n00b to pda's...a few Q

I am thinking about getting one, mainly, I'd like to use it to read PDF files, take notes, etc. If I could get one to drop my sim card into, from my phone, and its not too large, all the better.

What should I be looking for?

I def want a color screen.

I'd also like one that I could use to control the music on my desktop, a friend of mine was telling me that is possible?

IM clients, email clients would also be great.

Suggestions?

http://salling.com/Clicker/windows/
that is what you need to control your media with whatever device.

http://salling.com/Clicker/windows/devices.php
those are the supported devices.
take your pick

I'm looking at that link that says what PDA it supports, and at the bottom, it says Windows Mobile 5, I am going to assume that if the PDA is running that OS, its supported?

What are some other things that are pretty cool that you can do with a PDA?

In order to run that software you will want a device that runs Windows Mobile. This will exclude any Palm, or Linux based devices. There are LOTS of cool things you can do with a pda, especially if you get one that doubles as a smart phone with a data plan.

Your regular pda, while you think it would be good for taking notes in class or whatever, is one of the worst devices possible for it due to the small screen and often slow input. However, if you can do without the Windows mobile, or cellphone access, I highly recommend an internet tablet. Nokia makes several of these devices, the older and cheaper of the two is the 770. This one can be found for less than 140 at buy.com, and is an incredible deal. You may want to check out the community at http://www.internettablettalk.com/ and http://maemo.org/

The greatest thing about these Nokia devices is that they are just running slimed down versions of Debian Linux, and have very large communities work on applications and other cool hacks for them. I have mine synced to a pocket keyboard so i can type at full speed, and a GPS receiver so it has some basic mapping and driving directions capability. It can also sync with your cellphone over bluetooth and use it's data plan to get online anywhere.

Check em out, if you don't like it you can get a Dell Axim x51 (probably the best nonsmart phone pda that was on the market) for less than 200 on ebay. A comparable smart phone will run quite a bit more, but it is nice to have. Currently the HTC phones are leading in the windows mobile smart phone category. You just have to shop around age find a device that does what you want, for the price you like.

What is so special about the x51 axim?

I was also looking at the tablet pc's.

I like the smaller foot print of the pda and the fact I can hold it in my hand.

the x50v/x51v had a VGA screen, as opposed to the standard 240x320 screen. The implimentation sucked (mostly was just for hype and cleartype) but was still prettier. The x51v was also one of (if not the) first to run 256MB of rom, IIRC.

As with all mobile devices, the formfactor really determines what can be done with it. Tablets also run full windows, so everything works on them. With a PPC you need PPC specific software. Thats a big reason why UMPCs have the popularity that they do.