Combined PDA/phone recommendation

A friend has asked for a recommendation for a PDA. He doesn't need GPS, or
any sort of wireless connection; but does require a USB connection for
integration with Outlook on his desktop PC. This is specifically for
addresses and diary facilities.

Good battery life would be important - ideally comparable with a mobile
phone, so it could be left on standby for a week or two without needing to
be recharged; and during that time it should sound reminders and be
generally available for use.

Rather than suggest a PDA, is there a mobile phone which would integrate
with Outlook and offer good battery life?

Any recommendations or experiences would be appreciated.

TIA

--
Graham J

Graham <graham@nospam.zen.co.uk> wrote:

> A friend has asked for a recommendation for a PDA. He doesn't need GPS, or
> any sort of wireless connection; but does require a USB connection for
> integration with Outlook on his desktop PC. This is specifically for
> addresses and diary facilities.
>
> Good battery life would be important - ideally comparable with a mobile
> phone, so it could be left on standby for a week or two without needing to
> be recharged; and during that time it should sound reminders and be
> generally available for use.
>
> Rather than suggest a PDA, is there a mobile phone which would integrate
> with Outlook and offer good battery life?
>
> Any recommendations or experiences would be appreciated.

You'll be lucky to get a couple of days battery life out of a PDA /
phone device.

I've had a couple of Windows Mobile devices and hated them - they're
neither a phone nor a PDA, which means that they're incredibly
frustrating to use.


--
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SteveH wrote:
> Graham <graham@nospam.zen.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> A friend has asked for a recommendation for a PDA. He doesn't need GPS, or
>> any sort of wireless connection; but does require a USB connection for
>> integration with Outlook on his desktop PC. This is specifically for
>> addresses and diary facilities.
>>
>> Good battery life would be important - ideally comparable with a mobile
>> phone, so it could be left on standby for a week or two without needing to
>> be recharged; and during that time it should sound reminders and be
>> generally available for use.
>>
>> Rather than suggest a PDA, is there a mobile phone which would integrate
>> with Outlook and offer good battery life?
>>
>> Any recommendations or experiences would be appreciated.
>
> You'll be lucky to get a couple of days battery life out of a PDA /
> phone device.
>
> I've had a couple of Windows Mobile devices and hated them - they're
> neither a phone nor a PDA, which means that they're incredibly
> frustrating to use.

Whereas I've used Windows Mobile devices for over 2.5 years and found
them excellent.

My old Orange SPV C500 had okay battery life (I think it could last up
to 5 days without a charge), my current MDA Vario has worse battery life
(couple of days maybe - depends on usage - I have push email + WiFi
enabled on mine which sucks battery life), although both will charge
over the USB sync cable, thus if you're at a PC all day syncing, it'll
be fully charged when you leave.

Whilst the Pocket PC based devices have an easier to use interface, the
Smartphone (eg. SPV C500) can still sync calendar and contacts (and
email and notes and tasks...)

Personally, if you're looking to sync a calendar + contacts with
Outlook, a Windows Mobile device is probably the best option - although
I believe non-WM devices can do it, but I've not heard of any which are
as easy/reliable etc - but that was a while back.

D