I'm doing some homework for my sister to look for a PDA to suit her needs. She is just completing her nursing school and what she would need most is: * To read medical books and to be able to edit them * Memory slot * Calendaring She does not need any networking which I know is very hard to find if you want the features above. Other features that would be nice is: * Landscape mode * Decent speed * Removable battery * Handwriting Recognition * Hopefully under $300 Question about ‘Handwriting Recognition’ or ‘Transcription’ I know there 2 types: Single lettering (converts 1 letter at a time) Word (converts words at a time) It would be great to find one that will do the ‘word’ type. *** Is that called ‘Handwriting Recognition’ or ‘Transcription’ *** I have read several reviews and although I like the feature on the HP’s I read a lot of problems with the batteries holding a charge. Thanks, Debbie

There are only a few pda's left on the market. I just got a Dell X51v but considered the HP line. The Dell had a presentation to overhead that I felt that I needed. I use it for manuals and contracts that I have converted from pdf or html sources using Readerworks. You can use Adobe and Work type doc's as well as clear type docs. All have limitations to some degree. While Adobe seems to look the best if made for pda it is very slow. Reader is the smallest so you can carry more books. Word and Excel docs look OK but are fairly large. A PDA is not a good replacement for a desktop. If the Q1 was cheaper it would be more well suited to her use. Might check if a nurse can have electronic devices on duty. Most can convert a sentence to text, it is not a word at a time. There are plenty of thumb input and keyboards. I haven't tried to even find any speech conversions. There are also keyboard's on screen and an input area for charactor at a time input. Batteries are an issue as well as the device. The dell's really had some issues. There may be some settings to help conserve battery life but you will have to watch it. Palm devices normally do better and may be a choice too. HP is a large company and offers service and warranties well suited to end users. I read it wrong and answer it wrong too. So get off my case you goober.

Thanks for all your input. We did finally settle on the 'Palmone Tungsten T3' which I was able to get from someone at work for $150. I was a complete package so I think we got a good deal. Thanks again for your reply, Debbie