Years ago I bought a Palm Z22 for $99. It recently died. I need
to replace it. Naturally I would prefer something that runs
Linux.
Cost matters, of course. But the Palm Z22 price has gone up.
Weird! It is now $150. It is also an HP product. Once upon
a time that would have given it favor in my mind. But HP has
gone evil, so now they get no favor.
I thought an Archos 32 would do the trick. The size is good.
The price is $150. I actually bought one before I found out
it totally does not meet my needs. I returned it.
The other Archos pads may have calendar capability. I didn't
check. They are too big.
The most important function of the PDA for me is the calendar.
It has to beep at me to warm me of appointments. Without that,
it is worthless to me.
Being able to connect to the web (in a pinch) would be
nice, but is not required. The Z22 can't do that. All the
other products I'm aware of, can.
The Archos 32 is worthless to me. It has no calendar function
with alarms. And no internal speaker. Even if it had a calendar
function I would have to walk around with ear buds to hear the
alarms. Boo.
Two Linux products which appear to have the functionality I
require are the Droid and the Nokia N900. Both are approx
$400. Both are also mobile phones. I don't need (or want)
a mobile. I definitely don't want to be tied to a phone
company to get the functionality of the device. And that price
is too much for a very fancy alarm watch. But if I do buy
a mobile it has to be capable of international use (GSM)
and it has to be unlocked.
The only other product I've found which comes close is the
Apple iPod Touch for $230. That's still pretty expensive.
But I am considering it. But I really would prefer to avoid
Apple's "walled garden". The company is too hostile to Linux
for my taste.
Here is a summary:
Palm Z22 $150
+ Good calendar
- More expensive than it's worth
Archos 32 $150
- No alarm capabilities. Worthless
Nokia N900 GSM $400
+ Adequate calendar
- Much too expensive
Droid GSM $420
+ Adequate calendar
- Much much too expensive
Apple iPod Touch $230
+ Adequate calendar
- Somewhat expensive
- Apple company is hostile to Linux
Are there other products out there that I should consider?
--
Allen Brown abrown at peak.org http://brown.armoredpenguin.com/~abrown/
Humanity has the stars in its future, and that future is
too important to be lost under the burden of juvenile folly
and ignorant superstition. --- Carl Sagan
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