Guest sabzzz Posted June 11, 2004 Report Share Posted June 11, 2004 I was wondering if any of you could help me pick a palm pilot for my hospital rotations. First of all, I was told that a palm was better then a pocket PC because there are more compatible medical programs, is this true? Second, I am hesitating between a PALM T3 and a TC. I would appreciate feedback on both! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UWOMED2005 Posted June 11, 2004 Report Share Posted June 11, 2004 I'd still go with a palm. Check http://www.fppda.com: most of the programs are still written for Palm OS. But I have a feeling things might change in a year or two, as Pocket PCs come down in price and size. Both the T3 and the TC are currently kind of overkill (my Tungsten E is overkill), but if you can afford it than either would work. Not sure what year you are in. If you aren't starting clerkship immediately, I'd wait. I bought a Clie in december of 2nd year and even with that I regret not waiting the extra 8 months before clerkship. . . prices fell quite a bit over that period, and the power and memory size increased quite a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest iamanurse Posted June 13, 2004 Report Share Posted June 13, 2004 Hi. I've been skimming through all of the old posts on this subject but I am still a little confused with regard to getting the most out of this new gizmo of mine. To be honest I am still learning how to use the thing with it's current programs (non-medical) but I am wanting to add some programs that will help me in the Emergency Department. I am wondering if any one would direct me as to which programs (specifically) would be most beneficial for the ED and where I can get them. I see there are a lot of sites that offer free downloadable stuff but am not sure if these programs would be good to use and/or install on my clie. Some sites offer packages of different programs for purchase -but really don't give me any specifics as to what I will find in each of the programs. If you can help me to come up with a comprehensive list of programs, and any other tips/suggestions/or ideas I would really appreciate it. Thanks all! Take care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest moo Posted June 13, 2004 Report Share Posted June 13, 2004 Here's a site that an upperclassman from our school sent out. it's pretty good for starters I guess and best of all it's free books.mcgraw-hill.com/med...index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UWOMED2005 Posted June 14, 2004 Report Share Posted June 14, 2004 My favourite site is www.fppda.com. Check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JSS02 Posted June 18, 2004 Report Share Posted June 18, 2004 Like UWOMED2005 said, unless you're going to use it a lot right now, you're better off waiting until you really need it, since new models come out every few months and push the old ones down in price. Right now, PalmOS definitely has more medical software available for it than PocketPC. With that said, I do know of people in my class who have PocketPC based PDAs, so it's not like you're totally screwed if you end up getting one of those. As for the T3 vs. the C, they're both way more than you need. Power-wise I believe they're the same (400 MHz Intel XScale with 64 MB of memory), but the T3 has the bigger screen (320X480 vs. 320X320) while the C has WiFi (wireless internet). I'd guess that you'd need software that's more multimedia dependent than medical software to really take advantage of the extra power. I don't think that any hospitals here in London that are WiFi equipped on the wards/in clinics (someone correct me if I'm wrong), but perhaps they might be in the hospitals in your city. At any rate, unless WiFi is available and you plan to really take advantage of it, the Tungsten T3 probably makes more sense. Personally, I'll probably be getting the Tungsten E and saving a couple hundred. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cutieyellow Posted June 18, 2004 Report Share Posted June 18, 2004 Sabzzz is actually going to start her clerkship in September, so she actually needs it right now CY ps-check this link-PDA Heaven p084.ezboard.com/fpremed101frm24.showMessage?topicID=5.topic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sabzzz Posted June 19, 2004 Report Share Posted June 19, 2004 In case it would interest any of you, I ended up finding Palm TC at COSTCO (Club Price) for 480$ (great deal considering it's worth 600$). They also had the T2 for about 250$. I know that some COSTCO also had the TE. So it might be worth checking out before going to Futureshop! Thanks for all the PDA info and program sites! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted June 19, 2004 Report Share Posted June 19, 2004 Your upperclassmen should have a pile of Palm programs that they've picked up from other people. A CD of medical Palm programs has sort of filtered through our classes, and I'm certain that there's something similar going on in your class. Figure out who the techno-weenies are in your class and they'll probably have what you are seeking. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Elaine I Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 I've decided that it is finally time to replace my Palm Vx. The 8 MB of memory just isn't cutting it anymore... In my search for more information, I came across this website, handheld.medicine.dal.ca which I thought might be helpful for other people looking for either a new Palm or new software. The people at Dal have put a lot of time into reviewing different hardware and software. Personally, I'm already looking forward to more memory, so that I can upgrade from ePocrates to something with Canadian drug names. For those of you with a Palm, I have the following specific questions: - Do you find the built-in keyboard to be useful? What do you use it for? (I'm used to using Grafitti or an external foldable keyboard, or my laptop.) - Can the screen on the Tungsten T3 be used without expanding it, for those times when you don't need the added size? - How useful/easy to use do you find the wireless feature? (I use wireless extensively on my laptop, but I'm starting to get away from carrying it with me, due to size and weight.) - Do you find you are close to using up the 32MB of memory, or do you have lots of room left? I'm looking to purchase a Palm that will last me for at least five years. - Are most med school classrooms equipped with wireless technology? (I'm not there yet, but trying to think ahead.) - Do you find the built-in camera to be useful / of high quality? (I do not own a camera (since mine was stolen), and am not sure if I prefer digital over 35mm, since I usually like printed photos.) - How do you find the built-in phone? Do you find it too big to carry, compared to smaller phones on the market? Thanks for your advice! Elaine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Koppertone Posted July 21, 2004 Report Share Posted July 21, 2004 FYI your post had a comma in the URL, the correct URL is handheld.medicine.dal.ca/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JSS02 Posted July 21, 2004 Report Share Posted July 21, 2004 I can't comment on the keyboard, unless you're talking about the virtual keyboard you can use instead of Graffiti. I think Palm's only PDA with a phone is the Treo , not the Tungsten or Zire series. Not sure if Sony has any. The Tungsten T3 has a virtual grafitti area and I don't think it can be accessed when it's not expanded, but the PDA itself probably still works. I don't have wireless on my Tungsten E either, but I can say that the Medical Sciences Building at Western is wireless equipped. I have a ridiculous amount of stuff installed on my Palm, and still have 20 MB of internal memory left. I try to put as much as possible on the external memory card. The built in camera doesn't exist in Palm Tungstens. Sony Clies and the Palm Zire 71/72 have one, though. I think they're only about 1 megapixel, so if you plan to develop the photos, don't expect to go above 4" X 6" (and even then, it's of lower quality than a regular film camera). Could be passable for sharing online or viewing on the computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cowboy Mouse Posted August 5, 2004 Report Share Posted August 5, 2004 I just got a Dell Axim X30, and it's pretty cool. It was about $200 cheaper than the competing Palm, which would be the Tungsten C. It's blazing fast, has a nice screen, has tons of memory, etc. All the software we get recommended at Dal is available for it, so now all that's left is figuring out how the stinking bluetooth and WiFi work. Sigh... I remember the days of the solar-powered 4 function calculator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest extrachromasome Posted August 5, 2004 Report Share Posted August 5, 2004 would you guys discourage me from buying a Palm m130. I need a pda for med 3. I know it's only got 8mb, could I get by with that? It's also only $150 at Zellers right now. The other options are the Tungsten E or the HP Ipac 1940, both are over $300!! Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Elaine I Posted August 5, 2004 Report Share Posted August 5, 2004 I have a Palm Vx, which also has 8MB of RAM. I thought I was getting by running with ePocrates, despite all of my low memory warnings. However, alas, my Palm Vx is no longer. It decided to crash, and even with a hard reset, it won't work. I have made arrangements to purchase a Tungsten C, as I don't want to run out of memory for a very long time! However, I've certainly been told that 32 MB of RAM is sufficient, maybe even 16 MB. I would suggest buying something with more than 8 MB of RAM. If cost is an issue, you might want to check out the open box specials on the Palm website, or even eBay. Elaine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest extrachromasome Posted August 5, 2004 Report Share Posted August 5, 2004 Thanks Elaine. I looked at the Palm website and noticed the open box specials you were mentioning. Good deals on the Tungsten E. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest extrachromasome Posted August 6, 2004 Report Share Posted August 6, 2004 Another question, if I ended up with a low memory palm (8mb), couldn't I just add a 128 mb sd card to it and turn it into a mega memory 136mb unit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JSS02 Posted August 6, 2004 Report Share Posted August 6, 2004 It doesn't quite work that way, because lots of software requires at some of it (I guess the main "program" part) to be installed in the built-in memory, with the card used to store the database of information. For example, Pocket Medicine/Internal Medicine takes up 1.3 MB in my Palm's main memory, and another few MB on my memory card as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cheech10 Posted August 7, 2004 Report Share Posted August 7, 2004 Other programs, like PiDirect, will allow you to "add" all your card memory to your main internal memory, getting around that problem. Keep in mind that older Palms are much slower, though, so opening programs, especially from card memory can take a long time (esp. reading PDFs). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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