PDA with WiFi and GPS advice

sghughes42

I'm looking for some advice and am hoping there will be people on here who can help!

After getting badly lost at New Year, I decided a GPS system was a must. I've looked and found a few options but then the idea came in to my head that

(a) I've always fancied a PDA type PC
(b) It would be handy to have WiFi access when out and about to look things up (for example, finding veggie restaurants can be tricky sometimes!)
and (c) it would be useful for keeping track of my bellringing records as I have no idea where I've been or what I've done in the last 7 or 8 years since I stopped keeping paper records.

Therefore, I started looking in to getting a PDA rather than a dedicated GPS device. However, I'm finding it very confusing indeed. The only ones I can find that have all the features in one seem to cost upwards of £300 which is above my limit (I was thinking no more than £200). There are some that do everything aside from WiFi (such as the Acer N35) but which seem to get very poor reviews. Can anyone make any recommendations?

The main use would be as a GPS, both in-car and on foot, and the actual PC usage would be fairly limited so I'd be happy to compromise performance as long as it did not overly affect the GPS side of things.

TIA for any advice!

GaryS

I have a HP RX3715, whilst not the newest model it does have WiFi, bluetooth, a camera and a host of other bits.

It also runs TomTom perfectly when used with a bluetooth satnav receiver.

Currently has a 2gb card in, as it is also an mp3 player.

** Just added this edit via pda**

jampton

If cash up front is a problem then you could look at a mobile phone deal i.e. the cost of the unit is in part subsidised by the service provider

I have a an O2 xda mini s and through bluetooth will connect to a separate GPS unit however two boxes may not be ideal. Newer phone / pda models with built in GPS are now on the market

https://shop.o2.co.uk/phone/O2/Xda_Orbit_-_Sat_Nav

sghughes42

Cash isn't the issue, it's how much I'm prepared to spend for what use I will get from it. I don't *need* a PDA but one would be useful now and again. I can get a GPS for <£100 so don't see the point in spending more than £200 for the combined system as the extra features aren't worth the extra money to me.

I've seen the bluetooth option elsewhere (someone was offering an Acer N50 with a bluetooth dongle for under £200) but I'm not sure how well this option will work for me. I'd rather only have one set of batteries to worry about and one box to carry around...

Angel_2-2

I use a Dell Axim v51v, which has wi-fi and bluetooth.
As product is being dropped by Dell you should be able to pick one of these up for sub £200.
Partner it thro' Bluetooth to a GPS receiver (Approx £30).
I have Tom Tom installed on a 2 gb SD card (Approx £20) and navigate everywhere with it.

The PDA has a dedicated video chip so watching movies in 640x480 resolution is great. You also have all the features of an MP3 player and Pocket PC organiser.

Hope this helps

:A