My husband is asking this..he got a new PDA with wireless. Somehow he thinks that this will replace my guidebooks. He asked if I would post this and get a response?

So has anyone used a PDA in traveling and if so how did you use it? Would you take it again?

Thanks

They come in handy, but you'll probably still need your guidebook.

I put my itinerary into the calendar and put in details I'll need (confirmation numbers, flight numbers, attraction info, transportation info, etc...) And the address book is nice to have if you need addresses or phone numbers.

The wireless aspect is questionable. Of course it depends greatly on whether you are traveling somewhere where you can pick up a signal. I have wireless web on mine and it's significantly slower than your web at home - comparable to dial-up. You won't be surfing the web very quickly.

You can buy travel software - I have a London tube map on mine that comes in handy every now and then. But I still end up pulling out a paper map when I'm on the street. it's just easier.

They're also good for keeping you occupied while waiting around airports, etc... since they have some games.

I use my iPAQ (PocketPC) for everything!

Besides the built-in appointment calendar, contacts etc., I load

Daily news and e-mail when I'm in a hotspot
Flight numbers, times, gates
Train times, platforms
Hotel addresses, phones, confirmation nos.
Restaurant addresses, phones
Maps with GPS
Subway/bus routing program (Métro)
Language dictionaries/phrase books
Reading material (several novels)
Games
Sightseeing possibilities
Currency calculator
Bank, consulate phone numbers
Passport numbers
Credit card numbers, PINs (encrypted)
Travel diary...

...in other words, anything I might otherwise have to carry paper for. I find a screen with my location automatically highlighted in a bullseye in the center much handier than a paper map.

Robespierre: You read novels on your iPAQ? Wow! I spend so much time in front of a screen as it is, I don't think I could ever replace the cozy feeling of actually holding a book in hand.

Paper books

PRO: Cozy
CON: Expense, weight, volume

e-Books cost nothing, weigh nothing, and take up no space. You can read them in bed or on a plane without turning on the light. The software keeps track of your page. If the book is in a foreign language, you can touch a word and its translation pops up.

Your call.

Oh, I just remembered. My PPC also contains several dozen of my favorite classical music works.

loisco - my husband has just acquired one too - I laughed at first but now see the value. It saves a lot of fussing with maps and navigational fights when he's driving - when I'm always to blame - mind you I did nearly lead us over a cliff on Amalfi Coast when I took a guess at a left hand turn which should have been right.
.

While I avoid traveling with expensive electronic equipment, I can certainly see the merits of bringing a (full-featured) PDA to Europe.

You will find lots of airline and train timetable programs, and, as Robespierre mentioned, you can get mapping and dictionary applications.

I'd install the appropriate version of Acrobat and take along copies of airline customer service policies, way-finding maps for airports and train stations, etc.

An article on the Fodor's home page recommends scanning your identification documents so that you'll have electronic copies.

Seach online to find wireless hotspots for the locations you'll be visiting. If the PDA supports 802.11b or g wireless, sometimes called "WiFi", it can be used at most any Internet hot spot, anywhere in the world.

I would consider the following issues:

(If the device was expensive)

- Where can I leave it when I don't want to carry it with me?
- Is it covered by insurance?

(Regardless of cost)

- Do I have a paper backup for any essential information stored on the device (important phone numbers, etc.)?
- How can I use the device discreetly, to avoid calling attention to myself?

Paul Marcelin-Sampson
Santa Cruz, California, USA

If you like books, PDAs are of marginal value. If you don't like books, you can convince yourself PDAs replace them. But they don't.

For hard data, you can load everything onto the PDA - though even simple things, like train timetables in pdf format, are a real pain to use (I always end up pulling out the paper version). And there are uses like linking Britain's 1:25,000 series Ordnance Survey maps to GPS systems which can transform a country walk on a wet windy day when unfolding a map can be tricky. But any decent phone will pull the same trick, and it's actually easier to buy a simple plastic map case.

Maps inevitably seem fiddlier on a PDA: even the London tube map - possibly the clearest map of anything anwhere - isn't fully visible on a PDA screen, and planning a route involves zooming and panning which takes at least ten times as long as using the paper map.

E-books are hopeless. They're free only if you limit yourself to what's out of copyright. No PDA battery lasts long enough to read Pride and Prejudice on a transatlantic flight, unless you're in business/first and you're carrying the charger in your hand baggage. Few European trains have charger connections. The idea of curling up with an e-book doesmn't just fail to grasp the psychic pleasures of a real book: the practicalities are years from solution (like most other nonsense fantasies of computerists, like the paperless office).

It's possible that if you're a texting freak, you'll be able to key in "Frederic Barbarossa" into an e-guide and get a bio faster than by looking him up in a Blue Guide. But it's very unlikely. And touring in Europe really needs instant access to a breadth of background information that even the Blue Guide doesn't always carry, so it would be nice to have a few dozen background books loaded. But the interesting ones - like 19th century Baedeckers - atill aren't available.

For the forseeable future, your husband can kid himself the toy is essential. And, for keeping addresses etc, it may well be - which is why I never travel without it. But you're still going to need the guides, and the PDA, together with the gubbins to keep it going, will merely add to the weight of your luggage.

He'll inevitably find it'll run out of power just when you want to show the cab driver the hotel address. So restrain the smirk when you pull out the printed-out details you, like all sensible Luddites, keep in your handbag.

I haven't actively used it but our son loaded mine with maps of Provence for example. I looked at Aix--it located the tourist office, car rentals, hotels, tourist sites, etc. I think it was a Microsoft Maps application.

Many of the points above about ease of use are valid (though some might be overstated), but I have to say that I was very impressed by a co-worker's PDA this summer.

I'd bought 50 basic GSM phones for a one-month office in Europe last summer and this guy didn't need his because the Treo 600 he had was an unlocked tri-band. (Don't know his US provider). I just popped in a Greek SIM and he was good to go. He used it for plenty of things, including filing reports with a folding keyboard.

But as a travel guide? I doubt it. Can't see it. Pack your books. They're much better to browse on trains and planes and -- at least until the technology improves -- a lot faster.

repete mentioned a folding keyboard. We used one of those to type our trip notes on a PDA when we in Amsterdam and Bruges a couple of years ago. It worked reasonably well, although I would have to say I found it a bit awkward.

You may find this odd, but we left the PDA at home
last trip to France and carried a 15-inch iBook instead. Yes, it's heavier, but far more comfortable to use. In addition to typing notes, we downloaded our digital photos to the Mac and then backed them up on CDs. We were also able to surf the net in airport lounges.

On the topic of e-books ... I recoil at the thought. An alternative is to listen to books from audible.com. My wife has been doing this for a year or more now and greatly enjoys them. Her only advice: listen to who is reading them, it makes a huge difference. I just bought her an iPod for Christmas (yes, we're Mac addicts) and she has already stowed a number of audible books on it.

For me, however, I'm with those who have to hold the book in their hands.

Anselm

If you like books, PDAs are of marginal value. <font color="BLUE">I LOVE books. In my study at home. I love to cook, too, but I don't find it necessary to bring my Sabatiers with me on a jaunt.</font>

For hard data, you can load everything onto the PDA - though even simple things, like train timetables in pdf format, are a real pain to use (I always end up pulling out the paper version). <font color="BLUE">I haven't noticed a problem.</font>

And there are uses like linking Britain's 1:25,000 series Ordnance Survey maps to GPS systems which can transform a country walk on a wet windy day when unfolding a map can be tricky. <font color="BLUE">Excellent example.</font>

But any decent phone will pull the same trick, and it's actually easier to buy a simple plastic map case. <font color="BLUE">Right. I carry the PPC <i>instead</i> of the phone, conserving mass and volume.</font>

Maps inevitably seem fiddlier on a PDA: even the London tube map - possibly the clearest map of anything anwhere - isn't fully visible on a PDA screen, and planning a route involves zooming and panning which takes at least ten times as long as using the paper map. <font color="BLUE">You're using the wrong tool for route planning. I use <b>M&eacute;tro</b>, and the map is redundant.</font>

E-books are hopeless. They're free only if you limit yourself to what's out of copyright. <font color="BLUE">That will only be a problem to me when I have finished with the last 2,000 years of literature.</font>

No PDA battery lasts long enough to read Pride and Prejudice on a transatlantic flight, unless you're in business/first and you're carrying the charger in your hand baggage. <font color="BLUE">Or you have a spare battery.</font>

Few European trains have charger connections. <font color="BLUE">True. And irrelevant (see above).</font>

The idea of curling up with an e-book doesmn't just fail to grasp the psychic pleasures of a real book: the practicalities are years from solution (like most other nonsense fantasies of computerists, like the paperless office). <font color="BLUE">I agree. But I feel the loss of psychic pleasures is worth the utility of having 500 books in my front pants pocket.</font>

It's possible that if you're a texting freak, you'll be able to key in &quot;Frederic Barbarossa&quot; into an e-guide and get a bio faster than by looking him up in a Blue Guide. But it's very unlikely. <font color="BLUE">This is a function of the skill and knowledge of the operator.</font>

And touring in Europe really needs instant access to a breadth of background information that even the Blue Guide doesn't always carry, so it would be nice to have a few dozen background books loaded. But the interesting ones - like 19th century Baedeckers - atill aren't available. <font color="BLUE">This is very subjective. I find that what is available to be adequate. <i>19th Century Baedeckers.</i> Good Lord! How about some ancient scrolls?</font>

For the forseeable future, your husband can kid himself the toy is essential. And, for keeping addresses etc, it may well be - which is why I never travel without it. But you're still going to need the guides, and the PDA, together with the gubbins to keep it going, will merely add to the weight of your luggage. <font color="BLUE">Ah, weight of luggage. If you never travel without it, you've already accounted for its weight, so it's essentialy free? Right?</font>

He'll inevitably find it'll run out of power just when you want to show the cab driver the hotel address. <font color="BLUE">Never happened to me. And when it does, the spare battery is in my carryon.</font>

So restrain the smirk when you pull out the printed-out details you, like all sensible Luddites, keep in your handbag. <font color="BLUE">By all means. Restraining smirks at all times is a good policy.</font>

Another thing to keep in mind... If you keep important personal records (credit card numbers, account numbers, etc...) stored on your PDA, make sure you mark them &quot;private&quot; and have the &quot;private&quot; category passworded. Keep your private records hidden or locked except when you need them.

If your PDA gets lost or stolen, whoever finds it won't have access to all your private information.

Kayb95, take a gander at the list I posted above. You might see something there that makes sense to you.

<i>e.g.</i> Credit card numbers, PINs (encrypted)

Hey Rob:

I used my PDA to read books on my last vacation to France and it worked out great. For a two week vacation I would usually take at least two books to read at night and during travel and I did not miss carrying the extra weight.

So I vote at home read books, on vacation read e-books.

Paul's questions seem to have been overlooked. To wit:

(If the device was expensive)

- Where can I leave it when I don't want to carry it with me? <b>I've never thought about it, because where I go, it goes.</b>

- Is it covered by insurance? <b>Self-insured (like most travel gear). I keep mine in a front pants pocket. Belt carriers are common, too.</b>

(Regardless of cost)

- Do I have a paper backup for any essential information stored on the device (important phone numbers, etc.)? <b>Excellent point. I also back up to nonvolatile memory whenever I get a chance.</b>

- How can I use the device discreetly, to avoid calling attention to myself? <b>I think tapping on a screen is more discreet than unfolding a map or thumbing a guide book. In a very real sense, you fit in better than paper-bound travelers.</b>

<i>&quot;e.g. Credit card numbers, PINs (encrypted)&quot;</i>

Sorry, guess I didn't think it was detailed enough - and worth mentioning again.

Robespierre

What is M&eacute;tro and where do I find it?

Rich

It is the GREATEST travel tool ever. Go to

<b>http://patriceb.users.mcs2.netarray.com/metro?o=h</b>

and try it on line. The &quot;Palm and Pocket PC&quot; link takes you to the download site.