors, 32MB RAM, No expansion card slot, Price when ranked: $250

Bottom Line: A great screen, a large thumb keyboard, and optimized software make this the best device for carrying the Internet in your pocket. It can't sync with common desktop information managers, though.

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BlackBerry 7230 PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

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3. Research in Motion BlackBerry 7230

BlackBerry OS, Thumb keyboard input, 240 by 160 resolution, approximately 65,000 colors, 16MB RAM, No expansion card slot, Price when ranked: $400

Bottom Line: Telephone sound quality is fine and thumb keyboard is well designed. Has a sharp color screen, but feeble backlight. The 7230 also supports European and Asian GSM services.

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P800 PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

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4. Sony Ericsson P800

Symbian OS 7.0, Stylus, numeric keypad input, 208 by 320 resolution, approximately 4000 colors, 16MB RAM, Memory Stick Duo slot, Price when ranked: $550

Bottom Line: An excellent mobile phone and a workable PDA. The P800's successor, the P900, will be out soon.

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SPH-i700 PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

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5. Verizon SPH-i700

Pocket PC Phone Edition OS, Stylus input, 240 by 320 resolution, approximately 65,000 colors, 64MB RAM, SD slot, Price when ranked: $600

Bottom Line: Though a bit large, this hybrid unit has well-integrated phone and PDA functions. It provides great headset sound quality, and the swiveling camera lets you snap self-portraits.

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Axim X3i PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

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6. Dell Axim X3i

Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 OS, Stylus input, 320 by 240 resolution, approximately 65,000 colors, 64MB RAM, SD/SDIO slot, Price when ranked: $379

Bottom Line: Dell's bargain-priced handheld has a basic but very intuitive design. We especially liked the bright, sharp screen and the handy added utility for managing Wi-Fi connections.

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IPAQ H4350 PDA (HP (Hewlett-Packard)-FA172A) PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

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7. HP IPAQ H4350 PDA (HP (Hewlett-Packard)-FA172A)

Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 OS, Stylus, thumb keyboard input, 240 by 320 resolution, approximately 65,000 colors, 64MB RAM, SD/SDIO slot, Price when ranked: $449

Bottom Line: The H4350 nearly matches the Dell in screen quality. The thumb keyboard, a first for the IPaq line, works well but adds some bulk.

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Clie PEG-UX50 PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

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8. Sony Clie PEG-UX50

Palm 5.2.1 OS, Stylus, thumb keyboard input, 480 by 320 resolution, approximately 65,000 colors, 45MB RAM, Memory Stick Pro slot, Price when ranked: $650

Bottom Line: This model slips nearly every feature you'd expect in a PDA into a surprisingly tiny package. The swiveling screen looks great; but at 1.8 by 2.7 inches, it's a bit small for such high resolution.

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Tungsten T3 PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

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9. Palm Tungsten T3

Palm 5.2.1 OS, Stylus input, 320 by 480 resolution, approximately 65,000 colors, 64MB RAM, SD slot, Price when ranked: $399

Bottom Line: Slide-open design stretches the beautiful screen to over 2 by 3 inches. A programmable quick-launch button on the side and a toolbar icon let you toggle between portrait and landscape views.

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PocketPC V36 (ViewSonic-PPCV36) PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: December 24, 2003

10. ViewSonic PocketPC V36 (ViewSonic-PPCV36)

Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 OS, Stylus input, 320 by 240 resolution, approximately 65,000 colors, 64MB RAM, SD/SDIO slot, Price when ranked: $299

Bottom Line: This basic Pocket PC comes at a very appealing price. Though the device lacks built-in wireless, ViewSonic offers a Wi-Fi SD card for an additional $129.

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For phone/PDA hybrids, listed price is the typical purchase cost with a new mobile phone service plan, excluding limited-term special offers. All screens are color, unless noted. For each category, ratings are based on price (30 percent), features (40 percent), ease of use (20 percent), and support policies (10 percent).

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