Hi,

It's still not necessarily safe to enter your credit card details if you're connecting to the web via a wireless connection (on either a PC or a handheld), *unless* the connection is via a secure website (look for the padlock symbol at the bottom of the browser).. otherwise, it's possible for the guys who own the network cafe to simply install a network sniffer (Wireshark/Ethereal, for instance) to see every packet of data that you send across the network (wirelessly or otherwise).. and this would show them your credit card number, expiry date, and anything else you keyed in, if they were prepared to dig a little!

On the infrared keyboard issue, the overall compatibility should be fairly good.. as long as the software is compatible with the OS.. look for a keyboard which has drivers for the OS that you're using, and ask the vendor if it's ok to return the keyboard if it turns out to *not* work. Infrared keyboards work via serial emulation, so they're fairly standard (and slow) compared to the bluetooth keyboards.

I have an infrared keyboard, and if you want to try it out on your handheld, you're more than welcome. I'm not sure about OS compatibility, but you can look for yourself: it's a "Targus PA870". I see you're located in London, and so am I (E14).

One other thing I found about the keyboard was that if the handheld battery discharges completely, you need to re-install the keyboard drivers on the handheld, which means bringing a driver CD, getting access to a PC with a CD drive, and having the cradle, or a bluetooth connection to reinstall the driver.. hence my comment earlier about getting a new battery for the handheld.

Hope this helps.

I'd take a Bluetooth keyboard, more flexible than IR that requires "direct" connection. It is probably more expensive, though.

Also, there is not a lot of Wi-Fi in 3rd world.

I think newer PDA-s have permament storage? At least my few years old Fujitsu Loox N520 does not lose any info if re-chargeable battery is flat or completely removed. It is possible to make full reset that will restore all factory settings and operating system, that will erase any other info.

To take drivers and applications with you put them on a backup SD card, not a CD. Then if your unit fails and you need to re-install your applications and drivers, you can re-install directly from SD card. With this setup you can also restore all your applications to a brand new PDA if you are forced to buy a new one. Just remember to keep your license info/unlock keys of your applications on the backup SD card as well.

Yes, one of the specifications for the Windows Mobile 5 operating system was for permanent storage that didn't vanish when the main battery went flat. It is quite hard to buy a new PocketPC PDA device that isn't now running this OS or the just-released Mobile 6.

As far as using an external keyboard, I'd suggest it's just additional cost/complication. I don't think you're really going to use the device to compose War and Peace, but it IS useful for jotting notes to flesh out once you're in front of a complete QWERTY/AZERTY etc keyboard. Ignore the default hunt-and-tap popup keyboard and try learning one of the the 'gesture' recognising Input methods - particularly the one with separate areas for upper, lower and numeric inputs. It's like using predictive text on your mobile: there's a threshold after which it becomes much easier and faster and you wonder how you'd cope if forced back to the old ways. Don't try and use the complete character-recognising input method: I've never seen it work.

Bear in mind that if you get a device with an SDIO slot there are also analogue modems available. These work relatively well. It's my sad experience that pairing with a bluetooth modem can be a bit hit-and-miss the first time you try it. Once you've worked out exactly how your particular devices need to be configured it's OK but each pairing of new hardware seems to be individually quirky. Same goes for WiFi. There always seems to be a period of intense anxiety trying to make a new connection to a new (secure) network.

Andy
Overworked and underpaid PDA Software Engineer

Thanks for all the good responses.

I have the system up and running and tested and it works...

But I am now thinking that my current mindset is London-Pace. By the time we reach Italy I just wont be bothered with wanting to fight with another gadget and will simply resort to good old pen and paper, which we are taking along anyway.

So we end up spending more time in cyber cafe's...hey...it's just another opportunity to meet more interesting people.

Will let you know which way we go.

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