Anjin1024

Ive been using a Tungsten E and the UX50 back and forth for just a month or so now. Upgraded from older palm gear. I had saved up my nickles and pushed them into a pile and said I really wanted a do it all communications device. Not a phone! But something that I could migrate phones and data service plans.

So I thought about another palm...

I wanted something small that had the chance of being with me everyplace.

Something sturdy that could take care of itself a little bit. The UX50 is rather tough hided with a smudge proof, finger print proof magnesium skin. The folding design lets it ride bareback so to speak, with no need for a cover if you want.... Something sexy about that in a perverse sorta way....

Plus, the landscape display is what I am familiar with and will happily use. I can wait for apps to be modified or ported to the new interface. Everything else works anyhow, and for the most part, its about as stable as any palm is.

Wifi lets me roam all over, amazing how many peope buy wifi bridges/routers and just set them up out the box... Cause open wifi access is all over this city. Strip mall I love to run by and get a steaming bowl of Pho at, I can surf for free at Wifi speeds.

And if that dosnt work, I can just push a button or two and I can use bluetooth to get me online over my phone. GPRS is modem like, but EDGE and 1xRTT are quite functional in the US, and they can seem more like ISDN. Dosnt matter what the phone does anyhow, its just bluetooth!

TuSSH takes advantage of that wide display and lets me get access to most of everything I need to do for work. Couple differing VPN packages that work well enough. IMAP email client availible. And basicly always on internet access... Thumb board that is easy to get used to, lit up nice so you can play in the dark.

Found out the other day I could send SMS messages while taking on phone... quite handy that. Just tap them out on my UX50, working that thumbboard. I have big enough hands that thumb board works quite well. All the SMS I send stays cataloged in Agendus Pro email for me, automagically.... How handy is that! Nothing more really then love and hugs pokes to the family, and the occasional meeting reminder or joke from a coworker.

Course, any old palm can do that, but, having wifi and bluetooth in the box, leaves the memory slot open for just that, memory! Memory sticks could be cheaper, everything else is. And I didnt have any media at all, but have scads of CF media.... and just saw CF media in 512MB chunks for just 100 bucks... But what the heck, memory stick seems to make it into enough stuff... Besides, it will be dedicated to the UX50 anyhow!

Having an on board camera lets me take some simple, web ready, video and pictures. Its not like super quality stuff, and its quirky to get great shots with... but the camera does a good job when you play with it a bit. I use it to record a video/picture record of things, I would imagine a UX50 is the bloggers swiss army knife of choice.

And thats the point of my ramble. The UX50 is a tool designed for a group of people that do exist. No, its not the ideal tool for everyone. Yes, it is a darn good tool at what it does. I regularly watch videos I yank down from sites peppered thru out this forum, or read from a vast library of ebooks, or listen to lots of my favorite old time radio shows... as a media player the UX50 so far has rocked.

So think about what you need in your PDA, then ponder the various forms and shapes of them. The UX50 is not like any other PDA, so dont expect it to act like one. Logically weigh the strengths of the tool to your needs and if the UX50 keeps jumping up as a winner, I am sure you will find it does the job well. Besides that, im sure they will hold ebay value well for when the next round of clamshells comes out!

But, if you shell out the dough to buy one of these bad boys, be ready to drop another wad on media and a small handful of utilities. Did I mention that MP3 playback sounds like Sony made it?

Cheers
Anjin