Another Try

[tamaranth]

I've asked about battery-powered PDAs before, but perhaps I wasn't quite clear about my requirements.

I do not want a PDA with a rechargeable battery, no matter how whizzy it is. I do not want to have to carry a charger with me. I want to carry a spare pair of batteries. I am regularly away from a power point for longer than the 6-7 hours that a rechargeable battery will last me, and the Visor is often in more-or-les constant use on long journeys / at the beach / in the park etc.

So ...

Requirement: Palm OS, battery-powered PDAs for which a full-size keyboard is available.

Or, if you prefer, what was the last model of your preferred PDA which was battery-powered?

Comments

Hey we tried ...

[the-magician.livejournal.com]

... I found you external battery packs that would give you "a spare set of batteries", external packs that would recharge your PDA, solar cells that would recharge or power your PDA while on the beach/in the park, alternate power options etc. but I couldn't find a PDA that runs on normal batteries ...

... the Psion 5 was the last one I had that ran on normal batteries, and it's not Palm OS.

Good luck

Re: Hey we tried ...

[tamaranth.livejournal.com]

and I do appreciate the suggestions, honest! But the easiest, lightest and most convenient solution by far is to use normal, buy-'em-in-a-corner-shop batteries ... I already have to carry chargers for the iPod and the phone, and I only do so because there are no standard-battery-powered alternatives.

My current Visor runs on batteries, and so does the model above it, the Visor Neo -- which I lost when I was mugged. I'll probably end up trying to get another of those, second-hand, unless someone can suggest something with more memory.

Fair enough

[the-magician.livejournal.com]

... there's a Neo on ebay.co.uk (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3045621580&category=11066), located in Plymouth, one day to go and it's currently at 45 quid.

"This item is boxed and includes cradle, clip-on cover, batteries, manual and discs."

But I figure you've got most of that stuff already!

Or how about a Handspring deluxe, only 8Mb but it comes with an extra 8Mb backup card and a camera module, six days to go and there have been no bids (but they are asking a minimum bid of 99 quid) ... runs on two AAA batteries
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3046387659&category=11066

Oh and while searching

[the-magician.livejournal.com]

I found a site that said the old Sony Clie SL10 and the Palm M105 both run on AAA batteries ... I'll see what else I can find.

Sony help desk says ...

[the-magician.livejournal.com]

... they don't currently do a standard battery powered device, but that the older SL and S models were battery powered ...

... there's a "live" help desk on line and they'll IM discuss your needs/problems and find out answers, what nice people!

Re: Sony help desk says ...

[tamaranth.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, thank you for your information-hunting efforts! Had no idea about Sony help desk, but that's exactly the sort of info I need. (May yet stick with the Visor, as I already have a keyboard for it and could use current one as a spare ... but Clies are so pretty).

Many thanks, again!

Expandability

[autopope.livejournal.com]

If you want expandability, why not go for a TRGPro or Handera 330? (Both made by TRG). The TRGPro is basically a Palm III-alike with a CF-card slot -- you can put any CF flash memory card you like in it, and I know from experience it'll take a 256Mb card. The Handera 330 is a slightly larger successor with a 240x320 grayscale display, CF card slot, and IIRC an SD slot. (Never played with one, but the owners rave about them.) Both are battery powered (not rechargable) and as TRG stopped making 'em earlier this year they're available for a song on places like eBay.

Re: Expandability

[tamaranth.livejournal.com]

Oooh, thanks! Have never knowingly seen TRG PDAs, but I do like the idea of something that uses flash memory cards. Will hunt around and find one to play with ... do you happen to know if there's a handy folding keyboard available?

[neilf.livejournal.com]

As has been mentioned by others, the Palm M105, the TRG and the Visors are probably your best bet.

Not Palm OS, but a Psion of some sort (keyboard included of course) would be an alternative option.

Not aware of a modern Pocket PC/Windows CE device that ran on regular batteries, the HP I have is donkeys years old.

The Plam M105 used the 'universal connector' which means that modern keyboards should work with it, assuming they have drivers for which ever version of Palm OS the 105 has. One downside of the 100 series was that they weren't flash upgradable.

Very few (probably read none) modern PDAs use regular batteries simply because they all have colour screens and they just eat batteries. That's why all the new ones are rechargable.

- Neil.

[tamaranth.livejournal.com]

Not keen on the Psion keyboards -- too small for prolonged writing, I've found -- plus had a bad experience with a Psion crashing and losing my data, so I'm biased against them.

The colour stuff is all very well for web connections, photos etc, but when all you want is a WP application and an e-book reader (and bog-standard diary, addresses, to-do list) then it's redundant.