PDA mystery

[masbgota]

PDA PDA PDA! I must say that although I know that I should have one, but I am at a loss as to which type to get. Do I need a Pocket PC or Palm operating system? Does it matter? Are the programs available in both formats? How much memory is recommended? I read a few reviews of the Treo 700w (a phone and PDA in one) and the MDA by T-mobile but am clueless as to which one (if either ) is the better choice for the SRNA/CRNA. Any help would be much appreciated.

[TranMan]

I think if you were asking me 5 years ago I would have said Palm OS without a doubt. Pocket windows PC has come a long way since then and there is also more software available for Pocket windows PC. Both are great and should serve your needs well.

Palm products tend to be a bit less expensive, come with less bells and whistles, & more user friendly for the non computer savvy. Windows PDAs tend to cost more, have more bells and whistles, require more clicks to get the job done, and may be more buggy (prone to crashes).
These are just generalizations and I am partial to Palm OS myself.

I would reccommend that you go to your local bestbuy or compUSA and play with both. Many pda's today are married to a cell phone as well. I like this idea b/c it is one less product to charge and carry.

Of course a pda for school is not neccessary. You can always make and carry the famous black book (peripheral brain) that is popular among students.

[MmacFN]

cant agree with tran more. About a month ago i stepped on my sony clie (a palm OS machine). With the advanced of the win ce machine (especially ones which are phones and PDAs like the samsung i730 by verizon) palms are dissappearing.

I have also found the programs are a much better. Nicer looking. Id definitly go with the win ce machine. They are the future where palms are dissappearing.

[ethernaut]

Of course a pda for school is not neccessary. You can always make and carry the famous black book (peripheral brain) that is popular among students.

hey tran, is this book a physical book? can't seem to find anything other than pda stuff.
thanks~

[RAYMAN]

I bought a windows pda from dell last year and like it fine. Battery life could be better, but if you put it in the cradle every coupla days it isn't a problem. Easy to use if you are used to windows. The constellation software is very cool.

[vigilent1]

Palm has a new PDA out that had wireless internet connection and good memory battery life. Blue tooth compatable. Software to get are at skyscape.com and they have a full list of programs for anesthesia and rebates if you buy multiple packages. Epocrates is a free pharmaceutical reference very good. Palm has a deal now with the new handheld and a keyboard for free. I used this as a student(wasn't free then) and had power point and word on my pda and used it a lot in the library. I would cut and paste notes and study when books were not an option. If you can get memory master from Valley on a memory disc that would be sweet. I remember carrying around the notebook from hell......Good luck
I agree about Windows having good pdas as well....I am partial to palm since it is usually cheaper and they are moving forward with the wireless internet option that essential. If phone and mixed capability is needed a blackberry is ok too.......as a student get the palm package. Also get the program that records your cases so you can download at the end of each day for record keeping purposes....invaluable.

[ADMIN]

Hmmm

My PDA is a verizon i730 pda/fone It has these options:

CHECK IT OUT HERE (http://www.vzwshop.com/samsungi730info/)

- Bluetooth
- Wireless B
- Can get verizon wireless inet which is near Cable modem speeds (im on it posting her enow)
- Fully windows compatible

Here are their listed features:
Powerful Features:
Slide- out QWERTY keyboard
High-resolution 65K TFT color screen
Windows Mobile™ software
Microsoft® Windows® applications
64 MB RAM plus SDIO expansion slot for added memory
Infrared port, USB and Bluetooth® connectivity*
Wireless Sync compatible
Speakerphone
9 Ring Tones plus vibrate mode Standard Accessories:
Docking/Charging USB cradle
Stereo headset
Stylus
Holster
Travel charger
Standard battery
Extended battery
Companion CD
Welcome CD-ROM

[susswood]

I got a PDA as a gift before starting anesthesia school. I thought it would be a nice little thing to have.... I loaded on Epocrates and some other little programs.....

Anyhow, I must say I don't really like it or use it very often. I find small reference books to be much faster and more handy. Really, it seems like an overrated calculator to me.... plus if you forget to charge it you are SOL when you need it. My suggestion is some small pocket reference books and a cheapy calculator.

p.s. wanna buy my Palm? It's like new!

[TranMan]

haha, some people absolutely loved pdas and can't seem to live/fxn w/o them while others just won't bother with them. For these people, there are small reference books as Susswood mentioned.

To all students, Only get a pda if you like electronics and the headaches that come with them. Do not get one just b/c your classmates have them otherwise you may not use it. You're better off making a "anesthesia black book" . Look for my post on it.

[NursePink]

I purchased a Pocket PC before I started anesthesia school. It was a pain for me. I'm very much a computer person, but that darn thing would go dead quickly. Always when I needed it (of course). I had nice programs. Seemed like more of a hassle to navigate through the menus that I was to just grab a reference book.

I'm with ya on this one, Susswood! :)

[FutrCRNA]

p.s. wanna buy my Palm? It's like new!

Yep, with ya on that one. Maybe we can make a "4 Sale" section in the forum and sell our "like new" PDAs.

What a waste of $$$ my Palm was...

[darienblythe79]

I LOVE mine. I have a Treo 650, not as much memory but that is easily soved with a memory card added. It works very well, and as someone had mentioned previously, married with the phone I only have one device to charge and carry around.

[DebbieC]

There was a time in my professional life when I was wed to my black & white Palm. I used it for everything, including my daily schedule. Used quite a few AAA batteries. I loved it. Learned HanDbase. The first time I did a data transfer from another PDA to mine, I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. But I was lured away by the color screens and lithium rechargable batteries. Shortly thereafter, after realizing the necessity of recharging it at frequent and inconvenient intervals, the whole thing lost its charm. And after a few crashes, hard resets, and reloading everything, my whole attitude toward using it changed.

I could totally depend on the black and white one. Never crashed. Never needed hard reset and reload.

Now, I need my reading glasses to even see what's on the screen.....the last I used it regularly was to play a few games before falling off to sleep. But I adopted paper & pencil Sudoku as my bedtime sedative.

Today, I occassionally see different people using them at work. But only a tiny fraction compared to the late 90s early 00s. Maybe the Blackberry technology will be the next-big-thing.

[MmacFN]

Hey

Well im a big PDA user :)

Ive been using a sony PDA (palm) for the longest time but a few months ago i stepped on it and my cell fone (it was in my flight suit) and destroyed them both. NICE.

Anywho, i decided i wanted to try something all togeather in one device. I bought a Windows CE based Samsung i730 PDA/Fone.

The thing is awesome. I have a long lasting battery as well as a short one (for when i dont need the extra time) and have rarely had issues with the battery life. I think they have gotten much better.

The one i have now is this one:
http://pocketpccentral.net/images/i730_ang_x166.jpg

I have to say the thing is awesome. Comes with the extended and regular battery and i have it loaded with a bunch of stuff for ER/ICU/Flight and now the anesthesia constellation from skyscape. It also can connect to the internet via verizons "EVDO" which is high speed. So i can check my email, surf webpages, run an IM client and chat with friends as well as the PDA and fone.

I dont think i could live without it ;)

[luhowRN]

I guess I'll go ahead and throw my two cents in here...

I am a long-time PDA user (had one of the first Palm Pilots back in the late 90's, and have had at least six or seven different/newer Palm devices ever since), and found it indispensable as an RN. I currently use a Treo 680 (phone and Palm OS), and love it. I have several of the Skyscape applications as well as numerous other EKG, ABG, and medical reference applications, and they are becoming more and more useful (I am only in my first semester of anesthesia school), as I can immediately look up info in class on new terms or references and go over drug and procedure info in the OR during cases.

I have to agree with the previous comments about whether you are willing to spend the time and energy to learn and troubleshoot the devices. If you are not, don't waste your time. If you are, they can become an excellent tool for you.

Some may feel that Palm is dead, but the Treo line (phone and PDA in one) is one of the biggest sellers out there, and you can get them in both Palm OS and Pocket PC versions.

I have used Pocket PC devices, but found that I was too "Palm-ified" - I have too many good Palm applications and like the quick simplicity over the -possibly- more powerful PocketPC OS. It really all comes down to your preferences and technological prowess.

My program bought older Palm's for all new students last year, but I have not seen a single person using those. Some students already had their own, and others just never took the time or energy to learn something they knew they might not use. Luckily they did not buy them for my class, as the ones they were giving out were too old to run much of the newer programs.

The best thing to do is to talk to the people you encounter where you are who you see using PDA's, and find out what they like and why. Several of my classmates have seen me using mine and have since gotten themselves PDA's, but I also act as the class IT support guy for them now! I enjoy being the "techno-geek" for my class, but only time will tell if my classmates continue to use their Palm's in the clinical or classroom setting.

I would be glad to chat further with anyone regarding good free applications, as well as the programs that cost money that might be worthwhile to invest in.

[MmacFN]

Well said luhow

I was a Palm only user until last year when i broke both my phone and my palm in one "misstep" literally :)

I ended up buying a i730 pocket pc fone. I have since gotten rid of it and bought a small cell fone and a dell axim X51v. While the i730 was a good rig i just found it too small a screen for a pda and too bulky a fone for general use. What it did do was introduce me to the pocket pc side of things.

One of the things many of us palm ppl have known for sometime is that palm is slowly dying and pocket pc is taking over. Personally, i found palm an easier system to use and navigate, but as the programs for pdas got more sophisticated some of the nice features didnt exist on the palm that the pocket pc has. Like anything this has to do with market share pocket pcs now have.

The reason why ppl fail with a pda is exactly what you said. If you dont take the time to learn it and how to troubleshoot it the thing will end up in a box by yer bed quickly. The PDA in general, is not simple to use especially as you add more programs to it.

Whatever you choose, palm or pocket pc, they are both excellent and i have found them invaluable since i started nsg school many years ago.

[UofACRNA09]

Luhow,

Would be great to hear what programs you are finding to be useful, both free and paid programs. I've looked at Pocket Medicine Manual of Anesthesia Practice. I don't want to buy any programs yet until I actually start this summer to get a better feel of what I'll use.

I just saw your post on the programs. Thanks!!

[vigilent1]

I use a Palm T5,, the new TX is even better....I also have a Palm Lifedrive....even better but bigger, depending on the day I use either...the LifeDrive has 3G of memory that is great for pics etc...also has mp3 player and can aactually hold enuf for songs...I love my Palms and the TX is really a good choice for someone that doesn't need 3 G of memory....I have a T5 for sale that I am putting on the classified...it has a lot of stuff installed and I will leave it that way...other info needs to be discussed..
vigilent1

[igla1170]

When I finished my CRNA program, I was so anxious to have "all information on-hands" that bought Sony CLIE handheld and download all kind of applications, from e-pocrates to Tabor's med. dictionary. I think I used it for a month, before getting my "old" anesthesia-reference pocket guides. At that time I found black and white version to be tiring for eyes and slow for quick reference.
However, lately I'm thinking about getting a new palm/pda again. It does seems to be handy when you need to get a quick check on some dx or meds. Also, from observation of surgical "reps" - they all seems to use some form of pda's, different companies started to make them with much better resolution and faster RAM.

[usfcrna]

Hey Everyone, Just wanted to warn any of you thinking of buying the Palm TX that it is not compatible with the Medatrax clinical tracking software, I found out yesterday during our Medatrax orientation. It’s too bad because I love this PDA it has been great during my first year of CRNA School. Looks like I too will have to switch to windows based system to keep up with current technology.

[gwclark1]

Vigilent,

What program are you referring to that you can record your cases in the OR and how does that work? Also, where exactly are you from in northern WV? I'm a northern panhandle man myself. Just curious.

[Becky423]

Hi all, I currently have a Samsung Blackjack and it's ok except the keys are so small that I often press the wrong one and have to delete and re-type. I'm considering buying a Blackberry or Palm Treo. Does anybody know if these are any better than the Blackjack? Or should I just stick with what I have?

I'd like to start putting programs on it but haven't even gotten that far yet...

[bobcat]

i just got a treo 755p a few weeks ago and am extremely pleased with it. i used an HP iPaq (windows) and found it frustrating for frequent lags and occasional crashes. i bought a palm tx to try out the platform since i wanted the app actc (gasshead.com) (http://www.gasshead.com/) which isn't available for blackberry, and windows mobile pissed me off. i thought the tx was pretty good, so i got the treo 755p... it's a solid device, well worth it even if the palm is a dying breed.

[CRNA09]

How do you like the Actc program? I was thinking of getting it.

[CRNA09]

gwclark1,

our program has us log our cases on typhon or typhoon sp? You can sync your palm and upload the info. I haven't sprung for that download yet.

[bobcat]

mike did a good review here: http://www.nurse-anesthesia.org/showthread.php?t=3501&highlight=actc

personally, i like it, i don't know if it was worth the $60, but it's nice in that it's a decent quick clinical calculator... i'm new to clinical after just starting didactics in january, with that in mind - i enter the patient's profile (wt, etc..), and can see the hourly fluid management, and usual drug calculations. there is an excel spreadsheet in the downloads section that effectively does the same thing. but actc has a lot more... that i honestly don't use yet.

there's a trial, give it a go...
-chris