PDA/Smartphone

[rob4001]

I don't know if PDA even exist any more. I was asked by a friend who wants a pda for work.

Requirements

Good battery life
Be able to open e-mails and word documents
Easy to use.

Can be PDA or smartphone

Thanks

[DeludedGuy]

There are many options out there, but in terms of battery life I don't think anything beats the SE Xperia X1, its got a whopping 10 hours talk time, reads and edits word documents, has email and is easy to use.

It has a keyboard on it which is a bonus IMO, cant stand keyboards on the screen taking up viewing space.

The other option would be the HTC HD, its a big phone but has a massive screen.

[looney]

I have an old MDA vario mk1, really useful, so the new ones should be better.

[eloquence]

For the full experience, a touch-screen phone is generally the way to go. However, those requirements are fairly basic. Most S60 smartphones would be able to handle email and opening documents (at least with the right software installed). However, the email experience tends to be a bit painful. (I quite like the Google Mail app on there, but the inbuilt email is sluggish)

One option would be a Windows Mobile smartphone rather than a PDA, because the requirements don't suggest needing more and they're generally cheaper and smaller.

I wouldn't suggest a straight PDA any more, because the addition of mobile phone capabilities does mean you can get at email from almost anywhere, and additionally because when it's your mobile phone as well you're more likely to take it with you.

Has a Blackberry been considered? They're reasonably focussed on email, and have a pretty fast, easy to use interface, so I really liked mine. In some ways its better than the phone I have now.