PDA: Pocket PC vs PALM OS

I think it is purely a personal choice. Most software is available in both Palm and Pocket PC formats. There are a few more free programs available for Palms.

A Pocket PC runs Microsoft programs such as Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint. There is a program that you can get for Palms that will run Word files, otherwise Microsoft programs won’t run on a Palm.

You can synch your Pocket PC and your computer and have all your appointments and emails from Outlook transferred from one to another. I don’t believe you can do that with Palms.

Palm software takes up less room, so you don’t need as much memory as you do with a Pocket PC. There are more inexpensive Palm models to choose from.

I own a HP iPAQ, which is a Pocket PC and I am very happy with it. Our instructor has the PowerPoint slides for every lecture on the class website. I download them onto my iPAQ and then type my notes directly onto the slides during class using a wireless keyboard.

It really just depends how you plan to use your PDA, how much you can afford to pay and personal preference.

At my clinicals my preceptor and I traded information on vitals and parameters on our pda. we had palms OS - I recommend a PDA with infrared sensor to trade information in a click. The newwer Palm OS now support Excel, Word, etc... Palm is more expensive but is used in most hospitals were I did my clinicals. Lots for medical programs for Palm OS too, like Acid base/ lots of calculations when u just have enter the variables, and my fave lab values.

Palm OS programs cant run on Pocket PC.