OSNews

I've got a Zaurus SL6000, and a SE K700i. The K700's not really a smart phone, but it's got calender and contacts that sync bluetooth or IrDA to my desktop/laptop/pda.

The phone goes everywhere with me - it's small, fit's in a the pocket of my jeans, has a camera and plays MP3's.

The Zaurus is something different - it's not heavy & bulky like a laptop, so if I need real connectivity on the move I'll take the Z along as well (but only if I'm taking a bag). It comes in handy for proper net access on the move (which is where all the smart phones fall down) - a real browser, ftp, VPN access to the company network, proper email client and fast WIFI. It's a godsend for use on the train from home up to London, as our trains have free WIFI on them, and on the beach as Brighton beach is covered by a free WIFI network as well.

I guess they're for different things - the PDA provides almost the full spectrum of PC/Laptop functionality in a smallish package, while still giving you a fairly decent 640x480 screen and the option of a proper keyboard/mouse and wireless or wired networking (the Zaurus supports USB ethernet adaptors). The phone, well, it gives you primitive networking - last resort email access, a browser that will work with Google (just about), ICQ and the other less techie stuff that you can use every day (SMS, voice calls, etc). In a seriously portable package - but the compromises for the tiny phone form factor mean it's not ideal for the sort of things a PDA excels at.

I think I'm waffling a bit - to sum up...it's nice to keep the PDA and the phone separate, so you can have the best of both worlds. Tiny phones that don't bulk out your pockets when you're in the pub, and the option to carry a PDA that can talk to the phone to provide a better interface for more demanding tasks.

Just my opinion of course

(also got an SL5500 and a VTech Helio - I do wish they'd sort out PDA battery life as 6 hours worse than the life of my first GSM cell phone back in '95).