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PDA vs Laptop

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Elledan

[H]ard|DCer of the Month - April 2010
Joined
Oct 18, 2001
Messages
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This may just be my ignorance on this subject showing, but how practical/possible would it be to use a PDA for the following functions:

- textprocessing/programming (C/C++, Java)
- viewing PDFs, etc.

Naturally an external keyboard (mouse?) would be used.

Main issues I see are due to the limited screensize (around 320x320 pixels) and lack of resources (relatively slow CPU, limited RAM).

Laptops are definitely not a bad choice seeing how they are by far the cheapest when it comes to performance/$, but for some situations they're less than ideal, such as when they're only used intermittently, for like half an hour at a time during an entire day. Constantly putting the laptop in standby to save the battery from running low is far from ideal, and laptops are still more fragile than a PDA.

Any thoughts? :)
 
Well I don't have any knowledge of programming on a PDA but I don't think it's going to do what you want...

Some PDAs have a built in keyboard (more expensive too though) but all (as far as I know) are touch only, meaning no mouse.

The limited resolution makes viewing PDF files a bit harder but it's still possible and can still be very handy.

If you are looking to program I'd buy an ultra portable laptop I think. I find any text processing on a PDA to be cumbersum. It woks in a pinch but I couldn't immagine doing a large amount of it on a PDA.
 
never heard of programmin on a PDA, let alone of any programs allowing you to program on a PDA... its bad enough programmin w/ a keyboard, i doubt youll get very far w/ a stylus :p

and w/ PDFs, dont even bother. even on high-res screens like dells x51v, theyll be a pain to read.

just buy a laptop and be happy. take a look at an IBM/Lenovo laptop. small and sturdy. :D
 
laptop. viewing PDF files on a pda is a bitch.

stick to laptop, pda's have way too small of screens. 3.5in.-4.0in.
 
Sony (I hate them though) makes one of the smallest laptops I have seen. The models i have seen started with an celeron then moved to a centrino and i have not checked back on them. I forget the model so someone will have to help me but they are about the size of a paperback book open and in size (not thickness though) they seemed really nice and would be just what ur looking for.
 
Well, the thing is that I know that a laptop is more convenient with its larger display and such, but I was thinking more of the standard school routine:

- first class, boot laptop, work on something until class is over, put it in standby
- second class, return laptop from standby, continue work, ... ad nauseam, not to mention lunch breaks and such, or the endless hours spend commuting :)

PDAs are designed to be always on, are completely solid state (meaning less things to break) and last longer than the average laptop (3 vs 8 hours) on a single charge.

As long as I can connect an external keyboard to the PDA (cable or BT), I can probably live with the small screen. I think ^_-
 
hp makes great pdas. check out mobileplanet also for keyboards and such.
 
Well, I just bought a laptop :D

Thanks for the input :)
 
By "school," do you mean college/university? Most places have enough power outlets in the study areas anyways.
 
xonik said:
By "school," do you mean college/university? Most places have enough power outlets in the study areas anyways.
Click to expand...
Yes, that's what I mean ;)

I haven't really looked at the availability of outlets, but I'm sure I won't be spending over 4 hours (max rating with current battery) working on it anyway. Perhaps I'll bring some extension cords with me, just in case ^_-
 
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