Quick--Need a PDA Recommendation

Windows compatibility is a non-issue, since there are several programs that can run Word and Excel on a palm device. Quicken is also available. I think the Sonys used to ship with Documents-to-Go. However, I would not personally want to buy Sony, since they are now getting out of the pda market.

There have been some hospitals moving to wireless pdas and tablets for entering and accessing patient information. There are several physician and drug manuals available in palm format, and probably in pocket pc format.

Palm is generally a one program at a time operating system, although there are exceptions, like e-mail. This makes it much simpler and much less likely to crash. Running multiple programs on a pocket pc used to be confusing and cause them to slow down and/or crash. This may be less of a problem today.

If you are a Mac guy (I don't remember), you probably want to go with Palm, because the syncing is easier. But I have seen a program that claims to sync pocket pcs with macs.

Personally, I like my Treo 270 and will buy the new model whenever bluetooth becomes available.

Finally, noone's mentioned the many places to look online for palm or pocket pc software, like tucows.com or handango.com.

 

Frankly, Evan, I think the T3 is the best Palm PDA on the market today, if you're not interested in built-in wireless/cell phone capability.

For people looking for a mobile communications/PDA hybrid , I don't know what to recommend -- I don't have a cell phone, and am not that interested in having one, or having mobile access to the internet. But the reviews for the Treo have been, overall, great -- Danny is in very good company.

 

That's why I'm waiting just a little longer before replacing my 2-year-old Sony Clie with a Palm T3. Palm OS6 (Cobalt) has true multi-tasking for applications that need it, and I'm curious to see what it's like when Palm releases their first PDA running it. If a T3 comes out with OS6, and the reviews aren't disastrous, I'll be buying one (making it PDA #4).

Excellent point -- also palmgear.com. The trick with Palm software is that there are so many programs out there for various tasks, it can be a trick figuring out which one to buy. (Luckily, most are very cheap.)

If anyone's looking for recommendations, I have opinions. :mrgreen:

 

Sticking with the T3

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bookrats\";p=\"21063)</div>

Just an update: the new Tungsten, the T5, is a pretty big disappointment from my point of view. Slightly faster, different form factor (no slider -- I like the T3 slider), flash memory instead of normal memory (to me, has some downsides -- there's a limit to how many times you can write to flash memory), can be used as a USB memory stick (though not a very big one).

But a number of features disappear, including voice messaging, the nice T3 form factor, etc.

Decided instead to buy a T3 at a reduced price. That'll be my PDA for the next 2-3 years.

 

Evan,

As pointed out by Danny, the Palm OS has more medical software right now. I have a Clie NX 70V and it's about 20 months old and still meets all my needs. I've got a ton of medical software as well.

The Clie and the Tungsten both use the Palm OS and the Palm OS will probably for the next few years will continue to be a great OS. However, Microsoft has a habit of throwing money at a product until they own the market. And once they own the market, they stop throwing money at it.

Internet Explorer is the good example.

What this means is that those PDA's that use Windows CE will probably someday outshine the Palm OS. But right now that is not true and won't be for maybe another 5 years.

My Clie has a voice recorder and video and still camera and quite a large screen. And between the internet (medline, Family Practice Notebook and Google) and my PDA, I resort to a textbook about once a month now. I even have my hospital's formulary and internal phonebook on it.

And Epocrates is better than a PDR.

I can tell you, if I ever start heading to work and find out I forgot my PDA, I turn around and go home to get it. I'm just lost now without my PDA. It is just too helpful.

 

I didn't realize this thread started so long ago. I find my PDA indispensible at work. Epocrates has a free version with drug compatibilities and dosages and even pill costs. It is so much faster than looking things up.

As for the Prius, I just latched onto some Palm programs that were listed in the "Dead Tree" thread. I've put them on my palm and now I'll play with them to see which one works the best for me.

Then I'll take the data home and put it into one of the spreadsheet templates that I've found on Priuschat.

 

Sure it costs $2000, but the best "PDA" is the OQO. 8)

It runs Windows XP, has a 20GB hard drive, WiFi, Bluetooth, USB, Firewire... It is the ultimate geek toy. I wish I could afford one. If I hadn't just purchased a Prius I could get one!

 

I would have to say that get the most primary memory you can. My Tungsten C has 64. Most of the medical software I have wants to be in primary memory. It can not reside in a card. 64 is just barely enough for my needs. I use 5 min consultant. Harrison, EPocrates, PDR Drugs, Briggs & Freeman Drugs in Pregnancy on a regular basis and things are a bit snug. That would be my advice to anyone who wants to cart around reference materials!

 

Evan,

You do realize that Sanford makes an AB program for the palm. It's $25. And Sanford has screen shots to give you an idea of how it works before you buy. Maybe you could get a drug rep to sponsor a free one for you.

http://www.sanfordguide.com/
https://www.sanfordguide.com/secured.php?pa...rking/index.php

Plus, the epocrates $59 version has an ID section. I don't know if it meets your needs. This is what I use but I work in a psychiatric hospital so we only deal with PO AB. Major infections go down the street to the nearby ER.


I'm playing with Highway manager, totalcar and mycar on my palm for my Prius stuff. I did a google for Wayne's THS II and found an old post from you from last February. The link to Wayne's THS is not gone.

 

hdrygas

My 2 year old Clie is only 16MB of active memory but almost everything works from my memory stick.

I don't use the interface that came with my clie. Instead I use launcher X. This seems to allow more programs to work off the card.

In fact, my active 16MB only has about 9MB used. I try to keep everything on the card so my clie works faster, though I suspect this slows down opening of the programs.

Epocrates does still require RAM and not the card. But my version of Harrisons is in Isilo format and it works from my card. And a friend gave me quite a few 5 min CC and they all work fine from the card. They are also in Isilo format.

The 5mcc products haven't been updated in 2 years as I don't use them much. And I find the internet and an actual Harrisons book easier to use than using the Harrisons on the palm.

Mostly what I use is epocrates, the hospital phone book & formulary. a local hospital phone book I set up with fax numbers and medical record department numbers and local ER numbers. Local pharmacies and such. I then convert it to isilo with isilox, then install it. I've also got codemeister for billing and papmeister and lytemeister and asthmameister. These are all Isilo documents.

I've also got the internal phone book of two other hospitals where I used to work, mostly so I can keep in touch with some old friends. Every month or so I update the patient census so I have in my palm all the patients in the hospital with their DOB, DOA and ward and MR# always at my fingertips. I tried patientkeeper but my patients aren't sick enough to warrant all the data entry it entails so I removed it.

Support services where I work are horrible, so if I start someone on a med that I want to follow up on in a week or so, I put a reminder in my date book. I deal with about 200 patients so I can't rely on my memory and writing an order to follow up with me in 2 weeks for example, doesn't always work. So I write the order and put the reminder in my clie. This double system seems to catch every one.

 

Hey Guys,

Has anyone upgrade both their Palm and their computer at the same time. My laptop and Tungsten T died within days of each other. Upgraded to a T3 and replaced the office laptop with a Toshiba Tablet. Using Card Backup ( a great little $8 program written by the brother of our hospital pathologist) was able to get everything to work execept my 2 Skyscape Texts. Any thoughts on what I can do except the obvious (i.e. I haven't had a chance to call the company yet and dread killing several hours on the phone just to figure this out.)


And Launcher X is great
Jon

 

I posted this, I guess on another thread, way back. If you have a T3, get some loctite and use it on those 4 TINY screws holding the bottom of the slider. My wife's T3 tossed 2 of them before we noticed. Fortunately they were on the same side or we wouldn't have noticed until it lost 3. Palm will NOT send you new ones, for any price. You can send them the machine for a $125 'repair'.

Additionally, it seems to be having a problem of some sort with Graffiti. Worked fine for months but now requires a hardware reset with increasing frequency when using it. Oddly, it never happens if we use the keyboard in the same space?!?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bruceha_2000\";p=\"45337)</div>

Thanks Bruce -- will do!

 

Just got the Blackberry 7100. Its my first upgrade in about 8 yrs. Lots to learn, lots to use and lots of features.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bill60546\";p=\"45421)</div>

The "Crackberry" (it's nicknamed that for it addictiveness, apparently) is the corporate standard for our company.

It's difficult for me to judge, because I'm cellphone-phobic, but the Nokia fanatics have been converting to the Blackberry with nary a whimper. The Palm people have been more of a hold-out, though.

Luckily, I am still a lowly enough drone that I can justify being unreachable by cell; nor do I feel myself so important that I need to monitor all my company e-mail at all times. :roll: