Start Here to Select a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) or Smartphone

Rice IT staff members are committed to providing their best efforts in support of PDAs and Smartphones, however not all devices are fully compatible with Rice systems. The wireless phone industry changes rapidly and product variety is vast, but these four models have been tested by IT staff members and have been proven to work with Rice's calendar and email systems. These models are neither recommended nor endorsed by Rice; they are simply models that have worked successfully on a consistent basis with Rice email and calendar systems.

• Sprint Q
• Verizon Q
• T-Mobile Dash
• Cingular Blackjack

Before you choose a Smartphone or PDA, learn some of the concepts and issues that surround these communication devices:

• What is the difference between a phone and a smartphone, a PDA and a handheld phone?
• What type of phone will work internationally?
• What different communication links can your phone use?
• What extra services can you get on your phone (text messaging, mail, calendar, contacts, files etc) and which communication link is used by your phone to provide these?

Additional PDA and Smartphone Tips and Suggestions

• Deciding between PDAs and Smartphones
• Concepts you need to understand in order to choose a phone, smartphone or PDA.
• Settings for your PDA or Smartphone
• SyncML for your PDA or Smartphone

Remember Daylight Savings Time period affects PDAs

Most PDA phones are not compatible with the new Daylight Savings Time (DST) period, which begins three weeks earlier and ends one week later than in previous years. Many vendors have created patches to update their operating systems for the new DST period. Engadget compiled links to patches for the most common Mobile Operating Systems.

• Microsoft: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=1A74D009-4E90-438D-883D-638E0BFD993A&displaylang=en
• Blackberry: http://www.blackberry.com/DST2007/patch/index2.shtml
• Palm (WinMobile and PalmOS): http://www.palm.com/us/support/downloads/dst.html
• Engadget Link: http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2007/02/27/daylight-saving-time-update-roundup/